Standing Strong

Love can't stay silent. That was the focus of Audacity, a movie put out by Ray Comfort, who goes to the city streets of California and talks to people about Jesus. In this particular movie, a young man has a nightmare that leads to a lesbian couple who die because he didn't warn them of an oncoming danger. He then goes to the Bible to search for answers to find out how he can witness to homosexuals. In the end, we find that true love is not letting someone die in their sin, but speaking out in love what the Bible says about their sin. "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."  -John 13:35 Love does not just sit by and do nothing while a friend is in eternal danger. No, love speaks the truth. Ephesians 4:15 says, "...we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church." Christians, we cannot sit back and let our friends, family, cowork...

Dear Churches, I have been sad to see how many people are leaving your buildings. You say that the reason people are leaving is because they are not hungry for spiritual food. Instead they are seeking out what the world has to give them. I regret to inform you that I think you are wrong. While some may be seeking the world instead of God, not all are. I believe people are hungry spiritually, but unfortunately, they are not being fed properly by your "church." You say that the reason people are leaving is the rest of the world's fault. The world is feeding people garbage, and these people are falling into that trap. They are not hungry spiritually anymore because they are being fed garbage. But you are wrong. While the world is feeding us garbage, not everyone is falling into this trap. Just because someone is not attending your "church" does not mean they are stepping away from their faith. You say that it is the media's fault. The media is painting...

Anxiety. It pulls at you. It pulls with all its strength. You feel like you are being pulled down, down, down, into a never ending dark pit, like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. Anxiety.  The word itself makes my palms sweaty, and puts butterflies in my stomach. I get all jittery. I have come to realize that I deal with anxiety a lot. And instead of hiding it, I have decided to just come out with it, because hiding it makes me even more anxious. I become anxious over the big things and the small things. I get anxious about making decisions. I get anxious about buying things. I get anxious over money. I get anxious in certain social interactions, when I start believing the other person is thinking judgmental things about me. I get anxious about the future. I get anxious about almost everything. Anxiety is just fear. That's all it is. Well, I get tired of being anxious all the time. Letting anxiety take over is exhausting....

The room was dead silent. We all looked at our professor, who had tears in his eyes. "I beg you," he said, looking at each one of us, "Don't be half-in. Either get all the way in, or get out."  I will always remember that day. You see, that man was my Christian Ministries professor in college about two years ago, and he commanded us to make a decision. Either we loved God and wanted to obey Him, or we didn't. We either needed to serve God or just forget the whole thing. We shouldn't be in-between serving Him and then not serving Him. I thought that day would change me. It kept me inspired for a while, but then I fell back into the same old routine: Half-heartedly loving God. What I mean by half-heartedly loving God is this: sometimes praying, but usually only when I needed something. Worshipping, but only when I felt like it. Reading the Bible, but only when I was going through a rough time and needed encouragement.  I'm so...

"You've gotta know how to treat me like a lady, even when I'm acting crazy, and tell me everything's alright." Do you recognize these song lyrics? If you guessed "Dear Future Husband" by secular pop artist Meghan Trainor, you guessed right. I came across this song while listening to her song "Better When I'm Dancing," which she performed for the Peanuts movie (because I love the Peanuts movie, and listen to the soundtrack all the time). YouTube was on auto play, and "Dear Future Husband" was the next song on the playlist. If you're listening to it for the first time, you'll probably notice how upbeat and fun the song is (I did anyway). I thought it was cute and sweet that she was singing about her future husband. But after I listened to it a second time, I paid more attention to the lyrics. Needless to say, I became disturbed. If you don't know the song, she is essentially listing the things her future husband ...

Recently, my mom told me that she felt as though 2017 was the year God wanted her to deal with some of her pet peeves. After she told me that, I started feeling the same way. My mom and I Googled the definition of "pet peeve." This is what we found: pet peeve noun informal noun: pet peeve ; plural noun: pet peeves something that a particular person finds especially annoying. "one of my biggest pet peeves is poor customer service"   We ALL have pet peeves. I have many pet peeves. Like when I find two open jugs of milk in the fridge. Or driving behind a school bus when I am already running late for work. Or when customers tell me how to do MY job.   These are only small pet peeves of mine, but I also have a few big ones that actually matter a whole lot more than the others.   One of my biggest pet peeves is this: When a pastor/youth pastor/elder/minister/worship leader/missionary says,...

Who are you when everyone is watching you? Who are you when no one is watching you? (Or so you think.) Who are you when you hang out with friends (or enemies)? Who are you when you spend time with your family? Who are you when you worship in front of others? Who are you when you worship by yourself? Who are you when you talk with other believers? Who are you when you talk with nonbelievers? Who are you when you confront a friend? Who are you when a friend confronts you? Who are you in front of your teacher, pastor, or youth leader? Who are you in front of your parents? Who are you in front of the opposite gender? Who are you in front of your spouse? Who are you when your friend wants to hang out with you? Who are you when your sibling wants to hang out with you? Who are you when you serve others at work? Who are you when you serve your family at home? Who are you when your work manager watches you? Who are you when they don't? Who are you when you go t...