Alan Stoltz

Follower of Jesus Christ! Romans 8:1

[The Biblical Man @Biblicalman]

And now... the rest of the story.

Every year, families across America gather around the television.

They watch a bald kid try to kick a football. A beagle dance on a dog house. Charlie Brown get a rock instead of candy.

They laugh.

They don't know they're watching a man's autobiography.

When Charles Schulz was a boy, the other children called him Sparky. The name of a horse in a comic strip. A joke horse.

He failed every single subject in eighth grade.

Not one or two.

Every. Single. Subject.

But the grades weren't the worst part.

Paul Harvey told this story, and his voice cracked on this line:

"Sparky wasn't actually disliked by the other youngsters. No one cared enough about him to dislike him."

He wasn't hated. He was nothing.

The one thing he had was his drawings. He submitted cartoons to the school yearbook.

Rejected.

He wrote to Walt Disney. Poured everything into the drawings.

The reply was a form letter. Disney only hired the very finest artists. Sparky was not among the very finest.

Harvey paused there. Then: "I think deep down, Sparky expected to be rejected."

This is where the motivational speakers lie to you.

The rest of the story isn't about winning.

Sparky didn't try to prove them wrong. He wrote his autobiography in cartoons.

He drew himself. The loser. The kid who failed everything.

He named him after himself.

Charlie Brown.

You know what Charlie Brown never does?

Win.

His kite crashes. Lucy pulls the football. The Little Red-Haired Girl doesn't notice him.

And sixty years later, we still watch.

Not because Charlie Brown succeeds.

Because Charlie Brown keeps showing up.

Here's the part even Paul Harvey didn't tell.

Schulz taught Sunday school. He read the Bible so constantly his strips are filled with scripture.

When network executives tried to cut Linus reciting Luke 2 from the Christmas special, Schulz refused.

Either the Gospel stays, or there's no special.

It stayed.

A boy called a horse.

A student who failed everything.

An artist Disney rejected.

Planted the Gospel of Luke in front of sixty million homes.

The loser became the messenger.

God has a history of using the rejected ones.

Moses had a stutter. David was the forgotten son. Peter denied Him three times.

The kite never flew.

But the Gospel did.

Still falling?

Good company, brother.

Get up.

He's not done with you yet.

[Alan Stoltz @picknrollal16]

@Cascade_reds The legend!

[Ken Ham @aigkenham]

The first man, the head of the human race, rebelled against God bringing sin and death into the world.

But God loved man so much, He provided a way of salvation for man so his sin could be forgiven and be able to spend eternity with the eternal God.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

[Sports Spectrum @Sports_Spectrum]

"Jesus is the ultimate hero."

2016 World Series MVP and Cubs legend Ben Zobrist on the latest Sports Spectrum podcast

[Terri Green @TerriGreenUSA]

“Man is sick because he is a rebel. The business of Christianity is to reconcile us to God.” — Martyn Lloyd-Jones

[Alan Stoltz @picknrollal16]

@78Lang5 @Bbravesball I still remember umpiring that first game in 2020 and how nice it felt to be back outside on the field! I think that might’ve been the first sports event played in the country!

[Alan Stoltz @picknrollal16]

@Michael_Cerami @GDubMLB @BleacherNation Ryne Sandberg is tops. A great player and ambassador for the Cubs.

[Alan Stoltz @picknrollal16]

@JoeyMacHockey @Buster_ESPN Amazing how a simple gesture such as Davey Lopes signing a baseball impacts a life.

[Matt Schick @ESPN_Schick]

The most important video you’ll watch today.

He is Risen.

[Adam | Faithful Messenger @Adam_FaithfulM]

In 1986, the American Medical Association published an article titled "The Physical Death of Jesus Christ". It details the entire process of Jesus' trial to His death on the cross.

In Luke 22, before Jesus is arrested, it is written that He was in great distress & sweating blood. Although rare, it is recognized as Hematidrosis, a condition caused by high levels of stress.

At the time, the crucifixion was considered the worst death for the worst of criminals. But this is not all Jesus faced. He endured whipping so severe that it tore the flesh from His body. He was beaten so horribly that His face was torn & His beard ripped.

A crown of thorns, 2-3 inches long cut deeply into His scalp. The leather whip used to flog Him had tiny iron balls & sharp bones. The balls caused internal injuries while the sharp bones ripped open His flesh. His skeletal muscles, veins, & bowels are exposed, causing major blood loss. Most men do not survive this kind of torture. After Jesus was severely flogged, He was forced to carry His cross while people mocked & spat on Him.

