Category: Bible Study

HELL ON EARTH

Jesus “summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority to expel unclean spirits and to cure sickness and disease of every kind.” –Matthew 10:1 In our secularized times, many Christians are so confused they deny or question the existence or activity of the devil. Their confusion permits the devil to get away with murder, lust, greed, perversion, etc. He has also been able to mass-produce his perversities through mass media, especially TV. The combination of these factors results in a dramatic increase in demonic activity not only in pagan lands but even in Christian areas. We have let the devil...

The atoning sacrifice…

1 John 2:1-2 1 My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. 2 And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. (WEB) The Apostle John starts off chapter two of this letter by addressing his readers as ‘My little children’. He carries a father’s heart for those he is addressing and it is his heart that they would not sin. Though all of our sins (past, present...

BIG-TIME WRESTLING

“Then some man wrestled with him until the break of dawn.” –Genesis 32:25 The Lord has wonderful plans for us – “plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope” (Jer 29:11). However, He will not force us to accept His plans. We must say with Mary: “Let it be done to me according to Your word” (Lk 1:38, our transl). The Lord had a wonderful plan for Jacob. To say “yes” to this plan, Jacob had to: wrestle “with divine and human beings” all night (Gn 32:29), suffer injury (Gn 32:26), receive...

Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit…

Ephesians 4:30-32 30. Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander, be put away from you, with all malice. 32. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you. (WEB) In today’s Bible reading, we are talking about grieving the Holy Spirit. First of all, what does it mean to ‘grieve’ the Holy Spirit? The Amplified Bible translates the word grieve as … (do not offend or vex or sadden Him). (AMP) I...

THE FAST TRACK

“Before Jesus had finished speaking to them, a synagogue leader came up.” –Matthew 9:18 While Jesus was talking about a new way of living and fasting, “a synagogue leader came up, did Him reverence, and said: ‘My daughter has just died. Please come and lay Your hand on her and she will come back to life’ ” (Mt 9:18). Jesus then raised the little girl from the dead (Mt 9:25). This resurrection-miracle immediately followed His healing a woman who had been hemorrhaging for twelve years (Mt 9:22). These miracles of healing and resurrection are put in the context of Jesus’...