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In the Old Testament

God sent down fire from Heaven every time a sacrifice was consumed.  However, in the Old Testament, there are at least seven very significant recorded occurrences of fire from Heaven:

1. Fire from Heaven destroyed Job’s flocks (Job 1:16).
2. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire from Heaven (Gen 19:24, Luke 17:29).
3. Fire from Heaven devoured Nadab and Abihu (Lev 10:1-2)
4. Elijah called down fire from Heaven upon King Ahaziah’s soldiers (2 Kings 1:10,12).
5. Fire from Heaven consumed David’s sacrifice (1 Chron 21:26).
6. The sacrifice at the dedication of the Temple was consumed by fire from Heaven (2 Chron 7:1).
7. Elijah’s sacrifice on Mt. Carmel was consumed by fire from Heaven (1 Kings 18:38)

In the New Testament

There is no record of fire being sent from Heaven by God in the gopels and the writings of Paul and the other apostles.  However, James and John asked Jesus to call down fire from Heaven…but He didn’t do it. (Luke 9:52-54).  And the Holy Spirit came down from Heaven and appeared as cloven tongues of fire, but this was only the appearance “as” fire.  (Acts 2:3-4).

Fire Down from Heaven — yet to come!

During the Tribulation), the false prophet will “make fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men” (Rev 13:13), but this will not be fire sent from Heaven by God. It will be Satan’s work of copying what God does. But fire from Heaven will come down again one last time.  Following the millennial reign of Christ, when Satan is loosed, the nations are deceived, and Satan gathers followers to battle against God, then God will send fire to devour Satan and his troops.

Rev 20:9  And they [Satan and his troops] went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city [Jerusalem]: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

Titus 1:7  For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine…

We interpret “not given to wine” to mean not allowing wine to influence one’s thinking, words, or actions, in any way or to any extent.  The Bible does not disallow wine.  In fact, Paul suggested to Timothy that he drink a little wine instead of water for a stomach ailment (1 Tim 5:23).  However, while the Bible does not disallow wine (or alcohol), it firmly warns against any kind of drunkenness.  Drunkenness, in and of itself, is most definitely a sin. Drunkenness alters and controls one’s mind and diminishes one’s self-control and thereby induces sins in thoughts, words, and actions.

The admonition in Titus 1:7 is that  bishops are to be above reproach. Bishops are in a leadership role in the church, so they are to be an example of living life according to God’s will and ways.  All Christians should follow the admonition not to be given to wine.  Therefore, in the selection of any church leader this is a requirement.  And, the only way to be 100% certain that one will not be “given to wine,” or any mind altering drink or drug, is to abstain from the intake of any such drink or drug.

Hope this helps in your discernment of 1 Titus 17.  For more about the drinking of wine and alcohol, you might want to read:  Is it a sin to drink alcohol?

Read more about the Bible:  Which Bible Translation is Best?  What makes the Bible so unique?   The Bible: A History Book?   See Jesus on every page of the Bible!   Is the Bible still accurate?  Where should I start reading the Bible?  How Can We Be Certain the Bible was Inspired by God?

Read more about the Bible:  Which Bible Translation is Best?  What makes the Bible so unique?   The Bible: A History Book?   See Jesus on every page of the Bible!   Is the Bible still accurate?  Where should I start reading the Bible?  How Can We Be Certain the Bible was Inspired by God?

This question is often asked because one wonders if, as a Christian, they will have to give up a sin that they enjoy or take on a task they don’t want to do. God has given you a free will, so He will not make you give up anything. However, His Holy Spirit will convict you of your sin and He will work to change your heart. The more you know and love Jesus, the more you will desire to turn from your sin and live in accordance with God’s purpose and plan.

Regarding taking on a task you might not want to do: If God wants you to do something (e.g. witnessing to others) He will equip and empower you. He will also change your desire so that it will be something you want to do and something you will enjoy doing. Trust that God loves His children and desires that they find joy and purpose in all their activities.

Read more: How Can I Effectively Witness? How Can I Witness if I Don’t Have the Gift of Evangelism?

This question is a favorite of skeptics. Cain was a member of Adam’s family. After Cain killed his brother Abel, the Lord put a curse on him and drove him from the land, into the land of Nod, east of Eden, where he took a wife. Since there were no other people on earth at the time, the question becomes where did Cain find someone to marry?

Genesis 5:4 tells that by the time Adam was 800 years old, he had had “other sons and daughters.” One of these siblings would have been the female Cain married.

Yes, Cain married one of Adam’s daughters, making his wife one of his sisters. To read why this intermarriage was acceptable, read the whole article, here

The Scriptures are clear that those who believe in Jesus will be saved (see John 1:12). But what about those who live in unreached people groups?

