The Scarred Woman

by Chuck Ness

One day two women who lost contact 15 years earlier met on social media. This reunion would forever change the life of a teenage girl. One woman was a missionary, the other a single mother raising a teen daughter. The mother of the teen invited her long lost friend to come and visit. Knowing she had a few weeks before she would embark upon another missionary journey, the woman accepted her friend's offer.

Indianapolis is a long way from San Diego, but the trip would be good for both women to visit and go over old times. When the missionary arrived, she met her friend's teen daughter, whom she had not seen since the girl was but a toddler. The girl grew into a very beautiful young lady who was a popular cheerleader at her school. She was the type of girl who had always been part of the popular crowd, with more friends than she could count. However, while her mother was raising her to be a Christian, her heart was never truly in it as much as it was in the World.

It's Ok To Lose Your Head For Christ

by Chuick Ness

Many Christians today are unwilling to face persecution for the truth. They want a simple easy life with no confrontations, and thus no condemnation. This is why so many Christians avoid situations that could cause strife. Well, we can be thankful that Jesus never avoided confrontations. In fact he took the problem of sin straight to the cross.  It's easy to ignore confrontation by not doing what we are called to do. Paul spent the last 20 years of his life confronting the problem of sin in the World by sharing how Christ died for our sins. In the end, he lost his head because he refused to back down.

Consider the many Israelites captured by the enemy who never returned home, but instead reached their captors with the truth of the true God. We have all had our moments of fear that we may be persecuted. However, it is a weakness to worry about troubles that could forever disrupt our lives. I see many Christians worry and complain about the persecution we see going on around us in these trying times we live in. Yet how often have you truly considered the blessings God dispersed to us through our tragedies?