Comfort Zones

How often do we wish that, when life's events are producing pleasure, satisfaction, and a sense that all is well in the world—at least in our world—things would remain that way forever? ...

God does not want us to find a cozy comfort zone because that is when we are most likely to slip into dangerous spiritual drowsiness and complacency.

John Ritenbaugh, suggesting that we have an ambivalent attitude to change, resisting it when it upsets our equilibrium or desiring it when we are in dire straits, proclaims that God deliberately places change in our lives to bring about spiritual growth to. . .

Our anxieties reveal that we do not trust God's providence and care as much as we should. Worry is a false god that does nobody any good.

Laziness and fear are the greatest challenges to love. When Protestant theologians disparage "works," connecting them to salvation rather than sanctification and growth, they encourage spiritual laziness. If we are lazy, we might still be saved, . . .

John Ritenbaugh, cuing in on the recipients of I Peter 2:9 and focusing on the concept of identity (physical or spiritual), claims that with a sense of identity, the study of biblical history and prophecy is effervescent, sparkling, and scintillating. Jose. . .

Richard Ritenbaugh continues his exposé of artistic and spiritual resistance, an analogy derived from Stephen Pressfield's The War of Art, a manual designed to overcome artistic resistance and many forms of self-sabotage. The core of self-sabotage is our c. . .

John Ritenbaugh reiterates that God alone chooses the servants through whom He works His will. Sometimes the rationale God uses for selecting His vessels defies worldly wisdom. The major reason for the horrendous split of the greater church of God was the . . .

The terms "safe spaces" and "trigger warning" have cropped up frequently in the past year or so in the media, often accompanied by photographs or videos of protesting young people on college campuses. Joseph Baity helps to define these terms and the philos. . .

A few weeks ago, a local talk-show host, self-described as "an aging hippie," remarked that he believed that in most matters one can find "the truth somewhere in the middle. ...

Of all people, one might think, Christians should be the most blessed, yet they often fall under heavy trials. However, the reality is that God is putting us through the paces, correcting us and refining us, to bring us to salvation.