Was Jesus in the Tomb for 72 Hours?
John asks, Was Jesus in the tomb for 3 entire days (72 hours,) or just parts of 3 days (Friday evening, the entire Sabbath, and the morning of Sunday)? Is the Apostles Creed correct in saying, “On the third day He arose from the dead…”? This starts to drive me into all kinds of timeline questions. If […]
Using What We Have Been Given (Rom 8:11)
All of us have probably tackled a job without realizing that we had a tool right next to us that would have made the job much easier. In fact, because we did not use that tool, we may not have been able to complete the job at all. Only later did we realize that we […]
Do We Have a Skewed View of What Death Is?
At a recent conference a question came up about the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. What happened when Jesus died? Was He really dead? Well, of course He was dead. If He had not died on the cross for our sins, and if He had not remained dead for three days before He arose, […]
When Being Young Is an Advantage (Luke 1:38)
The Bible clearly teaches that a young believer should learn from those who have been in the faith for a long time. Many older believers have a deeper understanding of God’s Word. Young believers, not knowing what the Scriptures say, will often make poor decisions. They do unwise things and need time to grow and […]
Glad Tidings of Great Grief?
Every year my mother and I make handmade Christmas ornaments for our church. It’s a long-standing tradition. They may be hand painted, cross stitched, beaded, or made from simple paper. Whatever the medium, they’re always made with love and the joy of the season. In 2020 however, Christmas hit a little differently. We often hear […]
The Young Woman Who Pondered
It’s Christmastime, which means that most of us are once again reading the Biblical accounts of the Lord’s birth. As we think about these accounts, many of us will turn our gaze to Mary, the mother of Jesus. As a general rule, there is an overemphasis and even a glorification of Mary at Christmas. The […]
The Most Attractive Person that Ever Lived (Isaiah 53:2)
Recently, I was talking with a friend who worked with the ministry called Young Life. It is an organization that focuses on young people. Its founder was Jim Rayburn. My friend told me that Rayburn often began his messages to teenagers with a statement that would get their attention. He would say, “Jesus Christ is […]
Getting the Message Out (Mark 1:44-45)
One of the strange things about the earthly ministry of the Lord is that He often told people not to tell others about the miracles He did. To our minds, this seems counterproductive. Why wouldn’t the Lord want people to know about Him? Why would He tell people not to proclaim what His power had […]
What Is Heresy?
The word heresy refers to any teaching that is contrary to the official teaching of the church. So it would seem a simple matter to identify heretical teaching. Just compare all teachings to the official standard. But therein lies the problem with identifying heretical teaching. Which church’s official dogma is to be held up as […]
Happy Hanukkah? Should Christians Be Happy about Hanukkah?
By Dix Winston Hanukkah, also called the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish festival celebrating the time when Israel gained independence from Greece and, beginning on the 25th of Chislev, the subsequent rededication of the temple. This year, Hanukkah will be celebrated December 18-26. The temple had to be rededicated because Antiochus Epiphanes had […]