What Does It Mean to Rely on God?

Ask any Christian if they need to rely on God, and they’re most likely going to say yes. Of course we need to rely on God! We can’t get through life on our own. We need help from Him as we encounter the many situations and decisions that come our way, both big and small. In marriage, parenting, work, and everything else, we must be actively relying on God’s strength and power. 

Well, that’s great, as far as it goes. But how do we DO that? “Relying on God” can become just another Christianese phrase that we all say but few of us know how to achieve. And knowing you need to rely on God is not the same as actually doing it (something I didn’t start to understand until recently). What does it look like, practically speaking? 

The primary way we can rely on God is through prayer. For those of us who are highly independent and slightly cocky about our ability to handle things on our own, prayer does not come naturally. The very act of prayer proves that we need to appeal to Someone higher than ourselves. It is an admission of need, a confession that guidance is required, a plea for mercy, evidence that we are clueless, powerless, and helpless. Many of us are reluctant to concede such things. But if we are not relying on God through prayer, then how are we doing it? To put it simply: we’re probably not. Are you praying on a consistent, regular basis? Then you are relying on God in those times. Are you not praying much, if ever? Then you are not relying on God. You are relying on yourself- your own wisdom, your own knowledge, your own ability to figure things out and make the right decisions and act in the right ways. 

So what should these prayers look like? We can (and should!) pray about anything, but I want to highlight two types of prayer here that help us to truly demonstrate reliance on God. 

1. Prayers of Repentance

There are two main categories of people: those who aren’t aware enough of their sinfulness, and those who are so aware of it that they are collapsing under guilt and shame. For the prideful, let this be a warning- you are much more sinful than you think you are. We readily believe this about others, but are not so quick to believe it about ourselves. Sin blinds us because we have our own internal justifications for it. Yeah, I snapped at my daughter again, but that’s because she asked me the tenth unnecessary question within three minutes and I can’t even finish one coherent thought without being interrupted so it was really her fault, not mine. Sure, I was rude and disrespectful towards my husband, but he offended me first, so he deserved my unloving attitude.  

If this is you, and you can’t remember the last time you confessed or repented or acknowledged a sin without immediately making excuses for it, I encourage you to pray that God would open your eyes and make you aware of the depths of your need for Him. And, if your first reaction after reading that sentence was to shrug it off and think maybe other people need to do that but not you, then you need that advice all the more. Many of us underestimate how important repentance is for experiencing true peace in our souls and a softened heart towards others. If your life feels void of the presence of God, this might be why. When our hearts are hardened, life feels harder too. Acts 3:19-20a may be helpful for you to meditate on- “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” Don’t let unconfessed sin hinder your enjoyment of God’s presence and the fruitfulness He can produce in your life through the Spirit. 

But maybe you’re already overwhelmed by all of your failures and can’t imagine that God has really, totally, fully forgiven you (He has) or that He will welcome you with open arms every single time you confess that, once again, you’ve missed the mark (He will). If this is you, listen to these verses from Romans 8:33-34- “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died- more than that, who was raised- who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” Jesus already took all the wrath and shame that you deserve- and He CONQUERED it. Allow yourself to believe that God is not angry at you. He wants to help you, and He’s the only one who can. Because of Jesus, our great high priest who sympathizes with us, confidently go to the throne of grace in prayer to receive mercy and help in your time of need. Repent and rest in the assurance that He is merciful towards sinners, nothing can separate you from His love, and He will remember your sins no more. Don’t let the weight of sin that Jesus has already forgiven hinder your enjoyment of God’s limitless grace and the fruitfulness that will follow. 

2. Prayers for Wisdom to Know God’s Will

Oftentimes, we think of needing wisdom in regards to making decisions about what to do in different life situations. God can and does guide us in that way. But usually, the need for wisdom and knowing God’s will are spoken about in Scripture within the context of walking by the Spirit- following God’s moral will for how we should live. It’s easier to know how we should conduct ourselves when our minds are calm. But just like sin can blind us to our need for repentance, emotions can blind us to our need for seeking God’s wisdom and strength to do His will. In the heat of the moment, sometimes we can’t remember what our response should be. Or, even if we know what we should do, we either don’t know how to do it, or don’t feel like we can. 

When emotions are running high, when the headlines are causing you to feel confused or troubled, or when relationships are hard and complicated, seeking the Lord’s wisdom is always the right choice. Ask Him to bring relevant Scripture to mind. Read a Psalm or two to ground yourself. Read Romans 12 or Ephesians 4-5 for practical instructions for godly living that can be followed in any situation. Meditate on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, where God literally tells us what His will is- “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 

Prayer is the most important, and probably the most practical, way that we can demonstrate true reliance on God. It is, at its core, an expression of faith and need for Jesus. And it brings growth, peace, and fruitfulness that cannot be achieved in any other way.

How do we rely on God? We pray.

Thoughts on the Election

I rarely have time to post on my blog anymore, as homeschooling and studying/writing for other teaching opportunities keeps me very busy. But I wanted to quickly share a few thoughts about the election that just took place. These will be my unrevised thoughts since I don’t want to take a week or two to fine-tune this post like I usually do; not only is my time limited, but I’d like to post this right away while the election is still fresh in everyone’s minds. The point of this post is NOT to argue for why I thought Trump was the better candidate or why I voted for him this time, but rather just to share what’s on my mind.

