Blog
All blog entries are all our personal ideas and interpretations as students of the Lord's word.
October 24th:
Written by Edward Davis
I don’t know what I was built for just yet. Not many high school seniors do. I don’t know my calling, or what God wants me to be. But what I do know is that Jesus Christ came down to Earth, lived and was tempted in every way that I am, and gave up his own life on the cross for my sins to be forgiven. But many people don’t know that. They don’t know that there is freedom from the toils and issues that plague our lives. It’s easy to only speak to the people who believe what we believe, especially as Christians. But when Jesus came to Earth, he didn’t come to only talk to his disciples. It wouldn’t have been productive for him to only speak to people who believed, he had to talk with those who didn’t. Matthew 9:13 tells us this. “For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.” Through spending his time with tax collectors, prostitutes, and other sinners, Jesus was able to grow his ministry and expand his teachings to the people who needed it. As Christians, we spend a lot of time in Bible Studies and Church, surrounded by other believers. This is not me saying that we shouldn’t spend time in these places. Learning about the Word of the Lord and growing in our faith is important, and we must do this. But for how much time so many of us spend in Church, we spend very little time talking to nonbelievers. Matthew 28:19 tells us to “Go and make disciples of all nations.” This is hard. It’s not easy to go out and talk to people about our faith. It’s easy to “stay in the harbor” and be surrounded by only believers at all times. But that’s not what Jesus has commanded us to do. That’s not what we are built for. We’re built to make disciples of all nations. Get out of the harbor. Show other people the love of God. It’s hard to make disciples, but nothing rewarding ever came of anything easy.
January 9th:
Written by Edward Davis:
Our newest release, the Dual Fish Tees, symbolize the two fish Jesus used during the Feeding of the Five Thousand. And while we’ve talked about this in short, I wanted to do a greater breakdown of the importance of the Feeding of the Five Thousand.
To start, the Feeding of the Five Thousand is found in all four gospels. Besides the resurrection, this is the only miracle of Jesus' life to be recorded in all four gospels. The common story between all four gospels is as follows. Jesus is followed by crowds to a deserted place, and he begins to teach them the Word of God. After the sun sets, the disciples suggest that Jesus send the crowds out to get food in the surrounding areas. He tells them no in order that he can continue to teach them. When asked how he would feed them, he blesses two fish and five loaves of bread and begins to break them. He passed out the food to all, and all in the crowd ate and were full. After everyone had eaten, there were still twelve baskets full of food. In all three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), Jesus would replicate this display before the Last Supper, by taking the bread, blessing it, breaking it, and distributing it.
Sometimes it can feel hard to apply these miracles of Christ to our daily lives. As we endure our daily struggles, it seems that no matter what Jesus did thousands of years ago, things will never change. We may believe that “those miracles aren’t happening today.” But that couldn’t be more wrong. Jesus performed a finite amount of miracles in his lifetime. But since then, and going forward, he has and will perform infinite amounts of miracles. The crowds were hungry. No one else would have ever been able to feed them with what they were provided with. Jesus is the only one who can feed our hearts. He is the only one who can perform these miracles on us. He’s still doing it today. So, think of the situations in your life that feel impossible to solve, things that seem like they will never change, and lay them on Christ. He will make the impossible happen.
Thank you, and God Bless.
