Properly Exercising Faith - People Who Represent Christianity

It's your responsibility as a Christian to properly exercise your faith and to express your opinions as such. If you don't know something for a fact, you are obligated to seek and gather more information about these so-called facts.

With this said, if you hear a Bible verse quoted to you by someone and you don't necessarily understand 100% of what they are saying or you think that they might be twisting around the Scripture, it's your obligation to find out, the truth and nothing but the truth.

Let me give you an example of how to properly exercise your faith. An atheist walks up to you and asks you why you believe in God, you reply," Because it says so in the Bible." Wrong.., wrong answer. Because it says so in the Bible, isn't what I would consider a good answer. It's what I would consider to be a controlled Christian answer, simple but untrue.

The minute that you start referring to things in the Bible and you don't really understand what it is that you're talking about, you're not doing Christianity any favors. The minute that you listen to another person quote out of the Bible and start repeating, what it is that they were saying, without clearly understanding the truth, you're simply spreading rumors.

Think about this, the next time that you tell someone something that you heard, just because you hear something three times, doesn't make it a fact. I would like to tell you a little secret, so pay attention, simply because someone within your religious community, who others look up to, say something that sounds believable, don't start spreading rumors, find out for yourself, if it's actually true.

Christian Bible Problems

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Greg Vanden Berge is a published author and a inspiration to millions of people. He has been involved in religious research for almost 30 years, and his influence in the Christian community is growing. The Holy Bible, is the core to Christian beliefs and most Christians don't even question it. Was the Bible actually written by men?

His newest book," Did God Actually Say That?" Was written specifically for Christians who are interested in gaining additional knowledge about the Bible. This book provides Christians with advanced biblical knowledge, answer some tough questions and should be read by every faithful follower of Christ.

Understanding the Bible

Financial Burdens From Church Leaders

I really can't believe how many people that don't have enough money and could be living below poverty levels, often he as much as they can to their religious organizations. It saddens me to see those who don't have enough to eat, giving money to their church, even though they needed more than God does.

I realize that the Bible tells its followers to give at least 10% of their earnings to their church or temple. The problem is, that the Bible doesn't provide any information for people that constantly give money to the church, even though they can't afford to. They need this money for food and to educate their children.

I guess it's okay, to form a dependency on your church, even though you could provide for yourself, if you didn't give away all of your money. There are plenty of churches that will provide their patrons with close, food and some of them will even provide shelter for the poor or homeless.

The financial burdens that are produced by some church leaders, make me sick. They make those who can't afford to give, feel guilty and this guilt eats away at them like a cancerous disease, working its way through your vital and important body parts.

I'm going to suggest something to the church leaders. Quit making people feel guilty, simply because you need more money to accomplish the things that you are planning to do. It doesn't really matter, if the stuff that you are doing is great for wonderful, if you're doing it at the expense of others.

I would also like to give some advice to those people who can't afford to give away their money. Quit giving it away. Save your money, feed your family, by your own clothes, and save up for your children's education.

Some of, the money that you are giving to your religious organization, might be squandered away on your church leaders programs. These programs might have nothing to do with God's desire for a better world.

Click Here For A Fascinating Journey Into Christianity - Great Book About The Bible

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If your interested in a different point of view READ THESE ARTICLES - Great Articles For Christians

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author and a inspiration to millions of people. His newest book," Did God Actually Say That?" Was written specifically for Christians who are interested in gaining additional knowledge about the Bible. This book provides Christians with advanced biblical knowledge, answer some tough questions and should be read by every faithful follower of Christ.

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Are Your Prayers Being Answered by God - Christianity

I spent a large portion of my life praying for things that never seem to come about, like most of us. I would pray for a better life, help with solving certain problems, good health, a new car, to attract abundance into my life, wealth and happiness. I can tell you that I am in good health and have a better life than I used to but I never got the new car and seemed to have a hard time solving certain problems that I was praying for.

Now here's the catch in Christianity. If I pray for something and I get it, great God has blessed you and you must have done something good to receive what you had prayed for. If you don't receive what you prayed for within the next couple of days, maybe it isn't the right time to receive what you were asking for. If I receive what I have prayed for after that, God has answered my prayers and has given me what I needed at the right time. God knows best and I will continue to pray.

