Christ, the Light of the World

Many years ago while on a trip with my parents, I saw the famous painting by Holman Hunt in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. The painting, “Christ, the Light of the World,” as you will notice, has no latch on the outside of the door.

While we were viewing the painting, my father did something I have never forgotten. A man was also looking at it and noted out loud that there was no door handle / latch. My father then explained that this was done on purpose by the artist and told him that Holman Hunt had said, when similarly asked, “That’s the way I meant it to be. You see, the door must be opened from the inside."

Then my father spent several minutes witnessing to the man and gave him the plan of salvation. I don't know if the man was saved. But if you are reading this and are wondering how you can open the door of your heart to let Christ into your life and save you from your sins, CLICK HERE.

Please note, however, that should you want to send an email by clicking on the email link at the bottom of the linked page, alas, the email address is no longer active. So just leave a comment in the comments section on this blog.

Angel Food Ministries

If you have been reading this blog, you now know what a Trillion looks like and you might be thinking that you are needing a trillion to buy groceries these days. If so, then here is an option for you to consider. I was recently introduced to 'Angel Food Ministries'. They provide food at lower prices by buying in bulk and passing the savings on to you. To find out more CLICK HERE.

What does a TRILLION look like?

'A trillion here and a trillion there and before you know it you are talking about real money.' That is an updated paraphrase of a statement made by a senator several decades ago when he said the same thing but used the word millions. My how times have changed. But, whether one is thinking about money, or distances in space, or how long it takes to 'evolve' something, the word trillion is frequently thrown about. So, how big is a trillion really? I found a website recently that graphically shows us how big a trillion realllllly is. It is amazing. Here's the LINK.

The Shack

A friend gave me the book, The Shack, and said it was wonderful and that she was sure I would like it. Not !

As stated in the Book Review at this LINK: “The Shack calls for a denial of reality. It ignores and/or redefines sin and guilt, embraces a counterfeit "Christianity" that pulls in the crowds at the expense of Biblical distortions, and discounts warnings about Satan's deceptions.”

I have recommended several books on this site for you to read. BUT this is one book that I definitely and unequivocally recommend that you NOT read. Here’s why . (Click this LINK)

Dugong

In the Sunday School Class yesterday, there was an excellent discussion about the Coverings of the Wilderness Tabernacle. The 4th (outer covering), according to Exodus 26:14 and Exodus 36:19 was of badger or dugong skins. KJV says Badger and many other versions say Dugong. A badger, of course, is a fairly familiar animal but what does a Dugong look like? The picture above shows a dugong. To read more than you probably ever wanted to know about the dugong, CLICK HERE.

Today’s Youth—Walking Away from Truth

I was sitting with a group of family and friends tonight with several interesting discussions occurring simultaneously. One of the topics dealt with the state of the Church today, why people are not attending, why so many Christians do not believe in the devil and the Holy Spirit (as noted in the Barna Poll we referenced a few days ago), why 20 % believe Christ sinned ! (also in that poll), what needs to be done to restore the Church to correct doctrinal teaching, etc. Then they all went to bed and I continued to ponder upon these things. While pondering I recalled an article written by a good friend that addresses many of these issues and has some solutions. I think you will find this most interesting and helpful. Here's the LINK.

Changing a Light Bulb

This is an old joke and has been around and around the net but it still is funny. At least I think so.
Here's the link.

Police list Jedi as religion !

If you think we have problems in the US, consider this. Jedi has been listed as a religion in Scotland, England, and Wales! In the 2001 Census for England and Wales around 390,000 people stated Jedi was their religion. A recent article in a UK newspaper reported that 10 (eight police officers and two police staff in Strathclyde, Scotland) had recorded their religion as Jedi. Find that hard to believe? I do too. To read about it, here's the link.

7 reasons God allows trouble in our lives

Got this in another email. When the email came, I did not know who the author and source were but it sounded like a sermon outline. Well, recently, I found out that it was indeed a sermon preached by Dr. Riggs, the Pastor of Starlight Baptist Church in Winter Springs, Florida. So now we can give credit to the author of these excellent thoughts. (And, for those of you who are interested, CLICK HERE to view his church's website).

