Spiritually Full or Spiritually Hungry – Which is Better?

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As a kid, I loved the holidays, especially Christmas and Thanksgiving. We always had friends over and all shared a big meal. There were so many kinds of foods: turkey, mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, buttery dinner rolls, and cherry pie. I didn’t eat much during the day so that I’d be especially hungry at dinner time.

Then by the end, I felt so full…almost too full. You know that feeling when you eat too much? The food coma that starts creeping up? Or that gross, sick-to-your-stomach feeling of having stuffed too much down?

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How is Your Spirit? Spiritual Plant Care 101

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From the title you can guess that this article will liken caring for our lives of faith to caring for a plant. But honestly–physical gardening? Hate it. No joke, it’s #2 on my list of things I hate to do. For those of you who, like me, can think of ten more exciting things to do than to watch grass grow, you might be flooded with images of pulling up never-ending weeds in the hot summer sun. Or lugging around a heavy bottle to give the plants water. Mom nagging you to cover them with a bucket at night. 

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What Are You Sacrificing for Your Life of Faith?

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How much would you say you’re sacrificing for your life of faith on a day-to-day basis? 

This probably isn’t a typical discussion question with friends or family, because for many, it’s not a very comfortable conversation. Growing up, I used to think that being a Christian required a lot of sacrifice. As someone who’s definitely not a morning person, getting up early every Sunday morning for church required tons of effort. That was a sacrifice, right? Plus, I spent lots of time at countless volunteering activities and outreaches.

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Why Did God Create Satan…Or Did He?

did god create satan, lucifer, God's will, Bible

Have you ever created something?

It could’ve been a sculpture, a table, a painting, or another invention of some kind. How did you feel once it was completed? Maybe you were happy, proud even, to see your finished product. Now imagine that your creation, the thing you spent endless hours of work on, pouring all of your effort into, was then damaged, or destroyed by someone…on purpose. All of that hard work and dedication to make this beautiful creation…ruined. What kinds of feelings or thoughts would go through your mind?

In the Bible, we see that all of God’s creations that were originally made to be precious and good have become damaged, corrupted. This was all because of a deep betrayal. Who betrayed God and damaged His creation? Satan.

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A Prophet Without Honor: Why Jesus’ Hometown Didn’t Believe in Him

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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?

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Good and Bad Fruit in the Bible: Which One Are You Eating?

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Good Fruits and Bad Fruits

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. 

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Is God Able to Trust Everyone?

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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.

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Are You Living Up to God’s Standards?

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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?

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Why You Shouldn’t Dig for Dinosaurs in the Bible

purpose of the Bible, God's plan

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…” 

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How Can I Live a Righteous Life?

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Am I good enough? Does God care about me or listen to my prayers? Am I Iiving a righteous life? How do I know if I am doing things the ‘right’ way? If you’ve ever had these types of thoughts, then you’re surely not alone. I know I personally struggled a lot with these questions and negative feelings when I was growing up, despite always making sure to put on the facade of a good, happy, Christian daughter.

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