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inhabiting the kingdom of God: our return to Kenya
We never thought we would return to Kenya. Back to the school of Achungo, where six hundred orphans in two schools are nurtured by teachers and administrators who love them and worship God. But we had seen Jesus there, felt Him walking with us on our trip there two years ago. And when Oliver and Abby, the two youngest of our family, said that their impossible prayers were to go back to Rodi Kopany and spend another week at the school with children living halfway around the world–children who are loved and known and point us to the face of God–Justin and I sought God’s wisdom and felt His whisper: Yes, I have more for your children, more for you, here. It is time to go. And His words felt both crazy and good at the same time. We would go. The first two days of the trip, we, a...
Walking Out of Deception and Into Truth
A couple weeks ago, I reviewed over 130 blog posts that I wrote for this website and deleted any that lined up with false doctrine that I used to adhere to for many years. As a Christian writer, I never want to cause anyone to stumble on their journey of gaining understanding of the truth of God’s Word. In America (and perhaps even around the world, thanks to television and social media), the gospel of Jesus Christ has become extremely muddied by false teaching full of false gospels, New Age/occult/pagan practices, lying signs and wonders, and distractions from worldly desires that are all leading many to false Christs. My husband and I were among those believers who were believing lies from the result of the twisting of scripture and emotional, mental, and spiritual manipulation from lead...
25 Myths (2019)
In their annual Gates Foundation Letter, Bill and Melinda Gates listed three stubborn myths about global development that drive them crazy: 1) that poor countries are doomed to stay poor; 2) that foreign aid is a big waste; and 3) that saving lives leads to overpopulation. It’s easy to understand how infuriating such myths are to the Gateses, who have pledged to spend their entire $72 billion fortune on their foundation’s save-the-world work. In an interview about their work, they continued to circle back to the big gap between their proof that interventions work and the persistence of false ideas and wrong thinking. This prompted an exploration by Susan Glasser, featured on Politico, of exaggerations and plain untruths about how the United States operates in the world. She went to diploma...
The Victor – Invading the Privacy of God – Week of July 9
Devotional 29The Victor I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to murder anyone. I’ve never worshiped an idol. Adultery hasn’t been a stumbling block for me. Why would I want to steal from someone? Such big sins don’t bother me. Most of us who seek to follow the leadership of Jesus Christ discover that the big lures tend to disappear. It’s the little traps that we stumble into. One of my little struggles is that I tend to ignore the warning signs of past experiences, cautions in the Bible, or the restraining hand of God. I’m amazed (in retrospect) how easily I convince myself to say a certain thing or act a certain way as a means of standing up for myself or being honest, or being faithful to point out another’s shortcomings. Once in a while, I’...
What Is the Inerrancy of Scripture? – Definition and Implications
Inerrancy. A word that can arouse passion and even division. A concept that is often used as a test of the faith. A line in the sand that divides the church. On one side are those who hold to the truthfulness of the Scripture. On the other side are those who see at least some amount of error in the Bible. The issue is often cast as clear-cut. Either you hold to inerrancy. Or you don’t. Either the Bible is truthful; all of it. Or it contains some level of error. Yet, is it as simple as that? I have struggled with the concept of inerrancy over the years. And have finally come to recognize that my issue is not with the truthfulness of Scripture. I wholeheartedly agree that it is truthful in all that it teaches and affirms (John 17:17). An Erroneous Implication of Inerrancy My issue with inerr...
Believing What God Says
www.insideoutwithcourtnaye.org I don’t know where you are on this topic, but if you clicked onto it, it’s either because you need someone to tell you to believe what God says or maybe it’s because you want to encourage someone else with this message. In either case, it’s okay. I just felt led by the Holy Spirit to tell you to believe what God says about you and about what He’s called you to do. Sometimes you just need the reminder or to be uplifted by these words. Maybe it’s because someone told you something mean, discouraging, or against what God’s word says. Maybe it was your mother, father, sister, brother, child, friend, co-worker, church member, boss, leader, boyfriend, or even your husband who told you something that made you question your identity i...
