Faith and Photos

08/20/2026

🙏𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 🎥
With the birth of 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝘀 a couple of years ago, I began a journey of learning how to use this platform to truly "𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙈𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙." 🎙️📸
It has been two years of trial and error- picking up new gear one piece at a time, customizing a home studio, and experimenting with everything from editing skills to camera angles, all in learning how to present Christian content on YouTube!
But through all the learning curves, one thing has remained constant and unchanging: a burning desire to proclaim the Gospel to a world that desperately needs Him, and to uplift His name here on Facebook and over on YouTube.
"𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙; 𝙗𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣; 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚, 𝙧𝙚𝙗𝙪𝙠𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙩, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜." -2 Timothy 4:2
I’d love for you to come and join us in this mission! It’s easy, and it costs exactly ZERO dollars to help support the mission. Here are three quick ways you can partner with us:
• Invite your friends to follow this Faith and Photos page.
• Share our posts so others can hear the message.
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/
Thank you for being part of this journey and helping to spread the Gospel! Remember to keep taking those photos, but keep your 𝗙𝗢𝗖𝗨𝗦 on 𝗛𝗜𝗠!

08/19/2026

𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 5 𝘈𝘔, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵.
It is difficult to fully capture the weight of the responsibilities of law enforcement officers in these tense moments for those outside the profession, but the dangers are very real. The level of detailed planning, coordination, teamwork, and the reliance on one another is truly next-level.
As I prayed over the team, I was reminded of 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗻, and how 𝗚𝗼𝗱’𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱 was obviously with them when they went out into battle. This morning I prayed for that same providential guidance and protection-not just for our team members, but that the suspects would also be kept free from harm.
Praise God, the operation was successful. Personnel from four different agencies worked together smoothly, and the suspects were taken into custody without incident.
Words cannot express how blessed I am to be able to lift up His name and ask our 𝗦𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 for protection over my blue family. My friends, in everything we do, let us continue to honor the 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 and 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀. Let us pray for His providence and protection as we face the uncertainty of the days ahead in this time.
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Consider the uncertainty of life for Joshua after the death of Moses, the great leader of the children of Israel. God commissions Joshua to lead the people, and gives him these words:
𝙃𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙄 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪? 𝘽𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙨. 𝘿𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙤. -Joshua 1:9

08/17/2026

𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱
I took this photo back in April, at the 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗹 on the campus of the 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝘇𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀. This artwork of this stained glass window was so beautiful, backlit by the sun, and featured the theological truth of 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 being the 𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱. That proclamation was captured in glass near the center of the window.
This imagery is a powerful reminder of our human reality. In our natural state, we are lost n the darkness of our sin, unable to find our own way out. But Christ doesn’t just offer a guiding light, 𝗛𝗲 𝗜𝗦 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳!
By God’s grace, He pierces the darkness and awakens, (regenerates) our hearts then draws us to His Son. The darkness has not, and never will, overcome Him.
"𝘈𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, '𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.'" -John 8:12
𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚? Drop down in the comment section and give us some inspiration! 👇👇👇

08/15/2026

𝕀𝕊 𝕋ℍ𝕀𝕊 ℍ𝔼ℝ𝔼𝕊𝕐??
(𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄𝙎 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙬𝙖𝙮??)
In this ongoing debate, 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙮? 𝙄𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡? In this video I give you my honest answer, and it might not be what you expect. I was told the debate between Calvinism and Arminianism is a fight over who's saved and who's a heretic.
But when I actually looked at what both traditions believe, and what the men who led them actually said to each other, the picture got a lot more careful, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨.
𝗪𝗲'𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁:
-What the word "𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘆" actually means, and why it gets thrown around too loosely
-The one point that disarms the whole argument
-What 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘆, 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱, 𝗔𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗥.𝗖. 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗹, and 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗦𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗻 actually said about it
-And we'll wrestle with John 6:44: "𝙉𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙬𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙢."
0:00 The accusation I keep hearing
2:04 What "heresy" actually means
4:05 The point that disarms the whole argument
5:10 The men who refused to condemn
8:30 We call these people family
9:14 The beautiful struggle + CTA

In this ongoing debate, where is the heresy? Is there any at all? I...

