You may have seen (here and here) that my fellow blog writer, Charlie Wolcott, has concluded his time writing blog posts. As you perhaps have guessed from the title of this post, I am wrapping up writing blog posts as well, and this is my final post for Worldview Warriors.
My first weekly blog post (which I’m almost embarrassed to link to) was published on September 17, 2011, more than 14 years ago. You are currently reading my 744th blog post. I have published a post every week, with two exceptions – once, we had some theological concerns to work through, and the other time I was on a cruise and didn’t write ahead (as I have done since then). Sometime many years ago (perhaps even before I started writing posts), Jason DeZurik gave me a T-shirt at a Worldview Warriors event that was black with the words “Be Consistent” in white on the front. I still wear it occasionally, and I believe I have lived out that motto quite well in my blog writing!
But rather than focus on my accomplishments here, I believe it’s much more fitting to showcase what God has done in my life and how He has brought all of this about. It was truly God who brought me to this ministry. In 2004, God called me to go to seminary; in 2007, He made that happen. I had to move to Findlay, OH, for seminary (where I ended up staying, thanks to God’s plans), and the first job I had here was absolutely terrible. But God brought about a new job for me, as a design engineer at Ridge & Associates. The owner of the company at the time was a big supporter of the newly-formed Worldview Warriors ministry, so he gave Jason DeZurik office space in our building. Jason walked by my office to get to his, and that’s how God brought us together back in the summer of 2007, along with leading us both to the same church at the time.
After I finished my MDiv in 2010, Jason asked me to be on the radio program, Do Not Keep Silent, which was only about a year old at that time. I had wanted to be on the show since his very first broadcast, but I knew that if God wanted that to happen, it would – and it did. Starting on December 5, 2010, I was on the broadcast just about every month until the show ended in October 2023. God used Jason to stretch me and grow me, both theologically and in my ability to deal with the unexpected. It became a joke that during nearly every show, live on the air, Jason would say, “I didn’t prepare Katie for this, but…”
When Jason first asked me to write a few blog posts in September 2011, I did not know what God would do with that. I wrote stories as a kid, but as an engineer, writing wasn’t really my “thing.” But it felt like what God was directing me to, so I started writing. In late 2012, Jason asked me to proofread his book since I was good at grammar, and I was already proofreading doctoral dissertations for the seminary for a few years by then. In 2014, I took over managing the blog – coordinating posts and writers, making sure all posts were proofread, and then publishing them on this platform. At one point, we had 8 regular weekly writers: one for each day, Monday through Saturday, and two who alternated on Sundays!
God used that to launch me into a side gig of proofreading books, which led to formatting books, designing covers, and helping people publish their work. In January 2019, Worldview Warriors published its first three books – What the Bible Says About, Biblical Foundations, and Heroes of the Faith – all of which were based on blog post series. Since then, we’ve published a total of 13 books, 7 of which I authored. God grew my work in the publishing area so much that at the end of 2020, I left my full-time engineering job at Ridge & Associates and pursued my book editing/publishing business, among other ministry ventures, including starting my Doctor of Ministry degree in Biblical Hebrew teaching methods, which I completed in 2023.
Throughout this entire time, God was consistently growing me in my faith. The consistency of blog writing, the discipline of slowly walking through various Scripture books in my writing, the challenge of listening to what the Holy Spirit was directing me to write about, the adventure of theological discussions on live radio (many of which were also recorded and turned into a podcast), and the opportunity to grow together as a ministry team were all a huge part of my spiritual development as a person.
Through God’s direction years ago, Jason DeZurik took a chance on me – this nerdy engineer who was exploring God’s calling on her life – and helped me grow into the person I am today and the person that the Holy Spirit is still developing me into. We built a deep friendship through all those years and hours spent on the radio together, and we have walked through a lot of life’s ups and downs together. For all of that, I am truly thankful!
But this wouldn’t be a Worldview Warriors blog post without throwing some Scripture in here, so here are a few passages that I feel are especially fitting. Romans 8:37-39 says, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This is the truth that being a part of Worldview Warriors has truly driven home for me. Writing blog posts for 14 years has sometimes been more academic than spiritual, but the amazing and all-powerful love of God is always there, urging me to follow His leading in my life and recognize what He has done, is doing, and will do.
I would be remiss if I didn’t also quote Qohelet as well: “Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true. The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails —given by one shepherd” (Ecclesiastes 12:9-11). All of the words that I’ve written on this blog were not my own; they were given by one shepherd, God Almighty. While I’ve never done a word count on my writings, they’re generally 1000-1200 words each, so I’ve probably written in the ballpark of 800,000+ words for this blog. While my words are not on the level of Scripture by any means, I pray that each one of them was God-ordained and “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
We know that “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1), and my season of writing weekly blog posts has come to an end. I strive to continue following God’s leading in my life, wherever that takes me. Right now, that looks like being the “behind the scenes” person to make ministry work happen for Church Doctor Ministries, Church4Today, and the Momentum Network, producing videos and podcasts for The Joshua Center, teaching research courses at the master’s and doctoral levels at Winebrenner Theological Seminary, helping people publish books, doing website design, managing my rental properties, serving various organizations in my community, and whatever else God decides to do with me to fulfill His good purposes in this world. This life is all about God and bringing Him glory, and I pray that I have done that through this blog.
I leave you with a closing from the Apostle Paul, Romans 16:25-27: “Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith — to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.”
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With both sadness and gladness, this is the last blog post I will be writing for Worldview Warriors. As I wrote last week, this has been an incredible journey, and it is a journey that is not over. My life has gotten very busy. I teach physics full-time, and I coach fencing part-time. Not only that, but I am also now teaching a Bible study group at my church, and that doesn’t include writing and other things. It simply is getting to be too much.
Since the summer, halfway through my series on Jesus, I started feeling no heart or energy for this blog. It is not that there was anything wrong with it, but I was starting to get to a point where it was more of a distraction than a joy or pleasure. When I wanted to get working on my Proverbs 3:5 book, the blog posts had deadlines and took priority. And I didn’t have much time during the week to write them, and so I would write en masse during my times off to get ahead. It has become more of a chore than a joy. And one thing I don’t want to do is give half-hearted, no-energy teachings through these blogs. Yes, I get some of the greatest sermons ever preached were when the pastor had no prep time or had no energy and was completely reliant on the Lord, and that has happened with my blogs at times, but I can’t live on that. And God doesn’t operate that way. So to honor the series I had chosen to do, I decided to finish it, which I did last month, and that left me these final posts to be a “closing” for me.
Three weeks ago, I wrote about Biblical manhood and why we must not follow the world’s 11th Commandment of “Thou shalt be nice” at the expense of the other ten. Then I wrote about whether you are going to live as a victim or as a victor. I could have written about the Gospel many times, or about our salvation, but I felt that I should conclude my blog posts with those two topics before I say my farewell to the blog. Worldview Warriors is firing up with a very similar vision but a totally new thrust and engine, and what better way to help launch it than with those two posts? All that said, while this is my final blog post, this is not the end of my ministry with Worldview Warriors.
I still have my Proverbs 3:5 book to finish. I have several other books in mind, and one of them is a Lord of the Rings-style epic that is going to be a multi-book series. A central theme behind it will be the effects of true and false teachings. So I am definitely going to continue my book writing. But I have other projects in mind too.
