1. Be sexually pure because it is right. Sexual purity is used in Revelation 14:1-5 to express righteousness. Genesis 1:26-31 and 2:18-25 make it clear that marriage is the only relationship designed for the expression of intimate sexuality (so do many other Bible passages). Defilement comes from sexual relationships outside of marriage.
2. Be sexually pure to maintain your dignity, self-respect and honor. To be honorable, one must live honorably. Marriage dignifi... read all »
Since the beginnings of Christianity, the sign of the fish has been used as a symbol of the faith. Although there is no mention of its use in Jesus’ teachings, or that of His apostles or prophets, in many ways it seems an apt symbol to use, assuming any symbol at all should be employed as it has been.
But why use the fish?
Perhaps the best place to begin answering this question is in the spelling of the Greek word itself. In English, we would use the lette... read all »
We humans form habits. The Bible tells of some who were a part of the church, but had developed the habit of forsaking the assembling of the church. The writer warns that that is a bad habit that can lead to a “terrifying expectation of judgment”, Hebrews 10:26-27.
The best counter to that bad habit would be to develop the good habit of attending the assemblies of the church on a faithful, regular basis. The thing about“getting into a habit”... read all »
(from Genesis 3:1-24)
Life gets tougher when you don’t do what is right
Adam and Even had it made in the garden. Every need was fulfilled and they were together with God, the source of all good things. They crossed an obvious line into disobedience against what they knew to be right and their whole lives changed.
Don’t listen to a liar, especially one who doesn’t have your best interests at heart
Jesus said that Satan is the father o... read all »
While there is no passage outlining the exact order of that final day, we can read of each of the following events and know that they will be included:
First of all, that day will come at a time when we are not expecting it:
For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will. Matthew 24:44
…you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in th... read all »
I have known a lot of people through the years who made it a practice to avoid the issue of their need for Jesus. They do so in the vain hope that their own morality will be their salvation. Actually, what they are counting on is that their lack of gross immorality is their ticket to not being punished.
You can see this idea in popular movies such as “Ghost” (1990... man, has it really been twenty years?), and in the television series “Ghost Whis... read all »
On July fourth, 1776, the Continental Congress of the thirteen American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. A new nation was born taking upon itself the responsibility for self-government.
But the founding fathers, and indeed other national leaders who followed them, understood that without the dependence of individual citizens on Almighty God, our form of government would be doomed.
Second president of the United States, John Adams, observed:... read all »
Just wondering if the average “Joe” is at all familiar with modern abortion techniques? I thought that since, among other reasons, this is a hot political issue, you should be aware of just how some of them work. You may want to sit down before you read these.
First there is the “suction aspiration method” which utilizes a very powerful vacuum. The vacuum hose is inserted into the mother’s womb and literally sucks out the... read all »
I have observed that there is sometimes confusion over what place pride should play in our lives. As I see it, there are two kinds of pride. One I would refer to as “virtuous pride” and the other, “arrogant pride”.
I believe that all pride, both virtuous and arrogant, is based in our individual concepts of rightness. What I mean is that each of us has a concept of something that we believe to be right, something that we hold as a standard of... read all »
The title is taken from the book of Nehemiah chapter four and verse six. Here is described the progress of the Israelites as they rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem after returning from exile in Babylon. It was a huge undertaking, and they had many detractors, but nothing stopped them simply because they were committed. Each one of them knew why they had come back and each one must certainly have had an image in their minds of what could be if they put their backs to it... read all »
The Differences Between Holy Spirit Baptism and Great Commission Baptism (part #2)
Below is a continuation of last week’s article highlighting some of the differences between Holy Spirit baptism and the baptism of the great commission.
HSB is not required for all believers, whereas GCB is required
Nowhere in scripture was anyone required to be baptized in th... read all »
Last week we noted the news report about President Jimmy Carter leaving the Southern Baptists because of their views on the role of women in the home and church.
The singular question I believe we should ask is, "What does Jesus teach us about the role of women in the church?" After all, if we
claim to be His followers, we should follow Him in this regard as well as in all others, shouldn't we?
Women were a central part of Jesus' mini... read all »
As reported in the news of late, President Jimmy Carter has left the Southern Baptist church because they supposedly teach that women are to be subservient to their husbands and also refuse to ordain women as ministers. Was he right?
What does the Bible say?
To begin with, God made woman (Eve), because He knew that the man (Adam) He had created, needed help (and that hasn‘t changed!), Genesis 2:18-24. Up until Adam, God had simply... read all »
As noted in last week’s article, Jesus made it clear that the miracles, wonders, and signs that He did were for the purpose of affirming His identity as the Son of God (Matthew 11:4-5 & John 10:25).
It should not surprise us then, that on Pentecost, Luke tells us that the first thing that the apostle Peter said as he began preaching about Jesus was this:
Men of Israel, listen to these words” Jesus the Nazarene, a man attest... read all »
Somewhere around 900BC, the prophet Elijah raised a poor widow’s son from the dead. When she saw what he had done, she said:
“Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.” ... read all »