Prayer isn’t just words. It’s a reflection of your heart, your faith, and your relationship with God. How you approach prayer, both for yourself and for others, reveals where you stand spiritually and how deeply you trust Him. When someone asks you to pray, pause for a moment. Before you react, judge, or offer advice, remember this: they are seeking God. Your role isn’t to critique, debate, or analyze; your role is to lift, to intercede, and to stand with them in faith. Carry Each Other’s Burdens “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Gal 6:2 When we pray for others, we are shouldering a piece of their struggle, joining them in the invisible work of God’s kingdom. It doesn’t matter if you know all the details or understand the situation perfectly. What matters is your willingness to approach God with love and humility. The Power of Unity in Prayer Prayer is personal, but it’s also relational. Jesus said: “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matt 18:20 Whether you’re praying alone or alongside someone else, your focus should be on God. Let your words be guided by compassion, not judgment. Let your thoughts reflect care, not assumptions. A prayer of empathy and faith can speak volumes more than any advice or opinion ever could. Pray Boldly and Honestly And remember, the same principle applies to your own prayers. Don’t hold back because of fear, shame, or doubt. God is patient, compassionate, and attentive. He hears your cries, your gratitude, your confessions, and your questions. “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” Ps 145:18 Every prayer you offer, whether for yourself or others, is a step closer to God. Every moment spent in intercession, gratitude, or quiet communion builds trust, strengthens faith, and spreads love. Connection, Love, Reflection So the next time someone asks for prayer, or the next time you kneel alone, approach it with your full heart. Pray with intention and pray with love. And above all, pray knowing that God is listening, moving, and answering even in ways you might never see. Prayer is more than ritual. It’s a connection. It’s love. It’s trust. And it’s the purest way we reflect God’s heart to the world © Jane Isley

This has become one of the most damaging habits in modern Christianity: People curated, dissected, politicized, and trademarked Scripture. People highlight what comforts, quote what supports, and ignore what confronts. Honestly, it’s just preference dressed up in spiritual language that fits the bill at the moment. Cherry-picking isn’t a new trend by any means; history verifies this over and over. But the church has gotten quite bold about it. Verses are yanked out of context, slapped on mugs, elevated into doctrines, and built into entire belief systems. And anything that challenges those fragments of Christianity gets dismissed as outdated, misunderstood, or “not for today.” God’s word isn’t rejected outright; it’s just outright filtered. As though that makes it ok somehow, deemed “permissible” because it gets reinterpreted to “fit the times.” God is timeless; if it were meant ONLY for that time in history, we’d have more crucifixions. By filtering God, people get to avoid submitting to Him. Chapters and verses were added to Scripture to help us study, not to permit us to dissect God into the parts we like and parts we tolerate. The Bible was written as a unified message, yet the modern church treats it like a buffet. One of the clearest symptoms is how easily we divide God Himself. Passages get labeled as “loving” and others as “problematic,” as if God’s character shifts with the culture. But this isn’t really about testaments or theology. It’s about control. People wanting control. A whole God requires repentance. A customized god requires nothing from people. So Scripture gets shrunk to fit lifestyles instead of letting it reshape us. Disobedience got spiritualized, sin got excused, and faithfulness was redefined. And when God’s word pushes back, people accuse it of being harsh rather than honest. Here’s the uncomfortable truth: when we cherry-pick Scripture, we teach the world they can do the same. We handed unbelievers permission to reshape God however they see fit, because that’s exactly what we’re doing. The Bible doesn’t need to be softened, and God doesn’t need to be updated. What needs to change is the modern church’s willingness to stop editing God and start following Him. © Jane Isley