The problem I had with the blog was that it was basically weekly maintenance. I needed to keep producing content to be released a week at a time, and that is the main reason I need to stop with it. I don’t have the time to do it anymore. That said, I have other content I can give Worldview Warriors. So I am not leaving the ministry at all; I am merely changing my role. The problem with the blogs is that they come every week, but they come and are forgotten unless you know where to look for something. What I will be doing is providing more permanent resources.
A church brother made a comment a couple of months ago after Bible study that I should write an evangelism tract on the “Crown of Thorns” because that is a mini-topic I include in multiple presentations that always tends to blow people away. In a short sentence, when Adam sinned, God cursed the ground to produce thorns and thistles. Then, when Jesus died, He wore a crown of thorns and therefore literally wore the curse of sin to the cross. So now that I am done blogging with this one, I can focus on creating one-time material that can be easily referenced and used. Obviously, I can do more than one tract, but it got me thinking. That’s a whole category of things we can produce. I also plan to write articles for Worldview Warriors as well, but these would be longer and more sporadic. Jason DeZurik has also asked if I would be open to speaking and even going on speaking tours. While it is challenging with my teaching schedule, due to having two weeks off in October, December, and March, with June and July off, that is not unreasonable. So I am not going away. I am simply going in a new direction. What I will be producing through Worldview Warriors will be evangelical tracts, booklets, longer-than-blog articles, books, and hopefully getting back into speaking again.
Also, I am chewing on doing some more scientific research. In a year and a half, the 10th International Conference on Creationism will convene, and I have some ideas I am cooking for a research paper. I will need to have it done by the summer of next year if I want a full paper for the 2027 Conference, and if I do just an abstract (which is more likely what needs to be done), I have a bit more time. I am looking at studying the “Uranium to Lead” decay chain in particular because it’s one of the favorites to showcase millions of years, and I’ve seen enough pieces to know there is a severe reason to question it. But I have some ideas that might put these different pieces together in a way that hasn’t been done yet. So I am still chewing on that, but I can’t do that and do my Proverbs book while doing the blog and my Bible study. Something has to be put aside.
So this wraps up blogging for me with Worldview Warriors. I thank you who have read and followed me for the last 12 years. I can still be followed on my personal Facebook page, where I post a devotional from my daily Scripture readings, and I’ll still be sending stuff to Worldview Warriors. What is going to come out of this is better and richer products than what I had before, and as God leads, we’ll see what else He prompts me to do. Farewell, and keep watching Worldview Warriors for a lot more content and a lot more variety of stuff. The fire has been rekindled, things are taking a new shape, and the zeal is just getting going again. Stay tuned because God is not done with us yet.
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These next two posts are going to be my last ones for Worldview Warriors. It has been a great 12-year journey, and so I want to use this final post to reflect on these 12 years I have spent with Worldview Warriors and then share what direction I am heading. I am not leaving Worldview Warriors, but my role with the ministry is going to be changing. So how did this start?
When I joined Facebook back in 2011, it wasn’t very long before I started getting into Creation debates. While believing the Bible’s direct account and knowing Evolution was a bunch of hooey, I was exposed to the science aspects by Kent Hovind and then Charles Jackson, from whom I credit much inspiration. And it was during a number of these early conversations that I met Jason DeZurik online, and he took a liking to both what I said and also my attitude of “not caring” what people thought about it. I just plain said the truth to the best of my knowledge. After taking some time to chat and get to know each other through our casual posts and messages, Jason asked me about joining Worldview Warriors. This was in the same time window in which Charles Jackson invited a friend of mine to the Creation Truth Foundation for their Cadre training. I started blogging for Worldview Warriors in January 2014, and I began the four sets of four days over two years of training at the Creation Truth Foundation that same month. This would officially begin a significant transition period in my life.
However, that transition was already starting. The previous summer in 2013, I could sense I was entering a new phase in my life, and I chose to get baptized as an adult (I had already been baptized as a child) to signify this transition. I don’t remember exactly when, but sometime around this, I went through a thorough examination of myself because I had serious doubts if I was actually saved. I was born into a church, I was raised in the church and on the mission field, I knew the Gospel, I knew the Bible, I had made my first profession of faith when I was seven, and yet, I had to examine myself because when it all was boiled down, it wasn’t my faith. It was my parents’ faith. It was my church’s faith. It was the mission’s faith. It wasn’t really mine. In this searching, I came to the conclusion that I was saved and now the faith was actually mine. Was I saved as a child? Possibly, but I cannot say with certainty. I can say with certainty that when I came out of that searching, I was saved then. Had I died before this time, I do not know if I would have gone to heaven or hell. But I do know now.
That sparked this 12-year journey with Worldview Warriors. The Cadre training was completed in November 2015, and I was commissioned with the rest of my group to teach about Biblical worldviews, emphasizing the Creation aspect, and I have not backed down. I have truly become a “warrior” for the faith. I began teaching a Bible study at my previous church, and now I am at another church. It’s a place where I can be challenged and grow, a place where they can keep me in check, even without direct discipline; just the preaching has done that. In my zeal, I was approaching a dangerous position; God pulled me out of where I was before I would unintentionally damage the church I was in, and He reeled me back in. I still have much room to grow, but I love where I am because we have the same vision. It’s far from perfect, but we have a singular goal: to be like Christ and to walk in the paths God intended for us.
Twelve years have passed. I have blogged every single week (except one, when I was out of town and wasn’t aware I could pre-write them) for these twelve years, and the growth I have experienced and the knowledge I have gained to be able to teach others has been beyond what I can describe. I know it has been a blessing for many of you who have followed me because you have said so. When we look at the stats for our blog viewership, I still hold the record for the most-viewed post. Besides the blogs, I began to write several books, and I am currently working on my 6th. I have been busy teaching at my church, teaching physics at my school, still fencing competitively, but now also coaching at my school. And all this activity has been awesome.
What have I written on? The topics are almost endless. In my blogs, I have generally had three major themes: basic Christianity, spiritual warfare, and worldview issues, namely on origins. I have done many lengthy series, including on the Armor of God, spiritual warfare tactics, what sin is, what prayer is, what the Gospel is, multiple creation topics, and my longest one concluded this past month on the life of Jesus at 52 posts. Just go to the blog and click the tag for my name, and you will find my nearly 630 posts all in reverse order. And I kept a OneNote page full of topics and ideas I could cover. If I wrote on just that alone and did not do anything new, I would have material for literally 4-5 years without too much stretching. But many of them were not to be, and that is perfectly fine.
I have five books published with Worldview Warriors, one fiction and four nonfiction. My fiction novel, Call to Arms, is on its third publisher, and some of that is due to learning the system. My second book came out with the Worldview Warriors Publishing arm, and we “bookified” 60 of my blog posts at that time. I suspect a second book of this type is overdue. Then I wrote three others. One flowed out of a Bible study topic I had taught: Ten Reasons to Believe the Bible. Another flowed out of inspiration from a question Paul Washer asked: “When was the last time you heard a sermon on the attributes of God?” And I could not think of one, so I made one. That became The God of the Psalms. And my most recent, The Doctrines of Genesis, was to showcase how Genesis has the foundation of every central and core doctrine of the faith. I used the Apostles and Nicene Creeds as the framework and showcased where each tenet had some shadow or seed form or purpose laid out in Genesis. My sixth book doesn’t have a title yet, but the central theme is Proverbs 3:5 to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” As of this post, the first round of editing, which is not complete, has around 25 chapters and 300 pages, all around this one verse.
