On Going To Church

Here is a response that was found in the PW Forum to the issue of having to change churches because your parents change churches. The struggle is that you like your original church, but your parents want you to move to a different church, but you are not sure if you will like that church.

And here is the response from a PW student:

There is a deep, deep misunderstanding of what it actually means to "go to church" here. Church and church is not about you, it is not about anyone. It is not about what you like and do not like in a congregation of believers and unbelievers. It is about corporate worship as a body of unwarranted yet redeemed people.

American Christianity is granted the privilege of picking and choosing, at their whim, which church they would like to attend. As one who has not necessarily (I use that word intentionally) had such a privilege, I have but a few words for you:
Stop complaining and be glad you can go at all.

Submit to your parents (and I am fully aware of what submission actually entails) and go to their church. Allow the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit present in your parents' church sanctify you, because any good church will do that.

Reflection on Proverbs 14:13a

"Even in laughter the heart may be in pain."
Proverbs 14:13a

Has this ever happened to you? You are thirsty. You see a bottle of water, open it, and put it to your lips. You know that in an instant your thirst will be quenched by that smooth, crystal clear, mountain spring water. You take a big gulp and then quickly spit it back in the bottle (or any nearby receptacle). Instead of water, you had actually picked up soda water. The salty, bubbly taste of that carbonated water was not what you expected. It looked like regular water, but really was bitter.

Many of us are just like this soda water. On the surface we appear one way, but deep down we are really something else. On the surface we may look happy, but inside we feel no joy. On the outside we give the impression that everything is cool, but deep within we are in turmoil. We may appear to be the life of the party, but within we are extremely lonely and depressed.

Why do we put up these facades? Why can't we be real with one another? What are we afraid of? When God saved us, He not only gave us forgiveness of sin, but He gave us a church family. Through the body of Christ we are to rely on one another, building one another up in maturity. This can only happen when we are real with one another. Have you been covering anything up inside? Try sharing your heart with someone you trust - a parent, pastor, or friend. Be willing to ask them to pray with you. You may see God begin to work in your life immediately!

by Josh Matlock

Case for Pro-Life Image Explained

A word from the PlanetWisdom.com designer:

"What is that?", "Is that a naked man?", "Oooh, that's cool, what is it?". These are all comments I've heard from fellow staffers around the office here at PlanetWisdom about the image used to promote the Case for Pro-Life article by Sean McDowell. Well, here is the scoop. In my search for an image to represent pro-life, I wanted to stay clear of the common images of either a baby or someone pregnant. In my search, I found this man in a fetal position and thought it was interesting. So often we think of babies when we think of pro-life, and not the adult that the baby becomes.

I decided to use the image of the man in the fetal position. I did need to treat it differently so it wasn't just a lot of skin on the home page. I inverted the image, which gives it that ultrasound look. And that is the image you see now.

I hope this in an interesting image to you, and I hope that you think of the adult life and potential of the baby when you think about the abortion issue. Oh, and read Sean's article too!