How Our Brains Know God

By Peter Lundell –

If you ever want a scientific basis for connecting with God, here’s one:
Andrew Newberg, a neuropsychological researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, studies two kinds of reality: One is physical or “baseline” reality—the brain’s perception of material objects (a chair, a table) and sensations (warm, cold). In contrast, he attempts to scientifically verify the brain’s perception of spiritual reality, which he calls “Absolute Unitary Being.”

Some argue that what we think is spiritual reality—for example, God—is nothing more than neurological blips or chemistry changes. In fact that’s what happens in our brains when we experience spiritual phenomena.

The problem with this argument is that the brain experiences physical reality in exactly the same way—through neurological blips and chemistry changes. So even the most hardened atheist or scientist must either take the possibility of spiritual reality seriously or discount all perceptions of reality and conclude that we all live in a dream state.

Isn’t this fun?

Persons who engaged in Newberg’s research consistently testified that the experience of spiritual reality was more “fundamentally real” than that of physical reality. Wow.

Newberg theorizes that spiritual and physical reality are two versions of reality that may be complimentary. That makes biblical sense.

I’m not concerned that Newberg doesn’t take a Christian point of view. A person can perceive God’s existence, just as we perceive his physical creation, without knowing or submitting to Him.

The significant point is that Newberg is doing breakthrough scientific research on the ways in which God created the human mind to perceive Him, as well as His creation. He is giving us a solid scientific basis to say that faith and perceptions of God are as real as the physical world around us. That’s worth getting excited about!

PRAYER: Lord, you have made me with an amazing brain. As others learn how it works, I dedicate mine to you that I would truly have ‘the mind of Christ’ (1 Corinthians 2:16 NIV).

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:14 NIV).

Identity Theft

By Cynthia Ruchti –

It happened on an ordinary afternoon. I made a small purchase at a local specialty store and paid for it with a credit card. Or rather, I tried.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but the charge wouldn’t go through.”

“What do you mean? We can’t have reached our limit. We never have more than a small amount charged to our credit card, and we pay it off completely every month, on time.”

“Sorry. The machine says your card is denied.”

I had other means to pay that day, so I did. When I got home, I called the credit card company.

“Yes,” the customer service rep said, “there’s been suspicious activity on your card. We shut it down. Weren’t you notified?”

Suspicious activity? Someone was using our account number?

“It happens far too frequently,” the customer service rep explained. “We’ll get everything straightened out eventually, but it may take several monthly bills to work through which charges are legitimately yours and which were made fraudulently.”

I understood why people say they feel as if they’ve been violated when someone steals their identity. It was an affront on all counts—financially, a time waste, a headache producer, and what seemed a never ending pattern of confusion as it took many months to sort it all out.

The thieves caused so much grief unrelated to the money. As grateful as we were for a cooperative card company with which to work, I still mourned the time drain and inconvenience.

Identity theft happens every day. And sometimes we hand it over to the thieves.

We forget that we are daughters and sons of the King of kings, and act like paupers instead. We fail to show our “I belong to Him” cards when loneliness threatens. We cower as if we have no power bestowed on us from the Conqueror. We wander in confusion, as if it’s impossible to know where we stand with Christ, even though He’s told us we are His “workmanship,” His handiwork (Ephesians 2:10).

Is that how we act? Or do we allow voices other than the voice of God to steal the identity of who we really are in Him? It’s a mess when that happens…a violation against us. And it can cripple someone not just for a few months of paperwork-straightening, but a lifetime of unnecessary and unwarranted shame and regret.

PRAYER: Lord, help me implement Your plan to guard against spiritual identity theft. Make me wise to what weakens my defenses.

“The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:16 – 17 NIV).