Grace is what God has abundantly and you and I don’t.
God intends to bring good out of our suffering.
Trouble is God’s heavenly sandpaper to smooth our rough edges

7 reasons God allows trouble in our lives
1. Get our attention --- 2 Chronicles 15:3
2. Strengthen our faith --- Psalms 9:9
3. To be a comfort to others --- 2 Corinthians 1:4
4. Keep us humble --- 2 Corinthians 12
5. To develop our character
6. Teach us how to pray
7. To teach us to look for God’s blessings in the midst of our burdens
Romans 8:28, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

How old is the world really?

As you know, there is much controversy and debate about the age of the earth. James Ussher wrote a tome several centuries ago which has recently been translated from its original Latin into English by Larry Pierce. In his book, Ussher stated that the world was created in 4004 BC on October 23. Now, I know this may seem strange to those who believe it took millions to billions of years (the time span keeps being extended as it becomes increasingly difficult to accommodate all that needed to happen if the Darwin 'theory' is correct.) Well, I could say more, but there is an excellent article on the Answers In Genesis website that gives more explanation and details.
Here is the link.

You are not going to believe this !

As I said, you are not going to believe this but it is true ! There is now an airline just for pets !!! The pets are called pawsengers . The name of the airline? Are you sitting down? It is named ‘Bone voyage' (aka Pet Airways) and is based in Delray Beach, Florida. What a concept. Will it fly??? Only time will tell. Read all about it at this link.

Rapt attention for different reasons

No real reason for posting this except a friend sent this to me and I thought it was tooooooo cute to not share with you. Enjoy.

Saturn

Some beautiful pictures have recently been made of the Planet Saturn by NASA's Cassini Space probe (yes, our taxes at work). Amazing rings, moons, etc. Of course there are many folks who think all this beauty and detail just happened by chance and as a result of the 'big bang'. Hmmm. Looks to me like this was not a chance thing but very carefully designed. What do you think?
Here's the link.

Let not your heart be troubled

Need encouragement? Notice what Jesus tells us in John 14:1-6.

1“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

Living with Cancer

For those of you who have, had, or know family or friends with CANCER, there is a wonderful website 'out there' that will encourage you and them. This Christian woman, my friend, is a Bible teacher and the wife of a wonderful supportive husband. She has personally experienced cancer not once, not twice, but three times !!! You will be blessed as you read her words. So, without further ado, here is the LINK.

Ice Age Civilizations

I just finished reading this very interesting book, 'Ice Age Civilizations'. It is written from a young earth perspective and helps fill in the blanks and puts many of the pieces of the Genesis puzzle in place. It answers many questions regarding the timing of when the ice age occurred and what happened before, during, and after it. There are no pictures but there are many web links given in the book which will take you to innumerable on line pictures of the submerged cities, etc. I recommend you read this book. So, now you have 2 books that you reallllllly need to read asap. The first one was the book 'Is Your God Too Small' which we referenced a few days ago. Now this! So get out your glasses and start reading !
To go to the author's site, click here. And to read his bio, click here.

Handel's Messiah

Today was an awesome day! I went to Southern Adventist University to hear Handel's Messiah! --with full orchestra, a big chorus, and excellent soloists! There was a huge crowd. I guess there are a lot of us that like 'real music' and not the 7-11 stuff (7 words 11 times in unison) that is in 'churches' these days. Sure wish you could have been there! You would have loved it. It was one of those performances that made you pull the kleenex out of your pocket. "The Trumpet shall Sound" was outstanding. I have always loved the trumpet solo in that! And, they even did the very difficult "Amen" at the end! So, allllllll that to say, this was a wonderful way to continue the observance of the Passover season and the Spring Feasts!

Tornado !

Yesterday we had some humor on the blog, but today, WOW, this is really serious!

As you may or may not know, one week ago today, on Good Friday of 2009, several states including Tennessee had humongous storms and tornadoes. One of the many Tornadoes hit in Murfreesboro (near Nashville). Amazingly only 2 people lost their lives.

A friend who knows the pastor who was in the center of the storm sent me an email which the pastor had sent to folks who were asking for 'details'. I knew you would want to read it, so here are the details from an eyewitness account of a person who was in the eye of the storm and lived to tell it! WOW !

To read the email telling his story CLICK HERE.
And to see pictures of the devastation in Murfreesboro posted on YouTube, CLICK HERE.

