Category Archives: Christian

Whether you are interested in learning more about Christianity or you are a Christian who would like to connect with and learn about others and how they keep religion in their families’ lives, this is the site for you!

When Obstacles Come

Obstacles can have one of two effects on a person. They can cause you to decide it’s all too hard and give up, or that can make you all the more determined to persevere. The reality is we are all going to experience obstacles in our Christian life. It might be people at church who are not welcoming and don’t seem to appreciate or even recognize your gifts. It might be a spouse who doesn’t want you to go to church. You have been praying for them for years but nothing seems to change. I know the experience of praying … Continue reading →

Battling with Discouragement?

It’s easy to fall into the pit of discouragement. I’d suggest discouragement is one of Satan’s greatest tools. It’s one I’ve been battling lately. Half the problem stems from a cold or flu bug that doesn’t want to leave and half from trying to get work done and not getting far with it, due to other problems. Sadly, discouragement affects too many people in our churches. It can be easy to feel that what you are doing is not appreciated or even noticed by anyone. It can be easy to wonder why you even bother. Your pastor is not immune … Continue reading →

Words from Within

A friend recently started me thinking about this as she was praying a talk about the church being destroyed from within. It’s a scary thought and yet I can see exactly where she’s coming from. Words are dangerous tools. They can do so much good and also so much harm. Ephesians 4:29-32 has some interesting things to say about unhelpful, unwholesome talk. I find it interesting that it comes straight after a passage about not giving the devil a foothold. He can so easily get a foothold on conversations with gossip, sarcasm, criticism, off color jokes – all things to … Continue reading →

What is a Christian?

Recently I heard several people describe themselves as Christian and there appears to be some misunderstanding over what a Christian is. Let’s start firstly with what a Christian is not. A Christian is not someone born into a particular denomination or religion. As someone said once being born in a garage doesn’t make you a car. A Christian is not someone who goes to church, though many Christians do go to church. A Christian is not someone who follows a set of rules or beliefs, though being a Christian will affect your choices. A Christian is not someone baptized or … Continue reading →

A Lifestyle Choice

Paul urges believers to be living sacrifices, Romans 12:1-2. What does that mean exactly? It means that being a Christian is a lifestyle choice. It affects who we marry, what work we do, the friends we have, what we choose to do with our time. It means that being a Christian affects our day to day choices and decisions. It’s no good being a Sunday Christian and thinking you can do what you like the rest of the week. That means nothing to God. That is not commitment. That is not letting Christ rule your life. These are the type … Continue reading →

Miracle Worker

Sometimes we can be blind to the things God is doing in our world. You often hear people say, ‘If God is so powerful, why doesn’t He do something? Why doesn’t He act in the world and change things?’ You might have even made such comments yourself at times. We might wonder why God doesn’t work miracles as he did in Bible times. Let me assure you He does. Often we just don’t hear about it. But this morning some information came from the Bible Society and it clearly shows God is still at work in the world and still … Continue reading →

What Sort of Advertisement Are You?

Have you ever thought of yourself as an advertisement for the Christian faith and for Jesus? Because that’s what we are in a sense, an advertisement or ambassador for Jesus, 2 Corinthians 5:20. Does the thought that you are an ambassador for Jesus scare you? I admit sometimes it scares me. Whether we like it or not the world is watching us and the way we behave. If others see that we don’t act or speak any differently than that rest of society, they are going to conclude that our faith is of little value. That there is ‘no point … Continue reading →

How To Handle Disagreements – Part 2

So, you’re finding yourself at odds with someone in your church, family or neighborhood. What can you do about it? Someone once said that ‘the faults we notice most in others are those we have ourselves.’ So before we start criticizing and trying to sort out the other person and their thinking and attitudes, it’s a good idea to look at our own lives and ask the Lord to show us what needs to be changed there. Too often we are reluctant to do that. But that’s what growing as a Christian is all about, changing to become more like … Continue reading →

How to Handle Disagreements – Part 1

Whether it’s in marriage, friendships, family, church relationships, community organizations or neighbors, disagreements will happen from time to time. The reality is just because we become a Christian doesn’t make us perfect. It doesn’t make those in our marriage, church or neighborhood perfect either. We still have that human nature to contend with Sometimes it is simply that someone has had a bad day, and the pressure has built up as things have gone wrong till finally they snap. Sometimes it is words misunderstood or misheard. Sometimes it’s because one person isn’t listening. This is often caused by one person … Continue reading →