An encounter with Jesus is not something that is spooky, super natural or made up by fanatics. There are many ways you can encounter Jesus in the every day details of your life. Some people may encounter Him when they are serving Him, some while they are worshiping and others may encounter him when they are in the midst of a turbulent storm in their life, I had such an encounter. I was recently divorced and I felt like my life was unraveling at the seams. My girls were away for the weekend and I was alone, something that I was not comfortable with. I went to bed, during the night I had the worst nightmare I have ever had in my life. I dreamed that my home was on fire and I was crawling on the floor trying to get my girls and myself out of the house, but I couldn't find my girls or the door. I woke up from the dream wrapped up in the blankets on the floor, drenched in sweat. The dream was so realistic that for a few moments I was unsure if it was real or a dream. I immediately called my mother because I was alone and needed someone to reassure me that it really was a dream. This may seem like a strange way to encounter Jesus but He was speaking loud and clear to me that I needed to be closer to my family. It was not long before my girls and I moved back to Bethany to be near family, because I desperately needed their help! Saul, who later became Paul, didn’t know the Lord at all in fact, he was a persecutor of believers. He had a miraculous encounter with God. He was on the road to Damascus when he was blinded by a heavenly light and heard Gods voice say: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” God had a plan for Paul, but He knew it would take a radical event to break through to him. God will do whatever it takes to break through into your life too. After Jesus was crucified some of his apostles were walking to Emmasus when they had an encounter with Jesus. As they walked along the road they were talking of Jesus’ death, when suddenly Jesus himself came along and joined them and began walking beside them. But they didn’t recognize him. You seem to be in a deep discussion about something, he said. What are you so concerned about? Cleopas, replied, You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about the terrible things that happened there last week. What things? Jesus asked. The things that happened to Jesus, the Man from Nazareth, they said. He was a Prophet who did incredible miracles and was a mighty Teacher, highly regarded by both God and man. But the chief priests and our religious leaders arrested him and handed him over to the Roman government to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. We had thought he was the glorious Messiah and that he had come to rescue Israel. Then Jesus quoted to them passage after passage from the the prophets, beginning with the book of Genesis and going right on through the Scriptures, explaining what the passages meant and what they said about himself. By the time they arrived at Emmasus it was getting dark and so the apostles invited him to stay the night. As they were sharing a meal they had their encounter with Jesus. Luke 24: 30-31 ESV When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. We talk to God, pray, read our Bibles, and interact with Him daily, but a true encounter with him is different. It usually happens when we least expect it. It is deeply personal and relevant to your situation at the time. It may be life changing in some way. It's purpose is to reveal God's glory. A true encounter with Jesus is timely, specific and purposeful. Finally an encounter with Jesus may leave you breathless, speechless or immobile while you process what has happened, or in Paul's case even blind. When you experience such an encounter, what makes it so wondeSupport the show

No where in the bible will you read that the Christian life is an easy one. The Christian life is no walk in the park. Matter of fact what you will find is the opposite. In John chapter 16 verse 33 it says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” If you want to have a strong faith, a muscular faith then you must exercise it. If you have ever broken a leg and been unable to use it for a time, you know that you will have to work hard to rebuild the muscle that has been weakened by prolonged inactivity. The physical therapist will work with you to rebuild what has been lost through lack of use. So, faith is like a muscle and needs to be exercised. Here is an example of someone that devoted his life to being intentional and diligent to achieve his goal. Rowdy Gaines is a member of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and the International Swimming Hall of Fame, Gaines set 10 world records between 1978 and the 1984 Olympic Games. The three-time Olympic gold medalist also tallied 16 total medals (12 gold) representing the United States at the World Championships and Pan American Games. For 8 years leading up to the 1984 Olympic games Rowdy Gaines swam in increments of 50 yard laps a nearly 20,000 miles. After he won the gold medal for the 100 meter freestyle swim he said, “I swam around the world for a race that lasted 49 seconds.” To everyone that claims to be a follower of Jesus Christ, is your faith so strong, so muscular and dedicated that you, like Rowdy Gaines you would swim around the world for a race that lasts 49 seconds? As Christians what kind of diligent devotions should we be striving for with eternity as our goal!!! Colossians 3: 23-24 NIV Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Faith is the gift of God. It is not of ourselves; we receive it from Him. It is the special work of the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to who Jesus is and to show us our need of Him and to create within us the capacity to trust Him. He gives you a new heart, the gift of faith. But Jesus in Luke 8:25 makes it clear that you can have this gift of faith and never use it. “Where is your faith?” He asks the disciples, after a storm blew up as they were rowing across the lake. Jesus had been asleep in the back of the boat, and the disciples panicked! But Jesus awakens, calms the storm, and then asks, “Where is your faith?” In other words, “Why aren’t you exercising the faith I have gifted to you?” Having faith in God often requires choosing to have confidence in Him, who He is, what He has done for you, and His promises. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God and believing what you have heard and read. When you believe God’s Word as truth, you are exercising your faith. To exercise means to use or apply something. As Christians, we use or apply our faith when we believe God’s Word as truth and live our lives according to the principles and lessons found in it. In times of difficulty, it is helpful to read first John.1 John 4:4 NIV You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. In times of doubt or confusion, you can rely on Proverbs 3:51 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding.” Reading and knowing God’s Word is not the same as the act of obeying His Word. When you live by faith, obedience is extremely important. Every time your obedient, you exercise your faith, your faith becomes stronger. You develop a muscular faith!Support the show

