Christian Life Archives - Page 23 of 26 - ECWA USA

Christian Life

We have all sinned and come short of the Glory of God. But God, the Father, sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be our advocate and satisfy that judgment for those who believe in Him. If you truly believe and trust in your heart, and receive Jesus alone as your Savior, declaring, “Jesus is Lord,” you will be saved and spend eternity with God in heaven.

Living the Christian life is not an easy life and not for the faint hearted either. It’s a road laden with never ending problems as we see in 1 Peter 5:8 which says “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” But with the support and the love of Jesus we can overcome any life problems.

When God's Plan Seems Crazy

When God’s Plan Seems Crazy

June 1, 2016 in Woman, Christian Life, Spiritual Warfare

by Shae Bynes, I want to remind you today that you are not alone. You never were and you never will

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10 Things to Remember When 'Having the Talk' with Your Kids

10 Things to Remember When ‘Having the Talk’ with Your Kids

May 5, 2016 in Our Youth….the future, Christian Life, Education

Why shouldn't you talk to your kids about sex? Talking with your child

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EMS of ECWA

Praise & Prayer, May 2016

May 1, 2016 in Prayer, Christian Life

EMS OF ECWA PRAISE & PRAYER, MAY 2016 Prayer/Counseling hotline: 08033673654, 08051614880

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Face the Truth that Matters

Face the Truth that Matters

April 8, 2016 in Christian Life

Joyce Meyer | We don't have to live under the burden of condemnation for past mistakes (ECWA Archive). We all face challenges in life, and

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Before becoming a PhD candidate at Fuller Theological Seminary, I served for 12 years at a church in Long Beach, California. A number of my congregants worked in the fashion industry. From them I learned that programs on fashion—fashion design, merchandising, and a body of literature called fashion theory—were popping up all over. When I looked for a Christian response to the fashion industry, I didn’t find anything. There are books on Christianity and film, Christianity and literature, Christianity and psychology, but I couldn’t find anything on Christianity and fashion. Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper famously said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’ ” Like Kuyper, I want to understand every aspect of human life in relationship to Christ. This set me on a quest to understand the fashion industry and emerging fashion studies. The Bible doesn’t directly address fashion, which today refers to the rapid interplay of clothing in consumer societies. But the Bible has a surprising amount to say about clothing. Right from the beginning, after the Fall, Adam and Eve became aware of being “undressed.” Then God provides for them in their nakedness. Theologians call this a protoevangelium—literally a “first gospel.” The gift of clothing reveals a God who meets us in our shameful, sinful condition and covers us through a sacrificial death. Clothing takes on special significance in the story of Joseph; in the way the prophets Samuel, Isaiah, and Jeremiah delivered their message; and at the Transfiguration, where Jesus appeared in clothing that “became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them” (Mark 9:3). Luke 12:27–28 tells us God dresses the flowers of the field, more splendorous than Solomon in his fine dress. If that is how God clothes the fields, how much more does he care about clothing us? Modesty is not the locus of biblical teaching on clothing. The Bible also addresses modesty, and therefore, we must seriously consider it. But modesty is not the locus of biblical teaching on clothing. After all, Esther won a beauty contest to rescue her people. Conversely, any of us can wear modest clothing and still lack the generosity that Paul puts forward as the end game of modesty (1 Tim. 2). So here’s a test to see if we are practicing biblical modesty: Do we reserve resources to bless those less fortunate? Or do we spend all of our resources on ourselves? Further, as we are obligated to care for others, we might spend more money on high-quality clothes, as cheap clothing notoriously relies on sweatshops and child labor. And consider the elaborate nature of the priestly clothing detailed in Exodus 28; the celebrated gold-laced bridal gown in Psalm 45:13–14; and the Proverbs 31 woman, who dresses her household in scarlet. From these and other texts, we learn that the Christian story embraces the festive, fine, and elaborate dress associated with fashion. To truly engage fashion as Christians, we need to move beyond explicit verses about dress and examine the underlying values that are reinforced by fashion. Some of these values are good. It is no accident that modern fashion has arisen alongside suffrage and other aspects of democracy. The two cities known best for fashion—New York and Paris—are major cities in countries that have had powerful democratic revolutions. If we all get to choose what to wear, we are already practicing a form of voting for the public decorum. But not all values put forth by fashion are reconcilable with Christianity. One of the parasites that feeds and fuels fashion is late-modern expressionism. I’m talking here not about the value of expressing yourself, but about making self-expression into an entire way of life. As Catholic philosopher Charles Taylor pointed out, self-expression has become the highest good for many people, pursued with a religious zeal. This new form of late-modern Romanticism teaches us that to not “follow your heart” is to diminish our humanity. Clearly such expressionism is at odds with the Christian faith. Jesus calls us to deny ourselves, not pursue ourselves (Matt. 16:24). Self-denial, not self-expression, is at the heart of Christianity. Again, here is an opportunity for Christians to look beyond concerns about scanty dress to consider how we might make sacrifices in our choices for the sake of others. Beyond this, Thomas Aquinas provides one more model for engaging clothing. He believed we have a moral obligation to compose our outward manners—including our dress—in light of the person we are addressing, the company we are with, the business we are pursuing, and the place we are in. He claimed that a truly virtuous life includes the art of savoir faire—“a sense of occasion discerning differences of situation”—and that this should inform the clothing we wear. May we rise to the occasion. Robert Covolo is an ordained pastor and a dual PhD student at Fuller Theological Seminary and VU University–Amsterdam. His dissertation (under William Dyrness) is on fashion theory and theology.

