Itinerant preachers were the means by which Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire. They looked to local churches to aid in their mission by providing hospitality. The problem was that some of the people seeking room and board were false teachers, expounding erroneous doctrines; others were just free-loaders, pretending to be ministers of the word…
If God forgives for His own sake, should we?
Isaiah 43:25 I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake,and remembers your sins no more. If God forgives for His own sake, should we? Perhaps yes, but we should forgive primarily for His sake because He forgave us (Colossians 3:13 Forgive as the Lord forgave you). The context of…
The Days of Creation
The authenticity of the Bible has been attacked at regular intervals by atheists and theologians alike but none have explained away the mathematical seal beneath its surface. Ivan Panin (1855-1942) was a Russian immigrant and a mathematical genius who died a Harvard scholar and a citizen of the United States in 1942.He carefully examined the…
In the beginning…
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The Bible does not discuss the subject of evolution. Rather, its worldview assumes God created the world. The Biblical view of creation is not in conflict with science; rather, it is in conflict with any worldview that starts without a creator. Equally committed…
Lessons from Hosea
Hosea 14:5-8 I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots; 6 his young shoots will grow. His splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon. 7 People will dwell again in his shade; they will flourish like the…
Psalm 37
Psalm 37:25 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. Is life unfair? Psalm 37 ponders that perplexing question. Its basic conclusion: The success of the wicked won’t last, while in the long run people who do right will flourish. The psalmist,…
Where it all went wrong
Genesis 3:4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.” Satan’s response to Eve’s somewhat less-than-accurate understanding of God’s Word was to deny that God’s Word was true. “You will NOT surely die” (Gen. 3:4). This contradicted God’s revealed word to Adam. The very first doctrine in scripture that Satan denied is…
Live Like Jesus
Instead of fixing our thoughts on all that is wrong in our world we need to be fixing our thoughts on Jesus because we must live as Jesus did (1 John 2:6). We must acknowledge Him as our apostle and high priest. We must fix our thoughts on the uniqueness of Jesus. He is fully…
Do not fear, do not be dismayed
Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah, inspired by God, says “do not be dismayed”. Webster’s defines dismayed as follows:experiencing or showing feelings of alarmed concern…
Comfort My People
Isaiah 40:1-2 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. Judah still had 100 years of trouble before Jerusalem would fall,…