“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) Though the enemy of God, the devil, hates us and desires our ruin, we ought to not be afraid, for “the Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?” (Psalm 27) Today, Christians need to remind each other of this truth. Our struggle is not with flesh and blood, but with this spiritual enemy par excellence that studies us to discover our weaknesses and to cause us to abandon the Faith.
In his first letter to Timothy, Saint Paul impelled him to “fight the good fight of the Faith.” (1 Tim 6:12) Living the Faith is a strife that Saint Paul was extremely familiar with given the persecutions he endured throughout his apostolic ministry. Therefore, he earnestly cautioned Timothy on this reality because of the struggle to live faithfully the Christian life. We, too, are well-acquainted with this spiritual combat, particularly when we undergo temptations, our patience and charity are put to the test, and others insult, persecute, and falsely utter every kind of evil against us. (Mt. 5:11) Indeed, living the Faith can truly be a noble battle.
For sure, if we do not
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We must defy and repel the doubts that enter our minds that suggest that God is not present or alive, that He is not powerful or wise enough to assist us, and that He does not truly love us. Occasions of sin should be avoided and sin must be spurned at all costs. Moreover, avoiding anger, hatred, and irritableness is crucial as these vices can divert us from the path of holiness. Interestingly, the first letter of Saint Paul to Timothy also provides us with the spiritual ingredients that nourish us for the combat. As Christians, we ought to strive to lead a life of “righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.” (1 Tim 6:11) These virtues are the prerequisite qualities for persevering in the Faith amid the hardships of
In the book, Apostles of Disunion, author Charles B. Dew opens the first chapter with a question the Immigration and Naturalization service has on an exam they administer to prospective new American citizens: “The Civil War was fought over what important issue”(4). Dew respond by noting that “according to the INS, you are correct if you offer either of the following answers: ‘slavery or states’ rights’” (4). Although this book provides more evidence and documentation that slavery was the cause of the Civil War, there are a few places where states’ rights are specifically noted. In presenting the findings of his extensive research, Dew provides compelling documentation that would allow the reader to conclude that slavery was indeed the cause for both secession and the Civil War.
Magical, poetic, and awe-aspiring. This is what mere words at its best can accomplish when trying to capture the essence of the painting, The Glory of the Light Within, by the renowned artist, Dale Terbush. This specific masterpiece is representative of Terbush’s art and reveals much about his outlook towards nature. Viewers are presented with a breathtaking scenery and a natural beauty depicted in all its glory in this panoramic view (the painting is 4x5 feet). Indeed, because the well-defined foreground, distinct middle ground, and dim background compose characteristics of a magical scenery, this vista is transformed into an ideal utopia.
Born Sinner Aren’t we all sinners? We all have committed acts of violence at some points in our lives, and our answer we are human, we are wired that way or it is our instinct. People have a habit of hurting one another and it comes naturally to them. After reading Flight by Sherman Alexie, violence is a prominent theme throughout the novel. This idea of aggression is represented in many different ways, shapes, and forms.
The movie Glory is the story of the first African American military unit which fought during the Civil War. This powerful story is told through the eyes of the unit’s leader, Colonel Robert Shaw. The director, Edward Zwick, uses a number of important scenes expressing growth, patriotism and leadership. Whenever there was an obstacle that the 54th regiment needed to overcome faith seemed to be the answer. Faith in their fellow man, faith in their country and faith in God.
The first step was receiving Christ and the next step is to become strengthen in the faith so that the adversary cannot steal, kill, or destroy the good work that has been started in one’s spiritual life. There are afflictions that will occur, but with God’s help, we can maintain the righteous lifestyle. Even though hardship may arise, God will keep us in perfect peace, if we can stay focus on Jesus.
