life. faithful.

 Right off the bat, I have to admit that this title is taken directly from Pop yesterday morning at church. I've been wanting to write about Thanksgiving, but I just couldn't quite wrap my mind around how to get started. When he started our discussion yesterday morning, though, the reminder to celebrate holy days while the world is celebrating holidays struck me. We all know that the holidays have been turned into something they were never intended to be. Christmas has been commercialized to the point that it is barely recognizable. What was intended as the "Mass of Christ" to commemorate and celebrate the birth of Yeshua Hamashiach ("Jesus the Anointed One") has become very little more than a time of getting more stuff. It starts on November 1st, and from that day until the 25th it seems like little more than a competition to show who can make it the biggest and best--the most lights, the most presents, the biggest and jolliest Santa, the most reindeer, the...

So often, we look around the world and what's happening today and get overwhelmed. It's easy to see the bad things happening and feel powerless. Especially right now, when it seems like anyone speaking the truth is silenced. There's something every day that makes me shake my head and ask, "How can this be happening? How can people be so blind?" We are told that as Christians we shouldn't make waves. As Voddie Baucham has said, we act like the 11th commandment is "Thou Shalt Be Nice" and we focus on it while ignoring the 10. We are encouraged to stay quiet in an effort to keep the peace. According to many, we should just keep quiet when we don't agree. We should make every effort not to rock the boat. I'll admit, that life is much easier. It's a lot easier to decide to sit quietly in the background. It's a lot easier to decide to go with the flow. It's a lot easier to fly under the radar. The thing is, we aren't called to a lif...