Theology Archives - Page 13 of 17

In Blog, Fear, Theology on

November 2, 2020

To Fear or Not to Fear

At times, I can be a very fearful person. I often get caught up in all the “what-ifs” of life. What if this happens? What if that doesn’t happen? What if they don’t like me? What if I get lost? What if I can’t find it? What if it all goes terribly? What if, what if, what if.

As you probably know, the Bible commands us not to live in this kind of fear. We have a God, a Heavenly Father who loves us and casts out fear (1 John 4:18). He has created us and formed us, redeemed us and called us by name (Isaiah 43:1). He strengthens us and helps us, and He never leaves us nor forsakes us (Isaiah 41:10, Deuteronomy 31:6). God is our light, our salvation, and our stronghold (Psalm 27:1). He comforts us and gives us peace (Psalm 23:4, John 14:27). We are in Him. We have no need to fear.

So, how are we to respond to Bible verses like 1 Peter 2:17 or Matthew 10:28 that command us to fear and, of all things, to fear God? Doesn’t the Bible command us not to fear? And isn’t He a loving, redeeming, comforting God? Why do we need to fear Him?

To fear or not to fear? That is the question.

Tristany

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In Blog, Names of God, Theology on

October 19, 2020

He is Jehovah Shalom

Richard Wurmbrand was an evangelical pastor who began an “underground” ministry for oppressed believers in 1940s Communist Romania. He was arrested twice and spent over thirteen years being tortured in prison. When he later testified about this in the U.S., the Communist regime of Romania made plans to assassinate him. Wurmbrand didn’t let this threat silence him, and he went on to start The Voice of the Martyrs organization, which serves and assists persecuted Christians all around the globe.^[1]

Christians, similar to Richard Wurmbrand, are threatened, persecuted, imprisoned, and killed on a daily basis because of their faith all over the world. While we, as Christians in the United States, don’t encounter near the level of persecution other international believers do, it does seem like our nation is becoming more and more hostile towards Christians and biblical ideals. In today’s world, it’s difficult for us to always stand up for our faith! We fear what people will think of us or do to us. Gideon, one of the judges God sent to Israel, feared the same thing.

Tristany

1 Comment

In Blog, Theology, Work on

October 5, 2020

Working for the Lord

I hate Mondays.

I know it’s such a cliché thing to say, but it’s true. I really do not like Mondays. It never fails that I have a hard time falling asleep on Sunday nights. When my alarm goes off on Monday morning, I wake up tired. I’m unproductive at work. I can’t focus on school. And I go to bed at the end of the day feeling like it wasn’t a very good day.

Can you relate? Maybe it’s Mondays for you, or maybe it’s a different day, or maybe it’s even every day. You wake up tired and unmotivated, and all you want to do is go back to sleep or watch Netflix all day.

For me, I think I dislike Mondays so much because I don’t want to go back to my working routine. On Saturdays and Sundays, I get to sleep in, and be lazy, and do whatever I feel like doing. But Monday morning starts a new week of waking up early, and work issues, and stressful school assignments. I don’t want to go back to work because work is hard. I would rather just scroll through social media, watch movies, or read books.

Work often feels bad, but this is not how the Bible characterizes it.

Tristany

In Attributes of God, Blog, Theology on

September 21, 2020

He is Immutable

Have you ever heard the phrase, “The only guaranteed thing in life is change”? The Greek philosopher Heraclitus wrote a very similar saying around 2,500 years ago.^[1] This profound insight proves to be true even to this day! How we look changes. How we talk changes. How we think changes. How we make decisions changes. Our styles change. Our preferences change. Our relationships change. Where we live changes. Where we work changes. What we do for fun changes. Seasons change. Our situations change. The economy changes. Seemingly everything in our lives changes!

But, there actually is something in our life that NEVER changes. Or, rather, Someone-

Tristany

1 Comment

In Blog, Salvation, Theology on

September 7, 2020

The Great Debate

During the Protestant Reformation, there were five phrases that were popularized and used to describe the key teachings of protestants, and they all began with the word sola, which is Latin for “only” – solo Christo (Christ alone), sola scriptura (scripture alone), soli Deo gloria (to the glory of God alone), sola gratia (grace alone), and sola fide (faith alone).^[1]

These phrases may already seem familiar to you, especially if you have read some of Paul’s letters. Nearly everyone who has been in church for a significant amount of time knows Ephesians 2:8-9 by heart –

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV

But if you turn a few more pages in your Bible to the book of James, you’ll find a very different message-