I am not good at remembering dates. I can barely remember my wife and children's birthdays and don't even ask me to tell you the birthdays of my grandchildren. I do remember events and things that happened during those special events but God just didn't gift me the ability to remember the day and date of special events. I remember the moment I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior. It was at the First Baptist Church in Stanberry, Missouri. I think I was in the 4th or 5th grade. I remember the floors of the sanctuary sloped downward to the pulpit. I especially remember the feeling of warmth, comfort and peace I felt during that moment. The day I accepted Jesus as my Savior must have really irritated Satan, because after that day I faced many trials and tribulations. When I was 14 to 15 years old I was sexually assaulted by a male school teacher who was also my wrestling coach on several occasions. When I turned 16 years old I began using drugs and drinking alcohol in great excess. I drove my car like the devil was chasing me and on at least one occasion probably should have been severely injured in a car accident, “But God” had different plans for me. On the night of my Junior prom I drank so much alcohol that I passed out and my friends put me in the passenger seat of my car, drove me home and parked my car in the drive. When I didn't come in my father came out and carried my lifeless body into the home. He later told me that for a moment he couldn't find a pulse, I likely should have died of alcohol poisoning, “But God” had different plans. My parents and our neighbors, Jim & Sherry Lerette, prayed over my lifeless body until I finally awoke. During my senior year in high-school I was dating a young girl from Albany. I started double dating with another friend who was then dating, Dena, the woman who became my first wife. One night Dena confided in me that she had been sexually assaulted by the person that I thought was my friend. I think this common experience may have been what initially attracted me to her. I wanted to try and protect her. When we got married I had just turned 19 in November, she was 16 years old, and our first daughter was born in January. I will let you do the math on that. Our second daughter was born just 18 months after that. When I was just 23 years old my first son, Jerry Craig was born. He was very ill and spent 3 months in neonatal intensive care and only 1 day at home. The doctors finally told me they didn't think they would ever be able to cure his illness so I told them to take away all his drugs and just care for him like you would any other child and in just a week he passed away. My heart was broken. For the longest time I felt like I had killed my son. In 1990 my wife Dena gave birth to our second son who was still born. On Christmas day of 1991 I chased a life-flight helicopter and my youngest daughter, Sara was born prematurely. When she was born she weighed 2 pounds 9 ounces and was only 14 inches long. Looking back on all these difficult days I still don't know how I managed, “But God” had plans for me that I didn't yet understand. In 1993 after 8 years of marriage I was served with divorce papers. I am not going to go into the details of why my marriage failed other than to say, we were both immature. We both thought that if we were not getting our needs met by the other, our marriage was a failure. I can tell you now that I am much more mature. One characteristic of a good marriage is when each person looks to give more than they receive.... In the 1990's it was very uncommon for a father to get custody of his children, especially when they were all 3 girls, “But God” had plans for me! Hindsight is 20/20, but I feel very confident that the main reason I got custody of my girls is because I was surrounded by family that was present at court dates and prayed for meSupport the show

