I’ve experienced so many miracles and don’t think I’ve recorded a single one, so here’s a personal one: The last time I went to the dentist I had a cavity that needed filling straight away, but I didn’t like the dentist and couldn’t quite afford the dentist’s steep rate (they had used my insurance money on x-rays and told me I would have to pay out-of-pocket); then I got pregnant and didn’t want anything in my mouth. And anyway, I never got the thing filled. As soon as I realized it might take awhile to find another dentist I prayed that the Lord would fill my cavity or else take it away completely, and had so much peace in praying that I forgot about it for several months.
How ever many months later, when I was flossing my teeth in front of a mirror, I noticed that I had a new filled-cavity in–I was pretty sure–the same place I had had the unfilled cavity at my last appointment. I only have two other fillings, so this new one really stood out. I was very excited because I knew the Lord had healed my tooth!
Today I went to a new dentist where my miracle was confirmed!! I have no unfilled cavities, old or new! And the one I did have was completely taken care of!! I do not know why the Lord chooses to heal some things and not others, but I am so excited to testify that once again He has chosen to demonstrate a healing in me! Praise Jesus!
As a child, Christmas was always my favorite holiday, not because we celebrated Jesus’ birthday (which we most definitely did), but because Santa was coming, and with him, presents. I just want to be honest: Santa has many of the same qualities as Jesus, plus he’s tangible, comes every year, and gives just the right gift; of course he seems more exciting.
I remember staying up late to listen for Santa and his reindeer on the roof as someone made an imitating sound. I remember my excitement in waking up the next morning to see that Santa had eaten every bit of the cookies and eggnog we left out for him. And, of course, I felt great affirmation that the full stockings and presents meant I had been judged ‘good’ by the one who sees all things.
I didn’t just believe in Santa. My childlike faith caused me to put a great deal of stock into both him, and the ideals he represented.
Then in late elementary school when I was recruited by my parents to be one of “Santa’s elves” and wrap presents, I was heartbroken. I had wanted so much to believe Santa was real and had even defended my position against elementary school rumors. If Santa wasn’t real was the Tooth Fairy? the Easter Bunny? Jesus?
If you’re teaching your children to believe in Jesus, I urge you not to also teach them to believe in Santa without being fully informed of the potential consequences. Certainly having Santa in the home does not necessarily lead to spiritual apostasy (I must say, my parents did a good job raising us to have faith in Jesus and all four of us still love the Lord today)… but do we really want to distract our youth from Jesus Himself?
This article by a Baptist ministry gives a very thorough history of Santa throughout the centuries, while comparing Santa to Jesus and giving verses and commentary to show how dangerous the belief in Santa can be. It is well organized and easy to skim; the history starts in section two: http://www.av1611.org/othpubls/santa.html
This article is a much shorter comparison of the main attributes of Jesus and Santa: http://www.biblebelievers.com/jmelton/SantaClause.html
What do you think? Should Santa be taught in the Christian home?
I’ve been very sick for a few weeks now, and it was so bad when it started that I couldn’t imagine what could be ‘wrong’ with me. By the second week of pain and nauseousness, I decided to spend a day fasting and praying to draw closer to God, because I thought I experiencing the physical manifestations of a spiritual attack (this does happen to me sometimes). But that night, I had continuous dreams about being pregnant and knew it to be true. One pregnancy test and a doctor’s visit later it’s confirmed: we’re going to be parents! My husband and I are excited! 
That said, it’s been a difficult first trimester. I’ve spent nearly all my time lately either on our couch or bed–or floor, in a few rougher moments. And I’m practically never sick, so not ‘functioning’ like this has been difficult and shocking to me. I’ve done almost no reading, no researching, no meeting of people, no writing (even to journal), hardly any eating (though this is improving slowly)… It’s been a new and exciting uphill journey.
My joy level, fortunately, has been fairly high, so I don’t want it to sound as if this first trimester has been terribly awful. In fact, with so many of my normal activities on hold, I’ve been able to spend many uninterrupted hours with the Lord in pure intercession and worship: singing a great deal in the Spirit, and marveling at the miracle going on in my body. I’ve also felt closer to my family than ever–though we’ve always been a pretty tight-knit group. These are definitely precious times, despite the constant nausea and physical pains. I even think I feel the Lord more powerfully when pain allows me to cry more desperately to know and experience Him.
