Tag: Scriptures

By micoots
28/02/2017 0

Theology, Church History, and Guarding the Good Deposit

Follow @BrandonSmith85
Photo courtesy: Neuestock
When I began working with the Christian Standard Bible, my first priority was to dig into the history of the translation. I wanted to know who was involved, how it was developed, how it was marketed over the years, and how many Bibles were out in the wild. In order to understand fully the good and the bad about the project ahead of me, I had to take a thorough inventory of where it came from. I could’ve done my job without this investigation—but n..

By micoots
21/02/2017 0

How to Subtly Abandon Your Bible’s Authority

Editors’ note: Christians in the Wes, face a number of explicit threats to the authority of Scripture. But explicit threats alone don’t weaken our trust in the Bible. Subtle threats—those that creep in unnoticed—also foster skepticism. Writing for Themelios, TGC president Don Carson outlines 10 ways we subtly abandon the authority of God’s Word. Below are some excerpts from his timely essay.

On the danger of appealing to selective evidence:

The most severe forms of this drift [appealing to sel..

By micoots
17/02/2017 0

The Holy Spirit Will Help You

JOHN 14:16 NKJ
16 “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another
Helper, that He may abide with you forever,

If you allow Him to, the Holy Spirit will guide you in every
area of life; from the words you should speak, to the spouse
you should marry, to the investments you should make.

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity of God. It
is difficult for humans to understand how there can be only one
God, as the Scriptures teach, yet He can reveal Himself as
three persons. So..

By micoots
13/02/2017 0

Waging Peace – Matthew 5:9

Key Passage”What great blessings there are for the people that work to bring peace! God will call them his sons and daughters.”
— Matthew 5:9 ERV (Read Full Text)
Key Thought”Wage Peace.” That's a fairly popular bumper sticker around our neck of the woods. It's the grown up version of the old Hippie song, “All we are saying is give peace a chance.” Deep in our hearts we know there is a tremendous difference between being a peace lover and a peace maker. Peace lovers like the calm and s..

By micoots
11/02/2017 0

Extending Mercy – Matthew 5:7

Key Passage”What great blessings there are for the people that give mercy to other people! Mercy will be given to them.”
— Matthew 5:7 ERV (Read Full Text)
Key ThoughtGod has treated us much, much better than we deserve. That fundamental, undergirding spiritual truth is the reality of grace. He has seen us in our sin and had mercy on us because of his great love for us (see Rom. 5:6-11). Even though we have repeatedly proved unfaithful and undependable, both individually and as a group, God has ..

By micoots
10/02/2017 0

More Than Anything Else – Matthew 5:6

Key Passage”What great blessings there are for the people that want to do right more than anything else! God will fully satisfy them.”
— Matthew 5:6 ERV (Read Full Text)
Key ThoughtOther translations use the wording of hungering and thirsting after righteousness where this translation refers to those who want to do right. Except for a voluntary fast, most of us who spend our time on the net don't know what it's like to be hungry. But nearly all of us, at one time or another, have been ..

By micoots
10/02/2017 0

Not Simply with Words (Feb 10th)

Verse[O]ur gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.
— 1 Thessalonians 1:5 NIV
ThoughtWhen the gospel of Jesus is proclaimed, much more is happening than just the declaration in words of God's grace in Jesus. Not only did the Holy Spirit inspire the truth of God's message in Jesus we find in the Scriptures, but the Spirit is also at work in the proclamation of that message today. The Holy Spirit is at work in this proclamati..

By micoots
09/02/2017 0

Upside Down to the World – Matthew 5:5

Key Passage”What great blessings there are for the people that are humble! They will have the land {God promised}.”
— Matthew 5:5 ERV (Read Full Text)
Key ThoughtEverything in our culture and experience says the meek and the humble will get run over and will be targets for bullies. But God says these are the very ones to receive the earth as an inheritance. Why? Because their strength comes from their dependence upon God and not upon worldly power, an accumulation of possessions, or unleashed vi..

By micoots
08/02/2017 0

U.S. Supreme Court Asked to Hear Appeal Over Ban on Helping Youth Struggling With Homosexuality

WASHINGTON — A religious rights organization has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal regarding California’s ban on “conversion therapy” and counseling youth to resist romantic desires toward the same sex.

“SB 1172 directly violates the fundamental constitutional right to privacy in that it prohibits minors from defining their own existence. The law prevents minors from accessing mental health services and spiritual mentoring that would assist them in diminishing same-sex attract..

By micoots
08/02/2017 0

Dear Mr. Franklin Graham

By Northern Seminary student, Nate Ray, a Minnesota, a sensitive and solid pastor, and also a splendid student in our classes. I like the tone of Nate Ray in this letter.
Dear Mr. Graham,
I’ve recently read some of your comments on the role of government with admitting refugees, and I think you’ve oversimplified a complex issue. You were quoted as saying “it’s not a Bible issue.”[1] That is:
“It’s not a biblical command for the country to let everyone in who wants to come, that’s not a Bible iss..