First Timothy 2:4 clearly states that God “wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

Acts 17:26-27 asserts that God has determined the times and places for everyone to live “so that men would seek him and reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.”

Scripture and contemporary missionary evidence support the claim that those who seek God based on the light they have received will be able to respond, even if part or all of the process happens supernaturally. This conclusion has been held by Christian thinkers throughout the centuries. It satisfies the claim that a loving God makes salvation universally available (by revealing Himself to all people), and avoids the problematic claim of inclusivism, meaning people can be saved without knowledge of the gospel.

Regarding those who are incapable of responding to God’s light, we believe God’s mercy is magnified. (Read: Do Babies Go to Heaven if They Die? The Mentally Impaired, Young Children, the Unborn?)

The bottom line is: We can trust that God loves the whole world, and He will act justly in all situations. Our job as Christians is simply to bring the gospel to a world that desperately needs it.

Re-birth is one of the most important doctrines of our faith. When sin entered the world through Adam, the spiritual life of his soul died.

In John 3:3, when Jesus told the Pharisee Nicodemus that he must be born again to see the kingdom of God, Jesus was saying that his soul was in need of regeneration, i.e. being born again.

We know that after Jesus ascended to Heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to regenerate repentant sinners and give them new birth, new life—eternal life. “You must be born again” means you must turn from yourself and turn to Jesus in faith, and trust in who He is and what He has done to pay for your sins. If you have not done that, read this:What If You Die Today?

Paul said that he was commissioned by Jesus to preach the gospel (see 1 Cor. 1:17) and the gospel message predates Paul, so it could not have originated with him. The gospel message is presented throughout the Bible, from the prophecies of the One to come, to Paul’s writings about the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

Paul’s writings, specifically 1 Corinthians 15:3-5, echoes a creedal statement that scholars date to within mere months after the crucifixion (see The Case for the Resurrection, by Gary R. Habermas and Michael Licona). This creedal statement is an affirmation of what really took place, which Jesus Himself spoke about (Mark 10:32-34; Matt. 20:17-19) and which Peter proclaimed on the Day of Pentecost (see Acts 2).

Christians do not “substitute the ideas of Paul for the teachings of Jesus.” “The ideas” (the teachings) of Paul affirm and illuminate what Jesus taught in His earthly ministry. Paul’s teachings also include further revelation, given to him by Jesus, to edify and grow the Church. So when Christians preach and teach Paul’s words, they are faithfully sharing God’s words.

This so-called gospel and numerous others like it, such as the Gospel of Thomas, are considered to be false documents because they teach things at odds with orthodox Christianity. Such books often date to many centuries after the life of Christ and they contain teachings that are clearly influenced by Gnosticism and Greek Neo-platonism.

Only the 66 books of the Holy Bible are considered to be God-breathed, “given by inspiration of God and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16)

Read more on this: How Can We Be Certain the Bible was Inspired by God? Learn the Bible: Books of the Bible-Fast, Fun, Short Video Summaries

We can trust on very good authority and evidence that the Bible we have today corresponds to the original texts.

The evidence we have is the thousands of complete and partial Bible manuscripts that date very close to the actual events. Except for minor textual differences, none of which affects a major doctrine, there is remarkable similarity between ancient and modern texts.

The authority we have is God Himself. He has promised to preserve His Word, and what God promises, He is faithful to do.

Read more on this: How Can We Be Certain the Bible was Inspired by God? Learn the Bible: Books of the Bible-Fast, Fun, Short Video Summaries

There is a doctrine called the Immutability of God. It means that God does not change. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That means the God revealed in the Old and New Testaments is the same God.

What has changed is the revelation of who God is and the covenant between God and man. With the incarnation, life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, God was fully revealed.

God also raised up the apostles to record all the information about who He is, what He has done, and who we are in Jesus. The Bible is a book of progressive revelation about the God of all creation who is eternal, without change.

Read more: How Can We Be Certain the Bible was Inspired by God? Learn the Bible: Books of the Bible-Fast, Fun, Short Video Summaries

We know that the Bible is self-professing to be the Word of God (see Pss. 93:5; 119:89; Prov. 30:5; Matt. 24:35; John 10:35; 2 Tim. 3:16). And when the Bible is studied, it’s divine origin becomes self-evident.

The credibility of the writers, their accuracy and detail, and even their unbiased recording of historical data supports the claims that the Bible makes about being God-given, God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16).

Read more: How Can We Be Certain the Bible was Inspired by God? Learn the Bible: Books of the Bible-Fast, Fun, Short Video Summaries

Habakkuk 1:13a says, “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness…” That certainly implies that God cannot look at sin. However, that is not what the verse means.

The next sentence reveals that God does look upon sin: “Why do You look on those who deal treacherously…” (Hab 1:13b). “Those who deal treacherously” would be sinning, so it would be a contradiction if it were true God that can’t look on sin.

