Just to clarify - the magazine will not be sold, although we plan on getting sponsors to cover our design, print, and distribution expenses. 

With that said, we offer no compensation at this time to writers. We would be glad, however, to put a one or two line bio at the end of the article and redirect them to your author site (no affiliate links).

We prefer an 800+ word article. Real stories only and below would be the categories:

Inspirational 
Family
Relationships
Marriage
Lifestyle
Worship
Prayer
Mission
Music/Movie Review
Testimonies
Kids/Teens

God’s power is more than a college degree
It is about knowing Jesus and allowing Him to know me
You will not find it in a library book
But inside the Scriptures if you’ll take time to look
In the Old Testament it killed a giant with a stone
In the New Testament it put Christ the King on His throne
God’s power is real and God’s power is true
If you accept Jesus you can have God’s power too.

Often in our quest to define certain types of worship we will use terms such as Mosaic Worship,
Davidic Worship, Lifestyle Worship, Evangelistic Worship, Messianic Worship and others. We often
associate worship with music, singing, dancing, shouting, banners and preaching. Certainly these terms
and expressions of worship are valid as we attempt to put into words how we should respond to the God
we love, however there may be yet another aspect of worship that is easily overlooked.

During my recent open heart surgery to replace my aortic valve and subsequent stay in the hospital, I
was overwhelmed by the number of people who showed me and my family acts of kindness. Beginning
with the hospital staff as well as other family members and friends, we were made to feel loved and
genuinely cared for. Many people called to let us know they were praying. Others made visits to the
hospital. Some sat with my family during the six hour preparation and operation. Still others brought food
to my house to feed my wife and kids while others gave us money for various expenses. It was truly an
example of the body of Christ in action.

I am convinced that these acts of kindness shown toward our family were in deed acts of worship
toward Christ. Christ is the head of church and we as Christians are his body. So, any act, for good or ill,
that we perform toward members of Christ’s body is rendered unto Christ (1 Corinthians 8:12). Worship
is attesting to the “worth ship” of Christ. As we minister to members of Christ’s body we express the
value we place on Christ himself. That is why the Apostle Paul was so stern in his rebuke of the
Corinthians for the way they were conducting the Lord’s supper.

Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. For in eating, each
one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not
have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have
nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.

1 Corinthians 11:20-22
The purpose of the Lord’s supper was for the church to remember the body of Christ which was
broken for them and the blood of the new covenant that was shed for them. In doing so they would
proclaim the Lord’s death until he returns (1 Corinthians 11:24-26). However, the Corinthian church had
made a mockery of the celebration in that, not only had they despised the Lord himself, they had also
despised the less fortunate among them and in doing so had not properly discerned the Lord’s body. Paul
goes on to say, For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself,
not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. (1
Corinthians 11:29-30)

Jesus himself conveyed the message that men would be judged according to how they treated
members of his body. In essence he said that those who treated his brethren well were indeed sheep and
those who did not minister to his brethren were considered goats.

When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the
throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from
another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but
the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, Come, you blessed of My Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me
food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you
clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. Then the righteous will
answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?
When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick,
or in prison, and come to You? And the King will answer and say to them, Assuredly, I say to you,
inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.

Matthew 25:31-40
Jesus goes on to say to the goats, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the
least of these, you did not do it to Me. (Matthew 25:45) He then pronounces judgment on the two groups;
eternal punishment for the goats but eternal life for the righteous (sheep).

The Apostle James goes as far as to attach acts of kindness to the proof of our faith. He said, If a
brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, Depart in peace, be
warmed and filled, but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:15-17) The writer of Hebrews tells us
that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). We must conclude, therefore, that if we
do not please God we cannot truly worship him. However, God is pleased, and may I add worshiped,
when we confirm our faith through acts of kindness toward members of his body.

Finally, there is this whole love thing. The Apostle John conveys the message that eternal life is
dependant on our loving the brethren (1 John 3:14-15). He goes on tell us what it means to love the
brethren.

