Pathways That Lead to Christ

Make the New Year work for you! I don’t know about you but I’m glad the Christmas season is over! Don’t get me wrong. I love Christmas music and some of the movies on cable TV are worth watching and quite uplifting. What I don’t miss are the endless commercials, the hype about being in the Christmas mood and the hype of working hard to make it the perfect Christmas. Also, I don’t like how some networks are pushing even more materialism for the coming year—new cars, new electronics and getting a job that make oodles more money. You can probably guess about what I might say next. You got it! I am going to do my level best next year to spend less, read more and make my life more enjoyable and fulfilling. Here is a small list of how I am going to accomplish this: 1.     My first priority is to pray each morning and night and read scripture from the Bible. I am doing this now but my plan is doing more each day the coming year. Actually, I am going to start this now. 2.

This is a wonderful post online that I would like to share with you. This post comes from  by  Stewardship Team  on December 2, 2015   1. Celebrate Jesus’ Birthday Instead of a pie at Christmas dinner, bake a birthday cake and let the kids decorate it. Then round out your meal by singing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus. Just don’t try sticking a few thousand candles on top. 2. Read or Watch  The Best Christmas Pageant Ever This ’70s children’s classic by Barbara Robinson (made into a TV movie in 1983) is substantial enough to be a favorite of adults too. It reminds us that  Christmas is the perfect opportunity to love the unlovable and to share the story of Christ’s birth with them . You may have something to teach, but you’ll probably learn a thing or two about love and acceptance as well. So snuggle up with some cocoa by a warm fire and enjoy this story as a family. 3. Tame the Gift Monster by Instituting a Three-Gift Rule If we aren’t careful, kids can begin to see Christma

Thanksgiving at Grandma’s by Toni Star November, then and now, signals just one thing to me, Thanksgiving at Grandma’s.  Thanksgiving at her house was paradise!  The atmosphere of food, laughter and love was wonderful and unforgettable.  Thanksgiving morning at our house was busy.  Mom would prepare a salad or pie; we kids would dress up in our good clothes and then go outside to play. We had to be careful not to get dirty.  Good clothes in our family didn’t come easy.  We weren’t poor but we were very frugal with money and food.  Meanwhile, Dad stayed busy in the garage checking out the old Chevy.  He’d check the oil, water and the battery and then give the tires a kick, for readiness.  Often, I would go into the garage from time to time to see how he was doing.  Often, he found things for me to do-such as checking the oil and water and inspecting the car battery to see if was clean and water filled to the proper level. I always felt important helping Dad, especially on hol

Life can be stressful and difficult or it can be wonderful and easy-going but when things get tough and you feel that the "dark" one is trying to interfere and disrupt your life, there are two steps you can take that will bring you through. Actually, these two steps should be taken even before anything stressful or awful happens--and that is to read your Bible and pray. Many have found that by reading the Bible and praying the first thing in the morning, that their day goes better. Of course, problems will occur, that is life but when those problems occur, you have the good Lord by your side. He will be there to see you through. Remember, Jesus said, "I am with you always." And, the best part is, He will be there with you and He will guide you through, no matter if you or someone you love is ill or dying or if money is short or if everyone is turning against you. Isn't it a wonderful feeling to know that no matter what happens, Jesus will be there and give y

In Hebrews 11:1 the Bible tells us that "faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Sounds a bit confusing, doesn't it? But in truth, faith is feeling confident of what we hope for--be it less anxiety in our life or confident that we can be a stronger person. I think before you and I have faith, we have to truly believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. If we don't believe that Jesus did what he did--especially when he rose from the dead, returned for many to see Him and that He will come again to judge the quick and the dead, then there is no strong foundation for faith. In addition, when you really think about it, faith is necessary, even critical, to get through the day. Without faith, we can't please God and that is so important. We are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, body and strength and when we do that and then believe that God will give us the faith and strength to meet and exceed the day's needs, the

The following is an article I picked up months ago. I don't know the author but the article is so good I wanted to publish it for you today. The words are timeless and true. You and are are living a story today. It is indeed, "a story crafted and told by the Author of Heaven." You are living a story today. A story crafted and told by the Author of heaven. The star-scatterer. The mountain-mover. The water-walker. It is a story of grace. A story of hope. A story of, most of all, love . In the day-to-day it doesn’t feel like a story. It feels like dishes in the sink. Reports on the desk. Another mile behind the steering wheel of the car. But this doesn’t change what’s true. Beneath the surface of all that is ordinary still lurks the glory. Sometimes the plot is confusing. Or strange. Or sad. Sometimes we want to cut a chapter out with sharp scissors. Sometimes we want to be the editors with the red ink. Sometimes we want to skip right to the end just to make sure it

Why Christian faith Hinges on the Resurrection As Christians, we know the importance and meaning of the resurrection of Jesus but when someone asks, “Why do you believe in the resurrection,” how do you respond? What are your reasons; your validation for believing in something that happened thousands of years ago? For some, the resurrection is hard to believe; simply because it happened so long ago and is  not relevant to their lives. In my opinion, there are several indisputable proofs that Christ rose from the dead; one of the most basic proofs comes from Acts 1:3:  “To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” Jesus showed himself alive after his death to His apostles. He showed them his wounds and the stripes on his back and the piercing in his side. “Here in Acts 1:3, we are told that Christ was "seen of them forty days, and speaking

The following is not one of my posts but it is wonderful. I would like to share it with you...Toni The Blood of Redemption Mar 27, 2017 by Roy Lessin “ In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. ” Ephesians 1:7 KJV “You are forgiven and made clean.” How glorious and freeing are these words spoken from God’s heart to the hearts of those who have confessed and repented of their sins. And to those who believe and are God’s children, no words spoken by your heavenly Father could be more assuring than, “You are mine!” There was once a boy who loved boats. On his tenth birthday the boy was given a wood carving set by his father. The boy used the tools to build a model boat to play with at the lake near his home. When he finished the boat he carved his initials, BB, on the stern. The boy took his boat to the lake as often as he could. He tied a string to it, and would let the boat drift as far out as