When I ask someone who prays often, how do you really know that God has answered your prayers. In Christianity, I'm talking about God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit. I'm not talking about Zeus, Krishna, or any other unspecified creator of the universe. How do you really know that your God has given you what you ask for.

Now think about this for a second, I know that as a Christian you believe in your God but what if, the Hindu god Indra has actually answered my prayer and blessed you. How do I know that Jesus is not one of the Hindu gods, hiding under another name. Could I actually be manifesting my desires from the universe somehow and I am actually God. Think about it, if this doesn't make sense to you, have you ever thought about why yours does.

The minute that I accept something as a fact, I have closed my mind to other possibilities. The world was flat at one time and now it is round. I do not accept the earth has being round, simply because someone has told me this. I can look at pictures, read books, watch movies and come to my own conclusion that there is a very good chance that the earth is round, but I can't seem to forget at one time people thought the earth was flat.

Most of us never even question what we are taught. If you were taught that Jesus, Krishna, Satan or any other god answers your prayers, that's what you probably still believe. Whether your prayers are being answered or not, does not guarantee the existence or deny the existence of God. What you're thinking caps on, Seek and You Will Find.

Eliminate Bible Propaganda

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author and a inspiration to millions of people. He has been involved in religious research for almost 30 years, and his influence in the Christian community is growing. The Holy Bible, is the core to Christian beliefs and most Christians don't even question it. Was the Bible actually written by men?

His newest book," Did God Actually Say That?" Was written specifically for Christians who are interested in gaining additional knowledge about the Bible. This book provides Christians with advanced biblical knowledge, answer some tough questions and should be read by every faithful follower of Christ.

Click here if you're Interested in Christianity.

Creating and Using a Victory Journal

During an interview with Sandi Givens, the discussion lead to how women sometimes have a difficult time disassociating themselves from the things that they do. In other words, when a woman presents an idea to someone, and the idea is rejected or she's told it's not a very good idea; many women find it difficult to remember that it was the idea itself that was rejected and not the "woman". In other words, women become so closely attached to their ideas and the work that they do, that if something they've brought up is put down, it's often seen by the woman as a put down or reflection of themselves.

In order to help encourage "disassociation" between yourself and your work; or between yourself and your ideas; Sandi recommends creating and using a victory journal. You should purchase a nice notebook or blank journal - the nicer the better because you want to look forward to holding it in your hands and writing and reading from it!

On the very front page of your journal, the "cover page", you'll want to nicely write "Victory Journal". You could handwrite it, or you could make it fancier and use scrapbooking supplies or stickers. Whatever makes you feel good when you look at it.

In this "Victory Journal", you are going to write down your victories, wins, successes of each day. Do not ever write something and belittle it; in other words- don't say "I just had a good meeting today". The word "just" dismisses the victory and that is what we are attempting to overcome with a victory journal.

The other important thing to remember when writing in your victory journal, is your victories do not have to be earth shattering. In fact, it's about all the little things that make up your day that are considered successful. You could write that you met a deadline. You could include that you got your little ones off to school on time and without complications or arguments.

If you're not a big writer, there is no reason to write long winded explanations or anything. A victory journal is actually just as effective if you write your successes and wins for each day in a bulleted list - just short phrases that tell you what the success was.

When someone rejects a proposal or idea that you have come up with, you will immediately pull out your victory journal and read some of the successes you've had. You'll be able to see that you are not your idea; that the idea is not you - and that you have so many victories and successes that having one rejection cannot dismiss all of that goodness about you.

Janet Beckers is the host and founder of Wonderful Web Women
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Passion + Purpose = Action or How to Light a Fire

Wanna really turn up the heat in your life? Then use the crucial ingredient essential to turning dreams into reality thats action. Without placing a cake in the oven, all the mixing, folding and combination of ingredients wont get you a finished cake. Its ACTION that produces the final results. Lets focus in on taking the action steps necessary to live our lives full of passion and purpose.

