The Good News that God has for people is all wrapped up in the person, life, and teachings of Jesus Christ. When Jesus started His ministry, He declared that a new time in history had arrived. The God who created this world and all its people was now on the planet in a human body. Knowing that God was not far away or disconnected from this Continue reading WHAT IS GOD’S GOOD NEWS? (MARK 1:14)
C.S. Lewis once said most people make one of two mistakes when considering Satan. Either they give him too much credit and power, or they underestimate his existence and role in this world. Satan does have great power was once an angel who rebelled against God and was thrown out of heaven. Satan’s power is certainly not equal to God’s power. He has limited power far less than God because Satan himself was originally created by God as an angel. Satan’s goal is to keep us from knowing God. Continue reading HOW MUCH POWER DOES SATAN HAVE IN THIS WORLD-AND OVER US? (MARK 3:23-30)
The Lord speaks; Satan speaks. They talk about Job as if they are negotiating over the evil initiatives that Satan propose and the constraints that God imposes. Do cosmic conversations like this really happen? Continue reading ARE SATAN AND GOD ON SPEAKING TERMS (JOB 1:6-7)
From the delicate breeze to the terrifying hurricane, wind is a force of nature. We can’t see the wind, but we know it is there. Throughout time, humans have learned to harness the wind to fill sails and run wind turbines. We also struggle to limit the destruction caused by wind as the major cause of erosion on earth. Due to its unpredictability and raw power, wind holds both positive and negative connotations throughout the Bible. Continue reading SIGNS & SYMBOLS OF THE BIBLE (WIND)
In Psalm 34, David is on his knees pouring out his heart to God in repentance, thanksgiving, faith, and in request to God for assurance, strength, deliverance, and instruction. He says, “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (34:4). Continue reading HOW CAN YOU FIND PEACE?
Both mesmerizing and mysterious, fire represents combustion, a chemical reaction that releases both heat and light. Today, fire seems to be at our fingertips-we just need to turn on the stove or light a match. Because we no longer have to work to get it, most of us take fire for granted. Yet we rely on fire for light, warmth, cooking, manufacturing, and refining. Fire figures into the Bible in numerous ways-in daily life, religious ceremony, Continue reading BIBLE SIGNS AND SYMBOLS (FIRE)
In a few places in the Bibles, the term beast is used in its modern descriptive sense of la menacing or mindless animal whose behavior is somewhat unpredictable. Jacob compared his son Issachar to a donkey or beast of burden (Gen 49:14), creating a picture of capacity and stubbornness as strong traits in his ninth born. Many biblical monsters seem to be mythical, or at least are symbolic of threats of God’s order and authority in the world. But unlike the monstrous beasts of surrounding cultures and religions, God retains power over all the beasts and chaos in the world, and will ultimately defeat them. Continue reading SIGNS SYMBOLS OF THE BIBLE (BEAST)
The term Sabbath come from the Hebrew word for “case.” This day of stopping normal activity and work was to serve as a reminder of God’s rest after the work of creation (Gen 2:2-3). God set aside this day as holy and blessed it as a gift to humankind. Continue reading SIGNS AND SYMBOLS OF THE BIBLE (SABBATH)
Gift, Giving- The act of bestowing a favor or an item on another person without expecting anything in return. The purpose of a gift may be to honor (2 Sam 8:2; Dan 2:48), celebrate (Rev 11:10), or simply to bestow favor or help (Esth 9:22). God is the giver of every good and perfect gift (Matt 7:11; James 1:5, 17), including eternal life (Rom 6:23), salvation (Eph 2:8), the necessities of life (Matt 6:11), ability to work (Ecc 3:13; 5:19; Deut 8:18), the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; 5:32), spiritual abilities (1 Cor 12:4), and above all His indescribable gift (2 Cor 9:15), His Son (John 3:16). Continue reading DEFINITIONS OF (GIFT, GIVING, HOMOSEXUALITY, KISH)
The harvest and preparation of grain for use as food requires the separation of the kernels from the stalks on which they grow. Because most harvesting today is done mechanically, the significance of a threshing floor and its usefulness as a symbol is somewhat lost to us. A threshing floor was a large, open, hard surface, so threshing floors were often located on hilltops. After bundles of stalks were laid on the surface of the Continue reading SIGNS & SYMBOLS OF THE BIBLE (THRESHING FLOOR)