What if...

I do not know how many of you have had the priveledge of seeing Facing the Giants. However, if you have not let me encourage you to do so. It is a Christian film, but one that does an extremely good job at both being morally correct and having good screen play. Let's face it. I am a big fan of Christian movies, but except for a handful of them most seem to be low budget films. Facing the Giants on the other hand teaches both a great lesson and captivates its audience. Okay, enough about the movie, now, what can we learn from it.

In life I know each of us faces giants of our own. Fear...Pride...Anger....Siblings...School...Parents...Unsaved Friends...Confusion...Worry...Peer Pressure...and the list could go on. Through the plot of the movie the question is raised, "Why are we here?" The answer is simple, and yet so unattainable for most of us. "We are here to let go and let God. To give Him everything so that He will be praised." The irony is that I often think life is all about me. I make my college plans, my career plans, my dating life, my schedule... basically my life. However, did I not trade all of that for the forgiveness at the cross? All of these "my's"  sounds an aweful like Lucifer in Isaiah 14.

You are all probably familiar with the WWJD fad that occured a couple of years ago. There is an excllent book based on that, but the name escapes me at the moment. Either way, the book is based around the idea of what would God do if an entire town lived as they believed Christ would live. It is amazing that work that God brings about. Now I realize that both the movie and the book are fictional peices of literature, but does that mean that God is out of business for today? I don't think so. I believe that He can and will bring about amazing work when the soil is ready.

"Two farmers prayed to God desperately for rain. However, only one went out and tilled his field to prepare for the rain. Which farmer had more faith?"

Is your soil ready.  I wonder, is our own life ready for the work of God?  You may not see the rain yet, but that means that God hasn't sent it yet. That does not mean it isn't coming. There might be a terrible huricane rising across this nation. This might be the calm before the awesome storm of God's power. What if...what if I gave all now? How much bigger of a storm would God send?

What If I Give All?

Words by Ray Boltz, Music by Ray Boltz and Mark Pay

He heard the preacher say
A single dime can feed
A hungry boy or girl
With nothing to eat
So he pulled a dollar
From the pocket of his jeans
And he asked his mama
How many will this feed?
She just smiled
And when she told him ten
He reached back again

CHORUS:
What if I give all I have?
What will that gift do?
My child, a gift like that
Could change the world
It could feed a multitude
He didnt close his eyes
Or turn away
I can see him standing tall
He saw the need
And I can hear him say
What if I give all

Three birthday dollars
Could have bought a special toy
But he reminds me
Of another little boy
Who gave to Jesus
A gift of fish and bread
I wonder if he said

CHORUS (repeat)

And long ago a Father and a Son
Saw the children lost in sin
Can you see the tears
In the Fathers eyes
As Jesus says to him

What if I gave all I have?
What will that gift do?
My Son, that gift
Will change the world
It will free the multitudes

What if I give all I have?
What will that gift do?
My child a gift like that
Could change the world
It could feed a multitude
We cannot close our eyes
And turn away
When we hear His Spirit call
We see the need
Now let Him hear us say
What if I give all?
What if I give all?

Okay, once again, it has been quite a while since anyone posted here, but I have at last found a theological topic that I am having issues with, so here goes.  It's more of a question, really.

In Bible class lately, we've been learning about the impeccability of Christ (basically, His sinlessness).  While I agree with that completely, their premise is that Christ was unable to sin.  Nothing this world had to offer had any temptation to Him; He was immune to the desires we struggle with.  Now, I will agree that, in a sense, He was unable to sin, because then He wouldn't be God.  And I know that sometimes just the thought or desire qualifies as sin, so He couldn't have done that.  But what comes to mind is the verse Hebrews 4:15 - "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin."  If Christ was "impeccable," if He was totally insusceptible to sin, how was He tempted?  How can He sympathize with us?  I guess I just don't get it.  If anyone has any insight on the issue, it would be greatly appreciated.

-Stephanie          

First, let me post a disclaimer. I am not a supporter of abortion. In no way do I believe that it is moral, ethical, or spiritual. Abortion is the innocent taking of a human life. That is commonly referred to as murder and I am a huge fan of the death penalty for murderers.

