rebelling against low expectations
What am I going to do with my life? No doubt you’ve asked yourself this question many times over. I, myself, am graduating in June, and I have yet to form a solid plan about my post-highschool life. Until recently, this concerned me greatly. Maybe you’re like me and notice a lot of your peers have already applied to colleges and have been accepted. And seeing things like this, maybe it’s adding...
Sometimes my obedience to God comes with a side of pride. For example, if I speak graciously when angry words are at the tip of my tongue or get out of bed to spend time in the Word even when 6:30am seems much too early for anything, instead of praising God for giving me the strength to do those things, I give myself a pat on the back. Thinking this way flows so easily into comparison. As I creep...
In many of his letters, Paul uses a word that might sound scary or too theological for the everyday Christian. This word is sanctification. While sanctification may not be a word we use everyday, it is something that’s for all believers. If this is true, what role do we play in our own sanctification, if any? Romans 6 will be our guide in understanding the balance between the status and...
“But I don’t want to eat it,” whispered my younger self to my dad who was sitting next to me. On my lap sat a bowl of the later branded ‘chicken poop soup’ in all its grotesque congealed glory. The chunks of chicken intestine were not cleaned, so paired with the cooked feces, it radiated a wretched odor. “You have to,” dad whispered back, spooning some for himself. “It would be disrespectful not...
Day one at my first internship had a rocky start. I was so excited and nervous I wasn’t thinking straight, and I fumbled over the elevator buttons to get to the second floor! After struggling for a while, a facilities worker who was in the elevator graciously pushed the correct button and got me to the second floor. Thankfully, the rest of my first day got better from there, and that internship...
Stop feeding us pizza. Okay, I admit that was a strange way to start an article with such an intense title – but it got your attention, didn’t it? Now, let’s talk about Generation Z and the future of the Church within America. Culture Shift in the Church There is no denying the shift in the culture, but it seems not many understand what that looks like for this generation of teenagers. Otherwise...
I love theology. This complex book we call the Bible never ceases to intrigue me. I love to dissect difficult passages, discuss x-y-z biblical doctrines, and debate controversial issues. But there is one idea that I cling to more than any other. It’s not one of those secondary theological stances I like to hash out with my friends, such as nonviolence or free will. It’s way too sacred...
7 A.M. rolled around, and I felt fresh. God’s words were alive. Ideas flowed fast. I would dig through Scripture until something caught my eye that I could carry to my desk, and then I spent an hour typing up pages in my pajamas. Those pages worked nicely for Sunday blog posts. I sometimes wondered if a big Christian website might peek at them. And do you know what? Being a young Christian writer...
Recently, I wrote about how important it is to serve despite any lies the devil might feed us (find that article here). As I pondered the topic more, I thought about the situation the world is in at the moment. Many of you may be thinking that yes, serving sounds great, but how do I do that now? If the last article covered serving in theory, this one covers one aspect of how to put this into...
Doing the dishes, going shopping for an elderly church member, or tidying up a Sunday-school room. All this is serving. Serving is usually done in the hidden. Often, it is the “dirty jobs” or jobs done behind the scenes. On the surface, serving is as easy as picking up a broom and sweeping up after a meal–and yet, I so often see that many teens shrink back from taking the initiative when it...
rebelling against low expectations