Talk is Cheap

A little less conversation, a little more actionwell they didnt call Elvis the King for nothing. He knew about action (in more ways than one, but thats not the point). He understood talk and action were different. It can be easy to get caught up in the what if syndrome. I used to have a bad case of the what ifs myself. What if I wrote a book? What if I took this class? What if I pursue my passion? What if it doesnt work? We all do it. Its human nature. We talk to our friends, annoy our co-workers, and wear-out our families! Talking about something isnt getting us any closer to the finish line than we already are. In fact, talking about it keeps us stuck.

What keeps us talking? FEAR. In The Aladdin Factor, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen remind us, If you keep on doing what youve always done, youll keep on getting what youve always got. This is otherwise referred to as the definition of insanity. They also refer to the wise words of Stan Dale, Comfort zones are plush lined coffins. When you stay in your plush lined coffins, you die. Lets stop the chitchat, step out of our cushy coffins and get busy living.

Dream vs. Do

So you say Im a dreamer. Well Im not the only one. John Lennon was a dreamer, but he also understood that living our dreams requires action. Honestly, if you can dream it, you can do it. But dreaming alone can find us in Fantasy Land. We sit and spin the story in our minds. We envision living a life of grand proportions. Waking up each day and stepping into the perfect life. There is no perfect (Im a recovering perfectionista too, so I speak from experience), only an original screenplay written and directed and starring our im-perfect selves. The beauty of dreams is that we CAN manifest the things we see in our minds eye. We just need to get over the Yeah, but how?

In Good to Great, Jim Collins shares, Weve allowed the way transitions look from the outside to drive our perception of what they must feel like to those going through them on the inside. From the outside, they look like dramatic, almost revolutionary breakthroughs. But from the inside, they feel completely different, more like an organic development process. Lets stop freaking ourselves out with negative self-talk and how could I? scenarios. Change does require action but its not our job to know exactly how well get from A-Z. Set your intention on the goal and trust that the Universe wants you to have everything your heart desires and then some. Dont worry about the details - just set the wheels in motion.

Do vs. BE

Multi-tasking has become the norm. We get so caught up in the doing of everyday life. We get up, rush to eat, fly out the door, get to office, more multi-tasking ensues, race home, whip up or pick up some food - if we eat at all, spend some quality time with a friend, spouse, partner, kids, the TV, or the Internet and then hit the haybeat down!

Doesnt sounds like the secret to success, huh? Lets flip that switch. Were human BEINGs not human DOINGs. How might we re-frame our lives to start BEING the unique, and creative individuals we were designed to be? First, we must SLOW down. I knowcrazy talk, right? Youre sayinghow can I slow down? Ive got too much on my plate as it is. Well you really CANT do it all. So clean up your stuff, commit to what you really want and take the required baby steps to get there.

Grab a notebook and start asking questions. What three things would I like to incorporate into my day that I am not doing right now? What three things could I eliminate in order to do those other things? What do I really want my days to look like?

What would you do with 30 more minutes a day just for you? What if you got up just 30 minutes earlier? If youve got kids and a spouse, let them know that you are off limits. Would you read? Journal? Work out? Meditate? Have a conversation with God? Take a walk? Have coffee outside and listen to the sounds of a new day dawning?

I understand were not all morning people. But are those extra 30 minutes youre hitting the snooze button, quality sleep anyway? Lets stop complaining that there arent enough hours in the day and re-arrange the 24 weve already got. If living your life your way requires getting up 30 minutes earlier, wouldnt it be worth it? How could it NOT be? Beers become who they are intended to be. Doers die with overflowing in-boxes. Each and every day we have a choice. Which path do you choose? (Yes, sometimes I choose to snooze, but more often than not, I choose to nurture myself).

Imperfect Perfection

According to Deepak Chopra in, The Book of Secrets, There is no limit to how far your influence can reach, but to find that out you must engage life with passion. When you do anything with passion, you express every aspect of who you are. Passion releases all the energy you posses. At that moment you put yourself on the line, for if you throw everything you have into a pursuit, weaknesses are also exposed. Passion brings up everything.

