So this was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Unfortunately it was also one of the most unpleasant places I have ever been, there were thousands upon thousands of mosquito’s. We stayed there for enough time to snap a few shots and then go. We were up there no longer than 10 minutes and my girlfriend had 39 mosquito bites on one leg! It was a great hike though and I would love to go back with some bug spray. My friend asked me the other day who some of my favorite men of the Bible were. That got me thinking and I think that my favorite is Solomon, here was a man who had experienced all the world had to offer and he was not satisfied with any of it. We have been reading through Ecclesiastes in Bible Study and that is where I discovered… read more
Insights
The Lord fills us with His word, the more we drink of the Living waters and eat of His word, the more in the likeness of His image we become…. for it is written to all who would hear and are thirsty and do hunger after Christ Jesus: Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. – Isaiah 55:1 You see, the invitation here is made to all. ‘Everyone’ is entreated to come. It is not offered to the elect only, or to the rich, the great, the noble; but it is made to all. He came for us, the sinner. Our best is filthy rags. It is impossible to conceive of language more universal in its nature than this, and while this stands in the Word of… read more
Went back to a favorite spot to re-take a shot I had done earlier and get a wider angle. I kinda miss shooting waterfalls and I think I need to do some more exploring. I have been thinking lately about how much we are missing out on what God really has to offer. We rarely seem to make sacrifices to God. It seems like things such as all-night prayers and fasting are rarely done. We get so busy with things that we think we have to do, and we don’t take the time to properly honour God. I can’t help but think that if Jesus came back today, the excuses we would have for not fully devoting ourselves to God would seem so pitiful. I don’t mean this to be a bummer message but it is so frustrating, because I think that all Christian can agree, that God is capable… read more
The impact of Facebook is far reaching, even surpassing the developers expectations, it has infiltrated the social media scene like a storm. When Facebook launched in 2004 it was strictly for college students to connect with each other and share information with friends. Facebook went public, but hardly anyone knew about it and it was competing heavily with other social networks like Myspace, today many people are connecting and meeting up with friends and family. Businesses are now using Facebook as a means to increase exposure with target advertising, increase traffic to their websites and develop credibility between customers and their brands. So how has Facebook impacted the Church? First we must clarify what “the Church” is. Most people understand the Church as a building but, the word “Church†comes from the Greek word ekklesia which is defined as “an assembly†or “called-out ones.†The root meaning of “Church†is… read more
Fracture mechanics is the science of studying sudden-failure phenomenon. Materials have a yield strength (the stress under which they will yield) but in many cases materials fail at applied stresses below their yield strength. We Christians have also a spiritual yield strength—a spiritual potential–but in many cases fail to reach that potential because we fail at spiritual levels way below what we are capable of. The Bible is full of such examples, such as: the sin of King David with Bathsheba; King Saul; and of course Samson. Why do structures fail at applied stresses lower than the known yield strength of their material? That’s because all structures contain small flaws (cracks) determined by their material and processing. We, Christians, all have small flaws determined by two things. First, our natural spiritual strengths and weakness. It is a fact that some people are naturally servants, or preachers, etc; and others naturally… read more
Growing up, in my own strength, tall and high, fighting, struggling, wanting. Then cut down, short and flat, just like all the others around me. What am I to do? I want to be tall, like those trees. How’d they do it? So I grow again, taking in my nutrients from the world, taking it all in, just like everybody else. So we grow, big and tall, and I begin to think, “maybe, this time, I will grow tall like those trees”. Then, from behind, comes the sound, the whir, the growl, the blade, cutting all my competition down flat. It passes by, and still I stand, tall and proud. But O, horror, here it comes again, cutting, biting, throwing a cloud of my neighbors to the left of me. I am short and squat once again, and so I fall in despair I crumble, for I will never be… read more
The Bread of Life is the spiritual food needed by man. Without the bread of life man cannot live spiritually. Just as physically man needs to eat in order to live, the bread of life gives nourishment for the soul. Unless one eats from the bread of life we face eternal death. Jesus said in John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. John 6:35 In the Old Testament God provided the Israelite with manna from heaven. They were told only to take what was required for a one day supply and they had to trust that God would send more the next day. The manna served as salvation for the Israelite physical needs on a daily basis. God, however knew of a greater need for the salvation… read more
The other day I was talking to a co-worker about faith and she asked the question what if nothing of what I believe is real? And to be honest, if that were the case, I would have no regrets. I lived an awesome, healthy life doing my best to make the world around me a better place. I think the question that people should really be worried about is what if Christianity is true? What if there is a God who is going to judge us when we die? It says in the Bible that our time on earth will seem like a blink of an eye compared to eternity. Is it really worth living life exactly how we want to for maybe 80 years or so and then spend the rest of eternity paying for it? However, it is so much more than a get out of jail free… read more
