CCFW BLOG
The word “amazing” is an adjective that we use to describe something we think is astonishing, astounding, eye-opening, jaw-dropping, stunning, or stupefying. The problem in our day and age is the effect of the law of diminishing returns…nothing really amazes us. We have been so over-exposed by instant access to everything “spectacular” that we shrug off the truly amazing as ordinary and commonplace.
It turns out that being thankful can have many positive health effects: more intimate and connected relationships, less depression, diminished likelihood of developing post-traumatic stress disorder, more motivation and engagement, better sleep, and overall mental well-being. So says Dr. Gail Saltz, psychoanalyst and assistant attending physician at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Medical Center and clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine.
Keep your fork??? Stay tuned. The end of the story is the whole point of the story. It is fascinating how Hollywood is obsessed with sequels, but in God’s four-act story of the universe, there are no sequels and everything leads to the finale.
Act 1: The creation of everything by God
Act 2: The corruption of everything. Adam and Eve sinned against God, so we all experience the fall.
Act 3: The cross of Christ resolves the sin problem and provides deliverance for all who believe in Him.
Act 4: The culmination of everything in Christ’s return, the new heavens and new earth and His eternal kingdom.
Are you willing to do for the truth what the cults do for a lie?
Ever heard this question? Ever stopped to contemplate its implications for your life?
If we truly have the only gospel truth that can rescue us from eternal danger (and we do) and Satan is committed to spreading his damning lies through false religion (and he does), then what does that mean about our witness? Are we willing to allow Satan’s evangelists to out-share us?
Growing in our love, courage, and passion for the proclamation of God’s revolutionary gospel (the saving death, burial, and resurrection of His Son) needs regular attention and encouragement. Allow the following truths and quotes to impassion and motivate your heart to another level of gospel living and gospel sharing.
read Psalm 37 on Wednesday as part of my daily reading this week. Though I have read this psalm many times before, something was different this time. It came to life in a fresh way, perhaps due to how much of the news seems to progressively reveal the endless ways depravity is leaking out into our world.
Read a few of the Wednesday news headlines: Riley Gaines demolishes Biden after he vows to veto measure protecting women’s sports; Woman fatally shot by homeowner after car pulled into wrong driveway; Christian faces prison time for reading Bible outside of drag queen story time; Teen overdoses on common household drug in deadly TikTok challenge;
I re-read an excellent article written by pastor George Lawson entitled “50+ Results of Jesus’ Resurrection from the Dead” and thought it was a great follow-up to Easter weekend.
How blessed we are to serve a risen Savior, live by resurrection power, and look forward to being with and like Christ in our new resurrected bodies!!!
P-O-W-E-R! Three of the most powerful words in Scripture are “He is risen,” and the apostle Paul was driven to “know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Phil. 3:10).
Science has advanced in ways we never imagined, but science has never been able to overcome death. Only God has defeated death, and He displayed this powerful reality through the bodily resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ, and this power is given to all His children.
What are some of the dimensions of resurrection power? Let me spell out five qualities of this P.O.W.E.R.
Well, it happened again. For the second year in a row, our bookkeeper, Jennifer Minami, has ummmmm…uhhhhh…clearing my throat…WON the staff March Madness Basketball Tournament Picks. It was announced on our All-Staff TEAMS channel, and as I read all the congratulations piling up, I noticed they were only coming from the gals. Then Jen posted this: “Yep! That trophy looks good on my desk. Feel free to stop by my office and check it out 😎.” Ouch, that stung.
What’s the best diet on the market? That depends on who you ask. You will likely get as many answers as the person you ask. Wikipedia provides what appears to be an endless list of diets which they define as “the sum of food and drink that one habitually consumes.” They list various categories of diets like belief-based diets, calorie and weight control diets, crash diets, detox diets, diets followed for medical reasons, fad diets, vegetarian diets, and other diets. Check it out: List of Diets It’s exhausting just to peruse the list.
Jesus brought up the concept of diet when he quoted an Old Testament passage to ward off Satan’s first attack on Him after not eating for 40 days and 40 nights (Matt. 4:3–4; Luke 4:3–4). As a man, Jesus was physically hungry (Matt. 4:2), but instead of focusing on Satan’s temptation to miraculously give Himself some food from rocks, He quoted Deuteronomy 8:3, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God,’” to highlight God’s best and most nutritious diet of all.
