How To Use Twitter to Reach God's People - Janis Cox

For the past two months I have purposefully worked to learn more about Twitter.

I questioned:

Why do we need it?
How can I glorify God through this?

As I started to experiment, I realized 4 important facts:

• People do read 140 characters.
• People will ReTweet (RT) your messages.
• People can be brought together.
• Twitter can be a powerful method for evangelism and conversation.

However, because Twitter is so huge, messages can get lost in all the chatter. It is necessary to find one another to spread the Good News.

For this reason Inscribe has chosen #ICwriters as their own Hashtag. Hashtags are made with the # symbol in front of words so they are easily searchable (even in Facebook).

If you are not on Twitter, I urge you to sign up. It is easy. Follow this Twitter link.

I believe if we all pull together on this we can make a strong vibrant community for Christ.

Here is an example of a Tweet with a Hashtag: (This link is Tweetable if you click on it)

http://ow.lysc950 How to Use Twitter to Reach God's People #ICwriters Can we use Twitter to glorify God? @InscribeCWF

Whenever we use #ICwriters, others can search and then ReTweet. Also I have been asked to try look after @InscribeCWF Twitter. I will be RTing all the #ICwriters through Inscribe.

So anytime you have made a post or want to connect with other Inscribers use the #ICwriters and it will be sent out.

This feature can look like a web.

Do you see the possibilities?

Whenever you write a Tweet, use #ICwriters and let's see how we can build a Twitter #ICwriters community and spread God's Word.

If you have questions please email Janis. icwriterscanada [at] gmail [dot] com.

For other posts on basic Twitter instructions see the following:

Michael Hyatt's Basic Twitter Guide

10 Beginner Guides for Twitter Users

Mom this is How Twitter Works

Personally I use the following Hashtags if you are interested:
#UTCOP - Under the Cover of Prayer
#john316books - John 3:16 Network to which I belong
#SundayStillness - a blog page with linky so others who write about God's Word can join in

Janis Cox, a former school teacher and small business owner, found a new passion in writing in her retirement. A writer since 2003, Janis co-ordinates a group blog called Under the Cover of Prayer. She is also a contributor to a group blog called Family and Faith Matters.

Janis is the author of the award winning children’s book, Tadeo Turtle, published by Word Alive Press. She is the author and watercolour illustrator. For more information visit Janis on her website He Cares for You. She is a member of The Word Guild and Inscribe Writers Fellowship.

Great Riches by Susan Barclay

I rejoice in your word like one who discovers a great treasure. Psalm 119:162, NLT

If you’re a true disciple of Jesus, you’ve probably discovered the importance of reading and memorizing Scripture. You’ve started to get it into your heart, meditated on it, and listened for what God has to say to you personally. Hopefully, this has had an impact on how you live, not because you are trying hard to improve, but because you are stepping aside to let Christ live through you. Others have noticed a change and are beginning to ask about it.

If this isn't the case, what’s holding you back from being in God's Word? Is it a question of time? Disinterest? Lack of support?

As we face the beginning of a new year, now is a good time to commit or recommit to spending time in the Bible. Even just a few minutes a day to start is better than nothing. Important appointments go on your calendar; identify your best time of day and schedule Scripture reading and prayer. Then don’t let anything interfere with it.

Don’t just make this another ‘New Year’s Resolution’. Be resolved. Be determined, steadfast, resolute, unwavering. Let nothing shake you from your purpose. Inside God’s Word are great treasures waiting to be discovered. Allow the light shining off these riches to guide your feet and illuminate your path (Psalm 119:105).

May God bless you as you follow Him in 2014.

_______________________


For more of my writing, please visit my website, www.susan-barclay.ca

5 Ways to Pay it Forward at Christmas with Your Children - Ruth L. Snyder

Many of us parents struggle with how to pass our faith on to our children in meaningful ways. We understand that if our children do not personalize their faith and make it their own, they will discard biblical beliefs as they grow older. My husband and I have discussed ways of making Christmas real to our children. We continue to try different approaches.

Here are a few of our favourite ideas:

1. Have each child purchase items and pack a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child with Samaritan's Purse. We explain to our children that we are sending toys and other items to children who have no toys. This project has opened up discussions about helping less fortunate people and learning about other cultures.


2. Help out at a local shelter or soup kitchen. We have made trips to the Mustard Seed several times to cook and serve an evening meal. It is enlightening to talk with people who access services. Some people are there due to poor personal choices, but others are victims of unfortunate events.


3. Sponsor a child. Our family sponsors children through Compassion Canada and the Dalit Freedom Network. For a dollar a day, we can give hope and education to a child. Both organizations encourage correspondence between the sponsor and the child. This provides great opportunities for learning skills like letter writing and learning about other cultures. Compassion Canada also welcomes sponsors who want to travel overseas and meet the child they are sponsoring.


