The Dating Stamp of Approval
Michelle Arshad, 24, from Toronto, Canada, has had it with traditional dating and trying to find Mr. Right, so she's taken matters into her own hands. Or, taken matters to others' hands. Or, well, something like that.
Ms. Arshad has decided to look for Mr. Right in her own, very innovative way. She now visits local bars and hangouts with an assortment of stamps with which to mark prospective "good dating" candidates.
The stamp of choice reads, "You're cute ... You should hit me up."
With the flick of the wrist, she places her stamp of approval on dating (and potentially mating) prospects.
She shared her strategy in a TikTok video which now has over 2.4 million views.
What could possibly go wrong?
Ladies, "cuteness" is a lousy criterion for dating material.
You want a man with a "stamp of approval," all right. But you want to be sure he carries the ultimate stamp. You want a man after God's own heart. A man who carries the Lord's seal of approval.
Next time you're out looking for a date or a mate, make sure the Lover of his soul has already stamped him with His own mark.
Consider 2 Corinthians 1:22. The New Century Version renders it this way, "He put his mark on us to show us that we are His, and He put His Spirit in our hearts to show us that we are really His."
The Message Version renders verses 20,22 this way, "Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. ... By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge - a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete."
Before you place your stamp of approval, look for the Lord's first.
Don't Turn Your Back on the Manger
SAD AND USELESS, a "humor in the news" blog site, reports:
Photographer Oliver Curtis has spent several years going to famous tourism objects and landmarks and pointing his camera in the opposite direction, therefore purposefully capturing the famous landmarks without the actual landmark.
*The above pic is The Wailing Wall, looking the other way. Follow the "Link to Source" above for reverse pics of The Great Wall of Chin, The Mona Lisa, Stonehenge, and many more.
The locations of the world’s most famous landmarks are pretty mundane without the presence of the landmark itself. So why would anyone want to turn their back on a landmark? Who is interested in a world of the mundane, the ordinary, absent of any obvious object of import or significance?
That same question could be asked of those who live their lives without God. To turn your back on God is to reject the One who adds true meaning and significance to an otherwise meaningless life.
But when we allow God His proper place in our lives, spectacular things happen, even in the midst of the ordinary.
In fact, it is the ordinary that provides the backdrop for the truly important landmarks of life—things like the New Birth, a rededication, a moment of grace, or an act of forgiveness.
The spectacular can and does happen anywhere—even among the ordinary—even in a stable—even in a feeding trough. Turn your back on the "babe" and the manger scene is just another barn.
"This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger" (Luke 2:12).
Intrinsically Good
Is a gun good or evil? Isn't it true that it's just a molded piece of steel that in and of itself is neither good or evil? But it does have the potential to be used for either good or evil. The same gun can be used to take a life or to save a life. It can be used to commit a crime or to stop a crime. It can be used to harm or to protect. In either case, it's the same gun, but what makes the difference is the hand in which the gun is held.
In Romans 12:9 we are told to, "Hate what is evil; cling to what is good." The word "good" is a translation of the Greek word "agothos." According to Strong's it means, "intrinsically good, good in nature, good whether it be seen to be so or not" (see also BAG p. 3). Here, this word is used of the Christian virtues. Things like the fruits of the Spirit are good because they are intrinsically good, not because of the person who holds them. They are good because God is good and they come to us from His hand.