If not social media… then what? January 12, 2026 One of the biggest hesitations I had in leaving social media 5 years ago wasn’t about the scrolling — it was the relationships.   “How will I keep up with my friends and what they’re doing?”   “What about staying in touch with my family?”   “What if I miss something important? I don’t want to hurt their feelings by not knowing.”   These were real concerns.   For many of us, social media has become the default way to stay connected — especially with extended family, old friends, or people we don’t often see. For me, the choice to step back didn’t mean choosing isolation. It was an intentional choice to engage in more meaningful and healthier forms of relational connection.   In the years since saying goodbye to social media, these are some simple alternatives that have created more meaningful relationships, not fewer:   Call Someone. Yes, actually call. Believe me, it feels awkward at first because we’re out of practice, but hearing ...READ POST

What If You Fasted This Instead? January 5, 2026 Most of us start the year thinking about diets, budgets, or gym memberships. All good things. But what if the most transformative fast to begin the year isn’t about food at all?   What if it’s about attention?   Social media isn’t neutral. It shapes what we fear, what we compare, what we celebrate, and what we carry emotionally. Even a few minutes of scrolling can quietly train our minds toward outrage, envy, anxiety, or distraction. And the hard truth is this: what you consistently give your attention to is what eventually disciples you.   That’s why a 21-day social media fast can be one of the healthiest ways to start the year.   Twenty-one days isn’t about punishment or proving a point. It’s long enough to notice what social media has been doing to you — yet short enough to feel possible. Research indicates that it takes approximately three weeks to break patterns of dependency and start ...READ POST

Holiday (Christmas) Newsletter & We’ve started a non-profit! December 29, 2025 As we come to the close of another year, we want to take a moment to share a bit of the story behind the work you’ve been engaging with — and where it’s headed.   BUT FIRST — our daughter, Arianna, created our family’s Holiday/Christmas card and I wanted to share it with you. Simply click the following link to view our family’s Christmas Newsletter! https://www.canva.com/design…   Cultivate Relationships, LLC was created to develop biblical teaching, discipleship tools, and ministry resources designed to help people experience healing, freedom, and transformation in Jesus. Over time, as churches and leaders began using these resources, a consistent need became clear: churches didn’t just need content — they needed training, structure, and support to implement ministry safely, biblically, and well.   Out of that need, we’re excited to announce that this year, Cultivate Ministries, Inc. was formed as a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Cultivate Ministries exists to take the resources we create ...READ POST

3 final Christmas “facts” most Christians get wrong… December 22, 2025 As I wrap up this series on Christmas “facts” Christians get wrong, I want to keep gently poking at some of the things we assume we “know” about Christmas but often get wrong. Not to ruin traditions — but to help us see how much deeper, richer, and more intentional this season really is.   Here are three final Christmas facts that usually surprise people:   7. Jesus was almost certainly not born on December 25. The Bible never gives us a date for Jesus’ birth. December 25 was chosen centuries later, not to baptize paganism, but to anchor Christian celebration around the incarnation in a world already structured by festivals and calendars. Early Christians weren’t trying to sneak pagan worship into the church — they were intentionally centering time itself around Jesus’ arrival. Christmas was less about historical precision and more about theological proclamation: God entered human history.   8. “Peace on earth” didn’t mean the ...READ POST

3 MORE Christmas “facts” most Christians get wrong… December 15, 2025 As we continue this Christmas series, here’s one of the most surprising (and often misunderstood) truths about Jesus’ birth: he didn’t just fulfill some of the Hebrew Scriptures — he fulfilled all of them.   There is no prophecy in the Hebrew Scriptures still awaiting a “future fulfillment” beyond what Jesus already accomplished and what he will finish at the final resurrection (as the New Testament clearly states). Everything that the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings pointed toward in Israel’s story finds its fulfillment in Jesus the Messiah. Christmas isn’t just the beginning of the story — it’s the moment Israel’s (and the world’s) centuries-long hope finally became a reality in human history.   So, here are three MORE facts that most Christians don’t realize about how completely Jesus fulfilled the Hebrew Scriptures:   4. Jesus fulfilled the entire story arc of Israel — not just isolated verses! The Hebrew Scriptures aren’t a scattered list of ...READ POST

