But I'm going to give it a try . . .
Here are some 'She Is' statements:
She is smart. Like crazy smart, the most social intelligent person that I think I've ever met.
She is funny.
She looks for ways to make people's special days memorable.
She is absurdly creative.
She is beautiful.
She is compassionate.
She is great at reading a room.
She is financially astute.
She has a great dog.
Random #1 - God providing when I desperately needed a hand. This is going to be a long note . . . I remember walking through Walmart, didn't have enough money to buy my daughter diapers, and finding a $20.00 bill in my jacket pocket, which I had already checked when I left the house. Or once when my daughter really wanted to go out to eat in the Mall and I really wanted to spend that time with her in a sit-down restaurant. She started tugging my hand and with great excitement proclaimed that she wanted to eat at El Chico (local Tex-Mex restaurant located in the Mall). This was going to exceed my budget but I figured I'd order her a kids meal and skip my lunch. We were seated at a booth and while getting settled in our seats, she discovered a $100.00 bill tucked in the cushions. We called our waitress over, told her of our find, and asked who had been sitting in these seats this morning. She said no one had sat at this booth for a two days, they had a leak in their ceiling and had roped off this section. She checked with her manager and he said no one had let them know they had lost any money in their restaurant. At this point my daughter was almost jumping up and down proclaiming that God was buying our lunch. And she was right!
These are just a few of the many times God has showed His hand of faithfulness in my life. My parents paying for most of my daughter's braces when that specific bill exceeded all of our financial options. Strangers paying for funeral costs when my ex-wife's Mom passed away, another time after a challenging season of medical expenses, a group of friends at church pitched together to give us a car! (Which became the car my daughter drove until after she graduated college!) Or that time when close friends, who knew of my struggles after my divorce, provided money for my new apartment's deposit, first month's rent, and even enough to pay off two other pressing financial obligations at the time! The church where I worked allowing me to 'move in' for almost four weeks before I could find an apartment after my divorce. Going to pay my medical bills at the doctor and being told that bill had already been paid! The church where I work paying for a unexpected tax bill due to a mistake processing our medical receipts. Cashier checks appearing in our mailbox, money in envelopes slid under my office door, and this is by no means a comprehensive list! There have been so many times where God showed us His mercy and provision over and over and over! Praise God for His faithfulness!
Random #2 - God moments when I needed them the most. This list could encompass several blogs! I'm thinking about so many times where friends called me to see if I needed to talk, opening up their homes when I felt like there was no safe place to rest, and shared meals when I lacked the resources to purchase groceries. So many cards and letters outlining how God had put me on their heart to pray specifically for my needs, I'm recalling the set of circumstances that God orchestrated to help get my daughter into high school and college. Or the countless moments experiencing God's Creation when He encouraged me, comforted me, or just reminded me of His Power through sunrises, storms, the quiet of a spring morning after a night of steady rain, the companionship of pets, the love of friends and family, and most importantly, His Words spoken through the Bible at just the right moment, with just the right clarity and wisdom.
"So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them." - Matthew 6:31-32
"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" - Matthew 7:11
"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:19
God is the ultimate provider. While Scripture does not promise to make every Christian financially wealthy, meet every want, or heal every hurt, the Bible does tell us that God will provide for our needs in a way that is best for us and best for His glory. His provision is just further proof of His faithfulness and grace.
He knows when you lack physical needs. He knows when you are concerned about your next paycheck. He knows, and He cares. These verses about God’s provision are just a small sample of His character. Present your concerns to God in prayer and trust that He will, like a good father, provide in a way that is best.
1) Doubting your salvation. If you are doubting your own salvation this can actually be a sign that you are a believer, or at the very least, on a sincere path to discover God. The enemy is not in the business of causing unbelievers to think about the topic of salvation, and he is definitely not wanting you to start applying your doubts to this situation. To reiterate, this is not a fool-proof test, but in my experience this mostly applies to believers who are struggling in challenging seasons of their life.
2) When is the last time God has spoken to you? I've found that this is a good indicator if you are a believer because of your decision to meditate on what God is saying to you through His Word, His People, and His Church. If you are not reading your Bible, meeting with a small group of dedicated believers, or attending a Bible-believing Church, I think you are at best far away from God and at the worst, not a child of God.