The proper understanding comes in reading what comes next. After asking, “Why do You look on those who deal treacherously…” Habakkuk added, “And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours a person more righteous than he?”

Habakkuk 1:13 is really saying that God’s eyes are too pure to look upon sin and tolerate what He sees. God will judge all sins. But He will do so in His time and in His ways.

This explains how the Holy Spirit can dwell inside Christians who continue to sin. Their sins have already been judged by God, paid for by Jesus, and fully forgiven. In God’s eyes, a forgiven sinner is positionally righteous and secure. However, in continuing to sin, a Christian still needs to confess sins to be cleansed and restored to closer communion with God. The sins Christians commit cannot break their union with God, but will harm their communion with Him. Confess and be cleansed:

Read more:

1 John 1:9 What is the Christian “Bar of Soap?”

What you need to know about Sanctification & Glorification

The resurrection accounts are very consistent and the supposed contradictions that skeptic raise can be explained. It’s true the accounts are different, but they are also complementary and without contradiction.

Unique nuances from each of the Gospel writers contributes to the credibility of each account being true. Only if the four accounts were identical (which they are not) could Matthew, Mark, Luke and John be suspect of fabrication and collaboration. In fact, each writer delivered different details about the same event, based on different perspectives and on the message the Holy Spirit inspired them to write.

Two examples that appear to be discrepancies in testimonies, but are not, include:

• Matthew, Mark and Luke mention a plural number of women who came to the empty tomb, while John mentions only Mary Magdalene. However, no writer says that only Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. Mention of one woman does not rule out there being more women present.

• Matthew and Mark mention only one angel in the tomb, while Luke and John mention two. However, Matthew and Mark never say that only one angel appeared, or that only one angel spoke. Similar to the women, mentioning one angel does not rule out there being two.

Neither of these are contradictions. They are simply accounts from two different perspectives with varying details.

Lee Strobel, a respected journalist, legal scholar, and former skeptic, after extensively interviewing New Testament scholars, concluded,

“The harmony among the Gospels on essential facts, coupled with divergence on some details, lends historical credibility to the accounts. The early church couldn’t have taken root and flourished right there in Jerusalem if it had been teaching facts about Jesus that his own contemporaries could have exposed as exaggerated or false.”

Read about another suggested contradiction that is easily explained: Why are There Two Different Genealogies for Jesus?

To understand why the Gospel accounts differ, read: What are the Four Different Presentations of Jesus in the Gospels?

As to whether the events of Matthew 27 could have happened, the answer is “of course.” It was a miracle, worked by God. The fact that we know very little about these people, how or why this happened, or what happened to them, does not make the miracle any less real.

We can’t prove this miracle, but we do have trustworthy testimony from people who witnessed it. There are no accounts from that time period of people refuting what the Gospels claim and the Bible has been proven to be historically accurate in its records of historical events.

So, the question for non-believers should not be if a miracle recorded in the Bible is true. Instead, it should be whether or not the Miracle Worker is real. Non-believers understand that if God exists, then miracles are not only possible, they are to be expected. Non-believers reject the Miracle Worker, who is God. And as long as they desire to reject God, they will cast doubt on His miracles, including the one in Matthew 27. For fun, take a quiz on Five Miracles in the Bible

The miracles of Jesus were not added to make Him look like a wonder worker. They are included in the Bible because they really happened. God worked miracles through Jesus to reveal who Jesus was during His earthly ministry and there is strong evidence that the miracles were recorded very near the time they were performed. Of course, we trust the accounts because the Bible is God-breathed, but even secular historical ancient books and writings, as well as archeological finds, testify to the accuracy of Jesus’ miraculous works. For fun, take a quiz on Five Miracles in the Bible

The Bible is not an ancient codebook. And while there are many literary styles in the Bible, including what the Jews called remezes (hidden meanings), people need to be very careful about looking for hidden codes. All too often, the popular books that claim to have uncoded biblical codes do so with forced reasoning and manipulated evidence. When it comes to Nostradamus, he never claimed to be speaking for God. God’s prophets spoke the words God gave them, and we have those words recorded in the Bible. They are the very words of God. Moreover, Nostradamus’s predictions are highly ambiguous, written in such a way that you can find fulfillment in any number of events. Not so with the Bible. With hundreds of biblical prophecies having been fulfilled with precise accuracy, we have no doubt that prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled will come to pass. For more information on revealed remezes in the Bible, read: A Remez In Psalm 22? A Remez in Psalm 23? The Amazing Remez in the Book of Numbers? A Remez in Revelation 7?

A few words from Alex to encourage Christians during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Take one minute to be encouraged and to reflect on two verses from God’s Word.

