rebelling against low expectations
I watched from the back of the room as people sat, knelt, stood, sang and prayed at all the right times. From my vantage point, it looked like a performance. “These people are so legalistic,” I thought to myself. Suddenly I felt a stab of conviction. I could not see the hearts of these people. How could I tell whether they were just going through the motions or truly worshiping the...
Do you ever feel like you’re the only one trying to do the right thing? Maybe you’re striving for purity, but you’re easily discouraged after seeing your classmates’ seductive Instagram posts. Maybe you’re aspiring to have a cheerful attitude while you’re doing your chores, but you’re the only one that cares enough to try. Maybe you’re attempting to do your best on your math homework, but your...
I cringed as I went to answer the phone at work for what felt like the hundredth time that day. Customers had been anything but easy on this particular afternoon, and I was way past ready to go home. Masking my frustration with a smile, I greeted the customer on the phone. Ugh. This was an especially difficult customer. No matter where you work, you’re bound to have days like this. When I think...
I shivered as I read. I knew that many of Christ’s apostles and early disciples were heavily persecuted; but I wasn’t prepared for the gruesome deaths detailed on the pages before me. I closed my eyes, but couldn’t remove the gory pictures from my mind. Stoned. Fed to lions. Burned as torches. And worse. Would you do it for me, Anna? I hesitated. Tears filled my eyes. Lord, I don’t know if I...
The good life. What comes to mind when you hear these words? What do you picture? Maybe vacations, or smiles, or putting your feet up and taking a nap, or tons of money. I think of waking up each morning with a smile and loving words from others. Or maybe you’re also practical, and you think of the good life as being a place without any pain. No sickness, no death, no suffering. I also wish this...
Youth is an exciting time of our lives. We have flexibility, strength, passion and energy. There is an excitement as you wonder what you are going to accomplish, what you will reform in the world around you, whom you will meet, and what career you will work toward. Maybe you are like me, passionate for Jesus, ready to do something big for Him–but then you hear the hard, yet refining, answer...
Recently, we’ve published quite a few articles on TheReb about faithfulness in the small things. Different teen authors have tackled the idea of what it means to be faithful in the everyday services which are no less important or less glorifying to God, but can nevertheless feel mundane or even boring. You could call it a rebuke of society or culture or the unrealistic expectations placed on...
“You can have it all, Lord Every part of my world, Take this life and breath on this heart that is now Yours…” The beginning words to the song “Have it All” immediately had me thinking. Do we really know what it means to say “You can have it all?” I was laying down on my bed one day, reading my Bible in Matt 5:11, which says “Blessed are you when men...
rebelling against low expectations
