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Recently I have engaged in a couple of discussions/debates regards the origin of evil. Yes, evil, that spiritual state that “appears” to be in conflict with the plans and ways of God. The discussions centered primarily on the originator of evil, who was (or is) the author, so to speak, of evil. One can imagine…
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The three wise men from the East that we have all heard about all our lives are an interesting part of the story of the Christ child. As with many of the stories and events depicted in the Scriptures, it seems to me that tradition once again trumps biblical reality. Firstly, it is only an…
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Have you ever wondered why when Jesus was born that angels appeared to shepherds out in the fields of Bethlehem and announced to them that the birth had taken place? Why didn’t the angels announce it to the thousands of people in Jerusalem that was just a few miles away and where the Temple stood…
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In Matthew’s gospel there is a very interesting statement that John the Baptist directs to some of his followers while he, John, is in prison and Jesus is engaged in his own ministry. From his prison cell John sends his disciples to present Jesus with a question. Through them John asks Jesus this curious question:…
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When considering any of Christ’s many miracles, one must first ask oneself this question: Why did Christ do such & such a miraculous work? Why did Christ engage in miracles at all? Could it have been, even partially, that he was revealing, or hinting perhaps, to things that were or were soon to be? Well,…
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Of God’s Ten Commandments one stands out uniquely from the other nine – and that commandment is the Fourth Commandment. As the Commandment is written: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God;…
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A few weeks ago during worship service I read the first Scripture reading for that day, John 2:13-22. The passage was about Jesus cleansing the temple. And, as I said at that time, it was about Jesus cleansing the temple the FIRST time! Yes, as I said then, the Scripture passage in John was about Jesus…
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Commentary on Acts 1:1-11 Among the many noteworthy points of interest in Acts 1:1-11 there are two I would like to comment on. The first is about how the author of Acts, the one and only Luke of the gospel of Luke, described Jesus’ ascension. Luke noted that Jesus was “lifted up” and “taken up.” Such language strongly implies…
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John (the Baptist) was in the wilderness baptizing at the Jordan river in the year that the prophet Daniel had written the Messiah of Israel would appear, a time late in 26 A.D. Many in Israel were also aware of Daniel’s prediction and were thus heading out into the wilderness in anticipation of the Messiah’s…
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A Wisdom “secret and hidden”
In 1 Corinthians, Chapter 2:6-8 , Paul shared with the Corinthians (and with us by extension) what he described as a wisdom from God – a wisdom “secret and hidden.” It was a wisdom that Paul declared was “not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish.” Again, Paul…
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