A few of you know some details about what has been going on in my personal life since September of last year. What no one knows is how bad it’s been. This is not an all-about-me story, but I will share some personal details to give context. When Everything Went Wrong In September, I got an NJ feeding tube. If you are not familiar, it is a tube that goes through the nose, down the throat, and feeds nutrition into my small intestine. This was the part of me that the extended car warranty did not cover at birth. Then, on November 4, I had a permanent feeding tube surgically placed in my stomach. Nothing went as planned. When I say that, I do not mean one or two minor setbacks, or even three, four, five, six, or seven things. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong to a level so insane that even providers I am working with are talking about it, and things are still far from resolved. I have faced challenges in my life before. But this. This was different. This was a trauma. This was deep depression. This was severe and constant pain, betrayal, anger, hopelessness, and anxiety. To put my mind into perspective, I had to order my medical alert bracelet. I had DNR engraved on it. Where My Faith Was Tested But here’s the thing, even in my hurt and anger, God didn’t love me less. He waited patiently through my depression until I finally broke and confronted Him, told Him how angry I was, and admitted that I felt abandoned after finally receiving help after years of fighting the medical system, only to have the medical system fail so badly. I genuinely lost trust in God; He knew that, yet He didn’t leave me, because I still took it to Him, my Father. Now, there is a whole crap ton more that went on between God and me, and at some point in the future, I may share it, but I’m here to talk about a pattern I started to see with other Christians. It finally came full circle and hit me, Holy Ghost goose bumps and all. This wasn’t just spiritual warfare, although it was the worst I have ever gone through. This was something else. This was to see where I would go when the world pushed me to the edge. It was a preparation period. And I see now that I have not been the only one. So many people I know from all over the country and across the globe, both online and in person, have been going through, or have recently gone through, an exhausting trial. I sat there, and I counted. The total number left me jaw-dropped for a few minutes in my office. Not ten people, not twenty, not thirty, not even forty, but well past that.That is not a coincidence or an isolated occurrence, people. God is up to something. I’ve never witnessed what I am seeing now. Why This Feels Different I’ve never seen this level of personal and intense spiritual warfare attacking Christians, and in many cases, the severity of these attacks without God intervening sooner. He let this play out on all of us. We need to ask ourselves why? I’ve always found that satan really loves to go after people he can see drawing closer to God, people he can see God priming and paving a future for. Satan has been fighting on a magnitude I have never encountered before in my life, and that doesn’t happen for no reason. None of what I have learned from these other Christians since starting to come out of my own trial is a coincidence. I also didn’t learn the full scope of these other trials until I reached a personal turning point with God, and then I was suddenly overwhelmed by story after story. God, the world, and satan are always testing us. But this is different; I am also not the only one who has picked up that something is going on, either. I think there are a whole lot more people, since last fall, who have been tested to the brink to see what metal their armour was really made of that we do not know about. What Comes After the Testing This is for everyone reading this. There is a purpose to what we have been going through lately. I promise you that. Even when it felt isolating, even when it felt unbearable, none of it was wasted. Many of us walked through our trials alone, unaware that others were enduring similar. It was preparation. To those who kept choosing Him even when everything fell apart, hold on to your knickers, because something is coming. God allowed the season of testing to reveal what we are truly made of, not just to Him, but also for us to see it in ourselves. © 2026 Jane Isley Want more content like this? Explore more articles in Knowing God. Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or Cmd + P (Mac) to print this article or save it as a PDF.