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives
for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart
from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

1 John 3:16-17
John goes on to ask, … for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God
whom he has not seen? (1 John 4:20) The answer is obvious; he who does not love his brother cannot
love God. We prove that we love God and the brethren each time we lay down our lives, with a pure
heart, so that we can meet the needs of the brethren. Acts of love toward the brethren equals acts of love
toward God. Acts of love toward God equals acts of worship.

So, as John says, My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. (1
John 3:18) Might I add; Let us not worship in word and tongue alone, but also in deed and truth.

If you are passionate about God, life, relationships and topics relevant to those, and if you are looking for a place to get your writings published, please contact us at admin@liftchristianmagazine.com.

We are looking for real and blog-type stories about any of the topics mentioned above.

At this time, we are only looking for free submissions.

It was a difficult day.

The Questions:

Her phone alarmed at 6:05am.  She automatically turned it off, and curled underneath her blanket.  Another day, she thought.  Only if she could make up excuses for not going to work, she would’ve probably slept the whole day.  But she knew she had to get up and drag herself to shower.  Can it be like this forever?

Almost 10 hours of the day, she had to deal with her job, which failed to engross her lately.  She had to tire out herself “finding money,” as she put it.  She knew sales was not her forte.  Dealing with tough clients wasn’t already interesting, but draining.  She tried to search for the enthusiasm she once had.  Is this the career path she had in mind?

At home, she hardly saw her dad.  They hadn’t talked for nearly 3 months.  Not about work, not about what’s happening, not about anything at all.  Where did her control-freak dad go?

She remembered how angry he was for not being able to impose what he wanted in her life.  And she, herself, got mad at him for not accepting that not everything in her life could be manipulated by his plans, or at least what he believed was right for her.  And they argued for 3 minutes or so, and fell silent for 3 months.  Why can’t he understand?

She had remaining 3 to 4 hours before she would go back to bed.  She had a few options on how to spend ‘em.

Watch TV.  Maybe Tyra would feature some anorexic 5’11” women wanting to be 80lbs.  Then she’d feel some people were more ridiculous than her.  Can’t people find any contentment at all?

Chat with friends.  That would divert her spotlight away from her own self.  Would they have any other interesting things to say?  Or would they be sensitive enough to hear what she had to say?

Dinner.  She’d still have to figure out if this would add up to the free radicals in her body or if her liver won’t be overloaded.  Is this healthy or toxic?

Read.  She got all those halfway-read newly-purchased books piled up on her nightstand waiting for her to start living with the principles of maximizing time, heading towards success, and unleashing innermost capabilities.  Yeah, the ideas were great.  But why don’t they suffice?

She had the usual questions a normal 23-year old would have.  (That’s insanity aside.)  Life starts to become a burden, not an enjoyable thing.  A day passes without any difference from the previous day and a voice within her keeps on whispering that life couldn’t be just like that.  Living is supposed to be a short, yet exciting and wonderful experience you can’t wait to taste; not a dreadful, boring journey on a tunnel wherein seeing the end of it is your only goal.

She satisfied herself with a book that had been with her for months but she felt too exhausted to even consider opening.  It struck her with its promises to answer life’s toughest questions.  Really, huh?  Now there’s such a thing as a universal answer to all the questions she had in mind.  Intrigued, she leafed through it.

Upon recovery from the state of shock after reading, the reality flashed to her as if wondering why she was surprised with the answer she got.  She had always tried to find some meaning in her life and a sense of purpose for her existence but instead she found herself facing the same “difficult days”, doing the same things.  Little did she know that all this time, she got it all wrong.

The Answer

There’s a huge difference between existing and actually living.  To exist is to breathe, to move even the most futile movement, and to be able to stay alive, even if it meant a machine is keeping your vital organs at work.  To exist is to drift in this world with no purpose.

On the contrary, to live is to understand that you are tailored to a more meaningful existence.  It is knowing what makes you special and what you’re supposed to do to make use of the gifts given to you.

To live is not self-serving.  You may have acquired all the riches in the world, won all the trophies of success and yet come home after the most victorious event feeling empty, alone, and strangely senseless.

If you cease to find the purpose of your existence, you cease to exist.  Like a wave just going with the flow of others, not knowing its destiny, it seems that it’s meant to only crash in the shore.  But the truth is, even how long the journey is and how hard the crash must be, even a tiny wave it is, it’s designed to still go back to the where it belongs – the ocean.

