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In Bible Study, Blog, Daniel on
October 12, 2020

Sovereign Over Government

As the U.S. presidential election draws nearer, it seems like tensions have never been higher. In our society today, many people will write you off and despise you as soon as they find out which political party you side with. They assume you’re some terrible, awful person based on which candidate you’ve chosen to vote for. Some are saying that this election is the most important and most critical election there has ever been in America, and they’re saying that if the guy from the other side wins, America as we know it will be destroyed.

In this time of extreme darkness, hatred, and negativity, I believe we, as believers, need encouragement from the Word of God. And today’s encouragement comes from the book of Daniel.

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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.

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In Blog, Book Reviews, Church on
September 28, 2020

A Place to Belong

Church used to be a much higher priority in our society. Most everyone went to church on Sunday mornings. Businesses were closed and nobody worked so that they could spend their Sabbath worshipping the Lord and fellowshipping with other believers. Over time, things changed. Businesses did open on Sunday, which meant people had to work at those businesses. Other things such as sports games and self-care were prioritized over attending church services. 

Nowadays, church is no longer deemed “essential.” It is seen as something that is good to be a part of, but it is totally okay and normal if you only make it there fifty percent of the time. According to Ligonier Ministries’ 2018 State of Theology survey, fifty-eight percent of American adults agree with the statement, “Worshiping alone or with one’s family is a valid replacement for regularly attending church.”[1]

Yet, the Bible discusses the church and its importance often in the New Testament. Can worshipping alone, worshipping as a family, or watching an online service really be a replacement for going to church every week?

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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-

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In Bible Study, Blog, Ephesians on
September 14, 2020

Our Real Enemy

Our country is very divided right now, perhaps the most divided it’s been since the Civil War era. We’re constantly arguing and bickering with those we disagree with, and it seems like there is nothing we can all agree on. I feel like this is the most evident on Twitter. Twitter can often seem like a cesspool full of angry, bitter people who think that what they believe is right and anyone who disagrees with is them is a terrible, horrible, awful person. Now, this surely doesn’t describe everyone on Twitter. I’m on Twitter, and I certainly wouldn’t describe myself as angry and bitter ;). But there have been many, many times in recent months that I see a tweet that I think is completely wrong, and it takes a lot of self-control and restraint not to reply, or at least not reply in a way that is not Christ-like.

These days we can often see the people we disagree with on Twitter, on Facebook, or even in real life as our enemies. They believe in things that are completely antithetical to our beliefs and convictions, so we distance ourselves from these perceived enemies as much as possible. Scripture argues, though, that these people are not our enemies, but that we do have a very real enemy who is at work in this world.

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