Mid-Season Break

         So I've been off the air for a while.  I haven't published an article in over a month!  I've been on a bit of a "mid-season break".  That's what TV networks call it when a series plays reruns or goes off the air for a month or two, right in the middle of the season.
         Christians sometimes take a "mid-season break".  At some time in their life they realized they needed Jesus Christ.  They put their trust in the message of the Bible.  That no one is good, that they deserved God's anger- Hell- but that God sent Jesus to die in their place so that they could someday spend eternity with God in Heaven if they just trusted in what Jesus has done.  They started their new life as a member of God's family!  An exciting life of hope and peace. 
        And then, at some point during this wonderful new season of their life, they take a little break.  Life gets the best of them.  Busyness or stress or trajedy rise and they forget that they have an amazing Savior who cares about every aspect of them and wants to help them get through the tough or hectic times.  Or they want to do something that they know God doesn't want them to do and they feel guilty so they ignore God for a while.  They forget Who saved them and Who deserves their attention.  So they don't listen to what He has to say in the Bible, they don't talk to Him, they stop getting together with other Christians.
         The Bible talks about growing as a Christian.  How we need to act the way God wants us to act and feel the way God wants us to feel.  2 Peter 1:8-9 says "The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins."
         Maybe you've trusted Jesus to be your Savior but right now you're in a mid-season break.  I've had some times like that and so did some of the Christians that God talks about in the Bible.  King David was a "man after God's own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14) and more than once he took a break from living the way he should and was disobedient to God in big ways.  The beauty of salvation is that if you truly, sincerely put your faith in Jesus Christ, from that moment on you belong to God and you will never lose that salvation.  You may have taken a break when you shouldn't have but God will never "cancel" you.
         Now is the time for your return!!!!  Time for new episodes.  And even though I wish the show had never stalled, the mid-season premiere is the most exciting episode yet!
          
         "By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.  And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge,  and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone."    2 Peter 1:3-7

And if you have never accepted Jesus as your Savior, now is the time!  Time for your "Pilot" episode.  God guarantees you'll never be "cancelled"!  2 Corinthians 6:2b "now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."
    

Ancient Aliens?

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                 The History Channel's Ancient Aliens features archaeologists, scientists and UFO believers reviewing evidence of alien visits throughout history.  The show presents theories claiming that archaeological sites, legends and ancient religious texts have been influenced by extraterrestrial visitors.  To be honest, it makes me angry when the show takes a passage from the Bible and suggests that an ancient interaction of the Most High God with humanity was just some creature visiting from another planet!
                 So what's my point here?  What's the connection to the Bible?  Well, I don't know if life exists on other planets or whether there have been any visits from that hypothetical life.  Maybe there have been.  But when I think about the word extraterrestrial, I realize it just means "not from Earth".  So there have been many times when ancient people have had extraterrestrial experiences.  And it's not a mystery.  The Bible tells us all about it! In detail. With locations, names and quotations.  And science and archaeology support what the Bible says.
                  God is definitely not from Earth.  He made Earth!  He made the entire universe and He knows everything!  Talk about credentials. 
                God walked and talked with Adam and Eve.  Interacted with their children.  A man named Enoch walked with God and was taken by God to Heaven before he died.  Noah, Moses, Elijah and many more people acted as God's messengers, telling people what God wanted from them and accurately predicting the future as proof that they spoke God's words.  God Himself came to Earth as a human- Jesus Christ! 
                God doesn't communicate with us through unintelligible crop circles, He wants us to understand Him and so He wrote us a book.  The Bible.  He tells us exactly Who He is, how He feels about us, what He wants for us and what we need.  He has given us the MEANING OF LIFE!
                So much better than some super smart aliens helping people build ancient monuments.  And all we have to do is pick up the book and read.

