'What's the worst that could happen?'

Ain't no way this was her first sip

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For many people across the U.S., Easter Sunday means pastel-colored clothes, jelly beans, Cadbury eggs, or marshmallow Peeps. But Easter is far more than a cultural tradition or seasonal celebration. It is a declaration that should actually shape the way we live and has the power to transform lives: He is risen!That truth, echoed by believers all around the world every Easter Sunday, is the foundation of a faith that calls us not to a life of comfort, but to a life of commitment.To follow Christ is not only to receive the hope of eternal life, but to carry that hope into the world around us.Too often, we treat Christianity as a system designed to make life easier, provide emotional reassurance, or help us get something from God. Scripture makes it clear, and believers throughout history have experienced, that true Christianity costs us something. It calls for surrender, obedience, and a willingness to follow Christ even when the path is difficult.It’s natural to gravitate toward a version of Christianity that prioritizes comfort over sacrificial living. But in truth, persecution and hardships are not only possible but an expected outcome for a life of wholehearted devotion to following Christ.Jesus Christ, our example, willingly left the comfort of heaven's glory to enter a broken world and dwell among us. He lived among the very people He created, walking dusty roads, experiencing hunger and fatigue, facing rejection and temptation, enduring suffering — all ultimately to make the Father known.Throughout His ministry, He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and performed miracles — yet He never wanted people to follow Him merely for those “simple” benefits.During Jesus’ ministry on earth, massive crowds followed Him simply for the possibility of free bread. They wanted miracles and meals. But He wanted them to look past all of that and see that the true gift was Himself. “I am the bread of life,” He told them. “Believe in me!”Only a few individuals would see past their own desires and take the step to say, “I believe, and I will follow you no matter what.” As a result, they would be forever changed and go on to change the world.RELATED: Where Easter really comes from Bernard Jaubert/UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty ImagesThis is the truth of the Christian life: Following Christ requires us to embrace discomfort, sacrifice, and even suffering. The Bible does not hide this reality, but Easter reframes that suffering in light of something greater.The cross is not the end of the story.On that first Easter morning, everything changed. Jesus’ resurrection was not only a victory over death, but a promise that suffering does not have the final word. Sin, brokenness, and the grave were defeated. Because of this, even while withstanding hardship, believers can live with an unshakable hope rooted in the promise of eternity.As we read in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.”And this hope is not meant to be kept to ourselves.Years ago, a friend of mine who was overseas asked a shop owner, “Excuse me, sir, do you know Jesus Christ?” The man turned around and said, “We’ve got Pepsi, we’ve got Coke, but we don’t have Jesus Christ.” He had never heard the name of Jesus, so he thought Jesus Christ was a new soft drink.As someone who grew up in different cultures, I’ve seen firsthand the harsh truth that many people around the world still haven’t heard the gospel.Here in Texas where I live now — in the heart of the Bible Belt — it can seem like there is a church on every corner. On the other hand, I have gone more than 300 miles in some countries without passing a single church. As ambassadors for Christ, we still have so much work to do.After all, even in places like Texas, we have neighbors, co-workers, and friends who may recognize the name of Jesus but do not really understand what His death and resurrection are all about.For many, Easter remains a holiday without meaning, a tradition without truth.This is where the calling of every believer becomes both a responsibility and a privilege.RELATED: Easter changes everything: What the empty tomb means for you today Urupong/Getty ImagesTo follow Christ is not only to receive the hope of eternal life, but to carry that hope into the world around us. It is to reflect His love and choose to live so that others are drawn to the reality of who He is.That calling may be uncomfortable, to require us to step outside our routines, and even to risk rejection, but it is also one of the greatest privileges we are given: to bring light into a suffering world.Easter is a time to remember Christ’s sacrifice and His victory over sin, Satan, and death. He poured out His life so that we might partake of Him and be made like Him. That process requires obedience, faithfulness, and self-denial.But for all who trust Him and choose to live for Him as an act of worship, He will fill them with His presence. He will refresh, replenish, and empower us to bring His healing presence into the world around us.Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearReligion and made available via RealClearWire.