This inescapable fact discourages many people, who dislike the negative parts of themselves so much, or are so intimidated by them, that they hold their passion in check in the belief that life will be made safer. Perhaps it will, but at the same time they are greatly limiting their understanding of what life can bring. The willingness to reach inside every part of yourself opens the door to total understanding. When you hold some part of yourself in reserve you deny it exposure to life; you repress its energy and keep it from understanding what it needs to know.

Wow! Have you ever experienced feeling like that? I have. I was a mess as I was about to launch my website. I was worried about being judged and over-exposed. That people would see all of me. The dark and the light. The good, the bad and the indifferent. The highs and the lows. Me at my finest, as well as, imperfect. I have reached a new level of understanding regarding perfection. I now know that we are ALL whole, complete and perfect AS IS. Right now. It doesnt get any better than this, only different. I appreciate the ebb and flow of my moods more and dont freak out when Im feeling funky (OK, I still freak a little, but Im working on reveling in my funkiness).

My clients have found greater success when they allow themselves to be whole and not just good. One of my clients recently got over her good girl complex, and her world just opened up! Try watching babies. Theyve got this down to a science. One minute they are peaches and cream and the next oil and vinegar. Are they any less beautiful when they are crying than when they are laughing? No. Simply different. Go ahead, revel in your imperfect perfection, its your birthright.

Karma-chameleon

Taking action requires being flexible. You might set out to move forward in one way and then events fall into place and opportunities knock on doors you didnt even know existed. Be flexible and open to the synchronicities that play out in your life. If you open up your heart and ask the Universe to help guide you to your higher purpose, or your desired goal, you have to be open to the way these opportunities will arrive. Dont be so fixated on It has to look like this, or It needs to play out like that.

Synchronicity is the Universal communication system. Example, yesterday I was in a colleagues office and noticed the book, Good to Great on his desk. I commented that Id heard about this book in an article Id read recently. Picked the book up, gleaned it over and went back about my business. 10 minutes later, I received an e-mail from a friend with this book listed as a great resource. Hmmm, lets countthats three times that book came into my awareness in about a 3-day window. I decided the universe was trying to tell me something. That book had a message for me and it was time to investigate.

Im still reading it, but I gained a valuable and relevant quote to share with you all. Maybe thats all I was supposed to get out of it. Im not sure. Either way, I got the tap on my shoulder and interpreted it as, Hey Kam. Time to pick up this book. Had I been completely fixated on the copy Id written prior to finding that book, this article might not have had as big of an impact. Moral to the story, stay flexible and chameleon-like. You never know when intuition will ask you to make a right instead of a left. That voice could save you from a traffic accident and it could also get you to where you need to be easier and more efficiently than you could on your own.

Jump

Theres only so much you can learn in one place. The more that you wait. The more time that you waste. Ahhh, that controversial genius Madonna. She is the perfect example of being chameleon-like. If shed gotten stuck in the same sound, same look, same accent, she never would have had the successful career thats spanned decades.

Ask yourself what youre willing to do to move forward. Are you willing to jump? What would it take for you to courageously leap forward? What action is necessary for you to live life by design instead of by default? To live out loud and passionately and on purpose? To BE present and trust that from moment to moment youll get there. As Peter N. Zarlenga said, Action conquers fear. What are you waiting for? Get busy!

Kammie Kobyleski has been having coaching conversations her whole life. After working in corporate communications, marketing, training & development, and higher education, Kammie made the shift into life & career coaching and consulting. Her lifes mission is helping people fall in love with life. The integration of mind, body, spirit and personal empowerment are Kammies passionate focus. For free resources, articles and information visit http://www.passionmeetspurpose.com or for a complimentary 30 minute call, e-mail kammie@passionmeetspurpose.com

Essential Oils - Cajeput - An Oil Held in High Regard in the East

Cajeput (Melaleuca cajeputi) is in the myrtle family. The oil is one of the melaleuca trees that grow wild in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Java, Australia and southeastern Asia. The oil today comes from Australia where steam distillation is used on the fresh leaves and twigs. This is a tall evergreen tree that grows up to 98 feet in height. It has thick pointed leaves and white flowers. It uniquely has a flexible trunk with whitish, spongy bark that flakes off easily. Traditionally cajeput in the East is was used for colds, headaches, throat infections, toothache, sore and aching muscles, fever, rheumatism and various skin disease. It was used in the herbal tradition to produce a sensation of warmth and quickening of the pulse. Native peoples used it for chronic laryngitis and bronchitis, cystitis, rheumatism and to expel roundworms.