How then do you define the answers to all these seemingly endless questions on the depth of life’s meaning?

She had kept herself captive of doubts and weariness with her life.  She’d been trying to figure out if she’s only meant to crash in the shore.  But then it struck her that she’d been searching on the wrong places.

Is she meant to crash in the shore, she wondered.  And the answer shone on her like the sun’s rays in the morning sky.  She is designed to go back to where she belongs.  She is destined to carry out the master plan of the one who made her.

When you remember where you came from, it is easier for you to figure out where you’re heading.  When you understand that you’re not just a single wave, but a part of the bigger ocean, it is already laid out to you what you need to prioritize.  When you realize that you are not the steward of your own life, but mere clay molded by the Potter’s hand, it is natural for you to let go and allow the Maker to take control of your steering wheel.

Most of the time we trouble ourselves with every detail in our life, believing that they are the truly essential things that would keep us going- dreams, security, stability, health, relationships.  But the question remained, to keep us going where?  Is fulfilling a dream the end goal?  Would having uncountable wealth satisfy our deepest longing?  Would living up to a hundred years make us feel we have made sense on earth?

Only through the proper perspective in life we can truly decode what it is to live.  And the perspective does not come from our own expertise; rather it comes from the wisdom of the Most High who is all-knowing.  We keep our eyes on what’s material, on what’s physical, but He knows what is truly essential, what is eternal.  If we know how to align the journey of our life with His master plan, the drifting comes to an end, and the living begins.

Searching for His ultimate plan for us is not simple and instant, though.  It is not as if you’d stare up in the sky and the answer will just reveal itself to you.  It takes conscious diligence and loads of grace from God to uncover the answer.  It may take a lifetime search, but it’s the kind of quest that’s worth taking.  Rather than journeying alone and clueless, it is more reassuring to go through this life knowing that the hand of the Father is with us, directing us which path to take.

When we allow God’s hand to lead us, dealing with difficulties on our jobs becomes a tiny hump in the road that won’t keep us off-track.  When we allow God to guide us, misunderstanding and pains in our relationships will be washed away by His immeasurable love and compassion.  Nothing in our life is too trivial for Him, for He knows every detail in our life.  He knows us more than we know ourselves.  So if we feel lost and wonder what living is all about, try to search for Him, and you’re going to get the most wonderful answer there is.

Perhaps, you have asked, “What is faith?” I’m sure you’ve heard sermons on it and attended Bible studies regarding it.  But what exactly is it?  How do we exercise it?  How do we walk in it?  We are all familiar with Hebrews 11:1—“Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things unseen.” But what does that mean?  I believe the Holy Spirit has given us the answer.

Faith is believing in that which is not likely or is impossible to happen.  Real faith does not just believe in what is improbable, but what is impossible.  Real faith doesn’t just believe in that which is not likely to happen but in that which cannot happen.   Real faith is not believing in the face of the odds but believing in spite of the odds.  It is believing for that for which there is no earthly way possible it could happen.

Let’s allow a few heroes of the faith to bear witness:
• Noah exercised faith by building an ark to be saved from a flood even though up to that time no rain had fallen on the earth.

• Abraham exercised faith by believing God for a son when he and his wife were elderly and she was unable to bear children!

• David walked in faith when he entered into a battlefield to face down Goliath, an experienced and armored warrior.  He exercised his faith by believing that God would give him the victory even though every natural and military law would have marked him for dead.

• Peter literally walked in faith when he stepped out of the boat and stood on the surface of the water even though every natural and physical law dictated that he should have sunk to the bottom like a rock.

The best definition of faith I can think of is line from one of Shirley Caesar’s songs.  “Faith is stepping out on nothing/landing on something.” Essentially, that is faith. It is believing God for what you want or need even though everything is against it happening.  God is not bound by circumstances, laws, or situations. God is God. He can do exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask or even think.

Genuine faith is not just believing in something or for something that could possibly happen.  Genuine faith is believing in something or for something that cannot. In short, faith says, ‘yes,’ when everything else says, ‘no.’