Why would we ask, ‘why am I a Christian’? Generally it is so that we are, ‘always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks [us] to give the reason for the hope that [we] have’ (1 Peter 3:15 NIV). People should see that we are different in some way and may then ask why we are different. If this happens what do we tell them?.......………….
Read MoreFor the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, says: Only in returning to me and waiting for me will you be saved; in quietness and confidence is your strength; but you’ll have none of this.......………….
Read MorePlease note – There could be aspects of this blog that may be new to some readers. What follows opens up the subject of punishment in Hell for consideration and discussion. It is in no way meant to undermine what anyone believes.
In Part One we looked at how God loves all people – Christians and non-Christians.. Does the parent love one child less than the other?......………….
Read MoreGod loves all people along with everything else that He has made, However, He does not love it all the same way. With humans, the best way to describe God’s love is to look at a human family. Parents love their children, but the way that the children are loved is specific to the child. If one misbehaves and is scolded, they may start to cry, but another child who is scolded for something similar, may turn around and argue with the parent about what they did wrong. Does the parent love one child less than the other?......………….
Read MoreAn interesting thing has happened in the New Testament. We usually read that a Christian is supposed to be a servant or bondservant to the Lord Jesus. However, the Greek word used in the majority of cases for these words is doulos and it actually means slave......………….
Read MoreIn the previous two blogs we looked at the expression ‘come out from among them’. In the first blog (Part One) we looked at what Paul was saying to the Corinthian church, and in the last one (Part Two) we looked at the current state of the church, and why it is not really fulfilling the purpose Jesus wanted it to be. In this blog we will consider the ways that determine a lukewarm church and what can be done about it......………….
Read MoreIn the previous blog we looked at the way the expression ‘come out from among them’ applied when Paul wrote it to the Corinthian church in 55 or 56 AD. Because the same expression is used as justification for leaving a church, we will now look at what this means in a modern context......………….
Read More“Come out from among them
And be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you.” (2 Corinthians 6:17 NKJV)
These verses are probably familiar, because they have been used quite often to justify people leaving a church because they are not happy there anymore......………….
Read MoreAnyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (John 12:25 NIV)
The word hates does not appear to make sense. If we really hate our life, does this mean that we should consider suicide? I do not think so.....………….
Read MoreIn Part One we looked at how the Bible showed that a person who has been sexually immoral should be dealt with by the church. This this part we shall look at what Jesus said should be done when the sin committed is a more private matter. In Matthew 18:15-17 in the New Living Translation we read Jesus’ words -
“If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense....………….
Read MoreThen you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns. (1 Corinthians 5:5 NLT)
Wow! Handing a fellow believer over to satan appears to be really extreme. Just imagine what could be done to them...………….
Read MoreThen God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
So God created human beings in his own image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”..………….
Read MoreLoneliness is a problem that affects young people as much as older people. It has occurred increasingly over the last thirty years as our communication has changed due to social media. It is now possible to live our life online without physically interacting with people outside of the workplace, and this results in millions of people experiencing loneliness on an ongoing basis...………….
Read MoreWhen people refer to the peace the passes all understanding, what do they mean? Most Christians know that it is something that the Lord gives us, but for many it sounds like something that only the super spiritual can discover...………….
Read MoreWhat does it mean to trust God? It does not usually mean that the Lord will tell us what to wear today, because we are perfectly capable of making that decision for ourselves. We will probably wear something different depending on whether we are going to church, going to work or staying at home doing odd jobs. We know what kind of clothes are best suited to each situation and dress accordingly..………….
Read MoreRomans 5:3-5
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us (NIV).………….
Read MoreThe question has been asked why it is necessary to have angels when Christians have the Holy Spirit leading and guiding them all the time. What follows is a list of their separate roles. They should be familiar, and it should become clear that the Holy Spirit is not just living in a Christian, but that He is completely committed to leading and guiding that person on an ongoing basis. Angels however come and go as they are needed………….
Read MoreChristians can struggle to understand where the Holy Spirit fits in as part of the Trinity or Godhead. This is because His role differs to what Jesus and the Father do. The names Father and Son are familiar to us because they are referred to regularly, but the Holy Spirit is not referred to very often and so we do not know a lot about Him. Therefore, when it comes to prayer should we speak to Him directly?
Read MoreThe King James Only movement believes that the King James Version (KJV) is greater than all other translations of the Bible. They insist that the KJV does not need to be modified because it is already the greatest English translation of the Bible ever produced. The movement also consider that all the other English translations of the Bible that were published after the KJV are corrupt.
Read MoreDoes the Bible Say Christians Should Be Communists?
With what we read in the media about counties like China, Russia and Northern Korea why would anyone think that Christians and communists are similar? For some people the answer would be, “Well it’s in the Bible”.………..
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