November 14th:
Written by Tim Callahan:
One of my all-time favorite Bible verses comes from the book of Isaiah, chapter forty. Looking back on my life, my familiarity with this verse started at my summer camp years ago. And now, some twenty years later, I still find myself going back to these words we find in scripture. As a kid I went to Camp Alpine located in beautiful Mentone, Alabama. Part of every morning, even before breakfast, we would sing songs and hear a brief devotional in the tradition known as Morning Watch. Before I dive into the scripture, I think it is interesting that as teenagers, the first thing we did in the morning was worship. Before we combed our hair, brushed our teeth, or got to shower, we worshipped. It was amazing to me that I never heard anyone complain or grumble under their breath something like, “I do not want to go to Morning Watch today.” It would have been so easy to miss but the point here is that this instilled in us at a very young age the importance of spending time together worshipping and hearing verses from the Bible, which was how every morning was started. And that is something I still do today. Speaking of the Bible, Isaiah 43:1-3 reads as follows: But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. For me the benefit of this verse is that the comfort we find here is twofold. The Lord knows us. The Lord knows us when we wake and when we sleep, the Lord knows the words we are going to say before we say them. Psalm 139:4 says, “Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely.” How comforting to know that God knows when we sit and when we rise, searching out a path for us. And now the second part. Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name. You are mine. This is the verse I turn to whenever I feel down or upset. Because, especially in the current times, the waters are raging and the flames are ever present. Things change in our lives, day-to-day, even hour-to-hour. But the one thing we can truly trust and rely on is the Lord. Knowing that comfort and peace we find in knowing. In knowing that when we feel overwhelmed, the Lord is with us always. When the water is just about to cover us whole, the Lord reaches out with gentle reminders that the Lord is present. When we walk through trials in our lives which can feel like walking through fire, the Lord protects us from harm. Whenever we go through these trials, we sometimes feel like God has abandoned us. We feel separated from God’s love and grace. But it is at these times that God is closest to us, inviting us back into the fold. At Alpine there were so many great worship songs, in fact Isaiah 43 was one of the songs we would sing. But we would also sing Come Thou Fount a lot and there’s one lyric that has stuck with me all these years. Goes like this. Jesus sought me, when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God. When we wander from Christ and wonder why Christ is not present, that is when Christ is closest, seeking us out like a lost stranger, to invite us back into the fold of God. Look no further than the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego. Three men who were thrown into the hottest furnace possible by King Nebuchadnezzar for not abandoning their God, the true Christ. And wouldn’t you know it, God saves them from the furnace. We do not face trials like that today, but trials that are unique to us that can feel like we’re being cast into fire. But those flames will not consume us with our trust and hope in the Lord. I leave you all with this. Also from the book of Isaiah, who was a prophet, Isaiah writes that “I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us? And I said, Here am I, send me.” That is my hope and my prayer. That when the Lord calls you to trust and be sent out for Christ, I hope you answer simply, “send me Lord.”
October 11th:
Written by Sarah Little:
I was reading Jeremiah recently when I came across verse 1:19, “They will fight against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you” Immediately after reading this, my mind went to two very popular verses, Romans 8:31 “If God is for us who can be against us” and Phillipians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. The Lord’s word in Jeremiah changed my perspective on these verses I’ve heard countless times. Before, I’d always thought of these verses as empowerment that you can do anything with Christ by your side. Whether it’s a good grade on a test or just success in life, these verses always serve as encouragement through all endeavors. However, the similar message but different wording in Jeremiah made me think a little deeper about the meaning behind these verses. Rather than telling his people that they will never fail with him by their side, the Lord is encouraging us by telling us that even IF we fail and when we do, we do it with the Lord alongside us. Our failures can be by the Lord’s intention. Yes, we CAN do anything through Christ, but we are not MEANT to do all things that we desire. The Lord always sees what our worldly eyes cannot. After reshaping my view on what the Lord is saying to us in these three verses, failure in my everyday life has felt much more lighthearted. Trusting God with the outcome rewards us with so much peace and understanding of our chaotic lives. It’s always a win with the Lord, no matter what. We can never go wrong with the Lord on our side and although it’s hard, we need to remember this and embrace the things that go wrong in our eyes because chances are, that’s exactly what God intended for you. Focus on the Lord's intention, not your own, and watch your perspective change.
October 6th:
Written by Edward Davis:
In Matthew 2, the wise men come to Herod to tell him that they are going to find Jesus after his birth. They saw the star rising, and immediately set out to find it, knowing that the king of the Jews was beneath it. These men showed great faith, believing in the prophecy and appearing to praise Jesus before Jesus could even provide anything to them. These men weren’t looking for a miracle, they were searching for the miracle. And they found him. Herod did not share the sentiment of the wise men however. Herod claimed that he too was looking to find Christ, so that he could pay him homage as the wise men did. These weren't Herod’s intentions though, and Herod only looked to find Jesus so he could kill him. Really though, Herod feared Jesus. Herod commanded power, and served as the king of Judea. But even he knew that Jesus was more powerful than him. In an attempt to continue to reign across Judea, he expended absurd amounts of power just to kill an infant. He was so frightened by someone possibly having this much power that he even had all children in Bethlehem under the age of two killed. Even so, this speaks more as a testament to the power of Jesus than anything else. Herod recognized the power that Jesus held, and while he didn’t approve of it, he knew it was there. This man, who believed he was all powerful and could not be brought down, trembled at the thought of an infant. As followers of Christ, we recognize this power, but we don’t have to agonize as Herod did. We acknowledge that we are weak in comparison to him, but this weakness lets us be filled with the power of Christ (2 Corinthians 12:9). Our weakness in comparison to Christ is not a disservice to us, it’s a gift. And while Herod may not have recognized it, we can. We can know that because we are weak, we are made strong in Christ’s infinite love for us. I’ll leave you guys with this: Our glory means nothing. Our faith means everything.
