Hi! My name is Mark Ballenger and this is where I share my passion with the world – helping people apply the word of God.
My goal on this website is to tackle real-life issues and apply a biblical perspective. I try to write each article as though the reader was getting one-on-one time with a pastoral counselor.
I’ve been married to my wife, Bethany, since 2008 and God has blessed us with two children, Logan and Noel. We love going on outdoor adventures, spending time with family and friends, and exploring the surprising natural beauty of Northeast Ohio.
Before becoming a full-time author and YouTuber, I graduated from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary with a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Counseling. I’ve served as a full-time pastor, caseworker, and in various other ministry roles.
You can contact me anytime and for any reason by emailing me at markballenger@applygodsword.com.
Featured On:
In addition to all that God has me doing through ApplyGodsWord.com, I’m also available to write feature articles for your ministry/website or to do a speaking engagement. Here are some of the places I’ve been featured before:
Desiring God: Is It Sin to Be Sad?
Desiring God: Where Is God’s Love in Loss?
Focus on the Family: Christ-Centered Dating Interview
RELEVANT Magazine: 7 Ways You May Be Sabotaging Your Dating Life
RELEVANT Magazine: 3 Reasons to Stay Realistic in Your Relationships (This article was also promoted through 4WordWomen.org.)
RELEVANT Magazine: Can You Really Be Friends After the Breakup?
The Christian Post: 3 Reasons to Not Ask God for a Sign
Julie Roys: 3 Ways to Wrongly Apply Matthew 18
GemMagazines.net: How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Future Relationships
Faith It: 5 Lies About Sexual Purity Many Christians Believe
BibleGateway.com (Blogger Grid): ApplyGodsWord.com is featured in Bible Gateway’s network of meaningful blogs.
LifeFM Radio Interview: 7 Social Media Pitfalls Healthy Christians Avoid Like the Plague (segment starts at the 8 minutes and 15 second mark on this recoding)
HelloChristian.com: What Does the Bible Say About Flirting?
BeliefNet.com: The “W” Word Matters: Why “Works” Should Not Be a Bad Word in Church
BeliefNet.com: Is Satan Keeping You Single?
BeliefNet.com: How a Mega Church Made a Millennial Feel at Home
ChurchLeaders.com: 24 Signs of a Healthy Church
Books: To see all of my books for sale, click here to see my Amazon Author Page.
What to Expect:
Most of the topics we cover are about learning TRUTH, living in FREEDOM, and loving GOD – all for his glory.
This website’s focus is to take a passage of Scripture and help readers actively apply what God has said. While there are endless problems presented to each person in this world, the ultimate answer to every issue is always Jesus Christ. No topic is off limits, but the central theme linking all our posts will be loving God and loving people, as all of Scripture hang on these two very specific commands (Matthew 22:36-40).
Mission:
The mission of ApplyGodsWord.com is to help people understand and live the truth for the glory of God and our enjoyment of him.
By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
– John 15:8-13
To accomplish this mission, ApplyGodsWord.com will:
1. Always begin each post with Scripture.
2. Post at least three times a week.
3. Give away our core content for free.
Statement of Faith:
Scripture, the Word of God Written
We believe the Bible, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is the infallible Word of God, verbally inspired by God, and without inaccuracy in the original manuscripts. It was written by men under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. The meaning of biblical texts is a fixed historical reality, rooted in the historical, unalterable intentions of its divine and human authors. However, while meaning does not change, the application of that meaning may change in various situations. Because it was inspired by God, the Bible is truth without any mixture of error and is completely relevant to our daily lives. Scripture is totally sufficient and must not be added to, superseded or changed by later tradition, extra-biblical revelation or worldly wisdom. Every doctrinal formulation, whether of creed, confession or theology, must be put to the test of the full truth as given in the Holy Scripture.
The Trinity
We believe there is one God: infinite, eternal, sovereign, all-glorious and perfect in holiness, truth and love. God exists as the Godhead, made of three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, co-existent, co-equal and co-eternal. God is one, while the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father. Although each member of the Trinity serves different functions, they each possess equal power, authority, and Deity. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equally worthy of the same glory and honor and obedience.
God the Father
We believe God the Father created all things in six literal days for His glory according to His own will, through His Son, Jesus Christ. He upholds everything through the word of His power and grace, exercising supreme rule and headship over all creation, providence, and redemption. Through the same word, He daily sustains all His creatures. He reigns over all and, along with the Son and the Spirit, is the only Sovereign. His plans and purposes cannot be thwarted. He is faithful to every promise, works all things together for good to those who love Him and, in His unfathomable grace, gave His Son, Jesus Christ, for mankind’s redemption. He made all things for the praise of His glory and intends for man, in particular, to live in fellowship with Himself.
