If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Galatians 5:25
Hi there! I’m Nate, and this space is essentially my open catalog for scripture studies and day-to-day snippets from my life as I learn to live by the Spirit of God. If you find anything here to be at all edifying, praise God! I try to post 2-3 times per month and update the Highlights section often, so check back regularly to stay up-to-date. I hope you enjoy our time together.
What And Who Is This For?
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Howdy! Welcome to my blog. As someone who grew up in a Christian and then sort of Hebrew Roots and then sort of Messianic Jewish household, I had a lot of confusion and frustration towards faith when I was younger. As a teenager and younger adult, I was very rebellious and hypocritical in my professed faith. I had a very incomplete understanding of and appreciation for the Gospel and the God who gave it to us. The things I share on this blog are my attempt to clear up those areas of confusion, make up for lost time, and help others who may be in a similar place with some of the same issues.
Some things you can expect to see here will be my own studies on certain topics, music that I find to be conducive to worship, some of the resources that I like use for research, and whatever else I happen to come across as I move forward and grow in faith.
I’m NOT here to preach at you or sell you anything. I’m just a guy trying to live my life in a way that is pleasing to God, and I want to help you learn to do it with me.
If you have any topic or site suggestions, please feel free to send me a message through the contact page.
Highlights
These sections are for videos (songs, studies, episodes, etc.) that I find edifying. Think of it as a revolving door of highlighted content and media that I hope will bless you.
Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs
Good evening! (Or morning! If it is afternoon for you, then you’re out of luck. :) )I only have one song to share with you this week: Isaiah 38/40- The Lord is Ready to Heal Me. I have had it in the back of my mind for at least a week now, and I find the simple cry in the first verse, “I am in trouble, Lord. Help me!” to be incredibly powerful in its simplicity. It reminds me that God listens to simple prayers and pleas for help and mercy, like the father of the demon-afflicted boy in Mark 9:14-27. The father’s plea was simple, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” (9:24) And, like God heard Hezekiah’s desperate prayer in Isaiah, Jesus healed that boy and saved him from an affliction that had persistently threatened to take his life for years. Years. Now, I don’t read these passages and take them to mean that the Lord will always heal physical afflictions in this life, but I certainly feel comfortable and confident looking at them–and other passages–and asserting that even weak or uncertain faith is enough for God to work with. Even enough to say “I do believe; help my unbelief.” I’ve been there before, and I’m sure you have as well. Mercifully, I’m not in such a season right now–though I have certainly had some struggles of late–but you never know when one is upon you. It is deeply encouraging to me to be reminded that it is not strength that God requires of us in order to call out to Him, but faith, like Hebrews 11:6 says: “6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” And how does He reward those who trust in Him? It is with strength, as Isaiah 40:31 says: “31 Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not [be] faint.”
If you are struggling this week with sin, or if you are in a difficult season of life, please be encouraged in knowing that even the small prayers are heard by God. He is listening. He is pleased when He sees your faith, and He will sustain and strengthen you. He is faithful.
Words of Life
This section is for sermons/drashes, podcast episodes, teachings, testimonies, and other edifying words that I have come across and wanted to share with you all. I will do my best to make sure that what I share is always doctrinally sound, but I of course encourage you to pick up your Bible and inspect everything for yourself.
Hello, there! This week, I have several podcasts and sermons that I would like to share with you. The first, titled Pierced by the Word, was recently given by Pastor Joe Schimmel, of Blessed Hope Chapel in Simi Valley, California, and in it he extols the power of the Holy Spirit as He works on our hearts through the word of God. I appreciate this sermon in particular because, if I am being honest, I really don’t care for a lot of “self-help” style Christianity; my preference is to default to the word of God as my primary authority, rather than modern teachings which often pull heavily from more secular ways of thinking.
The second sermon is titled The Curse of a Calloused Conscience, given this past week by Pastor Jonny Ardavanis, of Stonebridge Bible Church in Brentwood, Tennessee. Pastor Ardavanis takes a brief but sobering journey through one of the most famous and eloquent displays of repentance in the whole Bible, Psalm 51, sharing the progressive dangers of putting off the day of repentance until it is too late. To reinforce the point, he also references Isaiah 55:6 “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call out to Him while He is near,” emphasizing the need to consistently monitor our heart and seek communion with the Lord to avoid becoming calloused in the first place.
The last thing I want to share with you this week is a recent episode of the podcast In God We Trusted, titled Why Did So Many Civilizations Sacrifice their Children? It’s a bit of a different track than the other two recommendations this week, but it covers a subject that has been on my heart for a while: abortion. I am in the camp that views abortion as the modern day version of child sacrifice, offering children on the altar of freedom/finance/security/etc., and I feel that Will and Sam did a very good job examining this issue from a Biblical and historical perspective.
I hope you can make some time this week to give each of these a listen, and I look forward to sharing with you again soon!