The word "sexting" was entered into Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary in 2012 as "sending (someone) sexually explicit photographs or messages via mobile phone." Obviously, sexting is not exclusive to phones now since we can private message through Facebook messenger, Snapchat, Instagram DMs, etc. Basically, sexting is the act of sending obsce

Often when we hear the word "love," we automatically think of a romantic kind of love or something like a mother-daughter or father-son type of love. When talking about loving someone in terms of the Bible though, it's not the "Nicholas Sparks" kind of love or the "I love you because I have to" kind of love—it's agape love, the sacrificial love of

When I became a new believer, my sister helped me become more knowledgeable about the foundations of the Christian faith. There is so much to learn, and so many good and bad voices claiming to know right theology or practices. Without the help my sister provided me, I don’t think I would be writing this article today. And I am still growing in my f

“In saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?” —Ephesians 4:9This topic can be difficult to understand, especially because there are very few places in the Bible that talk about it, and the passages that do don’t have much detail. The first thing we need to understand is that “hell” i

Rap is a style of music that is generally characterized by rhythmic lyrics spoken or chanted over a syncopated, repetitive beat. Rap has its origins somewhere around the beginning of the 1980s, but a sort of rap music had been developing for at least a decade before that, primarily by live DJs in clubs who were trying to diverge from disco. Rap is

Halloween is one of those topics that gets Christians a little freaked out. Is it okay to wear costumes? Should kids be allowed to go trick-or-treating? Are Halloween parties actually satanic rituals? If we do anything on Halloween other than turn off the lights and pretend we're not home, does that mean we're putting our faith at risk of spiritual

Lifelong Christians hear the word "grace" a lot. "God's grace" is like a Christian catchphrase, so embedded into Christian culture that when many Christians are asked what God's grace is, they have trouble answering. Grace feels like something abstract and far away—a pretty word that means pretty and important things. The Merriam-Webster dictionary

Besides taking us back to memories of our childhood watching Toy Story, "To infinity and beyond!" has been used to cast a vision into the current and future age of space exploration. While the idea of human colonization of other planets is not new, the modern advances in technology could bring this dream, previously thought to be pure science ficti

When it comes to technology consumption, typically the problem can be defined two ways: idolatry or outright addiction. You may be experiencing one or both definitions when it comes to you and your devices. Examine how you use your tech and how often you use it. Do you allow your device-use to get in the way of your relationships with friends, fami

Pop culture rarely gives potent explanations for biblical ideas. When it does, those moments are extremely powerful. In the film The Prestige, the main character is an illusionist who discovers a machine which allows him to actually teleport. When he demonstrates this for a theatre owner, the other man is stunned, and says something fascinating: "P

While it's great to help people feel good, it's less great when you're motivated to help others just to make them like you. People-pleasing is when a person makes choices based on what they believe will make them the most likeable. People-pleasing can be a side effect of codependency or a sign of "enabling," a term applied when one person empowers

Musician Audrey Assad tweeted, "Experiencing spiritual abuse (or abuse of any kind probably) has many horrible effects, one of which is the constant longing to know what life you would have had, had the abuse never happened. It's a question that can never be answered, but always feels urgent."The definition of "abuse" is "to treat in a harmful, inj

Imagine being accused of a crime you did not commit. In court, a lawyer asks the jury, "Did this person commit the crime? Let's hear their own words." They then produce a hidden audio recording in which you are heard to say this:"...I did it...people get what they deserve."Should that count as evidence against you? Or would you want the jury to hea

Anyone, even the most committed Christians, can experience times of sadness and feeling "down in the dumps." The Bible gives lots of examples of these feelings. Job wished he had never been born (Job 3:11). David asked God to take him somewhere else so he wouldn't have to deal with reality (Psalm 55:6-8). Elijah, even though God had just sent down

The world today puts so much pressure on teens when it comes to dating. The world tells us to date now and date often and date a lot of different people so we don't "miss out" on any of life's experiences. But God has a different plan for His sons and daughters. He has a higher standard for us too, one which we, as Christ followers, should strive t

Spiritual gifts are a little like natural talents, but they are special gifts granted by the Holy Spirit. God gives all human beings a natural talent, such as a musical or artistic ability or an aptitude for fixing things or academics. God does not require belief in Him to bestow natural talents. For believers though, the Holy Spirit gives special

Many Christians today have very specific opinions about what tithing means, how much to give, when to give, and to whom one should give. Some churches place a huge emphasis on tithing (along with a serving of guilt), which puts unnecessarily hard pressure on individuals and families who may be struggling financially. Then we have wealthier Christia

Archaeology is the study of ancient cultures through recovering physical artifacts from the past. Every discovery that is made is like a clue or a puzzle piece that helps us understand the way things were before our time. As you put these clues or puzzle pieces together, you get a fuller picture of a different time, culture, and place. You get to t

We can know if we have the Holy Spirit by asking ourselves, "Have I placed faith in Jesus by believing that everything He said and did was true? Do I believe He died for my sins, was buried, and rose again?" (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). If you have accepted the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, then YES, you have the Holy Spirit. Immediately upon

All believers should turn to the Bible as our best source of information about God. The Bible is both a history of God's people and a guide to life for those who believe in Him. Here are three ideas that might help you as you seek to learn about God through Bible study:1. Before you read, PRAY. John 16:13 says, "But when he, the Spirit of truth, c