This was an especially meaningful election for me because it was the first presidential election that the candidate I voted for actually won the presidency. I live in PA, which is a very significant (possibly even the most significant) swing state. I’ve heard that whoever wins PA usually wins the entire race. PA often goes blue, so the fact that my county and state both went red this time, which was the key to Trump winning the election for the whole country, makes me feel like I was a part of something big. I truly believe God showed mercy to our nation by allowing the candidate to win who will restrain more evil and encourage more good (biblically speaking), and I am grateful to have had a role in that.

Last night I read Daniel 2:20-22 to my kids before bed. We prayed for our country and thanked God for His sovereignty no matter what the outcome of the election was. While we all would’ve been disappointed in a Harris win, we would’ve gotten over it in a couple of days. We wouldn’t have been in any deep emotional distress.

But based on what I’m seeing from Harris supporters online, the same cannot be said of them. They feel like their world is ending. They are numb and sick. They are telling their children that anyone they know who voted for Trump (including grandparents and other family members!) doesn’t care about them or their futures. They are eliminating all contact with family or friends who voted for him. Their children are devastated and fearful because they were told that their health, safety, and even their very lives depended on the outcome of this election. They are hateful, hopeless, bitter, and full of spite. They want revenge and retaliation.

Things like this make me realize just how life-changing it is to have faith in an all-powerful, trustworthy, good God. Without my belief in His sovereignty and goodness, I may have been in a similar state of despair and rage. Without God, there is no meaning to any of this. There is nothing and no one to run to when people and governments let us down. When trouble comes, there is no hope of those difficulties being used to refine us, to prepare for us “an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). There is just darkness.

I pray that many of the people who feel this way now would someday know the peace and rest that we can have in Christ. Despite the anger and malice that they feel towards us, we should correct our opponents with gentleness and kindness, patiently enduring evil, praying that “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:24-26). I pray for the salvation of both Kamala Harris and President Donald Trump. And I am thankful for this great country and the freedoms we enjoy.

America, America, God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

Jesus Loves Me, This I Know (Part 3)

I was sitting in our Ladies’ Bible study class on the book of Matthew, listening to a discussion about treasuring Jesus as our greatest joy, when my eyes drifted to Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

How many times have I read those verses? Probably hundreds. But this time, the words, “Come to me” stood out. I drew a box around them with my pen. My parenting failures were weighing heavily on my heart. It seemed like no matter what I did, I never made any progress in enjoying my children and being more tender and patient with them (remember that pathetic “love” I described in the first part of this series?). I was weary; heavy laden; discouraged and defeated.

And here Jesus is, saying, “Come to me.” Not telling us to stay away so we don’t ruin His perfect holiness with our sin. Not angrily looking down on me for repeatedly failing, day after day, hour after hour, to give my children a genuine smile of enjoyment, or listen to their stories with true interest, or forget about my own selfish pursuits long enough to stay and cuddle for an extra five minutes at bedtime. As Dane Ortlund puts it in his book Gentle and Lowly, “You don’t need to unburden or collect yourself and then come to Jesus. Your very burden is what qualifies you to come… This, according to his own testimony, is Christ’s very heart. This is who he is. Tender. Open. Welcoming. Accommodating. Understanding. Willing.” 

Ortlund goes on to say, “when Jesus Christ sees the fallenness of the world all about him, his deepest impulse, his most natural instinct, is to move toward that sin and suffering, not away from it.” And in a later chapter, he addresses my assumption that Christ’s perfect holiness must cause him to withdraw from our sinful selves by saying, “His holiness finds evil revolting, more revolting than any of us could ever feel. But it is that very holiness that also draws his heart out to help and relieve and protect and comfort… For those who do not belong to him, sins evoke holy wrath… But to those who do belong to him, sins evoke holy longing, holy love, holy tenderness… your sins evoke his deepest heart, his compassion, his pity… He sides with you against your sin, not against you because of your sin. He hates sin. But he loves you.” 

I want to share a few more verses that describe God’s compassion, sympathy, and love for us: 

Hebrews 4:14-16 – Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

John 6:37-  All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. [This is Jesus talking!] 

2 Corinthians 1:3- Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort…

Psalm 103:8-13 – The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

Ephesians 2:4-7 – But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:31-32, then 38-39 –  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? …  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Corinthians 3:16 – Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 

Does this sound like a God who holds us at arm’s length? He literally lives inside us! 

I know I’ve already quoted Dane Ortlund several times, but I just have to include this as I finish these posts because it’s such a perfect description of what I found to be true about myself: “The Christian life, from one angle, is the long journey of letting our natural assumption about who God is, over many decades, fall away, being slowly replaced with God’s own insistence on who he is. This is hard work. It takes a lot of sermons and a lot of suffering to believe that God’s deepest heart is ‘merciful and gracious, slow to anger.’ The fall in Genesis 3 not only sent us into condemnation and exile. The fall also entrenched in our minds dark thoughts of God, thoughts that are only dug out over multiple exposures to the gospel over many years. Perhaps Satan’s greatest victory in your life today is not the sin in which you regularly indulge but the dark thoughts of God’s heart that cause you to go there in the first place and keep you cool toward him in the wake of it.” 

