Here it is September again. Time to get back to work, time to leave the lazy days of August behind and get back into the rat race. School is in full swing which means parent–teacher meetings, after school sports and activities, Bible studies at church and small group meetings.  It’s time to seriously get day timers in order and juggle schedules so that everything fits someplace. Then there’s the challenge of monitoring the kids homework,  putting an appetizing meal on the table for a family dinner if that’s possible between the after-work  and extracurricular activities, answering your email, checking Facebook […]

Turkey and chocolate: what do they have in common?  Well in this case, it’s the distributor.  Have you heard of Cargill?  It is a private company that is the third largest producer of turkey products in the United States, as well as one of the biggest producers and distributors of chocolate.  Because Cargill is a privately owned company, they are not required to release the quantity of records and information that a publicly held company is, and therefore some things are kept secret.  Two things, however, have become public knowledge, and that’s what we’ll discuss here. The first tidbit of […]

The great debate between Creationism vs. Evolution continues in its quest to prove the origin of all things. There are three models of Creationism: Biblical Creationism uses only the Bible without science to back it up; Scientific Biblical Creationism uses biblical revelation of the Creation along with science to support and expound upon it; and Scientific Creationism does not recognize the biblical account of Creation, only scientific data to support the Creation model. Our purpose here will be to supplement with all three types of Creationism against the Theory of Evolution. The Bible claims that “The Creation” was the act […]

Last week during our Tuesday night Bible Study on Luke we read the following passage: All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” (Luke 4:36) The Message Bible translates the passage(s) in the following manner: That set everyone back on their heels, whispering and wondering, “What’s going on here? Someone whose words make things happen? Someone who orders demonic spirits to get out and they go?” [Yeshua] Jesus was the talk of the town.” (Luke 4:36-37) Mark comments on this […]

There are times in every marriage when “wedded bliss” seems to have flown out of the proverbial window. Events take place that can change the course of your very life: losing a job or house, coping with illness, having children, etc. Living with your spouse over a span of time will expose every flaw that you and they have. Sometimes, we look back in retrospect and wonder, “What was I thinking?” At times you or your spouse may wonder why you both are not happy. You may look back to the days when you were single and remember all the […]

Christian Skaters International (CSI) began with a simple vision back in 2005. It was formed with a goal of creating a network of skate ministries that would spread the Good News globally to skaters and those within the skateboarding culture. So, what is the desire and intent of CSI? To equip leaders, encourage believers and those who play bigger roles in Life, be a support system for those who serve and also to pray for those in the skateboarding industry. Not only have those involved succeeded in reaching their goals, but each year the conference becomes a greater success by […]

She is young and she is ready to throw it all away. She is tired of the dysfunction and heartache that has followed her all of her young life. Drugs no longer appease her and love has always eluded her. In her desperation, she quietly makes plans to take her own life the very next day. Her grandmother reads her despair and begs her to attend church that evening but church is the last place she wants to be. “All those happy people don’t have any problems,” she tells her. “They think they know all the answers and they don’t […]

Many Christians question the necessity of fashion. Isn’t it worldly to spend money on clothing? Wouldn’t it be better to send our money to starving children? We really shouldn’t care so much about how we look – it makes us vain and materialistic. While I am not discounting these arguments, I believe that fashion has a place in everyone’s life.    Consider the impression you give by ignoring fashion all together. If you go into a job interview or business meeting wearing the same “dress shirt” you’ve had since high school, paired with some ill-fitting black pants your mom gave […]

There’s something about death that seems to intrigue all of us. When studying history in school, there was always something in me that wanted to know more about the guillotines used during the French Revolution and the bloody spectacle of the games that would take place in the Coliseum of Rome. I also remember noticing that pretty much every other young person I knew shared this macabre interest in death. There’s something about our fallen-ness and flesh that is drawn to the darkness of death. We know it’s not right and we know it should never be taken lightly. And […]

As I write this, it has been about 24 hours since my mother passed from this life and went home to be with the Lord.  Not long after she passed, I had also learned the News that my grandmother had passed as well.  But as difficult a season as this has been, the Lord has been gracious to provide peace and work out His eternal purposes in the midst of such loss. I got to thinking about what I’ve done with the time God has given me.  My senior pastor has wisely remarked that between the day of our birth […]