Who is Jesus to you? A survey done in 2020 by lifeway research reveals that 52 percent of American adults believe that Jesus was a great teacher and nothing more. It may not be a great surprise that the majority of the U.S. population rejects the deity of Christ, almost a third of evangelicals (30 percent) agree that Jesus was merely a great teacher. And while 66 percent of American evangelicals disagree with the statement, "Jesus was a good teacher, but he was not God," nearly as many (65 percent) still agree with the statement, "Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God." Statistics like these from the State of Theology survey are quite shocking, but they also shed light on the concerns that many American churches have expressed for decades. As the culture around us increasingly abandons its moral compass, Americans are sadly drifting away from God's absolute standard in Scripture. 2 Timothy 4: 3-4 NIV For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. Jesus is just one of many gods to the Hindus. Islam believes Jesus was a prophet and wise teacher, but not God. Buddhists recognize Jesus as only a wise teacher and a holy man. To some Jesus was a healer. He restored a shriveled hand, reattached an ear, and raised the dead. He healed cripples, mutes, and the deaf. He healed every part of the body, eyes, ears, hands, feet, legs, backs, and skin. Jesus healed everyone who placed their faith in Him and came to Him for healing. To the Romans, Jesus was a troublemaker who had got his just desserts. To the Pharisees Jesus was a threat. He regularly exposed their hypocrisy and inconsistencies and He was a threat to their entire worldview. The Pharisees tied salvation to performance of the law, and Jesus tied salvation to faith in Him. If Jesus was not who He claimed, then He would have been the blasphemous teacher the Jews spoke of. Only a handful of Jesus faithful followers believed that he was the messiah, the Son of God. As far as the Bible is concerned, Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. He died for our sins and He rose from the dead for our justification. We can only get to God through Him. John 14:6 NIV Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Throughout a good chunk of my life, I have believed that Jesus was my savior. I believed this because that’s what everyone told me. As I have grown older my views of God, Jesus, and faith have evolved. Referring to Jesus as just my savior feels insufficient. Yes, Jesus Christ is my Savior, but more importantly, Jesus is my Lord. And if Jesus is my Lord, I should focus my life on doing his will, and not fitting Jesus into my will, my world.So, with Christ as my Lord, I must now live my life for him. Ideally in a perfect world, where Christ goes, I follow. Where Christ decides to send me, I go. What Christ wants me to do, I do. But, sometimes I aruge with Jesus. Sometimes I fight His will! I can’t lie, I argue, fight and resist. I am a bit of a control freak and it is very difficult for me to let go and trust that Jesus Christ knows better than I do what is best for me. But in the end, Jesus love wins me over. Because Jesus is Savior and my Lord. He is full of love, grace and forgiveness. Who is Jesus to me? He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is my Savior. He is my LORD. He is my GOD. That’s who Jesus Christ is to me.Support the show

The following is and excerpt from a sermon from Adrian Rodgers titled, "What the bible says about faith."Support the show

Saving faith is faith that not only knows and comprehends the facts about the gospel of Jesus Christ but also trusts in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Even Satin comprehends the facts of the gospel but he doesn't accept Jesus Christ alone for salvation.James 2:19 NIV You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. Some people don't have any more faith than the devil himself. The devil himself believes more of the the bible than many people. The devil and his demons have a very extensive intellectual belief and understanding in the truth of the bible. In Matthew chapter 8 Jesus has and encounter with two demon possessed men. The two demon-possessed men came out from the tombs to met Jesus. They were so violent that would not let anyone pass. As Jesus approached the two demons confronted him.Matthew 8:29-31 NIV What do you want with us, Son of God? they shouted. Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time? Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs. What if the devil was in our church service. When the invitation was given the devil made his down the aisle and said I want to place my membership in Immanuel Baptist Church. First Pastor Issac would say you know Mr. Devil before you join our church we need to ask you some questions. First do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Yes I do. Do you believe that Jesus was born of a virgin? Yes I do. Do you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross a substitutional death? Yes I believe that. Do you believe that He arose from the dead? Oh yes I do. Before we receive you into our church would you be willing to serve in our church? Oh yes, I will join the choir, as a matter of fact if you ordain me I will serve as a deacon and if you will let me I will be glad to preach! The devil sounds like he would be a great candidate for church membership, right. However we have just one more question for you Mr. Devil before we put our stamp of approval on you. Will submit to Jesus Christ as the king of Kings, as your Lord, your personal Savior? No, I absolutely I will not!!! Belief that Jesus exists is not enough. John 14:6 NIV Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. The sinner must place their trust in Jesus Christ, believe that Jesus is the son of God and that he came to save sinners through his life, death, and resurrection. Here is another illustration of what a saving faith is. Let's say you have 2 letters I front of you. The first is in a gold envelope. It is addressed with letters written in the most perfect script and sealed with a wax seal to protect it's contents from being tampered with, but there is no postage stamp. The second envelope is dingy and looks like it was dropped in a mud puddle. The hand writing on the outside is barely legible and it has scotch tape holding the envelope shut because it was previously opened and is being reused, but it has a stamp on it. When the mail man comes to pick up the letters which one do you think will be delivered? The one that outwardly looks perfect or the one that obviously has external flaws, but has a postage stamp. A bare knowledge of Christ and is not enough for salvation. We must trust that he is the only way to be saved from our sin and the only one who can give eternal life. Support the show

