Quarantine has proven quite fruitful in our pursuit of knowledge. Many are using this time to learn or grow in certain areas, taking full advantage of the time presented to them. Others descend into madness, deprived of human interaction and lacking the necessary motivation to get up and do something.
Which are you?
Continue reading “Three Things We’ve Learned in Quarantine”
Four days ago, I published a post talking about the Universal Sabbath. The post was well received, but one of the comments stuck with me. A woman gracefully reminded me of the fact that this is a crisis, not a vacation. While many of us are stuck in our houses, there are others out there fighting this battle, and while the outward battle is serious, the spiritual battle rages also, mimicking the battles on earth.
Continue reading “Avoiding Passivity in a Time of Crisis”
Something unprecedented is happening. For the first time in history, the world is taking a sabbath. Forced into quarantine, thousands are trapped in their homes, unable to go about normal lives. And through this, nature has shown some amazing changes.
Continue reading “200th Post: The Universal Sabbath”
Quarantine has become the most boring thing on the face of the planet, and for good reason, too. We are relational beings and, with the exception of a few, we need relationship as a part of the day. Without relationship, we find ourselves rather empty, seeking means of fulfillment that won’t do anything except bring momentary pleasure.
Having become quite bored of watching basketball tik-toks during my free time (come on, Lebron, you’ve got better things to do), I have taken up reading different Theological books. All have proven interesting, and my faith has been strengthened through what I have learned.
If you, like every single other American, are a Christian under quarantine, I suggest mimicking this example. After all, you can’t lose something by reading newer books, and you should see your faith strengthened through your increase in knowledge and love for Christ.
Some books are particularly fantastic faith-strengtheners, as you will see in a moment. All of them can be bought on Kindle Store, so you won’t have to wait a long time for the book to arrive. Try filling your time with one of these, and hopefully, your relationship with Christ will also increase, thus helping satisfy your need for relationship.
Continue reading “Four Faith-Growing Books to Read During Quarantine”
Boy/girl relationships are tricky. Beginning them can be the most difficult thing in the world, especially if you’re rather shy. Sometimes, you can come across strong and the opposite party thinks you’re flirtatious. Other times, you’re too timid and the opposite gender thinks you’re scared. Confusing, right? Well, fear not, for today I have teamed up with Christian girl blogger Keziah E to answer some of humanity’s most difficult questions: about those of the opposite gender.
Keziah and I are writing about the two different sides- she is covering the side of the girls, and I’m answering the questions about the boys. There are two categories: Misconceptions and flirting. Keziah and I will each give 10 misconceptions about our own gender, then follow that up by giving 6 ways we think the other side flirts. Ladies, if you aren’t already, make sure to follow Keziah’s fantastic blog by clicking here. With that, let’s dive right in!
Continue reading “32 Misconceptions About Flirting and Boy/Girl Relationships (feat. Keziah E)”
Sometimes, it just feels like the whole world is against you. Your friends think you’re weird, your siblings think you’re a dork, your parents are disappointed in your grades, and your best friend just moved to Montana. The only thing you want to do is run away from home. Is this you? I hope it’s not just me.
Honestly, this often isn’t far from the truth. Somedays, you feel like you’re on top of the world. Others, you want to find the nearest cliff. I’ve been on both ends of the spectrum more times than I can count, and I’m positive I’m not the only one.
When you feel this type of pressure, there is only two things you can do: throw yourself in a river or throw yourself in a river.
Wait, what? Aren’t those the same thing?
No.
Continue reading “Throwing Yourself In the River of God’s Grace”
And we are back yet again with our 500 followers celebration! What an awesome honor to do another one of these only six weeks after the last! As usual, we are averaging around 2-4 followers a day, and Africa Boy (soon to be changed) has now reached 50% of its goal- 1,000 followers! Give yourselves a round of applause! You guys are fantastic.
I am so glad to be celebrating this one in the United States. In fact, the actual timing of 500 followers was interesting. I literally hit 500 followers two hours after landing in the United States. What a welcome home present!
So, with that, we’re going to do a couple of things. Firstly, I’m going to give a couple of awards, the “Post of the Month” award, one from my own blog and one from another’s. I’m also going to give the “Encouraging Blogger of the Month” award, followed shortly by the “Featured Blog of the Month”. Alrighty, let’s do this.
