Teens...Difference...Reverse...

Hey everyone!
I am, as you might have noticed, a huge fan of Apologetics. I should confess though, that most of what I have been posting are just essays from my homework. (Talk about cool homework, right? I get to write about One of the best things in the world...Every. Day. For. School.) And as much as I love sharing all this stuff with you guys, I think that I should start writing more...shall we say...for God, rather than just good credits.
Anyway, to return to the Apologetics. I have no idea how many of you have heard of Dare2Share, but they are a pretty cool ministry. (Ironically, I am wearing one of their Tshirts right now.) Greg Stier heads up D2S, and has written a ton of books and evangelistic tools that I find really helpful.
I am reading their devotional called Reverse right now, and want to promote it in the best way possible. It is an amazing book, and I cannot say enough that you should read it. Again, you can get it on their website, and if you click on the tag below the picture, it should take you to the store.

 

 




















http://store.dare2share.org/collections/books/products/reverse-devotional


I also subscribe to their blog, Soul Fuel, and just read this section titled 'It's Where Your Demons Hide', and thought I would post an excerpt for you to read.


Half of you wants to pray – the other half wants to keep snoozing.
Half of you wants to give – the other half wants to take.
Half of you wants to read the Bible – the other half says you’re too busy.
Half of you wants forgive – the other half wants to be bitter.
Half of you wants to love – the other half wants to hate.
Half of you wants to serve Jesus – the other half wants to be selfish

There's more, but it refers to their outreach programs, and without a lot of dialog, it would not make much sense. If you want to read the rest, here is the link: http://www.dare2share.org/soul-fuel/its-where-your-demons-hide/ 

But to return to the subject. If it is true that half of you wants what is right, and the other half wants what is wrong, then we all have to be really careful of what we let ourselves do. (And don't get me wrong, I have tons of my own problems too.) It's not like I have arrived at any gigantic victory yet, the important thing is that I am on my way towards that victory. That I want a change, want to Reverse and go another direction, want a difference in my life.

So do you want a change enough that you are willing to change? Are you so desperate for hope, real love, for true joy? Well, God's Word has something to say about that. He says: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God..." If God does such an amazing thing for all of us, then why should we not attempt to change ourselves? There is such hope in Him, in His grace, in His love, how can we not want to be different?

Yea, it takes guts to reverse our path and walk against the flow of all humanity, but is that not what every teen wants? To be different? I know that is one of the things I have always wanted, (To the horror of my mother, I have made my fair share of mistakes.) and I am sure that most of you reading this want to be different too. But we should be different in...well...a different way. Let's be different from the world, not different from our Mums. ;D
-Marissa


Disclamer: all  credit to the usage of the word 'Reverse' goes to D2S Ministries, as well as any mention of their resources.

The Law of Causality and the Bible

                The Law of Causality is the theory that everything must have a beginning. This is proved by the fact that the universe is expanding. There is a “red shift” in the light from each observable galaxy, which means that they are all moving away from us. It appears that everything is expanding away from a solitary point in the past.

                 Matter is what creates the universe. It forms the solar system, the earth, and our very bodies. Matter is even evident in the computer that I am using to record information on. Without matter there is no life. However scientists attempt to show otherwise, it is not possible that matter was in existence for infinitum. There had to be a beginning to everything.

                If there is one thing that is evident in “The Great Outdoors” it is that everything must have come from something, and that someone must have created it. Even without the belief that God made everything, it is still commonly believed that something made the universe happen.

                Say for example we adopt the Big Bang theory. Where would the “Big Bang” have come from? Would it not need something to start the explosion?  When a tube of dynamite is detonated, someone had to strike the match, lean down, light the cord, and thus begin the chain of events leading up to the explosion. There is no argument about whether the cord lit itself, or the dynamite just suddenly went off without any provocation. It is accepted that an intelligent being was needed to “start the dominos toppling.”

                The great skeptic David Hume even stated concerning the Law of Causality: “I never asserted so absurd a proposition something could arise without a cause.” Francis Bacon also refuted this theory by saying, “True knowledge is knowledge by causes.” Therefore, if there was no beginning of matter, there would be no beginning to life, and therefore, no end either. The dust motes from the explosion would go on drifting through space for eternity, and no one would be the wiser.

                With the idea that there must be something to cause a beginning, we are led to believe that there must have been Someone to start things moving. As a dear friend told me not too long ago, God placed deep inside us, the absolute certainty that there is a God out there. Whether or not we believe that there is one God, or many gods, has been left to us to decide. We are given the choice to believe in a God, many gods, no God whatsoever, or that creation is a god.

                This leaves me one last question. If there is a God out there, who did cause that “bang”, did not He make a beautiful thing, and is He not worthy of being worshiped? After all, we were all created. Most would agree with that statement on some level; either that we were created by a God, or our parents. Therefore, we must conclude that the Law of Causality is certainly adaptable with Biblical standards. Lastly, if science is to be believed, matter came from something. Therefore, life came from something, and the intelligence of the human mind is proof enough that it could not have been formed on its own. 