September 6th:
Written by Edward Davis:
“Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”- John 17:25-26
Jesus, in this verse, is praying for his disciples. He says that the world does not know God, but he does, and the disciples know that God has sent Jesus. Even today, the world does not know God. God’s name is constantly used as a reason for hatred, and when God’s name is used in anything but love, it only proves how little we know God. If we can’t understand his greatest commandment, how can we understand him at all? The solution is what Jesus says in verse 26. Jesus went out and made God’s name known. He went out to people of all backgrounds, and all nations, sinners and saints alike, and made God’s name known. This is what we are called to do. God is love, and we get to live in his beautiful love that God has created for us [1 John 4]. Who would we be if we didn’t go out, as Jesus did, and share the most amazing gift we could have ever received? We have to make God’s name known, so that this love we have been given may live in others as well. But how can we show God if we can’t love? Exactly. We can’t. Love is step number one, and will always be. Go forward, and love. Thank you all, and God’s peace be with you.
August 15th:
Written by Edward Davis:
My favorite section of the Bible is Romans 12:9-21. It’s referred to as the “Marks of the True Christian”, and it gives us an idea of what we can do to demonstrate our faith towards others. We’ve been given this great gift of salvation, and now these are the things we can do to let ourselves show how infinitely grateful for this salvation that we are or should be. I’m going to post two parts to this blog, the first of which goes through verse 14. “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good…”. Letting our love be genuine tells us to love not just in how we speak, but in how we act and think. If we let our love be genuine, by definition, we are letting our love be truly what it is said to be, and love is said to be patient, kind, and so much more (1 Corinthians 13). God is good, and by holding fast to what is good, we are holding fast to God. “Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer” (Romans 12:12). We have been given this everlasting sense of hope through Jesus, and knowing that there will always be a light at the end of whatever tunnel we are in. Be patient in your sufferings, and rejoice in the fact that you always can have hope. Just like what Romans 8:18 says, our suffering will be worth what we receive. “Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them” (12:13-14). Blessing those who persecute you is something worldly culture doesn’t agree with. The worldly thing to do would be to hate those who wrong you. Jesus wouldn’t do that though. When Jesus was brought to death by the Romans, he wasn’t angry. In fact, he healed the ear of the Roman soldier who was actively capturing him. He blessed those who persecuted him in the most extreme of cases. We should too.
August 8th:
Written by Wilson Crane:
At first glance, this verse may seem simple, but it has a much deeper meaning. It highlights the idea that God's presence is not confined to physical spaces like church, but instead, wherever His followers gather with the purpose of worship, learning, and fellowship. In this context, the words of Jesus remind us that the act of gathering is not solely about the number of people present, but about the intention behind the gathering.
August 3rd:
Written by Edward Davis:
“But he said to me, “My grace is made sufficient in you, for power is made perfect in weakness”. So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. - 2 Corinthians 12:9
You and me, we’re both weak and I’m not insulting you. You may be in the best physical shape of your life, but you are still weak, and I am too. We are weak in comparison to Jesus. It doesn’t matter how much you can deadlift, He quite literally dead-lifted himself. But in all seriousness, both Jesus and God’s strength is unintelligible to us. We will never reach a point in which we have even a fraction of the strength that they have. This is a good thing however. If our bodies are filled with weakness, there is more room in our body for Christ. His power is made perfect in our weakness. This means that because we are weak, He lives in us, and His power is perfect within us.We are walking this planet with the power of Christ in us and we are made perfect by His power, because He is perfect. Take pride in the fact that we are indeed weak. It is in no way a bad thing. In fact, when we give thanks to God, we should give thanks for the fact that He made us as weak as we are! If God made us all equally as strong as Him, we would have no place for His power in us. God loves us so much, that he made us weak so that we could embody more of Him. The power that is made in us should be used to go out and love like Him. We have God’s power within us. Go love! Thank you, and peace be with you,
July 31st:
Written by Wilson Crane:
Psalms 33:16
"The king is not saved by his great army, a warrior is not saved by his great
strength"
The first time I heard this verse, I read it and thought that it was powerful, but didn't think too much about what it meant. When this verse came up in a discussion I was having with a small group, I heard the words: "Earthly power does not guarantee victory." A person's physical strength or wealth may help them with trials in life, but they can change very quickly and sometimes drastically. The human power is limited. Putting your trust in God, which is something greater than strength or riches, can get you much farther in life and will always be there for you in times of need. I leave you with this: Instead of chasing satisfaction in things that may change in life, put your trust in God and obey his word. You will get much farther and enjoy your journey.