Just because something sounds Christian doesn’t mean that it is. Nobody knows this better than BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey, who frequently exposes lies wrapped in Christian-sounding languageOn this episode of “Relatable,” Allie unravels three common “Christian mythical mottos” and shines a light on the deception underneath. Myth #1: “Christianity is a relationship. It's not a religion.”Allie acknowledges that this phrase is usually employed with good intentions — typically when Christians are evangelizing specifically to people who have “come out of legalism” or are brand-new to Christianity and are “confused about some of the rules and the standards.”In these cases, the evangelizer is most often trying to push someone “into daily conversation with and pursuit of Jesus.”“And there is part of that that is really true and really good,” says Allie.“Christianity says that you can have a relationship with God right now, no matter what you've done or who you are, by grace through faith in Jesus. Okay? So yes, Christianity is a relationship,” she concedes.But that doesn’t change the fact that it is “also a religion.”“If you look at the roots of the word 'religion,' you can go all the way back to the ancient use of the Latin word, which is relegere,” meaning “to go through again — especially in thought or in word,” Allie explains.“I love this connection because it implies a routine, a habit, a discipline of repetition that turns an isolated belief into a pattern of thought that dictates a person's life.”Another closely related Latin word — religāre — means to “bind again or to tie back.”“You'll notice the shared prefix in these words, which is re-. It's the prefix that we see in repeat, rehearse, rebound, redo. Re- … means to do it again, to repeat,” says Allie.“Christian religion is the practice of rebinding ourselves to the things of God … rebinding ourselves through grace-filled effort — Holy Spirit-inspired effort — to His wisdom, His ways, the good things of the Christian life.”Citing the book of James, which explicitly refers to Christianity as a “religion,” Allie concludes, “Scripture does not preach that our Christian faith is not a religion; rather, it's the one true religion. Religion and relationship in Christianity are not pitted against each other.”Myth #2: “God answers all of our prayers; the answer might just be no.” “It is true that God says no; it is not true that God answers every prayer,” Allie says frankly.The Bible, she explains, explicitly outlines several “kinds of people” whose prayers God may ignore: “those who have personal and selfish motives” (James 4:3); “those who remain in sin and will not heed God's law” (John 9:31; Proverbs 28:9); “those who offer unworthy service to God” (Malachi 1:8-9); “those who reject God's call or have no faith” (James 1:6-7); “those who are violent” (Isaiah 1:15); “those who are self-righteous” (Luke 18:11-14); and “those who mistreat God’s people (Micah 3: 2, 4).“There are several other passages that we could go through that indicate that God sometimes does not hear or does not respond at all to certain prayers due to a person's heart condition, motives, or relationship with Him,” says Allie.For Christians, however, who the Bible says are free to approach God’s throne with confidence (Hebrews 4:16), she says it’s difficult to determine whether or not God answers all their prayers.“I simply don't know for sure that the answer is always that God is responding to every single prayer that a Christian has … but we do know for sure that for the nonbeliever, it is not true that God hears and answers every prayer,” Allie says.Myth #3: “Share the gospel; when necessary, use words.” This maxim expresses the idea that “we preach the gospel by just how we treat people” and that “preaching at people and trying to push religion down their throats is not something that's going to be convincing,” says Allie.“It is true that your life serves as an inspiration. It is true that what we do absolutely matters and how we live our life is a testimony to what we believe — 100%.”But this doesn’t excuse us from the biblical mandate to take the gospel to all nations.“We are called to preach the gospel with our words. If anyone could have preached the gospel only using deeds, it would have been Jesus, because Jesus perfectly lived out the gospel in his actions. And yet he didn't just do the deeds. … He constantly preached the gospel using his words,” says Allie.Between Jesus’ example and the many verses that call believers to speak the gospel (Romans 10:14, 17; 2 Timothy 4:1-2), there is no escaping the reality that Christianity is “a word-based faith.”“The Bible obviously strongly affirms that our actions, our love, our holy living must back up our message and that hypocrisy undermines it, and it also repeatedly emphasizes the gospel itself must be verbally proclaimed,” Allie concludes.To hear more, watch the episode above.Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Scripture has many warnings about anger. Ephesians 4:31 tells us to put away “all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor.” Psalm 37:8 warns against anger and wrath. James 1:20 says “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”And yet, anger is an emotion we all experience. Even Jesus himself expressed it at times.So how do we know when our anger is righteous and when it leads us into rebellion against God?On a recent episode of “Unashamed,” Al and Jase addressed this very question, drawing on the longstanding wisdom of their father, Phil Robertson — the late beloved patriarch of the family. The key, they explain, is examining what the anger is rooted in. Righteous anger, when boiled down, is ultimately an overflow of love rather than hate.Al shares a personal example.“My dad ... became angry at me when the lifestyle that I was living was against the covenant of our family,” he reflects.“I took that as I was being forsaken and shunned by him, ... but I was 180 degrees wrong. The only reason he had that conversation is because he did love me.”When Al finally turned from his prodigal ways, his father’s anger immediately gave way, revealing the deep love that had fueled it all along.“When I came back, guess who was right there waiting — not with hate, not with forsakenness, not with separation, but, ‘Welcome home, son’? The same dad,” he says. “Why? Because his love for me never stopped.”“A lot of times people think anger is a sin, but it’s not a sin. Anger can lead you to sin,” Al continues, noting that the Bible mentions anger “over 600 times,” but “85% of the 600 times, God is the one who’s angry.”To hear the Robertsons dive deeper into the powerful tension between God’s love and wrath — especially how they beautifully intersect at the cross — watch the episode above.Want more from the Robertsons?To enjoy more on God, guns, ducks, and inspiring stories of faith and family, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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