Jesus Christ
We believe Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is the eternal Word made flesh, supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. He is perfect in every way. He is fully God and fully man. He was always with God and is God. Through Him all things came into being and were created. He was before all things, and in Him all things hold together by the word of His power. He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born over all creation, and in Him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Jesus, being fully God and fully man, lived a sinless life and sacrificially shed His blood and died on the cross in our place. This accomplished redemption for all who place their faith in Him. He arose visibly and bodily from the dead three days later and ascended into heaven, where, at the Father’s right hand, He is now Head of His Body the Church, the only Savior and Mediator between God and man, and will return to earth in power and glory to complete His redemptive mission.
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, has come to glorify the Son who, in turn, came to glorify the Father. He does this by giving the disciples of Jesus greater power to preach the gospel of the glory of Christ, by opening the hearts of hearers that they might see Christ and believe, and by revealing the beauty of Christ in His word and transforming His people into new creations. The Holy Spirit sanctifies, seals, fills, guides, instructs, comforts, equips, empowers, permanently indwells at salvation, and bestows spiritual gifts to the believer for Christ-like living and service. The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus by calling people from all the nations into the gospel of Christ, and, in all of this, fulfilling the New Covenant promise to create and preserve a purified people for God. He is to be respected, honored and worshiped as God, the Third Person of the Trinity.
Mankind
We believe that God created mankind—male and female—in His own image and likeness, free of sin, to glorify Himself and enjoy His fellowship. However, man fell to the temptation of Satan and sinned against God, bringing sin, death and condemnation to all mankind. All human beings, therefore, are totally depraved by nature and by choice. Unregenerate man lives under the dominion of sin and Satan. Whatever their character or attainments, all people are lost and without hope apart from salvation in Christ alone.
The Gospel
We believe Jesus Christ is the gospel. The good news is revealed in His birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension. Christ’s crucifixion is the heart of the Gospel; His resurrection is the power of the Gospel and His ascension is the glory of the Gospel. Christ’s death is a substitutionary and propitiatory sacrifice to God for our sins. It satisfies the demands of God’s holy justice and holy wrath. Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man. There is no other name by which men must be saved. At the heart of all sound doctrine is the cross of Jesus Christ. The Gospel alone gives us the infinite privilege that redeemed sinners have of glorifying God because of what Jesus has accomplished. People are saved through faith in Jesus by grace for God’s glory. Genuine faith continues and is evidenced, though imperfectly in this age, in obedience and love for Jesus Christ with a life eager to glorify God and persevere to the end.
The Church
We believe that once a person places his or her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, the believer is made part of the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ is the one universal Church, of which Jesus Christ is the Head. The Church is not a religious institution or denomination. Rather, the Church is made up of those who have become genuine followers of Jesus Christ through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Bible commands believers to gather locally to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, fellowship, baptism and communion, service to the local body through the development and use of talents and spiritual gifts, and outreach to the world to specifically fulfill the Great Commission. Wherever God’s people meet regularly under the watchful care of a plurality of elders, the preaching of God’s word, and the administration of the sacraments, there is the local expression of the Church. A church’s members are to work towards unity and love, intent on the ultimate purpose of glorifying Christ.
Biblical Sacraments
We believe the only two biblical sacraments are baptism and communion. We believe baptism is a public expression of an inward change that is produced by salvation in Jesus Christ, not by water baptism. When believers are baptized they are publicly identifying themselves with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection symbolized by immersion in water. This is done in obedience to a direct command in Scripture. The Lord’s Supper is the united commemoration by believers of Christ’s death until He comes and should be preceded by a careful self-examination. The Lord’s Supper does not lead to salvation or forgiveness. It is done, as he commanded it to be done, to remember and honor the work of Christ. As we partake of the Lord’s Supper with an attitude of faith and self-examination, we remember and proclaim the death of Christ, receive spiritual nourishment for our souls, and signify our unity with other members of Christ’s body. Both baptism and communion should only be practiced by those who have received the saving benefits of Christ’s atoning work and become His disciple.
The Future
We believe in the glorious, visible, and personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe in the bodily resurrection of both the saved and the lost. The lost will be raised to judgment and experience eternal wrath in hell along with Satan and all his demons. The saved will be raised to eternal joy in the new heaven and new earth in the manifested presence of God. This will fully satisfy the eager expectation of creation, and the whole earth shall proclaim the glory of God when he makes all things new.
Privacy Policy:
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Copyright Policy:
All material on AppyGodsWord.com is under copyright protection. Please do not alter or sell any material.
Affiliate Links:
Please note, in regards to products I promote from Amazon and my books which I sell on Amazon, “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”
Waiver and Release:
This website exists to offer biblical counsel to life’s various questions and problems. That’s all! No information provided by AppyGodsWord.com should be viewed as professional counseling, therapy, legal, or other professional advice. With that said, in using this website, you hereby release ApplyGodsWord.com (and any of its officers, directors, or representatives) from any responsibility for any decision you might make in your personal life.