-Marissa

Truth vs. Tolerance

 

                Truth is a funny thing. It causes a person to question his former beliefs. Truth disturbs the inner convictions that we think are set in concrete, and it breaks all the rules that were formerly not even questioned. The word ‘truth’ comes from the Middle English treuthe, which is cognate with the Old Norse word, tryggth, or faith. It essentially means ‘a fact that has been verified’, or ‘conformity to reality or actuality’.
                 The phrase ‘relative truth’ is defined as ‘a belief that truth is based upon the views of the
individual’. Simply put, what one person believes is wrong, may be right in another’s eyes. Abortion may be considered as murder in the Christian Church, but from America’s point of view, it is the right of the mother to make the final decision. Therefore, if I believe that God is creation, rather than God is the creator, you must not only leave me to believe what I want, but accept my belief as reasonable as yours is.
                Despite the relativism in our culture today, absolute truth is understandable, believable, and reasonable. There are facts to back up the claims that are demanded by absolute truth. An absolute
truth is evidenced by the fact that if you jumped off a cliff, you would be subjected to the law of gravity, and eventually crash into the earth. Mere faith that you would fly cannot change the laws of creation.

                Truth is not reliant on what we think or feel; truth is truth, whether we like it or not. If a person is told that the Twin Towers were hit by an airplane, and he does not believe him, that does not make the truth at all untrue. Rather, it shows that while faith is necessary to believe, it is not necessary for things to happen. In that case, no good can come of the belief that ‘truth is relative’.

                Although truth does not need faith to act, faith needs a certain amount of truth for anything to be believed in. If evolution need scientific evidence to prove that it exists, then creationism must have facts to show that it is correct. Contrary to popular opinion, all religions are not the same. Even in
Christianity, there are many different denominations, and everyone thinks that they are right.
                All religions have drastic differences, some believe in one God, and others believe in many.
There are beliefs that are based upon works and those that are based upon faith. Nonetheless, all of
these cannot be the same, because none of them agree on everything. They cannot be true because
they teach opposites.
               Therefore, since all religions cannot be true, it is impossible for us to agree with the new
definition of tolerance, the idea that all beliefs are true. Invariably, someone’s drastically different belief pattern will disrupt the pattern of ‘tranquility’ that will supposedly be enforced by this standard. We are to respect what others believe is true, but to kindly explain the truth to them. Francis Bacon once said, ‘Small amounts of philosophy lead to atheism, but larger amounts bring us back to God.’ After all, if you defend your own faith, and politely question those that believe in ‘tolerance’, you may one day save them from eternal punishment.

Hi everyone! I thought that today was high time I explained why Anna Katherine and I chose the name for this blog after Tolkien's books...and while we're at it, I am going to let you see some of his artwork.

I first read Tolkien's Lord of the Ring's trilogy when I was thirteen, and have been enamored with all things LOTR since. Beyond that, Tolkien's books have much that we can learn from. The poem 'The Road Goes Ever On And On', tells a story of a person, (or hobbit) that has a long life ahead of him, and is following a road that continues ahead. This person has many choices to make, and many paths to choose from. He speaks continuely about his feet going on down any old path, and how he never knows where they are going to go next.

This is an interesting concept to consider. On one hand, we could suppose that Tolkien was saying that we have no choice in where our lives go; or we can decide that he was speaking of the choices we must make each and every day which will influence our entire lives and those that come after us. There is nothing in the Bible that would give us to assume that we cannot choose our own paths through life. Rather, we read that God gave us a free will to do as we chose, but we must suffer the consequences for our actions, whether good or bad.

 

 

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with weary feet,

Until it joins some larger way,

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

 

The Road goes ever on and on

Out from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

Let others follow it who can!

Let them a journey new begin,

But I at last with weary feet

Will turn towards the lighted inn,

My evening-rest and sleep to meet.  

 

 

-Marissa

Women's Fashion Today

Today, I thought I would talk about fashion. I am becoming worried about the shallowness of women's fashion today. The common sentiment is that we should look just as the men do, then maybe we will gain the rights that we, admittedly, don't have now. But do we want that? Ponder this:

The fashion of today is top heavy with menswear and strong lines. Some companies balance this with soft edges, and delicate prints, but most are desperate for hard and rough looks. The difficult part of this is that the risk of doing so defeats the purpose of women’s wear. The purpose of such is to leave no reason to doubt that women are women, and men are men.

In the culture of today, this has been scrambled to the point that a person has to look twice to discover if it is a man or a woman. The important thing to remember, is that fashion is not as much a part of taste as it is of modesty and of distinction. If there is no distinction between a man or woman, then it results in a confusion of gender, truth, and ultimately, of one’s faith.