It seems we’ve all heard something like this: “perspective can make all the difference in the world.” Is this really true or just another one of those therapeutic clichés?
We can all agree that a person’s perspective does make a difference and many times a big difference. How you view yourself and the world around you will greatly influence the way you experience life. Are you a person who sees the glass half-empty or half-full? We know the sun never actually rises or sets, yet our perspective makes it appear to. Our sunset is another’s sunrise.
One of my favorite stories about perspective is this letter a college student wrote to her parents:
What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word “faithful”? A person? A product? A pet? The sunrise or sunset? Rain in Washington?
Why is it we remember so little about the hand-picked tribal leaders of Israel: Shammua, Shaphat, Igal, Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi, or Geuel and remember so much about Joshua and Caleb? In a nutshell, the first ten were faithless and the last two were faithful.
From Edi:
We want briefly to recap what has happened with Bona’s situation and where we are now.
Few years ago, when we saw that the function of the kidneys for Bona has started to drop, her older brother said that he was ready to help if the need was going to come to donating his kidney for Bona. (Bona has 2 brothers, one older and one younger than her). We did talk with both brothers, when we heard in August from the doctors in USA that her kidneys were failing, to consider donating the kidney and both of them did not take it well. Actually, they were both very upset that Bona shared this need with them. They started to not talk with Bona anymore and this was a heartbreaking situation because Bona was felt abandoned at the most difficult moment. And what was more hurting was that they were not talking to her anymore and stopped any communication with her.
Everybody is talking about what has been taking place at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, ever since a normally scheduled chapel service on the morning of February 8th turned into a special move of the Spirit in prayer, repentance, and worship. It continues to grow in number and has been spreading around to other schools and attracting the attention of the news media.
So, what should we think? How should we respond?
Recently, I had someone ask me how they could communicate the gospel truth to a few people who had misunderstandings about Christianity yet showed an interest in knowing more.
I suggested sending them the following questions that are designed to prompt a search for ultimate answers about the truth of the gospel. Maybe you know someone who is showing interest and needs to do some more digging and consider the answers to these questions.
This last Sunday night, 12.4 million viewers were exposed to a shocking presentation during the 65th annual Grammy awards for the music industry.
Devil worship.
Of course, all the normal superficiality and lewdness were on display at the Grammy’s, but what happened on stage with artists Sam Smith and Kim Petras was unprecedented.
A few years ago, I read this great tweet by Dustin Benge (Associate Professor of Biblical Spirituality and Historical Theology and Vice President of Communications at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY, where he also serves as a senior fellow of The Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies).
The Scriptures are chock-full of warnings about the ugliness of pride and the blessing of humility.
Ouch: “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; assuredly, he will not be unpunished” (Proverbs 16:5).
WOW: “But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, who trembles at My word” (Isaiah 66:2b).
The summary? “Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but give grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5b).
An interesting title caught my eye this week: “19 Mind-Blowing New Year’s Resolution Statistics (2023).” The opening line said this: “The New Year’s resolution statistics don’t lie…” Here are a few of the highlights or lowlights. You can read the whole analysis if you care to.
38.5% of US adults set New Year’s resolutions every year.
59% of young adults (18–34) have New Year’s resolutions, which makes it the largest demographic that sets these goals.
48% want to exercise more, making it the most popular New Year’s resolution. The top 3 are all health-related.
But these, in particular, caught my eye:
It seems like everything these days comes with some kind of warning. I guess it keeps the liability attorneys well-fed and corporations well-protected and consumers well-notified.
On the wrapper of a Fruit Roll-Up snack: “Remove before eating.” (Thanks for the heads up.)
On a remote control for a TV: “Not dishwasher safe.” (So glad for this, since that would have been my first thought.)
On a pack of Breath Savers: “Not for weight control.” (Hmmm, maybe their taste makes you feel like you’re losing weight??)
On o container of underarm deodorant: “Caution: Do not spray in eyes.” (Oh my, such a critical warning.)
So much for the warning label industry that keeps us well-informed and…safe.