I pictured God as quick to get angry with me (maybe even almost continually angry with me), thinking of me as a disappointing nuisance, and reluctant to love me in a genuine, personal way. What I’ve learned is that this is a description of my own personality. God is not like me. And this realization has the potential to transform me (and you!) into someone who loves more like God does.

Now, a passage like Ephesians 3:14-21 carries new meaning. When Paul prays that we “may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that [we] may be filled with all the fullness of God,” I know the reason for that prayer is because we DON’T understand the capacity of Christ’s love for us, even if we think we do- but when we start to catch a glimpse of it, it can change our lives. 

Come to Him. He is gentle and lowly, and He is rest for your soul.

Jesus Loves Me, This I Know (Part 2)

I’m a Calvinist. 

Maybe some of you are already closing out this post, but hear me out! I mention this not to defend a Calvinist view of salvation, but to point out what I think can be a weakness of Calvinism if we are not careful, and to explain how this contributed to my own misunderstanding of how God sees us. 

Calvinists tend to focus on the sinfulness of humanity to show that there’s no way we would or could ever choose Christ unless God chose us first and ensured our salvation. I don’t ever want to downplay the biblical truth that we do, indeed, possess a sinful nature. Ephesians 2 says that before conversion, we are dead in our trespasses and sins. In Romans 3, we are told that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Many more passages could be discussed which assure us of our sinful condition and our struggle with sin that remains even after we’ve accepted Christ as our savior (Romans 7, 1 John 1). 

Yet this is not how it was in the beginning. In the beginning, God made humans in His image, with no sin nature. His image in us has been marred now because of sin, but not destroyed. Humans do have inherent worth and value just because they’re humans. In the sense of earning our salvation, we are worthless. Without Christ, we cannot ever overcome our sin to present ourselves righteous before God. In the words of Isaiah, all our so-called righteous deeds are filthy rags in God’s sight. But there are different kinds of value. A lack of moral value to exchange for salvation does not mean humans lack all value. 

I had begun to wonder if God only loves us because of our position “in Christ” and not because he actually loves or values us as people. I had forgotten to balance out the view of Total Depravity with the Imago Dei. The truth is, God does not only love believers because He loves Jesus and is required to love us once we are in Christ. He loves us because humans have inherent value. He intentionally created each one of us in His image. Trusting in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins removes the barrier that was between us and God, satisfying the legal requirement of punishment for sin so that we can finally have a relationship with Him and unleash the fullness of His love towards us. It’s not as if God feels no affection for us personally, only loving us in some sort of distant manner because we’re Christians now, but disconnected from who we are as people. God loves us individually and welcomes us with abundant grace and joy, adopting us as His children and heirs along with Christ (Romans 8). 

Even though we still struggle with sin, our identity is not “Sinner” anymore- it is “Saint.” 

While I believe God loves each and every human in the sense that they are His valuable creation and He shows them His kindness and common grace during their lives on earth, I also believe that God loves His children in a much different, more all-encompassing way. Think about it in terms of an earthly parent/child relationship. We should have a general care, concern, and compassion for all children (and all people, for that matter. We are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves). Yet we know that it is good and right for us to love our own children with a far deeper and more protective love than the kids we just walked past in the grocery store, with whom we have no relationship. Since the Bible describes believers as God’s children, I think this is an appropriate analogy for God’s love towards us. But God’s love for us infinitely surpasses the love we feel even for our own children. Most of us far underestimate the privilege and freedom we have in belonging to the King of the universe. 

For those who continue in their rebellion against God, judgment awaits. God does have wrath towards sinners and he must condemn them for their sin, because He is just and holy. But, to quote Jonathan Edwards, “God has no pleasure in the destruction or calamity of persons or people. He had rather they should turn and continue in peace. He is well-pleased if they forsake their evil ways, that he may not have occasion to execute his wrath upon them. He is a God that delights in mercy, and judgment is his strange work.” 

So if God desires that everyone turn from their sin so He may show them mercy, as He is eager to do, then why doesn’t He ensure that everyone puts their faith in Christ for salvation and experiences the fullness of His love? Well, to come full circle, your answer to that question determines whether or not you’re a Calvinist. Everyone (except universalists) agrees that God must value something above the salvation of every human being – otherwise, everyone would be saved, since God certainly has the power to do that. But that’s a topic for another day. 

Next time we will look at several different passages to show scriptural support for this idea that God’s love for His children is not reluctant, hesitant, or forced; instead, abundant love and affection for His people are at the very heart of who God is. 

Jesus Loves Me, This I Know (Part 1)

I’ve never been much of a tenderhearted person. Compassion and empathy don’t come easily to me. When I take spiritual gifts tests, the gift of Mercy is always one of my lowest scores. I’ve struggled to emotionally bond with people, which has especially plagued me in my relationships with my kids. That motherly affection and nurturing love that’s supposed to be so natural for moms? It didn’t come naturally to me. I know I love my kids, but I don’t often FEEL affectionate towards them. I struggle to enjoy spending time with them and taking an interest in what they like to do (Yes, I’m aware of how terrible that sounds- I’m aggressively working on it!). 

