Is Your Church Your Idol?

Photo credit: Zach Mazrim Prior to living in China, my spiritual walk was one I would describe as searching, doubting, waiting, and longing. I was a Christian, but I was hungry to know more, hear more, and experience more. Two days after I landed, I attended my first service at what immediately became my Beijing church. I threw myself into its community and my schedule quickly became jam-packed with different

Ask a…Summer Beijinger

[vc_row][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text] As many people in expat communities like Beijing know, summer brings with it a mass-exodus from the city. Largely following the academic year, lots of individuals and families spend time outside of the city during the summer holidays. I sit editing this back in the US and as such, it seemed fitting that this week’s Ask a…post be a shout out to those staying in the Jing this

The Law: Legalism, Liberalism, or Liberty in Christ.

[vc_row][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text] Since we recently started a new podcast series on the Old Testament I thought it good to address a few questions concerning the law of the Old Testament. Scores of books have been written about this topic, so a blog seeking to limit itself to no more than one thousand three hundred words is merely scratching the surface. Yet I write in hopes that you will continue the

Ask A… PK!

Last week we heard from Emmie’s mom, Gloria, on visiting Beijing as a tourist. If you missed it, you can find it here. This week I am with one of the coolest PKs (Pastor’s Kid) that we know… Zach! So Zach, I’m sure a lot of people are curious about what it is like to be the pastor’s kid. But first tell us a bit about your family. Have your

Sanctification: What is it and why should we care?

[vc_row][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text] 2Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 4Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5You know that he appeared in order

Ask a…Tourist

[vc_row][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text] I may be slightly biased, but I personally am so excited to share this week’s ask a…tourist because… *drum roll*… it’s with my mom, Gloria!   So, I’ll pretend I don’t know…but what brings you to China? This particular time I am coming to China to my daughter’s (your!) graduation. She is finishing up her master’s in International Relations from UIBE. However, my friend Julie and I are also going

The Transformative Power of Justification

[vc_row][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” – Romans 5:1   For those of us with faith in Christ Jesus, this revelation should reduce us to joyful weeping. Such potent words as justified, faith and peace are so often used in Scripture that we are prone to overlook some of their implications and significance. Let us examine this

Ask an…International School Teacher!

A few weeks ago I talked to my friend, TJ, about life as an international student. If you missed that blog, you can find it at here. This week I decided to turn the tables and catch up with my friend Grant, an international school teacher, with amazing experiences from around the world. Let’s jump right in and ask an international school teacher! Well, to start us off, where and

A Sinful Understanding of Sin

[vc_row][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text] Repentance. This was how Jesus began and ended his earthly ministry (Matthew 3:2, Luke 24:47). It was His central message which revolved around a central theme, Christ came to “seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10). At the heart of both his message and theme is a need to understand sin. Salvation is unintelligible without a common understanding of sin. What are we repenting of, if not

Ask a…Roommate

[vc_row][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text] Last week I got to talk to Angel about life as a commuter, which you can read here. This week I caught up with my friend, Jessica, to talk about a different component of life in Beijing: roommates.   Let’s Ask a…Roommate!   To start this conversation about roommates, Jessica, how long have you had a roommate? The first time I had a roommate was when I had