The Apostle Paul's Broken Road Blessing “. . . although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Timothy 1:13).For the first part of his life, he was known as Saul of Tarsus, a well-educated man in Israel, and a religious and social elite. He was also a leading

- Arabic: بكى المسيح- Greek: Ο Ιησούς έκλαψε- Korean: 예수가 울다The length of the verse varies depending on the language, but the importance and meaning of the verse do not change. All these translations refer to Jesus Christ crying out of grief at the tomb of His friend Lazarus. How Can We Know That God Understands Our Pain?God is omnipotent, and He k

People who profess the name of Christ but whose hearts are far from Him are Christian in name only. In reality, they’ve denied the full truth of who Christ is in their hearts. They don’t belong to Him. Therefore, in His divine faithfulness, He secures everyone He saves and denies everyone who denies Him.11. Hebrews 7:25 (emphasis mine)— “Therefore

God, who is our heavenly rock and stronghold, is multifaceted and unchanging. Because the Bible reveals His beauty and character to us, the simplest way to live a life of selah is to study scripture.We can also develop a mindset of gratitude. Recent studies indicate that gratitude improves mood, decreases depression, and improves sleep. Our bodies

What role does an ephod play in this? The ephod was part of this mediating process. And its connection to the Urim and Thummim tells us that it was specifically part of the communication with God. This is why we see David asking for the ephod when he wanted information. And I believe it’s also why we see Gideon and Micah setting up an “ephod.” Yes,

Did Judas Have a Choice?The question of how much Judas Iscariot chose of his free will to betray Jesus, and how much he was influenced by outside forces, is hard to say. Luke is the one Gospel that gives an explicit reason for Judas’ behavior, stating that once Jesus and his group had arrived in Jerusalem, “Satan entered into Judas Iscariot… and he

Does God Sleep? Some people believe God needs to sleep because they read in Genesis 2:2 that God “rested” from His work. Amanda Hovseth explains that word “rest”—which in the Hebrew is shabath —means to stop what you are doing. The verse does not say God slept or ever needs to sleep. The Bible clearly says God the Father does not slumber—which is a

What Are Some Insightful Scriptures about Knowledge? The Bible has so much to say about knowledge, both good and bad.The Bible teaches that creation reveals the knowledge of God (Psalm 19:1-2), which is infinite. Human knowledge can cause pride and grief (1 Corinthians 8:1b; Ecclesiastes 1:18), and worldly knowledge is often opposed to biblical tru

Verse 17 speaks about the disdain for parental regard and its results.By way of contrasting the glorious with the profane, Agur expresses things too wonderful for him. Each is an object lesson. Thinking of an eagle in flight, a serpent on a rock, a ship in the sea, and a man’s way with a virgin—each leaves no mark, no trail. Hypocrisy is likened to

So, like Abraham and Sarah, they took matters into their own hands and followed the custom of the day which was, if a woman could not have children, her husband could take a second wife by whom he could have children. (This was just a custom, not something God sanctioned.) So Elkanah married a second wife name Peneniah, who began having kids immedi

Jesus’ Pursuit of Sinners Consider Jesus.“I have not come to call the righteous but sinners,” says Jesus. Our Lord was called a friend of sinners. And a quick jaunt through the New Testament will show that Jesus seemed to spend more time with the outcasts, the downtrodden, those marked off as “sinners” than he did with the religious elite. He certa

What Are the Different Types of Psalms? With the different types of Psalms that exist, is it hard to narrow them down to one general message. As we mentioned earlier, they were written to express many different emotions and experiences common to humans as we journey through life. It might even be safe to say that if there is a situation or circumst

1. God Draws Close to the People He Created Right from the beginning of time God communed with the people he had created. Genesis 3:8 says God walked in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day, and this suggests God came to be with Adam and Eve. How delightful it must have been for them to stroll with and talk freely with their Creator in the bea

It’s the hope behind Christmas that draws even nonbelievers to the holiday. In Luke 1:79, Zacharias prophesied about the coming Savior, that He was coming “to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Jesus came for those who live in the darkness and are on the path of death, to the show t

Whoever is not against Christians is for them (Mark 9:40).Difficult metaphorical passages about what happens if one causes another to sin and cutting off a hand to avoid temptation appear in Mark 9:42-49.Be “salty” and preserve your testimony for the Lord (my paraphrase) (Mark 9:50).Jesus issued a stern rebuke to Capernaum as He addressed their unr

The Mercy Seat in the New TestamentThe mercy seat, using the Greek word hilastērion, is mentioned twice in the New Testament. In Hebrews 9:1-9 the author describes the arrangement of the furnishings of the tabernacle. And in verse five he mentions the mercy seat with its overshadowing cherubim of the Glory. Following that, he describes the annual a

It is no wonder that the solution begins with the person of God through Jesus. That rebellion was the core problem, so repentance to the person of God is the only way. In our enmity and death, we could not accomplish this, even had we wanted to, so God made a way through the sacrifice and resurrection of his Son.God has literally become our peace (

1. Teach Them What You BelieveYour children will not know or learn your heritage of faith unless you teach them. We as parents have a responsibility to teach them in the way they should go. This is not the job of the school, the church, or the Sunday School – this is our job.Some may feel like they don’t know the Scripture well enough to teach them

Other Scriptures That Point to Excommunication“But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are

However, these examples of old age could also mean that the 120-year limit didn’t start immediately. There may have been a gradual genetic breakdown, with each generation living a shorter lifespan. Some biblical scholars have argued that the first few generations of humans must have had perfect genetics, because Genesis mentions a certain amount of