4. Go caroling in your neighborhood. We've discovered this is a dying tradition, but people appreciate hearing carols at their doors. We have also baked cookies as a family and then distributed them to our neighbors after we sing. (Make sure you have a list of ingredients in case people have food allergies.)


5. Write thank you notes to people who give gifts. This is almost a lost art today. Unfortunately, we have so much that often we are not thankful for what we receive. Writing thank you notes encourages us to stop and think about the person who took the time and spent money to buy us something. Hand written notes are few and far between and will mean a lot to the people you send them to. It is easier and faster to send an e-mail, but the extra time, attention, and cost you put into writing a note will demonstrate your gratitude.

This year we received an Adventures in Odyssey activity calendar from Focus on the Family. We didn't do all the activities, but we really enjoyed the ones we did. For example, before opening our gifts this year, we played the "ABC Advent game" where we came up with 25 things related to the Nativity. Our whole family (with children ranging in age from 5 to 16) participated and it was interesting to hear the different creative contributions each person came up with. For instance:

• A is for angry - King Herod was angry when he heard about Christ's birth
• E is for excited - the shepherds were excited to hear about the birth of Jesus
• V is for the shepherds who came to visit Jesus

It is encouraging to see our children not only learning, but also sharing what they are learning with others. A couple weeks ago I wrote about how my one son made me cry in church - happy tears.

What have you done with your children or grandchildren to teach them about Christ and Christmas? Please share :)

Ruth L. Snyder

Ruth L. Snyder lives in north-eastern Alberta with her husband and five young children. She enjoys writing about her journey of faith, special needs, and adoption. Her novella, Cecile's Christmas Miracle was released on December 4th and is available from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

http://ruthlsnyder.com

Why Jesus?

"I'm a good person. If he’s a loving God, why would he send a good person to hell?"

God doesn’t send anyone to Hell. The truth is, that’s where we’re all going by default. What God did was make a way for us not to go to Hell.

If our society feels justified in keeping unreformed, unrepentant criminals off our streets, then we have to allow that God has that right too. Heaven is his home. Why would he bring people to live with him if they don’t want to be there and aren’t willing to live by his rules?

So, what are his rules? Who should I consult to find out how to qualify for heaven?

• Buddha? Founder of Buddhism - dead
• Mohammed? Prophet of Islam - dead
• Abraham? Father of Judaism - dead
• Mary Baker Eddy? Founder of Christian Science - dead
• The gods of Hinduism? Over 1000 at last count, and more being created all the time.
• Reincarnation to attain Nirvana? If each life allows us a chance to pay for the sins of our last life, what sin were we paying for in our first life?
• The Universe? Certainly not growing and regenerating, which means it’s deteriorating and dying.
• Jesus? He’s the one who is different.

There are over 300 prophecies documented in the Old Testament, written over  a period of 4000 years by numerous writers in different centuries, and every one came true in Jesus’s birth, life and death. The odds of that happening are astronomical.

Moreover, Jesus isn’t dead. Documentation from that period, both Biblical and non-Biblical, gives evidence that Jesus died by crucifixion and then came back to life three days later. This makes him a living God, the only religion whose founder overcame death.

Each of the major religions claim exclusivity, and Jesus does as well.

Listen to his own claims about himself.

‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ John 14:6

And they all said, “Are You the Son of God, then?” And He said to them, “Yes, I am.” Luke 22:70

Pilate asked Jesus, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’  ‘Yes, it is as you say,’ Jesus replied. Luke 23:3

C.S. Lewis, who wrote The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe summarized Jesus’ claims this way. To say the things he said about himself, either he’s a lunatic, a lying devil, or truly the Son of God.

Since God and all his ways are perfect, his law must be kept. God’s justice demands that we pay for our sin with the shedding of blood, with death. Those who die spend eternity separated from God, in hell.

But God’s love and mercy caused him to provide a solution. He sent his son, Jesus, to die in our place, to carry out our sentence, to pay the penalty for our sins.

As Ravi Zacharias once said, “Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people live!”

Still, we balk. Our pride takes over.  We don’t want to give up control. Maybe we don't want anyone's rules restricting our fun. Maybe we want to prove we can do it on our own. Maybe we're tired of being told what to do. It all comes down to one thing.

Free will.

Free to accept the gift, or free to walk away. 

Through Jesus, God has given us the choice. My prayer this Christmas season is that the Lord will open the eyes of those we love, so they too can know the joy that comes with salvation. 

In 2011 Bobbi’s mother's progression into dementia could no longer be ignored. One day Mom demanded, "Someone needs to write about this!" In response, Bobbi began to explore her mother’s journey and her own struggles as a caregiver. Her learnings are documented on her blog at www.bobbijunior.com, and in a memoir, The Reluctant Caregiver. 

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeanetteb1/3067182581/">Jeanette's Ozpix</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>