Keeping the Sabbath is Not Part of a Holy Checklist
What seems like an age-old debate is whether or not Christians should work on Sunday. It would seem that doing so is in direct violation of the fourth commandment of “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” (Exodus 20:8). While I cannot even begin to present a...
How Being Charitable May Not Mean What You Think it Does
My earliest memories of the concept of being charitable go back to probably first or second grade. I had attended mass with my mom. Afterwards, they handed out unassembled boxes to the churchgoers as they left. Mom explained to me that we were expected to go home,...
The Fatal Flaws Found in The Greatest Of Sinners
I am the biggest sinner. That’s not a title I wear with any sense of pride, however. I wear the title with shame and humility. But the bigger question, though, is why I am the biggest sinner? The answer to that is rooted in the study of Edwards’s resolution...
The Christian Walk And Its Life Transforming Nature
The idea of a Christian Walk is bandied about in many ways. It most often alludes to how a person is maturing – how they are growing and developing – as a Christian. When people speak of the “Christian Walk,” they usually follow it with a church word like...
Hell on Earth and the Webs in Which We Exist
“Chad, every day can be a literal hell on earth, and it will never even begin to compare to the joys of heaven.” A good friend of mine shared this little bit of wisdom with me many years ago, and I have not once forgotten it. It’s been a refrain of perseverance during...
Your Kingdom Come And The Multitude Of Nations Who Shall Enter It
In modeling the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to seek “Your Kingdom Come.” This is probably viewed by most as a bringing of Heaven to earth. In other words, it’s something we long for in a future tense. What is forgotten or ignored, though, is the present perspective...
What Should I Do When I Am Doubting God’s Love?
Doubting God’s love is something I suspect we all can relate to feeling. I know I personally go through seasons of spiritual idleness. And I, like Edwards and many other people, suffer bouts of depression. The feeling of hopelessness is a sentiment I know as well as...
Can We Forget About Theology And Just Learn About God?
This will hurt (and perhaps offend) some people, but I’ll get right to the point: I hate the word “theology.” It’s a super churchy word that probably keeps more people from God rather than drawing them closer to him. The very moment I hear the word, I get visions of...
Are You Okay Wasting Time When You Can Be a Part of Something Bigger?
He feared he was wasting time. It was New Year’s Eve in 1972 and Roberto Clemente boarded a plane intended to bring aid to Nicaragua following a terrible earthquake. It was overloaded, but was determined to get supplies to the quarter-million lives that were now...
Our Family Honor May Already Be at Stake – so Don’t Be Chicken
In the beginning, family honor is a mere afterthought to Marty McFly, the main character of hit movie trilogy, Back to the Future. Personal honor, on the other hand, is obviously important to Marty. Whenever he is called “chicken” or it’s even suggested, he refuses to...