How Can We Benefit from Cajeput Essential Oil Today?

Today we observe cajeput to have antibacterial, antiparasitic, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. It is used for throat, lung, and sinus infections, for urinary tract infections, coughs, and intestinal problems. Cajeput can be taken internally by diluting it 50-50 with a vegetable oil, it can be diluted 50-50 and applied on location, on the chakras/vita flex points, it can be directly inhaled, or diffused. Cajeput mixes well with wintergreen, eucalyptus radiata, juniper and peppermint. As for safety, cajeput is non-toxic, non-sensitizing but it may irritate the skin in high concentrations. Caution is advised to make sure you do not have synthetic cajeput since it may cause blistering and skin eruption.

Want to learn more about the healing properties of cajeput and other essential oils? Consider becoming a certified aromatherapist. Educational courses in healing energy and aromatherapy can help you understand how essential oils heal the body/mind/spirit. The Institute of Spiritual Healing & Aromatherapy teaches courses throughout the United States on aromatherapy and energy healing.

BONUS GIFT

By Going to my web site: http://www.ISHAhealing.com and signing up for our free monthly newsletter, you can receive a free gift: 5 Monographs on Biblical Oils.

These oils include Frankincense, Myrrh, Cedarwood, Spikenard and Balsam Fir. While you are at our web site, check out our aromatherapy program and our program in Christian energy healing.

From Linda L. Smith, director of the Institute of Spiritual Ministry and Aromatherapy, Inc.

Placing Your Feng Shui House

If you are thinking where to locate your feng shui house and you are lucky enough to be able to choose the land to build it then you should apply the feng shui principles when selecting your block. If you haven't the luxury of choosing your own block don't despair there are ways with feng shui that provides alternatives to offset anything that may not fit feng shui principles of house siting.

The ideal fenq shui site is said to be where the descending heaven qi meets the ascending earth qi. There is no hard and fast rule about the perfect site but there are some general conditions you can look for. Generally, half way up a hil facing the sun is considered a good location for your feng shui house because you will have a distance view and you will get cool summer breezes and warm winter ones.

The best feng shui house location is called the xue (shu). It incorporates an open space in the front, called the "bright hall" or ming tan, with four mythical animals or spirits around it. A spirit called the red bird provides the distant front view. Another the black tortoise is the hill at the back which provides protection. On the left is situated the azure dragon with the white tiger on the right. Ideally you should have a stream flowing across the front of the feng shui house site as water is regarded as a source of food and method of transportation. It is also believed that the heaven qi descends down the hill and is held back by the water.

All the above provides a protective armchair shape that can be applied not only to your feng shui house site, but to the feng shui of a particular room, where the chairs are placed so the backs are protected and there is an open space in front of you or your garden. At the rear of your garden can plant protective trees if there isn't a hill. Being safe and secure is a large part of being happy.

The shape of your block of land plays an important part of the feng shui house. Symmetrical shapes are the best. An L shaped piece of land poses problems because it is incomplete and unbalanced. If this is the case you need to look at ways of balancing it.

A rectangular block of land that is wider at the northern and southern ends is considered to have the best shape for siting your feng shui house. If your block is not a true rectangle then it is better that the back be wider than the front. With feng Shui you will find there are several ways of balancing a block of land that is not an ideal feng shui shape. You should investigate the best ways for your particular block for your particular feng shui house.

Wilf Gerrard-Staton lives in Country Australia. Where he purchased land and built a house conforming to Feng shui principles. He now has created a blog that provides simple explanations to all aspects of Feng Shui. You can view his blog at http://www.fengshuidecor.how-do-you-do.info