Category: Scriptures

The Trendy Gratitude Movement

You can hardly go a day without hearing a celebrity speak about how much gratitude they have. It’s the buzzword of the 2020’s. They go on and on about accepting all people, being inclusive and having gratitude. But this begs the question “to whom or what are they so grateful?”. They never seem to answer this question.

It’s safe to say that most of the people using these buzzwords are not truly grateful at all. They just see it as a way to virtue-signal to other folks in their buzzword club.

People can be grateful for a myriad of reasons and show their appreciation by stating to whom or what they are grateful. They can be grateful to their parents for giving them a good upbringing or to their school for providing them a sound education, for example. But some people claim that they are grateful to “the universe”. If only there were another name for the being or power which powers the universe, right?! Lol.

Are they grateful to the many billions of hydrogen-powered stars burning at millions of degrees? Are they grateful to the black holes? Are they grateful to “dark matter”? No. That would be silly and no different than pledging your gratitude to the dirt you are standing on or the big rock at the end of the street.

Numbers 6:24-26

24 “‘“The Lord bless you
and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”’

The ultimate gratitude should only be shown to he who created you. Only God is deserving of this ultimate compliment. Without him, there is no life. Without him there is no consciousness allowing us to reflect upon these things and to have the feeling of gratitude. Continue reading The Trendy Gratitude Movement

A Dream in Which God Showed Me Something

This dream occurred a few nights ago and for some reason I didn’t write it down until now. Usually I like to record dreams that I find to be powerful or significant right away so that I don’t lose any detail.

In this dream, God permitted me to see what it was like for him to have to condemn sinners to hell. He made me see it through his eyes and see how very sad he was that he had to condemn these people, because he had created them and knew them all personally. He wanted nothing but the best for them but they chose a life of sin. They were given chance and chance again to turn their lives around but they chose not to. Free will is real.

It really hurt him to see them go to a place of everlasting suffering. I felt his immense power and strength but I also felt the overwhelming sadness when one of his children was condemned. And there were many.

I awoke from the dream with a new perspective, of course. We have always heard that he knows us all individually and that he cares for us as well (see this link for Scriptural references) but I got to witness it and feel it first hand (you know how real dreams can feel).

Are these dreams from God? I believe so. The Scriptures tell us that dreams are one of the most common ways he speaks (Numbers 12:6) and that they are made accessible to us through the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:16-17).

I always feel blessed when I have dreams that involve the Lord or Jesus. I often will pray at bedtime that he reveal something to me as I sleep.

 

~ Brad

Why Have Jewish People Not Accepted Christ as Their Saviour?

I was laying in bed last night and this question occurred to me, as it has many times before. As a Christian I have always respected Jews as “The Chosen People” and have respect for their culture. I am not angry at them for “killing Jesus”, like some people are, because that was the prophecy. That was what was supposed to happen according to the good book. Just like Israel falling, being scattered and then reforming, it has all come true.

I ended up Googling my query and came upon some forums where people discussed the topic. I then ended up with two videos. The first is a Jewish man explaining why Christ is not accepted as the Messiah.

His reasoning seems pretty flawed to me and subject to argument. I searched further and found a different video that shows why they are having a hard time connecting Jesus with their Bible. It’s because Isiah 53 is a chapter that has purposely been withheld from them. The video below is made by a Jewish fella and really does a fantastic job of walking a handful of people through this fact. It’s a powerful video that I highly suggest watching. Continue reading Why Have Jewish People Not Accepted Christ as Their Saviour?

The Meaning of Life

When I was a kid and we would be watching a movie where the main character was able to ask God one question and they asked “what is the meaning of life?” I was always perplexed. I didn’t understand this question. As I got older I started understanding it a little more because I realized there are many people living rudderless and meaningless lives. That is not a dig at them. Many of them would probably admit as much.

In my mid-forties I still think the question is a little silly. The meaning of life is to find meaning in your life. Pretty simple right? But on a deeper and more spiritual level, it really means to worship God and put him before everything. It also means to follow his commandments. These commandments have true meaning and are a blueprint on how to live life.

One excerpt from scripture I found today which kind of sums this up is

Ecclesiastes 12:13

“Fear God and keep his commandments: For this is the whole duty of a man”.

There it is. That is your entire duty and purpose here.

 

 

Hippie Girl Finds Jesus in Most Unconventional Way

One of the Youtube channels to which I am subscribed belongs to a documentary filmmaker who was very active from the 1960’s until the 2000’s. He often posts interviews he conducted of people who were young adults in the tumultuous 1960’s.

Recently, he created a mashup of people giving their interviews and released it on Youtube. One woman in particular really stuck out to people, so much so that they contacted the filmmaker and asked him to post her entire interview. He obliged.

From the moment you hear and see this person speak you will be able to tell how intelligent, bright and well-spoken she is. Her path to finding the Lord Jesus Christ is so very interesting. She basically had to take the long way around but she had one experience that is truly fascinating and was powerful enough to make her a follower of Jesus for the rest of this life. Please enjoy.

 

Prayer Book from 1915

Now that we are all stuck at home, I have had plenty of time to go over items in my folders and steamer trunk. It is fun going through old pictures that felt like they were taken yesterday but are actually from 25 years ago.

I came across a very important keepsake of mine. My great grandfather’s prayer book from the year 1915. My grandmother gave it to me and she has held on to it all these years so I was honored when she let me have it.

It is pretty well weathered but is still in OK shape considering he carried it around so much. I have included some photos of it below.

The folded marked page has “Prayers to be Used in Families: Morning Prayer” and is followed by what many of us now refer to as “The Lord’s Prayer”. Continue reading Prayer Book from 1915

Spirituality vs Believing in God

Contributed by Brad

One of the things I have heard more and more of over the years is people saying they are “spiritual” and “not religious”. Religion has become somewhat of a taboo word in modern western society. The word to them means rigidness, old fashioned and even worse, a cult that takes advantages of its members. And the term “organized religion” has become a dirty word.

The truth is that organized religion is perfect in the eyes of God when all participants are behaving according to the scripture. The hypocrites and evil doers that have used Christianity to harm others are the exact opposite of what the religion is about. But because evil people have claimed to be believers, it is easy for some to throw the baby out with the bathwater. John 4:24 “Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind.” Continue reading Spirituality vs Believing in God

Welcome to my Christian Experiences Blog

I felt compelled to create this blog to document my own journey of life in regards to my experiences of God and Jesus Christ. Perhaps others seeking testimony about God and Christ may find it useful.

I was not brought up in church. In fact, as far as I know, my parents were athiest or agnostic. My grandmother took my brothers and I to church several times as kids but we were busy goofing around and never paid much attention.

But, I have always felt the presence of God. I’ve known he was there from my earliest memories. I even remember writing him letters and stashing them behind my dresser as a little kid, maybe 7 years old, hoping he would read them.

After my mom died when I was 14 years old, I had a very powerful dream where God revealed himself to me. It was astonishing experience. Continue reading Welcome to my Christian Experiences Blog