Faith
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A “Heavenly” Conversation?
Did you know there is a Ouija, or spirit, board for Christians? Yep, that’s right. It was brought to my attention a few days ago. This board is called the “Holy Spirit Board” and it promises to connect you straight to Heaven so you can chat with Jesus. It also promises it will not contact demons or anything else that’s evil. Suuuure. When I first heard about it, I wanted to cry. Then I read the reviews. It saddened me even more. Several of the reviewers claimed to have spoken directly with Jesus when using this board, and that He had answered their prayers. Some of you may be asking…
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A Conversation with AI Jesus
So, last week I read an article discussing the “Text with Jesus” app. Yes, you read that correctly – “Text with Jesus.” In this app, you can text with Jesus, the Apostles, Prophets, Mary, Joseph, and other notable figures in the Bible (most of the figures require an upgrade to text). Isn’t that amazing? I wonder if message and data rates apply when you’re texting Heaven? Inspired by the article and out of my own curiosity, I downloaded the app. I included my husband in on my little test and we came up with several questions to ask “Jesus” – questions that we knew the true answer to because the…
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Wait…He’s Not What?
I recently read an article over at The Gospel Coalition’s website summarizing the results of the 2022 Ligonier Ministries’ State of Theology survey. Though this article was originally published last September, I only came across it within the past month or so. This survey asked Americans their views on the Christian faith. What the results showed for evangelical Christians somewhat shocked me, and not in a good way. Though I could probably write a post for each of the points, I want to focus on one particular point as it relates to the entire foundation of the Christian faith. If you would like to read the entire article, including what…
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Hide It in Your Heart Before AI Changes It
As if we don’t have enough reasons to memorize the Word of God, here’s another one: Memorize it before AI alters it. I recently read an article discussing how certain groups are using AI software to rewrite parts of the Bible, to write sermons, and other sacrilege. One example is the animal rights group, PETA, rewriting Genesis to make it “vegan.” One of the changes it includes is Adam and Eve wearing clothing made from hemp, rather than animal skins after their fall in the garden. I know this goes off my original topic of this post, but I need to address some issues regarding changing the Word of God.…
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The Choice is Yours
“If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them…I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.” Leviticus 26:3,12 Though some may think Leviticus is a book full of do’s and don’ts, it actually reflects the fatherly love the Lord has for His children. Like the Good Father He is, the LORD explains to the Israelites in chapter 26 the consequences of obedience and disobedience and tells them the choice is theirs to make. For their obedience, the Lord will provide many blessings, including peace and security in the land. Most importantly though, the LORD will make His dwelling…
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Jesus and Sinners
Recently, I’ve heard several people comment through various sources (interviews and articles) on how Jesus kept company with sinners, in particular the more “troublesome” sinners, such as prostitutes and thieves. The context of these interviews was to slam conservative Christians. I rarely write about politics on this blog, so this post is not about the slam towards Christians. I will talk about Jesus, however. It’s true. Jesus did keep company with sinners. He traveled with them. He ate dinner with them. He dwelt among them. Considering we’re all sinners, who else would He have kept company with? Once, when confronted by the Pharisees for eating dinner with tax collectors, He…
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What’s So Good About Good Friday?
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 “…but God shows his love for us in that while were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 ESV “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” – Jesus John 15:13-14 Today is Good Friday – the day Jesus faced his accusers and death. He was whipped, mocked, and beaten before being nailed to the cross and dying a torturous death. If what Jesus…
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There’s More to the Story
This past week in church, we continued our study of the first chapter of Exodus. In verses 8-22, it tells the story of how Pharaoh enslaved the Israelites because they were growing too large in number. He also ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill any Hebrew male baby they delivered. Of course, the midwives (at least two of them), fearing God more than man, refused to murder the newborn babies. Once Pharaoh found out they weren’t murdering the babies at birth, he ordered the Egyptians to kill the male babies by throwing them into the Nile. As I thought about this story in light of the terrible situation in Afghanistan,…
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Shine His Light in This Dark World
What a crazy 12 months it has been. I have quite a bit on my mind, so this post may zig and zag, but I do have a point. This past year has brought fear, anger, bitterness, and even more division to our country, and sadly, I believe, the church as well. We as Christians have lost our focus. I’m including myself in this and I’m also addressing all Christ-followers – progressive, conservative, Protestant, Catholic, evangelical, and non-denominational. I know it’s easy to lose focus as we are pulled here and there in our daily lives. But, we also seem to have lost our purpose as well. This world demands…
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New to the Faith: How do I Pray?
Part 3: Prayer For many believers, old and new, prayer feels overwhelming. The idea of approaching the Creator of the universe and speaking to Him feels more than a bit intimidating. I know this from my own personal experience. I grew up in church, so my personal prayer life reflected what I heard in church, which, to me, sounded formal, even stiff at times, and definitely repetitious as I found myself saying “Heavenly Father” several times throughout my prayers (I still do, but I’m making more of an effort to stop saying the same words over and over again). Several things have helped me in my prayer life. To begin…
