Why am I here? What is life all about? What is the meaning of life? How we answer these big-picture questions is important so we can live with hope and a sense of purpose in times of uncertainty, pain, and frustration.
What is the meaning of life according to the Bible? According to the Bible, knowing God is the meaning of life because He is the “author of life” (John 17:3). The meaning of life is not based on things we see in the world “for life is more than food, and the body more than clothing” (Luke 12:23).
What does it mean to know God? Why can’t we base the meaning of life on relationships, career, or personal happiness? Understanding the answer to these questions in the Bible gives a sense of purpose and fulfillment in our lives.
What is the meaning to life? Why am I? What is my reason/purpose? A routine question that strikes us at moments of reflection/trial. What is “Life”?
God, as The Author of life, brings meaning to life. Everything God created was meant to show what God is like. God created a world with a purpose, by His design. The world we live in and the life of every person has a purpose and is not just the product of chance, random events, and biological selection.
Just like your parents here on earth, your Heavenly Father wants to hear from you and talk to you. When you pray, He listens. Then He answers your prayers in the form of thoughts, spiritual feelings, scripture, or even the actions of other people.
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Prayer helps you gain an understanding of God’s loving nature
The scriptures teach, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). You can feel that love as you speak daily with Him through prayer, seeking His guidance in your life.
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Prayer provides answers
Praying and listening to the answers God gives you can help you better understand your purpose in life. God will help you understand why you are here and what you can do to return to live with Him after this life.
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Prayer helps you find direction in your life
When you privately pray to God, you can work through serious decisions in your life. God always listens and often provides the specific answers and guidance we seek. Even when He chooses not to answer immediately or in the way we might have hoped, prayer itself is a way to find peace.
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Prayer gives you strength to avoid temptation
Jesus counseled His disciples, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation” (Matthew 26:41). Through prayer, we can overcome temptations to sin. Pray for God’s help to keep you from making wrong choices. This will give you the strength to do what is right.
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Prayer aligns your will with God’s will
The purpose of prayer is not necessarily to tell God how you want Him to do things. Rather, it’s to better understand Him and His ways, bringing yourself into alignment with His will. As C.S. Lewis is often attributed as saying, prayer “doesn’t change God. It changes me.”
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Prayer and regular fasting can help you accept God’s will
Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights before He began His ministry on the earth. As He did this, He communed with His Father in Heaven in prayer. Likewise, if you pray and fast, you can feel closer to God and better understand the things He wants you to do.
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Prayer can work miracles
Throughout the scriptures, we see many examples of the Lord working miracles as an answer to prayer. In Old Testament times, the prophet Daniel was thrown into a lions’ den because he refused to stop praying. When he prayed to God in the lions’ den, angels appeared and closed the mouths of the lions. Through daily prayer, you can also experience personal miracles such as healing, peace, and forgiveness for sins.
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Prayer invites the Holy Spirit into your life
As you pray daily, you invite the Holy Spirit to be with you and to comfort and direct you. The Holy Spirit can give you answers, help you feel God’s love, and bring feelings of peace and joy into your heart.
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Prayer helps you become more like Jesus
Jesus set the perfect example of prayer. If you try to follow His example through prayer, you will become more like Him and develop a better relationship with Him and Heavenly Father.
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world. Philippians 4:13-15
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.
Philippians 4:13-15
Most of the time, they come from people you trusted. The people you prayed with. The people you laughed with. The people you never imagined would hurt you.
That’s what made Judas’ betrayal so painful.
Jesus wasn’t betrayed by an enemy standing outside the room. He was betrayed by someone who walked with Him, learned from Him, and sat at His table.
If you’ve ever been hurt by someone you loved, you’re not alone.
Betrayal has a way of making us question people. Sometimes it even makes us question God.
But don’t let the actions of one person harden your heart.
The same table where Jesus experienced betrayal was also the table where He showed grace, love, and forgiveness.
People may fail you. People may leave you. People may betray you.
But Jesus never will.
So don’t lose your faith because of someone else’s choices.
Keep your eyes on Christ—not on the people who walked away. ❤️🩹🙌🏻
Dear God, thank You for this new day and for blessing me with another week. As I step into it, I’m asking You to search my heart, test my anxious thoughts, and reveal anything in me that needs to change. Your word in 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.” God, I don’t want to walk into this week carrying the same habits, the same mindsets, and the same patterns that have been holding me back. Shine a light on anything that’s not of You and give me the strength to actually do something about it. There’s no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, so I’m letting go of every feeling that I’m not enough and stepping into this week with my faith reignited and my hunger for Your word renewed. This week is Yours. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. -Psalm 139:23-24
Any idea how many hours of video are watched on YouTube every day?
