Kathie Lee's Tribute to Frank Gifford

This tribute to Frank Gifford was so inspiring. I saw it on Facebook and wanted to share it here on my blog. (It may take a few moments for the video to load.)

Watch Kathie Lee Gifford's personal and touching tribute to Frank Gifford. She shares how faith was the foundation for his life. http://on.today.com/1MxyNip
Posted by Kathie Lee and Hoda on Monday, August 17, 2015

Happy Anniversary

Hard to believe it has been seven years since my niece Ginger and I started a blog called Spiritual Sundays. Through the years many people have been blessed by not only reading what others have shared, but by sharing an inspirational post on their own blog. Ten years ago I didn't even know what a blog was. Amazing how many people still have no idea what you're talking about when you say you have a blog.  Well, if you're here, you know what a blog is. This is a blog. LOL

I wanted to take this opportunity on this blog to say Happy 7th Anniversary Spiritual Sundays. If you are not familiar with that blog, you can go there by clicking right HERE.

How Did We Drift So Far Away

 DID YOU KNOW
As you walk up the steps to the building which houses the U.S. Supreme Court, you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view, It is Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandments!

DID YOU KNOW
As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door.

DID YOU KNOW
As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see the wall, right above where the Supreme Court Judges sit, has a display of The Ten Commandments.

DID YOU KNOW
There are Bible verses etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings and Monuments in Washington , D.C.

DID YOU KNOW
James Madison , the fourth president, known as 'The Father of Our Constitution' made the following statement:

 'We have staked the whole of all our political Institutions upon the capacity of mankind for Self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.'

DID YOU KNOW
Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777.

DID YOU KNOW
Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the Constitution, were members of the established Orthodox churches in the colonies.

DID YOU KNOW
Thomas Jefferson worried that the Courts would overstep their authority and instead of interpreting the law, would begin making law an Oligarchy: the rule of few over many.

How then, have we gotten to the point, that everything we have done for 220 years in this Country is now suddenly wrong and unconstitutional?

Lets put it around the world and let the world see and remember that this great Country was Built on The Holy Bible and a belief in GOD!

If you agree, pass this on.

Your freedom wasn't & still isn't Free!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA

More and more of our liberties are being taken away. Makes me think a little about the frog in the pot that didn't notice how hot the water was getting until it was too late. I think that is what is happening. Many do notice, but way too many are apathetic to what is happening. I'm afraid they don't even want to think about it. The above graphic was shared on Facebook and if you go there you probably saw it more than once. This truth is displayed in such a beautiful way that I decided I wanted to share it here on my blog. My goodness. How I have neglected my blogs since I got addicted to Facebook. Amazing.

Many blessings to all who come here for a visit.

The Truth About the Bible

I recently received an e-mail from an old friend and I thought it was so good I decided to share it here on my blog. Evidently it was written originally by Jason Carlson and Ron Carlson in 2011. I've known all these things for a long time but I like the way it is all "put together" in this article.

During a question and answer session at a recent speaking engagement, a university student asked me, "Why do you believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God?"

Now this is a very interesting question, and probably one of the most important questions any Christian could ask themselves.  What is so special, so unique about the Bible that Christians believe it is literally the inspired word of God?

In answering this student's question, I encouraged him to consider the following facts about the Bible.  First, the Bible is not just one single book.  This is a more common misconception than many people realize, especially with people who do not come from a Judeo-Christian background.  Rather than being a single book, the Bible is actually a collection of 66 books, which is called the canon of scriptures.  These 66 books contain a variety of genres:  history, poetry, prophecy, wisdom literature, letters, and apocalyptic, just to name a few.

Second, these 66 books were written by 40 different authors.  These authors came from a variety of backgrounds: shepherds, fishermen, doctors, kings, prophets, and others.  And most of these authors never knew one another personally.

Third, these 66 books were written over a period of 1,500 years.  Yet again, this is another reminder that many of these authors never knew or collaborated with one another in writing these books.

Fourth, the 66 books of the Bible were written in 3 different languages.  In the Bible we have books that were written in the ancient languages of Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic; a reflection of the historical and cultural circumstances in which each of these books were written.

And finally, these 66 books were written on 3 different continents:  Africa, Asia, and Europe.  Once again, this is a testament to the varied historical  and cultural circumstances of God's people.

