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Processing, Praying, and Practicing

Two weeks ago, I got the text from my sister in the family group chat: “Charlie Kirk died.” First came shock. Next came hope in God’s ability to use this for his glory. Then heartbreak and anger. I’ve been juggling all these emotions for the last two weeks. Underlying all of this has been an angst, which I can only describe as the weight of glory. I wholeheartedly believe that this world is not my home. I believe in eternity; I believe Charlie Kirk lived boldly for Jesus and is now enjoying eternity with Jesus. Charlie must have felt the weight of glory too. He received death threats on a weekly basis, but he refused to back down. He continued to share his Christian faith and the values that flow naturally from his faith, even though the world hated him for it. He was not foolish; he had a security team, and from what I’ve heard they were very good. But when it was suggested he move his campus events indoors, he refused because he wanted as many people as possible to be able to...
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We The People: Should Christians Engage in Politics?

Yes, of course they should. I have heard it said that Christians should not engage in politics because:           God’s kingdom is not of this world           Separation of church and state           Jesus didn’t have a political party But here’s the thing: we are called to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13). How do we do this unless we engage in the world around us? And how are we to hate what is evil and cling to what is good (Romans 12:9) if we just sit idly by? God’s kingdom is not of this world… True, but our purpose in this world is not to sit and wait for heaven. Our purpose is to glorify God and fulfill the Great Commission. The political sphere is an important way we can do this! God calls us to be stewards of what He has given us, and our country is something He has given us to love, protect, and give over to God’s sovereignty. Separation of church and state… This argument comes from a m...
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When Leaders Fall

What if I stumble, what if I fall? What if I lose my step And I make fools of us all? Will the love continue When my walk becomes a crawl? What if I stumble And what if I fall?   If you’re not familiar, these are lyrics from a song from 90s contemporary Christian music band dc Talk. I loved dc Talk. They had overtly Christian lyrics and they incorporated different genres of music including rock, rap, hip hop, and R&B. The members of the trio were gifted musicians who each brought something unique to the table, resulting in so many amazing songs. dc Talk members Tobymac, Kevin Smith, and Michael Tait went their separate ways in 2000. So where are they now? Tobymac-you may have heard of him-I think he’s had a decent career as a Christian rap artist. Kevin Smith is in the exvangelical camp-fully deconstructed, self-proclaimed universalist. And then there’s Michael Tait…oh Tait… Michael Tait became the lead singer of Newsboys in 2009 and continued in that role u...
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The Chosen (Spoiler Alert-Unless You’ve Read the Bible)

 Did anyone catch that episode of The Chosen last night? I’m referring to season 5 episode 2 “House of Cards.” This episode depicts the famous moment when Jesus enters the temple in Jerusalem and knocks over the tables of the money changers. I have read the gospels multiple times and was fully aware of this story before I watched the episode, but to be honest I never really pictured it happening that way. I thought, “A whip? Really? Did Jesus actually use a whip in any of the gospels ever?” Yes, he did. John 2:13-16 says, “The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.” Okay, I have a lot of Bible-learning to do…and I always will. Many like to paint Jesus as a gentle, peace-...
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My Dad Never Gave Me Over as a Burnt Offering to the LORD, But That’s Okay

 I’ll be honest, even though I’ve read the Bible several times, the story told in Judges 11:29-40 never caught my attention until I started listening to the Bible on Audible last year. “Wait, what? Did Jephthah really just offer his daughter as a burnt offering to the LORD?” I read it over and over trying to figure out what it even means. Did Jephthah actually kill his daughter? If so, why does it seem like she’s okay with it, just sad to be dying a virgin? And why is Jephthah later listed in the Hall of Faith? (See Hebrews 11:32-34) The thing is, we don’t really know what happened to Jephthah’s daughter. However, there are some clues from the text that indicate she was likely dedicated to God to live out her days as a virgin. (See this article from Stand to Reason for more about this story: https://www.str.org/w/did-jephthah-kill-his-daughter-to-fulfill-a-vow-to-god- ) The point is, not every story in the Bible is meant to tell us how to live our lives. When reading the Bibl...
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So...What's Next?

  In my last post I explained the basic gospel story: Creation: God’s first (and greatest) miracle, a display of his love for mankind Fall: Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God brought sin into the world, which caused separation between God and man Redemption: God sent his son Jesus to redeem mankind through his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. All we have to do is believe in Him, and we will be saved. But this isn’t the end of the story! After his resurrection, Jesus spent forty more days on Earth then ascended into heaven. Before his ascension, Jesus left us with a purpose and a promise. The Church “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20) Many people think of the church as the place they go on Sunday mornings or on Christmas and Ea...
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Let's Start at the Very Beginning...What is the Gospel?

 Nowadays we hear people talk about the gospel in a variety of ways. If you look at social media, you can see all kinds of different explanations for the gospel, what it is, and what it means. Family, friends, news articles, tv, books, etc. can all have different ways of talking about it. This can lead to so much confusion! What is the gospel really? How do we understand it from a historical Christian perspective? Put simply, the word gospel means “good news.” But why do we care if there’s good news? Because there’s bad news. Because of our own sin, we are separated from God. We have rebelled against his design and are hopelessly lost without Him. But it wasn’t always like this… Let’s start at the very beginning Creation “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The first miracle. What a beautiful display of God’s power! God shows His love for mankind in this story. He first created day and night, the sky, the earth, plants, and animals before...
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