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Eternal Life

In Bible Study, Blog, John on
September 11, 2023

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

Many people in today’s world will argue that there is more than one way to get to God. They take a more universalist approach, saying that whether you call God Yahweh, Allah, or Vishnu, it’s really the same God and whatever you do in this life will end up with you in the same afterlife. To suggest anything otherwise would be viewed as bigoted and intolerant. After all, who are we to criticize someone’s religious convictions and suggest that their personally held beliefs will send them to hell?

Although there a myriad of differences and contradictions between the world religions of today that we could analyze and focus on, we, as Christians, ought to aim our primary focus on what God and His Word have to say about this debate. Throughout the Old Testament, we can see that God does not tolerate other religious practices or forms of worship, and He lays down harsh punishments against those who stray from His Law (even when it’s His own people). In the New Testament, we find that the early church communities are repeatedly warned not to be conformed to the world around them and are rebuked when they are found to be doing so. However, there is one particular passage in the Gospel of John that leaves absolutely no room for debate, clearly stating that there is, in fact, only one way to God: Jesus.

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In Blog, Feelings, Theology on
August 28, 2023

Am I Enough?

You are enough.

Or, at least, that’s what everybody says. That’s what’s on the t-shirts and the coffee mugs and the pastel Instagram graphics. It’s the mantra of every female empowerment influencer. You are enough. Having a bad day? You are enough. Dealing with “toxic” friends? You are enough. So frustrated with your kids that you can’t get through the day without a glass of wine? You. Are. Enough.

This little phrase is quite popular these days, especially amongst women, even amongst some Christians. These three words are meant to be encouraging, inspiring, empowering, to remind you that you’re doing the best you can do and that’s okay. But while the phrase may make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, it shouldn’t be automatically accepted as authoritative truth. As with everything else, we ought to take it to the Bible and see how it lines up with the teachings of Scripture.

So, what does the Bible have to say about this? Does the Bible teach that we are enough?

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In Bible Study, Blog, John on
July 31, 2023

The Resurrection and the Life

Perhaps one of the foremost reasons many people who once vaguely believed in God have chosen to turn away from Him is unanswered prayer, particularly prayer for the healing of themselves or a loved one. Some of them may have been taught some version of the prosperity gospel, that if they just prayed enough or had enough faith then they would be healed, only to later discover that the level or strength of their faith seemingly had no effect whatsoever on their circumstances. Others simply have a difficult time reconciling their belief that God is good, loving, gracious, and merciful with the fact that He seems to refuse to heal one of His own. Whatever the particular reason, unanswered prayer for healing has caused many in this day and age to doubt or completely run away from God.

Yet, unanswered prayer is not a modern concept or issue. Even back in biblical times there were people who pleaded to the Lord for healing, and their prayers were not answered, at least not immediately. You can open up God’s Word and find numerous examples: Job, David, Paul—all righteous, God-fearing men who prayed and only received silence in return.

When this happens, when we pray and plead to God and hear only silence, we wonder why. Why would God allow this to happen? Why wouldn’t God do something about this? We know He is all-powerful, sovereign, in control of everything that happens in the universe. Why does He stay silent when His faithful people, His own children suffer?

Though God may often seem silent, the truth is that He is always at work, even when our prayers go unanswered. He is always working for the good of those who love Him and for His own glory. We can see this clearly in John 11.

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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 Bible Study, Blog, John on
February 28, 2023

The Light of the World

I do not have a green thumb.

My mom is a gardener, and she loves spending hours outside planting seeds, watering plants, pruning back leaves, and harvesting vegetables for the family to eat. The entire backyard is filled with fruit trees and wood planter boxes, and we’ve enjoyed many servings of green beans, corn, and sugar snap peas from the garden.

I, on the other hand, can barely keep a houseplant alive for a few weeks or maybe a few months, if I’m lucky. I can’t tell you how many succulents or snake plants I’ve killed over the last few years. I try to water them and take care of them, but over time they all slowly shrivel up and die. The only plant I’ve managed to keep alive is a small pothos, and he’s been going strong for a little less than a year and half.

One thing I’ve discovered throughout my houseplant woes is that I often don’t give my plants enough sunlight. Most plants need a good amount of light to grow and thrive. And this is also true with other living organisms—animals, insects, human beings. Light is a basic necessity of life on earth, and without it, most life would probably cease to exist.

Believe or not, the sun is not the greatest source of light there is. There is a more powerful and more beneficial source of light in existence. This better Light of the World is the Son.

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