Faithful Writers

Since so many like to cherry-pick their form of Christianity these days to believe in, let's reconcile this. They hate the God of the Old Testament (God of Wrath) and choose to follow the God of the New Testament (God of Love).

And if we stopped yanking this verse out of the middle of a very intimate, emotional conversation — if we actually slowed down and listened to what was really happening — we might hear something much more human. Much more hopeful. And far more powerful than a doctrinal threat.

In that moment, I knew a day would come when I would have to defend and fight for my right to say I am a mother in conversation.

Yes, there’s judgment. God deals seriously with sin. But I also saw a God who is incredibly patient. Who keeps giving second chances, and third, and fourth. Who rescues people over and over again, even when they keep running away.

I’m not talking about our prayers. What about our daily conversations? Would God listen to the casual chats between you and your Christian bro or faith-filled gal pal? Yes. The proof comes from the Hebrew scriptures.

I think more so, my mind should stay fixed on my Savior, the Author and Finisher of my Faith. The beauty of Who He is far more captivating than any of my five senses have beheld, albeit they’ve beheld much.

When I read that verse or heard it from the pulpit, I thought it meant: Read your Bible. It’s the inherent, infallible Words from the mouth of God. In reality, it was intended to reinforce the notion that the preacher’s dogmas (called doctrines) represented God's word and will on the matter.

The word abomination in the Bible has gone through a lot of reinterpretations and redefinitions. 

Some, probably many, will now go the route of saying Jesus accepted all sinners because He sat with them, therefore, this behavior is also accepted. No, He sat with sinners to show His love for them, no matter their sin, to tell them the truth, to offer open forgiveness, and to bring them to repentance.

I was told that self-defense for any reason was against the Bible. I be to differ.

Deliberate and intentional changing of the Bible to suit personal feelings is the hallmark making of creating a disaster film.

As the claps get closer, I feel the panic rising, my heart races, and my body revolts. With each new clap, I’m dragged backward in time. I try to stop the fall. I kick and scream, flailing my arms out, but I’m not able to hold on to the here and now. I don’t want to go back there.

I do love the odd bits in the Bible. There's the time “Tartarus” was used in the Bible. Except it wasn't.

If you say you are a Christian yet whip out the Enochs, Maccabees, Gad the Seer, Wisdom, Tobit, Judith, etc, when trying to prove a view, doctrine, or use it to object to something in the Bible. You're not even on the right track to begin with. If you're not a believer and do this, then that’s a whole different conversation.

Now, you might be saying, “If you know the tips, how do you fall to the bottom of the well?” Because it’s not magic. We’re all living real life here and — for whatever reasons — I’m sometimes tripped up along the way.

I couldn’t skirt around it, I couldn’t “back burner” it any longer. Once faced with it, it wasn’t going anywhere. The Holy Spirit made sure of that, I was being convicted to make a choice.

The Bible isn’t dead ink. Not because the pages themselves are like a magic potion. But because they have the ability to inspire the reader to living a wise life. There are lines in Scripture I’ve read a hundred times. But then one day, in the middle of a mess, or a moment of quiet, or a hard conversation with God, I’ll read that same line again — and it lands different. It breathes.

‎Some people are toxic, some are not meant for you. You need to do a deliberate act of sieving the number of people on your friend list, contact list, et cetra.

Turns out, the most unexpected place to grow your faith is on a classroom floor with a glue stick in one hand and someone’s lost tooth in the other.

Discipline is needed in child upbringing, but not abuse - they are 2 separate waters that do not mix.

I keep seeing this argument pop up, and I find it both obnoxious and very ignorant. The argument is that Mary wasn’t actually a virgin, and

They slapped religion on their thrones, not because they loved God, but because it kept the people in line. Faith became their favorite leash. And sadly, America is still repeating it.

I’d feel bad if I skipped a day. Worse if I missed two. By day three, I was convinced God was giving me the silent treatment and I’d better double up on devotions just to get back in His good graces.

I didn’t walk away from faith — but I did start asking harder questions. And wouldn’t you know it, that’s when something deeper began to grow.