rebelling against low expectations
Lately, God has been teaching me about his character, especially his overwhelming faithfulness. I say overwhelming because every time I try to understand it I get…well, overwhelmed. It’s one of the craziest and most amazing things I’ve ever known. He’s also been teaching me about my character—especially my unfaithfulness to him. Distracted Again I have a tendency to get distracted...
Most of you probably know the hymn, “Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus.” Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face And the things of this world will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace. Often, we sing hymns and read verses, but don’t grasp their magnitude and significance. The words of this hymn recently hit me. If you are fixing your gaze on Jesus, all the things of...
What if? Few phrases in English are so full of possibility, fear, and anticipation. What if I finish that project? What if I don’t? What if I achieve that goal? What if I fail? What if everything somehow goes right? What if something terrible happens tomorrow? Tomorrow—it’s all in the future. And with all of tomorrow’s possibilities come all its fears. Tomorrow everything could be wonderful...
“The Bible was written 800 years after Jesus lived, and by no one who knew him!” the comment declared. I squinted at it, mentally typing out a cheerily sarcastic response: “Well, if we drop a zero off that number, and totally ignore the fact that Matthew was an apostle, you’d be almost right!” Troll comments are easy to find–people who confidently throw out accusations against the Bible, the...
“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands…” If you live in America, these words are undoubtedly familiar to you, but sometimes they can seem rote and meaningless. When you recite the Pledge of Allegiance, do you really think about your liberty and our country’s values? It may be hard when our country has values like abortion, racism...
In a 24/7 world, it can be easy to overlook rest. We are constantly encouraged to multitask, consume large amounts of caffeine to maximize our buzz time, and calculate how to manipulate our circadian rhythm so we can give ourselves more hours each day to work. Even we, as Christians, get caught up in the world’s idea that we should always be working, and rest is a burden, not a blessing. But, are...
Daniel was a man of obstinate integrity. A rebel at heart, he dared to defy one of the most powerful empires in history in a successful effort to obey God. Though Daniel was just a youth when brought as captive from Israel to serve in Nebuchadnezzar’s palace, he understood the invaluable importance of living a holy life despite the moral deterioration of his pagan surroundings and even that of...
Corrie ten Boom is known for rescuing hundreds of Jews during WW2 through her work in the Dutch underground. Telling this incredible story in The Hiding Place, she begins slow, with glimpses into her childhood, her life as a young adult trying to navigate her future, and the years preceding the Nazi occupation of Holland. What is remarkable is how the lessons from these times, as Corrie frames...
It was the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. A group of Chinese rebels began to persecute Christians and foreigners. One day, they surrounded a mission station with nearly 100 students inside and blocked all the exits except one. Laying a cross flat on the ground outside that exit, they spread the word that anyone who trampled the cross would go free. Slowly, terribly frightened, the first few students...
All throughout the Bible, God appointed and chose people that were lowly in the eyes of the world to accomplish His will. One such example is Mary. Mary was just a normal girl, living in the city of Nazareth and betrothed to Joseph. Her age isn’t known, but it’s assumed that she was a teenager. I’m sure Mary had her own plans and expectations for how her life would go, until an angel appeared to...
rebelling against low expectations