08/12/2026

𝑻𝒊𝒏 𝑭𝒐𝒊𝒍 𝑫𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒉?
It is definitely a hard truth, but one of the biggest challenges that the church faces today is 𝗯𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆. Because of that, so many people are a spiritually deep as a sheet of tin foil.
Many believers don’t know Scripture well enough to apply it to their lives, or to recognize and refute teachings that simply are not bibilical.
Remember what Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 about the importance of Scripture:
"𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑆𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑏𝑦 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑓, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒, 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘."
As Christians, we should absolutely love reading and studying God’s Word. We should crave reading what our Lord has revealed to us about Himself in Scripture, the truth of salvation, and how we are commanded to live and worship.
2 Timothy 2:15 sets the standard for us:
"𝑆𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑦𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝐺𝑜𝑑, 𝑎 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑡ℎ 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑑, 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑡ℎ."
So, let me ask you this:
• 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑮𝒐𝒅'𝒔 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒅?
• 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚?
• 𝑫𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒂𝒚?
Let me know in the comments!

08/12/2026

QUESTION FOR YOU...
𝘿𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚? WOULD your preacher wear these? And if he did, how would it change his sermon delivery? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

08/10/2026

⛪️𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵🙏
I captured this sweet moment between Lindsay and our newest little granddaughter, Magnolia. She was visiting this weekend, so we had a great time.
We are loving being grandparents right now (𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 “𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯,” 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘖𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳!). So, stay tuned, you will get all the updates! 😎👍👍
As I have mentioned before, Lindsay is the absolute quintessential grandmother. To the grandkids, she is “Lulu,” and one of the things I admire the most is how she is always looking for ways to pass on the faith to our little ones.
As believers, it is such a privilege and covenant responsibility to faithfully pass down the truth to the next generation. We must teach them about our God and all His marvelous deeds and glorious attributes.
"𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙨." -Psalm 145:4
So thankful to watch Lulu live this out. ❤️

08/10/2026

𝐈 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐌𝐲 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝟐𝟔 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬
(𝑊ℎ𝑦 𝐼 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝐽.𝐷. 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟 𝑃ℎ𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑝ℎ𝑦... ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑠!)
Yep. And quite a few of you have asked about this... so I finally made this video to explain in more detail.
A few months ago, I shut down a photography business I built over 26 years- and it wasn't for the reasons you'd expect.
Back in 1998, I picked up a 35mm camera because someone asked, "𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆?" That question turned into a business. Over the decades I upgraded gear, a Bronica ETRS medium format, lighting equipment, eventually a digital SLR, and kept chasing the craft because I'm a learner at heart.
But as I got older, burning the candle at both ends caught up with me. I wasn't tired of photography. I was tired of running a business around it, and I felt God calling me to reallocate my time toward magnifying Him instead. That's how Faith and Photos was born.
There is a little twist to the story, but you will have to get it by watching the video. I sincerely hope this testimony helps someone who might be thinking about a change.
Ecclesiastes 3 says there's a season for everything... and twenty-six years was preparation, not waste.
Click here to watch: https://youtu.be/kCpqwLAy46s

08/08/2026

𝗗𝗼 𝗪𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗪𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗲?
When we lose someone we love, it's natural to reach for words of comfort. We’ve all seen or heard the phrase, “𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙡 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮.” It's always spoken with genuine love, but the Bible actually offers us a promise that is far deeper and much more comforting.
In my latest short video, I explore what scripture actually says about the believer's ultimate hope. Our comfort isn't found in gaining wings, but in gaining Christ.
"𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩 𝙖 𝙎𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙧, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩." -Philippians 3:20

08/07/2026

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐅𝐓
One day, Lindsay and I were on one of our adventure trips, and we found ourselves in an older cemetery looking at some old graves when I found this iron cross on one of the graves. It bore four heavy words: "𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲."
Those words rang loudly to me. From a pure human perspective, it sounds like a personal realization in opinion. But looking through the lens of scripture, “coming to believe” is THE ultimate supernatural miracle for us as humans.
Faith isn’t something we muster up on our own from our own will or logical manner of thinking. No, it is something much more profound, my friends! 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
Before we every choose Him, God reaches into the depths of our hearts, dead in our sins, and breathes life into us. He opens our blinded eyes and grants us the GIFT of faith that we so desperately need to see the cross for what it truly is.
That iron cross isn’t a monument to some man’s human effort or decision. It is a testament to a divine rescue. 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹.
"𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠; 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬, 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭." -Ephesians 2:8-9
𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑, 𝐼 𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑖𝑓𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐽𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑠, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑀𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑖 𝑏𝑜𝑦. 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒! 𝐴𝑚𝑒𝑛.