This One Thing TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: “…I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.” Philippians 3:13, NLT TODAY’S WORD: Are you focused on forgetting the past? Many people don’t fully understand what that means. They wonder, “How can I forget something that’s happened to me?” But one definition of the word forget is to “disregard intentionally or to overlook.” What this verse is saying is that you have to choose to disregard your past so that it doesn’t keep you from moving forward. That means the good and the bad. Even our past victories can sometimes keep us from rising higher. If we don’t let go of the old, we’ll never be able to embrace the new. It doesn’t matter what’s happened in your history, it’s time to forget what lies behind. Make the choice today to look forward. Trust that God has… read more
Holy
Education is just knowledge you acquire to be able to practice a certain profession–it is nothing more and nothing less. It does not make you godlier, it does not make you love the Lord or others more, it does not make you more understanding or forgiving—it simply does not change your character to be more like Christ. The Holy Spirit is the only person who can change your character to the likeness of Christ’s character. He may use your education experience as a tool to change you, but education itself had not changed you—the Holy Spirit did. Education does not even have an eternal value unless you use it to glorify God. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.†Of course, you cannot choose a career that is by definition dishonouring the… read more
When I write I target a very small percentage of Christians. In this writing I am targeting even less–no more than a handful of ladies who are actually seeking to get closer to our Lord, to please Him, to live for Him a holy and blameless life. I am seeking those few ladies who are asking, “What can I do to get closer to Him? What can I do to be more like Him? What can I do to take my faith to the next level.†Let me tell you a story: Few years ago I was working in a warehouse as a general laborer. One day after I finished my lunch I decided to go sit in the warehouse reading my Bible for few minutes before my lunch time is over. So I sat on a box and I opened my Bible and prayed to the Holy Spirit to… read more
Now, here is what I think are some of the reasons immodesty is such a big sensual problem in the church today: 1) I believe, the biggest problem with immodesty is that it is a very well disguised idolatry. Anything that we replace God with to make us feel whole, to fulfill us emotionally, to make us feel wanted and desired, to lift our self-image, to make us reach our goals (such as attracting a husband-to-be), or to make our lives feel complete is an idol. For example, a man does not lust for the sake of lusting: a man lusts because momentary this physically attractive woman makes him feel a satisfaction he hasn’t fulfilled with his relationship to Christ. The same applies to other sins such as getting drunk–nobody gets drunk to make a fool of himself—people get drunk to escape a reality they do not like because they… read more
I learn by examples best, so I think the best way to explain what being born-again means is through an example: Let us say you are a cat, and you want to live as a human. So you start your day by trying to wash your face but the sink is too big for you and the faucet was not designed to be turned on by paws. Then you try to make the bed but the bed is so big–because it is a human bed–that there is no way you can do it. Then you try to put on a shirt but shirts were designed for humans so they will not fit you and you cannot button up the shirt with your paws anyway. Even if you succeeded in doing those tasks the fact of the matter is that you are still a cat. You can try to pretend to… read more
Eight years ago I took a sexual purity online course, and it was the best Christian teaching I got. It was a daily online course for two months and I loved every day of it. One thing though I disagree with them is that they said many members who do not follow the precautionary rules (such as: move your computer to an open space in the house, or install Internet filtering software, or acquire an accountability partner, etc) fall back into sin even though they were free from it for a period of time. The problem I have with that statement is that I believe a person is only truly free if he is free on the inside through being set free by the power of the Holy Spirit. I think the best way to explain this topic is by talking about what it means to be born-again and what… read more
I took this photo at the Jesus in the City parade in Toronto. At first I wanted to make everything black and white except for the robe of the actor who is portraying our Lord Jesus Christ, then I realized this will make the robe the center of attention so I changed my mind. Here I just want to talk about the crucifixion. In 2004 a non-Christian co-worker told me that he went to watch The Passion of the Christ movie and said it was very brutal then added, “But it wasn’t the worst [physically] torture that anyone had endured.†Of course, he was right: our Lord did not endure the most physical torture in the history of mankind, because some men were crucified for days before they died, many others died more horrible physical deaths. As far as we know the two thieves who were crucified alongside our Lord… read more
