There've been excellent materials coming from the internet for Christians to utilize in their faith and walk with God. Here are 5 of my favorites from the recent past. 

Q&A: Should Christians Celebrate Lent?
     Lent is the 40-day Catholic religious season of preparation before “Easter Sunday” (though many other denominations within Christendom also participate). The Lenten season begins on “Ash Wednesday,” with many solemnly marking... read more

3 Tips to Improve the Singing in Your Congregation
     Last weekend, around a thousand Christians gathered together in Oklahoma City to worship, fellowship, and study God’s word. The singing was out of this world! But I have been to some assemblies where the singing was less than God-honoring... read more

These Snakes Can Find Their Way Back
Even those not inherently squeamish about snakes are uneasy about a phenomenon occurring in Florida. Former pet owners of Burmese Pythons probably started releasing them in south Florida back in the late 1990s. On February 4, personnel found an 18-foot specimen in the Everglades... read more

You Are the Problem
Christianity is broken. At least that’s what the majority says. When it comes down to it, you and I would probably have a hard time disagreeing with that statement. 86% of the nearly 15,000 people who responded to a one question isidewith.com poll say Jesus would disapprove of modern... read more

What I Gave Up The Day I Got Married
     I was married at the young age of 19. Yup, I know... besides possibly setting a new record... I am also "crazy." But, don't worry, you don't need to tell me that, I already know. In fact, I've heard it all: "Didn't you just get out of high school?" "It was just yesterday that you were in diapers!! You're just a baby!" ... read more

     In culmination of our study of ways in which the Scriptures tell us that we can show God our love, we come to the last 4 acts. However, remember, that just because 8 things are mentioned here doesn't mean that there aren't other ways in which we show our Father our love nor does that fact mean that whatever we decide will adequately and righteously show our love. Our praise and adoration to Him must first be found in the Bible which He gave to us to instruct us in our worship and lives toward Him. (Click here to read the first 4 points in this 2-part article)

5. Reject the World - 1 John 2:15
     No study of our expression of our love to God would be complete without a mention of this very important point. There are so many things in the world vying for our attention and love, and yet we ought to have the wherewithal to reject those things if they lead us away from loving our God. Notice, this passage cannot be speaking of the Father's ceasing to love someone if they are entangled in the ways of the world, after all, He loved us while we were sinners (Romans 5:8) and the world as a whole long before the saving grace and blood of Jesus Christ was available to us (John 3:16). No, the direction of the love mentioned by the apostle John is upward. 

     It is absolutely impossible for us to love God if we allow ourselves to be taken into a lustful relationship with the world. That's what it is isn't it? We often teach our young people about the difference between love and lust. Well, loving the world is nothing more than a relationship bent on fulfilling lusts, void of the true love which is only found in a relationship with God Almighty. The only way to have that relationship? Just as the only way to have true love in a physical relationship, specifically speaking of a marriage, is to reject all other means by which lusts can be fulfilled outside of that bond. 

     How fitting it is to say that we are married to God!

6. Be Bold - 1 John 4:17
     As is the case with any study of the topic of love, many great and insightful points can be gleaned from the pen of John. This is no exception. 
 
     While the context at hand is specifically speaking of the love that the child of God has from the Father through the salvation offered in Jesus Christ (1 John 4:12-16), I believe that the opposite direction may also be applied. If God has provided a way in which we can "have boldness in the day of judgment" because of His love for us, wouldn't it be the case that our exercising that boldness in the day of judgment would show our love back to Him. 

     How can one be bold in the Day? It's very simple. - Know that he will receive eternal life on that Day. 

     That isn't a statement that is often taken without any sort of weariness on the part of the individual, but it is true. Many people do not want to emphatically say the words, "I know that I am saved" but without that boldness, based upon the actions in one's life and whether or not they are in accordance with the Gospel of Christ (1 John 5:13, 1 John 1:7-9), then we have failed to see what God has given us. We have failed to get everything out of Christianity that God has placed in it. And, we have failed to show our love to God. 

7. Love the Brethren - 1 John 4:21
     This point is obviously well understood by the majority, but it still needs to be discussed. Anything that is done to the brethren is, by extension, done to Jesus Christ (Matthew 25:40). Because of that, any hatred which is expressed to the body of Christ (the church of Christ) or the members thereof is to be understood as being directed straight at the face of God Himself. 

