Godly Insights for the 21st Century Life

     This summer, Mom and I did some cleaning around the house. One of the things we found was an old CCM magazine talking about the upcoming book and CD set chronicling the 100 greatest songs in Christian music. While the article hinted at some of the songs featured in the countdown, we were really curious to see the entire list. While we could find the track list for some of the CDs, we couldn't see the entire list without reading the book. We had to use an inter-library loan to get it, but it was worth it to be able to uncover the mystery of which songs made the list.     My parents and I really enjoyed reading the book and seeing the choices that the editors made. Some of the songs on the list came as no surprise. (Among the top five were " Awesome God " by Rich Mullins, " Jesus Freak " by DC Talk, and " I Can Only Imagine " by MercyMe.) Some of the songs I knew well, but not their original versions. (I've sung " Soon and Very Soon " ...

"and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor." ~ Luke 6:16 "[Judas] said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it." ~ John 12:6 "Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself." ~ Matthew 27:5 These three verses are a summary of the life of one of Jesus' twelve apostles: he was a traitor and a thief who killed himself. Yet I think there has to be more to the story than these verses convey. Jesus chose Judas for the honor of being one of the twelve apostles, and Jesus would not have chosen him if He didn't have a good reason. We know from Acts 1:21-26 that there were other disciples that could have been promoted because, by the end of this passage, Matthias was. Jesus had to have a good reason why Judas was in the top twelve and Matthias wasn't. Unfortunately, that reason is something we will never know because...

"My God has set me free Opened my eyes, now I can see The devil is a liar And he's not fooling me" ~ " The Devil is a Liar " - We Are Messengers As anyone familiar with my blog probably already knows, my life has not been an easy one. I've dealt with the deaths of people I loved dearly, seen my dream lying shattered at my feet, and at one point saw no purpose left in my life but to end it. The past week has been no exception. I had to deal with a costly repair to my car and students who refused to listen or work. To say that my depression hit me hard on Tuesday would be an understatement. Not only that, but I also developed a headache by the end of the day that lasted well into Wednesday even though I went to bed early that night to try and dispell it. However, I don't tell you these things to try and get you to pity me. Instead, I tell you because these events do not define me, and similar events in your own life don't define you. One of th...

"For it was You who formed my inward parts You knit me together in my mother's womb" ~ Psalm 139:13 The verse quoted above is from a Psalm that beautifully depicts just how well we are known and loved by God. I particularly like this verse because it depicts not only God's provision for us before we were born, but also how He intricately formed us in His image. As a knitter myself, I am well aware of the time commitment and focus required to do it well, and it speaks of a God who cares enough about all of humanity to work so hard to create each one of us. My knowledge of knitting and the words of this passage are also the reason I am against two things that unfortunately are embraced by society, including some of my fellow Christians: abortion and transgenderism. Abortion:  My pro-life stance has been well documented in my posts " Choose Life " and " Unplanned " so I won't go into it much further here. How this verse relates to my stance i...

"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...