rebelling against low expectations
Do you ever find yourself retreating into yourself around your friends, watching everything you say, and only putting out what you feel will be accepted by them? Are you depressingly aware of your shortcomings and afraid to let go of your public persona? Are you afraid to let yourself be known fully? With Christ, we can be completely ourselves. In fact, He commands us to. The God Who tells us...
If you had been my shadow during the summer of my twelfth year, you would have seen me weeping alone many times. Throughout the day, I yearned for night so I could be oblivious of my thoughts while I slept, yet as I lay in bed at night I longed for daytime distractions. Why? Because even though I had accepted Jesus as a young child, had been baptized, and wanted to serve Him, I feared that maybe...
How should you handle doubt? How can you know God’s Word is true? What about deconstruction? Sean McDowell has spent years studying God’s Word and building a strong case for Christianity…yet even he has wrestled with questions and doubts. In this episode, Sean talks about the biggest issues teens are facing today, the best way to handle your doubts, and how to navigate hard conversations with...
Is doubting sinful? Have you ever asked this question? If so, you’re not alone. It’s an important question because doubt is inevitable in the human experience. Therefore, Christians should ponder the question and seek to find out if God condones his people to have doubts. If so, to what extent? What are the boundaries if doubt in itself is not sinful? What should God’s people do with their doubts...
Several years ago I got sick. The thing about this sickness was that I didn’t get better. Days dragged into weeks and weeks dragged into months until the months turned into years. Still there was no sure end in sight. Some days are harder than others. My illness plays games with my brain and I start to forget things and feel like the world is closing in on me. I get confused and it is hard for me...
Growing up, my father was never physically absent. I never wondered if he would come home at night. But throughout my childhood, he was mentally and spiritually absent. As a child, I felt his absence deeply. I longed for a relationship with him. I lived to please him. When he was home, I followed him around like a puppy dog. I waited desperately for the day he would finally finish all the things...
Imagine being with the disciples after the death and burial of Jesus. They had spent three years coming to know and love this Man. He had taught them, laughed with them, cried with them–he had done life with them. Not only this, but they had given up everything for him. They had left behind their trades, families, and the lifestyles they’d known to follow the One they believed to be the...
The three of us eat lunch surrounded by blue walls and an even bluer sky. Moments before, as I walked my class to the cafeteria, a student asked if she and her friend could talk to me about “something important”. And now I find myself in the center of an elementary school at a red table with two ten-year-olds. Between bites of food, the student (whom I will call Ella) explains what is weighing on...
Living the Christian life isn’t easy. When you’ve been a Christian for a short or long period of time doubts can creep in. Maybe God isn’t really there for me all the time. Maybe he doesn’t really care for me. What if God doesn’t really answer my prayers? You may have doubts just like these and others similar that can be really difficult to shut down. It’s hard to debate all the doubts that we...
rebelling against low expectations
