Theologians generally agree there are THREE key aspects to a "saving faith." The Bible tells us even demons have two out of the three.
Here's a warning: two-thirds faith can still send you to hell.
❤️ “In 1965, Charles Schulz, a devout Christian and creator of the Peanuts comic strip, was asked to create a Christmas special for CBS featuring the Peanuts Characters. He agreed with one requirement, that they allow him to include the story of the birth of Jesus. Although the stations executives were hesitant and tried to convince him otherwise, Schulz was insistent. As a result, for the past 50 plus years, millions of people have watched and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and heard the story of Jesus and “what Christmas is all about.”
It wasn’t until a few years back that I realized a “hidden message” in the film. Linus, a child who seems to have some insecurities as he carries a security blanket with him at all times. In fact, Linus NEVER drops his blanket, except once....
While sharing the message of “what Christmas is all about,” Linus drops his blanket at the exact moment he says the words, “fear not!”
In this seemingly innocent moment, Linus delivers a powerful reminder of the true meaning of Christmas. We are to “fear not”, for Jesus is born. We needn’t rely on material things for security, we have God with us, “Immanuel”, (Matthew 1:23) Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior - the true meaning of Christmas.
Awhile back, someone informed me, indignantly so, that Linus picks up his blanket at the end of the speech so my interpretation must be wrong. Well, he was right, Linus does pick up his blanket at the end of his speech. However, he “drops” it again later...
Amid big, bright, colorful, shiny artificial trees, Charlie Brown chose the least of these, a little, wooden tree with just a few branches. Shortly thereafter, Linus uses his blanket to wrap about the base of the tree and says, “Maybe it just needs a little love”. In that moment, the tree “awakens”, stands tall and firm. A reminder that no matter who we are, how many mistakes we’ve made, a “little love” can make all the difference.
Let’s strive to “fear not” (Luke 2:10) and “love one another” (John 13:34), not just at Christmastime, but the whole year through.” ❤️
Credit: Kevin Pentland
In a world full of Megan Rapinos, be a CJ Stroud:
“I don’t deserve His grace and His mercy, but He still gives it to me and I love Him for that.”
Stroud never ceases to amaze me…
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
and were the skies of parchment made;
were ev’ry stalk on earth a quill,
and ev’ryone a scribe by trade;
to write the love of God above
would drain the ocean dry;
nor could the scroll contain the whole,
though stretched from sky to sky.
#ThirdVerse
“The word says who Jesus is, He’s knocking on the door, all you gotta do is get up.”
This is a powerful story told by Saints linebacker @demario__davis. A must watch!
UPDATE: After years of working to change Tier 2, the Legislature has finally approved changes for Tier 2 members - which includes 30-year retirement and sick leave conversion! The bill has now gone to the Governor for signature!