During Bible times, the Holy Land was still occupied by lions. These majestic animals, then as now, do not typically prey on humans, though older or disabled lions sometimes see people as easy food to capture. Observable lion behavior lies behind the comparisons that we find in the Scriptures. Their roaring tends to provoke fear (Amos 3:8), so Peter can write, “Keep your mind clear, and be alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling
Throughout Scripture we find the wonder and mystery of the human body, designed by God (Psa 139:13-15). Jesus created a body for himself, and Adam was the prototype. Paul described Jesus as “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Col 1:15). Jesus chose the human body as the from or image he would live in while on his earth mission. Our bodies become symbolic reminders that we were designed with a purpose, shaped to bye the aware and obedient servants of God, the Maker of heaven and earth. Furthermore, the fact that Jesus took on human flesh shows that through the body is dust and is wasting away (Gen 3:19; 2 Cor 4:16), it is good and useful, part of what makes us human beings in the image of God. Continue reading SIGNS AND SYMBOLS OF THE BIBLE (BODY)
Everything the portrait of God’s character in the Bible is that of integrity, trustworthiness, and honesty God hates lying (Proverbs 12:22). Lying is a human trait, not a divine one (Romans 3:4). Liars deserve condemnation (Revelation 21:8). God is totally opposed to lying and stands completely against it as a means of achieving His will. How then does God approve of lying in this instance? Continue reading DOES GOD ENDORSE DECEPTION?
1 TIMOTHY 2:12 – 12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. Continue reading SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY (1 TIMOTHY 2:12, INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT WORSHIP)
ACTS 2:1-3 – 1.And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. Continue reading SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY (ACTS 2:1-3: THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES)
Yes. Church discipline is that unpleasant but sometimes necessary final process in maintaining purity among the people of God. It is a radical kind of churchwide accountability that says, “We cannot and will not allow you to continue to live in sin,” and “We will exert extreme pressure on you in order to get you to do what is right.” Continue reading SHOULD A CHURCH DISCIPLINE IT’S MEMBERS?
Breaking of the marriage covenant. An action contrary to the pattern of “one man, one woman, one lifetime” revealed by God in Gen. 1:27; 2:21-25. The root idea implied a cutting of the marriage bond. While ancient cultures different in details, most had a concept of marriage and a corresponding concept of divorce. Continue reading DEFINITION OF THE DAY “DIVORCE”
David may have been referring in this psalm to an ancient custom observed by mourners at funerals. They would collect the tears they shed for departed loved ones in small flasks and place them in their tombs as memorials of their love. The New International Version renders this phrase as “list my tears on your scroll.” But in a marginal note, it cites “put my tears in you wineskin” as a possible reading. Continue reading GOD KNOWS OUR TEARS
Writing 500 years before Jesus, Zechariah makes astonishingly accurate predictions about Jesus’ life and ministry. New Testament writers took notice and declared that Jesus fulfilled those prophecies. Here are three of the more obvious prophecies about Jesus. Continue reading PREDICTING JESUS
Surely they are, in the sense of ultimate cause. But not necessarily, in the sense of proximate cause. It appears that God used these events as judgments at times. Continue reading ARE DROUGHTS AND FAMINES THE RESULT OF SIN?
