The saddest thing I’ve ever seen was a funeral without hope. Typically labeled a “Celebration of Life,” this type of funeral merely reflects on the deceased’s earthly life and accomplishments. His buoyant attitude or her kindness to animals might be mentioned, but there’s nothing to celebrate because no matter how… Read More »Jesus Defeated Death—And Now You Will Too
Who is Jesus? People have debated this ever since his mother laid his precious head on a bed of straw. Was he a prophet? A good person whose example we should follow? Those are easy answers to accept, but what about the claim that Jesus is God? Can Jesus be… Read More »Jesus Knows Exactly What it’s Like to be Human
On a recent visit to Walmart’s Christmas card section, I found quite an array of mailable holiday greetings. Singing cards, pop-up cards, 3-D cards (which, admittedly, are kind of cool), cards with jokes, money-holder cards, and politically correct “Happy Holidays” cards. But Christmas cards with any type of meaningful Biblical… Read More »How to Observe Advent Like a Christian: Tips for Teens
“You can’t take it with you.” You’ve heard that saying many times. Maybe you’ve even said it yourself when you hear about someone who just blew 100k on a 2022 Porsche 911. Or when you learn of someone who made millions by investing in PayPal when it was first launched.… Read More »“You can’t take it with you”: Keep Your Focus On Eternity
It’s one of those buzz phrases Christians love: “heart of praise.” You can’t help imagining a room full of people with their hands in the air, bodies swaying, faces plastered with euphoria. Christian YA fiction books (particularly from 10+ years ago) are loaded with worship scenes like this. This is… Read More »From Silence to Song: How to Find Your Heart of Praise
Live long enough on Earth, and you will eventually face dark nights—and I don’t mean the kind brought on by the occasional lunar eclipse or citywide blackout. I’m talking about those black hours when you’re grappling with fear, grief, anxiety, self-loathing, or some other turmoil. The dark night of the… Read More »Where to Look in Scripture During Your Darkest Nights
If you’re a frequent visitor to my blog, you already know there are two things I regularly implore Christian teens to do: Forgive me for constantly pounding these ideas but they are nonnegotiable. (You can learn more about the importance of church attendance in Why Young Christians Absolutely Need to… Read More »How to Navigate the Bible: 3 Simple Tricks
Let me start by saying there are many Bible stories that show the astonishing love of Jesus. The whole Bible is all about Jesus’ love, in fact. So to say that I sifted through and found only six stories on this topic would be a lie. In truth, everything God… Read More »6 Bible Stories that Show the Astonishing Love of Jesus