One BILLION—you heard that right.
One billion hours equates to over 114,000 years. That’s over one tenth of a million years’ worth of video consumed by YouTube users every single day. How crazy is that?
Additionally, YouTube is said to be the second largest search engine in the world, behind only Google. 1.5 billion people use it monthly, and 5 billion videos are watched on it every single day. A staggering 80% of 18-49 year-olds watch YouTube, and if we look at 13-17 year-olds, the numbers come in even higher at 90%—which means YouTube reaches more people than any cable network in the U.S.
To be honest, up until last year my personal YouTube usage didn’t extend too far beyond looking up a song to listen to here or there, or streaming sermons on my commute. But last year I discovered a few YouTubers whose channels I began to keep up with, and the more I started to explore the world of YouTube, the more I realized just how vast it is.
At the start of this year, I decided to add my own voice to the choir of incredible creators on YouTube because you know, NEW YEAR, NEW YOU(Tube Channel). (That’s how the saying goes, right?)
My primary motivation for starting a YouTube channel was simply that for a few months, I sensed God putting it on my heart—and as much as the idea freaked me out intimidated me, I wanted to be obedient to His prompting. (If you want to hear more about that backstory, and the turning point moment that made me finally decide to take the leap, you can find it in my first YouTube video).
I couldn’t have rattled off any of the above stats to you when I was thinking about starting, but the more I look at them, the more sure I am of the need for creators who are going to pour positivity into a platform where so much media is being consumed. Which brings me to the topic of this post.
There are a ton of Christian bloggers and Instagrammers out there (which is amazing!), but YouTube is a bit less of a saturated market. Which is why in the last couple months, I’ve loved seeing several people I know—whether from online or my own personal life—go for it. Whether through overtly faith-based content, or through bringing their own unique passion and personality to some other niche, it’s been cool to see people bringing light to a platform where so many people are spending their time.
That being said, in this post I want to highlight a few of my favorite Christian YouTubers to help get their names out there. The way I see it, every minute spent watching one of these channels or others like them is a minute not spent watching one of the many other, potentially less helpful options available.
DISCLAIMER: There are many other amazing Christian YouTubers out there—this is by no means a comprehensive list! I just had to make it manageably-sized. Below, I picked a few of the Christian YouTubers I personally watch and enjoy, including a handful from my own life. You can click on any of the photos to access their channels. Without further ado here they are, in no particular order!
11 CHRISTIAN YOUTUBERS TO BE WATCHING
1. KRISTIN JOHNS
Kristin’s channel is what initially introduced me to the YouTube world, and she’s one of my absolute favorites. She has such a sweet, kind, and sincere spirit, and whether she’s showing you her monthly favorites or doing a challenge video, she’s always fun to watch, and she infuses such positivity into your day. Also, not going to lie, I completely changed up my makeup routine after watching her tutorials—her makeup always looks so good! While the majority of Kristin’s content isn’t overtly faith-based, she does talk about her faith here and there, like in her testimony video—but no matter what the topic is, Jesus’ light shines brightly through Kristin in all of her videos.
2. COFFEE AND BIBLE TIME
Coffee, coffee, coffee—and the WORD! Who else remembers that meme from a couple years back? It was a popular one at the Christian university. Honestly though, is there anything better than coffee and Bible time? It’s pretty great—both the actual thing, and this channel, which encourages and equips you to do the actual thing. As you can probably tell, this channel is all things BIBLE! It is run by two sisters, Ashley and Taylor, who have a genuine heart to share God’s love with others, and their mom often joins their videos as well to provide a mentoring perspective. On Coffee and Bible Time, you’ll find a ton of content that shows you how to dig deep into Scripture and spend time with God. Seeing the intimacy in their walks with God is such an inspiration!
3. JONATHAN DIRMANN
Jonathan is the pastor of a church down in Lake Elsinore, CA, but I know him as friend because he is the husband of one of my best friends, Marlene! He recently launched his YouTube channel, The Jonathan Dirmann Show, where he tackles controversial topics and current events. What I love about Jonathan’s channel is that he gives fresh insight on topics you tend to hear the same ‘ole arguments on, and communicates his position in a way that makes you think, but also welcomes dialogue with those who may disagree with him. I think there’s a lot to be said of his willingness to tackle topics that have the potential to be pretty divisive. Personally, I’ve learned a lot from watching his videos, and whether or not you find yourself on the same side of the spectrum as him, I think you will too!
