Debbie W. Wilson

Refreshing Faith

Warning: We’re Losing by Not Using Love

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I’m enjoying Brennan Manning’s audio book Abba’s Child. Besides helping us understand the security we have in being Abba’s child, he challenges us to live like Christ. I found one story especially poignant.

By: Feed My Starving Children (FMSC)

Manning and his wife were strolling together when a young woman carrying flowers approached them.

“Are you a follower of Sun Myung Moon?” He asked her.

She was. Knowing she was selling flowers to support a cult with false teaching, Manning said, “Your zeal for what you believe puts many Christians to shame.”

“Are you a Christian?” the young woman asked.

“Yes, we are,” he answered.

The woman dropped her head. When she finally looked at him, tears streaked her young face. Continue Reading

How Do You See Yourself?

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Because this is such an important topic, I thought you might appreciate a reminder.

Did you know the Bible addresses true believers in Christ as saints? If that’s true, then why don’t we feel and act like saints?

We’ve Changed.

By: Daniel Oines

“For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin–because anyone who has died has been freed from sin” (Romans 6:6-7 NIV).

Even though Jesus conquered sin, the flesh (the remnant of who we were) and the Spirit still fight against each other. Romans 6 gives us three action words we must practice to win this battle: know, consider, and present. Let’s look at the first verb: know.

Know your identity.

Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus... (Romans 6:3, NASB). In biblical days, when a fuller baptized or submerged a piece of white cloth into a vat of red dye, the cloth was forever identified with that red color. No one looks at a red shirt and says, “What a nice white shirt with red dye on it.” No, it is identified with the color red.Continue Reading

Broken Treasure

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If you haven’t met Amy Carroll yet, you are in for a real treat! Enjoy her words today as we celebrate the release of her book Breaking Up with Perfect.
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As I rummaged through the damaged store, I hurried toward a colorful decoration that caught my eye. A hurricane had ravaged the seaside store’s merchandise, but there were a few treasures left.

Cover-669x1024-2My prize that day was a papier-mâché figure of Santa Clause directing a band of animal musicians. Since my husband was a band director, seeing Jolly Old Saint Nick with his conductor’s baton poised made my heart sing even though it was a balmy North Carolina summer outside.

I carefully carried the figurines to the cash register and made them mine.

Nearly skipping with joy down the sidewalk, suddenly I tripped and dropped my fragile treasures. My face fell with dismay as I peeked inside the bag only to see pieces of Santa and his friends lying jagged and free-floating at the bottom.

When I got home, I gently removed the pieces and lay them out on a table. One by one, I drew a thin line of glue on the narrow edges and began to put them back together.

The results weren’t altogether terrible.
Continue Reading

Believing Lies Can Kill a Relationship

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“If what we believe doesn’t reflect the truth, then what we feel doesn’t reflect reality.” ~ Dr. Neil Anderson

Many years ago a woman, I’ll call Joanna, came to me because of her struggle with anger. Her husband got the brunt of her rants. As we dug deeper, I learned her father and grandfather had abused her and passively let others take advantage of her. Her primary male role models, men who should have protected her, taught her men were not to be trusted.

By: MCAD Library

I knew Joanna’s husband. He was a good man. And her description of their conflicts confirmed it. I gently pointed out that her conclusion that all men were bad couldn’t be true. Jesus is male. My male husband and son are both good men. She also had a sweet son.

Her father and grandfather had been horrible role models. But living in a rainy climate for part of our lives doesn’t mean the whole world is wet. Having a bad experience doesn’t mean life stinks. Having a rotten father and grandfather doesn’t mean all men can’t be trusted.

Joanna was not so easily convinced. Everywhere she went she spotted raunchy behaving men. She’d go out with her friends and none of them saw the male jerk across the restaurant, but she noticed. These cads reinforced her erroneous view of men.Continue Reading

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