In his book Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God, Tim Keller draws attention to a word in 1 John 1:9 that many readers overlook. The apostle writes: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”1 John 1:9 At first, this phrasing feels almost contradictory.God is just to forgive us? Forgiveness sounds like mercy or kindness. Justice sounds like punishment. A just judge does not excuse guilt. He condemns it. So how can God be just when He forgives sinners? A Debt Already Paid The answer lies at the center of the Christian faith, the cross. Scripture teaches that Jesus did not merely make forgiveness possible. He fully paid the debt our sin incurred by bearing its penalty in our place. Once a debt has been paid in full, justice no longer demands payment. In fact, it forbids it. To require repayment would not be righteous. It would be unjust. This means God does not forgive reluctantly, as though He must override His justice in order to show mercy. He forgives because justice has already been satisfied. He honors the sufficiency of His Son’s sacrifice. To deny forgiveness would be to deny what the cross accomplished. Our standing before God, then, is not fragile or uncertain. It is legally secure. The Myth of Emotional Currency Still, many of us live as though forgiveness must be purchased with feeling. We assume the currency God accepts is sorrow. We believe the depth of our guilt, the heaviness we feel, or the intensity of our tears somehow makes forgiveness more likely. So we linger in shame. We replay our failures. We wait until we feel forgiven. But John directs our confidence away from ourselves entirely. Forgiveness does not rest on the intensity of our emotions or the quality of our repentance. It rests on God’s character, on His faithfulness and His justice. Our hope does not come from looking inward at our own hearts. It comes from looking outward at His. Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash Why Confession Still Matters If our sins are already paid for, why confess them at all? We confess not to earn forgiveness, but to restore fellowship. Sin does not remove us from God’s family, but it does disrupt intimacy. In any healthy relationship, love does not eliminate the need for apology. It deepens it. You say “I’m sorry” not because you fear rejection, but because you value closeness. That is why we confess. Not approaching God covered in shame or fixated on our failures, but coming with confidence. As the writer of Hebrews says: “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.”Hebrews 4:16 We come honestly because we already know how we will be received. We look to the cross and receive the mercy that was secured long before we asked for it. Resting in Who God Is Ultimately, our peace comes from relying on God’s character rather than our own. David understood this when he prayed: “Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy. In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness.”Psalm 143:1 David did not ask to be heard because of his own faithfulness, but because of God’s. Had he depended on his own record, he might never have prayed at all. Like him, we find freedom when we stop trying to prove ourselves worthy of forgiveness and start trusting the One who delights to give it. God is not good because we are repentant enough. He is good because He is God. And that is why, even on our worst days, we can still come to Him with confidence and rest. If you haven’t already, read the article “One Question Changed How I See the Gospel” to explore the Gospel more deeply. © Mikiyas Astatke

Whenever I heard the word ‘repent,’ I used to get uncomfortable. I suppose I had this notion that people would scream at me to repent, or else I would go to hell. I also used to think that God was an angry God before I got saved. That may be how you view repentance and the Lord as well. However, consider this: repentance is more than just saying ‘sorry.' As I’ve continued on my walk with Jesus, I’ve learned that repentance is necessary and actually relieving to the soul. Repentance isn’t berating yourself for what you’ve done. It’s realizing that you are a broken human being in need of God’s love and mercy. It’s having the strength to lay all of your sins and burdens down at God’s feet. You might have heard this statement before: “Come as you are, but don’t stay as you are.” That is precisely how our relationships are with Jesus. Jesus will never turn away from us and our sins, but as we grow with Him and repent, we must change. Repentance doesn’t mean simply saying “sorry God!” and moving on with your day. It means grieving over the sin you have been struggling with and being completely open to God about it. It means praying about it for however long you need. You must realize that the sin you have committed isn’t good for you, and more importantly, for God. Search for ‘repentance’ on Google, and the definition is literally sincere regret and remorse. You must truly regret your sin to repent. Sin isn’t a control mechanism for us; the things considered as sins are genuinely bad for us. They aren’t there for no reason, you know. I’ve struggled with this A LOT. There are times when I sin, and I try to ‘repent’, and then about an hour later, I’ll go back to the same old sin. God knows everything about us; He knows our innermost thoughts and feelings. We must pray to Him for pure hearts and pure intentions to repent. We cannot repeatedly abuse His grace. I read an excellent book called “Jesus Is…” by Judah Smith, in which he discusses