Should We Try and Pay God Back?

by

paying God back

“He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”-Luke 14:12-14

“For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.-Romans 15:8-9

Should we try and pay God back for all the good he’s done for us? We should not try to pay God back because this would be an attempt to steal God’s glory.

Rather, we should now serve him because it benefits us, glorifies him, and is a proper response of thankfulness towards God’s free gift of grace given to us through Christ Jesus.

Read more

The Top 7 Social Media Pitfalls Healthy Christians Avoid Like the Plague

by
christians social media
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. – Ephesians 4:29

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.

Read more

What’s More Important, Preaching or Helping People With Practical Needs?

by
preaching practical needs
And Jesus said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I have come.” Mark 1:38

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.

Read more

What’s the Point of Reading the Bible?

by
Why Should I read the Bible every day
Psalm 119

The Bible has never been more available to people. For example, by simply clicking on BibleGateway.com or downloading the free app, you can have every version of the English Bible right in your pocket.

But no matter how many options we have to read the Bible, we never will read it unless we know why we should. So what’s the point of reading the Bible? If you can’t answer the question, “Why should I read the Bible?” odds are you probably won’t read it.

Read more

Is It Wrong to Want to Be Married?

by
is it wrong to want to be married Christian singleness
Philippians 3:1

Some Christians are called to singleness. These types of people are typically quite content with not being in a romantic relationship, they don’t struggle with sexual temptation, and their desire for singleness is rooted in their desire to serve God.

Most Christians who are single, however, don’t fall into this category. The vast majority of us have not been blessed with the gift of singleness. One lie churches often unintentionally teach Christian singles is that it’s not okay to be discontent with their singleness. Through well meant teachings and seminars on how Christian singles must find all their contentment in Christ, people often end up feeling guilty for being unhappy about their lack of marriage. Many people feel it is wrong to want to be married.

Read more

What Does the Number Three Mean in the Bible?

by
meaning of three in Bible
Matthew 16:21, Acts 2:23-24

God reveals his power in many ways, but one of those ways is by prophesying what’s going to happen and using specific numbers repeatedly, such as the number three.

Biblical Numerology is the study of numbers in the Bible. Many times when we start studying numbers in the Bible, we get off track because it often times requires us to make inferences at the meaning of these numbers. Most times the Bible does not explain why certain numbers are used in certain situations.

So when studying the numbers mentioned in the Bible, like the number three, we must be careful to only draw conclusions that are obvious and supported by other parts of Scripture.

Read more

Are You Dating or Married to God?

by
married to God
Isaiah 62:5, Mark 10:9

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.

Read more

How to Love Your Enemies

by
how to love your enemies Christianity bible verses
-1 Samuel 24:12,13

If you could, you’d make sure everyone was happy with you. Normal people don’t want other people to hate them. But no matter how hard we try, eventually someone becomes our enemy.

You don’t have to hate someone for them to be your enemy. They just have to hate you. Romans 5:8, 10 explains, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. . . . For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”

God didn’t hate us. He loved us. But the Bible says we were his enemy. Likewise, even if you don’t hate anyone on earth, this does not mean you don’t have enemies. As hard as we try, some people just don’t like us. They may hate you for your faith, your skin color, your gender, or just for the sound of your voice. Sinners sin, and often times sin comes in the form of hate.

We all have enemies. So what are we to do?

Read more