Category: Top articles

Living the Christian life as a joyful inheritance

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

Forgiveness and freedom are gifts that come from God, and they are meant to be enjoyed, not merely endured. The inheritance that comes through faith isn’t reserved for some distant future; much of it is meant to be experienced now, in the present.

A joyless, burdened approach to faith does little to draw others toward belief. When someone claims devotion to Christ while wearing a constant expression of sorrow, the message sent to the watching world is discouraging rather than inviting. True faith was never meant to look like a heavy obligation.

Instead, the Christian life should be understood as liberation, a release into the person God intends each believer to become. It isn’t primarily about actions performed or rules followed. It is about identity, about who a person actually is when Christ lives and works through them.

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

Galatians 5:1

How the anchor of scripture actually works

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

People sometimes imagine that spiritual growth can happen passively. Some act as if simply keeping a Bible on a nightstand will somehow let its truth seep in overnight, as if understanding could be absorbed through proximity alone. Others hope that sleeping near scripture will eventually produce wisdom without effort. Neither approach actually works.

Genuine engagement with scripture requires action. I believe the first step is reading the text itself; there is no substitute for actually going through the words. Second, we need to meditate on what has been read, asking what the passage is the passage saying to me personally. Third, belief has to follow understanding; it isn’t enough to read words without trusting what they say. Fourth, the teaching must be applied to one’s own life, not used as a measuring stick for someone else’s behaviour. Finally, obedience completes the process; knowing and believing scripture means little without acting on it.

It’s part of our relationship with God. Although I gave five steps, I wrote this as an example, not something to be taken as a cold-cognitive process.

Do you read God’s word daily?

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves.

James 1:22

Is singleness spiritually superior to marriage?

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JEFF TURNER

In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul observes that an unmarried person tends to focus more fully on pleasing the Lord, while a married person inevitably divides attention toward pleasing a spouse. This might suggest singleness is universally the better spiritual path, but that conclusion oversimplifies what Paul actually teaches.

Singleness only proves spiritually advantageous for those who have specifically received the gift and calling for it, since scripture explicitly describes this as a particular gift from God rather than something suited to everyone. Forcing singleness onto someone not designed or gifted for it tends to create significant struggle rather than spiritual benefit, a reality illustrated tragically by the historical consequences of mandatory celibacy imposed within certain church traditions over the centuries.

For those genuinely designed for marriage, marriage represents the healthier and more appropriate path. Paul’s point was never that singleness grants freedom to live independently without accountability, but rather that those equipped with this specific gift can devote undivided attention to gospel work without the competing responsibilities marriage naturally brings.

Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each has his own gift from God, one in this way, and another in that.

1 Corinthians 7:7

Sin’s wages versus a believer’s struggle

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JEFF TURNER

Let’s consider sin within the Christian life. It’s worth emphasizing how scripture distinguishes between sin’s ultimate consequence for unbelievers and the ongoing experience believers face even after salvation.

While sin’s wages remain death for anyone outside of Christ, those already forgiven through faith continue wrestling against sin’s pull throughout their earthly lives, a struggle that itself testifies to genuine spiritual transformation rather than indicating a lack of salvation.

This recurring biblical theme reassures believers that internal conflict over sin is not evidence of spiritual failure but rather confirmation of authentic new life within them, since only those possessing God’s Spirit experience this particular kind of resistance against wrongdoing. Recognizing this distinction helps believers avoid both unwarranted despair over continued struggle and false confidence rooted in misunderstanding grace.

The hope offered throughout scripture is that this present tension will ultimately resolve completely when believers receive glorified bodies in eternity.

Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Romans 8:1-2

Christian aid groups respond as Colombia quake toll feared to rise

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Hundreds of people have died in a devastating earthquake in Colombia this month, and officials fear the death toll will increase.

The magnitude 7.4 earthquake caused buildings to collapse and badly damaged infrastructure across the affected region. The Colombian Geological Service said it was the strongest earthquake recorded in the country since 2000. The quake was followed by several strong aftershocks.

Operation Blessing quickly began providing aid after the earthquake. The relief effort has included hygiene kits, food, clean water, solar lanterns and other emergency supplies for people affected by the disaster. Operation Blessing already has teams working in Venezuela, continuing to assist with earthquake relief efforts there, and the organization said that work will continue uninterrupted even as it responds in Colombia.

The organization’s president Drew Friedrich said the it’s first priority is to get involved as quickly as possible and provide aid wherever it is needed. “Whenever disaster strikes, our first priority is to get on the ground, understand the needs and determine where we can make the greatest difference. As our work continues in Venezuela, we are now mobilizing an additional team to Colombia to stand alongside families there and provide practical help and hope during an incredibly difficult time.”