Archive - March, 2012

GOOD FAITH VS. BAD FAITH (A SURVEY)

March 12, 2012 in Resources

(THIS BLOG POST IS DEDICATED TO BRIAN MCLAREN, AUTHOR OF FINDING FAITH)

We practice faith every day.  Faith is inescapable, no matter who you are.  If your faith is not in one thing, it’s in another.  The question is, “Do you have GOOD faith or BAD faith?”

To help you answer this question, I’d like to share a survey I put together, inspired by and adapted from two of Brian McLaren‘s fantastic books, Finding Faith: A Search for What Is Real, and Finding Faith:  A Search for What Makes Sense.

by LethArt

Continue Reading…

PERSONALIZING JAMES 5:7-11

March 11, 2012 in Personalizing Scripture

Personalize James 5:7-11 (The Message), by speaking your name in every blank.

               , wait patiently for the Master’s Arrival.  You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work.  Be patient like that.  Stay steady and strong,                .  The Master could arrive at any time.

                and friends, don’t complain about each other.  A far greater complaint could be lodged against you, you know.  The Judge is standing just around the corner.

Continue Reading…

INTERVIEW #4 – DOUG (63, NEWARK, DE.)

March 7, 2012 in Interviews

DRAWING CONCLUSIONS: MORMON UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR

1.  What is your religious background?
I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints [Mormon] in 1969.  Before that, I was a non-religious academic.

2.  Do you currently practice a religious faith?  If not, why?
Yes.

3.  What comes to mind when you think about God?
He loves us.  He cares about us.  He can talk to us if He chooses to.
I imagine a God who is a man like we are, far more advanced than us.  If you can imagine a photograph of a man and his son with their dog – in the traditional Christian creeds put together by a government committee – we are to Heavenly Father as that dog is to his master.  A different species.  [However] In the Latter-Day Saint faith, we are to that father as that son is to that father.  In time, not in this life, we can grow to be like him.
The purpose of this life is to grow to be like him.  The scriptures say, “We don’t know yet what we will become, but we do know that when we seek him we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.”  That’s what we’re here for.
The teaching clearly is that, “As man is, God once was, and what God is, man may become.”
  Continue Reading…

100 QUESTIONS AWAY FROM GOD

March 6, 2012 in Stories & Ideas

(THIS IS A GUEST POST FOR PASTORS.COM; THE BLOG OF RICK WARREN, BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE. HERE’S THE INTRODUCTION…)

(Photo by: Ericana)

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with questions or known someone who was?

A few years ago I was faced with this situation for the first time.  It was one of the most memorable cups of coffee I’ve ever shared with a college student.  Let’s call her Kelsey.

She sat down across from me at a table outside, frazzled.  She hadn’t slept much that week due to homework.  Not given to her by a university professor, but by me.  One week prior to this, I challenged Kelsey with an assignment to write down all the questions she was wrestling with.  And she did.

Now, avoiding small talk, she went straight to the point, unzipping her backpack to pull out a notepad.

“Where do I start?” she sighed with desperation in her voice.

TO READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE TO VISIT PASTORS.COM

PERSONALIZING 1 JOHN 3:16-24

March 4, 2012 in Personalizing Scripture

Personalize 1 John 3:16-24 (The Message), by speaking your name in every blank.

This is how                 has come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for                .  This is why                 ought to live sacrificially for his/her fellow believers, and not just be out for himself/herself.  If                 sees some brother or sister in need and has the means to do something about it but turns a cold shoulder and does nothing, what happens to God’s love?  It disappears.  And                 made it disappear.

Continue Reading…

WHY REMEMBER THE PERSECUTED CHURCH?

March 2, 2012 in Resources

(THIS BLOG POST IS DEDICATED TO RANDY ALCORN, FOUNDER OF ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE MINISTRIES, AND AUTHOR OF SAFELY HOME)
You may have heard about Iranian Christian pastor, Youcef Nadarkhani.  After Nadarknani refused to recant his faith in Christ and declare Muhammad a prophet, a court in Iran issued a verdict, ordering that he be put to death for converting from Islam to Christianity.  At the time of this post, his execution is pending.

According to Article 225 of the Iranian penal code, “punishment for an Innate Apostate is death,” and “punishment for a Parental Apostate is death.”  The Shari’a (Islamic) law states the same. (via www.israelnationalnews.com)

You can read more on the story from: Fox News, The Christian Post, Focus on the Family, The White House, Arutz Sheva, and American Center for Law & Justice.

It may surprise you to know that stories like Nadarkhani’s are more common than you think.

The Voice of The Martyrs states on their website that, “It is impossible to know with absolute certainty the exact number of Christians killed for their faith each year.  However, according to the World Evangelical Alliance, more than 200 million Christians in at least 60 countries are denied fundamental human rights solely because of their faith.”

Continue Reading…

Page 2 of 2«12