3) Do you pray for others to know Christ personally? If you are a believer, you will rejoice when confronted with news of someone's decision to follow Christ, and will pray for those in your life that you know aren't living a life of faith.
4) Are their fruits of God's Spirit in your life? Do you see areas of your life where God is working, in particular character issues and/or patterns of sin that have held you captive in the past? If you are praying and asking God to help you live a better life so that you can influence and grow His Kingdom that is a good indicator that you are a child of God's.
5) Finally, do you obey God? Jesus said, "If you love me you will obey me." Obedience and seeking to please God is a strong marker that God is working in your life as one of His children. And another characteristic of a child of God is someone who is at odds with this world and its values.
Curious to see where you stand? Post something about Jesus Christ being the only way to salvation and then step back and observe the fireworks. If you love this world, and you are seeking to fill your days with the pleasures of this reality, I encourage you to do a deep dive into the desires of your heart. Here is an insightful quote to illustrate this point, "The early Christians were not fed to wild beasts because they thought Jesus was a helpful life coach or role model." - Michael Horton
The Doubting
There is no more common question in the church than, “How do I know I’m a Christian?” It is a question surrounded by much fear, asked with much longing, bursting from a heart starved for hope. If you have asked that question, I have written this series on assurance of salvation especially for you.
In part 1, I defined assurance of faith. In part 2, I spoke to the Dead and the Deceived. This post, part 3, is for the Doubting and the Delighted.
If this is you, there are ten-thousand wonderful things to say to you. But the first is this: the character of God is steadfast love.
God is a Father who Loves His Children
God is the Father of all believers, and He desires them to be assured of His love. Why does He do this? Because He is our heavenly Father. As a perfect Father, He desires for His children to be assured of their salvation. He is not holding out of us, keeping us at arm’s length, afraid to get too close. He knows literally everything about you—past, present, and future. And He is involved in literally everything in your life. He is loving you, dear child of God, all the day and night. He accomplishes this through many means, but I will cover just three.
In our last post, I defined assurance as knowing you know and believe the gospel, as confidence in the reality of your salvation. That means, when it comes to assurance, there are only four kinds of people:
In this post, I’ll discuss the Dead and the Deceived.
I. The Dead
The dead are unbelievers who do not believe and who know they do not believe. Self-aware unbelievers need to hear one thing: you need to know Jesus Christ—that He lived, and He died, and He rose to save sinners. This the gospel message:
God: He is Creator: holy, just, wise, Almighty, Sovereign. He rules and He reigns and deserves all your love and obedience.
Man: You are a sinner, accountable to Him and yet a rebel deserving His wrath. It is not simply that you have broken a few commands but you have utterly rejected Him as the Lord of glory. For such offenses, you deserve death.
Response: And now, seeing the helplessness of your own state, the irresistible delightfulness and beauty of this Savior, you turn from your sin (that’s called repentance) cast yourself on His mercy (that’s called faith) to save your soul. Salvation is by grace alone (a free gift) alone, achieved by Christ alone (His finished work), received by faith alone (not your good works).
You must believe/trust/depend in this Savior. Knowing stories about Jesus is not enough. Living according to Christian morals is not enough. Being friends with Christians is not enough. Going to church will not save you. Jesus, the Savior, must save you.
You can be forgiven not by becoming a better person, but by making your good outweigh your bad but simply by trusting/believing/having faith that Jesus death is enough. Christ came for sinners. That’s what every dead sinner must hear and must believe to be saved!
I’ve been going to church before I was even born. While I was growing up, my parents took me to the same church every Sunday all the way until I moved out for college. And as I grew up going to church, I doubted my salvation constantly. Most Sundays, at the end of the sermon, my pastor would invite any unbelievers in the congregation to pray a prayer with him—a prayer of salvation—asking Jesus into their heart. I would always pray that prayer, just in case the last time “hadn’t worked.”
But no matter how many times I prayed, and how earnestly I prayed it, if I was honest, I had no peace. Did it work that time? How could I know if I was really saved? I knew Jesus was a real person, that He really rose from the dead, but was I real? Was I really a Christian?
