Posts from 2017
Don’t Let H.A.L.T. Make You Weak
The psychological and counseling fields have a dizzying array of phrases and terms which are commonly employed by its practitioners. While I often try to keep a distance from a lot of preposterous psychobabble, I will attempt to make note of any with substantiality or validity (hey, I’m no professional, but I can often tell when something stinks and when something doesn’t). One such concept that’s bandied about, especially in recovery circles, are four major conditions into which people can…
Back to the Guitar: My 6-String History and Journey Back to Playing, Part 2
For those of you following along in this tale, here’s where we last let off: Married with two young children, I sold off all of my beloved guitar gear to stay afloat financially. The Van Halen-themed and guitar-oriented websites were decimated off of the interwebs. And my dream of ever making it professionally as a musician had sailed away almost a decade earlier. The practice of me performing music was personally dead, yet somewhere deep down in the recesses of…
Back to the Guitar: My 6-String History and Journey Back to Playing, Part 1
The topic of the following piece isn’t appropriately suited for my hot sauce blog, scottrobertsweb.com, and also it may not technically fit snuggly into the Christian author-oriented essaying of this site, scottroberts.org; but I’ll stick it on here because, well, I make the rules concerning what appears and what doesn’t, and you don’t. Ha! As the title of this post clearly spells out, I’m referring to playing my favorite musical instrument in the world: the guitar. History of Me and…
How Much Should We Revere God’s Word, and Should Bible Pages Be Marked Up?
When I was a teenager, I was taught by my mom to revere the Bible. It was good that she instilled in me a healthy respect for Holy Scripture, as it is indeed the inspired Word of God. Here is 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which I often quote: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good…
Book Review – Good Faith: Being a Christian When Society Thinks You’re Irrelevant and Extreme by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons
David Kinnaman (left) and Gabe Lyons Good Faith: Being a Christian When Society Thinks You’re Irrelevant and Extreme Written by: David Kinnaman, Gabe Lyons Let’s face a sobering fact: We as followers of Jesus now dwell in a post-Christian world. In Western society, we are no longer the majority, therefore when it comes to related sociological constructs such as marriage, sex, politics, and morality in general, Christians – especially those of us in America – are losing the influence we…
Don’t Believe in Yourself…Seriously!
Quite possibly the single greatest problem that has ever plagued mankind is the sin of pride. The iniquity of taking our focus off of God and applying it to ourselves in the guise of self-love and self-reliance is something that goes literally back to the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were deceived by Satan’s lie that by doubting God and going our own way, Eve could “be like God’ (Genesis 3:5). As a result of this very act, God’s…
Job Seekers’ Pet Peeves About Recruiters and HR People
The internet is crammed full of pet peeves lists that recruiters, consulting agencies, HR people and employers have about job candidates. We as job candidates also have some legitimate displeasures and gripes about recruiters and HR folks. I’ve been doing this for over twenty years, and have seen lots of bad habits and annoying practices that simply need to stop. Here are my suggestions on how you can handle things better. 1. You need to provide good customer service! This concept is not…
How to Memorize the Bible
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17 If you are in any way a follower of Jesus Christ, digging into Scripture is an absolute must for essential Christian living, and for getting closer to God. The Bible is crammed full of various reasons and commands to study and adhere to God’s…
Book Review – Wounded in the Church by Chris Hayward and Ray Beeson
We’ve all heard sorrowful tales of how certain Christian leaders and congregation members practice hypocrisy, psychological manipulation, shaming, criticism and rejection towards newer church goers. This feeling of hurt, dejection and betrayal of the most often heard reasons why people leave the church and shun organized religion. “Wounded in the Church: Hope Beyond the Pain,” by Chris Hayward and Ray Beeson, was written to address these issues. The book is rooted in Biblical truth and the Gospel, and authors Beeson…
How to Fight Writers Block
Everyone gets it, and it’s totally unavoidable: the painful and dreaded Writer’s Block. It doesn’t matter if you blog about your kids, write about local business and politics, or talk about your favorite heavy metal bands, or even pen New York Times bestsellers; at one time or another, you’ll run smack into a creativity brick wall with ostensibly no way around it. Not to worry, though, here are some tricks that will help you blast through that barrier and allow…
The Yellow Light – Are We As Christians Too Much Like This World?