All that said, as I have mentioned, my time with the blog with Worldview Warriors needs to come to an end. Next week will be my last post, and in that, I will share what I will be doing and the next step of God’s journey for me, as well as a commission for my faithful readers.
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“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
- Galatians 5:22-23
If there’s any fruit of the Spirit that feels countercultural, or maybe even impossible, in the world we live in, it’s this one: gentleness.
We live in a society that often rewards the loudest voices, the sharpest comebacks, the strongest opinions, and the toughest personalities. “Stand your ground,” “Don’t let anyone walk over you,” “Get the last word” – these are the messages we hear every day. Social media especially encourages harshness; the quick jab, the snap judgment, the sarcastic reply, the assumption of the worst in others.
But in contrast to that, we as Christians are called to be gentle.
At first glance, gentleness might seem like the “softest” of the fruits—maybe even the least impressive. But Biblically, gentleness is not weakness. Gentleness is strength under control. It comes from a heart that is secure in the Lord, able to trust God’s power rather than asserting our own. It is one of the clearest ways we reflect the heart of Jesus Himself.
The Greek word translated as gentleness carries nuances of humility, quiet strength, controlled power, and a posture of peace. It was used to describe a powerful horse that has been trained, a king who rules with compassion, and a person who has every right to strike back but instead chooses mercy. Gentleness isn’t about lack of force but about choosing a better way because you belong to God and are led by His Spirit.
A gentle person speaks the truth, but kindly. A gentle person is strong, but refuses to crush others. A gentle person is wise, but refuses to boast. A gentle person has convictions, but refuses to condemn others when their convictions differ. A gentle person could retaliate, but refuses to be vengeful. Gentleness is a divine paradox because the stronger you are in Christ, the gentler you become.
Jesus, of course, is the perfect example of gentleness. In Matthew 11:29, He said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” This is the core of Christ’s character. He is powerful enough to calm storms, raise the dead, and cast out demons, yet tender enough to gather children in His arms, touch lepers with compassion, and restore the broken with mercy.
Think of His encounter with the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). Jesus had every right to condemn her according to the law. He had perfect moral authority. But instead, He stooped down, silenced the accusers, and spoke words that healed: “Neither do I condemn you… Go now and leave your life of sin.” This is gentleness; it is truth with love, holiness with compassion, strength with tenderness. Jesus didn’t excuse sin; He transformed sinners through mercy.
Just as with the other fruit of the Spirit, gentleness is not optional. It is a command of Scripture, an evidence of the Spirit’s work, and essential for Christian witness. Our gentleness makes the gospel believable (see Philippians 4:5) because it is a countercultural testimony to the work that God has done in our lives.
Gentleness reflects spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity isn’t measured by how much Scripture you know, how long you’ve been in church, or how many ministries you lead; it is measured by resemblance to Christ. If we claim to follow a gentle Savior, we must allow His character to be formed in us.
It’s important to note that gentleness is not being a pushover, avoiding difficult conversations, letting harmful behavior continue, pretending everything is fine, or sacrificing truth for peace. Gentleness does not mean you never say “no,” never confront sin, or never set boundaries. Jesus did all those things, and He was perfectly gentle. Gentleness is a posture we choose to guide our strength into appropriate channels.
Like the other fruit of the Spirit, gentleness cannot be produced by sheer willpower. It grows in us as the Holy Spirit forms Christ within us. But we can incorporate some practices in our lives to help cultivate this gift.
We can slow our reactions and practice restraint, pausing long enough to let the Holy Spirit guide how we respond to situations (see James 1:19). We should always look for the image of God in others, which helps us to treat others as sacred, even when they frustrate us, disagree with us, or behave poorly. We should practice gentle speech (see Colossians 4:6), offering correction with compassion, confronting others only with love and care, being quick to apologize, and speaking words that build up rather than tear down.
Gentleness grows when we practice it in our relationships, and it is a lifelong journey. Think about who may be requiring more gentleness from you in your life. Where should you respond with compassion rather than irritation? Who needs more of the Spirit’s gentleness to flow from your life into theirs?
This week, walk in step with the gentleness of the Holy Spirit, so that the world will see Christ in us through our gentleness.
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So, we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you.
Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
- Hebrews 13:6-8
Loving abundantly, even though this is my desire, is an impossibility if Jesus Christ is not a part of... NO! HE IS THE part of love.
To love those who have hurt you, are hurting you, or anyone who is making decisions that remove themselves and family members from a fellowship where God’s hand is working has always raised the hair on the back of my neck.
Reasons given go like this:
Well, it’s time my children need to go to this other fellowship and... they need, you know, Mom and Dad’s support, you know, we’re really torn as to whether to move or not.
The real reasons are that someone has hurt them in some way by word, by action, or by decisions that were made that were not in line with their wishes. The Church didn’t accommodate their own personal ideas or thoughts, based on self-centeredness.
Many of us give major lip service to Jesus Christ when we say things like, “This is my life and my soul,” and then shut Him out in decision-making that we do. When will we ever learn that the grass on the other side of the fence is greener only until we set foot on the other side and look back to discover that now where we came from is greener? You would think we might catch on at some point in our lives, but we just continue seeing the other side as greener, and we move to discover again how green it is where we came from.
Catching on would be to see that we need to have our inner man completely renovated by the Holy Spirit and allow Him to undue all things, not just a few things, all of our self-centeredness.
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
- 1 Peter 3:3-4
Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.
- 1 Peter 3:8
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“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
- Galatians 5:22-23
The world talks a lot about being “a good person” – good intentions, good vibes, do what feels good. But Biblical goodness is something much deeper, richer, and more transformative.
Goodness in Scripture isn’t just about being morally upright; it is a life shaped by God, directed toward others, and committed to doing what is right even when it is hard, unpopular, unnoticed, or costly. Goodness is the active expression of righteousness and truth. It is love in its moral and ethical form; it is love that acts in integrity.
The Greek word used in Galatians 5:22 is a word used rarely in Greek literature because it refers to goodness that is found only in God and produced by God. Biblical goodness includes moral integrity, uprightness of heart, a passion for righteousness and truth, generosity that reflects God’s heart, courage to stand for what is right, and compassion in action. Goodness is not passive but rather pushes back darkness and chooses righteousness, even at personal cost.
Before we can live out goodness, we must recognize that it comes from God. Psalm 107:1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.” James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” God isn’t just good at times; He is goodness itself. His nature defines what is good, not culture, emotions, or personal preference.
Just like with the other fruit of the Spirit, we don’t practice goodness to earn God’s love. We practice goodness because we have experienced His goodness first.
Jesus was the embodiment of goodness on Earth. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, protected the vulnerable, spoke truth boldly, chose obedience over comfort, forgave those who accused and crucified Him, and sacrificed Himself to save us. His goodness wasn’t soft or sentimental; it was holy, courageous, and costly. It confronted sin while extending mercy and hope. To follow Jesus is to let His goodness reshape our hearts and actions.
