When Thomas asked to see the Father, Jesus replied, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father… Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me” (John 14:9-11).Again, in John 10:30, Jesus declares “I and the Father are one.” The entire chapter of John 17 gives proof that Jesus and the Father are One, co-equal, fully God. Ephesians 4:4-6 des

The Last Three TrumpetsAs you can see with the first four of the seven trumpets in Revelation, things are getting pretty bad. But it’s about to get worse. The fifth trumpet (Rev. 9:1-12)This trumpet releases Satan with the power to use demonic influence, described as locusts, to torment those who have rejected God. Surprisingly, they are allowed to

Tying Them TogetherThe most obvious tie between these two stories is the filling of the Holy Spirit. The first story foretells the filling of God’s people by the Holy Spirit. The second account is of a group of believers, of God’s people, being filled by the Holy Spirit. But is the first of these foretelling the second? Does the vision of the Valle

Satan – Our Original Enemy From the very beginning, we meet our arch-enemy Satan. He was filled with a pride that could not be contained. His self-righteous attitude caused him to be banished from the heavenly heights he had once enjoyed. We read of him:“You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of Go

1. Sexual intimacy is reserved for marriage and should be highly honored and protected.There is a “charge” given three times in the Song of Solomon, reminding us not to “arouse or awaken love until it so desires” (Song of Solomon 2:7, 3:5, 8:4). In modern-day TV shows and movies, you’ll sometimes hear ambiguous advice given to teens to wait to have

Where Does the Bible Discuss the Ark of the Covenant? In describing the Ark and the process for building it, God gives his people some very meticulous details. You can read the full description of these in Exodus 25. God made a request that the people of Israel bring an offering for the building of a sanctuary for him.“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell

What Does ‘Liturgy’ Mean? Have you ever received a bulletin at church that listed the events of that day’s service? Or perhaps the church displayed on a screen what songs they would sing, when they would take communion in the service, etc. If your church follows a string of events, they follow something known as liturgy.We can often think of liturg

“Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their punishment. For I assign to you a number of days, 390 days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment. So long shall you bear the punishment of the house of Israel. And when you have

Who Was Obadiah in the Bible? Obadiah doesn’t tell us anything about himself, and Bible scholars don’t agree on when the message was given. The only clue Obadiah gives is that at that time, Israel was suffering greatly at the hands of its enemies. God’s judgment comes against Edom because instead of helping their brother, they participated in the o

What Does It Mean to Anoint with Oil? Some question whether or not anointing oils are biblical and whether or not we should still use them today. So, what does it mean to be anointed and why does the Bible mention the use of oil? According to Dictionary.com, the word ‘anoint’ means to consecrate or make sacred in a ceremony that includes applying o

Why Does God Work for Our Benefit? Why should God do the things He does for us? Is it just because He is gracious? Or that He is loving? These are all true of course, but there is more:“The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with s

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34)God supports us day by day. While He is in charge of tomorrow, we are in charge of today. “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:25)Hope requires that we look happi

A Bedtime Prayer for Good Rest (Psalm 4) God loves to lavish gifts on His children, and He tells us to ask Him for what we need (Matthew 7:7-11). If you are having trouble falling asleep at night, ask God to help you get the rest your body needs. Trust Him to care for your needs in His perfect timing. "Father, please give me relief from these sleep

Although this isn't an exhaustive list, here are some ways to worship God with "your soul" (AKA, all of your being).First, worship God with your work. Instead of taking the easy way out or having some other coworkers pick up the slack, we choose to do the work and to do the work well. I often think about Joseph when it comes to integrity in the wor

What Does the Bible Say about Prayer?Throughout Scripture we can find guiding principles about the practice of prayer. Some pertain to the way we are to approach it: As a first response, not a last resort"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all th

Daniel faced death, but he stayed faithful to seek His God (Daniel 6).Jesus’ ministry began with a time of temptation directly from Satan and ended with a cross, but He never wavered from His Father’s Ways (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John).Paul dealt with threats and trials, but his passion for preaching the gospel of Christ remained strong (Acts 9-28).H

“To us a son is given,” Isaiah continues. This child would not be just anyone; He would be a son. Specifically, He is God’s Son. The Father’s love for us was so great that He was willing to send His only Son as a suffering servant (Isaiah 53) to save us (John 3:16).“And the government will be upon his shoulders.” The suffering servant would become

3. Pray with Humility“With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesiasn 4:2)When we achieve forgiveness and love in our prayers, we are putting on full display our humility. This means we do not act or pray in a way that indicates God values us any more or any less than the other person. Instead, we see t

To answer that, we must understand that the idea of a Messiah started long before Judah or even Abraham with the beginning of humanity in Genesis 3 as a response to the sinful fall of mankind. Then, throughout Scripture, it becomes clear who humanity’s deliverer would be and how he would restore us back into a relationship with God.In fact, when Go

1. Face Our Fears What frightens you? This question is one of great importance because whatever we fear we are bound to worship. If we fear failure, we worship success; If we fear uncertainty, we will worship control; and if we fear pain, we will worship comfort. Facing our fears requires us to be honest about what we truly worship. 1 Peter 5:6-9 g