Bethany McIlrath

First and Second: Perspective On What Matters Most (Matthew 22:36-40)

Tag: christianity

  • Knowledge Bloats (1/6)

    Knowledge Bloats (1/6)

    This post is the 1st in a 6-part series on Idolizing Knowledge. Read the rest of the posts here. Guest directory info is available here. “But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. But whoever loves God is known by God.” –1…

  • How to Discern the Voice of the Holy Spirit: 5 Truths from God’s Word

    How to Discern the Voice of the Holy Spirit: 5 Truths from God’s Word

    For a longer time than I’d like to admit, I avoided talking about the Holy Spirit because somehow the Spirit seemed weirder, wackier, and harder to explain than God the Father or Jesus Christ. One of the difficulties I’ve had is in accurately expressing how the Holy Spirit works. Language is limited. It’s hard to…

  • Frustration, Faithfulness, and God’s Timing + CD Giveaway

    Frustration, Faithfulness, and God’s Timing + CD Giveaway

    One of the unique differences between Christian artists and the majority of other musicians is openness about the muse for music. Christian art is about testifying to the God who is, glorifying Him through song. The story behind Kari Jobe’s new album The Garden is a real life example of the reason for the hope…

  • Motivation for Long Days at Work

    Motivation for Long Days at Work

    When I’m exhausted by the thought of putting one more second of time into producing something for someone else, to someone else’s standards, according to someone else’s timeline, I find encouragement in these verses. I hope you do too. 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 “Aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands,…

  • Taking Fear Personally

    Taking Fear Personally

    Someone lied to you and you found out. Someone rejected you flat out. Someone ignored you, someone hurt you, someone who was supposed to care for you didn’t. We all have our someones. If we’re honest, everyone we know is a someone; everyone gives us cause for suspicion. I’m not paranoid- many of our fears…

  • Deja Vu and Milestone Moments

    Deja Vu and Milestone Moments

    You’re sitting on the side of the road in your car. It’s just broken down. As you sit and wait for the tow, you think of all the mess of your life of late. The list of complaints is probably long. Then you remember the last time your car broke down. It almost feels like…

  • Waiting Isn’t Passive

    Waiting Isn’t Passive

    Our days and lives are filled with waiting. For good, for bad, for new, for people, for change. Waiting is a God-designed practice. However, as the worn, torn magazines in waiting rooms around the world can attest, patience in the waiting isn’t a natural virtue. Waiting makes some of us crazy. In fact, I’m pretty…

  • Lie 6: Some Sin Doesn’t Count

    Lie 6: Some Sin Doesn’t Count

    (A series on lies sin tells us to tempt us and trick us. Read the whole series here.) We like to restrict God’s definition of sin to make it more manageable. God doesn’t define sin manageable as just “doing bad stuff,” or “making mistakes.” God says sin is a condition we’re born into. Scripture uses…

  • Confession: I’m Not a Fan of Devotions

    Confession: I’m Not a Fan of Devotions

    My love-hate relationship with devotions started in college. It was my first time immersed in a Christianese culture. I didn’t know much about Jesus, and I didn’t care about the Gospel. I just wanted to be a good person and prove myself worthy to the God I didn’t understand. In waltzed a dorm-mate one day,…

  • Lie 5: Your Sin Isn’t Your Fault

    Lie 5: Your Sin Isn’t Your Fault

    (A series on lies sin tells us to tempt us and trick us. Read the rest here.) We like to dismiss our sins as being someone else’s fault. After all, so many sins are committed against every one of us. Every marriage between two sinners has hurts due to sin. Children suffer the natural consequences…