The Biblical Meaning of Clothing

April 3, 2016 in Christian Life, Culture, Campus, Ministry

Robert Covolo | It takes on special significance throughout the arc of Scripture. Before becoming a PhD

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Orthodox Rabbis Say Christianity Is God's Plan, Vatican Says Stop Evangelizing Jews

Orthodox Rabbis Say Christianity Is God’s Plan, Vatican Says Stop Evangelizing Jews

March 19, 2016 in Christian Life, Jewish-Christian Relations, Judaism

Alessandra Tarantino / AP Images

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Why Jesus’ Skin Color Matters

Why Jesus’ Skin Color Matters

March 18, 2016 in Christian Life, Culture, World Religion, Education

Christena Cleveland | That he was an ethnic minority shapes how we minister today. After one of my

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Kenneth Copeland Says God is Rebirthing America

Kenneth Copeland Says God is Rebirthing America

March 1, 2016 in Christian Life

Christians must go back and confess the Word of God (Image, The prophetic News) When I first

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Making the Most of Lent

Making the Most of Lent

February 6, 2016 in Ministry, Christian Life

by Rev. Ketlen Solak, Brandywine Collaborative Ministries (image source) Lent this year begins Wednesday, February 10 and ends

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Exploring the Lifestyle of a Prophet

Exploring the Lifestyle of a Prophet

January 29, 2016 in Ministry, Christian Life

James W. Goll | The spirit of this world is out of control and vying for the attention of any half-interested soul (image © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F.

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Child of God

Child of God

January 29, 2016 in Movies, Christian Life

| Scout Tafoya | Thriller/Drama | 1h 44m In 1960s Tennessee, a violent loner (Scott Haze) loses his last vestige of humanity as he enters a downward spiral of madness, crime

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When Life Gets Tough

When Life Gets Tough

January 24, 2016 in Spiritual Growth, Christian Life

by Leonard Davidson "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28-29).(iStock) A strong-weathered hand tightly gripped the

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The Book of Revelation was not Meant to be a Mystery

The Book of Revelation was not Meant to be a Mystery

January 18, 2016 in Spiritual Warfare, Ministry, Christian Life

The book of Revelation: The triumph of God and God's people (iStock Photo) The book of Revelation was not meant to be a

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Faith is a Spiritual Force

Faith is a Spiritual Force

January 18, 2016 in Spiritual Growth, Christian Life, Ministry

Faith is a spiritual force. James is talking about your faith being tested so you will know where you are. Are you able to slay the giants? (image, Che Garman)? "Because it has

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Facing Giant Problems Outside Our Comfort Zone

Facing Giant Problems Outside Our Comfort Zone

January 10, 2016 in Ministry, Christian Life, Culture, Connecting.....

Many of us today may find it difficult to stand against these kinds of challenges because of fear. (Global Ministries-The United Methodist

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Niccolo Machiavelli

Has Christianity Become a Coward’s Religion?

January 6, 2016 in Christian Life

By Bruce Frohnen | Is the American public becoming less religious? Yes, at least by some key measures of what it means to be a religious

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