In Apologetics, Blog, Book Reviews on
June 19, 2023

The Reason for God

We live in an age of skepticism.

Faith is seen as something ridiculous, something to be laughed at, despite the fact that all of us put our faith in something, whether that be God, a politician, or the chair we sit in every day. People want facts, proofs, guarantees, which is admirable in a sense. They don’t want to believe in something just because it’s believed by their parents or was taught to them as children. They’re looking for studies and data, something to back up what they believe. And for many, this means throwing faith to the wayside.

But these same people need faith, perhaps more than they know. They might scoff at this notion, but the truth is that faith is not just a blind belief in fairytales. It’s a trust in what’s been revealed to us as truth. Faith may carry a different connotation in our culture, but it can actually be both logical and intellectually satisfying. Though atheists and agnostics may think otherwise, there is good reason to believe in God, the Bible, and the gospel, and this is what the late Tim Keller explored in his book, The Reason for God.

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In Bible Study, Blog, John on
June 5, 2023

The Good Shepherd

Growing up in the suburbs, I’ve never been an outdoorsy girl. I’ve always appreciated sitting in the air conditioning reading a good book or perusing the stores of a shopping center rather than going on a camping trip in the dead of summer or hiking for miles and miles on end. Now, don’t get me wrong. I very much enjoy nature and love to take pictures of stunning sunsets, majestic mountains, and other gorgeous scenery. But if I were given a choice between spending time indoors or outdoors, I’d likely choose the former.

This is probably true for many of us living in the western world. Since the Industrial Revolution, our society is seeing fewer and fewer people working in the outdoors—farming and agriculture—and more and more working nine to five in some office building crunching numbers and running reports under the harsh, florescent glow of artificial light.

However, the culture of ancient Israel was quite different from ours. They had a far more agricultural society, and many Israelites had to work the land and raise livestock just to survive and put food on the table. Because agriculture played such a huge role in their lives, many of Jesus’ parables and teachings in first century Israel were centered around farming. The Jews living in the time of Christ would have had no issues understanding his agrarian examples, but because we are so far removed from farming life, we often struggle to understand what Jesus means.

In His fourth I Am statement, which is found in John 10, Jesus describes Himself as “the Good Shepherd.” If you’re anything like me, you may have no clue what it looks like to be a shepherd in today’s day and age, let alone two thousand years ago. So, what is Jesus saying when He claims, “I Am the Good Shepherd”?

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In Blog, Common Questions, Theology on
May 22, 2023

Is Gender Identity a Matter of Choice?

The subject of gender identity has become one of the most hotly debated topics in today’s culture. Can a person “identify” as the opposite gender if they feel that is their true identity? Does a transgender individual have to medically transition before identifying as the opposite sex? How will this affect women’s protected spaces, like bathrooms, locker rooms, and jails? Is it fair to allow transgender individuals to compete against biological women? These are just a handful of the questions that are discussed in the media regarding gender identity, and they don’t even include the other 103 genders that are supposedly out there.[1]

According to the State of Theology survey conducted by Ligonier Ministries in 2022, forty-two percent of Americans believe that gender identity is simply a matter of choice. This is probably not a surprising number, as the acceptance and approval of the transgender movement are higher than ever before in our secular society. However, what may be surprising is the large number of Evangelicals who also agree with this claim. According to the same survey, about thirty-seven percent of people with Evangelical beliefs agree that someone’s gender identity is their own personal choice.[2]

This percentage is staggering. About one third of professing Evangelical Christians believe that one’s gender identity is based on their feelings rather than their body. This is a radically unbiblical belief, and if we’re not careful, it will continue to pervade and infiltrate churches all over America. When evaluating our answer to this question, we must rely on what the Bible teaches rather than what the world or our own feelings tell us.

So, let’s answer it. Is gender identity a matter of choice?

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In Blog, Book Reviews, Prayer on
May 8, 2023

The Lord’s Prayer

Prayer is one of the most integral disciplines of the Christian life. It’s the practice of humbly approaching the throne of God, communing with our Heavenly Father, praising Him for His goodness, and petitioning Him to provide for our needs and the needs of those around us. We all know how important it is for us, as believers, to pray and to pray often. However, we’re not always that good at it.

Many times, we’ll sit or kneel in a humble posture before our mighty God, ready to bring our prayers and petitions before Him, but we simply can’t think of what to pray for. There are also times when what we pray for seems rather frivolous in the grand scheme of things (I know I’m not the only one who’s prayed for good days, restful nights, and to have success with college exams and work projects).

What is the secret to praying well? Truth be told, it’s not that big of a secret. Jesus clearly laid out how His followers ought to pray and what they should pray for during His famous Sermon on the Mount, and the prayer example He gave has since been dubbed “The Lord’s Prayer.” In Kevin DeYoung’s latest book of the same name, he explores this prayer and explains how Christians can utilize it in their own prayer time.

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In Bible Study, Blog, John on
April 10, 2023

The Door

Back in 2019, I traveled to Romania on a mission trip, and while I was there, our team had the opportunity to visit a Romanian Orthodox church in Bucharest. It was a rather small church, but its distinct beauty made up for its humble size. The front doors were made of solid wood, carved with an ornate floral design. Chandeliers and metallic lanterns hung from above. The walls were trimmed with gold and covered from floor to ceiling with brightly painted icons of saints who’ve passed on to glory.

Yet, despite its beautiful architecture and design, our group felt a spiritual heaviness as we walked through the doors. At the front of the room, a white-haired woman in a long coat kneeled on her knees before a priest, presumably confessing her sins to the man. The eyes of the icons stared down at us with glowing halos around their heads, reminding us of the common practice of venerating the saints. Our entire team felt a sense that it was a place of works-based religion and a place where many worshippers sought out a human mediator rather than going straight to God.

The Romanian Orthodox Church is certainly not the only church that practices these things. There are several different denominations and sects of Christianity that practice confession and veneration of the saints, that seek out mediators between them and God. However, the reality is that we have no need for an earthly mediator. We have no need to confess all our sins to a priest or honor the saints of old in a particular way. Why? Because we have Jesus. And Jesus is the Door.

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