Most of us make countless promises throughout our lives.
Whether it was a ‘serious’ pinky-swear during elementary school or a legal business contract, there are many forms promises can take. However, the purpose is always the same. It is an agreement between two or more groups that is meant to be kept by everyone involved.
Continue reading “What is the Covenant and Are You Keeping It?”
Jesus Christ. The Son of God. We love and respect him, and rightfully so. There are churches all over the world where people dedicate everything to Jesus. Today, he can come up in casual conversation and usually, nobody bats an eye. And if he came back today riding on a cloud, people would probably roll out the red carpet. Christians today often imagine Jesus being treated in this way…royalty that everyone adores. However, looking back at the first time Jesus walked the earth, do you think he received the same warm welcome? Jesus even referred to himself as a prophet without honor. Why do you think that is?
Continue reading “A Prophet Without Honor: Why Jesus’ Hometown Didn’t Believe in Him”
Angry shouts filling the air, curses, beatings, humiliation, pain. And then, the final words from Jesus, “It is finished”. The event of Jesus bearing the cross is a familiar one for most Christians. But how much time do we spend truly reflecting on this moment? Recently, I was reading through the book of Matthew again and came across the account of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion. Churches and media everywhere commonly refer to this event on Easter or in movies. But take a moment to really put yourself into that moment. Picture what it would’ve been like to be there.
Continue reading “It Is Finished: What Jesus Actually Completed”
How often do you eat fruit in a week? Do you have a favorite? As we all know, fruits are healthy and provide important nutrition for our bodies. When you go grocery shopping, I’m sure you take your time when selecting which fruits you’re going to purchase. You look for the ones that are ripe (or soon to be ripe), but stay away from ones that are beginning to spot or are a little too squishy. But sometimes grabbing a rotten fruit is unavoidable and you take it home.
Continue reading “Good and Bad Fruit in the Bible: Which One Are You Eating?”
If you’ve been around to many churches like me, you’ll know that every church has its own way of conducting worship. I’ve been to ‘hip’ churches for young college students that had a rotating roster of seven bands to fit everyone’s tastes. I’ve been to churches that share music from YouTube instead of having a live band. And I’ve been to churches where the congregation members speak in tongues and collapse in tears as the music hits its emotional peak. It seems as though Christianity is all over the board when it comes to worshiping God. And while we all want to worship God in the way we feel is best, let’s take a moment to consider what worship actually is and if we’re doing it according to the Bible.
Continue reading “How to Worship God According to the Bible”
Trust. What does this word mean to you? Do you give your trust easily? Or does it take a lot of time and effort for you to even start thinking about trusting someone new? When we think about the ones we trust the most, think about what has led you to give it. Usually it has something to do with time. You’ve known them since childhood or their friendship has weathered the test of time. Or maybe they’ve proven that they are reliable again and again and will be there when we need them. For those that do have our trust, we could probably all agree that these people are the ones we would be okay sharing our important information or vulnerable feelings with. We trust these people to safeguard our secrets and the things we hold closest to the heart.
Continue reading “Is God Able to Trust Everyone?”
If we think about relationships, do you think it’s possible to have a successful relationship without having any standards? Maybe in a romantic relationship, you want to be with someone who lives a certain lifestyle that matches yours. Maybe in a friendship, you make an effort to keep friends who are positive and encouraging instead of gossipy or cynical.
Even if we don’t want to admit it, we all have standards and expectations for our relationships. And we should. Having standards is a way of ensuring you can trust the other person while also protecting your own heart. But let’s also think about when you have clear or set standards in a relationship, but the other party constantly breaks or ignores them. How would you react? Even when you sincerely love a person, you set standards that you hold them to and usually they do the same for us. For any of us who say we’re in a relationship with God, should we expect God to be any different?
Continue reading “Are You Living Up to God’s Standards?”
“Sin” brings up all kinds of different ideas and images to different people. Everyone has their own questions and ideas about what sin is and what it isn’t. “Is this a sin?”, “Is that a sin?”, I’m sure we could go on and on about this to no end. When we get bogged down and only focus on determining what counts as a sin, or even which sins are greater than others, we lose sight of the bigger picture. In order to get a clear answer to this question, we should always look to God’s Word for the answer instead of relying on our own thoughts and understanding since God is the one who originally defined sin in the first place.
Continue reading “What is Sin? Sin and the Purpose of God’s Law”
Have you ever picked up the Bible and wondered, “Where do I even begin? Which parts of the Bible apply to me?” I was once told that the New Testament was all that us Christians need to read. They even went as far as saying that the Old Testament was just history. Just references and laws of the past that have nothing to do with our future. The instruction was to start reading from the Gospels to Jude, neglecting the Old Testament and Revelation. Have you ever heard anything similar? It seemed odd that I was only being told to read parts of the Bible, with the assumption that the Old Testament didn’t apply to me.
Continue reading “Which Parts of the Bible Apply to Me?”
Have you ever had or heard a conversation along these lines? “Since the Bible only records 6,000 years of history, it’s technically claiming that dinosaurs didn’t exist, right? You know that’s completely impossible…We have scientific evidence to back their existence up.” Usually, things like this derail what could have been an eye-opening discussion on the Bible and faith. Why does this happen so often? For me, before I understood the purpose of the Bible, I never knew how to respond to a comment like this. I’d nod with a, “You do have a point…”
Continue reading “Why You Shouldn’t Dig for Dinosaurs in the Bible”