Crucifixion was a process meant to instill excruciating pain, creating a slow & agonizing death. Nails as long as 8 inches were driven into Jesus' wrists & feet. The Roman soldiers knew the tendons in the wrists would tear & break, forcing Jesus to use His back muscles to support Himself to breathe. Imagine the struggle, the pain, the courage...Jesus endured this reality for 3 hours!

The Gospel of John writes that after Jesus' death, a Roman soldier pierced His side with a spear & blood & water came out. Scientists explain that from hypovolemic shock, the rapid heart rate causes fluid to gather in the sack around the lungs & heart. The accumulation of fluid in the membrane around the heart is called a Pericardial effusion & the lungs is called a pleural effusion.

To the world, Christianity is as foolish as it can get. They believe it's for the weak. But when you are confronted by the reality of the cross, it's clearly not a pretty sight. It is brutal & horrific.

This is the weight Jesus carried. The weight of the sins of the world, all so that we can live. God's wrath is fully satisfied in Jesus. This is what it took. Repent & believe! Jesus is “God among us” in the flesh. Jesus is our Savior. Jesus loves you so much that He went through this spiritual and physical punishment for your sins and mine.

Jesus is the LORD, Almighty God, Everlasting Father.

Thank You, Jesus.

[🌷 LIZZIE🌷 @farmingandJesus]

Historically Jesus may have been crucified naked to double the shame 💔
They pulled his beard out , mocked him, spit on him, put a crown of thorns on his head, whipped him, and beat him before ultimately crucifying him which is horrifying because you also cannot breathe and have to lift your body that has been nailed to a tree to breathe, imagine how painful his wounds were… but the worst suffering was that he drank the cup of the wrath of God , our sin nailed to that cross … the sinless lamb of God took our punishment.
I deserve that cross, you deserve the cross.

Our God died for us.

He wasn’t recognizable as human he was beaten so badly.

Isaiah 52:14 As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—

Lord have mercy on me, a sinner!

[Wes Huff @WesleyLHuff]

This Easter, I invite you to look at Jesus, consider what he said and did, and ask for yourself what I believe is the most important question you will ever answer: Did he really leave behind an empty tomb? And if he did, what does that mean for you?

This video was made possible and in collaboration with my friends at @ChildlikeMedia.

[Melissa the Hopeful🏠Homemaker @BiblicalBeauty]

'Pistol Pete' Maravich sharing his testimony of faith in Jesus Christ in 1987 less than one year before his death at the age of 40:

"I want all of you to know this tonight about Peter Maravich. You may never have heard of me. It makes no difference. I'm just one person on this earth saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. I want you to know this, that the change that came into my life was Jesus Christ.

It was not winning. I won all my life. I won every trophy, award, everything you can think of, but every time I won something, I wanted something more. I had to win again. It wasn't money, because money'll buy you everything but happiness. It'll pay your fare at every place but Heaven. Material things—I've driven everything some of you strive for from Rolls Royces to BMWs to Mercedes to Porsches. It wasn't religion because in the name of religion, Jesus Christ was placed upon that cross.

And the purest thing about Christianity is the fact that it's your choice. You can't work. You can't earn. I knew that, and I understood it now.

I want you to know this. The last thing I'd like to say is this, next week I'll be inducted into the Hall of Fame. I'll get that big ring. In fact, it's a bigger ring than I would have got for the championship, but I'll tell you something about all the awards. They all pale to the glory of Christ and what He's done in my life. It's amazing what He has done in my life.

I wouldn't trade my position in Christ for a thousand NBA championships or a thousand Hall of Fame rings or for a hundred billion dollars. There's nothing like the joy of Jesus Christ in your life."

[Protestia @Protestia]

Christian apologist @WesleyLHuff shares the gospel with Shawn Ryan after being asked what he think happens when we die.

[❀ƬⱤꓴ𐒄ᑭȴ𐤠ƊƳ ™ @thetrumplady]

☝️NUMBER ONE ON THE ROCK CHARTS!

THE BOSS by Natasha Owens

Take THAT Bruce Springsteen!

"Where is YOUR song for JUSTICE?"

"Where is YOUR song for the WORKING MAN?"

"I was BORN in the USA and you SPIT on MY PROMISED LAND!"

[Oliver Burdick @oliverburdick]

I’d rather be canceled by society than rejected by Christ.

Who’s with me?

[Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh]

🚨 HOLY SMOKES. ICE agent just went NUCLEAR on leftists obstructing them

"We are trying to arrest a CHILD S*X OFFENDER. That vehicle is IMPEDING our investigations. THAT'S who you're protecting. INSANE."

GO OFF, PATRIOT! Thank you for your service! 🔥🇺