how we need to take our relationship with Him seriously. Sinning is cheating on the Lord; it is devoting our time to Satan/worldly things rather than Heaven. The Lord has a jealous love for us. This isn’t meant to make us feel trapped; it’s meant to make us feel loved and protected. He knows that when we sin, we fall into lies, complete with meaninglessness. We must stay on the straight, narrow path with Jesus. That means we must seriously repent! So rather than just apologizing to God, we must change our ways and remember what He has done for us. Remembrance of Him keeps us from sinning. That way, when temptation arises, we will be reminded of God and how much better He is for us. Then, we will choose Him and His ways! As James 1 3–4 says, we must endure in faithfulness. If we have enough faith in Jesus, we can overcome temptation and sin. And if we don’t, we can pray to God for it (James 1 5–8). So, repentance isn’t necessary to make you feel worthless in God’s eyes. It actually makes you even more worthy in God’s eyes because you are showing humility and submission to Him. Next time we repent, brothers and sisters, let’s remember to move patiently through our apologies/regrets and truly change our ways. God bless you all. © Sienna Krieg

Introduction Richard Dawkins, a prominent British biologist and atheist, believes that complex things appear to be designed for a purpose, but are not. [1] Authors such as Dr. Steven C. Meyer (Return of the God Hypothesis), Professor John Lennox (Cosmic Chemistry: Do God and Science Mix?), and Dr. James Tour, et all (Mystery of Life’s Origin) have written books providing ample scientific and philosophical evidence that complex things are, in fact, genuinely designed by an intelligent designer, not just appearing to be so. When and how did science replace God? Before science offered “real explanations” of how life began and evolved to its present state, humanity relied on belief in God. As knowledge grew, God became unnecessary. How did this happen? The earliest pioneers of modern science didn’t see their work as a replacement for God. Modern science was not born in opposition to belief in God; the pioneers of modern science saw their work as revealing Him. Isaac Newton, who is regarded as one of the greatest scientists in history, believed the order of the universe reflected divine intelligence: This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being. [2] Robert Boyle, one of the founders of modern chemistry and a pioneer of the scientific method, saw science as a means to honor God: The study of nature is a duty we owe to God. [3] These early scientists believed nature was understandable and discoverable only because it was created by an intelligent, rational mind. Their faith inspired their work rather than hindering it. As science advanced during the scientific revolution, its success led many thinkers to assume that material explanations were sufficient for everything. In his book cited above, Dr. Meyer explains how this philosophical shift occurred: The success of mechanistic explanations led many scientists to assume that matter and energy alone could explain all of reality. [4] In other words, the existence of God wasn’t disproven by scientists; His existence was simply deemed unnecessary. This assumption took root in scientific circles during the Enlightenment and shaped modern materialism. Challenges to the assumption that “Science has explained God away.” The following three recent scientific discoveries undermine this assumption. Philosopher of science Stephen C. Meyer discusses these discoveries and their implications in his book Return of the God Hypothesis. 1. The universe had a beginning. The Big Bang confirmed that the universe is not eternal. The discovery that space, time, matter, and energy all came into existence at a definite point in the past counters the idea of an eternal, unchanging cosmos, suggesting a transcendent cause. 2. Life exists only because the universe is governed by precise, physical laws, making chance explanations highly implausible. 3. The complex information in DNA points to a conscious mind. Naturalistic mechanisms alone cannot adequately explain how complex biological information arose. We have never observed information arise from purely material processes without the involvement of a mind. [5] Inference to the Best Explanation Using philosophical reasoning, Dr. Meyer argues that the God hypothesis — a personal, intelligent Designer — is the best metaphysical explanation for what we see. An all-powerful, intelligent, spaceless, timeless, immaterial, and personal Creator is a far more coherent explanation of life than materialistic alternatives. The central thesis in his book is that scientific data doesn’t undermine belief in God; rather, as scientific knowledge and understanding deepen, theism becomes a stronger and more plausible explanation for why the universe exists as it does. As mathematician and philosopher John Lennox explains, biological systems do not merely show complexity; they show language (which always comes from a mind). In his discussions and books, he emphasizes that human reason and the intelligible nature of the universe (e.g., mathematical laws) are consistent with the belief in a Creator who designed a universe that can be studied and understood. Science explains how things work; it does not explain why they exist. [6] Like Dr. Meyer, Professor Lennox argues that chance lacks creative power! He insists that a purely materialistic worldview struggles to account for the