Faith brings life-changing trust. Faith is also a gift. There are three basic phases to Christian faith - what are they and how do they work? Watch this short vlog and then listen to the podcast of the same name.
Is Christian faith the same as having trust in other people? How does it compare to hope? Are we given faith or does it develop?
Sometimes we go along with everything running full steam ahead and we feel very close to the Lord. Other times, life gets in the way and our Christian world seems distant and less important. How do we get that zeal back? Watch this short vlog and then listen to the podcast of the same name to get that OOMPH back in your life!
…But do you trust me? Such a question pierces right down to the heart of any matter, for true trust is sacred. Any relationship - be it family, friends, business or otherwise - will thrive when trust is intact. With trust, growth, change and the conquering of obstacles are all not only possible but probable. With trust there is security. When trust is broken – and it can be broken in an instant with a single word or action – any relationship is headed for shipwreck upon the rocks of disappointment and despair. Rebuilding after such a shipwreck is a long and difficult process. So, how can we learn to trust the right things in a deep and secure fashion?
Hope is perhaps the most vital element of life. With it one can do amazing things, overcome seemingly impossible odds, achieve remarkable results and find true and deep meaning in life. Without hope, we doubt, falter and crumble. Without hope we often leave the greatest achievements unachieved, the greatest discoveries undiscovered and the greatest opportunities unfulfilled. So, what is hope and how can we have it transform our lives?
Life is difficult – it is full of trials, tragedies and trauma. Sometimes it overflows with grief and pain. For most of us, there is an ebb and flow to all of this and we work at coping with and learning from these difficulties. For others however, the pressure of the pain and grief never seem to relent and they begin to despair of life itself. Sadly, some bring that despair to its fruition and end their own lives. Suicide – it is a serious issue that plagues humanity. What drives people to this final decision? How can we better understand it to help those in need? Does God forgive suicide?
Here we are just a few days before Christmas 2012. This is a time when there is usually a magic in the air, an excitement for friends, family and good cheer. Usually, that is the case – but not this year. No, not this year. Something happened, and as a result the giddy joy is gone. We have suffered a great loss. A few short days ago, an unimaginable crime was committed and 27 people, 20 of them 6-and 7-year old children, had their lives taken from them, brutally and without mercy. Today we honor their memory and recognize the pain of their grief-stricken families and friends. Today we also search to find how the hope of the true meaning of Christmas can give us – all of us - strength to cope, strength to stand, and strength to begin to move forward.
It happened just a few short weeks ago, but by now we are almost de-sensitized to the horror. In many ways we can feel like it’s just another story of a senseless killer randomly taking lives. But it’s not – what it is, is a chronicle of a world filled with inequity and evil, in which those who are innocent suffer and die and there are no real answers as to how to stop it. Is there someone to blame? Is it parenting? Is it education? Is it religion? Is it atheism? Is it freedom? Is it guns? Is it easy access to violence? Is it God? How do we begin to put these tragedies into some perspective? Stay with us – there IS an answer!
Losing a loved one, especially a child, can bring unbearable pain and anxiety. It can cause us to question even those things we hold dearest – even the existence and plan of God. We will look into this grief and into God’s plan to try and understand where God is when tragedy strikes.
When we look around us these days, what do we see? The world is on fire with social unrest, the financial markets are riding tidal waves of volatility, our national debt is about 900 miles high, unemployment just doesn’t seem to go away and to top it off, the average person seems far more restless and unhappy than ever before! We have all heard the saying “hope for the best,” but the best of what? And what does it mean to hope? Stay with us as we look into hope – what it is, how it works, and how it can truly be a positive and life-changing experience in such a troubled world.
