Avon: “Iniquity” | The Bible Project

“Iniquity is a biblical word that very few people use anymore, and even fewer people know what it means! In this video, we’ll explore the significance of this word in ancient Hebrew, and discover a whole new way to think about our selfish decisions and their consequences.”

The Bible Project

Dig into the treasure of God’s Word with the Bible Project on YouTube and at bibleproject.com!

1 John | Psalm Forty

“The most common responses given when asked, ‘Why don’t you read the Bible,’ are: unable to comprehend, no time, boring, don’t like to read, too easily distracted, would rather be doing something else.  The most common responses given when asked, ‘Why don’t you listen to an audio version of the Bible,’ are: boring, puts me to sleep, read with no emotion, too easily distracted.   We believe we are creating an audio version of the Bible like never before!  

•It’s preached in a contemporary language (The Message) with emotion rather than read in a hard to comprehend version with no emotion. 
•It’s complemented by dramatic, theatrical instrumentals rather than dead, distracting silence. 
•It’s captivating and interesting rather than boring.      
It’s like hearing the Word for the very first time !        

“We are not trying to replace the Bible. We are simply trying to reach people that may never pick up a Bible. We are trying to help those who have difficulty reading/listening/comprehending the Bible. We are trying to solve a problem. We pray you are impacted in mighty way for the Kingdom of God.”

Psalm Forty, YouTube

Check out more Psalm Forty audio Bible clips, as well as their full YouTube channel!

Jeremy & Marissa’s Story | Becoming the One

Becoming the One is a ministry devoted to helping singles navigate their path to marriage and beyond. This trio of videos tells the story of a couple whose lives God changed as they became each other’s one.

For more information about Becoming the One, check out their vision, devos, and testimonies!

Truly Pro-Life

A column in the Kokomo Perspective on October 21, 2020 says, “When pushed, a politician’s ‘pro-life’ perspective is only a pro-birth statement.” 

If we are to believe this, then are we also to believe that someone who is not pro-life is simply anti-birth? They support the idea that an unborn child is human, they just aren’t in favor of that child being born? What would that even mean?

Clearly, this is not just about birth; it’s also about personhood.

A pro-life person is one who believes that a human is a human regardless of their age.

National Right to Life’s mission is “to protect and defend the most fundamental right of humankind, the right to life of every innocent human being from the beginning of life to natural death.”

A person’s life is an arrow with a beginning and no end. It begins with conception and continues into the afterlife.

Abortion takes a life that God gave to that person and extinguishes it—before her first birthday cake, her first job, her first car, and her first child.

Just last year, Joe Biden was refused communion because of his support of abortion. The Catholic priest who made that decision stated: “Any public figure who advocates for abortion places himself or herself outside of Church teaching.”

By contrast, Donald Trump was the first U.S. President to attend March for Life—an annual event where thousands of Americans gather together to remember those whose lives have been claimed by abortion and advocate for the abortion vulnerable.

This is how Mr. Trump describes his position: “I’m pro-life, but I changed my view a number of years ago. One of the primary reasons I changed [was] a friend of mine’s wife was pregnant, and he didn’t really want the baby. He was crying as he was telling me the story. He ends up having the baby and the baby is the apple of his eye. It’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to him. And you know here’s a baby that wasn’t going to be let into life. And I heard this, and some other stories, and I am pro-life.”

One of Donald Trump’s second-term goals is to “protect unborn life through every means available.” When you help an unborn child, you help her, the generations that come before her, and the generations that come after her. It’s like dropping a pebble into a pool: the ripples go on forever.

The Wait

“We live in a culture addicted to instant gratification: the quick hookup, the miracle cure, and the overnight sensation. THE WAIT is the remedy for that addiction. In THE WAIT, DeVon and Meagan share the life-changing message that waiting— rather than rushing—can be the key for finding the person you’re meant to be with. Filled with candid his-and-hers accounts of the most important moments of their relationship, along with practical advice on how waiting for everything—from sex to getting engaged—can transform your entire life by giving you greater patience, joy, peace, healing, faith and love.”

The Wait

For more information, see TheWaitBook.org.

Candace Owens’ Personal Announcement

ANNOUNCEMENT:

I remember the first time I learned about abortion in school. “It’s a clump of cells until after 3 months” said my obtuse gym teacher turned health instructor.

Fast forward to more than a decade later to my 10 week scan, and I will never forget the feelings I experienced.

I was amazed that our baby already had arms and legs, hands and feet and was dancing around inside me. I was overcome by an inexorable sense of love followed by the powerful realization that I would do anything and everything to protect my unborn child.

But I was mostly astonished that all those years ago in high school, I was lied to. I was brainwashed into believing that it was my body, and therefore, simply, my choice.