I always thought of God’s love for His children in much the same way. Of course we know God loves us. We are taught this from the time we are babies. Who hasn’t heard the phrase “Jesus loves you”? But what kind of love are we describing? I always envisioned God reluctantly tolerating us because He had to once we put our faith in Christ. I imagined God looking down at us and holding His nose, loving us in some distant, detached way, but not wanting to get too close. I thought of God as only loving us because He loves His Son and has applied His righteousness to us for our justification, not because we have any kind of value in and of ourselves. He loves us, but must still be overwhelmingly disappointed in us. He loves us, but must be constantly annoyed and irritated. He loves us, but it’s a cool, forced kind of love. 

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been discovering a truth that I have somehow never really grasped even as a Christian of over 30 years. God’s love is not stingy. He’s not holding back. He’s not begrudgingly forgiving us while casting distasteful glances our way, wanting to punish us for our sin but unable to do so once we followed Christ. My own admittedly pathetic version of “love” and my sinful tendency to keep people at arm’s length caused me to create a God in my own image who bears little resemblance to the God of the Bible.

I had it completely backwards. 

My goal moving forward is not to post gigantic essays that take forever to read, but to break them up into smaller posts which are hopefully more doable. Be on the lookout for Part 2 on this topic! 

Life Updates

I haven’t posted on my blog in quite awhile, and I thought it was time to check back in with some life updates! 

From December 2023-February 2024, I had the opportunity to teach a ladies’ Sunday School class at my church. I decided to teach a Biblical Worldview class, focused on the defense of the Christian faith (apologetics) and studying cultural topics from a biblical worldview. These are some of my favorite things to study and talk about, so I really enjoyed going deeper into topics like the existence of God, core Christian doctrines, evidence for the resurrection, reliability of the Bible, social justice, abortion, and gender and sexuality. 

But it was also a TON of work. I spent almost an entire year reading between 15-20 books in preparation, and then 5-6 months writing my own set of 13 lessons (and class handouts to go with them). I was also reviewing and teaching previously prepared lessons during the last 3 months of that time, while writing future lessons as well to try to stay ahead. One lesson is roughly double the length of one of my typical blog posts, so writing 13 of them in a row was extremely time consuming. 

This explains my absence here lately. It’s not that I wasn’t writing at all; I was writing more than I ever have before, but for a different purpose. It was a wonderful experience, but I was ready for a break to catch up on things around the house and to read something besides apologetics and philosophy! 

Another life update is that I have resigned from my job as the nursing supervisor of a home care agency. I’ve known for awhile that it wasn’t a good fit for me, and I’ve been working with my supervisor over the last 7 months to slowly phase out of my position. That process is just about complete, so this is definitely a time of big changes and transitions. 

A big upcoming change for our family is that next school year, I will be homeschooling our son. Our daughter is going to stay at the small private Christian school they both currently attend, as she is thriving and loves it there. We believe homeschooling will be a huge benefit for our son, and I am looking forward to being home with him. I don’t know what God has planned for my future, whether it’s eventually returning to the health field in some capacity, taking on more writing and teaching responsibilities, or something else. But I am thankful for where He has me now- focusing on home, family, and church for the time being. 

I’m not sure when my next “normal” blog post will be out or when I’ll feel like writing again, but now that I have some freed-up space in my brain, hopefully I will come up with an idea soon. Thanks for reading!

Confident Contentment

Recently, I went through a major period of discontentment. There was a situation in my life that I found frustrating, and I wanted a change. I daydreamed about how much happier I thought I’d be in different circumstances. I prayed for guidance and direction, knowing that it could be God’s will for things to stay the same, but also believing that surely He was calling me to MORE. I was convinced that He would want to use my passions and talents in a different capacity, according to the plans that I had conjured up in my mind. 

But God had other things He wanted to teach me during those emotionally tumultuous months. I noticed that when I first got an idea for a new opportunity, I would be very excited about it for a week or two. Then as the novelty of the idea started to wear off, I’d think of potential problems, or realize that it might not actually be as fulfilling as I thought, and I’d move on to the next bright idea. I was allowing myself to be ruled by my emotions, which are untrustworthy and constantly shifting. No situation is always going to be perfect and exciting, even if it is one that maximizes the use of my gifts and abilities. 

The second thing I noticed is that my discontentment was largely coming from a place of pride. I was chasing notoriety and praise. I thought I had impressive things to offer the world and that it was unfair to not be recognized for them. Obviously, I love to write and study. I’m especially interested in the topics of theology, Christian living, and apologetics. I thought it was really a shame that I didn’t have a bigger online following, or that no one had “discovered” me yet to offer me a book deal or a position with some kind of apologetics ministry. 

That’s a hard thing to confess. It sounds horribly arrogant (probably because it IS horribly arrogant). But one by one, God removed the possibility of a new opportunity coming along. A number of ideas that I had actively pursued didn’t pan out. I had to admit that no apologetics ministry was going to hire me to speak or write without getting an expensive and time consuming apologetics degree. I saw comments on Instagram from other “regular” people (not even theologians or professional Bible teachers!) that were more eloquent, witty, and profound than anything I could’ve come up with. I consider myself to be fairly intelligent and well-read, but I saw posts on social media that were so intellectually and theologically complex, I couldn’t totally make sense of them. I regularly listen to two podcasts that function as Q&A’s (Mike Winger’s 20 Questions and Greg Koukl’s Stand to Reason), and it occurred to me that I usually didn’t know how to answer the questions at all, and certainly could not have answered even the ones I did know something about with as much clarity, logic, and wisdom as the podcast hosts did. 