Goodness matters in our world because we live in a time when moral lines are blurred, where values shift with opinion polls and personal desires. “Good” can be redefined to mean “whatever makes me happy.” But Scripture anchors us: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” (Isaiah 5:20). God’s goodness gives us moral clarity in a morally confused age. It reminds us there there is truth, and true standards of right and wrong do exist.
We don’t need dramatic moments to practice goodness; we need daily surrender and Spirit-led obedience. Goodness is part of our Christian witness, as our actions can point people to Christ or away from Him. Perhaps goodness looks like choosing honestly when a little white lie would be easier. It may look like standing up for someone being mistreated. It may look like being secretly generous without getting praised. It may look like being reliable and trustworthy. Goodness is seeing every interaction as a chance to reflect the goodness of God.
But, goodness isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it means saying no when you want to say yes, or speaking the truth in love when staying silent is more comfortable. Goodness means refusing to participate in harmful behavior. It means obeying God even when people misunderstand you. Goodness requires courage and conviction in being a follower of Jesus.
That may sound difficult, if not impossible, and it is – by human standards. But the Holy Spirit strengthens us to live lives that show others God’s goodness. We cannot bear this fruit on our own; it is the Spirit’s fruit, showing in our lives.
We can intentionally cultivate goodness by staying rooted in Scripture, because God’s Word is the true guide for what is good. We need to guard our hearts, as goodness flows from within; what we allow into our minds shapes our character. We need to practice integrity in small things because when we are faithful in little things, we will also be faithful in big things (Luke 16:10). We should ask God for help to purify our motives to reflect His goodness, and then seek accountability from those around us to continue living out God’s goodness.
Where have you experienced God’s goodness recently? Who in your life needs to see and feel the goodness of God through your actions?
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“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
- Romans 8:28
Back in 2006, due to a change in leadership in the church I was serving in and a change in ministry direction from that leadership, I believed that God was calling me to leave a very successful youth ministry that I and many others had poured our hearts into for many, many years. It was a very difficult decision to make because the previous leadership I served under had supported us (with their actions, words, and even finances) in training and equipping the students in the youth ministry to go out and speak into other youth around the country for the sake of the gospel.
Not only had we already made trips to other states with music and conference events, but we had been training our team of adults and youth for literally years before this new leadership and direction came into this church. I was even told by the new leadership that we don’t need you going all around the country teaching and sinking into other youth. We need you sinking into our youth here. Yes, this was emphasized by the new leadership that our youth at the church were what mattered. It was incredibly mind-blowing to me because this new leadership said they were all about reaching out to the unsaved and the unchurched. What they really meant was that we are all for reaching out to the lost if it is our idea and not yours.
Admittedly, I was seriously devastated! All of that work, time, effort, and spending of money happened for what purpose? God and I had many conversations over that time.
It’s just one reason why I hold to the belief I do regarding Romans 13 and submitting to earthly authorities. Either God establishes the authorities on this earth or He doesn’t. At that time, I had a serious choice to make:
#1. Stay at the church God had called me to, and rebel against this new direction they believed they were called to go in.
#2. Stay and be quiet while being incredibly miserable, being paid a good wage in order to “take care of my family,” and in doing so, not follow God in what He was calling me to do.
#3. Leave and stay the course with what God was calling me and my family to do.
It was a tough decision to make. Many at that time, and with what seemed to be good intentions, tried to counsel and sway me away from leaving to officially start full-time with Worldview Warriors. They tried to sway me into staying in my position by reminding me I had a responsibility to support my wife and to provide for our 6 children. It was so incredibly difficult inside and outside of our home. However, when is it not difficult when God is calling you to something outside of your comfort zone and much bigger than yourself? So, after almost 10 years of ministry in a wonderful youth ministry position, with much prayer, godly counsel, and tears, I chose to follow God’s leading for my family and me, even though I thought Worldview Warriors, with the support of the first pastor I served under, would be a huge part of this congregation and its ministry.
After leaving this youth ministry position, in June of 2007, I made a very pointed decision to strive to get into the world of atheists, agnostics, and non-believers in Jesus Christ to try and understand better what they believed and how they chose to think. During that same time, I went from working in a very wonderful office setting and hanging out with people in person a lot to working out of a dark, dingy basement by myself for a time. Sometime in 2008 to 2009, I was the only founder left in Worldview Warriors. During that time, I learned a lot about how people think and why they believe what they believe. You see, before God put me on this path, I thought the majority of people would see truth and accept truth as truth once they were exposed to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Boy, was I wrong! What I have experienced since 2007 has been a whole other experience altogether. I think what has been and is still the most shocking experience on this journey is the fact that many people do not understand the difference between an opinion and the truth. It has been incredibly eye-opening to me because before I was a Christ follower, when I was out searching for the truth, I wanted the truth regardless of where it took me. I didn’t care if what I thought was wrong. I didn’t care if it was uncomfortable, and I certainly didn’t care if I disagreed with it. All I wanted was the TRUTH at all costs.
Today, unfortunately, many people are not really interested in the truth. My experience has been that they want to be right at all costs and want their beliefs, even if they are wrong, to be confirmed as true. Many today desire good gifts and good outcomes even when the truth of God or God’s natural law says otherwise.
This brings me to the title of this blog post and why it is so important. Failing has the potential to be an incredible teacher of how not to do things in order to lead a person to the truth. When a person keeps doing the same thing over and over and not learning from their failures, they are not living up to their incredible potential given to them by God Almighty. When a person is stiff-necked and is unwilling to change their ways to find the truth, that person is just stuck – stuck in misery and stuck in failure. That person can also be stuck in victimhood, instead of victory in Jesus.
Once a person realizes they are stuck in failure and they choose to do something about it, by choosing God’s way over their own, or at the very least trying to do things God’s way, it can be a very freeing day for that person and their life in Christ. Victory in Jesus is right there for the taking if we are willing to grab hold of it and surrender our lives to Jesus Christ.
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As a child, I was blessed to grow up in the home of a railroader who loved his family dearly. Even though it seemed at times that my mother desired to work outside the home, she chose to stay home when my sister and I were younger, well into our junior high years. I had no idea what a blessing this all truly was, nor did I realize the sacrifices my father and mother made for us in many things until I was much older. My father was your typical railroader who was incredibly strong and very mentally tough. Once my mother became a follower of Jesus Christ, my father “knew” my mother was meeting with some other guy at the church she would bring my sister and me to almost weekly. Dare I say, my father seemed quite jealous of this other guy.
In the mid-1970s, on a cold and snowy evening in Minnesota, my father got into a very bad car accident where the jaws of life were needed to cut him out of his car. Near as we can tell, he had fallen asleep at the wheel and hit a culvert head-on. The only injuries he received were a broken collarbone and a gash on the top of his head. Looking back, he probably had a nasty concussion, too.
The only people who went to see him in the hospital were people from that church and the pastor of that congregation. My mother had been going to see a guy at the church… His name was Jesus Christ, and she was learning how to love Him and surrender her life to Him. My father surrendered his life to Jesus Christ in that hospital, thanks to the love not only of God but also because of the example of Christ he saw in the people of that congregation and of Pastor Wallace Henk.