There are some suggestions about how this superstition originated (Read full article.  Click Here), but however it began, the question should be asked, how should Christians feel about Friday the 13th (and other superstitions)?

All superstitions are unbiblical. Friday the 13th, walking under a ladder, a black cat crossing your path, spilling salt, etc. are not something for Christians to fear.  The dictionary defines superstition as “a widely held but unjustified belief in supernatural causation leading to certain consequences of an action or event, or a practice based on such a belief.”  NOTE that it says, “unjustified belief in supernatural causation.”  

As Christians we live by a firm and justified belief in the proven and trustworthy Word of God. 

Prov 30:5  Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.

1 Th 2:13  For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

Every day of life is a gift from God.  Have a blessed Friday the 13th!

(Read full article about the possible origins of this superstition.  Why is Friday the 13th Thought to be Unlucky?) 

Affliction comes upon everyone.  We all suffer. But how we suffer is a choice.  Do we suffer with Christ, and find peace and rest in Him?  Or do we suffer alone, relying on our own strength to cope?  And when we are afflicted and are suffering, what real strength do we have?

This is one of the most inspiring messages you will ever hear. Born without arms, Daniel Ritchie has known affliction from as far back as he can remember.  And yet, he glorifies God in his afflction.  We too can make a choice to suffer with Jesus and for His glory.

This message is from the Truth for a New Generation Conference in Murfreesboro, TN and well-worth your time to watch and be encouraged and inspired.

The right church is one that teaches the truths of God’s Word— beginning with Genesis and all the way to Revelation. There are core doctrines that all Christians must believe and all Christian churches must teach (For the core doctrines, read: What is IVDAR? Or IVDARR?).

The best way to qualify a good church is to judge using God’s word.  Does the church believe and teach the following

• The Bible is true, inerrant, and good for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness
• God created the heavens and earth and created man in His image
• All was perfect until man fell into sin
• God, in His love and mercy, promised a redeemer to save mankind
• Jesus is God
• Jesus came to earth, born of a virgin, incarnate in the flesh, to redeem man
• Jesus died to pay for man’s sins, was buried, and rose again to open the way for mankind to come to God and have eternal life with Him
• Jesus forgives and saves repentant sinners by grace through faith, not of works (Eph 2:8-9)
• Jesus is the head of the Church, His body
• The mission of the church is to grow in love for God and knowledge of His Word, and demonstrate our love for God by loving and serving others
• Jesus will return and make all things new

Look for a church that faithfully teaches the Bible and you’ll likely find one that stands firm on all core Christian doctrines.

Read more: Is church membership necessary?

How can you tell if thoughts are coming from your sinful side or Satan?  

Satan cannot enter into a blood-bought, Holy Spirit sealed Christian.  He can mess with us on the outside, but he cannot enter in, or put thoughts into our minds.  However, he can tempt us with things that will cause us to think bad thoughts. But we always have a free-will choice.

Whenever a bad thought begins to enter our minds, our choice should always be to turn our thoughts away from the bad and think on “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report…” (Phil 4:8).

We also want to stop bad thoughts before they arise by renewing our minds every day (Ro 12:2), by remembering the Lord’s promises and His faithfulness, and by keeping our minds focused on Jesus (Heb 12:2).

With renewed minds, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to conquer any temptation.

Promises About the Mind: Col 3:2, Matt 22:37, Prov 27:12, Ro 12:3
Read About Conquering Sin In Our Sanctification Journey: What you need to know about Sanctification & Glorification |  How Do I Fight Impure Thoughts?  | Will impure thoughts condemn me? How can I fight them?  | Is My Heart Deceitful Above All Things? (Jer 17:9) Don’t I Have a New Heart?   |  Sin, Iniquity, and Transgression? How are they different?

College has increasingly become a place where one’s faith in Jesus is being attacked.  We know from multiple studies that many young people leave their faith while in college.

Seven ways young Christians can keep their faith strong while in college:

1. FIND A LOCAL CHURCH
2. BE PART OF A BIBLE STUDY
3. MAKE NEW CHRISTIAN FRIENDS
4. CONNECT WITH A CHRISTIAN MENTOR
5. JOIN A FAITH-BASED GROUP
6. OPEN YOUR BIBLE ALONG WITH YOUR BOOKS
7. PRAY FOR GODʼS WISDOM

What happens when we choose not to obey the promptings of God? Will the Holy Spirit continue to lead you if you continue to sin?” Let’s be clear: All Christians commit sins. I John 1:9 promises God’s forgiveness to Christians who confess their sins, but the Bible is clear that Christ’s followers are not to willingly and repeatedly sin.  Christians are not to harbor sin in their lives. Romans 6:14 says that “Sin shall not have dominion over you.” I John 3:9 indicates that habitual sin should not be characteristic of the believer. So what are the steps to overcoming habitual sin?

