The Sparkle Creed

“The post-apostolic fathers took the realm of the demonic so seriously that they automatically took new converts from paganism through rites of deliverance from evil supernaturalism, a practice we have lost to our own detriment.”—Dr. Ed Murphy in The Handbook of Spiritual Warfare, p. 7. Visit us at First Cause.

Linguists tell us that languages get more and more complex the farther back they trace them.  The older (“more primitive”) a language is, the more complex it appears to be.  This is powerful evidence against evolution.  If evolution is true and man gradually evolved from more primitive creatures, language should get more and more simple the older it is said to be.—Jobe Martin in The Evolution Of A Creationist Visit us at First Cause.

“God does not begin by asking our ability, only our availability, and if we prove our dependability, He will increase our capability.”—Neal A. Maxwell Visit us at First Cause.

Dad sits at the small kitchen table with his Marine ball cap covering his scattered gray hair.  His brow is furrowed, and his piercing blue eyes appear deep in thought. Slowly he adds words to a journal that increasingly makes little sense.  I asked what he was writing, and he shared that he was composing thoughts on how God likes eggs cooked.  I had just asked him how he wanted his eggs that morning; that thought was fixed in his mind. Visit us at First Cause.

When there is a death in the family, it is so encouraging to see people rally around and step up to provide support and comfort through meals, cards, flowers, phone calls, and just being present to listen, console, and encourage. The sting of death is not erased; the pain is real and sometimes overwhelming, but a caring community can and does make a difference. Visit us at First Cause.

The earth is tilting? What?  Pumping groundwater appears to have a greater consequence than ever previously thought. But now—thanks to a new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters—we can see that, in less than two decades, Earth has tilted 31.5 inches as a result of pumping groundwater. This equates to .24 inches of sea level rise.[1] [1] https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a44287896/why-did-earth-tilt/ Visit us at First Cause.

Adriano made a mistake. The Uruguayan was given $500 in pesos from his uncle to help pay for his tuition. Instead of paying the University of Montevideo, he loaned it to a friend who claimed his mother was sick and unable to pay her hospital bills.  Later, Adriano found out he had lied to him and used the money to gamble. When the school bill was due, the friend couldn’t pay him back, so he had to explain to his uncle why he dropped a class.  Visit us at First Cause.

What is grumptitude, you ask?  Essentially, it is the quality or feeling of being grumpy or unthankful. Whereas people with gratitude look for things for which to be thankful, those with grumptitude prefer to live in a prickly state of dissatisfaction.  Their lousy attitude has several consequences . . .  Visit us at First Cause.

Edina Community Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in Edina, Minnesota, celebrated Pride Sunday led by their female pastor in reciting the sparkle creed whose words state . . . Visit us at First Cause.

Beware of making sensitivity a tool for the weak-minded or belittling leaders who find kindness to repair those whose woundedness hides behind bluster. Visit us at First Cause.