Skip to main content

Introduction

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” -- Isaiah 12:2

My name is Matthew Harper, and I am currently 22 and pursuing a joint B.A./MDiv in Biblical and Theological Studies at Boyce College and Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY.  I desire to enter pastoral ministry with an emphasis on preaching, shepherding, and missions. I have an ordinary faith in an extraordinary savior.

I became a Christian and was baptized at age 6, and I desired to do ministry from age 10 onwards.  When I was in high school, I went through a period of doubt and sin that nearly broke my faith. In His kindness, the Lord gave me many answers to my questions and helped me be content to trust Him with the rest. My life's calling is to glorify God by helping hurting people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I want to write this blog primarily to glorify God by expressing through writing what He's doing in my life and heart. I'll include thoughts and ruminations on following Jesus, post updates about ministry and life, and potentially invite others to contribute as time goes on. Until He returns, I urge you to join me in a prayer written by Robert Murray M'Cheyne:

"Give the Spirit. Take the glory."

~Isaiah 12:2, Ephesians 2:1-10~

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Hollow Holidays and Our Heavenly Home

Yesterday was the first major holiday my family celebrated since my mom passed away. It's fitting that it was Thanksgiving, the day we're supposed to thank the Lord for all He's done this past year. Scripture doesn't have a category for only one day of thanksgiving. Every day, every moment, we are called to give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, and His love endures forever. And yet, it's good to have a special day set aside to be thankful.  I didn't feel like giving thanks yesterday. As we sat around our table with a feast on our plates, the empty chair across from me deepened the ache in my heart. My mom was supposed to be there. Her infectious smile, her boisterous laugh, her words of wisdom that always pointed to Jesus - all gone. I know where she is. She's not lost. Her voice has joined the chorus of saints and angels praising the Lord, but I want her back here. I want her back in our home.  My dad, brother, and I sat on the porch after the meal, our ...

Good Stories Aren't Just Good Stories

My wife and I love Korean tv shows. In the one we're currently watching, the protagonist is an optimistic start-up entrepreneur whose dreams are crushed by the corporate machine. She loses her boyfriend, her career, and her company. Her team is broken up and her office is empty. And yet, after marinating in the rubble for a little while, she puts her hair back into a ponytail and starts again. We have a feeling her rebirth will end in success. Devoid of characters, K-dramas (and every story) would just be scenery snapshots. Protagonists and antagonists must grow and change throughout a story if they are to move us. Samwise Gamgee would be annoying if he didn't have a spark of loyalty. Darth Vader would be one-dimensional if he didn't save his son from a cruel death. We find these characters compelling - but why? Good stories nibble, grind, and pierce into our souls. They evoke emotions within us that sometimes pierce the veil of normality. They whisper (and sometimes shout)...

Why is Jesus' Sacrifice Necessary?

Question: why did Jesus need to offer His life as a sacrifice if, as it seems from the Old Testament, God doesn't want sacrifices and already forgives those who are repentant and do His commands?  Response: Abraham was counted righteous first because he had faith in God and then proved it by his obedience (Genesis 15:6, Hebrews 11:17-18; see Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6, James 2:14-26). In the Bible, genuine faith is always accompanied by doing God’s commands, though the works themselves are not what saves — it is God who forgives and saves. Merely repenting and doing God’s commands is worthless unless it is accompanied by faith in God (Exodus 14:31, Numbers 14:11, Deut. 9:23, 2 Chron. 20:20, Psalm 78:22-32, John 3:16-21, John 14:11, Romans 4:11,   Hebrews 11:6 — this will be important later).   The sacrificial system was meant 1. to be a way to show one’s faith in God (Genesis 4:3-4, Genesis 8:20-21, Genesis 22:13, Genesis 46:1, 2 Samuel 24:24, Psalm 51:17-19) 2. to remembe...