Browsing Tag:

Goodness

In Blog, Fruit of the Spirit, Theology on
September 15, 2024

Doing Good

Nobody wants to be called a “do-gooder.” Like the name suggests, a do-gooder is a person who does good things. However, the good things a do-gooder does are often not as helpful as they’d like them to be. Their actions are often ineffective, pointless, or even just downright annoying. Even worse than being called a do-gooder is being called a “goody-goody” or a “goody two-shoes,” which implies that you do good things just to please those in authority and that you look down upon those who are not as good as you.

The Bible calls Christians to be good, to do good. In fact, goodness is one of nine attributes listed in the Fruit of the Spirit, the characteristics of the person who is filled with the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). But what does it look like to practice goodness according to Scripture, and how can we avoid earning these monikers as a result of our good deeds?

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In Attributes of God, Blog, Book Reviews on
April 14, 2024

The Kindness of God

We live in a rather cruel world, don’t we? This isn’t exactly a surprise. Ever since the Garden of Eden, our earth has been permanently marred and mutilated by sin and the sinful choices of mankind. But this doesn’t make it any easier to watch the horrible events that take place on a daily basis. To watch young women with bright futures be assaulted or murdered by wicked criminals. To watch foreign military forces bomb civilian areas in neighboring nations. To watch our loved ones become so hopeless that they turn to drugs, drinking, debt, or even their own death.

When we observe all that happens in our world as it rotates on its axis, it can be difficult to look upon all that cruelty, wickedness, and sin and remember the goodness and kindness of God. It calls up that age-old question we all consider from time to time—“How can a God that is truly good allow such bad things to happen?” But Nate Pickowicz wrote his newest book, The Kindness of God, to remind us of how we can see and behold God’s kindness in nearly every aspect of our lives.

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In Blog, Common Questions, Theology on
September 13, 2021

What is God’s Will for My Life?

Discerning the will of God is something I think every Christian has attempted to do at one point or another. It’s definitely something I’ve prayed for and longed for and tried to figure out. I’ve often asked that God would reveal His will to me about different decisions or situations, but most of the time I never get a clear, solid answer. Honestly, I sometimes wish I could be like Gideon and put out a fleece to get some answers from God (please, do not do this the next time you need to make a decision).

God’s will can be a tricky thing to understand. We’re told that nothing happens outside of God’s will. But does that mean it’s God will for a family member to be diagnosed with cancer? Is it God’s will for a friend to get in a serious car accident? Is it God’s will for a child to tragically die at a young age? And how are we to understand His will well enough to make decisions that won’t fall outside of it?

All these questions stem from a misunderstanding of God’s will. There are actually three aspects of the will of God: His sovereign will, His moral will, and His personal will.

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In Attributes of God, Blog, Theology on
June 1, 2020

He is Good

Milk, eggs, sugar, flour. Milk, eggs, sugar, flour. Milk, eggs, sugar, flour. Imagine you’re going to the grocery store to pick up a few things, but you didn’t write down what you need.  You’re likely going to repeat what you need over and over again in your head so you remember what to pick up at the store. We do this because repetition is a helpful strategy for remembering or memorizing information. 

Moses used this strategy as he authored Genesis.

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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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