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
This week, I have two songs to share with you all, but I want to preface them with a few things.
It’s been a busy couple of weeks for my family, with a few more ups and downs than we are used to, but they have been good nonetheless. In the interest of full disclosure, I haven’t written much since my last post, and what I have written I have been reluctant to share because I wasn’t proud of it. I’ve thought about it a lot though, and decided that it defeats the purpose of this website if I decide not to share something just because it embarrassed me or I’m not proud of it, so this week’s post (which is available now) and the next one will be less flattering looks at the lessons my family and I have been learning.
Okay, now that that has been said, onto the songs!
Firstly, we have Isaiah 43 (Part 1), also called I Love You, by Project of Love. I have shared many songs by this artist before, and for good reason: I consistently feel that he beautifully captures the heart of the text in a memorable, sincere way, and that sincerity stirs something in me every time I listen. Isaiah 43 in particular strikes a chord in me because it is an emphatic reminder of God’s love for His people, Israel, and how faithfully He has cared for and protected them throughout the ages. Whenever I hear or read this passage, it reminds me of God’s love for us today, the same love He shows even now in the covenant made through His son, Yeshua. It gives me hope and reminds me that, wherever I am or have been, He is always faithful to His promises.
Last but not least today, we also have Soul On Fire by Third Day. This is one of those songs that I grew up hearing, the kind that always seemed to be looping on K-Love. As far as I can recall, I haven’t listened to it in years. As a kid and teenager, the words sounded nice but never quite clicked for me personally. The other day, though, on my way home from work, I just got an itch to put it on again, and the heart of it hit me like a brick.
The simple words, “Let me return to You again/Lord, let me burn for you again,” resonated deeply with me because, like I said at the beginning, my family has had some struggles lately, and I have caught myself wandering a bit internally; feeling irritable, bitter, unreasonably distressed about things, and finding old appetites waking up. The song felt like a timely wake up call to me, crystallizing the cry for help that has been building in my heart over the last few weeks. I sincerely hope that it–and everything else I have shared here–will do the same for you.
Till next time!
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!