    "but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name."  John 20:31
     
"How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey."  Psalm 119:103
      
"Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path."  Psalm 119:105


If you want to learn more about how science and archaeology agree with the Bible visit:    answersingenesis.org

Be Better Protected From Mayhem With Jesus

   Who doesn't love the Allstate insurance commercials featuring the battered and mischievous "Mayhem" character?  In each commercial he presents himself as some force in your life that could cause trouble and expense: a raccoon living in your attic, a satellite dish falling off of your roof onto your car, your dog not protecting your home from a team of burglars, your vehicle's blindspot.  The punchline of the ad is always something like "If you have cut-rate insurance you could be paying for this mess yourself.  So get Allstate and be better protected from mayhem like me."  And maybe the classic, "Allstate.  Are you in good hands?"
                  These commercials are hilarious and SO fun!   But mayhem does really happen and it doesn't always come in a small dose like a caved in garage roof or a fender-bender.  Sometimes really bad stuff happens.  Sad, scary stuff that an insurance claim can't fix.  Stuff like sickness, crime and death.  Money from an insurance company can pay the bills but it can't help us on a personal level.  It can't heal our hearts or bring us peace and it can't promise a perfect future.  But God can!  That's exactly why He sent Jesus- to cure our sin problem and get us into Heaven!  If we trust Him to do it, that is.  And if you do trust Him to be your Savior from your doomed self, you have Him forever!  Jesus will never leave you, no matter what!  He can give you peace and comfort no matter what kind of mayhem happens in your life.

 Romans 8:35-39  "Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?  (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”)  No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.  No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."

If you accept His death on the cross in your place, as your substitute, for the forgiveness of all the wrong you've ever done, you're forgiven forever that instant and you will belong to Jesus from that second on.  Jesus promises He will never leave you alone on this earth and you'll someday live in Heaven.  Jesus beat death and so can you!  And He can give you "overwhelming victory" in the midst of all of this life's problems. 

        When it comes to being protected from mayhem, are you in good hands?

Quick Quote

"If redemption was reversible, it wouldn't be redemption."  - Leo Knox, from The Finder on FOX                

"The truth is the Good News. When you heard the truth, you put your trust in Christ. Then God marked you by giving you His Holy Spirit as a promise.  The Holy Spirit was given to us as a promise that we will receive everything God has for us. God’s Spirit will be with us until God finishes His work of making us complete. God does this to show His shining-greatness." Ephesians 1:13-14

Somewhere Only We Know

I was watching a romantic comedy the other day and the song "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane played as the cute young couple got their happily ever after.  It's a piano rock song that talks about needing peace and rest and the singer wants to go "Somewhere Only We Know" to get that kind of security.    

What a beautiful song.  I don't know what the songwriter intended but for me it makes me think of place, a location, that is perfectly unremarkable to the rest of the world but totally meaningful to the characters of the song.  Maybe the place a couple had their first date.  Or a family's beloved backyard.  The couch where friends always spend movie nights.  The boat that a husband and wife spend every weekend on.    Somewhere to escape from the world, to let go of all stress and to be completely yourself.



I have a place like that.  It isn't a location and I don't share it with my boyfriend or sister or mom.  I share it with the Creator of the Universe.  It's a place where I'm completely safe, completely loved, completely known and where everything I say is important enough to listen to.  It's prayer.  It's me and my God.  Prayer is Somewhere Only We Know.

Philippians 4:6-7  "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

     Everyone can have this same place, this same special relationship.  God wants you.  He wants to listen to you, He wants to be there for you, He wants to shower you with His perfect love and forgiveness.  He wants you to know Him.  But you have to want Him too. 
     You don't deserve His love, I don't deserve His love and no one else does either.  But He offers it just the same.  John 3:16  "For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." 
     God sent Jesus to live and die and rise from the dead, all to make up for our mistakes so that we can be forgiven, so that we can get the spiritual "credit" for Jesus' goodness.  But you have to admit you need it, you have to want it and you have to accept it.  That's THE prayer.  That prayer of acceptance is the prayer that begins the rest of your life.  Your new life.  Your eternal life.  A life that no matter where you are you can always pray and God will always listen.  There are no magic words to say, no special circumstances required.  Just you pouring your heart out to God because He loves you, He wants to hear you and He always will.  All you need to do is tell Him that you need Him, that you can't make it on your own, that you're not good enough for Him or for Heaven but that you want Jesus to do it all for you.  And He will.  Immediately you will be God's treasured and special child.  He will ALWAYS listen to you and someday you will see Him with your own eyes in Heaven.
                         Once you start your relationship with God, everywhere is Somewhere Only We Know.

