Keep The Faith

In this Unity Series reflection, we look again at Abraham’s faith—what made it genuine, what God saw in him, and what this means for our own walk of trust today. The Faith That Justified Abraham Genesis 22 — Abraham Tested (NIV) “Some time later God tested Abraham… ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac… Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering…’” ( Genesis 22:1–2 ) Abraham obeyed. He told his servants, “We will worship and then we will come back to you.” He told Isaac, “God himself will provide the lamb.” When Abraham raised the knife, the angel of the Lord stopped him: “Do not lay a hand on the boy… Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” ( Genesis 22:12 ) A ram was provided, and Abraham named the place: “The Lord Will Provide.” What Justified Abraham? Paul explains the heart of it: “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” ( Romans 4:3 ) Abraham’s faith...

A dawn‑tone reflection from the Unity Series Some messages arrive gently, and others arrive with the weight of truth. This one carries that weight. If you stay with it to the end, I believe the Holy Spirit will open something in you that may have been closed for years. This word will press on your heart, but if you endure to the end, light will break through. Bring before your mind the face of the one you cannot forgive — the one whose memory still burns like a wound that refuses to close. Now lift your eyes. The Spirit is taking you upward. You stand in the courts of heaven. The air is alive with joy. You see faces you have loved and lost — whole, radiant, laughing with a purity you have never seen on earth. Everywhere, clusters of people rejoice together, free from the shadows that once clung to them. Let your gaze move across the multitude… And then you see him — the one you swore you could never f...

I’ve been talking about how I believe that shame could actually be identified as hell. Let me see if I can explain my reasoning and what I believe God is revealing to me. First, God, the Creator, designed us with emotions. So, if He built us with emotions, there must be a reason for each one. There are a lot more emotions than what I first thought, however Wikipedia lists only six primary emotions; Love, Joy, Surprise, Anger, Sadness, and Fear. For reasons of trying to explain things here, I want to talk about the last two, the Shame part of Sadness and Fear. Wikipedia breaks down the primaries further. Primary emotion Secondary emotion Tertiary emotion Sadness Suffering Agony · Anguish · Hurt Sadness Depression · Despair · Gloom · Glumness · Unhappy · Grief · Sorrow · Woe · Misery · Melancholy ' Disappointment Dismay · Displeasure Shame Guilt · Regret · ...

My cousin and I have been getting together for Bible study for quite a while now; once a week if we can. We've been meeting on Mondays lately and since this is Monday, we just finished up a little while ago. We agreed to work in the book of John but we haven't been able to make much progress. Before my vision, the one I explained in my post "My beliefs have changed," we probably would be in great harmony in our beliefs and therefore been able to sail right through John and be done with it, not saying that John is the problem; it's been my sidetracks. I used to fit into the "Once saved always saved" group, I guess you might say. If you had to fit my cousin into a group, I believe He would agree that he fits this group right now because of his present beliefs. I hate to try and get into a discussion of trying to define this group because there are variations within this set of beliefs too. I guess, in a nutshell it is a belief that once you are in God...

Where’s God? Have you ever wondered if God is only present when we call on Him—stepping aside at other times to leave us to our own paths? Or do you sometimes feel that He only intervenes after events unfold? I’ve thought about this too. I believe God is always at work, guiding us within His will—not just in the lives of those who believe, but also in the lives of those who don’t yet know Him. Everything that happens aligns with His purposes. When difficult times come, it’s often hard to understand how they fit into God’s will. But I don’t believe God brings hardships to harm us or to punish us for not being perfect. Our lives, as God sees them, have already been fully known, and within that understanding, He makes adjustments along our path, shaping circumstances to yield what’s best for us. How could that person happen to be there when you needed food, or a place to stay, or money at just the right time? How did someone so special enter your life fro...

A Vision That Changed My Questions There are moments in our walk with God that reshape us—not by giving answers, but by awakening deeper questions. This is one of those moments for me. What I experienced was unexpected, unsettling, and ultimately transforming. I share it here in the hope that it may speak to someone else who is wrestling with the mystery of God’s ways. The Vision In an earlier post, I mentioned a vision I had—not a dream, but something that happened during a conversation with Jesus. As I was speaking with Him in my mind, as I often do, I suddenly felt Jesus and the Holy Spirit get up and leave my presence without a word. It felt like standing before a group of people, speaking to them, and watching them all silently rise and walk away. I was stunned. How could Jesus leave without saying anything? I knew there was no point in continuing to talk, because no one was there anymore. Then I found myself standing in a completely desolate place. Imagine a ...

I was awed (I know, not a word) today by something my wife told me. Her mother, my mother-in-law, broke her left ankle in an auto accident about three weeks ago. Yesterday they took off the splints and put on the cast. The surgeon who worked on her mom’s ankle explained to my wife and her mother how the bones in our body have polarities similar to magnets. When a bone breaks, the polarities at the break shift so now there is an attraction instead of what would normally be a repelling motion. This shift lasts for about three months and then the polarities shift back to normal. Since the discovery of this phenomena, they have found a way to prolong that shift before shifting back to normal. This stretches out the healing process which is sometimes needed for older people or people who need that extra time.   When I think about how God has put together our bodies, it awes me (I wished I could find better words but I just cannot find any words good enough to describe my th...

God gave us, humans, through Moses, the laws. I believe that this is God saying to us, “OK, you want to control your own lives, without ME, so then follow these laws. Remember, there are consequences for disobeying them. If you don’t follow these laws and you don’t take care of disobedience, you will never have peace.” And so, we have no peace because something inside us (our sin nature) makes it hard to keep the laws God gave us.   God, in His infinite wisdom and His great compassion, became a human in the person of Jesus or Yeshua, as the Jews call Him. He obeyed all those laws that He Himself gave us to obey, the ones we cannot. He became that spotless (without sin) lamb who the Jews used to sacrifice during Passover. He took our punishment upon Himself and was put to death in our place. The amazing thing was, He didn’t stay in the grave; only God can accomplish such a thing. On the third day after he was crucified, He came out of the grave, alive. Many people witnessed ...

Why So Many Religions? Intro: We live in a world filled with countless beliefs, traditions, and faiths. Many people wonder why so many religions exist if there is only one God. This reflection explores that question by looking at creation, humanity, and the way God reveals Himself to us. Seeing God Through What We Can Understand Have you ever wondered why we have so many faiths or religions? I have. There is only one God who created all things—seen and unseen. Yet Scripture speaks of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as though there are three. Maybe this is simply the only way our human minds can begin to understand Him. God brings His knowledge down to a level we can grasp. Look at His Creation Have you looked closely at His creation lately? I mean really looked—beyond the surface. Take a moment to ponder just one thing He made: a tree, a flower, a butterfly, a cloud, an animal. Pretty amazing, isn’t it? Now pull your mind back from that one thing an...