Free will has been in the news recently with a neuroscientist, Robert Sapolsky, having recently published a book arguing that there is no free will. Let me set aside the scientific question for a moment and turn first to the Bible because there is a religious argument about free will. I once had a Calvinist […]
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SEALING THE 144,000 the Church (God Servants on Earth)
Revelation 7:4-8 – How many of God’s servants were sealed? —12,000 of every tribe of the children of Israel for a total of 144,000. Note the symbolism: 12 represented “God’s organized religion on earth” (12 apostles, 12 thrones; 12 gates to the city of Jerusalem, etc.). The number 1,000 symbolized “all” of anything, and indeed […]
Prescription for Proper Unity
Summary: Walking worthy of our calling involves working diligently to maintain Christian unity, which involves how we interact with each other and commitment to true biblical teaching, especially concerning God, conversion, and our hope. God is the one who creates unity under his lordship, not ourselves. Text: Eph 4:1-6 Scripture Reading: Acts 2:42-47 Intro: 1. […]
Narrow Minded
I remember when we were expecting our second child. Instead of seeing our regular doctor, we were seeing a specialist known as an OB/GYN doctor, who specialized in pregnancies and childbirth. During one of our visits, the doctor saw some things that did not look right on his scans. It appeared that our baby might […]
Return to the Lord
Built in to the message of the prophets was the appeal to repent. These men were sent by God to expose sin and urge the guilty to repent. Often the appeal was framed as a challenge to return to the Lord (Isaiah 6:10; Jeremiah 3:1; Malachi 3:7). For instance, Joel’s appeal to Judah was for […]
‘Beholding the Evil and the Good’
“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” (Proverbs 15:3) For a long time we have used this verse and others in the Bible to emphasize that no evil deed is missed by God. He sees. He Knows. Do not think that you can act in violation of […]
Don’t Get Cheated
In Colossians 2:8, Paul warned his brethren: “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (NKJV). The KJV translates it: “Beware lest any man spoil you…” The idea is that false teachers would lead […]
How We React
We have all seen different temperaments in our children. One child must be spanked continually, while another one breaks out in tears with a word or look of disapproval. As parents, we are always trying to get at the heart of our children. We continue to train each child, according to their need, so that […]
When the Undertaker Died
I was still pretty young when one of the funeral directors in my home town died. To a young mind, that seemed so strange. He was always supposed to be there when other people died. Now, his family needed the services of a funeral director. Have you ever wondered who cuts your barber’s hair? To […]
Tolerance
We constantly see intense and hostile reactions to those oppose abortion and denounce homosexuality. There is an obvious hypocrisy on the part of social liberals in our culture who claim tolerance while intolerantly condemning others who disagree with them. The problem seems to be that there has been a shift in the meaning of tolerance. […]