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Peace

In Blog, Book Reviews, Spiritual Growth on
December 28, 2020

Chasing Perfect

I’ve never really been the kind of person that makes New Year’s resolutions. I’m convinced it’s because I’m a perfectionist, and I know that I won’t keep my resolutions perfectly. Perhaps you can relate. According to U.S. News & World Report, eighty percent of New Year’s resolutions fail by mid-February.[1] We can resolve to eat better, exercise regularly, or be the best mom, wife, or student possible, but what is the point? The odds are that we’ll fail within two months, leaving us more empty and exhausted than we were before. We’re attempting to chase perfection, yet it seems like we’re destined to fall short.

In Alisha Illian’s book Chasing Perfect, she reminds us that we are not perfect and that nothing we can do will ever be enough for us to achieve this perfection that we seek. Instead of pursuing resolutions, she encourages her readers to chase after something, or rather Someone, who is truly perfect-

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In Bible Study, Blog, Psalm on
December 7, 2020

God is Within Her, Will She Fall?

“God is within her, she will not fall.”

You’ve probably heard this phrase before. You’ve seen it on flowery Pinterest graphics and on pink t-shirts in pretty calligraphy, or perhaps it was the keynote message of a women’s ministry event or conference you attended. It sounds like a good, biblical message. God is with us and in us. Therefore, we cannot fall. We cannot fail. We can do anything. It’s a very uplifting and empowering message for women in particular.

But is this message biblical? Is it actually found in the Bible? Yes and no.

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In Blog, Names of God, Theology on
October 19, 2020

He is Jehovah Shalom

Richard Wurmbrand was an evangelical pastor who began an “underground” ministry for oppressed believers in 1940s Communist Romania. He was arrested twice and spent over thirteen years being tortured in prison. When he later testified about this in the U.S., the Communist regime of Romania made plans to assassinate him. Wurmbrand didn’t let this threat silence him, and he went on to start The Voice of the Martyrs organization, which serves and assists persecuted Christians all around the globe.[1]

Christians, similar to Richard Wurmbrand, are threatened, persecuted, imprisoned, and killed on a daily basis because of their faith all over the world. While we, as Christians in the United States, don’t encounter near the level of persecution other international believers do, it does seem like our nation is becoming more and more hostile towards Christians and biblical ideals. In today’s world, it’s difficult for us to always stand up for our faith! We fear what people will think of us or do to us. Gideon, one of the judges God sent to Israel, feared the same thing.

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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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In Bible Study, Blog, Mark on
July 27, 2020

The Anger of Jesus

Is it a sin to be angry? No, of course not. The Bible clearly teaches that it is okay to be angry, to feel anger, as long as we aren’t quick to anger (Ecclesiastes 7:9, James 1:19) and don’t sin in our anger (Ephesians 4:26). And if I were to ask you for an example in the Bible that proves that it is okay to be angry, a vast majority of you would probably all give me the same example – the story of Jesus cleansing the temple. The story of Jesus storming into the temple, flipping over tables, and chasing the money-changers away.

Though this is a very well-known biblical story, many people do not understand its real meaning. Throughout the years, I’ve heard people justify their own unrighteous anger by saying, “Well, Jesus got angry, too!” And in recent times, I’ve seen many social media posts using this story to justify the violence and rage that spread across the country because “it was all for a good cause.”

We can’t just use this story of Jesus’ anger to justify our actions. We need to take a good look at the account and study the passage in context so that we can unearth its true meaning and apply that true meaning to our lives.

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