rebelling against low expectations
Keeping Heaven in view can be extremely encouraging. But for me it wasn’t always this way. I used to be terribly upset that I couldn’t go there immediately. “Why, God?” I would ask as my tears fell freely on my pillow. “Why must I stay in this fallen earth so long? How much longer will You put me through this?” Sometimes the bad things that happened, the big things like death as well as the...
The hymn came to an end. That’s my cue, I realized, clutching a printed copy of my testimony. Barefoot and wearing a swimsuit under a heavy blue robe, I calmly stepped down into the water in a tub behind the stage at my church. My pastor told the church my name and shared a few words about baptism then gently pushed me closer to the microphone. To my surprise, I wasn’t as anxious as I’d expected...
High school senior year might be considered the climax of adolescence. We’re teenagers, and we’re used to that now. But at this unique time in our lives, we can see a new stage of life coming at full speed: adulthood. Maybe we have a fuzzy idea of what we want the next parts of our journeys to look like, but we wonder, Am I ready for this? In addition to practical questions about colleges and...
I’ve struggled with it. You’ve struggled with it. We all have. Does God really exist? Billions of people think that the Bible is false, and Christians are sometimes tempted to believe them. Jesus can start to look like a fairytale at times because of how bad the world around us is. “Is God real?” This question isn’t bad in itself, but we need to make sure we come to the right conclusion. We need...
The Christmas message shouldn’t be limited to the holiday season. Every day is an opportunity to worship Christ for becoming Immanuel, “God with us.” So why not take a break from your bustling spring semester that’s coming to a close or whatever things are caught up in your mind? Let’s pull out a mug of hot chocolate and reflect on the wonderful truth that inspires the Christmas spirit. Whether...
Being a sibling is hard. I would know. I have nine unique little brothers and sisters that I’m called to love all the time. Sometimes it drives me bonkers! It can be hard to treat our siblings right, especially when we’re teenagers and our emotions are extra sensitive. As a brother or a sister, we know we should love our siblings regardless of how we are feeling, but how should we go about this...
rebelling against low expectations