4. SADIE ROBERTSON
If you’ve ever heard of a little TV show called Duck Dynasty, or Dancing With The Stars, then you know exactly who Sadie is. Though she gained a platform through those shows, Sadie utilized it to become a motivational speaker, an author, and the founder of a blog called Live Original, which exists to equip its readers to step into their God-given purposes. Sadie’s YouTube channel is just one of the many outlets she uses to encourage others and boldly point them toward God. In addition to videos like “3 Common Christian Questions,” on it you’ll also find fun cover videos and challenge videos.
You may remember Jefferson Bethke as the guy who did a spoken word YouTube video on “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus.” It went viral back in 2012, which launched his career as an entrepreneur—he speaks, creates podcasts and YouTube videos, and has a blog. But I didn’t discover Jeff until maybe a couple years ago, once he was already married to his wife Alyssa—and can I just say, this couple is GOALS. I love that they are quirky, have fun together, and ultimately love God with their whole hearts—and that they work as a team to encourage others toward Him, creating Scripturally sound resources that equip people to walk out their faith in practical ways. Despite all they do (they also host marriage conferences and have written books both as individuals and together), they still make family a priority (and have THE cutest kids). In addition to their YouTube channel, where they cover everything from relationships to practicing Sabbath, I’m also a huge fan of their podcast, Love That Lasts.
7. APPLY GOD’S WORD BY MARK BALLENGER
On this channel, Mark does exactly what his channel name suggests: he applies God’s Word—to dating, relationships, decision-making, and many other aspects of life. Our culture talks a lot about looking for signs, and Mark plays on this in a lot of his titles—but all of the signs he refers to are actually direct applications of biblical wisdom to specific life situations, rather than the arbitrary type of signs we are told to look for. Mark has a masters degree in pastoral counseling and also served a pastor for a number of years before beginning the online ministry he does on his YouTube channel and website. If you are a Christian single looking for help in applying the unchanging truths of God’s Word to the many questions and challenges that come along with modern dating and relationships, Apply God’s Word (AGW) is for you.
8. NATE AND SUTTON
I think Nate and Sutton win for my favorite channel tagline: sowing seeds of truth, love, and inspiration in the name of Jesus, one view at a time. How cute is that? Also how cute is this couple?! But more importantly how honest, insightful, encouraging, and rooted in God’s truth are they. As a couple, Nate and Sutton and fun and quirky—which makes them a joy to watch. I’ve learned so much from the parts of their story they’ve shared, whether on waiting until marriage, running a business together as husband and wife, or Christian dating boundaries. Their Q&A’s are also a favorite of mine. I love that they don’t share away from potential controversial topics, but give thoughtful answers spoken in truth and love.
9. FAR AWAY DISTANCE by becca eller
Becca’s is a channel I love because of her willingness to speak bold truth. These days, even in Christian culture there are far too many lies we’ve allowed to seep in and believe because they sound good. But sounding good doesn’t make them truth. As Christian’s we need to be grounded in the truth of God’s Word or else we’ll be swayed by the ever-changing opinions of culture. This is why I love Far Away Distance. Watching Becca’s videos continually challenges me to examine what I’m believing and the way I live to ensure it aligns with what the Bible actually says. She covers a variety of Christian topics, always bringing it right back to the Word.
10. MILENA CICIOTTI
I first came across Milena’s YouTube Channel when her video “Untold Truth About Saving Yourself For Marriage” took off and appeared on my home page. Ever since, I have loved following along as she shares all different aspects of her life: being a young wife and mom, home decor, Bible study videos, fashion, etc.. I love that she keeps it real and tells it how it is. Watching her videos feels like a refreshing, inspiring conversation with a good friend. I also recently started listening to the podcast she does with her husband Jordan, “As For Me And My House.”
11. KIAN TILTON
I LOVE Kian’s Channel! I personally find all of her videos so relatable as she too is a single Christian girl in her mid-twenties just navigating LIFE. On her channel she does everything from vlogs, to lifestyle videos, to advice videos, to talking about Christian dating—she even has an entire series called “The Single Diaries” where she talks about the ups and downs of being single and finding contentment in that. One of my personal favorite series is her “Get Healthy With Me Series”—I appreciate her transparency in that journey and just how realistic she is with it. One of my favorite Christian YouTubers to follow along with for sure!