1. Know that bad habits must be replaced with good ones. Like Joseph, we have to run from the things that tempt us (Genesis 39:15)
2. Admit that without the help of the Lord, sin will creep into our lives.
3. Walk closely with God every day, which takes discipline and commitment.
4. Be mindful of the fact that Christian maturity does not happen automatically.
5. Be proactive in pursuing spiritual growth.
6. Intentionally making God-honoring choices.
7. Replace bad habits with good ones.
8. Flee temptation.
9. Turn away from the things that can cause us to fall into their clutch.
10. Love Jesus. Think on Him, read His Word, and allow the Holy Spirit to strengthen you and guide you.

Read the full article here: What Happens If I Continue To Sin?

Read more about sin in the life of Christians: 1 John 1:9 What is the Christian “Bar of Soap?”

While we all hope that our beloved pets will go to Heaven, we must look at what information the Bible gives to answer if it is so. Sadly, we find there is no biblical support to suggest animals (domesticated or wild) will go to Heaven.

We agree that the pain of losing a pet is great. Therefore, the best we can offer in comfort is to remind people to not let go of the memories that will make them smile. A great sentiment to focus on memories, rather than seeing the pet again, is: “No longer by our side, but forever in our hearts.”

Many times people will say, “it WON’T be Heaven if my DOG isn’t there.” That is, of course, not true. It WILL be Heaven because our GOD is there. We certainly wish our pets might be there, but we can only reason from what the Bible teaches. Be a Berean and search the Scriptures (Acts 17:11).

If you find anything to support pets going to Heaven, please let us know. We would love to be wrong on this, but for now, we stand on what we have found Scripture to reveal.

For more information and scriptural support, read: Do our pets go to Heaven when they die?

While words are “just words,” every word carries a meaning and an influence that is used to communicate and that’s why words matter.

First, let’s define profanity. Strictly speaking, profanity means taking God’s name in vain—to profane it. Therefore, words that are profanity have meaning that conveys disrespect of God. God commands that we not profane His name because His name is holy and it is to be honored and respected. We are to praise His name (Ps 148:13).

Today, a lot of what is called profanity is actually just vulgar speech. It’s really more a matter of propriety that we not speak in a vulgar, irreverent way. The apostle Paul commands us to avoid foolish speech and coarse joking (Eph 5:4).

Read the full article: Why is it wrong to use profanity? After all, aren’t words just words?

This is something all Christians experience from time to time, but God has not moved away. It only feels like He has.

The answer to overcoming a perceived distance is to remember that this is a feeling and feelings can lie to us. We must remember what we know to be true. Jesus has promised that He will never leave or forsake us (Heb 13:5).

It’s usually a circumstance, emotional struggle, confusion, or some other challenge or difficulty in one’s daily life that causes one to feel that God is far away. Continuing to seek God in prayer and reading the Bible will increase one’s knowledge of His presence, and restore a closer communion with Him.

Read the promises of God that assure us of His presence with us always: When It Feels Like God Is Far Away, What Can I Do? Read more: What Does It Mean To WALK BY FAITH? To WALK WITH GOD? To WALK IN HOPE?

Only God knows the time and the hour when Jesus will come back (Mat 24:36), but we do know that His return is drawing closer and closer.

We don’t know when Jesus will return.  It just might be in our lifetime.  Therefore, we (Christians) have work to do.

We have been commissioned by Jesus to tell the world that He came first as a suffering servant to seek and save the lost. He was the Lamb of God who died for the sins of the world. We are also to tell that Jesus will come again, first for His Bride (the Rapture), and then with all the Saints (the Second Coming).

Read more about when Jesus returns here.

There are six important reasons Jesus came (to read the more in-depth article on this, click here)

1. To fulfill prophecy
2. To display the Person of God
3. To make payment for sins of man
4. To conquer death
5. To defeat Satan
6. To move the course of history toward God’s ultimate purpose and plan

Read the complete article with scriptural support and a biblical conclusion here.

There are five core doctrines (teachings) that all Christians must believe. I (Alex) came up with an acronym years ago to make them simple to remember: IVDAR

Each of the letters stands for a doctrine of Christianity.

I — Inerrancy of Scripture

V — Virgin Birth

D — Deity of Christ

A — Atonement

R — Resurrection

For detailed information on each the five doctrines, and to learn about a sixth core doctrine that all Christians should believe, read: What is IVDAR? Or IVDARR?

Q. The universe is so vast—in all likelihood, there are countless universes and life on other planets. Why do you think the earth is unique, and that God (if He exists) would single out humanity for His love and some special plan?

A. There is no evidence to suggest there is life on other planets. In fact, there is much evidence to prove that some of the planets are without life. Therefore — “in all likelihood” — the earth is the only planet with life.

