You work all day, drive home, maybe eat some dinner, plop on the couch—and if you’re anything like me—turn on the TV. I was once rigid about television. The days before I followed Jesus were filled with episode upon episode, but later on I desired to be "radical." God’s mission is serious, I learned, and so TV didn’t really have a place. I prided myself in not having a Netflix subscription. …
Continue Reading about Stories: The ones we watch and the one we live
This is the third post in the series on Envy. Click here for Part One and Part Two. We can overcome envy by pursuing the virtue of zeal. Zeal appears similar to envy, but is a healthy way of comparing ourselves to others. Timothy Perrine and Kevin Timpe give an example of Christine and Cathy: Christine sees Cathy’s piety. Christine notices her own piety, and then sees that …
Continue Reading about Zeal: The Healthy Way to Compare Ourselves to Others
This post is Part 2 out of four posts on Envy. To read the first post click here. All sin is absurd because it’s rebellion against God. But envy is particularly insane. Envy has a backwards and illogical nature; it despises good and delights in evil. Yet, envy doesn’t make us ignorant of good and evil. We don’t blindly believe vice is virtue. We still recognize the good that others possess, …
Christians can go wrong in two main ways when it comes to theological distinctives: we either under- or over-emphasize them. Those who under-emphasize distinctives usually say something like, “I don’t care about denominations—I just try to live by the Bible.” Those who over-emphasize theological distinctives tend to treat every doctrine as if it’s a matter of salvation. Amidst practical concerns …
Continue Reading about The Most Important Christian Convictions
You own me, I sayAs I anxiously bow to my idolsProstrate before them in quivering fearAll of my identity rests hereThe approval of others I care so much what you think, I sayThe endless questioning of what your opinion of me isOn edge and waiting for rejectionClenched fists around all the adjectives I hope to be defined byI cannot let goIf you see me as anything lessSurely I will dieAnd the …
I've always felt my life was one of ongoing reflection and constant change--a continuous rearranging of habits. The New Year is of course a prime time to reflect and replace bad habits with good ones. But to me, the entire Christian life is one of reflection. Sanctification isn't annual, but moment by moment. The Spirit is always convicting me of sin and reordering my desires toward Christ. From …