I realized the truth: God is not obligated to give me any specific opportunity in life- even one in ministry. And He’s especially not obligated to give it to a person who thinks she deserves it just because she likes to read, write, and listen to theology podcasts. I’m not qualified for some of the things I was dreaming about, and right now I’m not called to them either. That doesn’t mean I won’t ever be called to something in that realm; but it does mean that I need to learn contentment in the present. If I cannot be faithful, content, and humble with the smaller responsibilities God’s given me, how could I ever expect anything more? 

When the bigger and better (in my mind) opportunities I was pursuing kept falling through, and the frustrating situation I wanted to escape unexpectedly became less exasperating, I reluctantly admitted to myself that God had answered my prayers for guidance. He was showing me where He wanted me. It wasn’t what I would have chosen, but knowing that God is good and sovereign gave me confidence to trust Him. In Matthew 7:9-11, Jesus says, 

Which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

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Even imperfect, earthly parents desire to do what is beneficial for their children. God is omniscient, omnipotent, and perfectly loving towards His children. There are no deficiencies in His ability to do what is best for us, either in knowledge or power. Therefore, whatever situation we are in must be what is best for us at that time, according to His perfect love.

It’s easy for me to conclude that my situation must be better than the other options; it wasn’t all that bad to begin with, just frustrating and inconvenient at times. But what about when we are going through something incredibly difficult and painful? How could we say THAT experience must be better than the alternative? 

Sometimes the situation itself isn’t good. It’s no use trying to deny that our world is full of wickedness, evil, and pain. But our God is a God of redemption. Romans 8:28-32 says, 

And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 

The hardships and trials we go through in our lives are used by God to bring about the ultimate good for believers: being conformed to the image of Christ. James 1:2-4 testifies to this as well:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 

Of course James doesn’t mean we can attain perfection in this life, but that we are gradually perfected through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit as we learn obedience and reliance on God amidst life’s troubles, until they are forever removed when Christ returns. And no one can thwart God’s purpose of bringing good from evil. The ultimate example of this is the cross. The murder of the perfect Son of God was simultaneously the greatest evil that has ever occurred and the greatest good that was ever accomplished. If God did not even spare His Son in order to obtain our salvation, it is unthinkable that He would not do what is best for us in situations far less costly to Him. 

The passage in Romans 8 goes on to say that we are “more than conquerors through him who loved us.” For a long time, I didn’t understand what it meant to be “more than” a conqueror. How does it get better than winning? The answer is that through Christ, not only do we win in the end, but God turns our suffering into something that actually benefits us. God doesn’t just give us the victory over our trials; He uses the trials to our advantage as we are sanctified and conformed to the image of Christ!

All of the situations in our lives are either better than the alternatives (for reasons we may never know), used by God for our spiritual benefit, or both. They are for our good and His glory. 

Phylicia Masonheimer’s weekly email newsletter was a timely reflection on this topic. She quoted Psalm 16:5-8, which says,

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 

“Lines” here refers to boundary lines, which we tend to view in a negative way. A boundary is something that prevents us from going somewhere or doing something we want to do. But as Phylicia says, “The lines drawn around the psalmist are for his good, his protection, his blessing, and his joy… God is right here, right now, not just in the someday. He drew the boundary lines- and they are in pleasant places, even when we can’t see it yet… Embrace the boundary lines because they are drawn in love and kindness, because the limits that are given to keep [us] in also keep [us] close to the heart of God.” I also love the notes from my ESV study Bible on this passage- “[This psalm] promotes contentment with the arrangements of one’s life, seeing them as providentially ordered.” 

It is worth noting that all of the opportunities God has given me in the past two years were things I was not pursuing or expecting; in fact, some of them seemed to be nothing less than divine intervention, and I did absolutely nothing to bring them about. My job that “just so happened” to work perfectly with my schedule literally fell into my lap at the exact right time through a somewhat bizarre set of circumstances; after volunteering at my local pregnancy center in a less involved capacity for about a year and a half, I was unexpectedly asked to take on a role with more responsibility; through another set of completely unexpected circumstances, I was asked to speak at my church’s women’s retreat, which then led to an invitation to teach an upcoming Sunday School class; and I’ve had more opportunities and requests to be involved with the music at my church as other musicians have stepped down for various reasons.

And aren’t those things where the majority of the work is done anyway? Most people don’t write books, or have podcasts, or acquire thousands of online followers. Most people are working regular jobs, teaching small Sunday School classes at regular churches, and volunteering their time in regular local ministries. They’re raising families, managing homes, ministering in small, ordinary ways, faithfully serving God in their everyday lives. We should never underestimate the eternal value of those efforts. 

God doesn’t need my help or human “wisdom” to bring opportunities for service, ministry, and productivity into my life, and He certainly doesn’t need my sinful pride and discontentment. God wants us where we are for a reason. He is the one who puts us there, who doesn’t let us go outside the boundaries of His purposes for us. Maybe it’s because we’re not as gifted as we think we are. Maybe He knows we couldn’t handle the pressure or the temptation of pride that comes with more of a spotlight. Maybe He has something better planned for us even if it doesn’t seem that way. We must set the Lord always before us, remembering that He is our portion and our strength. True contentment is only found in Him. 

Psalm 16:11

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. 