Tell Your Story

By Candace McQuain  –

Everyone has a story. Our story is what makes us who we are, who we have been and who we will become. Each moment in our life has been specifically choreographed, the highs, the lows and everything in between. We are placed in situations and circumstances so we can learn from them and not make the same mistakes over and over again. The thing with living though, is that we seem to choose to do it so quickly. We skim over important moments and special occasions just to get to the next one. We miss so much. One of the most powerful things we can do is to examine where we have been and where we ultimately want to go. We need to tell our story and the person we need to tell it to is the same person who has been our choreographer. Are you scratching your head and asking, “Why would we need to tell our story to the ultimate story maker?” Read on, you’ll soon see why.

When it came time for me to write my story Jesus had me write in detail how I strayed from Him, why I strayed and what I did to others and myself during that time of disobedience.  As I dug through my memory vault attempting to recall events in my life in order to document them, I found myself laughing, crying, asking for forgiveness and many times finally taking responsibility for my behavior.

Documenting my story was a gut wrenching, but truly rewarding experience. You see, you don’t always know how you have affected the world around you until you examine what you have done in it. When the effort was all said and done, I pulled back from my computer stared at my words for a while, careful to not change a thing, and then I simply saved the file and knew I was forgiven for everything I had just wrote. I had a clean slate. Hebrews 8:12(NIV) solidifies that, “For I will forgive [your] wickedness and will remember [your] sins no more.”

I’m positive that if I hadn’t taken the initiative to tell my story I would still be holding on to my sin and would have never really been completely free to accept Jesus into my heart…for good.

When it’s finally laid upon your heart to tell your story, know that Jesus has been with you down every path you have taken in life. He’s been with you every step of the way. Understand that He never lets go. He may lengthen the leash quite a bit at times, but He does that to see what kind of decisions we’ll make and how we will react in certain situations. When we don’t react the way He intended us to, He doesn’t love us any less, He just wants us to shake it off, look to Him for forgiveness and walk with Him again.

So tell your story! You have a very interested listener waiting.

Worth More than Rubies

By Carin LeRoy –

When I was in high school, I had a friend who always wore the latest styles. One day she sported another new outfit. When I asked about her latest garment she said, “My Dad just got paid so my mom and I went shopping and spent his whole check on new clothes.” Years later, I heard a conversation in which one woman went on a shopping spree and then came home and hid everything under the bed before her husband saw it. She knew he would not be happy with her. I doubt that either of these husbands wanted to trust their wives with the paycheck due to their lack of financial restraint. Impulsive shopping shows lack of control and discipline, and many marriages have folded under the pressure of overspending. The number one cause for divorce is financial issues.

In Proverbs 12:4 we read, “A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.” God values a woman of prudence and character. She is a woman marked by self control. Her husband believes in her skills and trusts her to make wise decisions. He has no reason for worry or concern because he knows she will act with good judgment.

If you are a wife, how well does your husband trust you? Do you give him cause for concern, or does he trust in your ability to use good judgment?  Don’t be a wife whose husband worries about your spending habits. Be a prudent manager of your household and the wife whose husband shows confidence and trust in your skills. It not only makes for a better marriage, but it is highly valued by God.

PRAYER:  Lord, help me to be a wife that shows self control and good management skills. Protect me from frivolous spending and develop habits that will honor You and build trust and peace in my marriage.

“Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord” (Proverbs 19:14 NIV).

The Yellow Brick Road

By Marty Norman –

One of my favorite movies as a child was The Wizard of Oz.  Who couldn’t love Dorothy and Toto in Kansas?  She was every little girl back in the 1950s, Schwinn bike with basket, dog in tow. That could have been me, riding down that dirt road, pigtails blowing in the breeze, dog, Mike, not in tow but at foot.

But if you take a deeper look, the movie message was in the size, type and visuals of the different roads traveled. The roads of Oz and Kansas tell us a lot about life in general.

The first road in the movie is the dirt road in Kansas. With a storm a’brewing, we see Dorothy racing against time to beat the tornado to Auntie Em’s farm. But the dirt road does not serve her well. The message: being on the dirt road leads to destruction.

