Question: “I attend a church which is a part of the Assemblies of God. I am a Christian. My pastor and his family have taken a trip to Hawaii, Disneyland, Arizona, and to other places. The church and the AOG pay for these. We have people in our church who are struggling financially and there are families in our community who need help. Is it right for the pastor to take these trips? I am confused. Peace and Love and God`s Blessings to you.”
What does the Bible say about betrayal? What are some biblical examples of betrayal? And how can we avoid becoming a betrayer?
When answering questions like these, the name Judas is unavoidable. Judas will be forever remembered as “the betrayer.” So here are 3 biblical lessons we can learn from Judas that will help us be faithful disciples. If we want to avoid betrayal with God, in our marriages, and in all of our relationships, the Bible gives us the truth we need.
What does the Bible say about anger? It’s a poignant question considering the state of American affairs right now. I’m sure you’re as sick of talking about politics as I am after one of the most brutal Presidential elections in recent history, so I won’t turn this into another online vent sessions – God knows there’s enough of those at this moment in time.
But people are angry right now, on both sides of the political ticket and the ideological spectrum. So what does the Bible say about anger and bitterness? Where does anger come from and how can we manage it? Is trying to manage anger even biblical? Can we be angry without sinning?
There are already so many great books on Christian singleness. Just do a Google search on “books on Christian singleness,” “Christian books about being single,” “best books for Christian singles,” “Christian books on finding a spouse,” “finding a godly husband,” “how to be a Christian in college.”
The results will be endless.
I’m sure you will find a lot of helpful advice in these Christian books about singleness. However, most of these Christian books about being single focus on one aspect of singleness: your relationship with God, godly dating, finding contentment as a Christian single, how to find a Christian spouse, and other such topics.
I believe the Ultimate Guide to Christian Singleness is so special because it covers nearly every common question asked about singleness. I get right to the point in these thirty chapters. I don’t waste time with long stories. And I give you extremely practical steps to take in each of the four stages most Christian singles go through. It’s great for small group Bible studies or for individuals too.
If you want answers, this book on Christian singleness was written for you.
Below is the full description. I hope you enjoy it. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email me at MarkBallenger@ApplyGodsWord.com.
Hoping you find the love, security, and guidance you need during your season of Christian singleness.
For God’s glory and our good,
-Mark
Christian dating breakups are common. Most 20-to-30-somethings have been in multiple dating relationships. Not all breakups are because of sin. Maybe after time, the two of you just realized it wasn’t meant to be. Or perhaps some of those relationships were sinful and ended because God wasn’t in it.
Regardless of the reason for the breakup, the weeks and months that follow can feel like you just got shoved down a river without a rafting guide and now you need to figure out how to survive class V whitewater rapids on the fly.
Jesus doesn’t want that for you. While the Bible doesn’t talk about Christian dating breakups, it does talk a lot about forgiveness, healing, and living a healthy life for God’s glory.
So here are four quick biblical tips that will help prepare you for the future by helping you deal with any past breakups that were unhealthy.
In a broken world, there are endless needs. So how do we decide who to support, who to serve, who to lead, and who to give our time and resources to?
There is no hard and fast rule about such things in the Bible. We are told to take care of our families (1 Timothy 5:8), we are told to help support other Christians (Romans 12:13), and we are also told to show hospitality to strangers (Hebrews 13:2). But to what degree should we offer the help since the needs of the world can be endless?
“Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her.” – 2 Samuel 13:15
One common expression many Christians say is that we should all try to be balanced. But what does being balanced really mean? And what does the Bible say about being balanced?
In one sense this is not a hard question. As Christians, we should be “balanced” in such a way where we are level headed, not overly dogmatic, and respectful of other people’s beliefs even if we don’t hold them ourselves.
Christians should also be balanced in that we should not hone in on one doctrine, trying to make the Bible and the Christian faith all about this one point, for as John Stott said, “Every heresy is due to an overemphasis upon some truth, without allowing other truths to qualify and balance it.”
Jesus spoke to the masses, he visited towns because that’s where the people were, and every Christian is told to make disciples of all nations. Like Jesus, to love well, we must go where the people are.
In response to growing up in a dead church environment where the deeds often didn’t match the words, there is a movement in the American Church towards emphasizing social justice. If you ask most people about why they don’t like Christianity, hypocrisy is the number one answer. Nobody wants to be fake. It makes sense, then, of why Christians are seeking to live out their faith by helping the poor and less fortunate (besides the biblical command to do so).
This is right. Jesus clearly healed the sick, provided food for the hungry, and had a special affection for orphans and widows due to their helplessness. James 1:22, 27 states, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. . . . Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
Jesus Actually Healed Less So He Could Preach More
With all of that said, helping people with their physical needs is not the main point of Christianity.
The difference between teen romance and a deeply committed marriage is persevering faithfulness. When you date, you are gauging whether or not you want to remain with that person. When you get married, your only thought is to remain, love, and be faithful no matter what happens. Likewise, to be Christian, you must move past the dating season and fully commit to your marriage with God.