Continue reading “500 Followers Celebration”
Hacksaw Ridge is the most brutal, gory, bloody, and redemptive movie I have seen in my entire life. Rated R for “intense prolonged realistically graphic sequences of war violence including grisly bloody images,” the film is quite possibly the most gory movie to be made, and yet it does justice to the story it was based on.
If you have had the opportunity to watch the movie, I congratulate you. You survived a long, harrowing 139 minutes, and you lived to tell the tale, unlike 90% of the soldiers shown in the movie. After reading the critic reviews on the story, and hearing the full descriptions of the movie’s blood and gore, I wasn’t sure I wanted to see the movie at all.
Then, I learned that Andrew Garfield stars as the main character. Immediately, I was sold. Who cares about “a little blood and gore” when someone as magnificent as Andrew Garfield stars?
I would both regret and appreciate this decision.
Continue reading “What We Learned From Hacksaw Ridge”
Hope. The defining factor between Christianity and Secularism. As I wrote about in my previous post, defining hope within Christ, we understand hope as being grounded on the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ and truth of the Gospel, complete contentment within Christ and His plan, having released our sorrows and stress to Him, which allows us to look forward to the future “with eager expectation.”
In times like this, it can be difficult to have hope. Terror, with its contagious cold, takes ahold of even the bravest of men. Despair, with its fingers of dread, creeps in like a thief at night. One by one, we succumb to terror, and in our terror, we are moved to despair.
And yet God is a God of hope! These words seem to be the most difficult to utter, but they remain true. In the middle of the storm, God is there. He has all power, He has a plan, and it is good. And, through this plan, we have received faith and rejoice in our hope. He sent His son into a world far worse then one inhabited with the coronavirus, malaria, or even ebola. He sent his son into a world inhabited with sin, with the purpose of defeating that sin and ultimately eradicating it from humanity.
Continue reading “Hope: The Defining Line Between Salvation and Disbelief”Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1, New International Version
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:7
One of the most fulfilling experiences as a Christian is to discover the full measure of Christ’s grace. Not only does His grace encompass all sin, death, and hatred, but it also covers our weakness. After all, it is within our weakness that our true hearts are revealed.
Christ shows His perfection through our imperfection. In times of pain and trial, he is the one most glorified through us, His servants. And even though he brings trials for a reason, he does take a measure of that pain and anger and sorrow upon himself.
Continue reading “God’s Fulfillment Through Man’s Insufficiency”
Today, one word dominates the news- Coronavirus. As I write this, my little brother and best friend Noah is on a plane back to the USA for a family wedding. Already, he has told me that over 70% of all passengers, workers, pilots, stewardesses, and all other people found in an airport are wearing masks to prevent the spread of the virus. Racism, in ways we could never have foreseen, is on the rise. Asians are commonly being prejudiced against simply because of their race, along with the fact that the virus originated in (and has stayed focused on) China.
The Coronavirus has brought more than a deadly disease- it has brought fear. From Buddhists to Atheists, Christians to Mormons, every single religion has harbingers and doomsdayers writing dozens of posts or articles declaring the end of time. Fear has entered the heart of almost every person within a four-hundred mile radius of the disease and its carriers.
People are terrified of this virus. In some ways, the terror has spread even further than the horror inspired by Ebola. Ebola, at least, was curable (and would eventually receive a cure). Being a virus, the coronavirus can’t be cured. . . it can only be immunized against. At this point, the only thing that can cure it would be to constantly quarantine those hit and hope that a vaccine is developed soon.
The fear caused by this virus has taken ahold of the United States. People are buying food in bulk, the Chinese stock market is crashing, airline prices are dirt cheap, flights are being canceled altogether, and face masks to guard against germs have long since been bought from Amazon.
We, as Christians, are called to be peacemakers in a time of crisis. While others hide in their homes, we are called to be brave and fearless, protected by the Lord and thus spreading His name. Believers, let’s rise and be strong witnesses in this time of darkness. There’s no need to be afraid! Christ is in control (see Romans 8:28), He has a plan, and it is good.
Christ is in control (see Romans 8:28), He has a plan, and it is good.