Think about the above realities:  66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1,500 years, in 3 different languages, on 3 different continents.  What's more, this collection of books shares a common storyline - the creation, fall, and redemption of God's people; a common theme - God's universal love for all of humanity; and a common message - salvation is available to all who repent of their sins and commit to following God with all of their heart, soul, mind and strength.

In addition to sharing these commonalities, these 66 books contain no historical errors or contradictions.  God's word truly is an amazing collection of writings!

After I had shared the above facts with this student, I offered him the following challenge.  "If you do not believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, if you do not believe that the Bible is of a supernatural origin, then I challenge you to a test, I challenge you to go to any library in the world, you can choose any library you like, and find 66 books which match the characteristics of the 66 books in the Bible.  You must choose 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1,500 years, in 3 different languages, written on 3 different continents.  However, they must share a common storyline, a common theme, and a common message, with no historical errors or contradictions."  I went on to say, "If you can produce such a collection of books, I will admit that the Bible is not the inspired word.

The student's reply was almost instantaneous, he emphatically stated, "But that's impossible!"

It truly is impossible, for any collection of human writings.  However, the Bible passes this test.  The Bible contains 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1,500 years, in 3 different languages, on 3 different continents, with no historical errors or contradictions.  The entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, bears the mark of Divine inspiration.
The next time you encounter someone who asks you why you believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, try sharing this challenge with them.  Better yet, don't wait until you're asked, just go ahead and share this challenge with a friend today.  You don't even have to mention the Bible up front, just ask them if they think it would be realistic to assemble such a collection of books.  After they say, "But that's impossible!" you've got a ready-made opportunity for sharing the truth of God's word with somebody!

In God We Trust!

I hope you find this as helpful as I have.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day will come around again in a couple of days. Since I haven't posted anything on this blog for a long time, I decided to repost what I said about St. Patrick's Day three years ago. Where did the time go? I did add this delicious cupcake for your enjoyment. It was not included in the previous post. (Smile) So here is that 2012 post.

Since Saturday is St. Patrick's Day, I decided to see what information I could find about it online. Here's a portion of what I found. Some of it was contradictory. This is not surprising since he lived so long ago.

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity's most widely known figures. But for all his celebrity, his life remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.

Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century, is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people. In the centuries following Patrick's death (believed to have been on March 17, 461), the mythology surrounding his life became ever more ingrained in the Irish culture: Perhaps the most well known legend is that he explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the three leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock.Since around the ninth or 10th century, people in Ireland have been observing the Roman Catholic feast day of on March 17.

Patrick Guided by Visions:
After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his writing, a voice-which he believed to be God's-spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland.

To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is believed he was held, to the Irish coast. After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a second revelation-an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission-to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish. (Interestingly, this mission contradicts the widely held notion that Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.)

The beautiful prayer of St. Patrick, popularly known as "St. Patrick's Breast-Plate", is supposed to have been composed by him in preparation for this victory over Paganism. The following is a literal translation from the old Irish text:

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I'm always inspired by people like St. Patrick. He made such an impact on Ireland and Christianity that we're still celebrating his life after all these years. Wow 461 was a long long time ago. I like the explanation of the meaning of the shamrock. Thank you St. Patrick for your faithfulness. I will be wearing green in your honor even though green is not my color.

Please visit our Spiritual Sundays blog for links to lots of inspirational posts. Just click HERE to go there.

Last Days?

Following is a post I did over a year ago. It is even more relevant today than it was then. Such terrible things are going on all over the world. More evidence that these truly are the "last days". How long will they last and how much worse will they get? No one knows. I hope they won't last much longer.The scripture quoted indicates that there is a certain number of "brothers and sisters" who will be killed for their faith. This is happening more and more, but how many more will be martyred? Something to ponder and pray about for sure.

REVELATION 6

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters,[e] were killed just as they had been.

When I read this scripture years ago, I thought "Yes, two thousand years ago many Christians were losing their lives for their faith." Then I thought that this doesn't seem that relevant today because this is not happening. Now when I hear of Christians being tortured and murdered in many lands around the world, I see that it is very very relevant. I have no doubt that we are living in the last days. I wonder, "how long." Yes, this is very relevant in the 21st century. I hope it doesn't come to this in America, but it would not surprise me the way things are going right now. The truth is we should be ready because the Bible says no one knows the hour except the Father. But there will be signs. So many of those signs have occurred in my lifetime.