“For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.” What descriptions of Jesus are repeated in […]
One of my favorite books in the Bible is Esther. There is some question of its place in the canon of Scriptures because the word “God” is not mentioned anywhere in the book. But you can easily see that throughout the story of Esther, the fingerprint of God is all over the pages. What I […]
Gary McIntosh, professor at Biola University, says in the Biola magazine, “I wish people understood that the heart of church growth is basic evangelism. It is not about marketing, business practices or a host of other mis-perceptions…Since all people are lost apart from a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, every church must be concerned with […]
In the sermon the past Sunday, our pastor preached on the conversions of the Ethiopian, Saul, and Cornelius in Acts, chapters 8,9, and 10. In each of those cases, God used a human agent to bring someone to salvation. I noticed that even though God set up the situation, and success was sure, He doesn’t […]
Today’s sermon was on the feeding of the 5,000. If you’ve been a Christian for about 30 years like I have, you would’ve heard a zillion sermons on the feeding of the 5,000 like I have. I’ve studied and taught it myself a zillion times. Yet, each time I read the Word of God, it […]
I attend a Bible Study on Tuesday mornings, studying the book of II Timothy this year. I want to remember what I’ve learned by jotting down three major lessons that I learned: 1. Don’t expect the Christian life to be easy. Paul and Timothy and countless others suffered for the sake of the gospel. Paul […]
In the book of Numbers, chapter 11, the Israelites were complaining that they didn’t have meat to eat. The Lord told Moses that he will indeed give the people meat to eat, not for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month. Moses was incredulous. Where […]
On another Sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and was teaching. Now a man was there whose right hand was withered. The experts in the law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they could find a reason to accuse him. Luke 6:6-7 The Pharisees probably […]
Today in my Precepts Bible study group, Hebrews 12:1 came up in our discussion: “…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles…” To be honest, I can think of many sins that entangle me in my Christian life. The writer of Hebrews says to throw off everything that hinders, […]
I started to teach the book of Luke in Sunday School yesterday. My reasons for choosing to teach Luke are: 1. To get reacquainted with Jesus so as to live more like him. 2. The book of Luke seems to be less read than the other gospels. 3. I read that 50% of the materials […]
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, . . . Romans 4:18 God told Abraham clearly that he will be the father of many nations. God said, “I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come to you.” (Genesis 17:6) […]
A sacrifice is not a sacrifice unless it is a sacrifice. “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Hebrews 13:16 I do good and I share with others, but not much of it is a sacrifice. Most of the time, I do good […]
The recorded history in Genesis 4 is a familiar one – Cain killed his brother Abel. Abel was the righteous one. How could God allow such a evil deed done against such a good man? It seemed like he got a worst “punishment” than Cain. My BSF notes says, Do you worry if your choice […]
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place… – Psalm 8:3 NIV All of creation were handmade by God. It makes me feel special.
So God said to Noah, “I have decided that all living creatures must die, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I am about to destroy them and the earth.” Genesis 6:13 But God saved Noah, and from his family, the earth was populated once more, and sin abounded once more. […]
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” – Genesis 4:9 Cain murdered his brother Abel, and then had guts to reply to the Lord with such arrogance and deceit. Did he really think he was going to get away with it? […]
This saying is trustworthy: If we died with him [Christ Jesus], we will also live with him. If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he will also deny us. If we are unfaithful,. . . What is God’s response if we are unfaithful? It would be fair that if […]
Amy: “I hate my leg!” Amy has ezcema on her leg that keeps flaring up. We pray together that God will give her healing. It gets a little better, than it flares up again. “O God, please answer our prayers! It bothers her so much. I would forego answers to any of my prayers if […]
I just emailed to a friend and said, “It’s a good thing size doesn’t matter to God!” We go to a small church. After 20 years, we are still a small church. Are we doing something wrong? In I Corinthians 3: 5-8, Paul is rebuking the Corinthians for taking sides in following certain leaders like […]
These are interesting passages: Acts 20:22 Paul was compelled by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem, “not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.” Acts 21:4 “Through the Spirit [the disiciples] urged Paul not to go […]