coherence and order we observe. He asserts that theism provides a framework that makes sense of both scientific knowledge and the deeper questions of meaning and purpose. Self-creation is logically impossible. Something cannot create itself. [7] Conclusion Life contains coded instructions, best explained by intelligent design. Faith and reason can be reunited by explaining reality in terms of both how and why God, as the mind behind DNA, explains both order and intelligence. A personal, intelligent, purposeful Creator revealed in the God of the Bible uniquely explains: Creation from nothing Order and rationality Moral meaning and human dignity Belief in the God of the Bible is not a relic of the past. It is increasingly consistent with the best scientific evidence we have. Science hasn’t disproved the God hypothesis; on the contrary, it has brought it back with a profound force. © Debra Hodges Resources: Wikipedia contributors. (2025, December 17). The blind watchmaker. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blind_Watchmaker Isaac Newton, Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/newton/ Robert Boyle, The Christian Virtuoso https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/boyle/ Stephen C. Meyer, Return of the God Hypothesis (HarperOne) https://www.harpercollins.com/products/return-of-the-god-hypothesis-stephen-c-meyer Stephen C. Meyer, Return of the God Hypothesis John C. Lennox, God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God? (Lion Hudson) https://lionhudson.com/gods-undertaker/ John Lennox, God’s Undertaker

I have a thing for words; words are fun, they are creative outlets. I use words in my everyday vocabulary that make people look twice at me all the time. I truly believe words and names are important, otherwise why were we given speech by God in the first place? And when a word from the Bible gets stuck in my head for days, I must investigate why. Hebrew to Greek. Machah: To wipe, blot out, obliterate (Hebrew) “But now, please forgive their sin — but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.” Exodus 32:32–33 Exaleiphó: To wipe out, to blot out, to erase, to obliterate (Greek) “The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.” Revelation 3:5 “Blot” Wasn’t Chosen Casually. One thing I noticed right away, and want to convey, is that this word, in Hebrew or Greek, has many individual meanings. But put together, these meanings reveal a more profound and painful final action. We know the Holy Spirit was heavily involved in the Bible being written, but I also believe, despite glitches, personal choices, and knowledge unknown at the time, that the Holy Spirit also had a hand in corralling humanity as they translated it, hence why we have such good translations. “Blot” was chosen to make us see, literally, the act of our name being erased, wiped out, poof, obliterated. It calls up an image of ink on paper being smeared, but ink still left to remind our Father that a name was once there. That is a conscious choice to make that ☝️happen. So, I’m still sitting here contemplating that word, the finality of it, the seriousness of it, and the fact that there is only one Book of Life at the end. And then something occurred to me: all our names were already written in that book from the moment we were a mere twinkle, and that means something. A big something. Look again at Exodus closely: “But now, please forgive their sin — but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.” We were written in the Book of Life from the moment He knew us. He didn’t decide who was worthy or loved later on; we are already there. He excluded no one. We are the only ones capable of doing that. We force His hand. And when that happens, He has to open that book and blot out a name that was once lovingly written there. Jesus wept. Do you really think God doesn’t when that happens? © Jane Isley

As I was meditating on Psalm 40:12–13, these words captured my heart: "For troubles without number surround me;my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.They are more than the hairs of my head,and my heart fails within me. Be pleased to save me, Lord;come quickly, Lord, to help me." One phrase stopped me. “Be pleased to save me, Lord.” It almost sounds strange, doesn’t it? Why would David ask God to be pleased to save him? Why not simply say, “Save me”? And if God truly is the One who works in us “to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose” (Philippians 2:13), then why does He ever wait? Why doesn’t He strengthen our will from the start? Why does He sometimes allow us to sink so deeply into weakness that hope feels distant? The more I thought about the words “Be pleased,” the more I asked myself: who else would be pleased to see me saved? The answer was painfully clear. Me. That’s when it clicked. When I’ve cried out to God for help, I realized I wasn’t always longing for holiness; I was longing for relief. I wanted to feel better. I wanted my sense of moral stability back. I wanted to see a “righteous” version of myself again, the me who felt full of grace, the me who felt holy, strong, capable, and spiritually okay. This is what hidden self-righteousness does to us. It makes our prayers sound spiritual while quietly centering everything around “me.” It can appear like we want God to be pleased, but deep down we mostly want to be pleased with ourselves. We want to feel righteous again. We want our inner comfort restored. We want God’s help so our own sense of moral comfort can be restored. It takes spiritual maturity