Guest Article: "What the Bible tells us"

This is a guest article written by my good friend Brian which I entitled "What the Bible tells us."  Hope it is meaningful!

"God, where are you?"

"God, if you are really there, then why have you put me through all of this?"

I have found myself asking these questions before. And yet when I find myself asking these questions it seems like things only get worse and worse, seemingly to confirm my thoughts that God doesn't care about me, no instead He chooses to let me suffer. And for a while, I believed this to be true. How could it not be so?

But God has three big promises for us; the first of these promises is repeated to us so many times. One of the most memorized and well known bible verses gives us this promise: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but will have eternal life" (John 3:16). This is repeated again when Jesus says to his disciples that "You will know the truth and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32).

Once we know God and we accept Jesus into our lives, we are no longer enslaved to be killed by sin. Instead we are promised that we will be free, we will live forever with God! No matter what happens in our lives here on earth, God is giving us a gift larger than all the birthday presents in the world added together. And the best part of it is, we already know what the gift is!

Ok, so yes that is nice, God promises me that I have something to look forward to, but that still doesn't answer my question about why God isn't here for me now, and why God puts me through all these difficult times.

This brings us to the second promise God has. God is there for us always. In Deuteronomy 31:8 we are told that "It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you: he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." And so this second promise is that God will always be with us. He is not going to just throw us off a helicopter to parachute down into enemy territory. No, instead, He is going be right there with us! He is going to be strapped to us as we parachute into the gloomiest of places. So that is two promises God has given us now. First, that God promises us eternal life! Second, that He never leaves us.

But if God never leaves us, then why does he put me through all the bad things in life?

This brings us to the third promise: God has a plan for us. This plan is different and unique for each and every one of us. This plan may not be all smooth sailing, be we are comforted in James chapter one, verses 2-4 where we are told: "My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing."

You see, God is never going to put us through anything that we cannot make it through. God has a plan, a specific plan for each and every one of us. These trials and hardships we face will in the end make us stronger and prepare us for the rest of what God has planned for our lives here on earth.

This means that God has promised us, first, that He will always be with us, and never leave us. Secondly, that He has a plan for us and that this plan is made specifically just for us, not for anyone else, and that God is there for us through all the difficulties we face no matter how big or how small they may be. Finally, God has promised that we will have eternal life so "do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me [Jesus]. In my father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that there I am, there you may be also" (John 14:1-3).

-Brian

Hope you pulled something meaningful out of this- I know I did.

Your Witness in Christ,

Emily

Guest Article: Icebreakers for Christian Bible Groups

Christian Bible groups are important to help Christians fellowship and learn to live more fully in God's Word. As in any small group, discussion can fall flat if members feel awkward and shy and don't contribute their thoughts. For this reason, it's a good idea for group leaders to open a Bible study session with an icebreaker question. This open-ended question allows group members to feel like experts on a topic, share their thoughts, and leads naturally to a discussion of the Bible verses being studied during the group session.

It is important to make sure to choose an appropriate question. Here are five guidelines to follow when choosing ice breaker questions for your Christian Bible Group.

1. Make sure to connect the question to Scripture. Questions such as "how was your week?" are fine for socializing, but do not serve the purpose of helping members get in the right frame of mind to study the Word. Follow Jesus' example when crafting your questions; note how He often began a teaching by asking a question that would be of interest to His audience but which naturally led to the spiritual principles He was trying to convey. For example, before beginning a discussion about the Prodigal Son, you might ask members how their relationships with their parents or siblings are doing this week.

2. Require every member of the group to answer the question. Ice breakers are useless if only those who are already comfortable in the group answer them. This leads to a situation where only a few members of the group are contributing to conversation, which will make the other members of the group even less comfortable participating.

3. Ask open-ended questions. Ideally, the question should require each member to share something about his or her life. Do not ask questions that can be responded with a simple Yes or No, as these questions do not contribute to a fruitful discussion.

4. Ask questions that allow group members to feel like experts. The questions should be challenging, but not so difficult that group members feel ill-equipped to answer them. Again, look at Jesus' example. He often began His teachings with ideas that were familiar to His audience (see Matthew 6:25-28 for a beautiful example of this.)

5. Participate in answering as well as asking the icebreaker question. It is important to be an example to the members of your group by sharing honestly and openly. In addition, you should be humble enough to realize that you need to learn as well as to teach rather than separating yourself so that the rest of the group learns while you merely teach.