In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, is a novel by American humorist, Jean Shepherd. This was a best selling novel whose title applies more to today than it did back then at the time it was written. Prior to this the United States was uneducated about the potential terrorist attacks on the country. We were naïve and thought nothing could ever hurt the greatest country in the world. Then September 11th,2011 occurred. The power to investigate leads on terrorism without legal holdups and restrictions has indeed led to much tighter security in the past decade. This had led to a much safer environment for Americans.
In the 12 years since the terrorist attacks on the world trade towers in New York city, thousands of hours of research and interviews has been conducted, scores of books have been written, and countless documentaries and films have been produced in an effort to help us understand how and why terrorists were able to carry out the massacre of nearly 3500 people. Despite the plethora of religious and nonreligious beliefs represented by the friends and family of those who died, one universal belief binds them all: the belief that an unspeakable act of cruelty has changed our nation and our people for all time. The name ascribed to this act of terrorism is debated widely. Some call it evil. Others call it nothing more than supreme cruelty.
Deus Ex Machina is a god introduced into a play to resolve the entanglements of the plot. It is introduced to make the play flow more smoothly and logical. Real life is not very different from the play. Religion has helped the leaders to persuade the public to overcome the crisis and unite them. Christianity has been often used as a political tool in the western hemisphere. United States is a country that started from Christian roots. Public figures in United States have been using the word “God” in speech a lot since the Declaration of Independence. Abraham Lincoln, John F.Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. have used the term “God" in their speech to unite people to overcome the challenge. Religion cannot be separated from politics and is
J. I. Packer presents a compelling summary of how believers should know God through Scripture as well as experientially in living the tenets of Scripture, a true experience of Christ living in us. Packer illustrates God’s nature through Scripture and His character of wisdom, majesty, personal unfailing lovingkindness, yet righteousness, judgment and wrath which do not diminish God’s nature or righteousness. In God’s judgement His wrath is justly shown against sin and those who reject Christ. While reading, a love beyond measure, God’s love becomes self evident. However this divine love is characterized in His terms and not ours. Packer’s key question is not asking if God is for us and again not solely for us on our terms but rather, are we for God? His question is also quality over quantity do we know much
Theme in “Defender of the Faith” can be interpreted in many varying ways, some of which are life-long lessons and others to the relation between faith and the individual.
Defense of the Humanity of Christ. Jesus Christ was without a doubt a real, living, breathing human being. His human nature is separate and distinct from His divine nature, yet unified in the person that He is. He was not God merely making himself appear as a person: He was truly human. Jesus's humanity is very clear from the testimony of scripture and records of his life.
Today's Gospel reading shows us that the Lord is with us through times of trial… or when the storms of life get to be too much to handle. Whether He calms the storm as he did for the disciples, or asks us to let him walk through the storm with us, as Paul talks of in 2 Corinthians, or gives us the strength to fight against it, as He did for David while up against Goliath; he is always with us. He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
The story “The Road to Salvation” by Premchand revolves around Jhingur, the farmer and Buddhu, the shepherd who were very full of pride and such pride ruined themselves. Dhanpat Rai Shrivastava who wrote under the pen name “Premchand” was born into the Hindu Kayastha caste. The caste system in India is a system of social classification. In history, it divided communities into hundreds of traditional groups. The Kayastha class is right below the highest class, Brahmana. In the Indian caste system, you are born into your caste and there is no way you can change your caste in your life time. It is believed that if you live a good life, you can be reincarnated into a higher caste. The major religion in India is Hinduism. Hinduism promotes harmony and love for everyone but Jhingur and Buddhu are trapped in the law of Karma. Although the story revolves around Jhingur and Buddhu and the pride they have for themselves, it causes them to manipulate each other constantly causing them to be entrapped in envy.
Paul tells us to “fight the good fight of faith” (Tim. 6:12). We must not hold on to unbelief. When we give ourselve...
Devil on the Cross was written by Ngugi while he was imprisoned. He was held without trail by a government that tried to silence him. The out come was a book that was “One of the century’s greatest novels” by the Tribune. In the following passages I plan to explain the meaning of four characters that are affected by capital class.