Lucretia Mott

"We too often bind ourselves by authorities rather than by the truth."

Lucretia Mott, American abolitionist and reformer (1793-1880)

 

Jesus loves me this I know, for the bible tells me so

Facebook is an interesting concept, so much so that they recently made a
movie about it. There are hundreds of thousands of people who are now
"Facebook addicts." I have several friends and relatives who admit that they
are addicted to this new media of information and interaction. I check the
site almost everyday simply to see what is happening in the lives of our
family and friend, though I rarely write anything.

This week as I was scanning the entries I noticed a post from my niece Becky
from Arizona that said simply, "If you're reading this, I love you." That
message has stayed with me all week, bouncing around in my brain, bringing
me countless applications to life.

Because of my writings I get notes occasionally from people who feel that no
one cares or no one loves them. As I thought about that simple post I
wondered how many people in our world need to hear those words. How many
people were feeling lost and alone and unloved!

As I thought about those words it came to me that God had written them in
the original "face to face book," the Bible from the beginning of time,
that's is the theme of the book, "If you're reading this, I love you! That
is the message of God seen through the life and death of Jesus. That's why
John declares that "God so loved the world that he gave his only son." This
is the message of Romans 5:8 where the Apostle Paul wrote: "But God showed
his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still
sinners." (NLT)

So if you have ever felt unloved and if you are reading this, know you are
loved! I could say that I love you, but you are loved by not just some
mortal man or woman, but by the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, our
God!

The old hymn proclaims, "Jesus loves me this I know, for the bible tells me
so." Do you believe it?

Russ Lawson

Bram Stoker

"How blessed are some people, whose lives have no fears, no dreads; to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly, and brings nothing but sweet dreams."

Bram Stoker, Irish novelist and short story writer best known for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula (1847-1912)

 

Archiving beloved family photos

"Preserving The Image"

 

Pop quiz!! If you suddenly realized your house was on fire, what would you most want to save? That's a question most of us don't want to consider, but many would say "My family photos or videos". Many things can be replaced with the insurance settlement: furniture, appliances, dishes, etc. But how do you replace those treasured pictures of your ancestors?

 

We may never have to deal with a fire, but have you looked at those old photos lately? Fire is not the only threat they face. Images fade with time, and exposure to sunlight (even inside most picture frames) only hastens that process. Time is a slower method of loss than fire, but just as certain.

 

For the past four or five years I've been working (off and on) on archiving our beloved family photos. Our children were raised during the age of film and we have a good many albums of our precious little ones. Using a scanner and a computer, I've slowly gone through the albums and digitized each snapshot. I've then made copies of those digital images so if my copies are destroyed someone else will have them. Digital images are more likely to survive the ravages of time.

 

I can't begin to estimate the number of hours I've spent archiving photos from my own and my mother's collection. The assurance I have, though, of my grandchildren being able to enjoy these family keepsakes makes it all worthwhile.

 

A passage in the Bible that has been powerful in my life is 2 Corinthians 3:18: "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." To do that passage justice would require more room than I devote for these devotionals. Let me quickly summarize, however, what Paul means.

 

The "mirror" of which Paul speaks refers to the word of God. James makes that clear in James 1:23,24. The only way I can truly "see" myself as God sees me is to come to the Bible and hear what He has said. It's also the only reliable source of information about Jesus, the Savior of mankind. I must come to this Book often to really see Jesus.

 

The more I present myself before this Book, according to Paul, the more I'll be "transformed into the same image". What "image" does Paul mean? The image of the glory of the Lord. God's word can create change in my life. It can transform me from the weak and vile person that I may be into one who is more like Jesus Christ!

 

Does an old book really have such power to transform? If it's God's word, yes! "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). The Bible is much more than words-on-a-page. It lives!

 

Attaining the image of Christ in my life should be my number one goal. And preserving that image in the face of life's temptations and struggles is equally vital. When His image fills my life, I know God is pleased with me.

 

Timothy D. Hall

six things the LORD hates

I AM NO political activist, and I was in no small way annoyed and worn out by the political phone calls and ads...  

 

Yet, there was an amendment on the Colorado ballot that did have my undivided attention.  It was simply called "Amendment 62," an amendment to our state constitution recognizing the independent "personhood" of the unborn child.  By an overwhelming 7 to 3 ratio, our state's voters denied that amendment.

 

There are many reasons to recognize the personhood of the unborn child.  The child has its own unique DNA, fingerprints, blood type, many times is even of a different gender, and is distinctly identified as a human being.  The child develops early and rapidly, having blood vessels form in the third week after conception, eyes and the beginning of esophagus, gallbladder, liver, lungs, pancreas, pharynx, stomach and trachea form in the fourth week. The face of the child begins to look human by week five, and the heart begins beating around the same time. The brain of the child can sense smell by day 35.  The beginning of the toes are evident by day 42.  Consider that all of these developments are occurring before or around the time a woman discovers she is pregnant (cf.http://sfuhl.org/).  The most compelling reason requires a belief both in God and scripture, which not only gives us our moral bearing regarding life and love of children but also gives us God's view of the unborn child.

 

The Bible tells us that God knew the unborn child even before He formed the child in the womb (Isa. 44:1-2; Jer. 1:4-5).  It further states the love and relationship God has with the unborn child (Ps. 22:9-10; 139:13-16).  In Luke 1:39-44, Elizabeth recognizes the personhood both of the unborn child in her own womb and that in Mary's womb.  If Mary had been pro-choice and had sought to exercise that choice to abort (and why would a pro-choice Christian deny her that "right"?), the world's only Savior would not have been born.

 

The greater concern here is the collective callus on the heart of a nation.  For just short of four full decades, we have legally sanctioned the killing of unborn children.  With the practice now entering a third generation of legal and societal acceptance, I am very concerned about the conscience of an entire culture.

 

There is an incredible website out there called www.physiciansforlife.org, a voice for medical professionals against the horrific practice of abortion.  On the site, they say, "How ironic that the 'love' generation should spawn such a culturally accepted abomination as abortion."  The site is filled with studies and data about the health risks and problems for the mother who makes this choice as well as an endless amount of statistics and research on the matter.

 

Our task is great.  It begins with our valuing all human life and the eternal implication residing in every person.  This deserves our prayers and our concern.  If we will be more aggressive in teaching the gospel to the lost, we stand a better chance to reach the heart of a nation hardened by years of choosing evil rather than good on this matter.  May God grant our nation a softened heart and may He bless us all, including those unborn who simply want to live.  Neal Pollard /

 

16 These six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood."  Proverbs 6:16-17

 

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Ryan O'Rourke

"Opinions are like noses: Everybody has one...you pick yours and I'll pick mine."

Ryan O'Rourke, Irish-American evangelist and missionary to the Republic of Ireland (1978- )