Today it’s become fashionable for narcissistic celebrities, to perpetuate such brainwash amongst their fans. Like Miley Cyrus, posing half-naked with her tongue out over a cake that reads “abortion”. Like Jameela Jamil, tweeting to scores of vulnerable young girls about how “proud” she is of an earlier abortion from her teen years. Years ago, I would have thought these women were heroic feminists. Today I know that they are anything but.

And so as I move into this next chapter of my life I want to say this: To all of the young girls who have vocally supported abortion— you are allowed to change your mind. To all the young women who made uninformed decisions to go through with abortions: you are not “murderers” and you are not automatically disqualified from being pro-life. You too can have a change of heart. Education followed by transformation is one of life’s greatest offerings.

These past 5 1/2 months have been a whirlwind. A viral video with over 200 million views, comedians threatening to physically assault me, adult men degrading me because they disagree with my viewpoints on George Floyd, while others have accused me of not “showing up”, not being invited, or not caring enough to jump into the perpetual protest scene.

It is such a relief to finally share the truth.

Life is a miracle. Life is sacred. And when women carry life, we get to become the keepers of some of the Universe’s greatest secrets: beginnings.

Candace Owens, August 28, 2020, YouTube

25-Year-Old Shares Testimony of Heaven and Hell

“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”

Acts 2:17, NIV 1984

“Pastor Kyle Searcy continues the FAHOW [Fresh Anointing House of Worship] ‘Shine: Living A Life That Matters In Eternity’ sermon series with a powerful interview with 25-year-old Josh Miles and his father Willie Miles. On January 3rd [2020] Josh was rushed to the hospital after his temperature spiked to 106 degrees. His father says during the car ride to the hospital Josh lost consciousness, but Josh says he left his body and encountered hell and then heaven. When he finally reached the hospital and awoke doctors informed him he experienced a heart attack, stroke, and seizures.”

YouTube video description, dated March 1, 2020

Kokomo’s Habitat for Humanity Build Reopens May 30th

Habitat for Humanity of the Kokomo community plans on welcoming volunteers and partner families back to their build site Saturday, May 30th.

The build site is located at 1215 N. Courtland Ave., Kokomo, IN, and will be open from 8:30AM–4PM.

In addition to the safety information given at the build site, Habitat also wants volunteers to be aware of basic protective measures to take related to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak:

  • Stay home if you feel unwell
  • Cover your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze
  • Avoid hugs and handshakes. Use alternative ways of greeting people
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth
  • Seek medical care early if you have a fever, a cough, and difficulty breathing
  • Follow advice given by your health care provider on how to protect yourself and others from COVID-19

For more information or to volunteer, see habitatkokomo.com, visit Facebook, or call Katie at (765) 452-2185.

Letting Truth Out of the Bag

“When the Counselor comes, who I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who goes out from the Father, He will testify about me.”

Jesus, in John 15:26

A little more than a year ago I inherited the teaching duties in our church’s Thursday morning seniors “Mustard Seed” Bible study fellowship. At age 65 I am the “kid” in the group, and I can barely describe how enriching it is to share Scripture with this weekly group of seasoned, Bible-savvy saints.

Currently we have not met since Thursday, March 12, which was pretty much the last open day in Indiana before everything, including our East 91st Street Christian Church, area schools, and public meetings started shutting down Friday, March 13.

Mustard Seed–no argument there–is the kind of group that especially needs not to meet when a pandemic like COVID-19 is an evident danger to older folks.

But what I wanted to talk about this week is not the dire, dour, and depressing isolation of our nation’s and indeed the world’s present situation. Nor can I think of anything new to say about our individual and largely home-bound circumstances. To all those folks still out there working every day in hospitals, grocery stores, gas stations, and other life-saving and society-sustaining endeavors, I say “Thank You!”

What I do want to discuss is the plain-as-the-nose-on-my-face fact that perhaps the greatest joy-robbing, hope-jangling feature of this unprecedented time is the utter absence of what I would call reliable truth about virtually anything having to do with the reporting, media narrative, and politics surrounding the pandemic. Who can we trust? 

From China to Washington state to New York City to Washington D.C. to Italy to my home here in Fishers, Indiana, I wonder who is pushing which social, political, or economic agenda. What is the real danger: the disease or our reaction to it? Since “tomorrow is guaranteed to no one,” let’s not panic about the presently more intense vagaries of “tomorrow.” What we all need are facts and truth, not fear and spin.

I started by talking about “Mustard Seed” because our past several months have been a study of “The Words of Jesus.” Especially illuminating to me personally, in the Last Supper and Gethsemane sections of John 14-17, is Jesus talking through these four entire chapters about God’s unwavering righteousness, eternal truth, boundless love, infinite glory, their relationship… and His disciples’ responsibilities going forward. 

This truth–His truth–marches on. In His last hours it is virtually all Jesus talks about.

When we can’t see truth–in anything, whether particular or whole–our human misery most likely is in our inability to see God, relate with Jesus, and listen to the Holy Spirit. The world, for unrighteous reasons in times like these, prefers our focus to be on fear and anxiety. These are man’s evil shackles that choke our free breath in Christ.