You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.

– Saint Augustine

Knowledge is Power

In high school, I took the Myers-Briggs personality test. I couldn’t remember what my result was, but I did remember there were four different categories that make up a personality: introversion/extraversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, and judging/perceiving. I recently took a free version of this test and, as expected, I scored higher on thinking than feeling. My assigned personality type was called “Logistician.” I wasn’t surprised by this, since I’ve known for a long time that I’m not an overly emotional person. Even the strong emotional responses that I do have are often driven by whether or not something seems logical to me.  

I have often been discouraged by this part of my personality. Although it can be very helpful to instinctively view things with logic and reason, being less emotional also makes it harder to connect relationally. I sometimes struggle to feel empathy or have strong emotional bonds with people. It impacts my faith, too. Over the years I have developed a passion for studying theology and apologetics, but not being an emotionally-minded person makes it a challenge to strongly feel love, thankfulness, awe, or really much of ANYTHING towards God, even though intellectually I know that He is deserving of those reactions. Sometimes I’ve wondered if maybe my faith isn’t “real.” Am I just a faker? Am I guilty of mentally accepting the Bible as true without allowing it to penetrate my heart and affect me inwardly? 

Several months ago I was listening to a sermon by Mike Winger on Romans 12. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Paul is saying that the way we undergo spiritual transformation is by changing the way that we think. Our thought process has a profound impact on who we are as believers. We are told to discern what is good and acceptable in God’s sight through testing. The word discern is defined as, “to perceive by the intellect; to distinguish mentally; recognize as distinct or different.” The word “testing” also has the connotation of using our intellect and knowledge to discover whether or not something aligns with God’s will as revealed to us in His Word. This clearly indicates that thinking plays an important role in our spiritual growth. 

If we are supposed to renew our minds and change the way we think, what exactly should we be thinking about? Paul answers that question too, in Philippians 4:8. It’s a well-known verse: “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” The best example that meets all of these qualifications, is, of course, Scripture. God changes us when we fill our minds with good things, especially His Word. 

R. C. Sproul discusses these ideas in his book, The Holiness of God. After quoting Romans 12:1-2, he states, “The key method Paul underscores as the means to the transformed life is by the ‘renewal of the mind.’ This means nothing more and nothing less than education. Disciplined education in the things of God. It calls for a mastery of the Word of God. We need to be people whose lives have changed because our minds have changed. True understanding comes by gaining a new understanding of God, ourselves, and the world. What we are after ultimately is to be conformed to the image of Christ… To be conformed to Jesus, we must first begin to think as Jesus did. We need the ‘mind of Christ’… That cannot happen without a mastery of His Word. The key to spiritual growth is in-depth Christian education that requires a serious level of sacrifice.” 

This mastery of God’s Word will help us discern truth from lies. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” In order to discern which arguments and opinions are wrong, first we have to know what’s right. A spiritual battle rages around us everyday, and we are part of it whether we realize it or not. The importance of having a solid knowledge of Scripture cannot be overstated as we are assaulted daily by deceptive, anti-biblical ideologies. 

Taking every thought captive can also prevent us from having an improper emotional response to Scripture taken out of context. Emotional responses can be good, but only if they are based on accurate biblical truth. Proper knowledge of Christ and sound doctrine must always come first, before we can have a truly appropriate emotional response to who God is and what He has done for us. By contrast, emotions without a strong biblical foundation can be dangerous. They can easily lead us down a path of deception. We should desire and pray for deeper emotional experiences, but not at the expense of accurate knowledge. We must lead with our minds and then respond with our hearts. 

Colossians 1:9-10 connects the knowledge of God and His will with living a life that is pleasing to the Lord and bearing fruit in every good work. Spiritual wisdom and understanding lead to a transformed life which enables us to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.” There is a high value placed on “increasing in the knowledge of God.” And in Colossians 3:10, we are told to “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” We are renewed, or transformed, as we learn to know God and become more like Him. Again, spiritual growth and transformation come as the result of growth in our knowledge of who God is. 

Jesus refers to the importance of loving God with our minds when He gives us the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:37: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” The way that we love God with our minds involves studying His Word and increasing in our knowledge of Him, as well as using our reasoning abilities, and scientific and historical facts, to make sense of how the world around us reflects God’s creative power and working through history. A common thought in our culture today is that science and faith are mutually exclusive- you cannot hold religious beliefs and affirm science at the same time. But this is simply a misunderstanding of what science is meant to do. The purpose of science is to study the natural world. It is NOT the purpose of science to declare that the natural world is all there is. Supernatural events and philosophical concepts are beyond the scope of what science can tell us. 

What science and historical facts CAN do is reveal amazing realities that actually point to the existence of a Creator and the reliability of the Christian faith. In fact, there is abundant evidence for God’s creation of and interaction with the universe. The truth is that a Christian worldview goes hand-in-hand with science and history. If you are interested in reading about these topics further, I will recommend some resources at the end of this post. Virtually any good apologetics book will also contain at least some information on the interaction between science, history, and faith. Simply put, we can value scientific and historical facts and simultaneously hold a strong, evidence-based Christian faith. For those of us who function on a more intellectual level, this is good news. 