What is an example of a dilemma in the Bible? There are several moral dilemmas presented in the Bible, some of which include the story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son Isaac, the story of King Solomon deciding the true mother of a disputed child, the story of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. Maybe one of the greatest dilemmas in the bible is the one that Joseph faced. He discovers that Mary is pregnant. He must decide what he will do with Mary. We are told, Joseph, being a righteous man was unwilling to expose her to public disgrace so he planned to dismiss her quietly. Later he is told by an angel that she is with child from the Holy Spirit. I feel very fortunate, because my greatest dilemma is deciding what to have for dinner and knowing when to push away from the table so that I don't get so fat that I can't get my jeans buttoned. One of the greatest dilemmas in the bible maybe found in the greatest commandment found in Matthew. Matthew 22: 36-40 NIV Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.Do I have you confused? What possible dilemma can this commandment have it seems so simple, direct and to the point. The dilemma lies in the word commandment. If you look up the definition of the word commandment you will find that it means to command someone, the act or power of commanding or something that is commanded. What are some things you can be commanded to do, pass the salt, get out of my way, shut the door, clean your room. However it is impossible to command someone to love. You can't command someone to love anything or anyone, including God himself! You don't have to command me to watch football, eat a fine steak, spoil my grandchildren or kiss my wife because I love all of these things! If love could be commanded then it wouldn’t be called love, it would be called duty. Duty is not love and love is not duty. Love must be chosen, not commanded, but the greatest commandment in Matthew is not the only place we are commanded to love! John 13: 34-35 NIV A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.How can God command us to love if love must be chosen? The answer is in the second sentence of that verse from John 13:34: “As I have loved you.” We are to love as Christ has loved us. As a Christian, you have the ability to love as God loves. You did not have this ability before you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior. Can unbelievers love others? Sure, but it’s not the same love as God’s love. God’s love is an agape love. It’s unconditional and never-ending. Love is not just a characteristic of God or a description of our Creator it is what He is!1 John 4:8 NIV Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love. Love comes from God, so Christians who demonstrate love show they have relationship with Him. The opposite is also true. The person who does not demonstrate love, does not know God. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Support the show

In the bible the book of James tells us that, whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, has become guilty of all. This is a hard concept for me to comprehend. I have never murdered anyone, but according to James 2:10 because I have broken one of God's laws I am guilty of breaking them all.James 2: 10-11 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. Whether you want to admit it or not we all struggle with temptations and some of these temptations are more difficult, more tempting for us than others. When it comes to the 10 commandments I have no problem with the commandment don't murder or don't steal, but more than once I have coveted my neighbors stuff. I will see someone that has a brand new car and think to myself, man I wish I had a nice new car like that. Yeah, I know that may not seem like a big deal but Deuteronomy 5:21 says You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. Here is an illustration that helps me understand this concept better. Let us pretend that you have been placed into a harness. Next attached to the harness is a steel chain with 10 links in it. Each of these links represent one of the ten commandments. Each of the links are solid steel except for the one that represents your greatest temptation, that link is made of a baling wire. Finally the harness and chain that is attached to you is fastened to a gallows. Under that gallows is a kettle of boiling hot oil. What do you think will happen to you when that weakest link breaks. Even though I didn't break all of the commandments of God I am still going to suffer the same consequences. Romans 3:23 says for all have sinned and fell short of the glory of God. Romans 7 19-20 NIV For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do, this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. We all face a daily battles with the temptation. If you struggle with sin, it is because you are converted to Christ. Once you have been justified by faith, an internal battle begins in you. There is a new desire in every believer to do what is right. To love God, the church, the truth, and to do the will of God. But there are other desires in us that love our self and the world. There is a relentless battle between our new man in Christ and our old sinful flesh. There is never a truce between these two forces. There is never a white flag waved in this battle. There is never a ceasefire. There is a song by Shane and Shane titled, “You've Already Won.” The lyrics go like this: There's peace that outlasts darkness - Hope that's in the blood - There's future grace that's mine today - That Jesus Christ has won - So I can face tomorrow - For tomorrow's in Your hands - All I need You will provide - Just like You always have - I'm fighting a battle - That you've already won - No matter what comes my way - I will overcome - I don't know what You're doing - But I know what You've done - I'm fighting a battle that You've already won.  So just remember when your struggling with your greatest temptation, your weakest link. The full and final sacrifice for ALL your sin was paid at the Cross, all your past, present, and future sins are forgiven.Support the show

