This New Year’s Eve was the twenty-eighth that my husband and I have spent together. Starting with the first year we met, we’ve never missed a year; even the year I had the flu and he took care of me. I remember details from other New Year’s Eves as well. Remember Y2K? So much hype. So little consequences. We did try to have some fun at our house that night. At midnight we shut the main power off. The house went black! Well, none of our party guests fell for it; but we did all have a good laugh. [...]
Part Five in a Five post Christmas series (Part One) Jesus was promised and sent. His coming, life, death, and resurrection had great purpose. But let me continue to remain quiet and let the scriptures proclaim his glory…
"'For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!'"
(Luke 2:11-14 ESV) [...]
Part Three in a Five post Christmas series (Part One) The Son was sent, but why? Why did he come? Read the reasons He gave ...
"Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'" [...]
Part Two in a Five post Christmas series (Part One) The Son promised was Sent by the Father Keeping with my intention to let the scriptures speak:
"But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." (Galatians 4:4-5 NASB)
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16 KJV) [...]
This is the first of five Christmas posts. It is my desire to say as little as possible in these posts. Instead, I wish to let the scriptures speak to the wonderful reality that we celebrate at Christmas. I will start simply by sharing verses that foretell the birth of Jesus.
"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14) [...]
You may have noticed that my author name on these posts is thirdstrand. I’d like to share its meaning. I came up with the username thirdstrand years ago. I was in need of a new username for an online account. Because I love symbolism, I sat down and tried to think of a name that would have special meaning instead of something like sharon123! I went through different ideas and combinations of words and eventually drew from something that was significant in my life. [...]
As I mentioned in my previous post, the anniversary of my new birth falls on Thanksgiving this year! I love it when that happens. I would love to tell the whole story right now about how I came to know the Lord, but it is a long story. I hope to write it out someday. Today, I would like to tell part of the story. I think it is a pretty cool part. I came to Christ and out of the domain of darkness (Colossians 1:13) in the darkness. What I mean is, it was night time. That night, after I was given eyes to see the sacrifice for my sins in Jesus’ death and my heart was opened to believe in him, I was filled with incredible joy. [...]
Thanksgiving is just around the corner! I’ve always loved Thanksgiving. Somehow, even after all these years, that day always feels special. I love the way the house smells when all the food is being prepared. I love relaxing with the family after we are all stuffed. I love the pies! This year Thanksgiving falls on the 26th anniversary of my new birth. It happens every so often that they coincide. It always seems like Thanksgiving is a little bit more special those years. I can’t help but be mindful of the anniversary of my salvation at Thanksgiving even when they’re not on the same day. It is what I am most thankful for. I guess it’s still amazes me that such a wonderful thing happened. [...]
The Bible. An amazing book with a fascinating history. Assembled from writings that span millennia, it surely deserves admiration from aficionados of literature. Christians, however, know that it is much more than an amazing book. It is a treasure. It is a treasure to us because we believe the Bible is God’s word. Rightly viewed, its value is beyond anything else on this earth. Many Christians have testified to this with their lives. We in the United States are incredibly blessed to live where we can easily have access to a Bible in our native language and that we can read it without fear of serious persecution, imprisonment, or death. [...]
The answer to this question can be very controversial. You will get a wide range of answers depending on who you ask. Even within the Christian community there is quite a spectrum of opinions. We could debate the wearing of shorts, long skirts, makeup, hair length. and a variety of other matters. Although this could lead to a very interesting discussion, I do not intend to head down that path right now. That’s a big discussion that can be entered into another time. Instead, I’d like to keep it simple and briefly discuss a different type of adornment. [...]
The phrase Sanctify Christ as Lord comes from 1 Peter 3:15. This verse is one of the cornerstone verses of Chapter Three Ministries. I’m sure I will be revisiting it again and again in my writings. From the context we can see that the subject at hand is suffering for the sake of righteousness. Peter encouraged his Christian readers not to fear or be troubled in their suffering. He gave them a different path to take. That path began with sanctifying Christ as Lord. [...]
If you clicked on the image on my homepage to read this post, you may have thought it was an invitation to follow me. It certainly looks that way! The image has “Follow” written all over it, and the name of the post is “Follow Me!” Though I would be truly honored if you followed me, that is not what this post is about. [...]
"Why Chapter 3?” is really two questions. The first is “Why is this ministry called Chapter 3 Ministries?” The second is “Why does this ministry exist?” Chapter 3 Ministries gets its name from 1 Peter chapter three. The idea for the name came to me when I noticed that 1 Peter chapter three contains verses about two subjects that have long been dear to my heart, the role of the Christian wife (1 Peter 3:1-6) and defense for my faith (1 Peter 3:15). [...]
