If someone were to sit down and contemplate the state of the world right now, it would be easy to find sadness, unfairness, and inexplicably awful things that can’t fully be comprehended. We have mass poverty, pandemic diseases, social injustice, gender inequality and political oppression, just to name a few ills. Then on top of […]
A Forgetful People: A Forgiving God
The benefits of Scripture memorization
College gets romanticized as a time for parties and lifelong memories, and while for some that may hold true, my college experience could not be further from that lifestyle. I decided to attend a school way outside of my budget. Because of this choice, I needed to accelerate my graduation to afford such expensive schooling. […]
CONSTANT GRATITUDE
Living a life of thanksgiving
Lorrie Noel found out she had a brain tumor in August 2011. After more testing, she learned it was cancerous. Though the cancer had nestled into an inoperable place in her brain, stretching its deadly tendrils from this safe haven, Lorrie had inexplicable joy. Seasoned doctors wondered at her undaunted smiles, and nurses, hardened by […]
Lord of All
The 1st Commandment contains a full life in God's community
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” The first commandment in Exodus 20 establishes for the people of Israel, who are newly without certain governance, having been successfully and miraculously led out of […]
GOD WITHIN
The 2nd Commandment
You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents […]
SHOULD WE QUESTION GOD?
Growing deeper in our faith
We may have heard that we should not question God because questioning may cause our faith to weaken. I have heard someone say we should never end a prayer with words something like, “If it be your will,” because those words imply we don’t believe we will get what we ask. As new believers what […]
THE 3RD COMMANDMENT
You should not lift up the name of Yahweh, your God, in vain.
The first three commandments in Exodus 20 set the stage for the latter seven. The first three commandments communicate expectations for how God should be treated and the following commandments (covered in earlier articles) establish expectations for how people should treat one another. This series has looked closely at the commandments in Exodus 20, starting […]
THE 4TH COMMANDMENT
Remember the sabbath day, for it is holy
At the age of fifteen, I received a work permit and began applying for various part-time jobs in the small city where I lived. With every potential opportunity, I could taste freedom. There was one section, however, on each job application that seemed to mock me. “Are you available on weekends?” the form asked. Since […]
MURDER IN THE HEART
The 6th Commandment ‘do not murder’ gets personal
What we know as the sixth commandment is a verse made up of only two words in its original Hebrew context. Do not murder—an imperative command. We can easily understand the meaning of this phrase as a command that forbids God’s followers from carrying out destructive behaviors against another individual. It is important to recognize […]
SENSITIVITY TOWARDS ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
Taking a look at the pros and cons of alternative medicine and what it means for Christians with the help of Dόnal O’Mathúna and Walt Larimore’s book Alternative Medicine: The Christian Handbook.
When I was younger, I had chronic stomach pains. At one point, the pain lasted for a full week without subsiding, seesawing between a sharp or dull pain. After countless X-rays and tests, doctors could only agree on one diagnosis: inconclusive results. The body is an amazing piece of work, functioning with complexity and beauty, […]