to love God for who He is, even when He does not make us feel righteous in the moment. Maturity is when God becomes lovely in Himself, not only when He makes us feel good about our spiritual condition. That is what makes David’s prayer so powerful. His cry is not simply, “Lord, rescue me so I can feel better.” It is, “Lord, rescue me in a way that pleases You.” He does not want deliverance that restores his pride. He wants deliverance that glorifies God and humbles his heart. He wants saving that leads to worship, not saving that leads back to self-confidence. So why does God sometimes let us feel the full weight of our weakness? Not because He is cruel.Not because He is distant.But because He is forming humility, not just “good” behavior. If He rescued us too quickly, we might enjoy freedom without learning dependence. We might walk in outward obedience while still loving ourselves more than we love Him. We might crave the feeling of righteousness rather than craving God Himself. Sometimes God lets us feel lost so that when He saves, our response is gratitude instead of pride. Then obedience flows from humility instead of ego. Sometimes He allows the struggle not because He refuses to help, but because He is teaching us to love Him more than we love feeling righteous. He is shaping hearts that want Him more than comfort, more than moral success, more than self-approval. Next time you ask for His help, remember to place His pleasure above your comfort. Seek His will before your relief. Let that be the posture of your heart: “Be pleased to save me, Lord. Come quickly to help me.” © Mikiyas Astatke

“[…] The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks.” Gen 6:15–17 Well, For Sure, We Know It Was Big And honestly, that is about it, other than the decks, pitch being used, door placement, and gopher wood, which, btw, the word “gopher” is a hapax legomenon (all I see is Dr. Suess when I see that word) because that’s the only time that word is used in the Bible, ever. So we don’t actually know what type of wood would be in today’s world. Based on the passage, it could possibly be a giant rectangular barge-like structure, given the dimensions provided. However, it could also have had a round-ish shape, as indicated in verse 14, where the word tebah is used. Why this is interesting is that in Exodus 2:3, the same word is used about the basket Moses was laid in, indicating the possibility of a rounded shape. Kentucky, USA In Kentucky, someone actually built the ark based on the given dimensions and standard knowledge of ships, measuring a whopping 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high. wikipedia.com Next, I created an image in chatGPT with dimensions and a comparison to the Titanic if it were built more rectangular (barge-like) shape than a traditional ship design. Why None Of That Matters Well, yes, it does matter to a point, don’t me wrong on that, but not as much as it should, at least not at first. Let me explain. Whether the Ark was a rectangular cube thingy, more ship-like, or a gigantic barge, there’s one small but huge phrase that is often overlooked in all of this debate, and I think it needs to be read, thought on, and acknowledged first before you do a squirrel dive into the science behind the Ark. “Then the Lord shut him in.” Think about that for a moment. Noah was instructed to build ONE door on the side, and when everybody was inside, He shut him in. No matter the shape of the Ark, God took it upon Himself to shut Noah in and protect him and his family. That door was the only door for people to enter. Noah was righteous before God; he had immense faith and showed that by building the ark as instructed, which you have to admit was probably a lot to take in when He got these instructions and knowing what it meant. There Was Only Ever One Door Anyone could have walked through the door and been saved from the flood, but they didn’t by choice. In 2 Peter 2:5 we learn that Noah was also a “preacher of righteousness .” The Bible doesn’t point something out for no reason; Noah would have been preaching salvation and about what was coming. So, why did God “shut Him in?” A couple of reasons actually for us to see and understand, and yes, you can have a couple of answers for one thing that are all equal in meaning. To display His sovereignty and judgment. To keep that world out, the people made their choice. Safety, waterproofing, and it demonstrates His protection to those who choose Him. Sometimes God closes doors because He is choosing to shut certain things out. (figurative) The people knew what Noah was doing; you don’t start chopping down that many trees in your backyard and not have the neighbors notice the giant boat getting built in your backyard. So while all the studies, debates, and science out there are absolutely fun and amazing to read about the Ark, that fascination should not overlook or replace studying everything else being said to us about that time in history, and how big was Noah’s ark is a question that ultimately points us back to what Scripture emphasizes about God’s protection. Enter through that door today, while it is still open. © 2025 Jane Isley Want more content like this? Explore more articles in Exploring Scripture. Sources, References & Reads: Genesis 7:16  Genesis 6:10–20 Patterns of Evidence   Was the Ark Sea worthy? Answers in Genesis: Thinking outside the box. Biblical Thoughts — For God’s Glory: Ark of Noah Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or Cmd + P (Mac) to print this article or save it as a PDF.