We know that God made earth suitable to support the life of the man and woman He created. But we do not know why he chose the earth. He could have made another planet suitable to sustain the life of Adam, but He did not. To speculate would be futile.

What we do know is that life on earth is not how God intended it to be. He created all things perfect, but Adam’s sin changed everything. God in His mercy and grace sent Jesus to redeem man and one day He will restore all things to His intended perfection. Do you know Jesus?

Being spiritual can mean many things? The question is: what spirit are you looking to for correction, direction, and life? And, what makes you believe the spirit is alive, true, and able to guide you?

Why do you need to be a Christian? Because you need your sins forgiven. There is ample proof to claim that the God of Christianity is the only true Spirit, and only He can deliver you from your sins (Read: How Can We Be Certain the Bible was Inspired by God? How Can I Prove God Exists?)

Heaven and a Hell are real places (Read: Where is Heaven? Is Hell Real? What does the Bible say? Sheol, Hell, Torment, Abyss, Tartarus, Gehenna, Fire, Darkness? What & Where Are They?). Being a spiritual person will not get you into Heaven, but refusing God’s gift of salvation will get you into Hell.

All people have sinned, and all need to be forgiven and made new in order to enter Heaven. God provided the way by giving His Son, Jesus, who took all sin, including yours, upon Himself and paid for them. All you need to do is turn to Him in faith and trust in Him. He will forgive you and give you eternal life in Heaven. No other spirit can do that.

(Read: What If You Die Today?)

Q. Since God knows everything, He would have known how much suffering would eventually come into this world. Why didn’t He stop the process before it all got started and save His creatures from all of the pain that would befall them?

A. From before the foundations of the world God purposed and planned to create man in His own image. His purpose was to reveal more of Himself, because only man is in His image (the planets or stars are not). He also wanted a relationship with those in His image, and yet He knew that man would sin and He knew that He would provide a way for man to be forgiven.

Suffering entered our world as a result of sin. So we might want to reframe the question to be, “why would God create man knowing he would sin?” The Bible does not explicitly answer this. However, I (Shari) suggest that before sin entered the world, one of God’s attributes was not evidenced. Without sin in the world, there was nothing for God to forgive and God’s forgiveness demonstrates His mercy. When Adam sinned, God forgave him and magnified His mercy throughout all creation. Thereby God was glorified and His mercy continues to be magnified every time He forgives us for our sins.

For a more complete explanation of this, click here.

God is love, but He is also holy and just. God cannot ignore sin, because doing so would make Him unjust. Therefore, God must judge all sin and the penalty for sin must be paid.

God, in His mercy and grace, sent His Son Jesus to pay the penalty for us and to open the way for all people to be forgiven of their sins. By trusting in Jesus, a person’s sins can be forgiven and the person will be given eternal life.

Sadly, those who reject Jesus will die in unforgiven sins and will not be worthy to enter Heaven. It is a free-will choice, and only by one’s free-will choice will anyone go to Hell.

God doesn’t send anyone to Hell. They choose to go there by choosing to reject the gift of forgiveness that God offers in Christ Jesus. Tell someone about God’s love and salvation in Jesus today.

Read: What about people who don’t believe in Jesus, but live good lives? Shouldn’t they go to heaven? How Can I Effectively Witness? How Can I Witness if I Don’t Have the Gift of Evangelism?

Actually, these three major religions of the world don’t teach the same things. This generalization is frequently trumpeted within the media, but differences between the major faith systems of the world are well documented.

• Judaism teaches that the Messiah, from the Jewish line of David, is yet to come;
• Christianity teaches He has come, in the person of Jesus Christ, who is Lord and Saviour.
• Islam denies the Christian doctrines Jewish Messiah from David’s line and believes their own Imam (a type of Messiah) will come. Islam also denies Jesus is Lord and Saviour and believe He was just a prophet who will one day return to serve their Imam.

There are many other points on which these religions contradict each other. The important question, is which one is true?

Read: What about people who don’t believe in Jesus, but live good lives? Shouldn’t they go to heaven?

While our language is finite and our God is infinite, we can be certain that our language is adequate to know God personally and to share His truths with others.

• God has given us His Word and He has told us to study(2 Tim 2:15).
• God has given us His Holy Spirit to teach us (John 14:26).
• And in His Word, God has given many literary devices, including metaphors, similes, symbolism, typologies, patterns. These help us in understanding.

Therefore, we can trust that God’s Holy Word and His Holy Spirit are sufficient to enable us, with our finite language, to share truths about our infinite God.

Read: How Can We Be Certain the Bible was Inspired by God? How Can I Understand the Love of God?

It’s true that Christians are no better than non-believers in that they sometimes don’t act in accordance with what they believe and with the ways that God tells them to live (that’s the definition of hypocrisy). The difference is that Christians know this is sin, because it acting against God’s will.