The Power of Our Words – Encouragement for Today – July 8, 2019
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue …” Proverbs 18:21a (CSB) Bam. Bang. Crash. I could hear the earsplitting commotion from my kitchen where I stood drying the last of the breakfast dishes. It was “demo day” at our house as we were replacing our old fireplace. It was interesting and entertaining to watch the whole demo and building process unfold. Thankfully, the mason allowed me to capture videos of it for any curious, fixer-upper loving friends. As the project was winding down, I noticed something. The contractor used many tools in his craft. Some of the same ones that he used to smash the existing fireplace to smithereens were the ones he used to carefully tap the new stacked stone pieces into place. His mallet brought destruction. But then, a few days later, it created beaut...
Is Gambling a Sin? Is It the Same as Casting Lots in the Bible?
“Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.” (Proverbs 13:11) What exactly is gambling? By its very nature, gambling is risking a person’s current position or wealth against the odds in the hope of gaining a greater position or wealth. A sin is anything that harms or hinders our relationship with Christ. Las Vegas, Atlantic City and American Indian reservations throughout the country make billions of dollars in revenue each year because of legalized gambling. However, the question remains: “Is participating in gambling a sin for Christians?” Governments can legalize products, drugs, or behaviors in the attempt to generate local revenue, but many of these measures are contrary to Christian beliefs. Poker, slot ma...
Why does God allow earthquakes?
Key Scriptures Romans 8:18-23 and Luke 13:4-5 Earthquake Aftershock If we have an openness and are willing to learn, we can come to recognize the voice of God with assistance from those who are familiar with the divine voice from their own experience. On the other hand, we should understand that it is in Satan’s best interest to make an inherent mystery of God’s word coming directly to us. In this way, the power of God’s specific word for our lives can be hindered or lost. Without qualified help working alongside our desire to learn and readiness to cooperate, God’s direct word may remain a riddle or a game of theological charades. This is generally the condition of the church today, I suspect. This would explain why there is such great confusion and difficulty about what it really means t...
4 Characteristics of God that Remind Us We are Living the Abundant Life
If I’m being honest, when I see the word ‘abundance’ these days, my first thought is not of the plentiful ways God has blessed me, though I’d like to say it is. I just find it a whole lot easier to look at struggles with anxiety, problems in relationships, and poor health and just see chaos. I’m not one to press into fear, pain, or conflict, choosing instead to ignore it and distract myself with other things. But as I’ve had to face the reality of some ongoing health issues lately, I’ve found there can be a balance of both facing the negative and seeing the abundance of Christ in it all, despite the mess. In 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, Paul says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we...
A Prayer for When You Feel Unworthy – Your Daily Prayer – July 7
A Prayer for When You Feel UnworthyBy Lindsay Snyder We must learn to receive His love, because we love only because He has first loved us – 1 John 4:19 Unworthiness! I didn’t know you had a name. I thought you were my thoughts; you have lied to me for a really long time. I took you on, unworthiness, as my identity, and didn’t even know it. I never knew you could be so destructive, lie so deeply about who I was. I am going to tell on you now, so you can’t lie to others like you did to me. Six things to remember when you are dealing with the LIE of unworthiness: 1. We have to know deep down that God REALLY does loves us! I know, I know, God loves us, it’s sounds so cliché. But why is it so hard to remember? Why does it seem distant and hard to really grab onto sometimes? Probably beca...
Who Are the Four Horsemen in Revelation? Their Meaning and Significance
One of the more eerie parts of the book of Revelation includes four figures riding horses. Much intrigue has built around these four characters featured in Revelation 6 that iconic art, books, and even movies (such as X-Men Apocalypse) have capitalized on these four horsemen of the apocalypse. These four horsemen appear to symbolically portray four disastrous occurrences that will take place before the second coming of Jesus Christ. Historians have argued over whether these events have already happened or whether mankind has yet to experience them. But most evidence points to the fact these have yet to take place. This article will endeavor to explain the characteristics of each one of the horsemen and how they all play an important role in the End Times. The White Horse The first horse, a...
