New Identity Magazine

The What-If Syndrome

Kelli Ward — Tue, 25 Feb 2020 16:27:11 +0000

As Christians it seems as if more weight is put on our decisions because we don’t know if we have God’s seal of approval on our choice or not. So after going back and forth, we are left with the what if. What if this job isn’t for me? What if the man that I’m about to marry is not the husband God wants for me? What if I fail because of this decision? Let’s be honest, we all go through this…

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Amazing Grace

Delbert Teachout — Tue, 11 Feb 2020 16:12:26 +0000

When encountering people from other ethnic, national, or religions, grace is a word that’s hard to understand because it means different things to different people. Consider this scenario. When I consider my life, my reward looks dismal. As I remember the things I’ve done, things I’m too ashamed to tell, I think, “There’s no way God will let me into heaven!” In my imagination I see myself…

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In Someone Else’s Shoes

Jeffery Porter — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 18:40:37 +0000

When encountering people from other ethnic, national, or religious cultures it is easy to see how their culture influences their values and ways of thinking about the world. Yet, in Marilynne Robinson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Gilead, the fictional narrator Reverend John Ames reminds me that I am no different. As Ames tries to make sense of an illustration from French reformer John Calvin’s…

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The Fatal Flaw in the Philosophy of the Force

Steve Limkeman — Mon, 21 Oct 2019 17:45:04 +0000

In The Force Awakens, Han Solo reflects, “I used to wonder about that myself. Thought it was a bunch of mumbo-jumbo. A magical power holding together good and evil, the dark side and the light? Crazy thing is, it’s true. The Force, the Jedi – all of it. It’s all true.” A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, we are told that Luke Skywalker, the heroic Jedi who defeated the evil Galactic…

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Seeing Who God Sees

Erica Westbrook — Mon, 21 Oct 2019 17:21:47 +0000

When I was in the 6th grade, a friend told me I had the ugliest smile she had ever seen. She suggested that I not smile so hard. I don’t have the best memory, but when certain hurtful words from my past are used, I can vividly tell you when, where, and how I felt at the time. To this day, I have my friend’s comment in the back on my mind when I smile. When I see or hear something really funny…

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