By guest author Pastor Rich Bittermen The bell tower threw a long shadow across the quad.Flyers flapped on a corkboard…movie nights, climate rallies, and three printed rainbows promising “safe space, no shame.” A freshman in a hoodie stood there for a moment, thumbing through his phone. A headline blinked up from his screen:“1 in 5 Gen Z now identify as LGBT.” He didn’t flinch. He just shouldered his backpack, tucked the leather Bible deeper inside, and kept walking. A New Normal That Isn’t According to Gallup, 7.2% of all U.S. adults identify as LGBT. But among Gen Z, those born after 1997, that number has surged to 19.7%. Almost one in five. Not claimed in passing, but embraced, published, and pressed into every layer of public life. These are not secret sins or silent struggles. These are banners now, waved from classrooms, streaming platforms, and TikTok timelines. What once whispered from shadows now demands celebration in the streets. But the Word of God has not moved. It sits where it always has, solid and unblinking, like a stone in a river while the current rushes past in protest. So we must speak. Not with outrage, not with distance, but with urgency and tears. Behind Every Number, a Name A young man once sat across from me in the quiet of the church office. He stared at his coffee but never drank it. The Styrofoam cup trembled slightly in his hand. “Pastor,” he said, “do you think I’m ruined?” That’s what this conversation is really about. Not Gallup charts. It’s about souls. Souls who wonder if the gospel is big enough to reach them. Souls who are being catechized by a rainbow-washed world that says: “This is who you are. This is your truth. This is love.” We must be clear: not every person who feels this temptation commits this sin. And not every person who struggles in silence has been discipled in truth. But everyone, everyone, needs a gospel strong enough to save, and a church willing to sit with them long enough to show them Jesus. Temptation Is Not Identity Let’s make this unmistakably clear: Temptation is not identity. Inclination is not destiny. To feel a pull is not to be condemned.To practice the act is to disobey God. The Bible defines sin not by what we feel, but by what we do. Homosexuality, like adultery or drunkenness or greed, is a behavior that God condemns…not a personality trait, not a quirk of biology. Some are more inclined to it, yes. Just as others are more inclined to rage or addiction. But no one is born bound to sin. The gospel breaks every chain. The World Redefines; God Restores A culture that removes sex from covenant and morality has nowhere left to stand. Once sexual desire becomes a consumer product, no more meaningful than choosing carrots over Brussels sprouts, then marriage collapses, families fracture, and civilization forgets how to blush. Rome fell that way. So did Babylon. So, quietly, are we. When God’s design for sexuality is abandoned, what replaces it is not freedom but confusion. Not joy, but a restless ache that success and slogans cannot touch. The Ache Behind the Applause You’ll hear it said that the LGBT community is vibrant and strong. That they’ve found their place. That they’ve claimed their pride. But I have seen too many behind closed doors, long after the parade has ended, to believe it. They carry the ache of being misunderstood. The shame of wanting what they know to be wrong. The fear of growing old and being alone. What looks like celebration is often a cry for belonging. What sounds like confidence is often the soundtrack to an identity that will not hold. Romans 1 tells us plainly that when men and women trade God’s design for their own passions, there is judgment, but not just judgment in the future. The judgment begins now, in the form of confusion, futility, and the darkening of the heart. They are not just sinning.They have been sinned against. Such Were Some of You And yet this is not the end of the story. Paul writes to the Corinthian church: “Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality… will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you.But