“I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.”
Psalms 119:11
God wants us to store up His word, His law, in our hearts and minds. By doing so, we will know how to keep from sinning and will be able to become more like God. But what does it mean to have stored up God’s word in our hearts?
Continue reading “Storing God’s Word in My Heart – The Psalms Series”
If you asked a hundred different people the question, “What does heaven look like?”, I’m sure you’d receive a hundred different answers. To some, heaven may be that “perfect day” where everything goes just right. To others, heaven may be a time and place with loved ones. Countless people will say is a place in the sky where you go to after you die. Many will also say that heaven is where God or their deity lives.
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Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long...
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”–and you forgave the guilt of my sin…
You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.
Psalms 32
Continue reading “You Are My Hiding Place – The Psalms Series”
We’re always told to forgive people when they’ve wronged us. And ultimately, we should forgive them. But is there a limit for forgiveness? What if, after being forgiven, someone commits that same wrong again?
Think about ex-convicts out on parole. They’ve been released from prison on the trust of the state authorities that they won’t commit any more crimes. What good is that freedom for ex-cons if they break the law again and end back up in prison? They’re given freedom (“forgiven”) with a condition. That condition is to live a new life apart from crime.
Continue reading “You Are Forgiven (*Terms and Conditions Apply)”
People do bad things. Nothing new there. We’ve been wronging each other for thousands and thousands of years. Me too–I’ve done my share of things that hurt others and I’ve also been wronged. And for the first time, I think I can safely assume that you as well have been on the giving and receiving ends of wrongdoing.
Where am I going with this? The concept of forgiveness.
Continue reading “Do I Really Need to Forgive People Who Hurt Me?”
At one point or another, most people have spent time considering the existence of God. It comes up in good times and bad, while we’re surrounded by other people in conversation or alone with our own thoughts. This thought, in some shape or form, has probably crossed everyone’s mind: Why can’t I see God? It would be so much easier to believe if He just came down and let me see Him.
I’ve lied awake waiting for that spiritual experience, a sign–anything. But I never saw God. They say that “seeing is believing” but perhaps that phrase needs some revision.
Continue reading “Why Can’t I See God? How to Believe in the One You Can’t See”
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.
Continue reading “Why Did God Create Satan…Or Did He?”
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”
“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 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”