I don't have the answer for this question, so that is why I am posting it here. You are all smarter, wiser, and probably closer to God. Please, again, I stress that I don't support abortion. (someone is going to accuse me of that I know)

Roughly 1.2 million children are aborted in the United States every year. Since the start of legalized abortion more American babies have died then all the peoples (from all the countries) involved in WWII, Vietnam, Korea, and Desert Storm. That is over 43 million babies. This is an atrocity. Now, here is my question. A commonly held belief is that there is an age of reasoning when one needs to become saved. In other words, before a person has the knowledge to know that they need to be saved they are automatically accepted into heaven. (taken from the fact that David's baby went to heaven even though it died as an infant) Now, this age is different for every person and only God knows it, but it could be presumed that all the babies killed by abortion were probably a little young to understand that they needed God. That would mean all of those babies are in heaven, right? So, there are 43 million additional people in heaven due to abortion. Now, if all of those babies were allowed to live, how many would have become Christians? Twenty percent? Thirty percent? I don't know. Maybe there was a revival preacher among them who could have converted most of the world? Only God knows what was planned for their lives, but I know that because they died as infants seventy percent of them have eternity with God opposed to hell. So, I am not asking is abortion bad. I believe it is. I don't know what I am asking, except for your input.

Again, please don't think of me as heartless for thinking this stuff about an evil practice. I could not voice what I am thinking, but I consider it better to voice it and get true answers then keep on wondering. Thanks for your input.

                                                                                                     Daniel D.

Well, it's been quite a while since anyone posted here, so I thought I'd bring up a topic that may or may not be debatable.  It's more of a question, really.  This is something that I always used to use to back up my "I'm never getting married" stance (back when boys had cooties), and now it's just confusing to me.  Here it is: if marriage is such a good thing, why does Paul seem to be so against it?

Maybe you've never thought of Paul as being anti-marriage, but he certainly seems so to me in I Corinthians 7 (yes, the ever-popular "don't touch a woman" chapter, but we won't bring that particular verse up again).  Verses 7-9 read: "For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that.  But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion."  It almost sounds as if he's saying, "Fine, if you have to get married, I guess it's okay, but that's certainly immature of you."  He goes on in verses 25-40.  I won't post the whole passage here, but I'll give you some of the highlights: vs. 28 "But even if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Nevertheless such will have trouble in the flesh, but I would spare you."  Vs. 32-35 "But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord.  But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife.  There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband.  And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction."  Vs. 38 "So then he who gives her in marriage does well, but he who does not give her in marriage does better."  And vs. 40 "But she is happier if she remains as she is [i.e., single], according to my judgment—and I think I also have the Spirit of God."  It would seem that Paul doesn't look very kindly on the practice of marriage.  I find this rather confusing, as no one else in the Bible seems to condemn it (although I can't think of anyone at the moment who outright recommended it, either).  So yeah . . . any thoughts?  Any light you may be able to shed on the subject is welcome.

-Stephanie D.

Well, I don't actually have a spiritual topic to debate, but I thought this site should be updated. So that you don't think reading this is a waste of time I will tell you about a spiritual topic that I found interesting.

My sister, Sara, was mentioning to me the other day that she finds movies really shallow. She said that often times when the movie is at its climax, the audience sympathises with the unimportant. The analogy she used was in movies like Day After Tomorow where thousands of people are being killed by a massive tital wave, and yet the emotion of the audience is with the dog that the homeless man is calling. We are caught up in "Poor little Foo Foo" and forget about humanity. This reminded me of Matthew 8 where two men's lives are completely restored. Two men who had had demons inhabiting their lives for a very long time were finally set free. These men had an obvious outward change as well as the inward change. However, the "audience" of that town wasn't concerned about the spiritual change but about the lost pigs. It got me thinking. If I had a flat tire I would be annoyed. If my flight got cancled I would be frustrated. If I couldn't make it to a week of camp because I had to be in the hospital I would be devistated, but then again, I would be acting like the townspeople in this chapter. Don't let the physical get in the way of the spiritual. Flat tires mean opportunity to talk to some mechanic, who you never would have met otherwise. Cancled flights leave you plus a lot of other people, who need a little love, together in an airport. Being laid up in a hospital gives you nurses, doctors, patients, and housekeepers to interact with.

I am not speaking as if this is some peak I have climbed, but this is a mountain that I now see ahead of me.

-Daniel