In 2025, at my father’s Celebration of Life service, a dear friend of ours got up and spoke about my father and his love, not only for the Lord, but also about how my father lived in leading people to the Lord. He said, “Frank was just… RELENTLESS!” And that right there is THE word that explains my father well. He was relentless in everything. My father NEVER shut off. Being the son of a man like this was very trying at times. He was always striving for excellence. Whether it was work time, play time, or just relaxing time, he was RELENTLESS! I am thankful for him showing my sister and me the importance of living life for Christ in everything. He was relentless for the Lord.
Years ago, as an adult, one of my disciplers introduced me to something that my father never formally introduced me to, but that my father lived out in every second of every day. He set the example in everything he did. It’s what I am about to share with you: 10 Biblical convictions that every Godly man should teach his family.
Discipleship is so important, especially of a father to his own children. Sadly, it seems as if this is something that many of us have lost the art of doing. In the United States of America and even inside the Church, the breakdown of the family that God has instituted is more obvious and more prevalent than ever. I believe we need to get back to what God has established if we are to move forward as a Church and a nation.
I hope and pray that you will prayerfully consider implementing the following in your own life and in the life of your family.
#1 - God alone is sovereign. The Bible is the inspired Word of God and needs to be the final authority for my life. (Exodus 20:3; Matthew 4:4)
#2 - Seeking God with my whole heart needs to be my priority in my life. I need to build goals around God's priorities. (Exodus 20:4-5; Matthew 6:33)
#3 - My body is the living temple of the Lord God and must not be defiled by the lusts of this world. (Exodus 20:7; Mark 7:21-23)
#4 - The Church I attend must teach the foundational truths of the Bible and reinforce my basic convictions. (Exodus 20:8; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Matthew 7:15-16)
#5 - My children and grandchildren belong to God. It is my responsibility to teach them scriptural principles, Godly character, and basic convictions. (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Matthew 19:14)
#6 - My actions must never weaken the Scriptural convictions of another Christian brother or sister. (Exodus 20:13; Proverbs 28:10; Matthew 18:6; Romans 14:13)
#7 - My marriage is a life-long commitment to God and to my wife. (Exodus 20:14; Proverbs 6:32; Matthew 19:6; Romans 7:2-3)
#8 - The money I have is a trust from God. It must be earned and managed according to Scriptural principles. (Exodus 20:15; Proverbs 15:6; Luke 16:11; 1 Timothy 6:10)
#9 - My words must be in harmony with God’s Word, especially when attempting to reprove and restore a Christian brother. (Exodus 20:16; Proverbs 18:21; Matthew 12:37; Galatians 6:1)
#10 - My affections and desires must be set on things above, not on earthly things. (Exodus 20:17; Matthew 6:20-21)
“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14).
In other words:
- Be on alert for spiritual danger!
- Stand on God's Word no matter what!
- Let your actions then speak! Be courageous!
- Be Strong!
- Be long-suffering, kind, and loving!
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“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
- Galatians 5:22-23
We live in a world where instant results are expected. We want fast answers, fast progress, fast resolutions, and even fast spiritual growth. But God often forms His deepest work in us through waiting, through enduring, and through bearing with one another in love. That is why the fourth fruit of the Spirit, forbearance, is so necessary and so challenging.
In many translations, this word is given as “patience.” But the NIV uses forbearance, a term that reminds us that biblical patience is not just about waiting for circumstances to change; it is also about bearing with people, enduring difficult seasons, and continuing in love even when it costs us something.
Patience and forbearance are closely related virtues, but they emphasize different aspects of how we endure difficulty. Patience is the ability to endure delay, difficulty, or suffering without becoming angry, anxious, or frustrated. It focuses on an internal attitude and emotional endurance. Forbearance is defined as self-controlled restraint in the face of provocation; choosing not to react harshly when you could. It focuses on external restraint and relational grace. You show patience when your plans are delayed; you show forbearance when someone offends you, and you respond with grace instead of anger.
The Greek word behind “forbearance” in this passage, makrothumia, has meanings of long-suffering, enduring without giving up, having patience with people who test us, being slow to anger and slow to retaliate, and steadily trusting in God's timing, even under pressure. Forbearance is not passive. It is spiritual strength under control. It does not react quickly in frustration. It does not rush God’s timing. It does not give up on people or walk away at the first sign of inconvenience.
Before we try to create forbearance in our own strength, we must start by remembering that God has shown immeasurable forbearance toward us. Scripture makes this abundantly clear. God is slow to anger and abounding in love, not treating us as our sins deserve (Psalm 103:8-10). He bears with us patiently to lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4). He waits for us to turn to Him (2 Peter 3:9). He forgives again and again (Nehemiah 9:17).
God does not give up on us. He forbears, He endures, He waits, and He loves. When we practice forbearance, we mirror His heart. We do not show forbearance to earn God’s favor, but because we have already received His grace so lavishly. True forbearance is worship – living out a reflection of the patience God has shown us.
Forbearance is not just a nice attitude; it is essential for spiritual maturity. Forbearance builds Christlike character, as God uses waiting, endurance, and difficulties in life to shape us. Romans 5:3-4 shows the progression clearly; we move from suffering to perseverance to character to hope. The Holy Spirit cultivates deep roots in us through seasons that stretch our faith.
Forbearance also sustains relationships, whether marriage, parenting, or friendships and church community. All relationships require patience and forbearance with the other person, continuing to love them even when it’s challenging.
Forbearance is a witness to Jesus in our lives, because the world is watching how Christians respond when tested. It’s easy to be patient when things in life are cooperating and going how we want them to, but when the Spirit produces forbearance in us, that is demonstrated through unexpected inconveniences, dealing with people who irritate us, disappointments, delayed answers, and other trials in life. When we respond to pressure with grace, we testify to the power of Christ within us.
When the Spirit produces forbearance in our lives, we see it in our life circumstances, with other people, and with ourselves. Sometimes, God answers our requests quickly, but other times, His answer is “not yet,” and we need to wait on Him. Our patience with God’s timing will be rewarded when we eventually see why God made us wait for that period of time. Some people test our patience in various ways, and we need to practice forbearance with them. This does not excuse sin or avoid necessary boundaries, but it chooses mercy over irritation and grace over harshness. We also need to practice forbearance with ourselves, since we are often our own worst critics. We want instant spiritual maturity, but God doesn’t work that way. Forbearance with ourselves means trusting the process, surrendering our timeline, and experiencing God’s grace for our imperfections.
We see many examples of forbearance in the Bible. Abraham and Sarah waited decades for the promise of a child. Joseph endured betrayal, injustice, and years in prison. Moses waited and led a difficult people with great restraint. Hannah endured barrenness with humility and prayer. David waited years to become king, refusing to force God’s hand to make it happen sooner. Jesus showed ultimate forbearance, enduring humanity’s brokenness, betrayal, and the cross.
Each story shows the same truth: that God forms greatness in seasons of waiting and enduring. If God is stretching you, He is strengthening you. If He is making you wait, He is preparing you for something big.
The Holy Spirit grows forbearance as we root ourselves in Scripture, pray for the Spirit to help us, practice slowing down, and trust God’s timing. We can try practicing forbearance in small moments, by pausing before responding when irritated, praying instead of complaining, and giving people extra grace.
Forbearance is not weakness; it is Spirit-empowered endurance. We don't develop this fruit by trying harder, but we grow it by staying close to Jesus.