The multibillion dollar fashion industry has drawn upon what the average female wants to wear, or see. The companies only put out what would sell, or would produce monetary gain. Thus we can surmise that the fashion industry is producing what is called good taste only because that is what we want. From this conclusion, we can only begin to wonder what fashion would be like, if it had followed a more modest trend.

How a person shops, talks, and reads, will ultimately influence those that work in fashion. What is important is not that the people change the fashion industry, but rather, that the people change the way they dress. Currently, fashion is based upon what will make the female population sensually attractive to the male population. Immense problems arise once a society rejects God’s standard of dress, and follows Satan’s agenda.

The word ‘fad’ is defined as: ‘a temporary fashion, notion, manner of conduct, etc., especially one followed enthusiastically by a group.’ This is evident in the current fashion industry. No sooner has one distinctive feature been displayed on the runway, then another follows it the week after. One must eventually realize that the fads that are rife in today’s culture are no more than a waste of time and money.

There are those that are desperate to be the latest in fashion, but once having bought the item that they are coveting, they lose interest in it and must rush back to the store. This not only takes a huge toll upon the bank account, but fosters a dissatisfaction with what God has given us. In 1 John 2:15:17, the Lord commands us to leave the love of this world.

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. ¹⁷ And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

This is very important to the health of the church, to the health of the believer, and to the health of a nation. For many people have wandered from the faith, and chosen the world’s answer to their problems. As a Christian, we must beware of false prophets in the fashion industry, and be careful of what we believe is modest.

Attempting to explain the damage of inappropriate fashion is nigh impossible. The worst of which causes women to act less like what they were created to be, more often assuming the role of the man in the family. What many do not realize, is that this is detrimental to the family relationship that God created for us.  

Lastly, one must be careful of what they allow in their lives. (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) Fashion is the culmination of an individual’s taste, morals, and convictions. It is said that fashion tells others what we think of ourselves, and those around us. Americans especially, need to be wary of fashion, because it is seen as a way of expressing freedom, and can be taken too far. Simply put, fashion is an art form. A way for a person to express herself, demonstrating her emotions and ideas.

~Marissa

Scientific Proof of the Bible

The Bible is estimated to have been written between 1450 B.C. and 95 A.D. This chart shows scientific facts and principles referred to in this ancient Bible, but not actually discovered by humankind until later centuries. Dead sea scrolls, historical documentation, and word of mouth all confirm the authenticity of the Bible and when it was created. Since people had no official knowledge of these scientific facts until more than a thousand years after the Bible was written, is this scientific proof that the Bible was inspired by God?

Scientific Fact or Principle	Bible reference	Date of discovery by man
Both man and woman possess the seed of life	Genesis 3:15	17th Century
There is a place void of stars in the North	Job 26:7	19th Century
Earth is held in place by invisible forces	Job 26:7	1650
Taxonomic classification of matter	Genesis 1	1735
The Earth is round	Isaiah 40:22	15th Century
Certain animals carry diseases harmful to man	Leviticus 11	16th Century
Early diagnosis of leprosy	Leviticus 13	17th Century
Quarantine for disease control	Leviticus 13	17th Century
Blood of animals carries diseases	Leviticus 17	17th Century
Blood is necessary for life	Leviticus 17:11	19th Century
Oceans have natural paths in them	Psalms 8:8	1854
Earth was in nebular form initially	Genesis 1:2	1911
Most seaworthy ship design ratio is 30:5:3	Genesis 6	1860
Light is a particle and has mass (a photon)	Job 38:19	1932
Radio astronomy (stars give off signals)	Job 38:7	1945
Oceans contain fresh water springs	Job 38:16	1920
Snow has material value	Job 38:22	1905, 1966
Infinite number of stars exist	Genesis 15:5	1940
Dust is important to survival	Isaiah 40:12	1935
Hubert Spencer's scientific principles	Genesis 1	1820
Air has weight	Job 28:25	16th Century
Light can be split up into component colors	Job 38:24	1650
Matter is made up of invisible particles	Romans 1:20	20th Century
Plants use sunlight to manufacture food	Job 8:16	1920
Arcturus and other stars move through space	Job 38:32	19th Century
Water cycle	Ecclesiastes 1:7	17th Century
Life originated in the sea	Genesis 1	19th Century
Lightning and thunder are related	Job 38:25	19th Century
Man was the last animal created	Genesis 1	15th Century

This particular piece of information was taken from thekingjamesbible.com. It has been posted for informational purposes only. Please respect the copyrights.

Hey there!
No one has been posting anything for a while, so I thought I would put this on. There is a lot of controversy over whether the Bible is accurate or not. This is some factual proof that the Bible is really what it says it is. While there are some that would wish to dispute this, please remember that God is the final answer. Please enjoy!
Marissa