I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I just watched this compelling video from Fortis Institute where Todd Friel answers a variety of questions from students at OSU. The first question definitely hits hard and is one that is important to be able to answer and discuss from a Biblical framework, but all of the questions and answers I found helpful and worth sharing with you all. I hope you'll find it as interesting and helpful.

"Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah" - Matthew 1:16 Not much is known of Joseph. Well, I don't know much, maybe others know more. But Scripture does not mention him much. By my counts he is only mentioned some 15 or 16 times, and that's it. Of those less than 20 mentions, not once are any of his words recorded. And yet, for a man hardly mentioned in Scripture, whose words are not brought to our attention, we a

Recently I've been reading very slowly through the opening chapters of Luke in preparation for Christmas. There's really a lot of little sections to it and each of them have their own story to tell and details to add to the greater story surrounding the birth of Christ. Can you imagine how Jesus' earthly parents felt during each of these accounts? Today I read about Anna, the prophetess. It's a short passage, detailing a moment at the temple as Jesus was being presented and c

From the very beginning, from the time that sin entered the world, creation has groaned, awaiting the restoration of all things. There's a sense of desperation that permeates Scripture. Doubtless did Adam and Eve think upon the birth of their first born that he would be the promised seed, one who would crush the serpents head. Instead he continued the same pattern as his parents and fell headlong into sin. Generations came and went until Noah. Would he perhaps be the savior?

As we wrap up the week, and the month, we finish out this week's theme of thankfulness by looking at one more area that the Scriptures show we ought to be thankful for: people. "We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers;" - 1 Thessalonians 1:3 The New Testament example clearly shows the various authors being thankful for a variety of people in their lives, mentioning how they pray for them, thank God for them, and are thankful for the

Oftentimes, it can be easy to take things for granted. The things we've discussed this week are no exception. That said, relatively speaking, it's easy to be thankful for the good things. Relative to what? The difficult things in life. Even the secular world shows gratitude for the positive things, but Christian thankfulness extends to every area of life, even the difficult parts. "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials," - James 1:2 This is a dif

As we celebrate this Thanksgiving Day, amidst the feasting and the family, the football and fellowship, whatever it is you find on this day, may we remember Paul's words to the Corinthian church: "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" - 2 Corinthians 9:15 We have so many things to be thankful for but the greatest is the fact that God has and will continue to save sinners; and that if we are in Christ, it is by His grace, so let us be thankful for that. Because of Chri

While being thankful for good things, for people, and for many other things is of utmost importance, one of the primary objects (if that's even the proper word) we are to be thankful for is God Himself. "Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting" - Psalm 107:1 I'm sure you've heard of different acronyms to assist in prayer, but if you haven't, one example is the acronym A.C.T.S., meaning: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplicati

Landscape portrait of me in Yellowstone, taken by my friend, Dean. For something that I didn't get into until I was well into my adult years, I'm pleasantly surprised how much I've enjoyed photography. More than that though, I realize that I am thankful for the gift of it, and everything good connected with it. As a child, going outdoors was oftentimes a mix of fun, but also fear. Not fear of danger, but I just didn't like getting dirty. But when I was 11 or 12, a visit to th

For the final theme of November, we're going to look at... You guessed it, thankfulness. Some of this may be a slight departure from the intent of this site, but I hope you'll see that it fits in the greater context of life itself. I know it seems a bit cliche, but thankfulness is not a cliche idea. In fact, if we're honest, it's a very difficult thing, especially when it comes to the Christian idea of thankfulness which isn't just thankful for the good things, but also fo

You may recall in fairly recent years that a banana duct taped to a wall was sold for multiple millions of dollars as 'art'. More recently an artist sold, well, actually it was nothing, for a pretty penny as well. The invisible sculpture sold for over 18,000 dollars. Modern art has oftentimes been ridiculed by many for the very simple yet abstract shapes, with many saying "even I could do that!" Even some landscape scenes far 'surpass' that of reality with gaudy over saturati

Friday's share is a pretty deep article, but fitting for our discussion this week. We're going to look today at how we view the world itself; that is, how do we understand truth and reality itself? It's a big word that I'm going to let the author from Answers in Genesis explain, because I myself will do a terrible job at it. This article is the first of I'm not sure how many as it is ongoing, but I hope you will find it helpful especially in dealing with how we can approach

I recently watched a portion of acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns' new documentary on the American Revolution. I have to admit however that I approach it with a great deal of trepidation. Why? Because, in short, I'm not sure if I'm being lied to. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that much of what is said is historically accurate and factual. But can I trust the bias and spin put on things in this very anti-American age that we live in? And no, I don't worship the ground the founding

As we continue our theme of Theology and its affect on our worldview, todays post share deals with using theology in the area of mental health, specifically dealing with 'triggers'. I know that mental health is a touchy issue; I myself admit my own struggles in this area. But Scripture is once again our guide, and may God help us to use it practically in how we approach issues, including tough ones like mental issues. So, I hope you will find this an interesting read , and wh

Continuing our theme for the week, one of the areas closest to my heart as a nature photographer is how theology affects how we view nature itself. Is it the product of natural laws, processes that have been going on for millions and billions of years? Is it the creation of an all powerful God? Could it be both; could God have chosen to use the process of evolution and uniformitarian principles to bring about the world that we observe today?

At the risk of sharing too many of Tim Challies blogs, I am once again doing so. But I hope, if he notices, that he will forgive that, for firstly I think this article is eye-opening and a helpful read. But also because I'm continuing "themes" for November and this week is how theology shapes our world view in different areas. His article on what is really assisted suicide is a humbling look into what is sadly a very real and growing concern. While it hasn't taken hold in the

Thinking about this week's theme, I had wanted to go over what I do and use as far as technology and editing of my photos, etc. But this morning in my Bible reading I was reminded of something that might be of much more benefit. To recap the week, we started with an article from ACBC on speaking the truth in love. While not immediately evident, it ties in with the rest of the weeks discussion on A.I. and integrity by giving us a groundwork for telling the truth. With the adve

In looking for a share for this weeks theme, I came across this article by Tim Challies. I'll admit I found it a tad convicting as well. I can safely, and perhaps sadly say, that a large chunk of my theology has developed because of insights and resources that I found through other sites and sources more so than a lot of what I have learned in church. I am incredibly thankful that God in His providence led me to safe and sound websites and used these resources to develop my

It's funny, I realize that the way my day (and week) is going that it would probably be a good idea to use today as one of my 'share-a-post' days. This week I have been trying to stick to a theme of integrity and specifically in regards to technology, and in starting this post, I remembered that my website builder offers a lot of A.I. tools. One of them being that I can generate a post. It would be incredibly easy to just put in a few prompts and let A.I. do the work. But I t

For Wednesday's share I wanted to share this video , another from Answers in Genesis Canada. This time, the newest in their series "A Talk With Grok". It ties in with the theme this week dealing with the concepts of truth as well as how it ties with A.I. and technology. I personally shy away from using these A.I. chat bots, but understand they can have a place in our life. That said, it's a really interesting "conversation" showing the legitimacy of the creationist argument a