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

Oprah’s 200-Pound Confession

Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy watching Oprah Winfrey just as much as the next guy, but the way the media has run with her latest confession you’d think that she was taking over Joe Biden’s job as future vice-president. So, what’s the big news from the big O? Apparently, the queen of talk has been doing more eating than chatting and she has ballooned to 200 pounds. According to a written confession appearing in the January issue of O magazine, Winfrey reveals that she has packed 40 pounds onto her former 160-pound self and declares: “I’m mad at myself … Continue reading

Diagnosing the Problem

Today started with a drama. Minutes after being let outside our pup started screaming. I rushed out. I found her still shrieking and our other dog looking guilty. It appeared they had an altercation and she came off worse. When I tried to pick her up, she shrieked even louder. Soon we were in the car, on our way to the vet, with me still in my slippers! The moment we got in the car, our pup started shaking. By the time we reached the vet’s door moments after they opened, our pup was starting to freak out. She knew … Continue reading

Patterns of Prayer

My reservations regarding the 5 finger prayer pattern are it doesn’t incorporate two aspects that I consider essential. They are praise and confession. So I’d like to suggest another pattern for prayer – an ACTION prayer. This is: Adoration Confession Thanksgiving Intercession Outpouring Needs Adoration The first, and what to me should always be our starting point, is praise or adoration of God. We should praise God for who He is and for His unique qualities. Take time to really dwell on the fact that you are in the presence of Almighty God. Adore Him. We have only to think … Continue reading

How To Deal With Guilt – Part 2

Yesterday we considered the first step in dealing with guilt, is the need to admit what we have done wrong. The glorious thing is when we confess our sins to God and truly repent of them, God removes them from His sight. ‘As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us,’ Psalm 103:12 The trouble is though God forgives us and removes our sins, we often struggle to forgive ourselves and remove them from our sight. Instead we keep going back to them as a child goes back and picks over … Continue reading

How To Deal With Guilt – Part 1

No doubt all of us have done things we’re ashamed of and wish we could erase or do over – things that make us feel guilty. That guilt can have far reaching effects on us, on our emotional and physical health and also on our relationships with others. So what can we do to deal with that guilt? And yes I know about guilt. I carried guilt around for a long time before I allowed God to help me deal with it. So what can we do to deal with guilt? The first step is to admit that what we … Continue reading

Clean, But For How Long?

Our puppy loves water. She likes nothing better than to be put in the laundry tub and bathed, unlike our other dog that runs a mile at the mere mention of the word ‘bath.’ She happily gets soaped up, rubbed and rinsed. Since she is low to the ground and is an outdoor some of the time and loves investigating everything, the bathwater ends up an interesting color. Dried and brushed, she looks adorable with her ginger fur tinged with black on ears and around her mouth and on her tail. Unfortunately she doesn’t stay clean long. Too soon she … Continue reading

My Frugal Confession

It seems that I should have written this blog a long time ago, to dispel any myths or confusion about my frugal life. I love frugal living, and I love finding ways to save money and reuse things. Do I do it all the time? Let’s find out. My confession for all of you, is that I am not the most frugal person. In fact, my articles probably make me sound like a totally frugal person, but there are plenty of things I am not frugal on. Yes, I use coupons. Do I ever forget to bring them and purchase … Continue reading

Confession

Who do we make confession to? The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is our advocate. I believe it is Christ who we are to pray to and ultimately confess our sins to. “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2) Prior to Jesus’ coming, Nehemiah gives us an example of confession to God for … Continue reading