I get the question from Christians a lot: “How can I know for sure that I’m saved?” So often, in fact, that I wrote a book addressing it: Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart: How to Know for Sure You Are Saved. I wrestled with the question a lot, and I was shocked to learn how common my struggle was.
Many Christians experience their spiritual lives as a roller coaster of emotion. Some days they feel like they really understand the gospel, but other days it doesn’t sit right with them—either because of sin in their lives, or unanswered questions, or the fear that “I don’t really know Christ” … or even because of a bad night’s rest! These believers don’t usually doubt Jesus, but they wonder if something is missing. Shouldn’t things be different? More pointedly, shouldn’t they be different?
One of the most important things to do when struggling with assurance of salvation is to surround yourself with other believers. Get in a small group (or something similar) and air your struggles. You can read book after book, but there is absolutely no substitute for sharing concerns with someone who knows you. As we often say at the Summit, “Discipleship happens in relationship.” Your Christian friends can help make the truth of the gospel personal and relevant, helping you discern the difference between a legitimate red flag and a false alarm.
Within our communities, I’ve found two truths that help reinforce the experience of assurance. These aren’t comprehensive, but if we keep these two truths in front of us, then we really can rest in what God has done to save us:
Written By Costi Hinn
This is one of the most common questions a pastor gets asked: How do I know if I am really saved?
Some believe that you just need to say, “I believe!” Others might insist that you hand over a resume of faith plus some good works — including regular church attendance and a giving record to boot.
With the vast majority of opinions being hit or miss, we are compelled to ask, What does the Bible have to say? For those seeking assurance of salvation, that’s all that matters.
Is it a one-time decision or a lifestyle?
The first question needing serious consideration: Is being a true Christian — as in, a “saved individual” — a one-time decision or an ongoing lifestyle? Take, for example, three individuals who make “decisions” to follow Jesus Christ. Now, fast forward ten years and the first of those individuals live in rampant sin but claims, “I am a Christian. I believe. I walked the aisle, prayed the sinner’s prayer, accepted the free gift of grace from God, and punched my ticket to heaven.” Meanwhile, the second individual made a similar decision to follow Jesus, but eventually walked away from their faith and decided not to believe. Finally, the third individual was completely different. Sin was present in their life at times, but not as a rampant lifestyle. They humbly acknowledge shortcomings but could confidently point to the fruit of the Spirit as being present in them (Galatians 5:22-23). Their life is not marked by perfection, but a definite progression in holiness, righteous living, devotion to Jesus, and love for others.
All three made decisions. All three claim to be Christians. Which one is?
The word “saved” has become part of the regular vernacular of Christian churches. We have used it so often that we don’t even think about it any more. We say that “we got saved” at this particular moment or that particular event. We ask others if they’ve been saved. We issue the invitation of whether someone wants to be saved.
It’s a good word. It’s the right word. And it’s a meaningful word if you think a little more deeply about the implications behind it. If we have been “saved,” then it implies there is some kind of danger, and there is. It also implies that we are now safe from that danger, and we are. And it implies that there was some hero that brought us from danger to safety. And there is one of those, too.
But being saved in this sense is obviously different than being saved from a burning building or a circling shark. In those situations, you can observe, with your senses, the danger, the hero, and the state of relative safety you enter into. But with your soul? That’s different, as these are matters of faith.
So how can you know that you have been saved? Perhaps through answering a few other questions.
Faith always implies an object—that is, when we believe, we must believe something. That something I call the “fact.” Now let me give you three Words that will help you understand the Christian life: fact, faith, and feeling. They come in this order, and the order is essential. In this order, you will have the joy and confidence of one who can say, “I know whom I have believed” (2 Timothy 1:12, NIV).
First, you are saved through a personal faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ as defined in the Scriptures. The Gospel refers to the news of Christ’s death and resurrection in order to pay the penalty for our sins and provide a way to eternal life.
Johanna Dunaway, research director at the University’s Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship and professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, says her interpretations of the research on this issue “is that media effects exist, but they don’t work the way people often assume—with media doing all the persuading. Media in all forms respond to audience preferences and behaviors as much as the other way around. Unfortunately, the patterns of information we end up being exposed to still exacerbate divisions.”