I was reading this scripture passage from Psalms 41:9 this morning. This verse just stuck out to me as never before. It reminded me of Jesus and Judas, the one who clearly betrayed Jesus, who supped with the Lord at His table. Jesus knew the thoughts and intents of his heart, for the Lord knows what is in the heart of all men and women. Judas supped with Jesus, he was right there with the other disciples, why such betrayal? Do we know why? The Bible tells us such. Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. Psalm 41:9 As I pondered on the verse, It remind me of how the Lord reveals to us, His children, when we wholeheartedly seek His face for guidance, for His truth in all matters, all areas of our lives. Including when we pray… read more
About a year ago as I got off the bus, two Mormon missionaries standing at the intersection started talking to me. They offered me some reading materials but I refused them and told them that I was a Christian. We spent few minutes discussing our different beliefs. They said, “Just like in the Old Testament times there were prophecies, God sent prophecies to speak again to us about 200 years ago.†I asked them, “Why did God decide not to talk to us through prophecies in those 1,800 years between the ministry of Christ on earth and 200 years ago?†There were no answers. In the summer (I think) of 2006 a friend in Windsor, Ontario took me and my uncle and his wife to her church. It was a small church and I had never been there before. As soon as the service ended this old woman came directly… read more
The gap is massive, the fall horrendous. We stand here, He stands there. We need to cross. We stand alone, about to fall. He stands there, tall and sure on the mountain. We need to cross. We are rooted, drinking up a dying stream. He needs no sustenance for He Himself is Life. We need to cross. How shall we cross, and where is the bridge for such a chasm? We cannot jump for we would fall. we cannot swim for we would drown. We cannot fly for we have no wings. We need to cross but we are rooted, dead and dying with no hope inside and no hope around. We need to cross but we are darkness and He is light so how could we cross? He must come and take us there, yet He must take us on a cross, He must pay the price for such… read more
I was raised in what I would call a semi-Christian home. I was never taught about having a personal relationship with Jesus, but I was taught the real significance behind Christian holidays and I was taught many of the same basic principles of the Bible for living my life. When I was 10 years old, we moved to a new city and some neighbors invited us to attend AWANAS. We began to attend church and by the end of my first year of AWANAS I had given my life to Christ. During my school years I had a great group of Christian friends and as a result I never got into alcohol or drugs or anything like that. It was really easy in my group to stay on the straight and narrow, which was really cool, but I never felt like I made a difference for Christ while at… read more
There is arguably no greater ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ evidence for the existence of a personal intelligent God than the presence and pervasiveness of biological information in all living things. Ponder the testimony of atheistic Biologist Richard Dawkins on the nature of biological information. “…at the molecular genetic level, every single one of more than a trillion cells in the body contains about a thousand times as much precisely-coded digital information as my entire computer…†(The Blind Watchmaker, 1986, xiii). What Dawkins is getting at here is the stubborn fact that DNA, the molecule of heredity, is information rich. “In order for any organism to be whatever it is, its genetic program (DNA) must specify what sort of organism it will be and, within surprisingly narrow limits, what specific characteristics it will assume…The DNA must be faithfully copied to every single cell of an organism that will eventually consist of billions… read more
The Hoatzin, the national bird of Guyana, is an unusual species of tropical bird found in swamps, riverine forest and mangroves of the Amazon and the Orinoco delta in South America. The scientific classification of this family of birds has been greatly debated, and is still far from clear. It is a roughly pheasant-sized bird, with a long neck and small head. It is brown in color, with paler underparts and has an un-feathered blue face with maroon eyes, and its head is topped by a spiky, rufous crest. It is called Stinkbird, the name is related to a strong smell the bird produces, perhaps due to the consumption of leaves. Even though these birds are very attractive and are not great fliers, they are not considered endangered, its survival seems to be more assured than that of many other birds in its geographic location, this is mostly due to… read more
I thought I’d share some thoughts I had while at work today making donuts. I never read the newspaper except when I make donuts because we spread it out to keep the oil from getting all over the nice clean stainless steel tables. Usually there isn’t much worth reading, especially in this small Kentucky town, but today this headline caught my eye, “Evangelical Awed and Amazed by Evolution”, so I began reading. The article really had nothing to do with evolution or creation, nor of the debate between them but rather how Christians are silly to hold to their fight against Evolution which obviously is a fight against science. While I don’t have the statistics or head knowledge to fight like Ken Ham, I know that there are also plenty of evolutionists who are wowed by creation after they make the switch. I was raised believing in creation, that God… read more
Should Christians celebrate Halloween? the answer to this question may be obvious to some, but believe it or not most Christians do not know or don’t care to know about the history behind this much celebrated day. Halloween is celebrated around the world when people dress up in costumes, collect candy from neighbors and have parties, but do we ever take time to think about the origins of Halloween? Most people don’t think twice about participating in it saying “It’s all in fun” or “Its not evil to me”, but is this so called hallow evening really so innocent? Christians are called to be set apart from the practices of the world, especially those with an history of the occult. Watch this intriguing video that shed some light on the practices and history of…Halloween! Relevant scripture on the issue of Halloween and Christians: “When you come into the land which… read more
