All posts filed under: z50

Antique baggage lock Credit: Michael Kappel/Flickr/Creative Commons

My Prophetic Journey Part 12: Using your keys

Published by

[This is the twelfth in a series of articles on the ministry of the prophet and gift of prophecy.] Years ago I worked doing security in a large corporate hotel. When I came on duty I would sign out the large set of keys that I would carry with me during my shift. I had keys for every part of the hotel except the manager’s office. I had authority from the manager to open or close any door I needed to at any time I chose. With so many keys it took some time to learn which key fit into which locked door, especially in the dark. And, I needed to be sure to never lose the keys – guarding their safe keeping was a huge responsibility. My journey in God has been very much like being given spiritual keys and learning how to use them. In an emergency in the darkness you have to know which key fits which door in order to “save the day.” Over the years God has taught me kingdom …

What voices are you hearing? Credit: Robert Gourley/Flickr/Creative Commons

Whose voice are you listening to?

Published by

“For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. (Zephaniah 3:17 NLT) These wonderful words speak of God’s very personal and deep love for each one of us. As I read them, I realize how often I have not translated these verses and made them personal in my everyday experience. There are times I find myself stepping on the slippery slope of chastisement when I make a simple mistake such as drop an egg on the floor or spill water all over the counter. Statements like I am never going to get it right. I’m so stupid. What’s wrong with me? Such remarks are way over the top for such minor things. Most importantly, this is not how our heavenly Father speaks to us. He would not chastise us for such simple, common errors. But, we do! Hammering ourselves with harsh words breaks the heart …

Abandoned Coptic Church in Suez, Egypt Credit: Nathaniel Page/Flickr/Creative Commons

The horrific persecution of the Egyptian Coptic Church

Published by

Many consider the Coptic church as the oldest church in the world. It traces its beginnings back to the work of the gospel writer Mark who they believe came to Alexandria, Egypt in 42 AD during the reign of the Roman emperor Nero. For those who believe Jesus died for their sins and rose from the dead, they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Copts   have been undergoing horrific persecution in the Middle East, most recently with the bombing of St. Mark’s Coptic Church in Cairo on December 11, 2016.  According to Egyptian authorities a suicide bomber was carrying 12 kilograms of TNT when he set it off in the Sunday morning service killing 24. The Copts make up 10% of Egypt’s population of 91 million. Though authorities were quick to condemn the slaughter, there has been a significant increase in Muslim persecution of Christians in Egypt, since the military overthrow of Egyptian president Mohammaed Morsi in 2013, The Muslim brotherhood who backed Morsi, blames the Coptics, who supported the overthrow, for the …

The Singing Contractors: Facebook

‘The Singing Contractors’ unexpected climb to fame

Published by

Two general contractors working in and around Indianapolis, Indiana have taken social media by storm, not by displaying teaching videos on contracting techniques, but by singing. Aaron Gray, 39 and Josh Arnett, 40, have been friends since childhood. Today, they work as contractors — pounding a hammer. Living about an hour apart outside Indianapolis, they often work together on projects. Initially they started out singing together while they worked, but at one point they decided to record the songs on their phones. All their songs are ‘a cappella’ but often have a cathedral type sound as they sing in empty homes. Both Arnett and Gray come from Christian homes, but neither of them had sang professionally. The turning point came last year when pastor Paul Biggar joined them in singing “How Great Thou Art.” They sang it in three-part harmony in the basement of a home they were working on. They shared it on Facebook and within a few weeks the video was viewed 19 million times. Because of their almost instantaneous climb to fame, …

Medellin, Columbia site of the Brazilian plane crash that killed 71. Credit: Wikipedia

After being warned in a dream was a Brazilian soccer player praying Psalm 63 before plane crashed?

Published by

Helio Neto is a surviving member of Chapecoense, a Brazilian soccer team, whose chartered plane crashed into a mountain near Medellin, Columbia on Monday, November 28, 2016 killing 71, including 19 members of the elite soccer club. His wife said the night before he left on the flight, Neto had dreamt their plane would crash. The team was traveling from its home town in Chapecó, Brazil to play in the South American Cup (Copa Sudamericana). Similar to the European Cup where top club teams vie to see who is the best team in Europe, top league teams across South America play in a similar tournament. There were 77 on board the plane, including members of the team, club officials, journalists and guests. Only three football players, two crew members and one journalist survived. According to reports, three of the survivors — two soccer players and a stewardess — were Evangelical Christians. It is suspected the plane crashed when it ran out of gas as it was approaching the Medellin airport. Helio Neto, who plays center back …

Credit: ambimb/Flickr/Creative Commons

Have we entered the ‘post-truth’ era?

