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Are women "weaker vessels" than men?

There are two bottles of juice in your refrigerator. One was recently purchased from the grocery store; the other has expired by several months and remained in the refrigerator unnoticed due to other items blocking it from view. All the common dishes are currently in the dishwasher washing, so you are forced to use the delicate "special occasion" glasses stored on the top shelf of your kitchen cabinets to have a glass of juice. The first glass you pour is from the newly purchased bottle of juice. You carefully pour the juice into the glass handling it with care, you also slowly set it down on the table as you recline and consume the flavorful beverage. It was so refreshing that you went back to the refrigerator for another glass. This time you accidently used the expired juice to pour a glass to drink. With the same caution as last time you sit down at the table ready to have another refreshing glass. You pick up the delicate vessel of juice, you take a large gulp.... Uu...

What is the Doctrine of Justification?

A few months ago myself and three other pastors from my church were meeting to decide on the wording for a brief statement of faith that we wanted to start reciting at the beginning of our Sunday morning services. At one point I suggested that we use the word "justification" in one of the sentences, another pastor quickly looked at me and said, "do you know how many people don't even know what that word means?" What he said caught me by surprise, but as I thought about it I began to realize that he was probably right. This dilemma began to roll around in my thoughts for the next couple months until I finally decided that I needed to write this blog. So here it is, I am going to take some time to explain what justification is, it's repercussions, and why it is so crucial to understand as believers. Justification is the declaring of a person to be just or righteous. It is a legal term signifying acquittal (Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical The...

Does God spit lukewarm Christians out of His mouth?

In the first few chapters of the book of Revelation we find God addressing seven different churches that were active during that day. God had a certain message for each church, but the most concerning message for many Christians throughout history has often been the message God gave to the church at a city called Laodicea. In this blog I want to take a moment to explain exactly what I think God was trying to say when He gave His message to the Laodiceans and see how the wisdom of this passage applies to our lives today. The beginning of this passage goes like this: “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!" (Revelation 3:14-15) Here we find God, our "faithful and true witness" giving His message to the "angel of the church in Laodicea." Now some have jumped to...

Is it ok to let your kids believe in Santa Claus?

"A wink of his eye, and a twist of his head, soon led me to know I had nothing to dread."- Twas' the Night Before Christmas, Clement C. Moore As a kid I was taught that Santa Claus was going to bring me the presents I wished for on Christmas morning. I watched movies and cartoons about Santa riding his sleigh with gifts to give to all of the children around the world. Some of the stories depicted Santa as giving coal to bad kids and toys to good kids and I was told jokingly by my parents that I would "receive coal if I was bad," but it was never made to be a serious threat. Up until around the age of seven I really believed that Santa magically came down the chimney and left presents for my brothers and I, and it never caused me to have any resentment toward my parents for telling me he was real. I saw it as my parents wanting to give me a fun Christmas adventure, a magical experience that my brothers and I could use our imagination with. As I learned ...

Does God love me?

God loves you right now. He loves you right where you are, in the middle of whatever you are going through right in this very moment. He isn't expecting for you to perform for Him. He wants you to leave the things of this world behind and receive the unending grace that He purchased for you at the cross. His love compelled Him in such a way that He humbled Himself to a point that surpasses our human understanding and knowledge. John 3:16- “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Just try to wrap your mind around this thought. God, the Creator of the world, the sky, the oceans, the plants, animals, stars, galaxies, and all that we can see, became a mere man. He left His place of perfection and bliss in Heaven, he came to the wretched and sin diseased Earth, and He lived among sinful men from all different walks of life. He wept, He laughed, He showed compassion, He extended healing and ...

How do I bear fruit in my Christian walk?

Love. It's arguably the most meaningful word in the human language. It's what every heart on planet Earth yearns for. It's the grand theme of the Bible. I believe that love is the reason people continue to have a life worth living, and when there is a lack of love, people find themselves in a hopeless pit of despair. In this blog I am going to focus on a passage from the book of Philippians. I want to help the reader to have a greater sense of simplicity when attempting to understand their purpose in life. I think that when we all dig deep we will find that the only way to live purposefully is to allow love to be our guiding princple. Philippians 1:9-11- "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Christ Jesus, to the glory and prais...

Bill Nye & Ken Ham, Creation vs. Evolution Debate analysis

The creation vs. evolution debate that took place Tuesday February 4th, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. between Bill Nye and Ken Ham was fascinating. I was pleased to see both sides state their concerns about their opponent’s view very clearly and respectfully.  This type of debate is healthy for our society in that it allows two popular scientific viewpoints to present their case on a public platform for people to make an informed opinion. I am a strong proponent of creationism because the Bible is factually true and scientifically accurate. The Bible is the most scrutinized book in the history of mankind and it has yet to be disproven by anyone. I am writing this article to address some of the topics of concern that Bill Nye addressed and provide resources to clarify these concerns both Biblically and scientifically. The more we understand that God’s word agrees with God’s world, the more we are able to live our lives in bold faith and pursuit of making disciples of all men. The fi...