Why Christianity? Part 2

Why Christianity?
#2 Because we can see Jesus working in our daily lives.
Samaritan's Purse, Operation Christmas Child, is a charity that our church supports. Every year the congregation donates items for the boxes: pens, pencils, crayons, paper, glue, small toys, toothbrushes and toothpaste, soap, socks, etc. Then, in November, the children of the church pack all of the items into individual boxes that are then sent off to children somewhere in the world; we don't know where our specific boxes go until sometime in December. One year, they were sent to Madagascar, which I thought was really neat. We receive many wonderful letters from children who have received the boxes telling us of their joy and the impact this has had on their lives.
I hope you'll enjoy this video. One of my favorite lines from this is that these boxes allow the children "to experience God in tangible ways."

Please check out Samaritan's Purse, Operation Christmas Child, and consider making a donation.

Why Christianity? Part 1

I received a writing challenge last weekend to retell a story from the Bible, in my own words, to emphasize what is important about it to me, and what I would want to tell someone else who had never heard of the Bible story. It occurred to me, that this would be a great idea for other aspects of the Bible, as well, and could also incorporate my testimony. So,...

Why Christianity?
#1     Because, Jesus loves you.
When I was a child, I went to Sunday School almost every Sunday. We would sing, "Jesus Loves Me" almost every Sunday. There was never any doubt in my mind that He was the Messiah, the Son of God. There was no reason to ever question if I had faith in Him because I just took it as fact what the Bible said, that He loved me, that He died on the cross to pay for my sins, that He promised me eternal life in Heaven, and that one day, I would be with Him, and the Father, and the Holy Spirit forever.

I feel so blessed to have been taught these basic truths, and want to share them.

Jesus loves me! This I know, 

For the Bible tells me so;

Little ones to Him belong,

They are weak but He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! He who died,

Heaven's gate to open wide;

He will wash away my sin,

Let His little child come in.

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! loves me still,

When I'm very weak and ill;

From His shining throne on high,

Comes to watch me where I lie.

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! He will stay,

Close beside me all the way;

He's prepared a home for me,

And some day His face I'll see.

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

The Bible tells me so.

For those who don't know

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16 (NIV)

If you proclaim Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will spend eternity in Heaven.  Jesus died for you, for your sins.  It is the greatest gift.  Spread the word.

Making a Difference

A story that I heard years ago:

Once there was a really bad storm that left thousands of starfish stranded on a beach.  They could survive there for a while, but they wouldn't make it until the tide came in, and several were past the point where the tide would ever reach them.  After the storm had passed, a boy was on the beach.  He picked up a starfish and threw it back into the sea, and then another, and another.  He kept doing this over and over again.  An older man showed up on the beach and saw what the boy was doing.  He went up to the boy and laughed, saying "My boy, look at all of these starfish.  You'll never be able to save them all.  Do you really think you can make a difference?"  The boy looked up at the man while throwing another starfish into the sea, and said, "I just made a difference for that one."  He bent over to pick up another starfish, and threw it into the water, "I just made a difference for that one, too."

How often do we see things happening around us that seem insurmountable, and therefore we do nothing, because we think doing something small is the same as doing nothing at all?