Top 10 Blog Posts of 2021

by Erik Jones
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Topics: Christian Living, News and Trends, Social Issues

As we approach a new calendar year, we take a look at our most popular blogs posted in 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic took a turn for the worse when the Delta variant hit; there continued to be violence and terrible national disasters around the world; there are many global hotspots that are more tense and closer to all-out war than they were in 2020; political divisions continued to widen; and so on. The world remains a dangerous, and divided, place.

Perhaps, we’ve learned our lesson and will be more sober in our expectations for 2022.  

At the end of every year we try to take a look back at our blog posts to see which ones were the most popular. Taking a look at the most viewed blog posts from 2021 gives us a glimpse into some of the major events of the year—and the major concerns on people’s minds.

Here’s a list of the top blogs added in 2021, with a few excerpts. If you missed any of these over the past 12 months, this may be a great time to go back and catch up on them!

1. What’s Behind the Storming of the U.S. Capitol?

“On Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, a mob overwhelmed the police guarding the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., where Congress was meeting to confirm the votes of the Electoral College. The group forced their way in and took over much of the building. The lawmakers were quickly evacuated to a safe location . . .

“What does this mean for the United States? How did we come to this humiliating place? Where will things go from here? . . .

“How have we come to this? It began when, as a nation, we gradually rejected God, whose blessing this nation requested at its founding, to whom we have appealed for help and guidance many times, before whom our forefathers promised to strive to be a Christian ‘city upon a hill’ . . .

“The solution is simple. But it is not easy. We must turn to the God of the Bible. We must acknowledge and repent of our national sins—our pride, our injustice, our envy, our violence, our lust, our presumption and our arrogance.”

2. Why the Fall of Afghanistan Matters

“Many predicted the inevitable collapse of Afghanistan to the Taliban. But the speed of its fall took the world off guard . . .

“The world’s most powerful superpower has been effectively defeated by a group of zealots operating out of caves . . .

“The decline of the United States has only served to embolden America’s enemies. As the U.S. withdraws from the world stage, authoritarian leaders and despotic regimes are rising to fill the void. Afghanistan sits at the crossroads between Asia, Europe and the Middle East. What has transpired there will have deep effects on the powers surrounding it . . .

“But the U.S. withdrawal left European nations scrambling to get their staff and citizens out. This debacle has convinced many in Europe of their need for autonomy from the United States. Now more than ever, the nations of Europe know they cannot rely on the United States.”

3. The Danger of Spiritual Disorientation

“Kobe Bryant had a 20-year career in the NBA and is considered one of the greatest and most popular basketball players of all time.

“But on Jan. 26, 2020, at the age of 41, Kobe and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna died in a helicopter crash just outside of Los Angeles, California . . .

“Spatial disorientation describes pilots’ loss of orientation when their senses deceive them . . .

“In this state, a pilot’s senses deceive him or her as to the aircraft’s orientation to its surroundings. The pilot can’t visually discern which way is up, down or sideways . . .

“For Christians, the instrument panel of life is the Bible, God’s Word. The Bible tells us what’s true and what’s false—what’s right and what’s wrong. It tells us how we really are and what the world is really like. On the other hand, our senses often give us a distorted view of ourselves and the world.”

4. What Can We Learn From the Surfside Condominium Collapse?

“In the middle of the night the 12-story south tower, which had 136 condominium units, collapsed without warning. Chilling video captured by a nearby security camera revealed that it took only seconds for a major portion of the south tower to become a pile of rubble. In the aftermath of the collapse, the scene looked as if the building had been destroyed by a powerful bomb . . .

“In Luke 13:4 Jesus made a statement about a tragedy that was very similar to what happened in Florida. During His time, a tower in a Jerusalem neighborhood called Siloam collapsed and killed 18 people . . .

“In the aftermath of this current tragedy in Florida, we can reflect on the same lesson that Jesus asked His audience to think about 2,000 years ago. We can put a renewed focus on repenting of our sins. To do that, we must identify what our sins are, ask for God’s forgiveness and strive to change.”

