Keep Calm And Write On

Lately, I've been captivated by the epistles to Timothy. Timothy is referred to by Paul as his "son in the faith" ( 1 Timothy 1:2), and had been raised in knowledge of the scriptures by his mother and grandmother. There are mixed opinions as to how old Timothy was at the time of his receiving this epistle, some would place his age in his late teens to early twenties, and some would place him in his late thirties to early forties.  No matter how old he was, it is evident that at least some members of the early church didn't think Timothy to be quite old enough. This was apparently such a concern that Paul brought it up in his first letter to the Corinthian church. "Now if Timotheus come, see that he may be with you without fear: for he worketh the work of the Lord, as I also do. Let no man therefore despise him: but conduct him forth in peace: that he may come unto me: for I look for him with the brethren." (1 Corinthians 16:10-11) What Paul was saying wa...

Ever feel like the walls have been closing in around you? Whenever I think of that phrase, I inevitably think of the scenes in Wild Wild West where James West is trapped in these ridiculously shaped rooms with no possible way out. But, after a dramatic pause and a commercial break, Jim always manages to get out. There's always a gadget available to him, or some scheme he can put into action. My favorite is the little zip cord he can shoot from his pistol.  Wouldn't it be nice if we had a zip cord out of our sticky situations sometimes? Itd be like "Oh, I should be studying, but I really want to watch tv.....*zip* oh hey! French flashcards! 13  No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13  Guess what? with God, there's always a way out, a "zi...

Pant pant pant.  slap slap slap pant pant pant.   Sandals flapping against the ground, the man ran for his life. He was alone except for his servant. His steps slowed to a stop at the place called Beersheba. "stay here." He told his servant, who sank down to the ground to rest gratefully. Now truly alone, the man continued a days journey into the wilderness. Seeing a broom brush, he  sat down under it. From the depths of the heart filled with despair, he cried out; "I have had enough, Lord! Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors."  Exhausted from his long travels, the man fell asleep under the bush. Suddenly, an angel awakened him and told him; "Get up and eat." Turning around, the man saw food lying by his head. Bread baked over hot coals, and  a jar of water. He ate the bread and drank the water, and fell asleep once more.  Once again, an angel woke him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." So he got...

As Christians, our eventual goal or model of behavior is Christ. Christ is the perfect model because he struggled too. He faced temptations just like we do everyday. The difference, though, is that while Christ was fully man, he was also fully God, so it was impossible for Him to sin. Have you ever wondered why Christ? Why a human form? why both fully God and fully man at once?  It's mind boggling/ And it's supposed to be. If we could understand why God does things, then he wouldn't be God. we are given understanding through the Bible, and anything not given in the Bible is not for us to know, or at least not in this world.  But something occurred to me a few minutes ago- have you ever noticed how you tend to stop trying once you reach your goal?  Some little mechanism inside of you determines that it's time to stop, that the time for stretching and persevering is over. Otherwise, runners wouldn't stop at the finish line. Football games wouldn't stop after f...

For days now, an idea has been tugging at the corners of my mind, waiting to be released to the outside world. An idea that has been persistently cropping up in my thinking. An idea that could change the world. Prayer. Consistent, intercessory, passionate prayer. “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:19-20 I have a heart for the lost people of the world, and in addition to that, God has placed a burden on my heart for my country. We are far from what we used to be. Being the history buff that I am, I know that many of the laws in place in our country today would make the founding fathers’ wigs’ curl. I see our country going down a path of darkness and despair. God has blessed our country with wealth and prosperity, but I disagree with the ways this wealth is being used. So, I’m asking you...

I said, "I'm not strong enough." He said, "My armor is tough." I said; "My feet are slipping," He said, "I am your Rock." "I am alone." "My presence will go with you always," "I am afraid." "You have not been given a spirit of fear." "I feel worthless." "You are my workmanship." "I can't do anything." "You can do all things in my name, I will give you strength." "But Jesus, I'm so sad." "I, even I, am He who comforts you." "I dont know where to go next." "I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Several things occur to me when I think about the method I'm using to learn French. The first-I'm never going to succeed. The second-I think I've heard of this before.  The method I'm talking about is the Immersion method, meaning that you basically 'immerse' yourself in the language, surrounding yourself with almost exclusively that language, and you learn out of necessity. This is the same way that children learn their first language, by doing. It  sounded promising, so I decided to give it a shot. I switched my facebook page to french. Bold move, yes, but desperate times call for desperate measures. In addition, I found french episodes of my favorite cartoons ever in the history of the world-courtesy of the wonder known as youtube, of course.  In order to learn a language by the immersion method, you almost have to forget about thinking about anything else and only focus on the language.  This reminded me of Christianity. Why? well, think about it. In...