So why do Christians behave in ways that are inconsistent with the clearly defined morals, ethics, and God-honoring behaviors the Bible teaches? Because Christians aren’t perfect and they still sin. But when they sin, God is always present to convict them, forgive them, and turn them back to act in accordance with their Christian faith. And, all Christians have the power of the Holy Spirit to teach them and empower to live according to God’s ways.

All people are hypocritical. Non-Christians also act hypocritically — inconsistent with what they profess to believe. But they have no one to turn to for correction. They have no one to give them power to change. They can only depend on themselves. Plus, their sins are not forgiven. But God, in His mercy, offers them the gift of salvation through faith in Jesus. Tell someone about Jesus today.

Read: How Can I Effectively Witness? How Can I Witness if I Don’t Have the Gift of Evangelism? Be BOLD or Be Gentle When Witnessing?

Religions do not cause wars. It is sin that causes wars. It is man’s self-centered, self-serving nature and his inability to sacrificially love his neighbor and live at peace that causes wars. If all mankind followed God’s will and ways there would be no war. But we know that won’t happen because of man’s sin nature.

So man continues to war with his fellow man and some have used, and still do use, Christianity and other religions as their justification. However, that does not mean that religions are the root cause of wars anymore than we could say politics is the root cause. Religious and political beliefs may influence warring men and women, but it is the people themselves who enter into wars.

War is a choice, and so also is peace. All wars start when leaders fail to chose peaceful methods to mediate the issues between them.

The Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer God of the Bible calls His people to make every effort to live peaceably (Rom. 12:18). And in His Word, God gives directives on how that can be done (Rom 12-16). The Bible’s Judeo-Christian morals, ethics, and teachings, when followed, actually prevents wars. The further away from God’s teachings any person is, the further away the person will be from seeking and finding peace with others.

Changing the hearts of men and women by turning them to Jesus is the only way to stop wars.

“Intellectual checkmate” does not exist between God and His people. There is an answer to the ages-old question about God’s ability to make a rock so heavy He can’t lift it.

First understand that God is omnipotent, which means He is all powerful. There is nothing He cannot do. The earth and the planets certainly weigh more than any rock and God formed those and placed them.

So let’s answer these questions:

1. Could God make a rock bigger than the earth or planets? Answer: Yes, and He could move it too.
2. Could God make a rock bigger than the rock He made that is bigger than the earth and planets? Answer: Yes, and He can move it too.
3. Could God make a rock bigger than the rock He made, that is bigger than the rock He made, that is bigger the earth and planets? Answer: Yes, and He can move it too.

I think you get the idea. No matter how big the rock gets….God is still bigger and more powerful enough to move it.

So although this question tries to suggest there is something God cannot do, it really proves that there is nothing outside God’s power and ability to do.

It really is an illogical question. God doesn’t created things to prove Himself. He created the world and the universe to reveal Himself so man can know Him and love Him.

Read: Can We Really Be Sure That God Exists?

By attributing human characteristics of self-centeredness and conceitedness to God, one is misunderstanding who God is. Three very important points bring clarity to understanding God:

1. God is not human. His ways and His thoughts are higher than man’s. (Isa 55:9) God is not capable of such human behaviors, thoughts, or emotions. Therefore, they cannot be attributed to Him. We don’t need to try to make God more human to be able to understand Him.

2. God did not create the universe to worship Him. The planets and stars reveal God’s creative nature, and thereby bring Him glory, but they do not worship Him.

3. God did create man with the ability to worship Him. But God also gave man a free-will choice. Man is able to choose to enter into a relationship with God through Jesus, and to worship God and pray to Him. But man is also free to choose to reject his Creator.

So while God created man desiring a relationship with him, God will not force that relationship upon anyone. True worship is:

• a response to God’s love, freely given by God to man.
• an expression of man’s love, freely given to God by man.

Read more: Who Am I? Am I Really Made in the Image of God?

A worldview is basically the lens through which you interpret the world around you. It colors everything you perceive, just as colored lenses on a pair of glasses would give a certain tint to everything you see.

A theistic worldview interprets the world with an understanding that God created and is involved in the world. An atheistic worldview is the opposite—no God, no Creator. Atheism sees the world as a collection of random events and ultimately without any purpose or meaning.

Everyone has a worldview whether they realize it or not. The Christian worldview is based on the truths of God. The Bible presents these truths. It gives clear, accurate, and time-proven truths for the world around us and tells of the God who created it. On what is your worldview based?

Read More: Can a Worldview Answer Life’s Questions? 5 Worldviews Defined

Over six decades (late 1910s-1980s), it’s counted that 205 people died in public shootings in America. Contrast that with the early 1980s unto today, in which more than 1,400 people have died in public shootings. From 205 in a span of 60 years to 1,400 in only 30 years. That’s a staggering increase.

