Christian Life & Theology Archives - Page 22 of 53

God is Glorified in Your Loneliness

Aug 28, 2017 | Christian Life & Theology

Loneliness is a human condition – not relegated to singleness, but present in marriage, motherhood, work, and home as we experience seasons of relational and spiritual drought. We want it to go away, and for good reason. The gnawing feeling of “aloneness” is uncomfortable. But when we rush through these seasons, desperate for them to end, we’re missing out on their purpose.

Your loneliness can glorify God. In fact, when this trial – because that’s what loneliness is – is permitted to accomplish its full work, loneliness always points to the goodness and glory of Jesus Christ.

Why You Should Do What You’re Good At – Not Just What You Love

Aug 22, 2017 | Christian Life & Theology

“Follow your heart” – this is Disney’s recommendation for those seeking life direction. But it’s not just Disney; it’s the kindergarten curriculum and the children’s books, the songs on the radio and graduation cards. When choosing a life path, we’re supposed to “do what we love” – because if we’re doing what we love, we’ve found our calling. Right?

Six years of my career was spent in higher education, five of those years as a college counselor. As I sit down with parents and students, some starry-eyed and optimistic, others uncertain and under pressure, I frequently come back to the “Disney lie”: That doing what you love is the ticket to success, and that success – in and of itself – will lead to long term happiness.

How to Prepare Your Heart to Accept God’s Will

Aug 9, 2017 | Christian Life & Theology

God’s will and our desires don’t always coincide. Yesterday I talked about the reality of this in my own life; how our waiting season has tested our desires against our faith. And though we do not grieve and wait as those who have no hope (1 Thess. 4:13), the knowledge that God answers according to His sovereign will, not always according to our ideas, can be frightening at times.

It behooves us, then, to prepare our hearts to accept God’s will – no matter what His answer may be.

Keeping the Faith in Lonely Seasons

Aug 8, 2017 | Christian Life & Theology

I look out the window of the plane and the desert landscape falls away from me. The few days I spent in Oregon last week encouraged, refreshed, and equipped my heart for the unknown days ahead – days of waiting, praying, and expecting great things of our good, good, Father.

But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid. Josh and I have now been facing a very difficult family situation for almost six weeks. We continue to pray, to seek, to knock – but even in the seeking and the knocking we know that God is sovereign, and His timing is not ours. The thing we’re asking for is good. But we have yet to receive an answer to our prayers.

When the Body You Have Isn’t the Body You Want

Jul 31, 2017 | Christian Life & Theology

I will never have a “thigh gap”.

My body is physically incapable of producing this cultural phenomenon. My hips are too narrow, my quads are too big – and no amount of working out and eating well can change that. If anything, working out makes my already-big quads even bigger, my already-broad shoulders broader, and the whispy, ectomorph body that much more unattainable for my athletic build.

Why the Six Pack Abs Won’t Ever Be Enough

Jul 17, 2017 | Christian Life & Theology

I tried to diet and exercise my body into submission, but I could never arrive at a place of contentment. I went through my twenties thinking a man’s love might help me feel better. But, all my comparing only seem to exacerbate once we said, “I do.”
Naively, I assumed that some day, I’d be free from all my comparison struggles. And, I thought that day would come when I changed my title to, “Mom.”

I Feel Like a Less-Than Christian

Jul 10, 2017 | Christian Life & Theology

Do you ever feel like an inadequate Christian? You don’t read enough, pray enough, or serve enough in the kingdom of God. I recently heard from a reader in response to the Overcomer’s E-Course. She said she often feels like a “less-than” Christian; like she never does enough in her walk with God.

I sense she’s not alone. Our spiritual enemy works daily to integrate his lies into our lives. One of those lies comes wrapped in a shroud of faith and good works: the lie that being a believer is a one-time decision, and that the rest of life is up to us.

All Laziness is Spiritual Laziness

Jun 13, 2017 | Christian Life & Theology

In my 5-day Overcomer’s Email Course, I never fail to get a response on Day Three’s email: laziness. “Oh man, this is my struggle,” the emails pour in. “It’s so hard to motivate myself to do what I need to do each day!” Laziness is no stranger to us. Even the most productive people have sneaky ways to be lazy if they let themselves; little distractions and insignificant tasks they use to procrastinate what really matters. But we don’t talk much about laziness in the church because – much like gossip or physical boundaries – we don’t see it as a spiritual problem.

This is Why You Can’t Overcome Temptation

Jun 12, 2017 | Christian Life & Theology

As a young “Christian”, my walk with God was little more than trying to follow rules. Trying to overcome temptation was an uphill battle against an ever-prefailing human self. I spent my Bible study trying to memorize the “lists” of Christian character qualities in the New Testament – then attempted to implement those virtues on my own strength. It’s no surprise I failed to overcome temptation – my walk with God wasn’t much to speak of, since God wasn’t very much part of it at all!

A Pregnant Student is Not the Problem

Jun 5, 2017 | Christian Life & Theology, Sexuality

This weekend I read Maddi Runkles’ story: How she discovered she was pregnant her senior year of high school, confessed to her school, and consequential to the sexual sin that caused the pregnancy was not allowed to attend classes or walk in their graduation (though she did receive a diploma). I then read the statement by Heritage Academy – why they dealt with a pregnant student in the manner they did.

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