you were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”-1 Corinthians 6:9–11 Some of them had been practicing homosexuals. Others had been caught in adultery, drunkenness, covetousness. Paul doesn’t separate them into levels. He simply points to the blood of Jesus and says: Washed. Sanctified. Justified. That is what the gospel does.It doesn’t sweep your past under a rug.It scrubs it clean.It doesn’t leave you nameless.It gives you sonship. That young man in my office? He’s not ruined. He’s redeemed. Friendship Is Not Fornication One of the great lies of our age is the confusion between intimacy and impurity. The world cannot imagine two men being close without being lovers. It cannot picture two women walking through sorrow and joy without assuming sin. But the Bible gives us David and Jonathan, a friendship so deep, so loyal, so bonded, that David would later write: “Your love to me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women.” -2 Samuel 1:26 Not a hint of sin. Just God-given friendship.We must recover that category in the church. Deep, holy, covenant friendships that fight loneliness without fueling lust. Real companionship that welcomes a third person into the fold instead of shutting the door to protect hidden sin. When two walk together in Christ, and a third comes bearing the same heart-they are welcomed. That is friendship.When a third comes and is resented, resisted, and feared-lust may be lurking. Repentance Means Quit The message of Christ is not tolerance. It is transformation. The call is not to manage our sin.The call is to kill it. “Cease to do evil. Learn to do good.”-Isaiah 1:16–17 Repentance means quit. Quit now. Quit forever. Not by might. Not by therapy. But by the Spirit of the Living God. Do you feel powerless? Good. So did the man with the withered hand. Jesus said, “Stretch it out.” And when the command came, the power came with it. So it is with every sin. The moment you decide to obey, Christ supplies the strength. Avoid the places. Cancel the subscriptions. Confess to someone in the church who will hold you up with truth and love. Step into the light and let the light burn clean. For Parents Who Are Afraid To the mother reading this with tears…To the father who’s too broken to speak…You are not alone. Your child may be caught in this storm, but God is not blind and He is not finished. Do not compromise. But do not stop praying. Do not cut off the phone calls. Be the one who always answers. Be the one who keeps a chair at the table. Truth and love are not opposites. In Christ, they are inseparable. For the One Still Struggling If you feel the pull of same-sex attraction and wonder if there is a place for you in Christ-The answer is yes.If you have committed the act and wonder if grace can still reach you-The answer is yes.If you have fought the same temptation a thousand times and failed again-Come to Christ. He knows temptation. He felt it. He did not yield. And now He gives mercy to the tempted. “We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses.” -Hebrews 4:15 He knows the exact shape of your ache.He knows what your tears taste like.And He’s not ashamed to call you His. A Call to the Church Do not flinch. Do not soften what Scripture has made clear. Do not smirk when others weep. Do not grow distant from those who struggle. The harvest is full of strugglers. The pews are not pure. We are all people being saved from something. This is not the hour for moral pride. It is the hour for gospel courage. Eternity Is Not a Theory One in five Gen Z now identify as LGBT. But behind that number is a soul. And that soul will live forever. The rainbow will fade. The slogans will age. But the Word of God will still be open. And the blood of Christ will still be enough. So we preach. We counsel. We cry. We repent. And we welcome. Because we were washed. Because we were sanctified. Because we were justified. And now we walk together toward the throne. © Pastor Rich Bitterman Originally published at https://richbitterman.com on September 3, 2025.