In the passage surrounding the raising of Lazarus, we can learn a lot of different things. But undergirding it all is the fact that Jesus is the Messiah, that He is God, and this story proves it. John sought to prove that Jesus was who He said He was by writing this gospel. Throughout this book, he shows much evidence that proves Jesus is the God-Man. As we wrap up this series on Lazarus, I want to hone in on the central element to this story: Jesus as Messiah, and briefly wh

This short post on discernment by Tim Challies, is our share for the day. Discernment, especially in Spiritual matters, can be a tricky thing. I know for me, distinguishing between "what is wise from what is wiser still" is especially hard. I appreciate that he also touches on the "dangers" of discernment. While leaders and teachers need to help protect the church from error, it takes discernment to know how best to do that in the plethora of arenas out there, be it the churc

Today's share comes from Dr. Adam Tyson over at Fortis Institute. In this podcast, he relays an Old Testament story involving King Ahab and the advice he sought. It's a cautionary tale, and an important one with much application for us today, particularly for men seeking to make wise decisions. I know for myself, it is easy to fall into some of the traps Dr. Tyson mentions. Traps like merely seeking affirmation instead of real advice. It is certainly a convicting listen, but

In the account of Lazarus, we see many different stories come together. We see the disciples both questioning and coming alongside Jesus, both on His decision to wait and His journey to see Mary and Martha. We see the plight of Lazarus' sisters as they grieve the death of their brother. We even see the watching Jews and their leaders, some who would believe, and others who would never believe no matter what (John 11:45-46). In the midst of it all, however, we see Jesus, both

I wanted to share this short from Keith Foskey. Many people claim that Jesus never said He was God, but in this clip, we find that He absolutely is God, and says as much in so many words in John chapter 8. It's a powerful message, and one I hope will encourage your faith. If you have further questions, I would encourage you to check out this booklet over at Fortis Institute. It answers several questions about what the Bible actually says about Jesus.

Today's content share comes from Tim Challies. It is an older post, part of a series he did on different ways we put God in a box. Here, he discusses ways we put God in a box, especially with our outreach and evangelism efforts. When it comes to God's sovereignty, we can easily go off the rails on both sides of the discussion. But when we realize our dependence on God for our own salvation and for the salvation of others, and remember that we are all truly responsible, it hel

I think one of the easiest things to forget as a Christian is that the gospel is not something only for unbelievers to hear. Let me put it this way: Christians need to be reminded of the gospel. It's not a one-and-done. And so for today's share, I'm actually sharing a YouTube short from Fortis, a reminder of what the work of Christ has done for believers. We have been covered in the righteousness of Christ, and now have permanent access to the God of the universe because of i

A common practice among photographers is applying something called a vignette to a finished image. If you're unfamiliar with that, the idea is simple: darken the edges of the frame. This helps keep the viewer's eyes focused on the center of the photograph. You can take it a step further by using a technique called dodging and burning, where you lighten or darken parts of the image to help direct the eye. It sounds like cheating, but it's pretty common and helps to tell the st

Well, tomorrow is Mother's Day. It's interesting, the calendar that is. We have so many holidays for so many things, and of course, there are discussions on various sides of that issue. "Oh, it's just a day so stores can sell more candy or cards," says one person. Another might state that these are good reminders, days that help us remember special people and events. I don't think Paul had these kinds of days in mind in Romans 14:5-9, per se, but I think some of the principle

Image Credit: Unsplash The current state of this world can cause us a bit of distress, to be sure. But it struck me today upon hearing yet another piece of distasteful news that that feeling that we have deep down when we see something unjust done to another person, is a normal response to wickedness. Now, what we do with that response of course is another matter, and both sides of this must be guarded and guided by Scripture. But we all long for a day when justice will reign

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." - Genesis 1:1 If you were to ask the question: "what is the most well-known Bible verse?", Genesis 1:1 would arguably be one of the responses you would receive. It's a very familiar verse. It is also an incredibly foundational verse. Regardless of what comes next, if we stumble over this verse, we'll stumble over what follows. "In the beginning", that is, at the start of time, the beginning of creation. There was only

Having grown up with classic Star Wars and Star Trek, I've always been somewhat of a Sci-Fi geek. But as it turns out, reality is stranger than fiction. So can we actually travel through time? Well, no, not exactly. But the concepts of time dilation, relativity, and other very sci-fi-esque concepts are apparently real, and yes they fit within a Christian worldview. In this article , Dr. Jason Lisle explains some of the concepts surrounding time and space, and it is definitely

A couple days ago I shared the biggest influences I've theologically, and then a video from Todd Friel about Ray Comfort (two of my biggest influencers). So today I'm going to share something from my third mention, R.C. Sproul. I would argue that one of his greatest contributions in terms of messages is his series on the holiness of God. Instead of pick out a single message to share, I commend to you the entire series. They're not long messages, and he is so easy to listen to

The last few days I have been confronted with a couple different consistent themes. One of those themes has been the use of words. The dangers of the 'tongue' is something that the Bible speaks often about. As James puts it: "So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!" "(James 3:5) I've noticed that as our culture decays, even advertisements are not free from the evils of speech

I recently shared my top three photographic influences. And so, today, I'd like to share my top theological influences. It can be especially dangerous nowadays with the technological advances we've made, to fall into bad teaching. There's a LOT of bad theology out there, and a lot of things that aren't all that helpful. That said, there's also a wealth of good, quality, sound doctrinal teaching as well. Couple caveats: first of all, we must always be careful to not elevate me

Well happy Monday all. For today's share we have a video from Fortis Institute discussing something that, quite frankly, I hadn't put too much thought into. Even still, after watching, I found it to be a very interesting topic, and one I hope you'll find helpful! Here is the video here .

Prayer is an interesting thing. It is a vital part of our communion with God. We pour out are hearts to Him, we praise Him for His goodness and blessing, we ask for His provision, we lift up others to Him for their needs. Sometimes we pray because our hearts are full and overflowing with gratitude towards God. Other times we cry in anger towards Him, not understanding His purposes. We run to God in prayer for help in times of distress. Yet oftentimes our prayers can be mundan

While a bit heady, this is a really fascinating article discussing the history behind stellar astronomy (a branch of astronomy dealing with stars and suns). It's amazing to think that our current understanding of stars has really only been fully accepted for a few hundred years, that is the heliocentric view (that the universe does not revolve around the earth), as opposed to the geocentric (that everything revolves around the earth). Why's all this important? I believe firs

I confess, I can be lazy. I know that comes as a shock to those who know me (insert sarcasm), but if I may, we all can be at times. And perhaps that's why God has seen to it that we have a lot of exhortations in Scripture on that very topic. While I kid a bit with my introduction, I know laziness at times is something I've struggled with in the past. Of course it comes in forms: how we feel affects our productivity, and in my case its often less about laziness per say, and mo

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I just watched this compelling video from Fortis Institute where Todd Friel answers a variety of questions from students at OSU. The first question definitely hits hard and is one that is important to be able to answer and discuss from a Biblical framework, but all of the questions and answers I found helpful and worth sharing with you all. I hope you'll find it as interesting and helpful.