Why does God test us? We cannot give an answer to this particular question without each of us personally answering a few other questions first. So, let's explore this commonly asked question together by looking at some Biblical examples.

All of us go through times of sadness, sorrow, or even depression. Scripture makes it clear that we live in a fallen world, and that because of sin, we will experience pain in this life. But the purpose of suffering is not to make us let go of life; rather its purpose is to mature us.

Talking about sin these days seems old fashioned and out of touch. Who really wants to think about sin or being sinful? Hamartiology is the study of sin and deals with how sin originated, how it affects humanity, and how it was and will ultimately be defeated.

When an important relationship is strained, it is as if we are carrying around a heavyweight. Darkness looms and nothing in our life seems quite right. Our relationship with God is just like that. And He pursues us. He stands at the door and knocks. He seeks us even in our fallenness.

We have all felt it. A pull towards disobedience, a desire to live our lives "on our own terms." Though we may know God's plans for our lives, or at least the commands that He gives us, we find it impossible to follow through. Why can’t we escape these sinful impulses? To find the answer, we must start at the very beginning.

Each month we will look at a word or phrase related to Christian theology, define it, give background about the theology behind the word, and what it means for us today. This month’s word is Atonement and the idea of Justification before God.

In a world that has been turned upside down by a global pandemic, racial unrest, and a perpetual political slugfest, I wonder... where is the joy in this journey? As a counselor I have seen an increasing number of people who are struggling.

Every time I read the book Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller, one quote sticks out to me as particularly profound: He writes, “The surest way for any couple to succeed in marriage is for both partners to say ‘The greatest threat to our marriage is my own self-centeredness.’”