Jesus did not just say to dwell in his love only, but his truth as well. Love alone will not save anyone from Hell but love with the truth will. Jesus is the truth and told only the truth and we should as well. The love Jesus asks has loyalty it means for us to stand against opposition no matter where it will lead. Can love bring unity? If one wants to disregard the truth it certainly can! But it is not honored by God, only man. When we read Gods love was shed abroad in our hearts, this means we have his heart a new nature that cares differently than before. We were born by an incorruptible seed, the word of truth. When people say we should accept everyone to unite even if they do not believe the same, we compromise the truth. It is not true love to… read more
Today I watched the Francis Chan sermon called “Holiness†and he talked about some verses that we don’t normally hear about. “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For ‘the two,’ He says, ‘shall become one flesh.’†1 Corinthians 6:15-16 The image that Paul paints here is very strong. You see as Christians we are all part of the body of Christ, this isn’t something to be taken lightly. We all know that sexual immorality creates a spiritual bond between two people. When we are involved in sexual immorality as Christians, whether it be pornography or sexual activity outside of marriage, it’s forcing the spirit of Christ within us to engage… read more
I want you to know that the theory of evolution looks pretty good if you look at it from a distance. When you get right down to the `nuts and bolts` of evolution, it is in deep trouble. One of the leading scientists of this age has called evolution `incredible`. The definition of `incredible` is not `amazing`. `Incredible` literally means `without credibility`. He said that “the problem is, the only alternative is creation.” In effect he meant that since he `knew` creation is `wrong`, he HAD to believe evolution. This was not a man making fun of creationism. This is a scientist, and true scientists all over the world realize that the theory of evolution is in deep trouble. Yet they cling to it, because to do otherwise would be to admit the existence of God. In the 1800`s and in the past, we knew so little about the life… read more
There are billboards, bumper stickers, park bench ads, bus wrap ads etc., all over America, announcing that Judgement Day will occur on May 21, 2011. Most of these announcements are accompanied by the notice that, ‘The Bible Guarantees It.’ The man behind these bold and frightening proclamations is Harold Camping, leader of an Oakland-based “Christian Ministry” called, Family Radio Worldwide. Mr. Camping recently told the Associated Press that the Bible acts as a calendar, by which the dates of the prophesies can be calculated. Mr. Camping apparently has done the necessary calculations, and he has determined that the Day of Judgement will take place on the 21st of May. Unfortunately, Mr. Camping is not the first to brainwash people into these false teachings, here is a list of so called dates predicting Jesus’ return. “Perhaps the most notorious date-setters have been the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The group has been forced by… read more
“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to… read more
The Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is truly the wonder of all wonders. It seems that the more we know our God the more we realize there is so much more we don’t know. Yesterday as I moved to the back of the streetcar I smelled this terribly disgusting smell of someone who really needed to take a shower. The smell was so strong almost all the streetcar smelled bad except the very front of it. I immediately moved back to the front and sat there, but even there the smell was so overwhelming I was considering getting off of the streetcar, that’s when I realized how terribly disgusting I—a sinful person—must be to our Holy God. I mean, the difference between two human beings is finite no matter how much of a physical cleaning one of them needs. But the huge gap between a completely vile creature and… read more
I found myself being still before the Lord today, seeking His face about something that took place and I was reminded of this scripture today as I sat still before the Lord. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” Amos 4:6 O my! The Bible is filled with so much, so much to learn, to inquire of the Lord and so much revealed to us in His word. My people perish and are destroyed, wow, those words alone are a mighty mouthful. They were once His people yet they are destroyed. Destroyed and perish without the knowledge of the Living God. The True knowledge of Who He is, God. A Mighty and Sovereign God, we are all called to serve in this earth. The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land–not a famine of food or a thirst for water,… read more