I listen carefully for God’s truth. I know that’s what Jesus brought into the world–freedom not just from our own sin and the wiles of wicked men and women, but toward faith, hope, love, peace, creativity, and joy that our trust in God’s eternal truth assures.

What a better world we make, and what joy we reap, when we believe in and testify to God’s truth. The fallen world controls us in fear, but Jesus by His life, death, resurrection, and sending of the Spirit let God’s righteous, saving truth out of the bag.  

Sometimes we have to fight for that truth, but our joy always is in knowing it.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) watches little mainstream news but stays informed and prays big sincere prayers… regularly. For more of Walters’ columns, see commonchristianity.blogspot.com. For his books, see www.lulu.com/spotlight/CommonChristianity.

3 Steps to Finding Hope During COVID-19

There is one thing that I have learned in my years of walking with Jesus, and it is this-there is nothing wasted in this life, even our pain when we seek Christ first. 

COVID-19 has brought with it a roller coaster ride of emotions, fears, doubts, anger, and depression. There have been times my knuckles turned white with anxiety as I grasped for anything to anchor the sinking feeling in my stomach. Then God in His tender grace reminded me to quit grasping for a safe place to land and start seeking Him and His ways first. 

So, I did. I let go of the tight grip of false security and lifted my hands in the air in the act of surrender—the wrap-around peace of my Father met me there. 

Such sweet peace. As I rest daily in Christ’s embrace, He gently whispers wisdom to my heart. This wisdom is guiding me moment by moment as I walk daily through COVD-19. 

The first step is I take a deep breath, pause in His presence, and whisper a simple prayer. I start the day off with this prayer, end the day with this prayer, and whisper it several times throughout the day when I feel the knees of my faith start to buckle. 

“Dear Father, take my feet and anchor them in You that I may walk the way You have for me today (Psalm 49:2). Hold my heart close to Yours that I may learn Your ways and remain true to Who you are. Only then will life-giving words flow from my lips, bringing glory to Your name in pain (Psalm 73:23-28, Proverbs 4:23). Protect my mind from the lies of the world. Let the battlefield of my mind be a place where Your Word runs freely, washing and renewing me to think from an eternal perspective (Ephesians 5:26).”

The second step is one I shared in last week’s devotional, and that is burden casting (1 Peter 5:7). Whenever my heart feels overwhelmed, I take a deep breath, pause in His presence, and ask Him to search my heart and reveal the source of my anxiety. When He shows me the cause, then I cast that care on Him and ask forgiveness for trusting in anything besides Him. Then I look for steps that move me away from the anxiety. 

That is why I choose carefully the amount of media I allow to influence my heart. Too much input and the anxiety pounds in my chest, fear rises in my throat, and I quickly look for comfort in all the wrong places. When this happens I ask myself which is more important-to gain mounds of knowledge or guard my heart. 

The third step is to go on a hunt for God throughout the day. Where do I see the evidence of His grace at work? When I discover these God moments, I offer up the gift of gratitude (Psalm 7:17, Colossians 2:7). 

The grace gift may be as simple as laughter shared with my husband as we cook dinner together or as miraculous as the healing of a friend diagnosed with COVID-19. Regardless, gratitude shifts my focus from the crisis to Christ and in return, He lifts my heart from fear to faith. 

These three simple steps have become part of my daily routine. They guide me into discovering hope for the journey. 

I realize we are #Inthistogether, but we each have our unique circumstances and processes in getting through this. Maybe you have some steps in place that are anchoring you to hope in Christ. I hope so. If not, then I pray one of my action steps will provide you a reliable place to start.

Let’s keep finding hope in the journey,
Evelyn

P.S. I had a “baby”! At least that is how several of my friends have described my journey to finishing my book proposal. Well, I finished it. And I can’t thank you enough for all the prayer support and words of encouragement. My next step is a final copy edit and the design. After that, I get an agent and pray for God to let my words land with the right publisher. How scary exciting is that!?

P.S.S. My friend Shakti and I finished the free printable promises, 24 Scriptures of Hope for Hardtimes.  I can’t wait to share them with you. Just click on this link 24 Scriptures of Hope for Hardtimes. and “ta-da,” they are yours. I want to get whatever resources into your hands that can serve as reminders that our God is faithful, we are not alone, and we will come out of this better than ever if we lean wholeheartedly into Christ. Be blessed, my friends. 


Hi There! My name is Evelyn. I am a lover of all things family, faith and Fall. So grateful that you found your way here. The chaos of life can leave us feeling a bit worn around the edges. Sometimes a little ray of hope is all we need to provide courage for the next step in our journey. So come on in, take a deep breath. My prayer is that in this space, you will be able to grab hold of hope. For more of my blogs, visit my website Hope for the Journey.