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If you’d like to print Exemplify Magazine’s April Issue please visit our Scribd site.

And the winners for the Marriage Conference are:

Angie of Putting God in my Daily Life

Lenette Daniels of Soccer Mom Knits

Amy

Scripture Stickies winner:

Karen of Prayn4u

Check out our issue on Embracing Simplicity.

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Have you ever sat down and flipped through your TV preview channel and counted how many legal television shows there are?  Every channel seems to have some version of a courtroom based drama.  There is the Court TV channel, the daytime divorce court shows, and every Lifetime movie has the same plot structure: 30 minutes of action and an hour and a half of courtroom resolution.

And it doesn’t stop with fictional television.  John Grisham is one of the most popular, successful authors of all time, thanks to his gripping legal dramas.  Our 24-hour news channels keep us abreast of any legal developments in scandalous cases of celebrities and politicians.

We’re trained to like whodunits from childhood.  Nancy Drew, anyone?

We are a generation of defense-loving, problem-solving people.  We like to know all the facts, all the pieces of the puzzle.  And yet, as a generation of Christians, I wonder how we would respond if we were asked the following questions, especially by a stranger or someone we were trying to witness to:

“How do you know the Bible hasn’t been changed at some point in history?  How do you know you are really reading God’s Word?”

“Why do you believe Jesus is God when He never actually says the words, ‘I am God’?”

“Why do you believe in the trinity when the word ‘trinity’ isn’t even in the Bible?”

“If Jesus is really God, where was He during the entire period of the Old Testament?”

“If God is a good God, then why is there so much evil in the world?”

“Tell me why it’s logically reasonable to believe in the God of the Bible.”

I’ll admit, the first time I was faced with these questions I fell flat on my face.

I knew that I believed certain doctrines of the Christian faith.  I just didn’t know why I believed those doctrines.  And I was raised in church.  If anyone should be able to answer questions about the Bible from the Bible, it should be me.

Unfortunately I found the opposite to be true.  While I had a rock-solid faith, my knowledge was about Frisbee-deep.

A few months back I emailed our lovely, Jesus-loving-and-glorifying editor Kristen about a project the Lord was laying on my heart.  We each prayed about it and sought His direction and each feel Him leading us to this place.  A place where women who love the Lord can come together and learn the facts behind our faith.  Why we believe what we believe.

I just love the Word of God.  I love it in its perfection and simplicity.  I love how God doesn’t ask us to just walk blindly believing what some pastor, Sunday school teacher, or seminary student says to believe.  He puts it out there for us, perfectly exposed in His Word and perfectly timed in history.

He doesn’t do it for Himself.  He certainly doesn’t need anything else to testify about His truthfulness and in by doing so make Him more truthful.  He is the author of all truth; without Him there would be no truth.  He is also a God of promises, a God who keeps His word.  He tells us we can believe in Him and believe in His Word, and then – just like with His answered prayers, His miracles, and His involvement in our lives – He gives us proof, tangible proof in His Word and in human history.  Because our God is a God who keeps His word.

There seems to be a postmodern consensus that to be a Christian you must also be unintelligent or dimwitted and gullible.  I don’t think there could be anything further from the truth!  Our magnificent Creator gave us these amazing organs we call brains for one purpose – so we can use them! And He has left us one awesome treasure map of knowledge to follow!

It is with great excitement that I announce to you a new column coming January 2010 – The Facts Behind Our Faith, a teaching column on apologetics.  Digging into His Word and digging into history and really discovering why we believe what we believe.  I hope you will join us here at Exemplify for this exciting journey!

Today the Lord led me to Psalm 119:66, and I’m asking you to come there with me:  “Teach me good discernment and knowledge, for I believe in Your commandments.”  Notice the order in which the psalmist prayed: he asks for knowledge because he believes in the Lord’s commandments.  The belief is already there, but there is much knowledge and discernment left to discover.

Pray this Scripture with me today.  Let us come before our Lord Jesus and ask Him to bless us with holy knowledge about Him and His Word.  We can stand firm in James 1:5, knowing that He will give generously to anyone who lacks wisdom but asks for it.

It is my prayer that at the end of this series, you will be able to answer all the questions above… and then some.

Are you ready to go on the ultimate treasure hunt?  Then join us next month as we begin to study the evidence for the greatest defense written in all of history.