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“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
- Galatians 5:22-23
Everyone wants to be happy. From motivational speakers to lifestyle influencers, the world is filled with voices promising the secret to lasting happiness. But as soon as one desire is fulfilled, another takes its place. Happiness becomes a moving target, dependent on circumstances that are always changing. But joy, the second on the list of fruit of the Spirit, is something entirely different. Joy is not the same as happiness. Happiness is an emotion; joy is a condition of the heart. Happiness depends on what happens to us; joy depends on who lives within us.
Christian joy is not blind optimism or denial of pain. It is the deep, abiding confidence that God is in control and that His goodness will prevail, no matter what. It is a settled assurance that our lives are held by hands that will never let go. That’s why joy can exist even in sorrow, even in suffering, even when everything else seems to fall apart. The Holy Spirit doesn’t produce joy by changing our circumstances. He produces joy by changing our perspective.
The world’s version of joy is fragile because it depends on things we can’t control. But the joy of the Spirit flows from a relationship that never changes, our relationship with God. Jesus said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11). This isn’t human joy; it’s divine joy.
Hebrews 12:2 tells us about Jesus, “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame…” How could Jesus have joy in the face of suffering? Because His joy was rooted in His Father’s will and the salvation that His sacrifice would bring. His joy came not from comfort, but from purpose. In the same way, the Holy Spirit gives us joy when we’re anchored in God’s presence and purpose. When we know that God is with us and working through every circumstance, we can face life with confidence and gratitude.
While joy is a fruit the Spirit produces, it also requires our cooperation. Joy grows when we choose to trust God’s goodness, even when our emotions or circumstances tell us otherwise. The Apostle Paul didn’t write the words of Philippians, especially Philippians 4:4-7, from a nice vacation; he wrote them from prison. Yet his letter to the Philippians is often called “the letter of joy.” How could Paul rejoice while chained to a guard in awful circumstances? Because his joy wasn’t chained to his situation, it was anchored to his Savior. Joy is not pretending everything is fine; it’s proclaiming that God is still good no matter what.
There’s a kind of joy the world can manufacture: the joy of success, accomplishment, love, and beauty. These are good gifts from God, and they can bring real delight. But they’re temporary. When the gift fades, the joy fades with it. Spiritual joy, however, is supernatural. It’s the joy that remains when everything else is stripped away. Spiritual joy doesn’t always look like laughter or a constant smile. Sometimes it looks like quiet peace in the storm, or gratitude in the small things, or hope when everything feels hopeless.
When we allow the Spirit to fill us, joy becomes a lens that helps us see the world differently. Problems become opportunities to trust. Delays become invitations to wait on God. Hardships become the soil where deeper joy can grow.
But if the Holy Spirit produces joy in us, why do we so often lose it? This world has many joy-stealers in it. The root of all joy-stealers, of course, is the sin that we all commit and experience in this world. It separates us from God and the true joy that we can experience through His Spirit. Comparison and measuring our lives against others is another way to lose our joy. We focus on what we lack rather than what we have. Worry is the enemy of joy because it shifts our gaze from God’s faithfulness to our fears. A lack of gratitude also steals our joy; gratitude for what God has done for us always brings gratitude.
If joy is a fruit, it grows with care and intention. We can cultivate it in our lives by staying rooted in God’s Word, praying with gratitude, praising God even in (or especially in) the difficult times, serving others, and spending time in Christian community with other believers.
A Spirit-filled life marked by joy is one of the most powerful witnesses to the world. Our joy is countercultural. When believers live with genuine, Spirit-born joy, people notice. They wonder how it’s possible. The joy of the Spirit draws people to Christ because it demonstrates the reality of His presence. It says, “There’s something more and something deeper than what this world can give.” As 1 Peter 1:8 says, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”
To live with Spirit-filled joy means walking through life with a quiet confidence that God is good, that His promises are true, and that His presence is enough. It doesn’t mean you’ll never feel sadness, stress, or frustration. But it does mean those feelings no longer define you. Joy gives you resilience. It lets you endure trials with hope, love people generously, and find beauty in brokenness.
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Jesus had died and was buried in a borrowed tomb. We can say “borrowed” because three days later, after the Passover had come and gone, the women who did not have the time to fully bury the body came to deliver and apply the burial spices, about sixty pounds worth, only to find the tomb open and empty. Jesus was gone. The tomb was sealed lest anyone steal the body and proclaim a Resurrection, and the Roman guard would be there with no chance of sleeping on duty under penalty of death. The seal wasn’t merely cracked; the entire stone slab, which weighed several thousand pounds, wasn’t just rolled away but more tossed out of the way. The description isn’t merely to just get the door open, but to knock the door off its hinges. And Jesus was nowhere to be found, and apparently neither were the guards.
The women were baffled until a man approached Mary Magdalene and asked why she was crying. The man comforted her and then called her by her name. Suddenly, she recognized Jesus and sought to cling to Him, but Jesus refused. His glorified body was not fit for that, as He was now preparing for His ascension. So the women ran back to the disciples. Peter and John didn’t even hesitate; they ran to the tomb. Though John beat Peter in the race, John stopped, and Peter ran into the tomb directly. While an angel announced Jesus’ resurrection to the woman sitting on the stone door, here two other angels sat inside the tomb at Jesus’ head and feet, and all that was left were the grave clothes.
There are multiple times in the Bible when someone had died and was brought back to life, but most had just recently died, like the same day, and only a couple of cases had several days pass. But even then, their life was merely restored to them temporarily. Each person who died and was brought back to life would die again when it was their time. But Jesus did not have His life restored to His body; He was resurrected. The body He was born in perished, marking the death of the sin-cursed, but it was changed, transformed, and made new in its glorified form. However, Jesus still bore the five scars from His crucifixion: the holes in both hands and feet and the spear-pierced side. The scars were there, yet fully healed.
Jesus was the first resurrected person, and no one else is going to be resurrected until the time for all judgment to come. One thing that is often missed is that literally everyone is going to be resurrected. Good, bad, young, and old, every person of every point in history is going to die physically (or taken to heaven in some rapture-type thing of which I am not going to delve into), and that body will be resurrected. This is how every person is going to give an account for their lives. We all are going to receive immortal and perfect bodies, bodies that will not die. Those who are in Christ will be welcomed to paradise, but those who are not will suffer the wrath of God for eternity in a body that cannot die. That needs to scare us.
The second “death” is not annihilation or an eternal slumber where even time will forget us. No, this lake of fire is where God’s eternal, righteous, and just wrath is going to be poured out without exhaustion. Unlike man, whose wrath can be exhausted, God’s wrath is never exhausted. While His love and grace and mercy are infinite, so is His wrath, and we are going to glorify God one way or the other: in paradise or in eternal judgment. Those who lived this life in sin and crime and did not meet judgment here on earth will face it with God. And those who did experience judgment here on earth faced their crimes against humanity, not their crimes against deity. The only escape from the judgment for crime against deity is Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ death took the just punishment against sin as though He were the only one to have sinned. But in His resurrection came the defeat of sin, Hell, and the grave, so that all who are “in Christ,” those who died to themselves and submitted themselves to a new Master, will escape it. Just as Noah and his family escaped the Flood by one means of salvation, so we can escape the judgment of God through the one means of salvation: the cross.