July 24th:
Written by Edward Davis:
Unconditional is defined as not subject to any conditions. No strings attached. Under no circumstance will this thing cease to happen or exist. In 1 Corinthians 13, God’s love is described to us. And in 1 Corinthians 13:8, one of the single most important truths to the Bible lies. “Love never fails.” Did you hear that? Love. Never. Fails. Never. Not once. Love will never fail. I know I sound repetitive, but it is so important to understand this. God loves us unconditionally. Without strings attached. Our performance does not determine how much God loves us. The saint is the same as the sinner. God loves us. God loves you! You reading this right now! God loves you so much, and his love will never, ever fail. Under no circumstance, will God not love you anymore. And as God tells us in 1 John 4, go out and love unconditionally! Love everyone, love them with every fiber of your body. Love them so much that it can’t even be described how much you love them. Because this, is when God begins to truly show himself through us. If our love for each other can be even the tiniest amount as unconditional as God’s, we too can save. Thank you, and peace be with you.
July 21st:
Written by Ben Camp:
In Mathew 13:31-32 Jesus describes what the kingdom of heaven is like. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.” The way Jesus describes what the kingdom of heaven is like is also a good way to describe faith. Faith is believing in what we can’t see with our own eyes. Even though we can’t see God we still have faith in him. What we can take from this parable is that it only takes faith the size of a mustard seed to believe. This is because even though it is the smallest of all seeds it will grow to the largest of all garden plants. Jesus then says that after the seed grows into a tree “birds come and make nests in its branches”. What I believe Jesus is saying here is that once our faith grows it spreads to other people. This is the mission of Southern And Faithful. We are trying to let birds come and make nests in our branches.
July 20th:
Written by Wilson Crane:
Colossians 3:16
"Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to god with thankful hearts."
The first half of this verse highlights one of the missions of Southern & Faithful, which is to spread God's word. We do this through social media, our website, and many other ways in person. The second half of this verse talks about seeing God through music and giving thanks.
This is what sticks out to me the most. Music has been a part of my life ever since I was younger. Singing songs in church, at camp, and in the car with my mom is where I heard it most often. I didn't see the meaning behind it except for the fact that it lightened my mood. After going to church and camp more I realized that God spoke through the music we sang. As I started to learn guitar, the first songs I learned to play were songs from those settings. After playing for about a year or so, played at my church with the youth band. That was when I began to see the real effect music had on my life and the impact it had on others as well. I see how blessed I am to have music in my life and try to help others feel the same way as much as I can.
My message to you is to look for God in places, hobbies, or activities you love the most.
This will help vou connect closer with Him and truly see the unconditional love shared with you each and every day. I pray that whoever is reading this is blessed with the opportunity to seek God in their everyday life and fill their heart with his word and praise. Thank you, and peace be with you.
July 11th:
Written by Edward Davis:
What does the parable of the prodigal son teach us about Christ? In the story of the prodigal son, the son leaves his weathy father with an inhertiance and goes to live a lavish lifestyle. His lifestyle lends him to losing all of this great sum of money he has been given, and he becomes a pig farmer. He goes as far as wishing he could eat the pig slop, as he isn't making enough to sustain his hunger. He goes home to his father, and asks to be a servant on his farm. He believes that he has done his father so terribly that his only way back to making a livable wage is to become his servant. Instead, his father rejoices that he is back, and sets out to make him a feast. He clothes him with a robe and rings, and embraces his son. The father in this story, if you couldn't guess, is God to us. God has given us a great inheritance, a life where we can be forgiven of sin, a beautiful world to live in, and so much more. Yet many of us stray from him, like the son did to his father in the parable. When we stray, we lose perception of all of these gifts. They stop existing to us. However, the moment we turn back to God, he's waiting for us. He is ready to welcome us back into his kingdom and love us unconditionally. God's forgiveness is beautiful, and he is always welcoming in new belivers, or welcoming back old ones. Thank you, and peace be with you.
July 9th:
Written by Edward Davis
1st John 4:12 tells us that although we have never seen God, loving each other shows God through us. Evangelism is a tough subject, and for many people who struggle with speaking and communcation, sharing the word of the Lord is even harder. However, to be an evangelist, you don't even have to open your mouth, and this verse proves it. You can show the light of God to others by demonstrating what God's love is. Simply by demonstrating to others that you love them, you could be changing someone's mind on Christianity. Maybe these people have had bad experiences with "Christians" in the past, and your presence proves to them what God and Christianity truly is. Evangelism can of course be done through conversation, but as we've known since we were young, actions speak louder than words. Thank you, and peace be with you.