You don’t have to work in a store like I do to understand the crazy hustle and bustle of shoppers. Likely, you’re one of them. I know that when I venture outside the walls of my own store I am one of them too. You are completely normal as an individual, but sometimes you get in a crowd and the insanity just takes over. At least that’s how it appears from our side of the counter. Impatience is a given. Impulsiveness too. I love the men that come in a day or two before Christmas (two days if they are a planner) searching desperately for something, anything, to give their spouse or girlfriend for Christmas. They are so wide-eyed and terrified it just adds to the insanity of all the last minute shoppers in a frenzy. They have no idea what they want but it better be good. We always have just the thing. It’s our job.

But I have to wonder what it would be like if people put less emphasis on the gift buying and hoopla of our modern day festivities and more emphasis on what is really important at Christmas. We have made trite the whole “Jesus is the reason for the season” but it is the truth. Our Prince of Peace must scratch his head and sigh at all our endless activity. How often is He lost in the midst of it? How blessed would we be if we reveled in the peace He brings and stepped back from all the busyness to reflect and worship and share His good news?

I’m not abandoning all tradition this year. Christmas is hands down my favorite holiday. I love giving and receiving gifts. I love the lit up trees with shiny baubles tinkling around it. I love watching It’s a Wonderful Life for the five hundredth time in my life (and don’t even get me started on Elf). I love parties and people and even, sometimes, work. I’ve already told you I think the hustle and bustle can be fun. But there is a stirring in me to want more than this. To make all the craziness take a backseat to peace. To revel in all the unparalleled beauty and wonder that Christmas truly is. To praise the One who planned redemption for all mankind through the birth of a holy perfect Christ child, born to a poor noble carpenter and his young wife in a stable. To imagine what it must have felt like to be a young shepherd on that hillside when the company of angels brightened the night sky startling them with a proclamation that would forever change the course of history. The scene still makes me pause in awe: “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you: he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’” Luke 2:9-14 NIV.

One of my favorite Christmas albums is from Sara Groves called O Holy Night. Do yourself a favor and check it out immediately (if for no other reason than to hear Sara’s precious son Toby read the birth story of Jesus on the song It’s True). There is a song titled Peace, Peace that ministers to me so much during this crazy time of year. Here are some of it’s lyrics: “Peace Peace, it’s hard to find, trouble comes like a wrecking ball, to your peace of mind and all that worry you can’t leave behind you. All your hopes and fears, all your hopes and fears, all your hopes and fears are met in Him tonight”. He came to bring a peace that passes all understanding. A peace that is worth celebrating this time of year, really, all throughout the year, just because. So if you come into the store I work in this month and see me take a step back, you’ll know why. I don’t want to miss it. I hope you don’t either.

Christmas.

The birth of a savior.

Is there anything more joyous in this world than that? Indeed, there is not. So, it’s no wonder why Christmas is such a beautiful and magical time. It’s truly the most wonderful time of the year – a time that should be celebrated and experienced with all five senses.

The Lord has gifted most of us with five senses through which we experience life. Let us make use of those senses in our sanctuary to create long lasting memories for our families. Here are a few ways to do this…

Sight: This perhaps is the most obvious, but let’s not forget to make Christmas a magical time for our family by decorating our sanctuary. Now, you don’t need to break the bank and erect a fully decorated Christmas tree in every room, however, try to attempt having a small glimmer of the Christmas spirit in every room. This can easily be accomplished by simply filling some glass jars with ornaments, or placing a small wreath on the wall.

Smell: Make sure your family and guests are experiencing the glorious scents of Christmas in all major areas of your sanctuary. Dust off those holiday scented candles and spread them around the house. If you live in a cold climate, perhaps you can have a fresh batch of the family’s favorite cider simmering in a crock pot on a regular basis. No scent permeates the sanctuary better than hot cider!

Hearing: Add extra holiday magic to your sanctuary by playing festive Christmas music as often as possible. Music has a profound impact on one’s spiritual and emotional well-being and has the power to melt away the stress of a busy day.

Taste: Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like a platter full of freshly baked treats… especially for children. Endeavor to bake fresh Christmas treats at least once a week. I know this is a lofty goal and can be quite time consuming, however, Christmas only comes but once a year – lavish that Christmas spirit on your loved ones!

Touch: Encourage and entice your family and friends to experience Christmas with exploring hands. Add decorative items to your holiday decor that have interesting textures and beckon to be touched. Grab some boxes in various shapes and sizes and wrap them up like Christmas presents with sparkling paper and extravagant bows. Spread them around the house and see if family and friends can keep their hands to themselves! And don’t forget about that warm crackling fire burning in the hearth! If that doesn’t invite hands to join the Christmas celebration, then nothing will.