The Bible talks about Israel's two great victories over the Philistines. One is the story of Jonathan, the son of Saul, who was the first king of Israel. Jonathan and his armor-bearer took on an outpost of about 20 Philistines and killed them all. But the amazing thing about the story is that Jonathan and the armor bearer had to climb up a mountainside to get to the enemy while the enemy taunted them. Neither Jonathan or the armor bearer were harmed, but fought and killed the Philistines. The second story is very well known. It's about David killing Goliath, ...

When God instructed Noah to make a boat called the "ark", He said, “Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.” (Genesis 6:14) Pitch was a black, sticky, tar-like substance that repelled water. In Genesis 6:14, the Hebrew word used for pitch is "kaphar'. Kaphar is the same word translated "atonement" in other places in the Old Testament. It means "covering". In Leviticus 17:11 it says, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the ...

In reality, when a person accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, that person is entering into a blood covenant relationship with God, the Creator of all that exists, has existed in the past, and everything to be created in the future. Christians may have missed the blessings of such a relationship. The blessings begin at salvation. Then we are given the assurance of even more blessings by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. The King James Version says it is, "the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." (2 Cor. 1:22) Here is what the Vines Expository Dictionary ...

2 Corinthians 5:20-21, “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” It is often taught by well-meaning pastors and teachers that Jesus was made to be “sin” for us, just as translated by the King James Version of the Bible. However, read the Expanded Translation of the New Testament by Kenneth S. Wuest: “Therefore, on behalf ...

I do not like heights. My wife and I were driving home one day and saw men working on a cell phone tower that must have been about 300 to 400 feet tall. They were dangling by harnesses but they didn’t seem to be afraid. I do not envy people who work in high places. I am reminded of a joke once told by a comedian in a movie many years ago. He was in danger and was told to climb up to safety, but he confessed, “I don’t like high places. They make me sick. I even get sick ...

Several years ago on a trip to Israel, Julie and I were able to go to the road leading to Emmaus from Jerusalem. I remember how beautiful it was in the particular spot where the guide explained how it was thought to be the approximate place where, after His resurrection, Jesus had walked with two disciples as He explained the fulfillment of scriptures "concerning himself". That had to be the best Bible study ever presented anywhere! The story is told in Luke 24:13-35. Only one name is mentioned of the two traveling disciples and that is Cleopas. Imagine yourself as ...

A verse of scripture that is sometimes taken out of context and used to implement a married life of domination of a husband over his wife is Ephesians 5:22-23 which states, "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body." My wife and I once had as friends a married couple in which the husband, a former pastor, used the above scripture to justify verbal and light physical abuse of the wife. It became ...

There is a saying about the Bible that goes like this, “The new in the old concealed, the old in the new revealed”.   That may not make sense to someone reading it for the first time, but it’s talking about the two divisions of the Bible, the Old Testament, and the New Testament.   There are prophecies in the Old Testament that are hidden or concealed, but with careful study, they are fulfilled, or revealed, in the New Testament. Some of the things that are hidden in the Old Testament are known as “types”, meaning a symbol, something that ...

Sometimes in the life of a Christian, a person comes along to whom it seems practically impossible to explain the love of God in such a way as to convince that person to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  It could be a lifetime friend, a sibling, a husband or wife, or any number of people who have become so set in their ways of the world the thought of changing their lifestyle is unthinkable.  To them, life is good, although lacking in spiritual aspects, materially they have most of what they want, but always lack and want ...

It is estimated there have been 1,522,881,319 worldwide abortions since 1980.  Pro-Life advocates see that as 1,522,881,319 dead babies, and rightfully so.  But it also means several women may be regretting their decision, one which in most cases was done at an early age and in a state of confusion, doubt, and grief. The good news is this, God is a forgiving God.  When we ask for forgiveness, and it’s done in sincerity, God not only forgives, but He forgets our sins. Psalm 103:12 says, “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the ...