Always Reforming

The commands of God found in the Scriptures are often at odds with our personal inclinations.  This is to be expected; it is the unfortunate reality of post-lapsarian existence.  If you read the Bible and do not find anything insulting to the desires of your flesh, you're reading it incorrectly. For Americans this is perhaps most apparent when we comes to the sections of Scripture that instruct us to submit to our governing authorities.  When we read passages like Romans 13:1-7 , Titus 3:1 , or 1 Peter 2:13-17 , we may feel the natural man rising up against the clear command from God to honor and submit to the authorities, whether civil, religious, or familial, that He has placed over us.  There is nothing mankind loathes more than submission.  Our parents' first sin in the Garden is often identified as pride, but it was rebellion against the sovereign authority of our Creator that truly plunged our race into the darkness of guilt and sin. At the same time, we must not over

History is the story of cultures endlessly vacillating between tyranny and anarchy.  Mankind has continually sought to find  the delicate balance between these two extremes, but all societies have been and still are comprised of flawed, sinful people, which inevitably prevents this balance from being found.    If, upon rare occasion, this elusive equilibrium is found, it is quickly lost.    The sins and flaws inherent in our societies mimic the extremes of the tyranny and anarchy to which they lead.   Men are greedy and lazy, power-hungry and irresponsible, complacent and rebellious.  Our nations are macrocosms of the individuals of which they are comprised.    For those who claim the name of Christ, our duty, no, our privilege, is to advance the cause of Christ regardless of where our society falls on this political spectrum.   We are to serve Christ as faithfully under oppression as when liberty reigns.   We are to love our neighbors as ourselves when it is easy and when it i

If you're active on social media, you're aware of the controversy and panic that rules the Internet right now.  From news articles to sarcastic memes to conspiracy theories, many people are acting as if 2020 is the worst year in the history of the world.  We've had celebrity deaths, race riots, and a plague!  Certainly these are signs of the Apocalypse, right?! Today, however, I want to ask one question: "Is 2020 really that bad?" Think about it for a moment.  Consider all that we've endured this year.  Is 2020 really as bad as the Internet would have us believe? No.  It's really not that bad. "You're blind!" you say.  "You're in denial!" you insist. Nah.  Think about it.  What have we experienced in 2020 that hasn't occurred before? A pandemic?  The COVID-19 pandemic has consistently been blown out of proportion due to incorrect assumptions about transmission and the subsequent manipulation of statistics.  Manki

Race wars.  Rioting.  Protests. COVID-19.  Masks.  Vaccines. Sex trafficking.  Jeffrey Epstein.  Pizzagate. Conspiracy theories have absolutely dominated the Internet in 2020, and they seem to be coming from both sides of the aisle.  Is Bill Gates trying to push mandatory vaccines and depopulate the world?  Are cops starting the riots?  Did the government release footage of aliens?  It seems like each new day brings another major scandal uncovered by Internet bloggers. It would be a mistake to believe that conspiracy theories are a new phenomenon.  In fact, history is replete with tall tales and legends of dirty deeds done by elitists behind closed doors.  The Internet, as it normally does, has simply provided a new platform for the proliferation of such theories.  Much like the printing press, the Internet has given a voice and sense of legitimacy to people and ideas that once languished in darkness.  This exposure is both good and bad.  Sure, conspiracy theories are annoying