Richard Craig, Author at GraceAndWorks - Page 23 of 59

Awwwwww….The hustle and bustle of Christmas season. The lights are twinkling, the trees are decorated, the crowds are maddening, and some of us spend more than we can afford so we can enjoy the happy faces of kids, family, and friends. We all have memories of different times we have had at Christmas. I thought I’d share a couple of mine.

We lived on a farm in Western Nebraska and money was always tight. However, we always had a nice Christmas. I was some where around 8 or 9 years old this particular Christmas. It was Christmas eve and we were starting to open our presents. The first one I opened was a screw!!! Well I tossed that thing right into the pile of wrapping paper garbage. Dad did a swan dive to recover it. The next package I opened had some kind of wood thing inside. The next one had some kind of metal thing in it. I had no idea what was going on!! The last one had a gun barrel in it. Dad finally put it all together and low and behold, there was a 22 caliber bolt-action rifle. Oh, how funny it became when all the pieces were found and put together. I was totally surprised!!

The other story I want to share was the Christmas right before my Dad went to be with God. The family all gathered at my Mom and Dad’s house in Dix, Nebraska. The food and fellowship was beyond compare. Fabulous, you might say. It was a bitter sweet time knowing that Dad didn’t have much time left. Christmas eve it snowed and Christmas morning when we got up, it was spectacular looking outside. My sister and her family were living in Dallas and snow was a rare occasion there. My nephew, Kevin, had his girlfriend with them and when she saw the snow outside, she said, “Oh, look, it snowed, just for me!!” We all had a good laugh over that. The cheer and the gifts were plentiful. Good times for all. Dad joined God about a month later. Fabulous memories of that last Christmas with my dad.

This Christmas is also going to bitter sweet. It will be the first Christmas, in many years, that Peg and I will spend the holidays with out any of our family around. It’ll be quiet, but, a fun time for us. It’s a time for giving and receiving. We were able to help a good friend of ours and a family member financially this year. We are sooooo blessed to be able to do this for them. It warmed our hearts to be able to help those that reached out in their time of need. We in turn received a warm tingly feeling knowing how much they appreciated the help.

This is also the time of year that most will rmember and give praise to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Churches will have special events to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We don’t know exactly when Jesus was born, but, this gives every one an opportunity to remember Him. God wants us to go to Worship services each first day of the week. We, as Christians, remember Jesus’s birth, death, burial, and resurrection every Sunday and not just on “Special” days. Will we see you in Worship this Sunday? God wants it that way.

MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!!!!

God maps out a plan for salvation in the scriptures. There are many denominations that profess infant baptism. Is it right, wrong, or OK? We’ll take a look at the scriptures that God uses to help clear this matter up.

The plan for salvation has key words that are used and we need to take heed of them. Those words are: 1) Hear, 2) Believe, 3) Confess, 4) Repent, 5) Baptism.

1) Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by HEARING, and HEARING the word of God.” We must have an understanding of God and what faith is. That will occur in people at different ages, but, not as infants.

2) John 8:24 says, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not BELIEVE that I am He, you will die in your sins.” An infant dos not have the mental capability to know God and BELIEVE in Him.

3) Romans 10:10 says, “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth CONFESSION is made unto salvation.” An infant does not have the ability to believe with the heart, nor can an infant mouth a CONFESSION..

4) Luke 13:2-3 says, “And Jesus answered and said to them, Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, NO; but unless you REPENT you will all likewise perish.” Acts 2:38 says, ” REPENT, and let every one of you be BAPTIZED in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sis, and you will receive the Holy Spirit.” An infant does not know right from wrong, therefore, does not know what sin is. Not knowing what sin is, one cannot REPENT of their sins.

5) Mark 16:16 says. “He who BELIEVES and is BAPTIZED will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” An infant does not have the capability to BELIEVE or understand God.

The “PLAN FOR SALVATION” is God’s plan and is well described in the scriptures. In 2nd Timothy 2:15 and following, Paul tells us to study to show ourselves approved being able to rightly divide the word of God. That simply means that we cannot pull verses out of context and have them say what we want. We need to able to discern the WHOLE TRUTH as God would want from us.

Acts 8:26-39 tells the story of Philip and the eunuch. He taught the eunuch the truth and the way for salvation. When he was done teaching, they went down into the water and Philip baptized the eunuch.

Finally, Matthew 10:22 says, “And you will be hated by all for my names sake, But he who endures to the end will be saved.” Once the “Plan For Salvation” is taken care of, through obedience, we must live a righteous life thereafter.

Enjoy your study. Have a good day all!

Back in the early years of my sales career, I did a lot of traveling. I remember one winter when I was traveling Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado. It seemed like every day when I got up to go to the next town, I encountered icy roads. This story took place in the late 1970’s.

In late October/early November, we had an ice storm and then it snowed on top of the ice. The winter was cold and stayed that way for several months. Well the roads were horrible. It had gotten so bad that there were pot holes in the ice. Travel was slow and treacherous. I had to go slow and watch every thing I did as I was driving on these roads. Besides the rough pot holed road, there were other drivers to worry about, curves to navigate, the worry of sliding off the road into the ditch and getting stuck. It became a long, tough several months of navigating those awful driving conditions. However, every day I continued to do my job, and at the end of this horrible winter, I had gotten done what was needed. It was a struggle but a successful few months.

As I thought about this story, I realized life can be the same way. Every day we get out of bed, we have a journey to travel. Sometimes it’s like the icy roads, full of potholes, curves, other people to work around, Satan to worry about, and the thought that we need to stay on the right path, though it may be slow going, so as not to end up in the ditch, stuck in the muck of life. These can be horrible times, however, even though it may be a struggle for a while, you will find the same success at the end of the “Storms.”

God says that He will never forsake us and that He will never leave us. If we believe in God and have the proper Faith, we can navigate the path of life much easier. Let the Bible be your guide to stay on the right path as you travel down the icy roads of life. So, grab your Bible, talk to God, and have a good journey!!