In Blog, Book Reviews, Spiritual Growth on
December 28, 2020

Chasing Perfect

I’ve never really been the kind of person that makes New Year’s resolutions. I’m convinced it’s because I’m a perfectionist, and I know that I won’t keep my resolutions perfectly. Perhaps you can relate. According to U.S. News & World Report, eighty percent of New Year’s resolutions fail by mid-February.[1] We can resolve to eat better, exercise regularly, or be the best mom, wife, or student possible, but what is the point? The odds are that we’ll fail within two months, leaving us more empty and exhausted than we were before. We’re attempting to chase perfection, yet it seems like we’re destined to fall short.

In Alisha Illian’s book Chasing Perfect, she reminds us that we are not perfect and that nothing we can do will ever be enough for us to achieve this perfection that we seek. Instead of pursuing resolutions, she encourages her readers to chase after something, or rather Someone, who is truly perfect-

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In Blog, Christmas, Matthew on
December 21, 2020

The Family of Christ

Two years ago, I got an Ancestry DNA kit for Christmas. It wasn’t something I had asked for, but I’d seen the Ancestry DNA commercials and was interested in it. I’ve always been intrigued by genealogy and genetics. I’ve wanted to learn about my family tree, who my ancestors were, and where they were from for a long time, but I had never had the time nor the resources to research it. After filling a little vial with my saliva and sending it back to the lab, I discovered that I am 53% English/Northwestern European. It turns out I’m also 16% Irish, 16% Scottish, 8% Swedish, and 7% Welsh. While I still have a lot to learn about my family tree, these results gave me a small glimpse of who I am and where I’m from.

There are lots of family trees or genealogies written in the Bible, but we often skip past them, believing these lists of names to be kind of boring and not that important to the story line. But whenever we come across a genealogy in our Bible reading, we should slow down, pay attention, and read carefully because these family trees teach us a lot more than we think they do. One of the most important genealogies in Scripture is Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew 1, and while it may seem like just another list of names, it actually contains a deeper meaning about who Jesus is.

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In Attributes of God, Blog, Theology on
December 14, 2020

He is Just

About 3.1 million children around the world die from undernutrition every year.[1] Natural disasters kill around 90,000 people and affect millions more.[2] In 2017, 17.79 million people died from different cardiovascular diseases, 9.56 million people died from cancer, and over 405,000 people were killed by another human being.[3] These numbers are absolutely devastating, and they lead people to ask questions, like “How could a good God let an innocent child die? Where was God in this disaster? How could God let these murderers continue to live?”

We’re not the only ones who ask these questions. People in the Bible asked God the same thing (Jeremiah 12:1, Psalm 89:46). We know God is good, but sometimes we don’t understand why He lets certain things happen. It just doesn’t seem fair.

But God is fair. He is just.

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In Bible Study, Blog, Psalm on
December 7, 2020

God is Within Her, Will She Fall?

“God is within her, she will not fall.”

You’ve probably heard this phrase before. You’ve seen it on flowery Pinterest graphics and on pink t-shirts in pretty calligraphy, or perhaps it was the keynote message of a women’s ministry event or conference you attended. It sounds like a good, biblical message. God is with us and in us. Therefore, we cannot fall. We cannot fail. We can do anything. It’s a very uplifting and empowering message for women in particular.

But is this message biblical? Is it actually found in the Bible? Yes and no.

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In Blog, Common Questions, Theology on
November 30, 2020

Do Small Sins Deserve to be Punished?

Everybody sins. We all make mistakes. You don’t have to teach a toddler to say “no” or to disobey their parents. You don’t have to teach a child to cheat on their tests or be mean to their friends. We have an innate desire to sin, and that innate desire never goes away. Throughout our entire lives, we are tempted and lured by sins. And it is only by God’s grace that we are able to resist these temptations.

But we will never be able to fully escape sin while we are living on this earth. So, as a way to justify our sins or assuage our guilt, we often rank our sins. Sins like murder, rape, and abuse are big, terrible sins that surely deserve to be punished. But sins like gossip, envy, or pride are just “small” sins that can just be swept under the rug. They’re seemingly not that big of a deal, and they’re not really hurting anyone. Therefore, many people, including many who claim to be Christians, believe that these little sins don’t deserve punishment.

In their 2020 State of Theology survey, Ligonier Ministries found that sixty-six percent of American adults disagree with the statement, “Even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation.”[1] But is this belief – the belief that small sins shouldn’t send someone to hell – backed up by Scripture? Do small sins deserve to be punished?

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