Time for some humor

There have been a lot of 'serious' things on this site -- and there will continue to be in the future, but, for a change of pace, you need to check out this funny email that I got the other day from a friend. It is about a Dead Duck and how we need to "be careful about what we ask for". (Hmmmm, maybe this is serious after all). Anyway, here is the link.

The Hand of God ?

You probably have already seen this picture. It is another of the many NASA photos of strange and beautiful things in space. Of course, this is not the real Hand of God. But it is an interesting picture. The article that 'explains' it is, of course, secular and speaks of long ages. Alas. Anyway, this photo, like the famous "Eye of God" photo (also included in the article) is truly amazing. To read about it, click here.

Most American Christians do NOT Believe that Satan or the Holy Spirit Exist

According to a recent Barna survey and report, most American Christians Do NOT Believe that Satan or the Holy Spirit Exist!

And, even more shocking, 22% also believe that Jesus sinned while on earth!

To read more about these and other ‘conclusions’ discovered by this poll, click here.

Noah's Ark in Hong Kong !

An interesting article was on the internet today about the opening of a FULL size replica of Noah's Ark in Hong Kong. If any of you are going there in the near future, check it out in person. For the rest of us, we will have to be content with reading this secular article. Here's the link.

Christ is Risen !!!

Charles H. Spurgeon said:
"The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is one of the best attested facts on record. There were so many witnesses to behold it, that if we do in the least degree receive the credibility of men’s testimonies, we cannot and we dare not doubt that Jesus rose from the dead. It is all very easy for infidels to say that these persons were deceived, but it is equally foolish, for these persons could not every one of them have been so positively deceived as to say that they had seen this man, whom they knew to have been dead, afterwards alive; they could not all, surely, have agreed together to help on this imposture: if they did, it is the most marvellous thing we have on record, that not one of them ever broke faith with the others, but that the whole mass of them remained firm. We believe it to be quite impossible that so many rogues should have agreed for ever. They were men who had nothing to gain by it; they subjected themselves to persecution by affirming the very fact; they were ready to die for it, and did die for it. Five hundred or a thousand persons who had seen him at different times, declared that they did see him, and that he rose from the dead; the fact of his death having been attested beforehand. How, then, dare any man say that the Christian religion is not true, when we know for a certainty that Christ died and rose again from the dead? And knowing that, who shall deny the divinity of the Savior? Who shall say that he is not mighty to save? Our faith hath a solid basis, for it hath all these witnesses on which to rest, and the more sure witness of the Holy Spirit witnessing in our hearts."

Charles H. Spurgeon, vol. 2, Spurgeon's Sermons: Volume 2, electronic ed., Logos Library System; Spurgeon's Sermons (Albany, OR: Ages Software, 1998)., No 66 (exposition)

Why should Christians know about Passover?

Tom McCall Ministries (formerly called ‘School of Tyrannus’) has many video lectures on various topics, all of which are worth your time and are free! This one is especially timely. So listen to Dr. Tom McCall as he explains the 'Significance of Christ in the Passover' and points out many of the very important truths (types, pictures) of Christ in the events and symbolism of the Passover. This video uses Windows Media Player on your computer.
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Payday Someday: sermon by R. G. Lee

Some of you 'old timers' out there heard this sermon when Dr. Lee preached at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis. I found both an MP3 recording of it on the net as well as the printed version. Either way, be sure to listen to or read this sermon. It is a Classic !!! Click here for the MP3 audio version. And, for the printed version, Here is the link.

Bows by TaraMarie

Normally this blog does not advertise things for sale. But, for those of you with daughters or granddaughters, you will be very interested in the bows and hair pieces made by a talented young Christian artist. The bows shown here are a featured item for this month but to see many more that she has available, click here to go to her website. I think you will be pleasantly surprised!

C. S. Lewis: God in the Dock, 1945

C.S. Lewis in his book, God in the Dock, 1945 made this excellent statement:

"One of he great difficulties is to keep before the audience's mind the question of Truth. They always think you are recommending Christianity not because it is true but because it is good.

And in the discussion they will at every moment try to escape from the issue 'True or False' into stuff about a good society, or morals, or the incomes of Bishops, or the Spanish Inquisition, or France, or Poland -- or anything whatever. You have to keep forcing them back, and again back to the real point. Only thus will you be able to undermine ... their belief that a certain amount of 'religion' is desirable but one musn't carry it too far. One must keep on pointing out that Christianity is a statement which, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important."