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Finally, we are also called to pray. Pray for Asia, that the terrible virus rampaging through it would be destroyed. Pray for the United States, that they will have wisdom in dealing with the recent outbreaks. And pray for the rest of the world, that God’s hand of protection will be on His people, and that this disease would be vanquished at least. God bless you.
Alright, that’s all for today. This was a (rare) short post, but I hope you enjoyed it, and I thank you for reading it. If you did enjoy it, be sure to click that Follow button below (or to the side). That way, when I release a new post, you’ll get notified. Thanks again, and I hope you have a fantastic day!
Shoutout to Brianna Clay for requesting this post. Bri, you’re an awesome friend and a better reader. Thanks a ton.
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Movies have come a long way since the 1940s. Where there used to be small screens, playing black-and-white pictures with no sound, there are now massive screens, playing high-definition images with quality surround-sound, all for the enjoyment of the average Joe.
Looking past the outward changes, we’ve also seen a lot of differences within the movie-making industry. In several ways, the industry has seemed to devolve, allowing itself to be controlled by the culture around it. In other ways, we have seen major improvements, namely in the Christian movement industry. But what changes do we see in secular movies?
Continue reading “The Scary Truth About Christianity and Modern-Day Movies”
Last week, we learned about dating and courtship. We learned what true dating and courtship are, and we also defined the two terms. Then, we set the bare minimum standard for dating, reiterating what I published a few months ago in my post “5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Date Until You’re 19”. This post specifically laid out guidelines on deciding when to actually start dating. These included, but are not limited to, financial stability, a knowledge of proper manners, emotional stability, spiritual maturity, and discipleship by men/women in the Church.
Moving on past when to date, we also learned when not to date. High school was discussed in detail, and it was eventually decided that, as a general rule, high school dating is neither necessary nor reasonable, based on the reasoning found in this article, published by the Circe Institute.
After all of that, we are still left with one major question- what does real, Christian dating look like? This is, quite unfortunately, a question that few ask and even fewer would care to answer. Most Christians date whenever and however they wish, leaving younger, more inquisitive minds with a warped image of both themselves and their relationships. Somehow, we have almost deluded our younger generation into believing that young teenagers are within their rights to date before the age of fifteen.
This is a travesty. Nobody seems to know what real, Christian dating is. Some, such as Joshua Harris, seemed to have a clear picture, only to fall to the world’s pressures and recant. Others claim to have a clear picture but they deceive both themselves and others, all under the guise of a Christ-like performance. Truly, a sad thing has happened to the Christian community.
Dating must begin first and foremost with the Bible. I, personally, believe in the Bible as the full and inspired Word of God, flawless and infallible, as the final source on any matter regarding Christianity. So, with that, let’s take a look at two key verses that speak into this matter.
Continue reading “The Art of (Christian)Dating”
The last time I wrote on this subject, we learned the differences between two terms: “dating” and “courting”. At the end, I concluded two things- that the term doesn’t matter, and that they still need to focus on one thing- marriage.
It is now, several months later, that I realize the term does matter. The differences between dating and courting heavily seperate the two terms, and yet it is something many of us, including myself, do not fully understand.
Dating has become corrupted. Even the great Joshua Harris, glorified guru of the Christian dating industry, mis-defined dating. Actually, he didn’t define it at all. He simply said to “stop dating, start courting”. Yet again I find myself disagreeing with Mr. Harris, despite the fact that these words were uttered well over two decades ago.
Before we continue, let us define these terms in a more reasonable manner.
Dating: building a romantic relationship with a member of the opposite sex, operating under the cover of parents/parental figures and working towards the possibility of courtship.
Courting: building a romantic relationship with a member of the opposite sex, having already dated for a reasonable period of time, remaining under the covering of parents but including members of the church, and working towards the possibility of marriage.
Continue reading “To Date or Not to Date?”
Kobe Bryant has been dead for almost exactly a month. With his death came some of the greatest gatherings of celebrities the world has ever seen, the largest of which took place three days ago at the Staples Center, where fans, celebrities, basketball players, rappers, and even a former president gathered to honor the legend named Kobe Bryant.
Continue reading “A Recap of Kobe Bryant’s Memorial”
Elisha McFarland 