Basically, our understanding of the Scriptures differs from the majority of the religious world because we operate on a different principle of interpretation. To most religious people "truth" is relative, adjusting…

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DOES GOD'S WORD REALLY AFFECT YOUR LIFE?
(Dennis Abernathy)

A management axiom illustrates a spiritual truth that is important to keep in mind as we read and hear God's Word: "To look and hear is one thing. To see what you look at and hear is another. To understand what you see and hear is a third. To learn from what you hear and see and understand is something else. But to act on what you learn is all that really matters."
   
A lot of folks read, and hear God's…

Communications Error

A few days ago, my family went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant. There
we saw an interesting issue: although the menu was in English, and we’ve
been to Mexican restaurants before, there were Spanish words sprinkled
throughout that we had to look up on our phones. I’ve been to Spain,
Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries on vacation, and my brother
is taking Spanish in school, but still, there were words none of us could
remember or had ever seen before.
The ironic part: this is a problem unique to humanity! You could take any
two dogs from…

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I often hear people talk about the promise that “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” While no passage of Scripture uses those words, these folks probably have in mind what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:13:

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the tempta­tion will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

Is…

What Made You Do It ?

You can tell the folks who went through the prescribed form of becoming a
Christian, motivated solely by the fear of Hell, by the stingy and joyless way
in which they serve the Lord. While not presuming to deny that fear of
punishment is a strong motivating force in religious service, it should not
be the sole or even chief motivation. John, apostle of Christ, wrote: “There
is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath
torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love” (1 Jn 4:18).
Some…

“THE LORD HATH NEED OF THEM”
(Jim McDonald)

Acts 12 records the death of the first apostle, James. It also records the third imprisonment of Peter. James and John, sons of Zebedee and Salome, were among Jesus’ earliest disciples. They were apparently the first disciples of John the Baptist. John pointed Jesus out to them and John 1 tells that John and Andrew then sought Jesus out.

Spiritual growth and development was as much a part of the lives of the apostles as it is in our…

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WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE?
(Albert Brown)

Probably the most well-known verse in the Bible besides John 3:16 is Matthew 7:1. If anyone knows anything at all about the Bible they have probably memorized this verse. This is the verse where Jesus is quoted as saying, “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (ASV). For those who are caught in a sin this verse is their rallying point. They know that all they have to do with many Christians is to point to this verse and say, “You can't judge me!” They take comfort…

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For You Have Promised . . . Do I Believe?

In the second temptation of Christ as recorded in the gospel of Matthew
(4:5-7), Satan takes Jesus to a high temple and provokes him by saying, “If
you are the son of God you can jump from here. For it is written ‘He shall
command his angels concerning you and, on their hands, they shall bear
you up.’ ”
As I was growing up, I knew this as sin, because its source was the mouth of
the accuser. The problem is that Satan is not always so easy to be perceived.