                            
If you have any questions about starting a relationship with God, please email me at emmalurvey@yahoo.com

Mythbusters: Duct Tape Island

So the other day I came across the most charming thing that I’ve seen on TV in a while.  It was a Mythbusters special placing head Mythbusters Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman on a “deserted” island with only the clothes on their backs and a pallet of duct tape.  The challenge was to accomplish as many of the standard "survival" tasks as possible.

It was hilarious and amazing.  Along with a very serviceable hat and two pairs of sandals, they managed to make rope, a water bag, hammocks, a small table and chairs and an outrigger canoe!  And that's just some of the things the duct tape was good for! 

It was fun to watch how useful a roll of tape could be when Adam and Jamie put it to work in different situations.  It might even be able to save your life.

This reminds me of the Bible.  The Bible is God's own Word and is useful in every situation you could find yourself in.  God gives us His ultimate wisdom to help us with relationships, family, kids, work and everything else.  He gives comfort for sadness,  anger, loneliness and pain.  God knows everything about everything and everyone and He wrote a Book for us to help us with everything in life!  

"For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires."  Hebrews 4:12

"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right." 2 Timothy 3:16

And the Truth God offers can not only save your life, it will save your soul if you let it.

" Jesus told him, 'I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one can come to the Father except through me.' "  John 14:6

"so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him."  Hebrews 9:28

Here's a link to the Gideons International website where you can see Bible verses for specific situations:  http://www.gideons.org/ReadTheBible/Helps.aspx

Or you could read the entire Bible here:  http://www.biblegateway.com/

You can Listen to audio versions of the Bible right on your computer by clicking the link below:

http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/audio/

"Jesus replied, 'But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.' "  Luke 11:28

Manly Man

     BASE Jumping.  Rock climbing.  Skydiving.  These are what they call "adventure sports".  You've probably seen tv specials showcasing videos of people crashing and burning (sometimes literally) when attempting the extreme. 

Why do these adventurous people take such big risks?  I can only guess that it's because they love what it feels like to cheat death, to tiptoe to the edge of injury and disaster and live to tell about it. 

            Doing something that the average person is too scared or too weak to do or doing something that no one has ever done before means they are strong.  Tough.  And no one can argue with that.  (Although we can argue that they're a bit crazy.)

  Now I want to talk about Jesus, as usual.  I think that there are a lot of assumptions about Jesus floating around out there and that one of the big ones is that He is weak.  When people picture Jesus Christ, they picture someone quiet, kind and gentle.  And He is those things of course.  But He is so much more!  He is strong, tough, brave and powerful beyond our wildest imagination.  He is good and He always wins.  Jesus is infinitely more tough than Chuck Norris, Jack Bauer and Seal Team Six all rolled into one.

 If surfing is tough, what do you call walking on water? (Matthew 14:25)  Or controlling the weather? (Mark 4:39)  Or willingly submitting to crucifixion?!!! (John 10:18, Matthew 26:53) 

     And strength?  Jesus is the image of the invisible God, He created the universe, He is eternal, He is self-existent and He holds all creation together. (Colossians 1:15-17)  He didn't just cheat death.  He beat it.  He kicked it in the teeth and then shot it in the heart!  Jesus Christ rose from the dead and never died again!  He's alive this very moment. (1 Corinthians 15)

              And He deserves to be respected and taken seriously.  If His power alone doesn't convince you then maybe your eternal destination will.  He died to pay for all of your failures and mine.  All you have to do is admit you need Him.  "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:36

      Jesus Christ is the MAN!  And you can be proud to serve Him!