Today’s testimony is brought to you courtesy of Dave Berryman, he is one of the many wonderful people that I have had the privilege of meeting on Flickr. I take much inspiration from him, from both his style of photos and the awesome messages he includes with them. The idea of sharing others testimonies was actually from Dave and I would like to thank him for allowing me to share this with all of you. Testimony I grew up in a Christian home all my life, but when I left home I became addicted to porn. I went to church every Sunday but I could not stop my insatiable appetite for porn. I was on the church board, but I could not let go of porn…it had its hooks in me good! I led small groups but for some reason I didn’t have the ability to stop looking at porn… 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
Chris Scholten is an extremely talented Multimedia Designer residing in the Netherlands. His style reflects his passion for art and his faith in Christ. In our interview, Chris talks a little about how his love for art led him into the world of design, he also talks about his alter ego Crisco Spectrum. So lets get into another great interview with a talented artist.. 1. Welcome to INSPIKS, please introduce yourself. Could you tell us where you’re from and how you got started in the field of multimedia design? Hi, I am Chris a multimedia designer from the Netherlands. I started drawing as a child and had the odd idea to be drawing for commercials when I grew up. I always knew that I wanted work in a creative field of business. As I grew older the internet got my attention and I started to focus on that more than… 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
Its that time again where we take time out to give recognition to some of the best images featured in our INSPIKS Flickr Group. This group is an extension of our website and we encourage participation from everyone. Post your designs and photographs that gives honor and praise to God and inspiration and insight to others. As you view these photos our prayer is that you will be blessed and your heart will be opened to a deeper and closer relationship with God. Thumbnail Image: Field Sunset HDR by jakedillard  [sociallocker] Artist remain the original copyright holder of all their… read more
40 Cross Images – This post showcases 40 inspirational images of the cross. The cross has become a universal symbol of hope. It is used in relief organizations logos, ambulances, rescue helicopters and on the steeple of churches. In today’s society the cross has different meanings to different people, it is considered to be just another piece of jewelery, a fashion statement or to be used in mythical stories to kill vampires. For the Romans the cross was the ultimate symbol of death and punishment, but like everything that Jesus Christ comes in contact with; the cross became a symbol of life and hope. Jesus’ death on the cross was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. by the third century the cross had become so closely associated with Christ it was called the Lords symbol and Christians were called devotees of the Cross. The cross reminds us of God’s act… read more
This post features awesome free Christian wallpapers that are created by artists/designers from all over the globe. They give a special touch to your Desktop. and can serve as a cool ministering tool. “We love creating wallpapers and customizing our desktop with them, that’s why we create our own, and thought it would be nice to find others that are just as inspirational. Check them out and enjoy! Serve God by Christian Wallpapers PhilipcDavis Give Thanks by PhilipcDavis Christian Science Mapparium – National Geographic Wallpaper The King James Bible by jadgraphics Solid Rock by jadgraphics Mercy and Grace by jadgraphics Jesus is Lord by jadgraphics [sam id=3 codes=’false’] Preach by jadgraphics Grow in Grace by jadgraphics Covetous by jadgraphics Choose Life by c28.com Peace Maker by c28.com Faith by Vista Wallpapers Wake Up by christian_nurse Cross by hasby Cross and Flame Wallpaper by Kennon1st It was the Blood by dreck Got Jesus? by… read more
I can certainly understand why some people do not trust the Bible and the many translations that have been done. With a little understanding of the History of the Bible and how much pain, hard work and dedication that went into making the translations accurate, you would then see that the Bible is the most accurate piece of historical document that man has in his possession. I am not just saying this because I am a Christian, here are the facts, the only book that comes close as far as accuracy is the manuscripts (copies) of “Homer” (writer of the Trojan Horse) These writings were copied 500 years between the times of the original documents. Six hundred and forty three (643) copies still exist and the writings are 95% correct. The original document was written 900 B.C. the earliest copy was done about 400 B.C. Compare those stats to the… read more
While looking around the net we found some Christian websites that are worthy of mention, they are aesthetically pleasing and in our opinion can serve as an inspiration to churches or ministries that are aspiring to put their face on the web. The Church has a great harvest to meet on the internet and have a great opportunity to preach the gospel of Christ to all nations. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Mathew 28:19-20 Stonebriar Lifechurch.TV Mars Hill… read more