understanding Archives - Page 7 of 8

April 1, 2021April 3, 2021

Are You Living Up to God’s Standards?

God's standards, God, relationship, faith, knowledge

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?

March 4, 2021April 1, 2021

We Talk About the Bible At Church…So Why Can’t I Understand It?

As believers, we should consider from time to time, what’s the purpose of going to church? What’s the purpose of learning God’s word? Is it for community? Is it to understand the Bible and God more?

It’s good to take time to reflect on our current lives of faith. Are we content with them? And if we’re not, then what should we do? When we go to church and talk about God or the Bible, do we understand everything we learn?

January 22, 2021August 19, 2021

Does Questioning My Faith Make Me A Bad Christian?

I’m a millennial. Now, don’t leave just yet. I know millennials don’t always have the best reputation, but just hear me out. Or maybe you’re even a millennial yourself – welcome, you’ve come to the right place. Millennials can be known as those who are always creating change. We’re also opinionated, we dig deep, seek truth, seek justice, and my personal favorite, we ask questions.

January 18, 2021April 15, 2021

5 God-Centered Ways to Grow Spiritually in 2021

I’m sure I’m not alone in wanting to use the new year as a chance to refocus to grow spiritually. Maybe you want to develop better prayer habits or read the entire Bible. Maybe you want to try to go to church more often. But overall, improving your life of faith is admittedly no easy feat. I used to tell myself every year that this would be the year I’d finally become the “good, mature Christian” I’d always wanted to be. The problem was that I would set the same goals, year after year, without being able to make any lasting changes in my life. I was obviously doing something wrong.

January 16, 2021April 15, 2021

Do You Think You Would Have Believed in Jesus 2,000 Years Ago?

What do you think it was like 2,000 years ago when Jesus was here? Would you have recognized or believed in him?

Before Jesus came, God had prophesied the coming of a Messiah to Israel through the prophets. Then, Jesus came according to those prophecies. But the question is, did the Israelites accept him as their Savior? And I think most people know the answer to that question: No.

But let’s just sit back for a second and think about why they didn’t and then ask yourself,

‘Would I have believed in Jesus at that time?’

December 21, 2020August 2, 2021

Do You Love God in the Way He Wants to Be Loved?

How do you show your parents that you love them? Do you put a lot of thought into it?

When we are young, we usually express our love for our parents by giving them things that we like.

“I think this is a nice picture, so Mom will be happy to have it.”

“This is my favorite toy, so Dad will like it too.”

And of course, our parents accept these miscellaneous objects as precious gifts. It’s not because they necessarily want that crayon drawing or those Lego pieces, but because they know the pure intentions of their children’s hearts.

December 18, 2020April 1, 2021

Playing Hide and Seek with God

Hide and seek. It’s a game most of us are very familiar with and have played many times. We all know that rush of excitement and nervousness as the seeker begins their countdown while everyone else makes a mad dash to find that perfect hiding spot. The anticipation builds when you hear that, “Ready or not, here I come!” And then it’s time to hold your breath as you hope to remain unfound.

December 11, 2020October 14, 2021

How to Have a Living Faith

living faith, faith, action, understanding

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

James 2:14-17

Faith and Works

“I have faith in God and Jesus.” Undoubtedly, this is something that many Christians proclaim. We say that we go to church and read the Bible, but oftentimes our works (and words) don’t match up. Just saying something without action leads to an empty promise.

We all know very well those people in our lives that claim to believe or want something but then don’t act on it. Maybe you wanted to get into better shape physically, so you tell your family and friends that you’re going to start working out. And then you continue to sit on the couch.

Like this, if we claim that we follow God and Jesus, have faith, and believe in them, then do our actions reflect our belief?

December 7, 2020April 15, 2021

Meeting God

A “heavenly meeting” I still remember: Light descending from the heavens kissed the ground, casting shadows equally beautiful, and leaving sparkling dust suspended in the air. Overhead, leaves whispered secrets to each other, and birds sang–this was peace and perfection. This was the holy land of my Midwest backyard. And there we strolled, my much older, visiting cousin and I, and she told me about God.

December 7, 2020April 1, 2021

How I Left the Church and Still Found God

Twenty-five years.

Each one of these years was spent in the church, my second home. Generations of family, the best of friends, conferences, events, memories to last a lifetime, but then, it all changed. There was a voice inside of me that I had quieted over the years…and it became louder and louder, like she could no longer stay silent. I found myself feeling empty, not learning anything, like my eyes were opened to a church that I didn’t even recognize.