rebelling against low expectations
It’s that time of year again, time for the low-grade heresies. They appear everywhere: in your mailbox, in your inbox, and even underneath that Instagram picture box. They’re unavoidable. If you are a teen, have a friend who has teens, or even are on the internet, you’ve seen them. Now perhaps I’m not quite being fair, perhaps heresy is too strong a word, but nonetheless, these things still don’t...
Memorizing Scripture was a big part of my life growing up. And by “big”, I mean I committed a few thousand verses to memory while competing in a Bible Quizzing league in my late teens. It may sound crazy (it definitely seemed impossible to me when I started), but devoting entire books of the Bible to memory almost word-perfectly is possible. It just takes time and dedication. But you...
I don’t know about you, but I’m not a runner. When I raced with my friends as a kid, I always came in last. But in February 2019, I decided to start exercising again to build up my endurance. I was down on the treadmill every day, averaging around three thousand steps a day. Nothing was going to stop me. Later that month, we went on vacation and I got over ten thousand steps, three days in a row...
Water–the thing we all need and yet we often take for granted. With taps, faucets, and bottles of it all about us, we hardly ever consider its availability. But when it is scare, it becomes the most important thing. When you live in Arkansas a small running creek is no big deal; when you live in West Texas it’s a small miracle. Last time, we discussed how God’s Word is like water, and how...
Sometimes, devotions are great. You sit down with your Bible (and coffee, if that’s your thing) as morning light filters through the window and read a few chapters or dig deep into one passage. You write out the beautiful, powerful truths you’re learning in your journal. You spend time in prayer, praising God for his goodness, overflowing with thankfulness and dependence on him. Other times, you...
Reason and emotion. People often think of these two things as opposites, or maybe even extremes, where you should choose one and discard the other. Some people regard reason as superior, while others hold emotion as more important. Some people have passionate zeal for God and the ministry, but they have no true knowledge about God. “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not...
Lately I’ve been reading Psalms 146-150—the last five chapters in the book of Psalms. These psalms have a unique format—they each begin and end with the phrase, “Praise the LORD!” In between are all the reasons that he is worthy to be praised. While reading these Psalms, I’ve noticed five things they teach us about praising God. 1. Praise is repetitive. Some people criticize modern...
“Would you rather die or burn your Bible?” A couple years ago, a group of middle-schoolers started an online debate about this topic. It turned out to be an interesting—and controversial—subject. Different students came from different perspectives, and some of the answers were surprising. But it always came down to one of two options. Option #1: Burn my Bible I found some students...
How do you react when you hear someone talk about Bible memorization? I know for a lot of us, it’s with a vague feeling of guilt. I should probably do that. I should probably do that more. What stops us from memorizing God’s word? There are lots of reasons. I’m not good at memorizing. I can’t remember anything. I don’t have time. I’m going to do that…...
I have a confession: I have always skipped over most of the Old Testament. The Psalms are good and the Proverbs offer very interesting tidbits that I feel are very applicable. But what about books like Leviticus and Deuteronomy? I believed everything else was true, and the history and stories were great, but I didn’t think they had much application to my daily life. They were just for the...
rebelling against low expectations