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the words, LOWLY and MEEK. I was given a dream several weeks ago. I was bent down in the dream, when the shadow of man walked up to me and said that we were going to meet face to face. I knew it was the Lord, Jesus. He asked me when, and in the dream I asked, “How about on the third day?” At first I didn’t understand, because I thought I was bent down working. The Lord revealed to me that we all shall be bowed low before Him and in His presence. I was thinking how meek and lowly Jesus was spoken of throughout the Bible. Meek and lowly has just really been upon my heart lately and I’ve been pondering the words. Pride is an ugly thing and the enemy loves pride, he is the head of all pride, and … read more
The parable in Luke 12:16-21 that talks about the rich man, packs a lot of punch for people like me, though I don’t stockpile money, I do stockpile stuff. I always want the better lens, the better flash, the bigger camera, the lighter tripod, the faster computer. I have been extremely blessed in what I do have and I must learn not only to be content with it but also not to stockpile it, but to use it in such a way as to become rich towards God. And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods…. read more
My daughter has been on my heart a lot this morning, so I thought I would share. If I seem too open, it’s okay, this is me, and life in this world is always real. Jesus didn’t promise that we will have no pain and no sorrow, in fact, if someone preaches blessings and prosperity in this world with no pain or no trials, RUN! Run the other way, because they are preaching another gospel, a false gospel! The one true Shepherd of my soul, the living Jesus who has risen from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and His written word, tells me I will suffer and I will be tested and tried. He also said that there will be pain, but through it all, Jesus is with me and always close. If we were to remain on the mountain top and never… read more
Hi, my name is Tyler A. van der Hoeven, I accepted Jesus Christ as the Savior for my sins at the age of four. Although my salvation didn’t mean a whole lot to me then, salvation isn’t about the saved, its about the Savior, and what He does to those he has redeemed. My testimony isn’t about me and all that Jesus saved me from, but rather its all about my Savior, the only Son of God, part of the triune Godhead, born of the virgin Mary, who lived on earth as the God/man and died on the cross, bearing the full, unrestrained wrath of almighty God against all my sins. I am the worst sinner I know, such a hypocrite, so prone to pride, to take the credit and pass the blame. It is such a wonder to me that God chooses to keep such a one as me,… read more
In my previous post A Dreamer – Escaping The Brokenness of Life, I shared with you a little of my life leading up to me being saved and being blessed with a spirit filled husband, today I will share how The Holy Spirit has blessed me with different gifts in order to share the Gospel. I’m a dreamer. I also am given many visions from the Lord. These are gifts from the Holy Spirit, yes. Joel speaks of this [ Joel 2:28 ] and again in Acts. [ Acts 2:17 ] The journey in Jesus and this walk, is painful and joyous. That is truth. Persecution has come in all different, shapes and sizes. but the outcome of these trials and tribulations is this. Jesus is LORD and He is KING! I become stronger in Christ. To press toward the higher calling in Christ Jesus. To persevere in Him. I… read more
Where does one begin to truly share about one’s self? First and foremost, thank you Lord for opening a door here to share forth to others of Your goodness, Your Mercy, Your grace, thank You Lord. I would like to start out by sharing about Jesus and give ALL to Him, my Friend, my Strong Tower, My Refuge, My Lord and my Savior, My Healer and Provider,  a true Praise, a true honor and heartfelt glory. He is not only a wonderful Savior and Lord,  He (Jesus) is Lord over me and in my life. He gave me life and I have come to realize, I am not my own, as it is written in the Word. I have been blood bought and paid for [ 1 Corinthians 6:20 ]. I desire to please Him, though I fail at times, this is my true hearts desire to live for Him… read more
As we come to the close of our 100 Days Praise Challenge, we want to thank w2wsoul.com and those who participated, gave praise shout outs, and shared their artwork. We continue to give God thanks and praise for the things he has done in our lives, because we really and truly cannot stop giving praise to God. Praise should be a part of our daily lives and should encompass all that we do. Living a life that is surrendered totally to Christ is our ultimate offering of praise. Our Praise Challenge took us through many books in the Bible and we learnt that praise can take many forms for the believer. Singing songs and hymns, clapping our hands, even jumping for joy…the list is endless. We can give glory and praise to our God with the use of our physical bodies, with our hearts and minds, and with our talents… read more
I am so happy to be a Christian; I would’ve rather not have been created, than live life without my heavenly Father. I love to praise Him. I love to sing to Him…my favorite song to sing to Him is “How Great is Our Godâ€, and that’s for the simple reason: it is the only song I can sing without butchering very badly! LOL! I am not writing this because of my easy life, actually this morning I cried my heart out and I didn’t even find a taste in my breakfast because my heart was crying inside that I could not feel anything on the outside. But we can either choose to draw closer to Him through those extremely troubling and painful times, or we can choose to drift away from Him. The Bible mentions many names, more than anyone can remember, but only few names stand out from… read more