3 Christmas “facts” most Christians get wrong… December 8, 2025 Since we’re now officially in the Christmas season, we’re also entering that magical time when half of what people believe about Christmas is… well… not exactly accurate. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be sharing facts and details about Christmas and the Advent season that most people don’t know or that have been misunderstood.   So here are the first three Christmas facts most people get wrong — not to ruin the fun, but to deepen your joy and wonder at what God actually did.   1. The Magi didn’t show up the night Jesus was born! I LOVE hiding the three wise men in nativity scenes whenever I go to my friends’ houses BECAUSE every nativity scene you’ve ever owned is lying to you. Matthew 2 says the magi visited Jesus in a house — not the manger — and Herod’s attempt to kill all boys two years old and under tells ...READ POST

My Bible Study Pet Peeve December 1, 2025 One of my biggest pet peeves in group Bible studies or when I am talking to someone about a passage of Scripture is when someone says, “Well… I think this passage means…”   I don’t want to know what we think it means. Scripture doesn’t bend to our opinions. The Bible has a single meaning, given by the Holy Spirit who inspired it.   The Spirit both inspired the text (He gave it meaning) and illuminates the text (He makes it personally significant). Without Him, we turn the Scriptures into moral advice, political commentary, or a self-help book. With Him, we see Jesus — because all of Scripture points to him (Revelation 19.10).   There are two essential mindsets we must bring to every passage:   MINDSET #1 – The Bible is a unified story that points to Jesus Jesus repeatedly asked the scholars of His day, “Have you not read…?” (There are at least thirty-four times he did ...READ POST

My obligatory thankfulness post… for Thanksgiving! November 24, 2025 I know what you’re thinking: “It’s Thanksgiving week, so of course Nathan is writing a post about gratitude.”   100%.   But it’s also much more personal than a holiday reminder — this has become survival for me.   Over the last couple of months, I’ve had to reclaim the habit of intentional gratitude because my own thought-life was drifting toward disappointment and discouragement. And when I stop practicing intentional thankfulness, my mind gets negative real fast. But when I return to the habit of thankfulness, the enemy’s whispers of frustration and weariness slowly begin to fade into the background.   Science reveals this reality as well.   Studies from UC Davis, Harvard Health, and Greater Good Science Center show that regular gratitude practices reduce anxiety and depression, improve sleep, strengthen resilience, and even decrease stress hormones in the body. Gratitude literally rewires the brain — strengthening the neural pathways for hope, peace, and joy.   God knew this, which is why ...READ POST

Is God in Control — or Just in Charge? November 10, 2025 For most of my life, growing up in the American-Christian culture, I heard well-meaning Christians say, “Don’t worry — God’s in control.” It sounds like a comforting platitude, but for a while now, it has raised some troubling questions for me: if God controls everything, then what’s the point of prayer? Why would Jesus teach us to ask, seek, and knock if everything were already decided? And, if God is in control, then there are a lot of evil things taking place that should make every Christian question their loyalty to Him?   As I have read and studied the Scriptures, they seem to paint a richer, more relational picture of God. He is in charge — He reigns over creation — but He isn’t a micromanager. He is sovereign enough to give His creation genuine freedom, choosing to work within humanity’s boundaries rather than controlling it like a puppet master. His ...READ POST

Don’t Worry About Israel — Jesus Already Fulfilled It November 3, 2025 I’ve been watching, like many of you, the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine over the past few years. It’s one of those topics I’ve intentionally avoided writing about for a while. But with all the recent peace talks and renewed attention, I felt it might be the right time to share something that’s been on my heart.   I’ve already gone much deeper into this subject in my podcast series on the book of Galatians.   There’s been a lot of noise lately about Israel — headlines, political unrest, “fulfilled prophecies”, and global speculation. But if we’re not careful, that noise can distract us from the simple truth: Jesus has already fulfilled what historical Israel was always meant to point to.   When God formed Israel, it was never meant to end with geography or ethnicity — it was meant to point to a people who would reveal His kingdom to the world. That promise ...READ POST