Tag Archives: bible

How Can You Tell a Cult?

One of the big problems in today’s world as it was even back in New Testament times and the early church is false teachers. Sometimes alarm bells seem to go off while you are listening to someone teaching but you’re not quite sure why. How can you tell if what you are hearing is false teaching and if it is a cult instead of real Biblical Christianity? Thanks to Footprints magazine here are some pointers to look out for and others I have added. A cult will invariably have a charismatic leader. You know the type of person I mean, … Continue reading →

Half Truths Can be Dangerous

Half truths can be dangerous. They can be just as dangerous as an out and out lie, maybe even more so. The half truth is often one that casts doubt on God, or in some way waters down the message of the gospel, or the image of the God of the bible making Him into more human image. The half truth talks about God as being a God of love and while that’s certainly true, it’s not the whole truth. He is also a God of judgment. The half truth insists a God of love would never consign people to … Continue reading →

Police Find Ancient Bible in Raid

If you have ever watched “Antiques Roadshow,” you may know that family Bibles from the 18th and 19th century, while beautiful and priceless to the family to which it belongs, aren’t going to be a big payday. The experts on the show say that unless a Bible predates 1550, it isn’t worth much monetarily. However, the police in Cyprus may have found a Bible that would make the “Antique Roadshow” experts quake in their boots. The police in northern Cyprus raided the hideout of suspected antiquity smugglers and found a Bible that has excerpts written in gold lettering on vellum. … Continue reading →

The Church In Danger

Today the church is in danger of absorbing the ideas and values of the world, rather than the ideas and values of God as taught in the bible. We would do well to take note of the book of Colossians, which is written to a church in danger. The Colossian church was in danger from deception and false teaching, Colossian 2:8 and from criticism, Colossians 2:16-18. These Colossian Christians were people who wanted to know God but, having heard and responded to the message about Jesus as given them by Epaphras, they still felt that something was missing from their … Continue reading →

What About Santa?

On Saturday we had sirens blaring as fire truck and police trundled down our street. No, not a disaster, it was Santa in the fire truck waving and throwing out sweets to the neighborhood children that flocked out to greet him. It happens every year in our neighborhood. What place does Santa have in the Christian’s Christmas? Does he have a place at all? In a recent newsletter about writing for children I saw an article about Britain and the new range of comics called Christmas Crackers. These comics feature Santa and snowmen integrated into the Nativity story. These were … Continue reading →

Dealing with Criticism

Sometimes God speaks clearly to us from the Bible or during our prayer time about sins we need to confess in our lives. Sometimes it comes through the words of another person. The apostle Paul had harsh words for some of the churches. The Galatians he challenged about trading in the gospel message for one based on works, He called them ‘foolish Galatians,’ 3:1 and went on to detail why they are being foolish. He also challenged the Corinthians about their behavior, 1 Corinthians 1:11, 3:3 ‘not to shame them but because he loves them,’ 1 Corinthians 4:14. In 1 … Continue reading →

The Ten Commandments Series: The Seventh Commandment

In Exodus, chapter twenty, verse fourteen we read: Thou shalt not commit adultery. Marriage between a man and woman is sacred. We are taught that it is ordained of God. Families are patterned after the way things are organized in Heaven, and how they will be organized in the eternities. We have been told that we have been placed in family units here on this earth to help prepare us to live in family units throughout the eternities, and the foundation of every family unit is the marriage between the husband and wife. When we seek to mock or belittle … Continue reading →

The Ten Commandments Series: The Sixth Commandment

In Exodus, chapter twenty, verse thirteen, we read: Thou shalt not kill. This seems like a very cut and dried commandment. There’s not a lot to be questioned there. But why is it, then, that this commandment is broken countless times every day in this world of ours? People kill for many different reasons. Sometimes it’s out of fear, anger, or the need for revenge. Other times, it’s out of greed or the fear of being caught. There are those who are evil who love to kill for the sake of killing itself, for the feeling of power it gives … Continue reading →

The Ten Commandments Series: The Fifth Commandment

In Exodus chapter twenty, verse twelve we read: Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. We have all been given parents, not only to bring us into this world, but to raise us according to the light and knowledge they have been given. It is the parents’ job to teach us the Gospel, keep us fed and clothed, and to give us a sense of security in this unsure world. We as children are to be loved and cared for, and when we become parents, … Continue reading →

New Religious Offerings in Hotel Rooms

I first heard about this latest travel tidbit from the ladies on ABC’s chatfest “The View” a few weeks ago. But as usual their squawking made it nearly impossible to decipher what the real issue behind hotels offering more than just the Gideon Bible for guests to choose from was all about so I decided to do some research on my own. For those of you just getting up to speed on this “Hot Topic,” the Provenance Hotel chain (they run boutique properties in Oregon, Washington, and Tennessee) recently started offering a “spiritual menu” to its guests that goes beyond … Continue reading →