Month: October 2012

Give me a treat or I will play a trick on you

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How it all started 2,000 years ago, the Celts started the holiday, calling it Samhain (pronounced: “Sow-in”). The Celts celebrated the New Year on November 1 and believed that the night before was a transitional period from a time of harvest, light and warmth (summer/fall) into a period of death, darkness and cold (winter). They believed that the spiritual and physical realms overlapped during that night and that spirits could then walk the earth. They put on scary masks and lit bonfires to scare away evil spirits. To guide the spirits of their dead relatives home, they put candles in their windows. In 43 A.D. the Romans conquered the Celts, and Samhain became combined with two Roman holidays. The first holiday, Feralia, was a day to honor the dead, and the other was to celebrate Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees (some think this is where “bobbing for apples” comes from). By the seventh century, Pope Boniface the IV declared November 1 as “All Saints Day” or “All Hallows.” This is why October …

What is the chief end of man?

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WESTMINSTER SHORTER CATECHISM Q. 1. What is the chief end of man? A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. Psalm 86; Isaiah 60:21; Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 6:20; 10:31 Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him? A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments,is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. Psalm 16:5-11; Psalm 144:15; Luke 2:10; Philippians 4:4 Q. 3. What do the Scriptures principally teach? A. The Scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man. Matthew 19:4-5; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2Peter 3:2, 15-16 Q. 4. What is God? A. God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Deuteronomy 4:2; Isaiah 8:20; John 20:30-31; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 John 1:4 Q. 5. Are there more Gods than one? A. There is …

How did this world get so messed up?

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Do you sometimes wonder what life is all about? Why were you born? How you can obtain true happiness? If you have ever asked these questions, then this very long post is just for you to get all you questions answered. QUESTION # 1: How Can You Know The Truth? Science, History and Observation You can learn many wonderful things about the world and its people through science, history, and observation. However, you cannot learn the answers to many of the great questions of life from these sources. They do not tell us how life began, what its purpose is, and what the future holds. The Bible Only the One who made the world can tell you how He did it and why. He tells us the truth about these things in His book, the Holy Bible. It is a book of instructions for living in this world and is proven to be historically reliable! In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Bible, Genesis 1:1) Through him all things were made; without …

The lost and found column: The lost son

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Part 3 I love reading the book of Luke. Chapter 15 is one of my favorite chapters in the entire book. Some people refer to it as the Lost and found Column of the Bible. That is because in this chapter we find three different parables: The parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost silver (coin) and the parable of the lost son. In this third column we are going to focus on the lost sheep. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to …

The lost and found column: The lost coin

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Part 2 I love reading the book of Luke. Chapter 15 is one of my favorite chapters in the entire book. Some people refer to it as the Lost and found Column of the Bible. That is because in this chapter we find three different parables: The parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost silver (coin) and the parable of the lost son. In this second column we are going to focus on the lost sheep. “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15-8-10 The love of God is relentless. It never ceases. It goes on and on until it finds what it is looking for. God …

Lost and found column: The lost sheep

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Part 1 I love reading the book of Luke. Chapter 15 is one of my favorite chapters in the entire book. Some people refer to it as the Lost and found Column of the Bible. That is because in this chapter we find three different parables: The parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost silver (coin) and the parable of the lost son. In this first column we are going to focus on the lost sheep. Then Jesus told them this parable:“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who …

Gold Digger

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And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” Matthew 13:52 It is very unusual for people to find treasures, gold or diamonds lying around loose on the ground. They usually have to search for them. They have to dig – they have to work had. The deeper they dig and the header they work, the more rewarding it is upon finding some treasure. I read an article about a man of God who has about 60,000 hours of Bible study under his belt and over 20,000 books in his library. I must add, books he has read. He devotes time to the study of God’s word. Come to think about it, it shows in his ministry – the wealth and treasure of God’s word he always has something incredible to share. Scripture calls it having – “things new and old” – which is a Jewish phrase …

Celebrate Small Stuff

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The great Michelangelo once sculpted a figure out of marble as his friend stood by and watched. Well, this friend of his left for a business trip and after a while he returned and didn’t really see any significant progress in the work that Michelangelo was doing. Upon hearing the criticism of his friend, Michelangelo told him that he had indeed done some work on the marble figure by softening certain parts, straightening the lips, defining the muscles and polishing here and there on the marble figure. To his surprise, his friend said that his efforts were trifle. But Michelangelo replied, Trifles they may be, but trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle. Are you in the habit of celebrating the small things in your life? Do you stop and acknowledge how blessed you are? Marriages and relationships fail because spouses pay little or no attention to the little things. Believers live in fear and ingratitude because they fail to stop for a moment and count their blessings. New converts grow discouraged and sometimes …

12 Powerful words or phrases that command heaven’s attention

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Part 2 The next six words or phrases I find powerful and commanding are from the very lips of Jesus. On each one of these occasions, something extraordinary happens after his declaration. Here are six of them: 7. It is finished… When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit… And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. John 19:30; Mark 15:38 8. Lazarus come out… Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God? So they took away the stone… he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out…” The man who had died came out… John 11:40-44 9. I am He… Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said …