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Faithfulness

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

The True Vine

The Christian life is hard.

This shouldn’t be a surprise to us. Jesus promised that we would have tribulation in this world (John 16:33), but knowing this doesn’t always make things easier or more bearable. It’s hard to love our neighbors when they have complete disdain for what we believe. It’s hard to count it all joy when our desperate prayers seemingly go unanswered. It’s hard to be slow to speak and slow to anger when people on social media are so hostile to our values. It’s hard to remain steadfast when the world around us appears to be dissolving into chaos and depravity.

But Jesus knew all this. He knew the Christian life would be hard for us. He knew, even two thousand years ago, even before then, what the world would become in 2023. And the wonderful thing is that Jesus did not just leave us to figure out how to live as a Christian in 2023 on our own. Instead, He has promised to be with us (Matthew 28:20b) and to abide with us, for He is the True Vine.

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In Bible Study, Blog, Psalm on
February 14, 2022

My Heart’s Desire

Today is Valentine’s Day. And like many of you, I will be spending it alone.

I mean, I won’t be completely alone today. I’ll go to work and interact with co-workers and clients, and I’ll likely have dinner with my parents tonight. But I won’t have a boyfriend or husband who will send flowers to me, do something special with me, or profess their undying love for me.

Like every other single Christian, I’ve been told that singleness is a gift and, in some cases, better than marriage. But it truly is my heart’s desire to fall in love, get married, and start a family with a faithful and godly man. I would be lying if I said my heart doesn’t sink a little every time I see someone I know getting engaged, married, or pregnant. But there are no possible marriage prospects in my life at the moment, and it appears that my heart’s desire is not on the horizon of my near future.

However, there are some Christians who believe that they can make their hearts’ desires come to fruition. They think that they can manifest, declare, and claim their desires in Jesus’ name, and all their wishes and dreams will come true. This is based on one of the most misunderstood, misinterpreted, and misapplied verses in the Bible: Psalm 37:4.

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In Bible Study, Blog, Job on
August 17, 2020

My Redeemer Lives

Many would say that the past five months have been the worst five months of their lives. They’ve been furloughed or fired from their jobs. They’ve been trying to scrape enough money together to pay their bills and put food on the table. They’ve had to figure out how to work full time at home while also homeschooling and taking care of their kids. Their businesses have been destroyed or gone bankrupt. Their cities have burned. They’ve been unable to go to churches, weddings, and funerals. They’ve been unable to get medical treatments or procedures done. They’ve been struggling with severe anxiety and depression. They’ve lost loved ones to suicide or disease, and they weren’t even able to say goodbye to them. Throughout this pandemic and time of division, things have seemed to get worse and worse and worse.

If any of this rings true in your life, you could probably relate to Job.

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In Blog, Thanksgiving, Theology on
November 25, 2019

In ALL Circumstances

What are you thankful for?

If you haven’t already thought about this question, you probably will within the next few days (if you live in the States). In between stuffing turkeys, baking pies, getting together with family and friends, and watching football, we reflect on all that we have to be thankful for.

And some of us have a lot!

We have good food on our tables and reliable roofs over our heads. We stay busy at good jobs, or we spend our days with happy and healthy little ones. We have good relationships with our family and friends, and we know we can always rely on them. There’s plenty for us to be thankful for.

But for some of us, being thankful is not so easy.

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