I believe that if you are a Christian you must believe that every word in the bible is the truth, but my curious minds wonders, how many times is the word “Truth” in the bible? The word truth appears 333 times in the King James Version, 224 times in the Old Testament and 109 times in the New Testament. The number of times the word appears in the Bible varies slightly depending on the translation you choose. In a world where truth is often questioned and subjective, the Bible affirms absolute truth and its calls Christians to live by it. As believers, we are to be people of truth, guided by the unchanging principles found in God's Word. Denying or distorting truth has serious implications. It can lead to moral and spiritual confusion, relationship breakdowns, and a general decay of society. In order to understand absolute truth, we must begin by defining the word truth. Truth, according to the dictionary, is conformity to fact or a statement proven to be accepted as true. Some people would say that there is no absolute truth, only perceptions and opinions. Tolerance has become a cardinal virtue of the world today, and intolerance is the only evil. Anyone who has a dogmatic belief, especially a belief in absolute truth, is viewed as intolerant, the ultimate sin in today's world! Those who deny absolute truth will often say that it is all right to believe what you want, as long as you do not try to impose your beliefs on others. But this view itself is a belief about what is right and wrong, and those who hold this view definitely try to impose it on others!!!John 14:6 NIV Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. All though the entire Bible is the truth, the bible can be summarized into five basic truths. First God is the good and Holy Creator of everything. Second, man is sinful and has fell short of the glory of God. Third, man's sentence for being sinful is eternal death, torment and separation from God in Hell. Forth, God has provided us a way to be forgiven of our sins and Jesus Christ is the one and only way to be forgiven. Fifth, man must admit he is sinful, believe in Jesus Christ death and resurrection and confess this truth in order spend eternity in heaven. The world today wants to deny the absolute truth of the bible. If men deny the truth of the bible then they are free to live as they please and are accountable to no one for their actions. If there is no absolute truth, then there are no absolute standards of right and wrong, to be held accountable to. This accountability is what people are really rejecting when they reject absolute truth. Romans 1:22-25 NIV Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human beings and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator who is forever praised. Amen.Yet no matter how much sinful men deny the existence of God and absolute truth, they still will someday stand before Him in judgment. Romans 14: 10-12 NIV You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God. So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.Support the show

How long can a person survive without food or water? When a person’s body does not receive enough calories to carry out its usual life supporting functions, it starts functioning differently to reduce the amount of energy it burns. If nutrition is not restored, starvation leads to loss of life. With no food and no water, the maximum time the body can survive is thought to be about one week. With water only, but no food, survival time may extend up to 2 to 3 months. How long can you survive without oxygen? After only 30 seconds to a minute and one half you may pass out or lose consciousness. At the one-minute mark, brain cells begin dying. At three minutes, lasting brain damage becomes more likely. At five minutes, death becomes imminent. Now here is a difficult question. How important is scripture or God's holy word to your survival? At the risk of sounding ungrateful, is Scripture really necessary? If someone claims to be speaking the word of God how would we know without the scriptures? If you were to hear a voice speaking directly to you, a voice claiming to be God Himself, how would you know it was God speaking and not just indigestion, your own desires, or something else? The Apostle John addresses this in first John.1 John 4:1 NIV Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. The way we “test the spirits” is to measure everything against God’s written Word. If any voice doesn't align with Scripture at any point, then according to bible it shouldn’t be treated as being, from God. Another reason why Scripture is necessary, it gives us a supreme court by which all the moral values of the world are measured. Without the scriptures, in particular the 10 commandments the world would be chaotic! It would be a murderous, cruel free-for-all. Can you imagine a world where it is acceptable to kill anyone you don’t like? Where anyone can grab anything they want, including someone's home, their crops, clothes or livestock? Where you can grab any woman you want? Where you kill off your old parents when they become a burden? Where you cannot trust anything that anyone says or does? The scriptures in the bible should be the rudder that guides us down the river of life!2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Many don’t realize it, but almost every aspect of our life finds its roots in Christianity. Here are some powerful ways Christianity has changed the world. Christianity gave us the concept of holidays. The word “holidays” came from the phrase “holy days,” a term of Christian origin to describe Christmas, Easter, Good Friday, and Pentecost. Christianity gave us hospitals. The idea of the hospital grew out of the Christian emphasis on charity, especially toward the sick. It was decreed, beginning in the 4th century, that for every church built, a corresponding hospital be built next to it. Christianity gave us a higher view of sexuality, women and marriage. It was Jesus who revolutionized the way of viewing sex, even gazing at a woman lustfully is committing adultery in the heart. Jesus was the first to recognize the rights of women. It was scandalous, but Jesus elevated the status of women. Now, wherever Christianity spreads, so does the value, respect, and dignity of women. So you need the scriptures in your life just as much as you do food, water or even oxygen. Ephesians 5:29 NIV After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church.Support the show