Godly Insights for the 21st Century Life

Evil may have its time in the spotlight, but love is waiting in the wings~"Waiting in the Wings"-Point of Grace Earlier this month, America voted in its 45th president. Prior to the election, many feared what would happen when our next president took office, with both sides fearful of what the other candidate would do. The results calmed the fears of many, but also kindled the fears of many. Groups of those who were unhappy with who was chosen took to the streets to protest, some peacefully, but also many not so peacefully. This has caused many to become fearful not because of what our new president might do, but because of what the rioters are already doing. There have also been things unrelated to the election that have caused people to be fearful. Two weeks ago, a young mother was killed and her child kidnapped. On Monday, a young man at Ohio State University attacked fellow students by driving onto a crowded sidewalk and then chasing people with a meat cleaver. T

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."~John 16:33 As my American readers know, November 8 is Election Day, and the buildup to that day has been incredibly pretentious, especially in the race for the presidency. Each of the two major parties have a candidate that is hated by everyone in the other party, and even some people from their own. Many people have made the decision to vote for their party's candidate not because they want them in the White House, but because they don't want the other party's nominee in there. There are also many choosing to vote for a third party candidate as an act of protest against their party, even though our nation's two-party system renders any third party candidate not viable. Social media has fueled this mutual hatred and release of venom by making it incredibly easy for even the most seemingly insignificant person to

Those who have read my post "I'm a What, Now?"  will know my frustration with how society defines the term "suicide survivor." Recently I heard about a change in terminology that is just as frightening: those who died from suicide are now said to have "completed suicide" rather than having "committed suicide." The reason is that "committed suicide" makes it sound like the person was a criminal, and they don't want to speak ill of the dead. However, suicide is a crime. It's a crime a person commits against themself and against God. As was pointed out in a response to the post where I initially heard about this new term, if suicide was not a crime, the police would not be able to respond if a person is threatening to kill themself. In addition, if they had used that same deadly force on someone else, we wouldn't hesitate to say they committed murder. Why should it be any different because it was themself they killed? In

Earlier this summer, I had a can of Sprite that was part of its "Obey Your Verse" campaign. However, the verse it was telling me to obey was "Me, I'm supa fly, supa dupa fly," which is not only unintelligible, but also not something that could be obeyed. In looking more into the campaign, I found that most of the verses chosen were this way. While the artists were chosen because of Sprite's history with working with hip hop artists, some of the verses chosen leave a lot to be desired. That got me to thinking about lyrics of some of my favorite songs that not only can be obeyed, but are worthy of being obeyed. Here are some examples: Hawk Nelson, " Sold Out ": I'm sold out I'm no longer living just for myself Running after Jesus with my whole heart And now I'm ready to shout I am sold out I'm sold out With every single step that I take now With every drop of blood left in my veins I'm gonna be making it count I am s

Murder of Christina Grimmie: I was shocked when I first heard about this, and became even more shocked when I discovered that her death was not part of the mass shooting. As a longtime fan of The Voice, I remembered when she was on, and though she was not my favorite artist that season, she did have a good voice. Since her death, I have learned about her faith, and am even more saddened by what happened. A bright light was snuffed out that night by a crazed fan, but fortunately, her family is not going to let her legacy die with her. We shouldn't either. Mass Shooting in Orlando: This was horrible, but what's even more horrible is how some have responded to it. Most people have responded appropriately, but there have been some who have missed the point, and sadly, too many of these people have been fellow Christians. Some have called for stricter gun control. What these people fail to understand is that the gun itself is not what killed these people: it was the terrorist

In the Harry Potter series, one of Harry's friends is a shy boy named Neville Longbottom. He was raised by his grandmother after his parents, Frank and Alice, were tortured into madness by the villainous Bellatrix Lestrange. Early in the series, he is not very good at magic, but is almost unstoppable starting in the sixth book. Many fans have linked this drastic change in his magical prowess to his admission late in the fifth book, after his wand had been snapped in half, that the wand he had been using was his father's. Since the wand chooses the wizard, and that wand didn't choose him, it wouldn't have worked properly for him, but the new one he got as a replacement would have. While I agree with this theory to an extent, I think that there is more to it than that. Neville's parents were highly respected Aurors, or dark wizard catchers, and were tortured because of this. Neville's grandmother, who loved her son Frank very dearly, was saddened by his madne

After going to Winter Jam last month, and then the Tobymac Hits Deep tour this month, I have been thinking about who I would want to see at next year's Winter Jam. Here is my ideal list of artists: 1. Newsong As the founding members of the tour, it would not be Winter Jam without them. 2. Newsboys After seeing both God's Not Dead  and God's Not Dead 2 , I have seen a bit of their infectious stage presence. It would be great to get to see it live next year. 3. Lauren Daigle She was one of the artists I was most looking forward to seeing at this year's Winter Jam, but unfortunately, she got the flu and was unable to sing at a few of the venues, including here in Wichita. I would be very pleased if she would come back to the tour next year for those of us who missed her this year. 4. Colton Dixon American Idol  was cruel enough to schedule their live series finale opposite the Hits Deep Tour's appearance in Wichita. While I was upset at first that he wa

"Judas would have become one of the most powerful witnesses for Christ, had he only waited three days." ~ Adam Hamilton, 24 Hours that Changed the World I have read Dante's Inferno  twice for a class, once in my senior year of high school, and then again in my freshman year of college. In both settings, there was a debate among some members of the class about whether Judas should be in Hell, and if so, should he be in quite the intense spot he was placed in within Hell. After all, His betrayal was necessary for God's plan to redeem humanity, and according to Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, he was destined to be lost. Why then, would Dante choose to place him in such a spot of torture in writing his epic poem? I don't pretend to know where Judas's final destination is, and won't ever know it this side of Heaven. There is however, one factor that could justify the theory that it's a different place than the rest of the disciples: of th

"Yesterday is a closing door You don't live there anymore So say good bye to where you've been And tell your heart to beat again."    ~Danny Gokey, "Tell Your Heart to Beat Again" Today is Valentine's Day, a day where we celebrate love. While for most, it is a happy occasion, it can be torturous for those who are broken hearted. All the talk about and overt displays of affection remind them of all they no longer have. I know, because I used to be one of those people. After losing my grandmother 12 years ago right before Valentine's Day, I hated the holiday for a number of years. The joy of the holiday was overshadowed year after year with the reminder that I would never see my beloved grandma again, and that she would miss many important events in my life, like watching me graduate from high school and get married. I knew that she was in a better place, and that she wouldn't want me to be sad, but that didn't change how I felt. Then

"I can't believe I just said that!" "I can't believe I just did that!" "I can't believe I forgot that!" "I can't believe I lost that!" Statements like these are common for people to make. You've probably said one of them yourself at least once in your life. Despite how common they are to say and to hear, they have become a pet peeve of mine recently. The reason why is fairly personal, but I think it's something that we all should consider. The reason why it's currently driving me nuts to hear or say one of these things is because I have come to realize the meaning behind the words, at least when I'm saying them. I have used these statements as a method to subtly put myself down. When I say "I can't believe I just said that!" or "I can't believe I just did that!", what I'm really saying is "How could I have been so stupid! Why didn't I think before I said/did that? Everyo