I read an article by Brandon, about demons, and I decided to share my personal story of some accounts I had in the past. This is the first time I am sharing this with anyone on-line, but I think it can be an eye opener for some. Demons are very real, I have had my experiences. Let me share one with you. First, let let me give a disclaimer: I don’t smoke, drink, take any kind of drugs, I have no mental problems etc, etc and what I am about to say may sound crazy!! For a few months, about five or six years ago, I was working on a Creation Book and during this time, I had some experiences that led me to believe that I had demon activity in our house. I would be troubled in my sleep almost every night and sometimes when I was taking a nap… read more
Bible
I want to explain a portion of scripture that some may find confusing. I had a friend (who isn’t a Christian) ask me about the Bible talking about it being wrong to have wealth. Jesus does mention that the poor are blessed and that the kingdom of Heaven is theirs. What we must understand is that religious people at that time thought that if you had wealth then you were blessed by God. That meant that anyone who did not have wealth would have been considered unholy and not someone who would be likely going to Heaven. We must also understand that when Jesus came, He really shook up the apple cart. He did not come to hang out with religious people and promote what they were doing. He came to show them how they should be truly living their lives, He came to reach out to those in need…. read more
Amazing! Think on these concepts, on these fantastic truths. Our days are like grass, we flourish like a flower of the field and then are gone. We flourish! We were meant to flourish, to grow, to enjoy life, to enjoy the glory of God, however short our lives may be, we were meant for so much more then we are led to believe. Yet, we do pass away, we die and our place remembers us no more and life goes on for those we leave behind. “But…” O for the many wonderful things that come after the “buts” of the Bible, it is a study I highly recommend doing sometime. “The steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting for those who fear him.” Wow, that’s an awfully long time, way longer than my life, or your life, or all of everyone’s lives added together end to end…. read more
Some people say that it is contradictory that Christians claim to be free, Â when they are required to follow the guidelines in the Bible. What you need to understand is that we are all slaves to sin when we enter this world. It use to be perfect, our relationship with God, but when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, sin entered and we lost that perfect relationship with God. Having a relationship with Jesus frees us from the slavery to sin that we are born into and opens up a means of connection with God. Whether you like it or not, we are all born sinful and the only way to be free is to accept the one who defeated sin, Jesus. If you don’t believe me, that we are all naturally sinful, look at children; they naturally do things that are wrong and… read more
Dan Stevers is a multimedia designer with an effective communication skill and a set of strong beliefs about his place in the world of design and the spreading of the Gospel of Christ. I first came across his work, while searching for inspirational videos on Vimeo and have continued to to be amazed at the quality of his productions. Whatever style Dan uses in his videos, you can bet it will always come out pleasant to the eyes and pulls at the heart strings of your soul. So lets get into another great interview with this talented artist. 1. Welcome to INSPIKS! Please introduce yourself, tell us where you’re from and how you got started in the field of Multimedia. Thanks! My name is Dan Stevers and I’m a church media producer living in San Diego, CA. I got into multimedia at a very young age, making stop-motion movies in… read more
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
Welcome to this weeks edition of the Christian Blog Carnival. The carnival highlights christian thought in the blogosphere by offering readers a broad range of christian thought, it is open to Christians of Protestant, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic convictions. If you’ve never participated before, it’s a great way to make your writings known amongst the community. Check out all the entries below, you should find something of interest, Enjoy! ‘Tis the Season for Giving Giving Gifts In Secret – Shhh! Have you ever given a gift in secret? What did it feel like? Was it like a secret mission, with all the exhilaration of a well executed plot? If you haven’t before, can you imagine the excitement of doing so?… Author: John Frainee Blog: Christian Personal Finance Read Article Giving Grows Your Net Worth A few weeks ago I spoke at a church luncheon. The topic was “money myths” and… 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
Flickr Group Showcase: I am pleased to bring you another showcase of some of the most amazing images from our Flickr Group! Thanks to all the talented artist and photographers that shared their beautiful images in the group this year. We continue to find varied ways of promoting and featuring Christian artist here at INSPIKS. We encourage participation from anyone that wants to share and give inspiration and insight to others. The images below are packed with inspiration, Check em out!  Image Thumbnail: The Persecuted by Forgiven! [sociallocker] Artist remain the original copyright holder of all their materials. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set… 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
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
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
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
