Compass Check: Summer 2021

Do you ever get hard questions in life? I don’t mean things like, solve for x when x2+2x+1 = 4, but questions about life. As a pastor, I get hard questions all of the time, and to be honest, sometimes I have a tough time answering them!

There are a few questions like that in this issue. Questions like: What do I do when I see a homeless person in need? Surely you’ve been in this situation. Maybe at the end of an on-ramp, or on a street corner, you’ve seen someone holding up a sign, asking for money. Should I help them or just walk on by?

Perhaps it’s a question about yourself. Maybe you feel like you need to make changes in your life, and bear some positive fruit. How do you do that? Is there anything you, as a teenager, can do to really improve your life?

Maybe the question is one that doesn’t affect you directly. Perhaps a friend is considering having an abortion. What would you say to them? Would you just tell them they’re wrong and need to repent, or is there something more you should say and do? Choosing the right words at the right time can be difficult—will you help or hurt the situation?

Then there are the questions that other people ask us: Why do you believe in creation and not evolution? Doesn’t nature and science support Darwinian evolution?

Here’s a tough question I was recently asked: What makes you a Christian? Does going to church on Saturday and not keeping Christmas do it, or is there more to it than that?

These are some tough questions you might face, and in fact, I am willing to bet some of you have already faced. In this issue, we’ll explore all of these and hopefully give you the encouragement and help to answer these and any other tough questions life throws your way!

Table of Contents

Rows of fruit aligned geometrically including pineapples, blueberries, raspberries and limes
4 minutes
Is God's Spirit in you? If so, what are the visible results in your life? In other words, what fruit is it bearing?
An ultrasound photo with a red heart next to it
6 minutes
Unwanted pregnancies can be painful on many levels for all involved. What can you do if you find yourself or a loved one in this situation?
Layered cardstock paper in multiple colors with Scrabble tiles spelling the article title, words with a friend
5 minutes
Friendships don't just happen, they take time to cultivate. In particular, we have to learn how to use our words to build up our friendships, instead...
2 minutes
A greeting from the editor and an overview of this issue's article topics.
Homeless man walking down street at night under street lights
6 minutes
A Christian's responsibility towards those who are homeless, destitute or otherwise in need of material help.
Silhouetted person against a dramatic, colorful sunset sky, with the person's silhouette filled with a different background, of a starry sky.
6 minutes
When someone asked me this question, wanting genuinely how to be a Christian, it kind of threw me for a loop. Let's talk about the things that define...
Up close image of a peacock's feather, showing one of its eyes in particular
5 minutes
The ornate beauty of a peacock's feather isn't random, and didn't fit any of the proposed explanations by Darwinists.