5. Violence and Tensions Rise in Israel . . . Again

“After a roughly seven-year lull in severe violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians, conflict and tensions have recently erupted again. Hamas has launched over 1,750 rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the Israeli military has retaliated with airstrikes that destroyed several buildings and a tunnel system that the Israelis believe were being used by Hamas militants in Gaza . . .

“No matter what happens in this current conflict, the lingering question is, Will peace ever come to the Middle East? The answer is yes—but not by any human means! . . .

“True peace can be achieved only when people truly reconcile and learn to genuinely love and care for one another. But for that to happen, our hearts will have to change.

“Ironically, while the world watches hatred and animosity spewing from the hearts of so many in the Middle East today, Sunday, May 16, is a biblical holy day that represents how the changing of the human heart can indeed take place. The Feast of Pentecost shows that it can happen only through the power of God’s Holy Spirit miraculously changing the hearts and minds of all humanity.”

6. How to Gain Control of Your Life When You Feel Helpless

“An important takeaway is that when people experience helplessness, it is essential that they try to regain control of their life in a healthy, constructive manner. If not, they will often try to regain a feeling of control through unhealthy behavior . . .

“Whatever it is that makes us feel helpless, too often we retreat into the throes of addiction, depression and anxiety to cope. We must remember we have an adversary, Satan, who wants us to resort to these behaviors. He often uses feelings, such as feeling out of control, to lead people down the path of destructive behavior . . .

“When we start to feel helpless, we can try to take small steps to actively take back control of our lives . . 

“When we feel helpless, one of the first places we can go for help is God’s Word.”

7. The Spiritual Decline of the English-Speaking Nations

“The English-speaking nations have undergone drastic changes in recent years. These changes have caused a great deal of division and left many with a sense of uncertainty. Many commentators look at these nations, especially the United States, and see signs of national decline. It seems we are seeing the weakening of the U.S.-led order that has maintained relative world peace since World War II . . .

“There are consequences for outright rejection of God’s laws—and our modern nations will face those consequences.

“God’s Word defines the foundations we must live by. Today we are seeing even the most basic principles of God’s Word being eroded—foundational truths such as the fact that God is the Creator and created people male and female . . .

“Even if our nations refuse to change direction and repent, we can change ourselves and continue to repent of our personal sins.”

8. What Is Biblical Meditation?

“In our busy world that is full of distractions, meditation is one of the most neglected of all Christian tools. Christian meditation is designed to help us think more similarly to how God thinks and is essential for aligning our thought patterns with His . . .

“Biblical meditation has nothing to do with clearing the mind (which is often the goal of other forms of meditation). Instead, biblical meditation is all about thinking . . .

“The purpose of biblical meditation is to replace negative thoughts with positive, godly ones.”

9. The Butterfly Effect and Our Decisions

“The term was coined by American mathematician and meteorologist Edward Lorenz after he ran several experiments with models to predict the weather. Through these experiments, he came to realize that even the smallest disturbance in the initial conditions of the system could cause immense changes in the weather of the following days . . .

“There are many other examples in the Bible of people whose personal decisions had enormous consequences. However, whether the consequences were good or bad depended on a single and most important factor: obedience to God . . .

“It’s worth asking ourselves the question What kind of decisions are we making today? Are they decisions that could cause a proverbial tornado for ourselves and others? Or are they decisions that will prevent tornadoes and reverberate blessings for ourselves and others?”

10. Why the China-and-Taiwan Conflict Matters

“When the United Kingdom transferred sovereignty of Hong Kong to China in 1997, China promised it would maintain the ‘one country, two systems’ for 50 years. Instead, China has chosen to dominate Hong Kong and bring it in line with the rest of China . . .

“With Taiwan securely in its grasp, China could exert greater influence on Japan, South Korea and the Philippines . . .

“The United States has been increasingly withdrawing from the world stage as it has been consumed with deep domestic divisions. China is sensing the United States’ growing weaknesses and accelerating its plan to dominate—starting with its closest neighbors . . .

“But in our multipolar world, China will not be the only superpower. The Bible shows there will be another superpower to rise in Europe.”

Keep reading!

Throughout this coming calendar year, we will continue working hard to bring you interesting, relevant and biblically based content to help you understand the world around you, grow in character and discover more about the teachings of God’s Word, the Bible.

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Date Posted: December 31, 2021