Pessimism is defined as "an inclination to emphasize adverse aspects, conditions, and possibilities or to expect the worst possible outcome; or the doctrine that reality is essentially evil, the doctrine that evil overbalances happiness in life." A pessimist is one who views the world through a darkened lens and considers a glass of water filled to

The word "great" has been kind of watered down over the years. In fact, since the 1800s, use of the word "great" in printed books has decreased by 10 percent. (Sorry, bit of a word nerd here.) Sometimes "great" gets used in such a sarcastic manner that may seem demeaning to use "great" as a description for God—like it's not strong enough. There are

NOTE: When we talk about daydreaming in this article, we are NOT speaking of actual dreams (during sleep) or visions in which God has at times revealed truth to people (Genesis 31:11; Acts 2:17).Daydreaming is spending time during your waking hours imagining how things in life could be, might be, or how you wish them to be. Not all daydreaming is c

It can be really hard to admit, but sometimes when we look around at our friends, we feel like we just don't measure up. Do you sometimes wonder if you somehow missed the "greatness gene"? I know I do. I look on FB, Twitter, Instagram and see these incredibly happy people accomplishing incredible things, going on incredible vacations, giving time a

Just about everyone finds something annoying in other people sometimes—even the most absolutely patient humans on earth. Being annoyed by someone is not inherently wrong, as it's impossible to find ALL people pleasant. But the reason why we're annoyed and how we respond to those annoyances can reveal a lot about our hearts. Regardless of how irrita

Should we be on the lookout for a future spouse? Or will God bring that person right to us? Even though it sounds contrary, the answer to both questions is, "Yes."You should both have your eyes open for a future spouse and wait on God to bring that person to you. OK—that doesn't make a lot of sense on its face, but hear me out. Finding a Balance Yo

The Bible is our ultimate guide to being human. God inspired about 40 authors over the course of 1500 years to write the books we find the Bible today. Historical accounts, big lessons, basic "instructions for life," and more can be found between the first book, Genesis, to the last one, Revelation. God arranged for us to have these words so that w

What’s your favorite book of all time? As a Christian, it seems the answer should be the Bible. After all, it’s God’s inspired Word and offers everything we need to be saved and to live a godly life (2 Timothy 3:16-17). But is the Bible the only book we can read? If we know the Bible is valuable, can we take time to read other books for entertainme

"Polytheism" is a technical term for belief in many gods. For most of human history, polytheism—or spiritism, which is sort of the same thing—was the dominant worldview. Ancient people mainly believed in a number of separate deities. Typically, a polytheistic system believes that each god has a special sphere of influence and/or their own unique po

While today's societal inclusivity of all religions would love to say that "all paths lead to Heaven," the Bible tells us that Jesus is the only way to God's forgiveness, salvation from Hell, and eternal life with Him. In fact, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Note that H

The phrase "walk by faith not by sight" comes from 2 Corinthians 5:6-7, which says, "So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight." This is the ESV translation; other versions use the word "live" instead of "walk". Either way, it means the same thing. "

What Jesus said in Matthew 5:48 used to really worry me: "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." What? Doesn't that contradict what we know to be true about ourselves—that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)? Matthew 5:48 is one of those verses that is easy to get a little depressed abo

Have you ever felt like your whole purpose in life as a Christian is to always aim for doing the "right thing" and avoiding His wrath? Have you found it hard to truly grasp the hope and joy we've heard so much about (Nehemiah 8:10) but seem to rarely experience?We definitely need to find a good balance between "this is what I should be doing" and r

Have you ever replayed past conversations, actions, or events over and over, trying to figure out how to make "right" what went "wrong"? In anticipation of future conversations, actions, or events, have you ever thought through every possible outcome until you got to the worst case scenario? Many of us are guilty of overthinking in certain situatio

Images are powerful and can stay with us for a long time. Even as we make new commitments to stay away from pornography now and in the future, what do we do about the images that may come back from the past? We’re Not Guilty in JesusIf you've admitted your sins to Jesus and asked for His forgiveness and leading of your life, the Bible is clear that

"See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey..." —Matthew 21:5Gentleness. The word brings up images of babies and lambs and little soft things. But what if I have a not-so-gentle personality? Christians are expected to demonstrate gentleness as a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). But what is gentleness, why is it important, an

There is nothing the Bible to suggest that it would be a sin to work a part time job while you are going to school. So if you are working now or want to find a job while you're still in school, yay for that! If you are trying to get a job to save up for something like college or a car, that's a great goal.God created humans to work alongside Him in

The songs that we use in church have always changed as quickly as the culture singing them. For a while, music in worship services was in the form we read in the Psalms, accompanied by harp and lyre. Later, in medieval Christianity, “worship music” took the form of chants without instruments. From the 1600s until the past 30 years, church music too

It's easy for sex to become an addiction when it's not being approached as God commands in the Bible. (And yes, God actually does have commands regarding sex.) Sex outside of marriage or sex that is rooted in lust is called sexual immorality and goes against what God intended: sexual purity. He created the act for married couples, and it is meant t

The secret to making Jesus Lord of our lives is acknowledging that Jesus is already the Lord of our lives—whether we accept it or not. Jesus is Lord, and He is the only Lord (Romans 10:12). In the future, Jesus will literally have “King of kings and Lord of lords” written on Him (Revelation 19:16b). Acknowledging Jesus’ Lordship is like acknowledgi