Building on the Foundation

Mental health, or lack thereof, is a hot topic in today's world. People, especially young people, seem to be struggling with their mental health more than ever. Experts say there are many factors at play, the increasing complexity of our modern world, guns, politics, bigots, and intolerance, just to name a few of the things that get the blame for poor mental health.  The National Institute of Health estimates that 23% of American adults suffer from some sort of mental health issue, and I'd like to put forth that it's far more than that once you realize what mental illness actually is. source The mental health crisis in America and the World as a whole is far more severe today than it has been at any time in history. The majority of the people you might meet, even in the Church, are dealing with a mental health issue. People are suffering even to the point of committing suicide because of the strain placed upon their mental faculties, and no one seems to know what the answer...

Most everyone would agree that patience is a highly desirable quality, especially since it is one of the fruits of the Spirit. It’s a great thing to have when waiting for your food in a restaurant, when dealing with coworkers, patients, customers, employees, your wife, your congregation, and there’s not a time when it’s not a good thing.  As Christians, we get our worldview from the Bible, which means that, whether we like what it says or not, we are obligated to align our views with what is written down and preserved for us in the pages of Scripture.  The Cambridge dictionary defines patience as the ability to wait, or to continue doing something despite difficulties, or to suffer without complaining or becoming annoyed. Source That seems like a pretty good definition, but what does our lens and instruction manual tell us patience is?  Well, the definition of patience from the pages of scripture has a lot to do with anger and wrath, which are not the same thing. The un...