She says the blame is tied to the economic model of today’s media landscape. “Underlying media emphasis on the extreme and outrageous is that most digital media relies on attention metrics like clicks and because competition for the public’s attention is so intense. Media outlets face strong economic incentives to publish and promote the most attention-grabbing content,” she says.
Turning our attention back to the 2022 Pew Research study, it is clear that there has been a rise in the shares in both parties who describe their co-partisans in positive terms – saying they are more moral, open-minded and honest than other Americans.
In making us in his image, God created human beings as moral creatures. Our minds are constantly in a moral mode of thinking and reasoning. Our consciences demand attention, and we are continually observing others around us for moral signals.
Our Creator gave us laws, principles, precepts, and commandments that guide us, convict us, and protect us. Christian leaders know to be thankful for the common morality that is revealed in nature and has been recognized in some form in virtually every civilization and culture. We are also thankful for the specific moral instruction given to us in the Bible through the commandments and statutes and laws that frame our Christian moral knowledge.
Furthermore, we must recognize the importance of the moral order represented by the government, which, after all, was also given to us by our Creator in order that we might live in societies of order and peace. If these structures of law and morality did not exist, leadership would be impossible.
Dispensationalist theology is perhaps best known for its distinctive eschatological doctrines, particularly the doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture of the church. According to this doctrine, this present church age will be followed by a seven-year period of tribulation. Before the tribulation begins (thus “pre-tribulation”), the church will be caught up to heaven where believers will be with Christ until the second coming, which occurs at the end of the tribulation. At that time, they will return with Christ, who will then inaugurate His millennial kingdom (dispensationalists are thus also premillennialists).
About ten days ago, while minding my own business and contemplating how to spend the least amount of money at Wal Mart, I suddenly felt "That Pain". It was like a knife had been injected into my left side, I started to sweat, and then the pain decided to take up a more permanent residence. This caused all kinds of issues, as I'm sure you can imagine, from no longer desiring to eat, to not being able to sleep, to not being able to sit at work and going from a maximum day of around eleven hours to five and half hours (which also, remarkably, correlated with the time I could exist without a pain pill.) Called my favorite urologist who it turns out no longer had me as an active patient, and started the fun process of getting a referral, trying to manage pain that was an unrelenting foe, and then scheduling the CT scans, etc.
But the reason for this blog is this, tracking previous stone attacks, I noticed what to me is a weird coincidence, each time I had an attack of kidney stones, it started in the month of September! September 2002 was my first experience, followed by 2006, 2010, and then 2013. At this point you can imagine my dread that settled on my around the fall season, roughly every four years. But praise Jesus, I've had zero attacks since 2013.
Until now.
September 2025.
Pray for me people, please . . .
http://www.saltandlightmin.org/blog/where-do-i-go-when-i-die
"My friend Ann and I like to talk when we work out at the gym. Sometimes, she’ll pose a question about the Bible, which I love to talk about. Here was her most recent questions:
What happens to us when we die?
I told her that it might be better if I wrote down my answer to that instead of trying to explain it between short puffs of breath.
That was about a week ago and I’m still writing. Since I’ve spent a good bit of time on it, I thought I would just share with all of you.
Before I begin, let me say two things:
WHERE you spend your afterlife is not even remotely as important as WHO you spend your afterlife with. If you confess Jesus as YOUR Savior in the present life you will be WITH Him in the afterlife. (Luke 9:26) The primary difference between heaven and hell is not location as much as the company you will be keeping. Jesus is in heaven. Jesus is NOT in hell.
Because I love the subject of Eschatology, I’ve formulated some ideas about it based on a Judeo-Christian worldview found in the Bible. The Bible frames the way I look at everything. So, this is my understanding (at this point) of what the Bible says about the afterlife.
To begin with, I think that where we go when we die will move around a little bit based on the timeline of human history and then eternity. I will provide my scriptural basis for each phase of this progression. Generally, I believe it will go something like this FOR THE BELIEVER.
