Stop Asking If You Can Do Something and Start Asking If You Should We have freedom through Jesus. Do we believe this is true? How does this idea inform our day-to-day actions? We’ll do well to consider this thought to determine the best way to apply it to our lives. As children, our parents taught […]
The 10 Lepers There is a story of Jesus dealing with ten lepers (leprosy is an infectious skin decease that eats away the flesh). Keeping their distance, as was the practice of the day, they call out to Jesus for help. Jesus tells them to go present themselves to the priest. (It was also the […]
Dr. Luke Describes 3 Characteristics of the Acts 4 Church The book of Acts unfolds as an historical narrative of the early church, the activities of the first followers of Jesus and those who join them. For the most part, Acts simply describes what happens, with little commentary and few instructions for proper conduct. While […]
An Act of Commission is an Act We’ve Done When I think of being punished, be it by God or people, I think in terms of things I do wrong. That is, doing things that I shouldn’t have done. Some people call this an “act of commission.” They are things I have committed. However, there […]
The Great Three in One: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Most Christians comprehend God as Trinity, a singular entity existing as three persons: Father, Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit. This is confusing, but recall that Jesus says, “the Father and me are one” (John 10:30). Another time Jesus tells his disciples to baptize people “in […]
What if Jesus Never Intended His Followers to Form a Church as we Know it Today? I looked at where the Bible talks about the kingdom of God and where it talks about church. What I learned is shocking. Jesus teaches about the kingdom of God, not church. These are New Testament Considerations Both the […]
Kingdom of Heaven versus Kingdom of God The phrase “the Kingdom of God” is synonymous with “the Kingdom of Heaven.” Some writers in the Bible simply prefer one over the other; it is not meant to designate two different concepts or kingdoms. (Mark and Luke used “Kingdom of God,” whereas Matthew used “Kingdom of heaven.”) […]
Eternal Life Begins Today (Not When We Die) Jesus often talks about the kingdom of God (the kingdom of heaven). He talks about how close the kingdom of God is, saying that it’s near and even that it’s here. How do we understand this immediacy of the kingdom of God in our life today? Is […]
Discover Four Key Things Scripture Says about the Word of God The phrase “Word of God” appears forty-five times in the Bible, mostly in the New Testament. The book of Acts leads the way with eleven occurrences, followed by Revelation with six. But what does the Word of God mean? 1. The Bible Ask people […]
A Large Catch There’s a story in the Bible of Jesus instructing some fishermen to try fishing from the other side of the boat. Imagine that, a carpenter giving fishing lessons to commercial fishermen. The amazing thing is once they moved to the other side, they caught a boatload of fish. It was as if […]