Buy this book!

Amazon.com: A Ragamuffin Christmas (9781935986478): Daliessio Craig: Books

Intelligent Design supported by Atheists??

Apologetics Press - Atheists Admit Things Look Designed

The Christian Imperative to Help Those in Distress

According to James 1:27...

"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."

Our Body is a Temple!

I realized several months ago that my fitness level was beginning slough off. My weight had the constant "yo-yo" effect. I would go through periods of eating healthy and staying active and then revert back to snacking and junk foods. However, beginning in May, I started Les Mills Pump home program from Beachbody. I must say that is one of the wisest decisions I made in my life in a long time. 90 days later and I watched my body go through an amazing transformation. Health and fitness is now a daily lifestyle for me. I supplemented my workouts with eating clean (whole foods, organic when possible, low fat) and Beachbody's flagship nutrition drink Shakeology. Shakeology was the real impact in my diet. I dropped 15 lbs alone in two months just from drinking Shakeology as a meal replacement every day. I won't go into ALL the nutritional details and benefits of this super drink (you can find it on the link), but it is low calorie, low sugar, and most important...low glycemic. It is a favorite for diabetics because it controls insulin spikes and it lowers cholesterol dramatically!

Today especially in the great USA, we are becoming an obese nation and sadly many of us have no clue of the harmful toxins we are consuming in today's overly processed foods. We live in a different time than our grandparents and great grandparents did. Today we have so much regulation and food laws and companies cramming fillers, artificial stuff, and basically anything difficult to pronounce is pretty much dangerous. We tend to forget that what we put in our bodies is what we get out. If we put in junk, junk is going to show through us outwardly. So many of these toxins can lead to all types of cancers, heart disease, diabetes, and excess fat.

My physical transformation has rolled over into my spiritual life as well. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul tells us that our physical bodies are a temple for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells in the Christian. We know that the role of the Spirit is to enable us to carry out the Christian life that God desires for us to live. We as believers have been both forgiven and bought by God through our faith in Him. We are not our own anymore. Amazingly, we have been set free from the chains of sin and given freedom to live for Jesus. The Church is all called the Body because it is a living organism made of many parts. We all have spiritual gifts and callings on our individual lives to serve God in some capacity. My question is this. If we are not keeping our lives healthy then how can we carry out our calling. I'm not preaching immortality, but longevity of life in the O.T. was honored and held at such high esteem. These were the very people that walked by faith in God daily and lived very holy practices, including their diets. We all have a calling. I'm sure all of us want to live long enough to see God's great work accomplished through us and our kids lives and their kids lives, etc. We can start with practicing daily health and fitness habits. No matter what your fitness level may be. Anyone can transform their lives back to health. It takes discipline. It also helps to have support to motivate you along the way. I would be more than happy to give you that support. As a personal health and fitness coach, it is my passion to stick with you as long as I possibly can to help anyone achieve their health and fitness goals. That's a promise.

I encourage anyone who is interested in getting their health back on the right track to please don't hesitate to check out my fitness page and contact me for any questions and concerns you may have regarding fitness training and nutrition. It's my goal to help you reach your goal.

Nebraska coach Ron Brown stands firm on his Christian convictions.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/26/ron-brown-nebraska-football-coach-anti-gay-views_n_1455712.html

How Does the Grace of God Satisfy the Soul?

Simple…by setting it free. The Christian doctrines of grace and justification are the very doctrines that set the means of salvation apart from any other cult or world religion. Christianity is the only belief system that doesn’t require any form of merit on our part to save our souls or free it from the bondage of sin and eternal death. No other religion or faith in the world apart from Christianity can proclaim such a message.

I find Romans 8 to be an incredible chapter that answers the question of how God’s grace satisfies the soul. God through Jesus Christ sets the soul free from enslavement to the Law and He sets the soul free from the condemnation of the Law. Upholding the Law is the very thing that stands between us and an eternal relationship with the God of the universe. If we break the Law one time…just one time, we’re doomed. Our attempt to adhere to the Law was never made to set us free from eternal damnation. It was set to condemn us and show us our incapability to follow the Law to the very letter. God knew this. Through His loving grace, He already had a plan set in motion to introduce man to a coming Savior.

In Roman’s chapter 8, Paul provides the believer with the “therefore” of no condemnation. He declares that the Law can no longer claim the believer. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death” (Romans 8:2 NASB). Secondly, Paul declares that the Law can no longer condemn the believer. “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,” (Romans 8:3 NASB).

Just as we have the law of double jeopardy in the judicial system, the condemnation of the Law fell on Christ who became our substitute and His death on the cross paid the penalty of the sins of all man in its totality. Therefore, man can no longer be condemned by the Law for the same penalty which Christ has already paid in full.

            Thirdly, the Law can no longer control the believer. “so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:4 NASB). The believer is now under the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit to walk in obedience to God’s will. There is no merit anyone can do in their own strength to measure up to the holiness God requires of us. The believer finds confidence in the power of the Holy Spirit to live out righteousness. “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Phil 2:13 NASB).

            God’s grace, the cross of Christ, satisfies the soul of any person who comes to Jesus Christ in faith alone and He sets that soul free from condemnation, death, and eternal separation from Him.

Israel PM Stands His Ground

In addition to my previous post from yesterday, today Netanyahu owned Obama in his speech today. I stand with you Israel! That is all :)