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
For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without… read more
I am excited to introduce you to Jad Limcaco. Jad is a Long Beach web designer, he also does graphic design, logos and print design. Jad has served as guest blogger here on INSPIKS and have been featured on websites such as Smashing Magazine and Mashable. He is owner of the popular blog, Design Informer and runs a freelance web and graphic design business called Jad Graphics, he also owns Heart Directed a gallery of art directed blog posts from top designers. Jad enjoys blogging and designing, and sharing his experiences with others. Let’s get into the interview!! 1. Welcome to INSPIKS, please introduce yourself. Could you tell us where you’re from and how you got started in the field of graphic and web design? Hello everyone, my name is Jad Limcaco and I am a web and graphic designer from Long Beach, CA. I actually got started in… read more
This month we have a great roundup of some really exceptional images from our INSPIKS Flickr Group. Thanks to all the talented artist and photographers that continue to share these beautiful images and give glory to God with their talents. We encourage participation from everyone, please feel free to post your images and continue to give inspiration and insight to others. Also don’t forget to check out our exciting interviews with some of the members in the group. God Bless and enjoy! Image Thumbnail: INGNITE by David Choate [sociallocker] Artist remain the original copyright holder of all their materials. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth by Flickr is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise. Please contact the… read more
Each month Best Christian Design has a Desktop Wallpaper Competition sponsored by RedisWhite. They select a number of the best entries and display them each month, giving credit to each designer. The winner receives a Free T-Shirt of their choice from RedisWhite. Each desktop wallpaper must have a christian theme to it eg. Christ, God, Love, Bible, Mission, Evangelism, Worship, etc. Below are some of the wallpapers that have earned top places. To learn more about the contest visit BestChristianDesign.com. Enjoy! DOWNLOAD WALLPAPER DOWNLOAD WALLPAPER King of Kings by Brian Hollingsworth DOWNLOAD WALLPAPER DOWNLOAD WALLPAPER Seven Jeff Heaton from Heaton Design
Ever heard something that just made you chuckle, and at the same time, warm your heart so much you gave praise and thanks to God? We were watching the news yesterday when the upcoming headline was announced, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?“. The headline left me waiting for the answer as they switched to commercial. While we waited for the news to return, I said to my brother, “Here they go again with these wasted researches that we already have an answer to, the chicken came first, don’t they know that?”. My brother and I had a nice laugh, then reflected on why we knew the chicken came first; I explained that maybe everyone does not know the reason why we have that conclusion in our heads, but it just seemed so obvious to us. Bible believing Christians would agree with me that the chicken had to… read more
Cameron Smith is a talented Graphic Designer and Photographer from Peoria, Arizona. I came across his work when I joined one of the most influential groups for Christian Designers on Flickr, the Church Marketing Lab. In today’s interview, we talk a little about Cameron’s design background and his reflection on how churches can use design and marketing successfully. Enjoy! 1.Welcome to INSPIKS, please introduce yourself. Please tell us where you’re from and how you got started in the field of Graphic Design? I am Cameron Smith, Visual Ninja and Creative Catalyst. I used to consider myself just a Graphic Designer – but as my work, responsibilities and surroundings have evolved…. I had to come up with something new. I was born and raised in Southern California and recently transplanted my family to Arizona. I’m a self-taught designer, as I suspect many of your readers may be, and I’ve been working… read more
Clouds are always interesting to look at, most times we can see different shapes in them that captures our imaginations, but what exactly are clouds?, how are they made?. On Earth the condensing substance that form clouds is typically water vapor, which forms small droplets or ice crystals. When surrounded by billions of other droplets or crystals they become visible as clouds. Dense deep clouds exhibit a high reflectance throughout the visible range of wavelengths; they therefore appear white, at least from the top. Cloud droplets tend to scatter light efficiently, so that the intensity of the solar radiation decreases with depth into the gases, hence the gray or even sometimes dark appearance at the cloud base. Thin clouds may appear to have acquired the color of their environment or background and clouds illuminated by non-white light, such as during sunrise or sunset, may appear colored accordingly. Clouds look darker… read more
Jim LePage is a graphic designer and amateur photographer from St. Paul, MN. Jim uses his talent to pursue after God, he also uses his contemporary, sarcastic and fun filled writing style, when communicating what he learns from the Bible. Read some of the articles on his blog and I guarantee you, he will have you laughing out loud and at the same time saying Amen!. Today we will be talking a little with him about design and the Bible and how he has fused the two together in a personal project called “Word”. Ok, lets hear from Jim! 1. Welcome to INSPIKS, please introduce yourself. Could you tell us where you’re from and how you got started in the field of Graphic Design? I live in St. Paul, MN which has the best weather in the world for 6 months out of the year. I have an amazing… read more