So why has there been a 700%+ escalation in public shootings over the last 30-40 years? What has changed?

In the early 20th century, Americans had access to guns, cars, entertainment, and intoxicants (alcohol, opium, heroin, etc.). Today, we have guns, cars, entertainment (including technology), and intoxicants (legal and illegal). In no era is there a shortage of opportunity for vice, but today there is definitely a shortage of virtue.

In the late 1970s, militant secularist agendas had really gained momentum, and since that time those agendas are increasingly felt in our country. In countless university classrooms, professors with activist hearts (many of whom came from the 1960’s anti-establishment ‘wakefulness’ movement) are influencing more young minds than ever before with secularism. Today, the few brave students who speak up for God and country are usually mocked by professors; and we are endlessly told that any mention of God or morality violates the First Amendment.

Sadly, respect for human life continues to diminish in our culture. Belief in God is waning and biblical truths, morals, and ethics are disappearing from our laws, classrooms, entertainment, media, and culture.

The Solution

For evil to decrease, good must increase. And, “what is good?” It’s not “what.” It’s who! Jesus said, “why do you call me good? Only God is good.” (Mat 19:17, Mark 10:18, Luke 18:19) Jesus is God, and truly, only God is good. The solution to the problem of evil in this country is to turn the hearts of the people to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then His Holy Spirit will work in and through them to multiply the good that only He can increase, and thereby evil will decrease.

We grieve over the loss of life in all the mass shootings in our country. We pray for God’s comfort for all who have lost loved ones to such senseless violence. But to those who maliciously work to keep America “free” from Christian morality, ethics, and biblical truths, let it be known that the bloodshed will continue to happen as evil in our country continues to grow.

Pray for our country. Pray that God has mercy on us. Pray that Jesus is seen and received. Pray for a revival. That will change our country!

“The occult” is a very broad label that includes beliefs in the supernatural, the paranormal, and practices such as divination, magic, witchcraft, and alchemy. The word occult means knowledge of the hidden or knowledge of the paranormal, as opposed to knowledge of facts or that which is seen and measurable. So what should Christians think about occultism?

Read/watch more about our country’s leaders:

• President Ronald Reagan Sharing A WWI Soldier’s Pledge (video)
• Words from the White House about our Christian Nation
• Watch as Former Presidents Pray and Proclaim Faith in God and  His Word (video)
• Measured By Our Words: The Wisdom of Calvin Coolidge
• Is America a Christian Nation?

Religions do not cause wars. It is sin that causes wars. It is man’s self-centered, self-serving nature and his inability to sacrificially love his neighbor and live at peace that causes wars. If all mankind followed God’s will and ways there would be no war. But we know that won’t happen because of man’s sin nature.

So man continues to war with his fellow man and some have used, and still do use, Christianity and other religions as their justification. However, that does not mean that religions are the root cause of wars anymore than we could say politics is the root cause. Religious and political beliefs may influence warring men and women, but it is the people themselves who enter into wars.

War is a choice, and so also is peace. All wars start when leaders fail to chose peaceful methods to mediate the issues between them.

The Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer God of the Bible calls His people to make every effort to live peaceably (Rom. 12:18). And in His Word, God gives directives on how that can be done (Rom 12-16). The Bible’s Judeo-Christian morals, ethics, and teachings, when followed, actually prevents wars. The further away from God’s teachings any person is, the further away the person will be from seeking and finding peace with others.

Changing the hearts of men and women by turning them to Jesus is the only way to stop wars.

Read: What is Happening to Our Country? What Can We Do About It?

Jesus calls us to love all people, so gay people should always be treated with love and kindness. The only thing Christians are to hate is that which God hates—and God hates sin; but He loves the sinner. There are people who would say that Christians have no right to judge homosexuality as sin, but is that true? First, Christians don’t judge homosexuality as sin — God does. God says that any sexual behavior outside of marriage, between a man and a woman, is an abomination, i.e. a sin (Lev 18:22, 20:13). Second, God ordained marriage and sexual union to be between a man and woman. During His earthly ministry, Jesus confirmed that God intended that only man and woman would become one flesh (Matt 19:4-6). So God is the One who defines homosexuality as sin.

As Christians, we are to be loving and kind to all people, even those who engage in any sin. Yet, we are not to condone their sin. While we are not to judge a person’s heart, we can judge their fruits (their behaviors) by what God says in His Word. So when a Christian says homosexuality is a sin, it’s really God’s judgment of the behavior.

In our time, most everyone knows and loves someone who claims to be a homosexual. Love them enough to tell them about Jesus. All of their sins will be judged and they need the Savior to forgive them. However, and whenever, you share the gospel, be kind and loving; but do not compromise by accepting or approving of any behavior that God calls sin.