Knowing things about God has great value, but it also poses a danger. The Corinthian church was notorious for their arrogance. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 8:1-2, “We know that ‘all of us possess knowledge.’ This ‘knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.” Knowledge without love quickly turns into prideful arrogance that not only fails to benefit anyone, but actually causes offense and disgraces the name of Christ. And those who think they know everything are missing some of the most important and basic character traits that a Christian is supposed to possess- love and humility. 

A similar idea is expressed in the beginning of 1 Corinthians 13, the famous “love chapter.” Verses 1-2 say, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” The main purpose of spiritual gifts, including knowledge, is to encourage and build up the church in love. Our gifts and abilities should be used to benefit others, not as a source of pride or attention-seeking behavior. 

Those of us who are more intellectually-minded and have the gift of knowledge need to be careful to use these abilities for our own spiritual growth, and to humbly teach, instruct, and guide others. After all, any theological wisdom or knowledge that we have to share does not come from ourselves, but is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. 

“Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.”
1 Corinthians 2:12-13  

Here is a list of scientists, historians, apologists, theologians, writers, and philosophers whose work I have benefited greatly from. Ask the hard questions- there are answers. 

Gary Habermas
Greg Koukl
Mike Winger
R.C. Sproul
Alisa Childers
Natasha Crain
Lee Strobel
John Lennox
William Lane Craig
Michael Guillen

Also, the website Got Questions is a great resource, with answers to hundreds of thousands of questions regarding the Bible and the Christian faith.

“Your Truth” is a Lie

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak at my church’s women’s retreat. It came about very suddenly and unexpectedly due to the original speaker having a family emergency that was going to prevent her from being there. The topic was “Women Walking in Love,” and after a great time of discussion during one of the sessions at the retreat, I decided I wanted to further explore a concept in Ephesians 4:15- speaking the truth in love. Our culture has tragically redefined “love” to mean acceptance and approval of whatever choices people make, and many Christians have fallen right into this trap out of a desire to not offend or hurt others. 

Google images

Here’s a recent example of this that you may have heard of. In September 2022, Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, rented billboards in 6 states with abortion bans, encouraging women to travel to CA in order to get abortions. One of the ads said, “Need an abortion? California is ready to help.” At the bottom of the billboard, Mark 12:31 is quoted, which reads: “Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these.” 

Now, the funny thing about the word “these” is that it indicates plurality, and only one commandment is quoted. Could that be because there’s actually another commandment in this passage that wasn’t included on the billboard? Let’s start back at verse 28 for context: 

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Jesus asserts that the MOST important commandment is to love God wholeheartedly with every part of our being. The second commandment is to love others. We cannot truly or rightly fulfill the second commandment without the first, because our love for others flows out of our love for God. 

1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” What’s more, just 3 verses earlier in 1 John 4, we are told that “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” If God is love, and our ability to love comes from abiding in Him, then I think we’d better have an accurate definition of what love means according to God. 

1 Corinthians 13 is the famous “love chapter.” It’s often quoted at weddings, and while appropriate in that setting, it applies to every relationship. God’s definition of love is as follows: 

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

There are many things we could discuss based on these few verses, but I want to focus on just one: love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Truth and love are very intertwined in Scripture. In John 14:6, Jesus describes Himself as being the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus, being God Himself, is love… and He is also truth. You can’t have one without the other. 

I have heard it said that we live in a post-truth era. Statements like “live your truth” and “speak your truth” abound. The word “truth” is another one that has been redefined to refer to the subjective feelings and experiences of each person. Of course, no one is allowed to challenge “your” truth. Who are they to question who you are, how you identify, or the choices you’ve made? Who are they to tell you that you’re wrong? 

On their own, no human has the authority to tell any other human that they’re wrong. But as the creator and sustainer of the universe and everyone in it, God does. And God cares very much about truth. 

In Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17, He says, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” Objective truth is found in God’s Word- the Bible. And at the center of the Bible is the gospel- the truth that we are all sinners, in rebellion against God, which separates us from Him; the truth that Jesus’ death and resurrection is our only hope of being reconciled to God and experiencing a glorious future; the truth that repentance and submission to God’s authority and lordship over our lives is the only way to freedom. 

It is loving to tell the truth according to God, because God’s truth is what sets us free from sin, gives us peace with Him, and secures eternal life in heaven. In John 8:31-32, Jesus says “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Here Jesus refers again to the fact that truth is found in God’s Word. We cannot know the truth or experience real freedom unless we remain consistently connected and committed to the Bible. Proclaiming this truth and rejecting the lies of the world are the most loving things we can do. 

The perfect example of someone displaying both truth and love is Jesus, of course. In John 1, Jesus is described as being “full of grace and truth.” Jesus exemplified grace. He healed the sick and crippled, cast demons out of the possessed, fed the hungry crowds, and welcomed the outcasts. He was immensely compassionate and loving, concerned about the physical and emotional wellbeing of those around him. 

But in the midst of all of that, Jesus never sacrificed truth. He regularly condemned the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and heavy burdens they laid on the Jewish people. He didn’t ignore sin, but rather preached repentance. He spoke of future judgment and torment for those who continued in their rebellion against God. He was honest about the difficulties of the Christian life- being hated by the world, experiencing trouble, counting the cost and bearing our crosses to follow Him. 

