Continue reading MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BIBLE “EDUCATION” (PART 1)
This is my second letter to you, dear brothers, and in both of them I have tried to remind you–if you will let me–about facts you already know: facts you learned from the holy prophets and from us apostles who brought you the words of our Lord and Savior. Continue reading SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY “HOPE FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS” (2 PETER 3: 1-9)
BRICKS
Baked clay bricks were the Israelites’ second favorite building material. The Bible first mentions brick in the construction of the Tower of Babel. There the builders said to one another, “Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly” (Gen. 11:3). So we think the builders baked their bricks in kilns, as the ancient Babylonians did. Archaeologists have found Babylonian bricks that were quite large, sometimes 30cm. (about one foot) square, and flat. This shape could support the weight of large builders better than today’s
Continue reading MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BIBLE “THE MINERALS AND GEMS OF PALESTINE”
If I had the gift of prophecy and knew all about what is going to happen in the future, knew everything about everything, but didn’t love others, what good would it do? Even if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, I would still be wroth nothing at all without love. If I gave everything I have to poor people. and if I were burned alive for preaching the Gospel but didn’t love others. It would be of no value whatever.
Continue reading SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY “WHAT IS LOVE” (1 CORINTHIANS 13:2-7)
At the very beginning of His ministry, “the Spirit. . .compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, where he was tempted by Satan for forty days” (Mark 1:12-13). The devil tried to tempt Jesus to use His power for His own benefit, but Jesus resisted all his deceitful tricks (Matthew 4:1-11). Having passed these tests, Jesus then launched His ministry. As
The apostle Paul was born in the city of Tarsus in the Roman province of Cilicia (in southern Turkey) and was named Saul. His father had Roman citizenship, so although he was a jew, Saul was born a Roman citizen. His Latin name was Paul. Saul was raised a Pharisee and as a young man went to Jerusalem to study under Gamaliel, a leading rabbi.
Do you want more and more of God’s kindness and peace? Then learn to know him better and better. For as you know him better, he will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life: he even shares his own glory and his own goodness with us! And by that same mighty power he has given us all the other rich and wonderful blessings he promised; for instance, the promise to save us from the lust and rottenness all around us, and to give us his own character.
Continue reading SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY “2 PETER 1:2-8” (STEPS TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH)
Remind your people to obey the government and its officers, and always to be obedient and ready for any honest work. They must not speak evil of anyone, nor quarrel, but be gentle and truly courteous to all. Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient; we were misled by others and became slaves to many evil pleasures and wicked desires. Our lives were full of resentment and envy. We hated others and they hated us.
Continue reading SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY “OBEY THE GOVERNMENT” (TITUS 3:1-5)
Paul discusses Abraham in Romans 4 and declares when and why God found him righteous. Surprisingly, although Abraham was the forefather of the Jews and was the first Hebrew to be circumcised (Genesis 17:9-26), it was not obeying the command to become circumcised that made him righteous in God’s eyes. Rather, he was declared righteous because of his faith in the promises of God. “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to
Eyewitnesses to Jesus’ life, Peter among them, verified what really happened. We see Jesus through the eyes of Peter and other disciples who testify to the truth through stories such as the Transfiguration, where God declares Jesus to be His true Son, Peter spent three years with Jesus, observing His miracles and ingesting His teaching. When Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Continue reading HOW CAN WE BE SURE THAT THE STORIES ABOUT JESUS ARE TRUE?