Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice! Let everyone see that you are unselfish and considerate in all you do. Remember that the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which
Continue reading SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY (PHILIPPIANS 4:4-10) “THINK ABOUT THE GOOD”
The tabernacle was a religious structure built during the exodus when God’s people lived in tents. The Hebrew word mishkan, translated “tabernacle,” literally means “residence” or “dwelling place.” It is related to the word for God’s glorious presence, shekinah. Thus, the very word tabernacle connotes God’s indwelling presence among his people.
Problem: There were no women for Cain to marry. There was only Adam, Eve (4:1), and his dead brother, Abel (4:8). Yet the Bible says Cain married and had children.
Continue reading WHERE DID CAIN GET HIS WIFE? “GENESIS 4:17”
Problem: Paul affirms in this text that Christ “has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” But death is not abolished, since “death spread to all men” (Rom 5:12), and “it is appointed for men to die once” (Heb 9:27).
Continue reading IF JESUS ABOLISHED DEATH, WHY DO WE STILL DIE (1 TIMOTHY 1:10)
The Roman Empire was a second period of great importance to the people of Bible lands. The birth of Jesus is clearly set in Roman times: “in those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)” (Luke 2:1-2). Rome had only Continue reading MANNERS AND CUSTOMS “THE ROMAN EMPIRE”
The cornerstone of a building is the main foundation stone upon which the entire structure rests and therefore the most important stone in a building. In the construction techniques used in antiquity, the cornerstone was the first stone laid, and the integrity and stability of the building depended upon its being precisely squared. As a biblical image, Scripture has one reference of God laying the cornerstone of creation (Job 38:6); all other references are to Christ as the cornerstone of the church. Continue reading BIBLE SIGNS & SYMBOLS “CORNERSTONES”
As God’s partners, we beg you not to toss aside this marvelous message of God’s great kindness. For God says, “You cry came to me at a favorable time, when the doors of welcome were wide open. I helped you on a day when salvation was being offered.” Right now God is ready to welcome you. Today he is ready to save you. Continue reading SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY (2 CORINTHIANS 6:1-8) “WHEN LIFE IS HARD, LEAN ON GOD”
PROBLEM: Matthew speaks of the “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” all being part of one “name.” But these are three distinct persons. How can there be three persons in the Godhead when there is only “one God” (Deut 6:4; 1 Cor 8:6)?
Continue reading HOW CAN THREE PERSONS BE GOD WHEN THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD?
PROBLEM: The Bible teaches that Jesus is God (John 1:1) and that He knows all things (John 2:24; Col. 2:3). On the other hand, He “increased in wisdom” (Luke 2:52) and sometimes did not seem to know certain things (cf. John 11:34). Indeed, He denied knowing the time of His own second coming here, saying, “but of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
Continue reading WAS JESUS IGNORANT OF THE TIME OF HIS SECOND COMING?
We know little of the way that trading was done locally. There was normally an open place inside the city gate that served as a market square, and streets leading from the square would have served as dwellings for traders. There was a street of the bakers in Jeremiah’s time (Jeremiah 37:21), and the valley between the eastern and western ridges of Jerusalem was known as the valley of the cheesemakers. It is clear that there must have Continue reading MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BIBLE “THE MARKETPLACE”