     What better way to show God we love Him than to love those that are in Him (Ephesians 1:7, Galatians 3:27, Acts 2:47). 

8. Have Faith - 1 Pet. 1:6-9
     I fail to be able to look at the Bible and see any greater point than this when speaking of the love we show to God. The Hebrews writer once said that "faith.... [is] the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 1:1)." While I have yet to have the amazing blessing of being able to see my Savior, I know that He exists. While that knowledge is based upon a correct application of the physical evidence proving the existence of the God of the Bible and the Bible's accuracy and trustworthiness, that knowledge is also based upon what the Scriptures tell me. 

     Yet, having not seen Him, sometimes I feel as though my faith is missing something. How much more faith would I have if I had been able to be at the dinner when the two sisters got in an argument over which was more important, or if I had been there when He fed the 5,000? While it may have been stronger if I had lived back then (although I hope that my knowledge that these things and many more happened leads me to have as strong a faith as possible), Peter wanted those brethren that were in the same position of not seeing Him as me to know that the genuineness of our faith can be perfect, by loving Him. 

     Our faith, the trust in God lead by the evidence and bringing us to obey His commands, is the best way that we can show our Father that we truly, whole-heartedly, undeniably, reverently love Him!

     Almost without exception the question and answer times put on by the body of Christ hold within them at least one question regarding the topic of what actions designate the ability for one to be remarried to another after having been divorced. And, in a culture where the horrible dissolving of marriages is as prevalent as it is in the Western world, that is somewhat understandable. However, with the rising number of individuals living post-marriage the question then turns to the acceptable instance in which an individual has the ability to be remarried without risking his eternal abode. That is where our question arises. Is divorce based upon the use of visual stimulants such as pornography grounds for the Father being pleased with the innocent party (we're not going to discuss the guilty part because of the VERY clear exhortation given in Matthew 19:9 as to the inability for the guilty to be remarried with God's approval) being joined together in holy matrimony with another individual?

     In order to answer this question, one need only look to the Word of God. Anything outside of the divinely given instructions and commands is superfluous to the discussion being based solely on the emotions, intellect and wisdom of man. Therefore, let's look to the infamous passage in which the Christ gives the one and only exception to the rule of one man, for one woman, for live - Matthew 19:9. In answering the questioning of the Pharisees to Jesus, namely the topic of a man being able to "put away," i.e. divorce, his wife for any reason, Jesus clearly shows that the Godly principle is that individuals stay married once that have entered into that bond (Matthew 19:4-6). Nonetheless, if a couple divorces and plans on marrying other people, He explains that the breaking of the marriage bond must be on the grounds of "fornication (Matthew 19:9, KJV)". 

     With this comes the inquiry of what falls under the realm of "fornication"? Strong's defines the word translated such as that which is done of a harlot (i.e. a prostitute). In light of an understanding of the principle revolving around prostitution, one should be able to get an idea of whether or not the watching, or any other use of media to reach physical gratification (i.e. listening to or even reading), of pornographic material falls under this distinction. Dictionary.com defines "prostitution" as "a woman, or man, who engages in sexual intercourse for money". So, even the English dictionary points to this "fornication" being a literal, physical, imbibing of the sexual desires outside the realm of marriage. 

     But, what of the passage which says "But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28, ESV)"? That can quickly be addressed with yet another Greek word and definition. You see, the Greek word translated "adultery" is not "pornea," from which we get fornication in Matthew 19:9, but is "moicheuo" or "to commit adultery," which is the derivative of another Greek word meaning "apostate: - adulterer." It is interesting that the phrase used by the Christ in the preceding verses to His first explanation of marriage, divorce and remarriage in the eyes of God used this term instead of the one for the physical intercourse between two individuals outside of the realm of marriage. 

     Therefore, it is safe to say, and even Biblically accurate to say, that, while looking at an individual to lust after them is an apostasy from the marriage, it is not the breaking of the marriage bond which is defined as fornication. So, no, an individual who catches their spouse using sensory stimulants in order to achieve physical, sexual pleasure, is not Biblically able to be remarried should he break that marriage because of that sin on the part of his spouse. Even though that individual has apostatized from the godly marriage they might have once enjoyed it should not be understood as a freeing act which would allow the innocent to be married to another but rather should be worked upon so as to save the marriage before actual fornication occurs. Remember, "what God has joined together, let not man separate (Matthew 19:6, MKJV)."