This guest article was contributed by Christine Howell who frequently writes about online degrees and college related topics for Online College Guru, a directory of accredited online degrees.

Guest article: 5 Reasons Bible College is a Good Idea

Hey everyone, Emily here. Thanks for reading. Today I am posting a guest article that I was sent by Adrienne. It has some great advice in it, and even though I don't go to a Bible college, you should always consider it in your college choice. College is more of a necessity than a luxury today, so if your child has always shown an interest in the spiritual, perhaps he or she could consider Bible college; It may not be everyone’s first or even second choice, but there are several reasons why Bible college is a good idea, and they are:

·       It teaches you discipline: When you’re a student at a Bible college, you learn to live a simple life and make do with what you have. You know that discipline and simplicity make for a serene life, one that brings you closer to God. The rules that you live by at this young age make you mature and able to deal with anything that life throws at you. You become a better person because of this experience, one that instills in you values for life.

·       It brings you closer to God: There’s no doubting the fact that Bible college brings you closer to God. You feel his presence through all your activities because they involve the Bible and spirituality. You attend chapel and mass every day and take classes that teach you Christian values, all aspects that serve to bring you closer to God.

·       You earn more than just a degree: A Bible college teaches what a regular college would and much more too. You learn regular subjects and also a lot about spirituality. They teach total faith in God, something that most people learn or realize very late in life.

·       It teaches you to think: When you’re spiritually inclined, you learn to be more open and think things through before you act, in any aspect of life. Bible college teaches you to face challenges more effectively and efficiently.

·       It prepares you for life: Unlike regular colleges that teach you subjects and prepare you for a career, a Bible college prepares you for life. You’re more mature than other graduates your age and are more responsible and able to lead a disciplined and organized life.

By-line:

This guest article was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of online bible college . Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: adrienne.carlson1@gmail.com

Answer to:"How can the bread and wine, transformed, still cause people with gluten allergy to react to the wheat's gluten?"

Hey everyone, thanks for reading ;D

I have been REALLY busy lately, so sorry for the lack of writings.

I received this as a comment a few weeks ago:

How can the bread and wine, transformed, still cause people with gluten allergy to react to the wheat's gluten? How does one explan that it's transformed but it's still got the qualities of the substance? If it's changed, then people allergic to gluten shouldn't react to the gluten, right? Same for those with allergies to the sulfites in wine (me). Yes, we can ask for special no sulfite wine or low gluten hosts, but it's not wine or host anymore after the consecration, it's Jesus!

Sorry about the late response, but here it goes:

So, this is a great question, thanks for asking it!  Now, almost a year after writing this article(Answer to: So what is transubstantiation?), I have learned loads more and hopefully this will make sense.  The bread and wine, the body and blood of Jesus Christ, IS a symbol, and ISN'T a symbol.  Obviously, we are not eating human flesh and drinking blood.  So in that respect it IS a symbol.  But, it also ISN'T a symbol because we believe that it is the body and blood of Jesus Christ.  This sounds super confusing, I am sure, but I do not know of a single person who fully understands transubstantiation.  My other article on transubstantiation was somewhat of a brief overview, and this will hopefully help you out!

God bless you!

Your sister and witness in Christ,

Emily

A Life Lesson from God

Hey everyone.  Thanks for reading : )

Today's subject is about a joke I received, but I do not really think of it as a joke.

It is more of a life lesson from God, and something to think about during this Holy Week.

So, as you read it, make sure you are listening... ; )

Mistaken Identity

A middle aged woman has a heart attack and is taken to the hospital. While on the operating table she has a near-death experience. During that experience she sees God and asks if this is it. God says no and explains that she has another 30-40 years to live.

Upon her recovery she decides to just stay in the hospital and have a face lift, liposuction, breast augmentation, and a tummy tuck. She even has someone come in and change her hair colour. She figures that since she's got another 30 or 40 years she might as well make the most of it.

She walks out the hospital after the last operation and is killed by an ambulance speeding up to the hospital.

She arrives in front of God again and asks, "I thought you said I had another 30-40 years?"

God replies, "Sorry, I didn't recognize you."

Would God recognize you?

Think about it.

God bless.

Your Witness in Christ,

Emily