We teach our kids not to be possessive of their toys and treats. Even as teenagers and adults, we struggle with jealousy, desiring what others have for ourselves. Yet the Bible calls God jealous. How can that be, when He is absolutely good?

In a western world that is constantly blurring the lines between the sexes, we are faced with passages in Scripture that call cross-dressing "an abomination." Why exactly is that, and is this notion outdated, or does it still reflect the loving heart of God?

Graduation! After a few years growing and learning at school, young men and women move on to the next adventure. That might entail more schooling or a job, but one season ends and another begins. 

For many graduates, this causes a mix of emotions: excitement, anxiety, fear, or hope. They move from a place and community they know well and enter the unknown. 

While the Bible might not specifically address graduation from high school or college, the transition from one season to the next remains universal. As Scripture addresses the human experience, God knows the stress and anxiety of new seasons. 

Here are five promises of God every graduate should remember.

1. God Has a Good Purpose and Plan for You

Graduates face a host of unknowns: direction, calling, career, location, and more. But God gives a promise to speak hope to any fears. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).

This promise doesn’t mean you will avoid struggles or problems. God gave these words to Judah in their Babylonian exile, a traumatic period in Israel’s history. However, he reminds them that even in the middle of confusion and waiting, he remains faithful. He will not only sustain them but lead them to flourishing and prosperity. 

This principle applies to God’s people today. He doesn’t make it up as he goes along. The Father knows your gifts, talents, desires, strengths, and hardships. He already has a plan which will honor him and bring hope and fulfillment to your life. 

God’s design for your good depends upon his continual guidance. He calls you to trust and obey him, seeking his face more than anything else he could give you. As you step forward into a new chapter (college, career, missions, or other), remember your future isn’t random. It’s God’s plan, and it’s not up to you to make it happen. You only need to follow the one who loves you and already has your specific good in mind.

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Studying the church gives us clarity about our identity and calling. Christianity isn’t a private faith but a journey to share with others. Learning Scripture regarding the ekklesia, we guard against false ideas, like the church being a building, a meeting on Sunday, or a human-made organization.

Familiar spirits are a sign of demonic deception and are in direct opposition to the Holy Spirit.

Hebrew tradition clearly attributes Lamentations to the prophet Jeremiah.

Looking at this verse, we must not only see what John means, and what the Spirit wishes to teach us, but also what the apostle isn’t saying. Many times, a good definition includes what something is not. God is love. Which also means he’s not hate or indifference.

The hypostatic union is a theological term for the dual and unified nature of Jesus Christ as God and human in the same person. Christ possessed these two natures, completely and without division or separation. He didn’t become less God by becoming man, nor was he less human by being God.

The mysterious truth of the hypostatic union sits as the foundation of Christian belief. As both God and man, Jesus could reveal the Father completely, live a sinless human life, be the perfect sacrifice on the cross, and rise again victorious, all to bring salvation, reconciliation, and purpose to those who would believe. To weaken the hypostatic union weakens the salvific work of God through Christ. 

Like any idea, this doctrine has been challenged by Jews and Gentiles. For Jews, the idea a holy God could become a corrupt man seemed blasphemous, as we see in the Gospels. Jesus’ life and reality made it difficult for first century Jews (and many today) to understand the incarnation and Messianic fulfillment. 

For Gentiles, especially Greek dualists, divinity and humanity were opposites. The idea that a real god would become human, live humbly, and suffer on a cross (to them, an image of failure) seemed foolish. 

The early church fought for this truth and orthodox Christianity maintains it. The New Testament affirms and declares these ideas, helping modern believers to see how crucial the dual nature of God is. 

Here then are seven verses declaring the hypostatic union.

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God gave us intellect and emotion as gifts. Made in his image, we have access to thought and feeling. Most people, however, err on one side or the other, depending on their personality. We all operate in both, but relying solely upon our intellect or emotion leads to godlessness and deception. 

The proper place for our thoughts and feelings is to be submitted to God and his revelation. Neither intellect nor emotion was meant to bear the choices for life but to serve truth. 

Moments and temporary situations easily sway our emotions – negative and positive – and in our own strength, we try to bring relief in various ways to change or feed our emotions. However, we quickly learn how making choices based on emotions leads to anxiety and a lack of security, not an increase of stability. For that, we need God’s truth. 

God never dismisses our emotions. He understands and affirms our happiness and grief. He also loves us enough to guide us to base decisions on his truth and not on how we feel in the moment. Emotions change. God’s Word will not. The Father mercifully provides revelation for a sure foundation. 

Here are seven biblical truths to anchor your emotions.

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The Bible asks us a fundamental question: where do you place your trust? And truly, there are only two options: God or something else. One day, our lives will be judged on this point, and we can’t blindly trust something or someone and expect an excuse upon that day.

Our hope keeps us anchored when the world shakes and wants us to freak out. We don’t. Instead, we lift our vision to God and the Kingdom. Christ’s resurrection declares that death won’t win and suffering won’t last forever, despite how we might feel in the moment. God’s truth and plan prevails.

When I was a young kid, we were at church one Sunday night, and I had a headache. I used to get bad headaches in elementary school. At the end of the service, my mom took me to the front and asked the pastors to pray for me. They brought out a flask of olive oil, put a drop on my forehead, and put their hands on my head to pray for my healing. I remember it feeling a bit better, but not completely. 

This scenario happened often in my church growing up. Several times, the pastors would quote from James 5 and follow it like a formula, believing the Bible and trying to live in obedience and love to see people healed. 

The tradition might seem odd to many today in many modern American churches, but James 5 clearly teaches us to practice it. Did James come up with this? Or did he refer to a larger history and tradition regarding God’s healing? Let's explore more about what the Bible has to say about laying hands on the sick. 

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The whole Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi, speaks forward to the coming of a King and a Kingdom, from narrative to prophecy. But which book points the most clearly to Jesus?