Monthly Archives

December 2022

In Blog, Cultural Christianity, Theology on
December 26, 2022

Does God Give Us More Than We Can Handle?

Don’t you worry—God won’t give you more than you can handle.

Has anyone ever said this to you before? That God won’t give you more than you can handle? The phrase sounds nice, and the people who say it are usually well-meaning. But it’s really not all that helpful. We all go through seasons of life where we certainly feel like we’ve been given more than we can handle. Whether we’re living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to find work or our spouse or child is dealing with a troubling diagnosis, it can sometimes seem like God is not holding up His end of the bargain.

Is it true what these well-meaning believers say? Will God never give us more than we can handle?

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In Bible Study, Blog, Exodus on
December 18, 2022

Out of Captivity

Christmas is a truly joyous time of year. Carols are playing on every radio and loudspeaker. Streets and avenues are lit up with twinkling lights. Homes are filled with the delicious scent of gingerbread cookies and the cozy warmth of the fireplace. And families gather to watch classic movies and celebrate this holiday with great cheer.

But Christmastime is not so jolly and wonderful for everyone. Instead, it’s a reminder of a loved one’s devastating passing. It dredges up old memories that we would rather leave forgotten. It can make us feel like we are lost and alone, desperately seeking a way out of our misery.

We’re certainly not the only people in history who have felt these things—lost, alone, forgotten, miserable, grieving, anxious, hopeless. But there is hope—there is always hope. And if anyone can remind us of this truth, it’s a baby born in captivity many centuries ago.

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In Blog, Book Reviews, Self-Love on
December 11, 2022

Live Your Truth and Other Lies

You just need to live your truth.

How many times have we heard a sentiment like this? It seems like everywhere we turn there is some author or influencer screaming to anyone and everyone who will listen, “Live your truth!”

But what is “your truth,” and where does it lead us? Well, those authors and influencers will tell you that “your truth” can mean anything you want it to. If “your truth” means you feel like the opposite sex or you’re attracted to the same sex, you should pursue that. If “your truth” means you leave your spouse and children for some shiny career, you’d be told to follow your dreams. If “your truth” means wasting all your money on frivolous things and getting so drunk that you can barely stand, you’d hear no arguments from them.

Living “your truth” may feel good and fun in the moment, but it ultimately leaves us anxious, exhausted, and obsessed with ourselves. We need to strive for a better, holier way of living, and Alisa Childers explains how we can do exactly that in her new book, Live Your Truth and Other Lies.

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In Blog, Fruit of the Spirit, Theology on
December 4, 2022

Self-Controlled and Sober-Minded

Just one more!

We all know the feeling—the feeling of wanting just one more. Just one more Netflix episode. Just one more cookie from the cookie jar. Just one more thing that we have to purchase right this minute. Of course, we all also know that it is never just “one more.” Just one more episode turns into staying up until 3 a.m. watching your favorite TV show. Just one more cookie turns into having difficulty fitting into your jeans. And just one more purchase turns into an overwhelming amount of credit card debt.

Self-control is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, which all Christians are called to possess (Galatians 5:22-23), but it’s a very difficult thing to actually put into practice. It’s been a struggle for human beings to control themselves ever since the Garden of Eden, and we’ll have to wrestle with our wayward desires for as long as God has us on this earth. Practicing self-control is even harder around the holidays, when indulgent foods, big sales, and movie marathons are around every corner. In times like these, we must lean into self-control more than ever before. But why? Why is self-control so important?

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