-- The Wall Street Journal: September 11, 2025
During recent national traumas we’ve heard the side argument over “thoughts and prayers.” Something terrible happens, someone sends thoughts and prayers, someone else snaps, “We don’t need your prayers, we need action.” They denounce the phrase only because they don’t understand it, and give unwitting offense. (I always hope it is unwitting.)
Prayer is action. It’s effort. It takes time. Christians believe God is an actual participant in history. He’s here, every day, in the trenches. He didn’t create the universe and disappear into the mists; his creation is an ongoing event, he is here in the world with you. When something terrible happens and you talk to him—that’s what prayer is, talking to him, communicating with concentration—you are actively asking for help, for intercession. “Please help her suffering, help their children, they are so alone.” “Help me be brave through this.”
It’s active, not passive. Catholics, when they’d pray over and over or with friends, used to call it storming heaven. It isn’t a way of dodging responsibility, it is (if you are really doing it and not just publicly posing) a way of taking it.
So pray now for America. We are in big trouble.
Four years ago, Max Lucado was sitting with a diagnosis that could have ended his life. Doctors had just informed the bestselling author and pastor that he had an ascending aortic aneurysm, an alarming and potentially deadly condition.
“I spiraled,” the 70-year-old Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, told The Christian Post. “The first three or four days after I heard the diagnosis, I’m not proud of the anxiety level I permitted.”
Then came a moment that changed everything. During a time of prayer, Lucado said he received a vision: God’s hand gently wrapped around his aorta.
“It may sound supernatural or mystical,” he said, “but I can’t deny that God gave me that vision. I believe His hand is on it, and it always was, even when I didn’t recognize it.”
The aneurysm, he shared, has grown only slightly since the diagnosis, and today, he’s grounded in a peace that can only come from God, regardless of what the future holds.
“I do not want to leave my family. I do not want to leave my precious wife. But I’m excited to see Jesus whenever that time comes,” he reflected. “I really am at peace. That doesn’t mean I want to leave. I don’t. But I don’t have a bucket list. My best life is after this life. I’m very, very grateful for that blessing.”
In this Gospel lesson, Jesus reminds us, as he had proclaimed many times before to his disciples, "If you really want to be my disciple, take up your cross and follow me." And if we listen carefully and deeply to the lessons of today for a few moments, I think we will discover in a very deep way what Jesus means by that, and also we will be aware of the challenge it takes truly to follow Jesus. And first of all, I think it's important for us to realize that in what Jesus is to undergo.
You see, we have to understand that the incarnation, Jesus in his humanness, is totally separate from his identity, and so he's one like us. He had to trust in God just as we do, and he found that very difficult, just as we do. If you listen carefully to that passage from the letter to the Hebrews, you find Jesus described in a way that I think is almost shocking: "In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him." (Hebrews 5:7-9)
‘Time-alone’ is a sought after treasure. A time to think, read, and ‘do what I want to do.’ The menu is simpler, conflicts are reduced, and no one is around to question decisions made or decisions postponed. We all need ‘time-away’. Time to seek God’s voice, reflect, relax and recover. We ask ourselves important questions and listen for the Spirit’s voice. Jesus was reported to regularly retreat and seek out places of solitude and prayer. However, I am coming to understand the dangerous differences between being alone, loneliness and isolation. Social distancing has consequences.
However, the very first warning in the creation story is “It is not good for man to be alone.” When people are alone, many struggle with burdens, anxiety, addictions and the sorrow of opportunities lost. Temptation knocks. Loneliness can enhance feelings of depression and can flood your mind with accusations and bitterness.
But you know what is worse than loneliness?
Isolation.
During the 60's and 70's, the New York Yankees were frequent participants in the World Series. And even though their greatest player, Mickey Mantle, best years were in the 50's, he had still achieved legendary status by the time I became a baseball fan. My dad would often speak of Mickey's best season that happened in 1954. He won the American League Triple Crown by leading the majors in batting average (.353), home runs (52), and runs batted in (130). Additionally, he topped the league in runs scored (132), slugging percentage (.705), and total bases (376). Mantle also led the AL in walks with 122, which helped his overall offensive production. His stellar performance earned him the AL Most Valuable Player award that year as well.