ni-KA-ō (verb): "of Christians who hold fast to their faith in Christ, even unto death, against all foes, temptations & persecutions"
As the Lord would have it, my kidney was a perfect match for a friend of mine who had been on dialysis for almost six years. That kidney is now in her body-- dialysis, joyfully a thing of the past. The incisions and super glue are still fresh on both our abdomens. In fact, neither … Continue reading Blessing & Responsibility: Two Sides of the Same Coin
We hear the word all the time in all its various forms. Maybe so often that we hardly notice anymore how inconsistent and vague this theological idea really is. Even for those who use it as a way to proudly but subtly identify as Christians, it's often used in ways that actually misrepresent scripture. Blessings … Continue reading Your “Blessings” Declare a Theology: But is it Christian?
What just happened? I know there is a lot of commentary going around about this bill, but what I haven't seen is an easy way for us to read this bill ourselves. It's actually a lot shorter than you might expect! If you're among the many out there talking about this bill, give yourself the … Continue reading Read the NY Abortion Bill Here (Has the Pro-Choice Movement Just Shot Itself in the Foot?)
In the raging media world, we rarely recognize the root of any particular issue anymore. "Debates" (if you could call them that) are really just individual people jumping straight to fear-based buzz words with final opinions of right vs. wrong, good vs. evil-- each bringing with them an expectation of sharing their own monologue before … Continue reading Abortion Debate Tactics: Finding the Root Issue and Why It Matters
Weird word, right? I had personally never heard of it before, either. That is, until I was going through the book of Revelation back in 2017. It was unlike my other readings of the book because this time, I had come to deeply appreciate some of the interlinear resources out there like Blue Letter Bible … Continue reading What is Nikaō?
The Conflict: Many of the current controversies and divisions our nation is experiencing seems to stem from a massive collision of differing worldviews. No surprise there. On one side, we have Christians trying to keep our nation on what they would call "the narrow path." As a Christian myself, I understand the desire. Who wouldn't … Continue reading Can a Democratic Nation Actually Be “Christian”?
A quick disclaimer: I'm writing in full acknowledgement that some "Christians" are just jerks. They're definitely out there. While no one is perfect, there's a massive difference between a self-professing Christian who seems to enjoy heartlessly pointing out other people's sin without acknowledging their own and a Christian who is gently defending or presenting their … Continue reading The Opportunity in Being Called “Self-Righteous”
For a long time, I've heard thoughtful and honest people react to close encounters with poverty and hardship with something to the effect of, "It really makes me thankful for what I have." Maybe they're on day two of a short term mission trip to a majority-world country, or on their way home from serving … Continue reading Ignorance Disguised as Thankfulness
There's a genuine struggle deep down within our human nature that wrestles between our personal convictions and the desire to be collectively agreeable. What I mean by that is this: we have a beautiful gift of being able to find common ground with anyone, so it's not surprising that we have the tendency to drift … Continue reading Fundamentally Different, Superficially Similar: Why All Religions Can’t Be True
Chapter 1"Where did God come from?" People toss this question out there like it's the Ace of Spades-- like it's some sort of trump card against Christianity, proving their alternative beliefs are more logical than "that horrific children's story" found in the Bible. I guess I can't really blame anyone. With so much information out … Continue reading Bad Scientists and the Question, “Where Did God Come From?”
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