Publisher’s Corner: Our wildest dreams

from Christian Living Magazine January February 2023

Mind of Christ: Proof in the pudding

PUBLISHER’S Corner Humble start leads to amazing things

By Sandy Jones

Welcome January 2023! Although it was ten years ago this month that our editor Gaye Bunderson and I were working on research and development for a yet-to-be-named Christian magazine, it feels like it was just a couple of years ago.

Many things have happened in the last ten years. It’s amazing to me that we’re still here – not just publishing Christian Living Magazine, but how God has lead us as it has evolved into His ministry with a world-wide web presence (you are one of our readers in over 150 countries), a radio show, active social media presence, and a staff chaplain!

I remember asking Gaye one day during the R&D stage, ‘what happens when we run out of story ideas?’ Bless her heart, she patiently reassured me that God would make a way. And He has – a way beyond our wildest dreams!

Today I CHOOSE

Joy Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay God has provided so many wonderful stories and articles. We are extremely grateful for our contributors, who share our vision, and want to see the hope and promise of God’s love, grace and mercy delivered in each edition, so much so that they donate their time, talent and expertise. I am quite aware, though, that I have not yet “arrived.” Our pastor brought this to mind as he reminded me how much I dislike the phrase “some assembly required” one Sunday morning. Having just finished up our family Christmas, I laughed as I realized how much our pastor and I have in common in this. I might look at the diagram of parts, but generally try to just jump in and get whatever the item is put together. All the while my poor hubby is trying desperately to get me to join him in reading the instructions. And just like my pastor, about halfway through I realize it’s not coming together

Who is in this week’s

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correctly, and I have to take it all apart, and, this time, follow the directions, or better yet, I just hand it off to my dear Steve, who is a mechanical whiz.

I’m amazed at how often my life mirrors this behavior. I know that God has given us an instruction manual to guide us along life’s way. Being a “driver” personality, more often than not I plunge into things headfirst, under “Sandy’s power,” instead of asking The Lord to lead me in His way, Sandy Jones and with His perfect timing.

I’m not big into New Year’s resolutions, but this year it is my goal to lean more heavily on God’s instruction; to listen more intently to hear His still small voice for direction; and to do my best to live out the truth in 1 Peter 1:6-8 NIV:

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. May this be a “golden” year for each of us. I hope you’ll join me in choosing joy. In closing, a big thank you also goes out to you, our readers. Thank you for making the first 9½ years a success! We love hearing from so many of you about how we’ve somehow touched your lives. Often our advertisers will mention that one of our readers has shopped them, and thanked them for supporting Christian Living Magazine – thank you for this, too – our advertisers make it possible to print and deliver each and every issue. We simply couldn’t do this without them.

Until next time…

God Bless! n

SYMBOLISM & Salvation An interesting story about a snake

By Daniel Bobinski

Editor’s note: CLM contributor Daniel Bobinski completed his study of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 in his column titled, “Choosing to Love.” In this issue, he launches a new ongoing column on “Symbolism & Salvation.”

In the 21st chapter of the Book of Numbers, we find an odd story. The Israelites had been grumbling against God and Moses, and in response, God sent poisonous snakes to their camp. People who were bit by snakes were dying, and people went running to Moses, saying, “Tell God we’re sorry!”

And so, God had Moses make a snake out of brass and hang it up on a pole in the camp. From there, the instruction was that if anyone bit by a snake simply looked at the snake Moses had hung up on the pole, they would not die from their snakebite.

What an odd set of instructions. All one had to do was look at the snake and “death-by-snakebite” did not happen. How weird!

If that’s all we knew, we might ask, “What was the deal with the snake?” But hundreds of years later, the third chapter of the fourth Gospel quotes Jesus as saying, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” If Jesus didn’t say anything about what happened in Numbers 21, that incident would have been some strange Old Testament story. But if we take a deeper look at the circumstances, it all makes sense.

In the Book of John chapter 3, Jesus is talking to a teacher of the law named Nicodemus. Jesus tells him, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

As a teacher of the law, Nicodemus would have understood the story. People doomed to death from snake poison were spared death simply by believing that God would heal them if they merely looked at the snake.

But for Jesus, that story served as a symbolic analogy. He knew that people doomed to hell (which is a suffering called the Second Death in the Book of Revelation) would be spared that fate if they simply looked to Jesus on the cross.

Then, as if to underscore his point, Jesus uttered what has become the most famous verse in the Bible (John 3:16) – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

“Believes” is better translated “Trusts”

As I’ve mentioned in this space before, the word “believes” is more accurately translated “trusts.” In other words, it’s not just a matter of saying we believe in Jesus. In the Book of James, chapter 2, we’re told that even the demons believe – and they tremble.