Just as Adam and Eve were clothed, Paul uses this notion of being “in Christ” so that when Jesus died, we died, and when He rose, we will rise with Him. However, it’s more than just that. God does more than just see Jesus in our place. When Jesus died, He came back the same God as when He came. He did not change other than having His human nature. When we die in Christ and when we are resurrected in Christ, we are changed. Jesus never had a sin nature to change from; we do. When we die, the law that demands our judgment is still fulfilled. But when we are resurrected, we are raised under a new law that gives us a new master. We experience the resurrection in part in this life because we have a new heart, new mind, new motives, and new drives, but we don’t have a new body yet. That still has to die as well, and then we will receive our new bodies that will not experience the curse of sin. They will be fully functional as they would have been had we never sinned.
How it is going to look can only, at best, be described with “glorified imagination” and I don’t have the time or space, let alone the vocabulary, to describe it. But Jesus’ resurrection is what gives us the hope that we have. It is the resurrection that will enable us to endure whatever this world gives us to offer if only we would start thinking eternally again. But in that eternal thinking is the doom people have if we do not tell them how to escape it. We must see both, and I fear too many of us have fallen for the intellectual game that keeps the reality of things “out there.” Jesus did die for us. He did rise from the grave. He did defeat sin, death, and Hell. But do we live like we believe that?
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Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place,
No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.
In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.”
- Psalm 91:9-16
Today was our monthly men’s meeting. Part of our time at the very end was centered around, “Why is it that there’s this sense or feeling we’ve lost our passion?” Of course, I had to speak up.
“We can’t blame God or anyone else for this loss of passion except ourselves. You see, if individually, each of us, in our vertical relationship isn’t there or is almost non-existent, to have a horizontal relationship with each other can be confusing and literally, impossible.”
Seeing questioning looks in the room, in essence saying, “What are you talking about?” excited me to share more.
You see, in today’s life of all the business with our schedules just so full, we don’t take time to read God’s Word, let alone pray and talk with Him. Basically, we seek Him when a crisis hits. We pray when it’s convenient for us.
All along, we spew out our know-it-all attitudes, and then when the ceiling falls in on us, the finger-pointing begins. The “He said, she said” verbiage begins.
We’re confused and don’t know what to do because we have not stayed in control with the One who has the answers for us. Also, most of the time we don’t like His answers because they’re so unrealistic, so simple, or they’re not in line with our thinking.
We can’t show up for a one-hour time frame or less per week and walk out the front door of God’s house thinking and/or saying, “Well, I’ve done my duty for the week. You know this Christian thinking, it’s not so hard.” Think about that for a moment, in this light – just because I go and sit in my garage overnight doesn’t make me a car by morning.
We need to remember that sin brings pain to us and to God. Just because God isn’t physically right here, we have a hard time believing He’s experiencing pain. In Judges 10:15, Israel knew they had sinned, they let God know, and asked to be delivered from the day in whatever way God would choose. In Judges 10:16, it tells us that God’s soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel.
Does God hurt? Does God feel pain? You bet! And not just heart pain, it went to the depths of His soul.
The misery we suffer because of spiritual rebellion will always cause pain to the Lord. Isaiah 63:9 says, “In all their affliction, He was afflicted.”
The greatest pain God suffered was when His Son went to the Cross for our sins.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.
- Isaiah 43:2
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Special Note from our president, Jason DeZurik: In April 2025, my earthly father went to be with His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Though it has been incredibly hard losing him physically here on earth, I am so honored to share with you writings of his from over many, many years of journaling from his personal devotion time while here on the earth. Admittedly, I considered just keeping these for our family to enjoy, but I know my father would want these to be shared with the world. If these writings will help to bring only one person into God’s Kingdom, that is enough for my wonderful earthly father, Frank DeZurik. I believe he has not only given to me and our family a great gift but also a gift for all of us to meditate on and enjoy as well. The following is just the first of many installments to our blog from my father posthumously.
1 Peter 1:3-9
Even when Christ died on the cross, there were many who taunted and jeered and looked upon Jesus’ crucifixion as just the death of another criminal. They knew His death was very different from those they observed in the past, and even with all the happenings were blinded because of the choices man made. Yes, God could have stopped it, BUT God’s plan for His son was drawing to a close.
All through Scripture, we’ve read how the blood was an atonement for sins, and it needed to be one spotless and pure. From the Old Testament to the cross, we read and come to our understanding of the purity, the cleansing power, and its atoning power, the last sacrifice necessary to cleanse us and usher us into God’s throne room of grace.
Today, those so inclined go to, of all things, a blood bank. Of course, the importance here is to give life to someone whose own supply is dangerously low because of some injury, whether an accident or because of bad choices made by others.
Now, not all who donate or want to donate can because of something they’ve contracted through tainted food, or because of some bad choice made, and someone has HIV-AIDS. Now, I know accidentally you can contract AIDS. The thing is, we should not even be dealing with this disease if, through the course of time, man had chosen to follow God’s law and teaching rather than his own selfish, lustful desires, but this is a whole other matter.
Let’s see Christ’s death, a perfect sacrifice, His blood shed for the atonement of the world, when He took His last breath, and the heavy curtain that separated man from God was torn in two, meaning we can all now have direct access to God. BUT each of us, like in the Old Testament, needs to bring before God a perfect sacrifice for our sin. That is our personal relationship of knowing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. NOTHING else will do, nothing else in and from this world can take the place of the cross, not even our own self-believed perfections.
Yes, we can donate blood, give blood to help save someone to live for another day, BUT how about offering them the blood of life to save them to live for all eternity?
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As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there. Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need. Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives.
Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith.
Grace be with you all.
- Titus 3:12-15
The book of Titus ends in what may look like a simple farewell. Paul gives travel plans, names a few companions, and closes with greetings. At first glance, these verses might seem unremarkable compared to the powerful doctrinal and practical truths earlier in the letter. But as we’ve seen throughout Titus, every word is inspired and intentional. Even in Paul’s closing words, there are deep lessons for the church.
This final passage of the letter gives us a glimpse into the everyday rhythms of early Christian community and mission. It highlights the importance of faithful people working together, the call to generous support of gospel workers, the priority of living productive lives of service, and the unifying power of grace. For the church today, these verses are not merely historical footnotes but living instructions.
In verse 12, Paul reveals his strategy. He plans to send either Artemas or Tychicus to relieve Titus, freeing him to join Paul at Nicopolis. This verse underscores a vital truth: gospel ministry is a team effort. Paul depended on co-workers, not only to spread the gospel but also to encourage one another.
Artemas is otherwise unknown in Scripture, yet Paul trusted him enough to send him to Crete, a difficult mission field. Tychicus, however, appears several times in Paul’s letters as a faithful messenger and servant (see Ephesians 6:21 and Colossians 4:7). Whether well-known or obscure, both were useful to Paul and to Christ. Also, notice Paul’s desire for fellowship. He wanted Titus with him during the winter months, likely for mutual encouragement, planning, and prayer. Ministry is not just about tasks but about relationships.
The church today must remember that ministry is never a solo mission. Pastors, leaders, and laypeople alike need co-laborers. Churches should cultivate partnerships, not competition, across congregations and denominations. Every believer, whether more in the spotlight like Tychicus or relatively unknown like Artemas, has a vital role in God’s work. Do not underestimate your place in the Kingdom. Leaders should prioritize not only work but also relationships – spending intentional time encouraging and strengthening one another in Christ, to build this community of co-laborers.