As Kevin DeYoung points out in this excellent article, most of us tend to lean towards either grace or truth. Those who are more concerned with grace match today’s definition of love- welcoming, tolerant, affirming, and nice. They’re pleasant, easy-going, and inoffensive. The problem is that by elevating tolerance and acceptance above truth, they fail to stand up for what’s right. They can be cowardly. In fully accepting others for who they are, they never encourage them to become anything more. 

People who are more concerned with truth have strong convictions. They boldly stand up against evil, and aren’t afraid to be criticized for it. Their problem is that they can also be harsh, quick to judge, intimidating, unforgiving, and difficult to be around. The challenge is to be full of grace and full of truth at the same time. As DeYoung says, “Something is wrong if everyone hates you, and something is probably just as wrong if everyone loves you.” 

But even with a good balance of grace, many people will still become offended when you speak the truth. You can be as gentle and compassionate in your approach as possible, but it won’t always make a difference. The reason for this is because the truth of the gospel is offensive on its own to those who reject it. It’s hard to hear that we are guilty sinners who need to forsake our fleshly desires, die to ourselves, and submit to Christ’s authority, and some will never accept it. Even so, we must never back down from the truth. It may result in hate, insults, persecution, and loss of relationships, but we should expect no less. Jesus was the perfect combination of grace and truth and He was crucified.

When Paul exhorts the Ephesians to speak the truth in love, it is so that the body of believers can be mature and unified in Christ, and avoid being deceived by false doctrines. In Ephesians 6, the “belt of truth” is the first piece of the armor of God that is mentioned for us to use as we defend ourselves against demonic schemes of evil. Don’t believe the idea that it’s unloving to tell people about their sin. We shouldn’t be unnecessarily rude in pointing it out, but realize that a failure to share the gospel is a failure to love.

And although the gospel needs to be our core message, we shouldn’t stop there. Forsaking biblical truth results in actions and political policies that hurt, maim, and kill people. We need to be willing to loudly declare to Gavin Newsom and other pro-abortion advocates that abortion is the exact opposite of loving our neighbor- it kills a child and usually traumatizes a woman physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We need to boldly proclaim that transgender ideology permanently mutilates, chemically castrates, sterilizes, and traumatizes people, including children. There are so many foundational truths, going all the way back to Genesis 1 where God creates us male and female in His image, that are being twisted into deceptive, demonic philosophies. Love, according to God, does not celebrate, accept, or even tolerate evil. It rejoices with the truth- God’s truth. 

The Christian faith would not have survived its infancy if the disciples weren’t willing to stand up for what they knew to be true. Right after the resurrection, the Pharisees tried spreading a rumor that Jesus’ body had been stolen and that He hadn’t actually risen from the dead. But the disciples had seen the empty tomb, and they knew they hadn’t taken His body. And then Jesus physically appeared to them, as well as hundreds of others, leaving no doubt that He had risen. The truth of the resurrection- the foundation of our faith- was so significant that the disciples, and countless Christians since, have been willing to suffer persecution and martyrdom. The truth is worth much more than avoiding insults – the truth is worth dying for. 

“Peace if possible; truth at all costs.”
-Martin Luther

*Edit on 11/21/22* Shortly after I posted this, I listened to a podcast with Alisa Childers and Natasha Crain entitled “Case Study: What are the Common Values that Unite Progressive Christians?” It was posted on October 30, 2022. The concepts and flow of thought of the first half of the podcast are so similar to what I wrote here, that I wanted to clarify that I did not use any of their material to write this blog post. I found out later that even the title of my post is uncannily similar to Alisa Childers’ new book, “Live Your Truth and Other Lies.” I credit the Holy Spirit with revealing biblical truth to many believers, which would of course consist of the same ideas, as God never changes. But I wanted to clear up any misconception of plagiarism!

The Plan

In the past, I wasn’t all that interested in poetry. Certain kinds of poetry have very strict rules (syllables, meter, rhyming) and other kinds seem to have no rules at all. I’ve read poems that were very confusing and had no discernable message. 

But recently, I’ve read some truly moving and profound poems by Phylicia Masonheimer ( in her email newsletter and Instagram) and Laura Wifler (instagram), and I’ve decided that the no-rules type of poetry can be a pretty neat way to express emotion. Trying to rhyme in a specific pattern becomes limiting and stressful, but rhyming a few lines if it works out and not worrying about it when it doesn’t, is freeing. 

So I’d like to share a short poem I wrote awhile ago. I will preface it by saying, I am very grateful for all of God’s blessings and provision in my life. But I think everyone can relate to the feeling of life not going exactly the way you envisioned, for a wide variety of reasons. It’s actually a grieving process to realize that certain dreams or expectations you had for your life have not come to pass. Even though this is sort of a depressing subject, I hope the end is an encouragement to keep trusting in a sovereign God. (Scripture references in the second last stanza are from Proverbs 16:9 and Isaiah 55:8-9.) 

The Plan

I used to have a plan
For how my life would go. 

But one by one
The dominoes fell
Down a different path. 

Unexpected changes
Some big, some small
Till my life hardly looks like
The original plan at all. 

I can still see
What never came to be. 

On the outside looking in
Is where I stand
Watching others live
The life that I planned. 

I am reminded
Of what I never had, but somehow lost. 

The heart of man plans his way
But the Lord establishes his steps.
And His ways are higher
Than mine.

So I wait
And I pray
To the God
Who plans my way.