Said another way, demons can believe that Jesus died for the sins of mankind all they want, it’s not going to get them a ticket to eternal life in Heaven with the Lord. Their fate is sealed.

For us, our “belief” must be a trust – a trust that Jesus’s blood pays the price for our sins.

More symbolism in “The Lamb of God”

Another symbolic event occurred in Exodus chapter 12, and it leads some to ask, “Why paint a lamb’s blood on the doorframe of your house?” When He was getting ready to free the nation of Israel from captivity in Egypt, God had people bring a perfect, unblemished lamb into their homes for three days. Then, on the third day, the lamb was slaughtered and its blood was to be painted onto the frame of the door. Daniel Bobinski That night, God brought judgment on Egypt, and the firstborn male of every species in every household was struck down. But God had a symbolic plan. In verse 13 of that chapter, God says, “The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood I will pass over you.” That was the first Passover. If God saw the lamb’s blood on a house, He did not strike anyone down in that house. In the same way, Jesus is “the Lamb of God” (John 1). If we have the blood of the Lamb on us BY FAITH (trust), then when we stand before God, He will see the blood and “pass over” us when it comes to sending people to the second death.

Symbolism and salvation

These are just two symbolic events orchestrated by God to point us to Jesus. But Jesus didn’t come to earth just to die by Himself. Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Ephesians chapter 2 also contains some powerful verses, starting with verses 8 and 9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” Many people stop there, but if they keep reading, verse 10 says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” If a super simplified translation existed, verses 8 – 10 might read, “You’re not saved by your works, you’re saved for your works.” In other words, yes, Jesus died so we can have eternal life. We can look at what Jesus did on the cross and trust that His blood covers our sins to get us in the door. But once we have that, Jesus has important things He wants each of us to do – things that will change the world. We’ll talk more about that in the next issue. n Daniel Bobinski, Th.D., is an award-winning and bestselling author and a popular speaker at conferences and retreats. Reach him at danielbobinski@protonmail.com or (208) 375-7606.

WEDNESDAY’S Child Savannah, 15, never gets bored

Calling all “foodies” and artists! We’d like to introduce you to 15-year-old Savannah, who is currently taking a culinary class and hopes to continue a lifetime of cooking. She’s a big fan of sushi, especially because she recently learned to make it herself and can add her own artistic flair to it.

An artist at heart, Savannah loves to spend time drawing, beading, crocheting, creating origami, and writing poetry that helps her to heal from her difficult past. Music is another creative outlet for her, and she hopes to be able to take lessons to learn to play the guitar and the ukulele sometime soon.

Savannah is a caring and empathetic girl who loves “dad jokes” and has a myriad of other interests as well. Outdoor pursuits she enjoys include horseback riding, paddle-boarding, hiking and camping. She has been on the track team at school and also loves watching volleyball games and cheering on the Dallas Cowboys.

If bad weather keeps her inside, don’t worry about Savannah getting bored. She’s always up for playing board games like Uno, Speed, Clue or Monopoly, or watching anything from Disney favorites to the scariest of scary movies. She is on track educationally and always tries to give her best in school. A bit of an old soul, she loves reading the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries.

Savannah aspires to become either a social worker or a probation officer someday, so that she can help kids like herself who have come from hard places.

When it comes to activities she would love to do as a family, Savannah dreams of everything from the simple things, like spending time volunteering as a family at a soup kitchen or an animal shelter, to grand adventures such as traveling together. She loves flying, as well as traveling by car, and has a wish list of places to visit, including a beach, a Renaissance fair, Comic-Con, and a trip to Italy to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa and eat gelato. This resilient young woman describes qualities in the right family for her as any type of parental make up, as long as she has caregivers who are stable, kind, goofy, funny, caring and who won’t give up on her if things get hard. Savannah prefers a family who attends church and has pets in their home. Savannah’s Permanency Team describes the best for her as a Savannah family where she will be the oldest child in the home, as she does great with younger children. A family with a strong understanding of trauma would be a great match for her. Savannah and her team are open to hearing from interested Idaho families, as well as families who reside in other states. Are you ready to make memories that will last a lifetime with an amazing teen? If the answer is a resounding “yes,” inquire today to find out more about Savannah. (See below.)n For more information on the Idaho Wednesday’s Child Program, visit www.idahowednesdayschild.org, or contact Specialized Recruitment Services Administrator Shawn White at swhite52@ewu.edu or cell (208) 488-8989.