Truth Matters With Teri McCarthy

The Church Will Rise!

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to STAND your ground, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, and with your feet fitted with the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.

The Church has persevered for over 2,000 years. God's got this! 

Here's a vlog that might encourage you! God's Shekinah Glory and the Underground Chinese Church https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbBV06373lc

Quietness in Quarantine - He's a Good Good Shepherd

We are living in some amazing times! Thank God He is near. During these times it is important for us to bring every thought into captivity and declare with our mouths, with our hearts and with our minds, “OUR God reigns and He is trustworthy and dependable. We are not moved by what we see or what we feel, but we stand on this truth: God is love and He loves us and He will perfect the things concerning us!" Amen! So be it! It’s decided! I choose His Peace.

Love in the Time of Coronavirus

In my lifetime, I’ve never heard a presidential address brought on by a disease or a sickness. Have you? So, I started thinking about a book I read a few years ago on the rise of Christianity. The early church always did the hard things well, so I thought that would be a good place to start when processing the coronavirus' impact on the human race. I did some research and found the story of Cyprian’s Plague in Rome - Christianity exploded during the plague and many sociologists say it was Christian service during the suffering that made all the difference. Maybe there's a lesson in there for us.

Rodney Stark, "The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries" (Harper Collins, 1997).

There Once Was A Dog Who Had A Girl

CS Lewis believed that dogs with names go to heaven. That when a dog is loved by a human being, then that dog is in heaven waiting for its owner to come home. I like to believe that. I believe all the dogs I’ve loved are in heaven waiting for me with tails wagging and tongues licking and happy faces--waiting there for me on the front porch of my heavenly home.

Here's a transcript of today's podcast. http://terimccarthyblahblahblog.com/dog-named-peanuts-owned-girl/

Also, I hope you'll follow me on Twitter! https://twitter.com/teriblahblah

The Beautiful Purpose of Fleas

Comfort the frightened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus, (1 Thessalonians 5:14-18).

Join me every Friday for Vlog Day @ Truth Matters - Teri McCarthy. Here's a link to my YouTube Channel!   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfcXQ1QMdJW6BrXZv9FYzzQ

Acedia & Me! Finding Holiness in the Mundane

Sloths are cute! Acedia? Not so much. Acedia is my biggest sin. And the only antiserum for this sin is spiritual discipline. It is me opening up my heart, mind, and soul to the living God and inviting Him into the most mundane tasks of my life and celebrating His love and beauty in the most monotonous of tasks.

If you'd like to read the transcript of today's podcast, you can find it @ http://terimccarthyblahblahblog.com/finding-holiness-mundane/

It's Marx's Birthday and I'll Cry If I Want To!

Karl Marx wrote in The Communist Manifesto, “I wish to avenge myself against the God who rules above. The idea of God is the keynote of a perverted civilization; it must be destroyed. My object in life is to dethrone God and destroy capitalism,” (1848). Well guess what? Marx is dead and capitalism isn't. Marx is dead and Jesus isn't. Marx is dead. I wish his ideology would die too. Sadly, Tim Keller quoting him so often and legitimizing Marx's evil ideas keep Marxism alive and viable to a new generation of unaware Believers!

Beauty Is Not In The Eye of The Beholder - Beauty Is In The Eye of The Creator

In today’s Celebrity Christianity it seems that only the strong, the flashy, the brilliant are admired and recognized. Best-selling authors and world-renown speakers are the ones that get the following. We like our TV evangelists, our hipster praise and worship leaders, the attractive, the fit, the well put together, the articulate, the clever and funny. We like Christianity to look good, to smell good, to fit in to today’s standards of beauty and chic. And yet…

There's No Such Thing As Spectacular Sin, But There is a Spectacular Savior!

In Spectacular Sins, John Piper works hard to make a case that God is in control and therefore he actually ordains sin for his own purposes and brings about natural disasters as judgement. I strongly disagree. Here's what we do know: Even the most horrible things in our lives can be turned for our good and used for God’s glory. Not that He willed it, but surrendering it all to Him, He takes a pile of garbage and filth and turns it for His glory and for our GOOD!

Am I Free or Just Loose?

What's the difference between being free and just loose? Is it important? Maybe freedom isn’t as much about where I am as who I am. Freedom isn’t about governments or human rights or the ability to come and go as I please. Freedom is about doing the right thing even when it’s hard; freedom is about making choices that are difficult and complex and often costly. In Christ Jesus, it is the freedom to obey.