I work occasionally as a parking enforcement officer–a job I started to get myself through college, and have enjoyed so much I probably will never fully quit.
As I write parking tickets, I’ve often encountered angry people and have had to share with them what they’ve done, while still executing justice. I’ve heard every excuse, and one time was nearly killed by a man who had parked over an hour in a 30 minute parking zone and, in rage, attempted to run me over with his truck before the police got involved.
One of the most common excuses is not knowing the rules of the road: “I didn’t know that wasn’t a parking space.”, “I didn’t know I needed a permit in that area.”, “No one told me I couldn’t drive through the bus center.”, and so forth. Some of the people I meet are really nice people who really didn’t know they were in the wrong; more of them are lying (evidenced by the computerized system I carry of every ticket and warning they’ve had in the past). Regardless, it’s the responsibility of those who drive to know the rules of the road (and of parking). It’s my responsibility as parking enforcement officer to judge rightly and execute judgment according to the law.
I say this because many Christians neglect to actively pursue the Lord–even though it’s clear that love (demonstrated through obedience) is the first and foremost commandment. We don’t, in the new covenant, have a rule book to follow as the Jews did; instead, the Holy Spirit writes the law on our hearts and connects us to God so that we can know and walk out His will. Without the pursuit of God through the Holy Spirit (by reading the Bible, dialoguing with the Lord in prayer, connecting with other Christians in fellowship,…) we miss knowing Him. And if we don’t know Him, well, He’ll still have to execute perfect judgment.
The season of God’s mercy is NOW. Right now we’re alive and have the choice whether to learn God’s heart and choose His ways, or whether to drive our lives by our own rules. And while I can give ‘warnings’ to those parked in the wrong spot (the gift of surprise mercy), God’s mercy is only available until we die, after that His judgment can be nothing but Just because He can’t go back on His word.
Years ago I went through a long season of not wanting to feel any more. I had been reading a lot on psychology and Buddhism and hypnosis, and started experimenting with ‘transcending’ my feelings so as not to have emotional pain and unrest.
Actually, I was successful in ‘not feeling’ for a time.
It was a very powerful time in my life–charmingly dark and powerful. I was also working to develop my psychic abilities, self hypnosis, and vision of the unseen; and I was very successful in my occult interests.
There was a problem though, and I’ll tell you why I wasn’t satisfied with the “New Age” way of living: I became so good at not feeling that I didn’t feel anything. My family and friends had shown me glimpses of love and joy, but I had stopped feeling altogether–no love, no joy, no peace, and so on–and yet, I remembered that I had often felt those good feelings in the past. So slowly I began to soften my heart so I could feel the good parts again, despite the additional torment.
It wasn’t until years later that I learned Jesus really can, and wants to, take away all our pain–that regardless of circumstance we can rest in the fruit of His Spirit. The irony is that to receive the Lord’s peace, we must circumcise our hearts–making ourselves vulnerable by cutting away the skin of our hearts, that the softer part would be out in the open. This is contrary to our thinking because initially it is so painful to sacrifice even our wounds to a God we can’t see; it takes a great deal of trust and faith.
The alternative, however, is the hardening/thickening of the heart–an empowering of the self in order to block out emotional intrusions by building up a defense barrier. This is one of the ways which seems right to man, but leads in the end to death (Prov 14:12). The higher and longer and stronger we build the wall around our hearts, the more we cover up uncleaned wounds, perceive happiness and peace when there is none, and the harder it becomes for the wall to be destroyed.
It’s painful to be vulnerable (thus, the Biblical analogy of circumcision, which I’ve heard is painful as well–and increasingly so with age); but, it’s also necessary to rip emotional problems and wounds out by the roots, which requires entering into the most sensitive places. And it’s not just about reaching the sensitive places, but about allowing Jesus to adequately and thoroughly heal and cleanse us from the inside out. The Lord Himself is the only one trustworthy to handle our hearts, so we can put it all in His hands!
