Godly Insights for the 21st Century Life

"Those here without the Lord, how do you cope? For this morning we don't mourn like those who have no hope." ~ Newsboys, " Breakfast " "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope" ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:13 Most of the time when I'm asked what my favorite song is, I tend to say the name of whatever song is speaking to me at that time. Christian music is full of so many great songs, and it always seems that another great song is released several times a year. It's almost impossible to choose just one to be an overall favorite, but a few years ago, that's just what I did. That song is the very one quoted above, "Breakfast" by the Newsboys. So what about this song makes it my all-time favorite? Yes, it's incredibly goofy, which some people don't like about it, but it also has some deep theological truth interspersed among all t...

 "The thought that makes me smile now Even as the tears fall down Is that the only scars in Heaven Are on the hands that hold you now." ~ " Scars in Heaven " - Casting Crowns     The sermon this past Sunday was about Jesus appearing to His disciples after the Resurrection, Thomas not being there, and his subsequent doubt. While this is a typical sermon topic for the Sunday after Easter, this time I started thinking about how this story relates to the song quoted above. What Thomas needed to see to believe in the Resurrection were the scars on Christ's body.     Revelation 21:4 states, "Death will be no more, mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." To me, that means that any limitations we had in our lives, including our scars, are gone once we enter those pearly gates. I know a woman who struggled with mobility problems her whole life, which required her to wear ugly orthopedic shoes. After she died earlier...

If you read my post, " Road Trip Reflections " you know that I listened to some older albums on my road trip to St. Louis. One thing I meant to put in that post, but forgot to, is how listening to those songs brought back memories of when they first came out. I considered going back and adding that point, but I decided not to because those songs aren't the only ones that are reminders of my past, either because of what was happening in my life when I first heard the song, a past event that I was reminded of the first time I heard the song, or what happened after I knew the song well that drove me to the comfort the song provided. Most of the time, the memories are positive, but there are a few that bring back bad memories. Here are some of the songs that take me back, starting with some I listened to on my trip. Steven Curtis Chapman-" Fingerprints of God " This song originally came out in 1999, but when it really started speaking to me was two years later. ...

"Jesus said, 'I am the  way, the truth, and the  life.  No one  comes to the Father except through me. '" ~John 14:6, emphasis mine Recently, I saw a post on Facebook asking fellow Christians if they struggle with the idea that belief in Jesus is the only path to eternal life. The author went on to mention how devout Jews faithfully follow God as well, but don't believe in Jesus, and how many people live their entire lives without ever hearing about Him. He even went on to say that scientists believe that there are other planets that may support life, and that these aliens, if they exist and have sufficient intelligence to form a belief system, are overwhelmingly unlikely to believe in Jesus because He is an Earthling. You just can't make this stuff up people! Until he devolved into talk about extraterrestrial life, I could see where he was coming from, to an extent. There are great people throughout history who were not Christians, and it seems wrong for ...