In verse 13, Paul emphasizes the responsibility of the church to provide for traveling missionaries and teachers. Zenas, possibly trained in Roman law or Jewish law, and Apollos, the eloquent preacher from Alexandria (Acts 18:24-28), were evidently on mission. Paul urges Titus and the church in Crete to ensure they are well-supplied. This highlights the biblical principle of supporting those who labor in teaching and spreading the gospel. Ministry requires practical provisions like food, lodging, travel expenses, and encouragement. Gospel partnership involves generosity.
Churches should be eager to support missionaries, pastors, and Christian workers, not minimally but generously, ensuring they “have everything they need.” We as believers should ask ourselves, How am I partnering financially, prayerfully, and practically in the advance of the gospel? Support goes beyond just money. Hosting, encouragement, prayer, and friendship are invaluable gifts to those serving in ministry.
Verse 14 ties the whole letter together. Throughout this letter, Paul has emphasized “doing what is good” (see 1:16, 2:7,14, and 3:1,8). Here, he reinforces the point: believers must be devoted to doing good, not just casually interested. Why? To meet urgent needs and avoid unproductive lives. The believers in Crete faced a culture of laziness and dishonesty (1:12). Paul calls them to a countercultural lifestyle of service, productivity, and usefulness for Christ.
Good works are not the means of salvation (Paul has already stressed that salvation is by grace in various places), but they are the evidence of salvation. Productive Christian living means putting faith into action in tangible ways. Churches should regularly teach believers to be intentional in meeting urgent needs in their communities, whether poverty, loneliness, injustice, or disaster relief. Christians should evaluate their lives: Am I living productively for Christ, or am I wasting my time and energy on trivial pursuits? Productivity in Scripture is not about worldly success but kingdom fruitfulness: lives touched, needs met, and people pointed to Christ.
Paul ends with greetings and a blessing in verse 15. These simple words reflect the warmth of Christian fellowship. The gospel binds believers together across geography, culture, and background. Paul’s final prayer is for grace – the same grace that saved, sustains, and empowers the church. Notice Paul greets not just leaders but “those who love us in the faith.” The church is not an institution but a family, united by love in Christ. And grace, not law or performance, has the last word.
The Church must cultivate authentic relationships, marked by love for all who are in Christ. Believers should regularly encourage one another with words of grace. The church should be a community where people are refreshed, not drained. Grace should shape not only the beginning of our faith journey but the ongoing life of the church.
The closing verses of Titus remind us that even the “ordinary” parts of Scripture are filled with extraordinary wisdom. This passage calls us to invest in relationships, practice radical generosity, live productive lives, and embrace grace in all we do. May God’s grace empower us to live productive, fruitful, Christ-centered lives until the day we see Him face to face.
This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones.
- Proverbs 3:5-8
The title of this blog post is a quote that my good friend Shane Adams says a lot. For those of you seeing it possibly for the first time, it basically refers to the importance of everyone who is a part of an organization or of a group needing to get on the same page in their beliefs before moving forward. “Alignment Before Assignment.” It conveys the idea that when dealing with a group of people, it is wise to try and get everyone not necessarily to be thinking the same thing, but to get them heading in the same direction before giving a destination of where we should be heading. “Alignment before assignment.” This is, in essence, how Jesus taught His disciples, and it is virtually the example of Christ in leading people. It seems that many, even inside the Church, struggle with this idea.
Some of you might be wondering why I write that many inside the Church struggle with this idea. Relating to denominational differences, this is attributed to John Wesley: "In the essentials, unity; in the non-essentials, freedom; in all things, love."
This quote is something I heard many, many years ago while serving under Pastor Derik Hines and Pastor Marc Quinter. It is a quote I learned to embrace as a youth minister. It helped me think through and realize not just the importance of working with all Christians to advance the Kingdom of God, but the importance of embracing our differences in theology and differences in methods – our denominational differences. Though I learned this and attempted to practice this for many years, I had not yet realized how many others struggled with this concept and putting this into practice in their own lives. This is part of the reason we started Worldview Warriors.
At the inception of this ministry, I had no idea about the incredible journey God was about to take me, my wife, my children, and some close friends on. I freely admit that I was naïve, mainly because we had not taken the journey yet. Throughout this time, I came to embrace the very fact that people are people and that not all differences are bad or should be a struggle in relationships with one another. Many people today seem to want to change someone else to be in their “own image” or make that person do their “bidding,” instead of embracing who God has made that person to be with the gifts and talents He has given to that person. Hence, dare I say, many people end up abusing others for the sake of growing their own little kingdom here on the earth, instead of growing the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven.
I write all of this because for years, I struggled with the very fact that, in my mind, some Christians just didn’t seem to “get it” regarding the importance of advancing God’s Kingdom here on the earth. I have come to realize this was pride and arrogance on my part. I was being incredibly judgmental of others at that time, and I apologize for doing this. I hope and pray that if I have offended anyone that you can come to a place of forgiving me.
Now, with all that said, I have found “my tribe,” if you will, and I have come to realize the importance of the meaning of John Wesley’s words even more than before. This journey we have been on has brought us to a congregation named Evangelical Pietist Church of Chatfield, just north of Bucyrus, Ohio. Two years ago, by becoming the pastor of this small congregation in Ohio, the Lord has brought me much peace of mind in loving God, loving others, and truly striving to live for Him in all that I do.
“It is not enough to have knowledge of the Christian faith, for Christianity consists rather of practice. Christianity should not be docile, but active. We should therefore awaken a fervent love among our Christians, first, toward one another and then toward all men.”
- Philipp Jakob Spener, the father of Pietism (1635-1705)
While understanding the grace that God gives is incredibly important, we also must begin to understand and strive to put our faith in Jesus Christ into action. It’s both/and. It’s not an either/or proposition. In my personal experience, with many people inside the Church, pastors as well as those lay leaders who belong to the priesthood of believers, many seem to believe that it’s one or the other:
#1. The grace of God only inasmuch to where we have no responsibility whatsoever in advancing the Kingdom of God here on earth or
#2. Work, work, work, work, work! In and for the Lord, but work. It’s both/and. We need to be studying, reading, and listening for the voice of God and then putting His word into action. Hear the voice of God and obey. It really is that simple.
Some of you might be wondering how this all connects with the ministry of Worldview Warriors. For years, we here at Worldview Warriors have been about encouraging and equipping students and the saints to Impact this generation for Jesus Christ. Short of the Lord leading us in a completely different direction, we won’t stop doing that. But we know we need to get better at discipleship. We have been encouraging and equipping not only students but their parents and grandparents in being prepared to share their faith in Jesus Christ, and now we are looking to engage even more with small groups and discipleship. This is all still a work in progress, but know that as a ministry, we are seeking the Lord as individuals and in groups through prayer and studying God’s Word for guidance and direction for ourselves and for Worldview Warriors.
What does the future hold? I truly don’t know. What I do know, though, is that this is a very exciting time during this part of the journey. I hope and pray you will come along with us during this amazing time of uncertainty and transparency. Please continue to pray.
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
- Psalm 1
This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.
