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In Blog, Prayer, Theology on

April 17, 2022

Prayer Basics

Without communication, a relationship will never survive. I’ve had many friendships fade away because I just lost contact with them. And the same is true with other kinds of relationships, too. Marriages that lack communication often end in divorce. Miscommunication between bosses and employees tend to result in missed deadlines and uncompleted tasks. Parents who never communicate or cultivate relationships with their children are often estranged from them later in life.

Our relationship with God is no different. While a lack of communion with God won’t end in divorce or loss of relationship, forsaking practices like prayer and Bible reading can hinder one’s fellowship with God, making them feel like God is far away from them. Bible reading is a fairly straightforward discipline, and it’s rather easy to recognize how God speaks to us through His Word. But many Christians struggle with prayer. Who do we pray to? When should we pray? What should we pray for? Even people who have been believers for years are asking these questions, and all of them and more will be answered in this Prayer Basics post!

Tristany

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In Bible Study, Blog, John on

April 10, 2022

Washing Feet

Take a moment and think of the person you would consider your worst enemy. The person you hate (or at least strongly dislike) with every fiber of your being. Perhaps this is someone who has betrayed you in the past. Perhaps this is someone who gets on your nerves and pushes all your buttons. Perhaps this is someone who is meanspirited and rude or condescending and arrogant.

You got that person in your head? Good. Now imagine doing something really nice for them. Like REALLY nice. Like shoveling snow from their driveway in the middle of winter. Like buying them a fancy dinner from their favorite restaurant of all time. Like giving them a genuine compliment on their appearance or their work.

Could you do it? Could you actually sacrifice your time, effort, money, and/or pride to do a nice thing for someone who wouldn’t think twice about turning on you and throwing you under the bus? If most of us are being honest with ourselves, we wouldn’t go through with it. We wouldn’t want to waste our time and resources on someone who will never show us any kindness or respect in return.

Thankfully, Jesus is a lot more humble and loving than we naturally are.

Tristany

In Blog, Heresies, Theology on

April 3, 2022

Test the Spirits

Everyone is trying to sell us something, whether it be on YouTube ads, interstate billboards, or commercials during the nightly news. Forbes reported in 2017 that the average American is exposed to four thousand to ten thousand ads every single day.^[1] Everybody wants to convince us that their product or message will make our lives easier, better, or more enjoyable.

And this isn’t limited to secular media outlets. Even our pastors and churches feed us different messages every week. Many of these messages are rooted in the Word of God and are edifying and uplifting. However, there are also messages being delivered by “pastors” every week that are not rooted in Scripture, that are not truly edifying, and that actually lead people away from the truth of the gospel. Because of this, we must be like the Bereans, examining the Bible to see if what we are hearing lines up with God’s Word (Acts 17:11), and test the spirits (1 John 4:1).

To help you test the messages you’re hearing and discern whether what you’re being taught is biblical truth, I’ve compiled a brief list of nine heresies that originated in the early church and are still popular today and how the Bible disproves them.

Tristany

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In Bible Study, Blog, Psalm on

March 27, 2022

Truly Blessed

The word “blessed” has become somewhat of a cliche in our society. Its meaning has become synonymous with social media posts of beautiful family portraits, expensive vacations, and amazing opportunities, all with the caption of #blessed. When someone says they are #blessed, they are usually referring to all the good things in their life that they have earned or received.

But what if you don’t have these good things? What if your family situation isn’t that beautiful? What if you’re struggling financially, living paycheck to paycheck, never able to go anywhere special or do anything nice? What if you feel like everyone is moving on and moving up in their lives, except you? Does this mean that you’re somehow #notblessed, that God doesn’t care about you enough to give you some of these good things?

Tristany

In Blog, Book Reviews, Sanctification on

March 20, 2022

The Hole in Our Holiness

According to Barna Research Group in 2006, only thirty-five percent of Americans believe that God call us and expects us to become holy. Less than half of self-proclaimed born-again believers agree with this.[1] And I imagine that over the last fifteen years or so, those numbers have decreased quite a bit. It’s evident that we live in a culture that doesn’t prize holiness. People today do whatever they want to do, whatever feels good and right to them. Even many Christians are throwing biblical values to the wind and doing whatever the world around them is doing: watching inappropriate movies, listening to explicit music, wearing revealing clothing, scrolling through Twitter or TikTok for hours on end, and engaging in actions that were once unheard of.

According to Kevin DeYoung, there’s a hole in our holiness, and it needs to be addressed now.

Tristany

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