The next time we see Dorothy she is waking from being knocked out by the storm. Surrounded by flowers in bright colors, she knows intuitively that this is the way to go. And if she isn’t quick on the uptake, the yellow bricks offer a directional sign. The message: if you follow the yellow brick road you will come to the magical city, meet a wizard and get your wish.

The rest of the movie depicts Dorothy’s journey down this road. We follow who she meets, what happens when she gets off the road, and who befriends and attacks her along the way. The message: if only we would take the right road and stay on its path, everything will be ok.

Contrast that with the biblical message about roads. “Enter through the narrow gate,” Matthew tells us, “For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:14 NIV). Contrary to the yellow brick road, we discover that the wide road leads to destruction but the narrow road leads to life.

Recently I kept my two grandsons overnight, ages two and four. Per his routine, Strother, the four-year-old, likes to watch cartoons when he wakes. I try to avoid this as often as possible, but on this particular morning it was 6:00 a.m. and I just couldn’t seem to get my juices going. So I complied.

“Can we watch Sponge Bob?” he inquired, enthusiasm highlighting every word.

“How bad can that be,” I think to myself? “Sponge Bob” is pretty innocuous, right? It should be ok and I can get in a couple more minutes of shuteye.”

I was so wrong.

This particular episode was about bullying. Out of my sleepy stupor, I hear one of the main characters, I didn’t catch his name so I’ll call him Bubba, begin to take advantage of his size and bully the other kids. We started in the middle of the episode, at the point where Sponge Bob is telling his friends, “I can’t go to school today.  Bubba has said he is going to kick my butt.”

Now that got my attention. My eyes popped open and I was all ears. Before I could roll over he had said it four more times. By the time I sat up, his friends were saying “kick my butt,” Bubba was saying “kick his butt,” and the teacher was saying “kick your butt.” I should have turned the TV off, but I was mesmerized, stuck in a moment of time. I decided to count the number of times I heard the phrase “kick butt.” Are you ready?  Sixteen times in ten minutes. Yes, that is 16!

I was, am, and will continue to be horrified. No amount of spin, justification, excuses, or explanation will ever convince me that any child, much less a four-year-old, should be exposed to this kind of trash.

But the clincher came at the end. Bubba luckily had an epiphany, came to his senses and made friends with Sponge Bob. All was well. But in the last scene, the teacher, rather than making Bubba accountable and responsible for his actions, explained to Sponge Bob, “Don’t be mad a Bubba. It’s really not his fault. He is merely a victim of a society that is going down the wrong road.”

That’s right. Those were her exact words, “Victim of a society that is going down the wrong road.” What!

Now I don’t know about you. But in my book and according to the Scriptures I read, we are all responsible and accountable for our own actions and responses, regardless of the circumstances. Instead of passing on bad behavior, we are told to forgive and turn the other cheek. Clearly Bubba, or Bubba’s writers, hadn’t read the Scripture. The message presented was that Bubba is not responsible because he is a victim. And the perpetrator is society. Really?

I chose this topic for my column this week because I am outraged. First, I can’t believe anyone would see fit to put such a thing in an early morning cartoon when little ones are up and watching. Second, that sponsors would sponsor this. And last but not least, that anyone would think this fit for virgin ears.

Bless these precious ones’ hearts. And bless the parents who have to sit and monitor EVERY program their children watch. You just don’t know when something like “kick your butt” will sneak in. The Scriptures are clear. In the last days scoffers will sneak in and sit among us. Well grandparents, hold onto your hats. The scoffers are here and they are targeting your grandchildren. It’s time we take a stand.

I’m not sure yet what I plan to do about this. Clearly I told my son right away and he realizes it’s a big problem. I confessed that I did not jump out of the bed and turn off the TV. All I could muster was that I was in shock. I wanted to see how far they would go, and I found out -too far for my taste.

So if you are wondering which road to take next in life, let me assure you it is not the dirt road, the TV road or the yellow brick road. It is the narrow road. If you don’t know where that is, you better start looking fast – I think the tornadoes are hurling toward Kansas, and we are right in their path.

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