Published by

Each year, Oxford Dictionary presents its word of the year. They are not always words, sometimes they are phrases or even an emoji — “face with tears of joy” — that won in 2015. But this year’s winner takes on an almost prophetic overtone. Not that Oxford purposefully intended it too, but rather it chose the word because it identified the climate of the day. The word has been around for a while, but spiked in usage in recent months particularly in the US presidential election and Brexit — the vote where England chose to leave the EU. The word is “post-truth,” that Oxford defines as: “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” In other words people are setting the facts aside to be ruled by their emotions. Other forces besides the truth are now driving the world’s agenda. It beat out other contending words such as ‘chatbox’ that speaks of a computer program simulating conversations with humans and …

Every morning you must decide how you will walk your road that day. Credit: Julie Falk/Flickr/Creative Commons

Out of sorts?

Published by

My husband had just taken three days off work so we could paint our family room.  We accomplished a lot the first two days and by the third day had the job done. So I thought, now let’s go out for coffee and do a little Christmas shopping. I knew that in the long-term we would  both be better off by letting him have some time to himself.  So, I caught myself before I put on a little performance and a few sighs, to let him know  I  really wanted him to go out with me. I released him from the expectation of joining me that afternoon.  I knew he needed a break. Lately, I have been  purposely releasing myself, family  and friends from  unnecessary and sometimes unrealistic expectations.  It has, in the long run, created better communication and released tension in my relationships. But, recently,  I started feeling out of sorts.   I was  angry most of the time.  It didn’t seem to matter what anyone said or did, it still elicited an angry response …

What do you feel about the death penalty? Credit: Carlos Y./Flickr/Creative Commons

Should Christians support the death penalty? — A response

Published by

The death penalty is a controversial subject for Christians. Believers fall on both sides of the issue. Some believe the death penalty should be part of the criminal code and others do not. In this article, I want to respond to Katherin Dwyer’s article entitled Should Christians support the death penalty? posted on the Gospel Herald website. In her article, she explains why as a Christian and conservative she opposes the death penalty. Katherine is a Charles Koch Institute Communications Fellow with Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty. Her article was in part sparked by the recent US presidential election, where three states also held referendum votes on the death penalty. Katherine takes a reasoned approach on her opposition to the death penalty and I believe she made some valid points. But I don’t agree with all her conclusions and simply want to discuss why I believe the death penalty is still a legitimate form of justice, even today. Eye for an eye The first thing Katherine delves in to is the “eye for eye” …

Sameba (Trinity) church in Tbillsi, Georgia Credit: Berdo Maghularia/Flickr/Creative Commons

One More Way to Kill a Church

Published by

This is my fourth time to write about how to kill a church, and I think this is enough; I don’t want to get morbid. But it is simply true that success or failure depends on us. God hasn’t moved, and “Trust and obey” is still the route to great things. The world around us will never hold us back. I once heard about a new church in my city that met in a rented building downtown. Successful churches are usually in the suburbs, with Christian families and free parking, so I had to check this place out. I am still surprised; on a Sunday morning I walked into a huge auditorium filled with young adults, and they were all talking at once. Loud and lively conversations were everywhere. I didn’t have any young friends to chat with, so I sat down and waited for the service to start. As I waited, a young woman came and sat beside me, with her head turned to a conversation. I knew what was coming and I waited …

Antioch Church pastor Jimmy Seibert with Chip and Joanna Gaines. Credit: Antioch Church

BuzzFeed article on Chip and Joanna Gaines called a ‘hit piece’ on Christians

Published by

Chip and Joanna Gaines, the stars of the popular reality program Fixer Upper on HGTV, have come under fire because they attend a church that does not agree with same-sex marriage and considers homosexuality a sin. On the show that’s in its fifth season, the Gaines work with clients to find and remodel homes. Joanna provides the design and Chip heads the construction. The Gaines attend Antioch Community Church in Waco, Texas. In an article on BuzzFeed, Kate Arthur recently reported on a sermon by the church’s pastor, Jimmy Seibert. Though he called homosexuality a sin, Seibert stated that Christians must show compassion for those in the gay lifestyle. He adds that contrary to popular opinion gays can change, as Seibert has helped many who struggle with same-sex attraction. As soon as that article came out, a handful of Fixer Upper viewers and other secular media such as Cosmopolitan demanded to know where the Gaines stood on same-sex marriage. To this point, the Gaines have not responded. Though the Gaines have been very outspoken on …

This is how snowblowers are supposed to work. Credit: Jon/Flickr/Creative Commons

Complain, complain, complain — it affects the brain

Published by

Social researchers tell us when having a conversation most people utter one complaint about every minute. I easily fill that quota. If I am not complaining about the weather, I am complaining about something the government did or our city’s losing pro-football team. However, my favorite whipping boy recently has been my snowblower. For the past three weeks it has gone AWOL — refusing to start. I had a friend come over who is very familiar with these type of mechanical devices, but even he couldn’t get it going. So we threw it in the back of a half tone, and took it in for service, and as my luck had it, the warranty ran out a month earlier, so it wouldn’t be covered. They got it going and the serviceman even started it to show it was now working. Of course, as soon as I got it home and we had our first snowfall, the snowblower refused to start again and I had to shovel by hand. I was not a happy camper. I had …