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” – Romans 12:2 Although the practice of email forwarding is waning because of the proliferation of sharing on social media instead, I still get a decent number various messages, jokes, sayings and pics fulling up my inbox. Oh, I do have to quickly mention that…
Darth Vader in Church?
Some churches are adding movie and TV quotes, references, and even showing video snippets from these assorted media to draw in the “seekers.” Not too long ago, there was something that made me raise my eyebrows. I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and came upon a sponsored post advertising a grand opening for a new church here in Missouri. Instead of a typical marketing thrust featuring concepts and ideas surrounding Christ, the cross, God’s love, or being family-friendly, this church…
One of the Best Things You’ll Read All Week: Wrestling with God
I typically wouldn’t put up a direct “repost” of other blog articles, but here is something that I found today that is extremely powerful. Dena Johnson penned a great piece for iBelieve.com titled, “How Wrestling with God Will Change You Forever.” People, this Biblical message will open your eyes and transform you like few things have! It’s based on the wrestling match that Jacob had in Genesis 32. Instead of me summarizing it, I just implore you to just visit the link right now…
Want to Be a True Rebel? Be a Christian
You want to REALLY be rebellious and non-conformist? Don’t look to getting thirty tattoos, piercings, and dying your hair five colors. Everybody is doing that nowadays. Become a follower of Jesus Christ instead. I’m not knocking tattoos or anything else, but being a Christian is totally “against the grain” of what is currently accepted and conventional in Western society. The Father of “Shock Rock,” Alice Cooper (whose real name is Vincent Furnier), once said, “sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll…
Top 9 Reasons Why I Believe in God and in Jesus Christ
I believe not only in God, in Christianity, and in the Person of Jesus Christ, but I believe that Christianity is actually true, logical, and provable. There is substantial proof that God exists, that He created a complex universe, that He entered space/time in the Person of Jesus Christ, and that the Bible is 100% true. Although there are well over 20 different arguments that show evidence that God exists, here are my Top 9 reasons why I believe in…
Where’s the Joy?
Christians should be the most joyful people on Earth. Millions of Christians all across the nation and around the world have claimed to washed by the blood of Jesus Christ and born again by the Spirit, yet they are robotically plodding along living humdrum middle-class lives and just “don’t have it.” There’s no infectious enthusiasm and no heart overflowing. There’s a lack of something there that non-believers can see in us. These believers, instead, are just like the world. When we…
Book Review – Driven By Eternity by John Bevere
I’m doing a review for the audiobook version of Driven by Eternity from Audible.com. John Bevere’s Driven by Eternity: Making Your Life Count Today & Forever is not for the spiritually squeamish. Yet it contains a message that has eternal consequences for everyone. Too many people think it’s okay to recite the “Sinner’s Prayer,” ask Jesus to come into their hearts, and then go back to living their old lives without even thinking about developing a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Yes,…
Why I Won’t Drink Alcohol Anymore
What I’m about to say is full of my own opinions, along with my attempt at well-thought-out reasons why I do not drink alcoholic beverages. Except for point #6, these points are not presented or implied that they are Christian doctrine or theology. Instead, they’re mainly personal arguments about why I have no desire to touch the stuff. I wish to make a few important disclaimers before I start things off: A. Some people have natural inclinations towards becoming addicted…
How to Argue Your Faith Online, Part Two
Here is the follow-up article to an earlier post, How to Argue Your Faith Online, Part One. Before proceeding, I urge you to read that post in full to get a more well-rounded understanding before continuing on with these. Go ahead. I’ll wait. Are you back? Excellent! This time out I’ll introduce several more concepts, many of which tackle how you write and how you speak. Let’s get to it immediately… 6. Study Up On Christian Apologetics You do know…
How to Argue Your Faith Online, Part One
Don’t let your defense of Christianity turn into this! “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” – 1 Peter 3:15 Spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ is our mandate as Christ followers (Matthew 28:19). In doing so, we inevitably will encounter people countering our beliefs in many different forms – other…
- 1
- 2