by Mike James As we hear news about wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, we forget there are other conflicts in places like Haiti, Myanmar, and Sudan. An armed conflict has been going on in Sudan for about the past year between Sudanese government forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The war started about a year ago due to a power struggle between the army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo. After President Omar al-Bashir was removed from power by a popular uprising in 2019, a transition government was taken out in a coup by al ..read more

The Bible refers to a change in predator behaviour. Lions start to act like sheep. What does this change mean? Why does God call his people sheep? Are sheep stupid? Does God think of you like a sheep? Could sheep behaviour be Godly behaviour? Could sheep behaviour indicate how the Kingdom of Heaven will operate? How will the millennium operate? How should the church operate? Tom, an Australian sheep farmer, will explore these questions and other points about sheep from the biblical perspective. Part One Part Two ..read more

by Mike James The Bible has a lot of positive things to say about patience. So does the world, as the title of this article mentions. A virtue is right or moral behavior, so I think it is important for us to develop our patience. One definition of patience is the ability to wait, or to continue doing something despite difficulties, or to suffer without complaining or becoming annoyed. Wow! Sounds like a tough assignment, but let's get a little deeper with patience. Romans 12:12 reads, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer" (NIV). Sometimes, being patient will include d ..read more

by Mike James One of the most talked about subjects, when Church of God folks gather, pertains to the question, When is the end coming? I've heard this topic discussed perhaps more than any other single topic during fellowship time. During my early years in the Church this topic was of extreme interest to me also, so much so that I kept scrapbooks with significant news stories. For a number of years in my early twenties, I would clip articles from newspapers that seemed to have some connection to the end times. I would clip articles about wars, crime, starvation—you name it—and tape these new ..read more

by James Fire Christian goals are mentioned throughout the Bible. Hebrews 11:13-16 describes those who embraced such goals that led them in faith. "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed they were strangers and pilgrims of the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly ..read more

by Mike James To better understand the Bible, it's important we understand the term hermeneutics. A basic definition for this term is the science and art of biblical interpretation. We can further break hermeneutics into two types: General and Special. General hermeneutics is the study of rules that govern the interpretation of the entire biblical text. Special hermeneutics is the study of rules that govern the interpretation of specific literary forms like parables, types, and prophecy. To assist you in performing proper hermeneutics, you will also study the canon of Scripture, which pertain ..read more

by Mike James One area of supposed Bible discrepancies pertains to numbers. We will investigate one today. Look at these two scriptures pertaining to the same event. 2 Samuel 8:4: "And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for an hundred chariots" (KJV). 1 Chronicles 18:4: "And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: David also houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them an hundred chariots" (KJV). Both of ..read more

by Mike James One of the great debates among Christians, philosophers, agnostics, atheists, and other believers in religion is the validity of the Bible. Many Christians would argue that the Bible is the inspired word of God. But even among Christians, there is disagreement. This is a deep subject, but I don't have time to fully develop it here. I just want to provide a little information to support the Church of God International's contention that the Bible is the inspired word of God. One reason I believe in the Bible is because Jesus did. Many New Testament scriptures make it clear that Ch ..read more

by Mike James In December 2023, two major Christian church groups began officially blessing same-sex couples. The Church of England began their practice on December 17, 2023. In February the Church voted to allow clergy to bless the unions of same-sex couples who have had civil weddings or partnerships. The words used for the blessings, known as prayers of love and faith, were approved by the church's House of Bishops on December 12, 2023. Not to be outdone, the Vatican announced on December 18, 2023, that Catholic priests may bless same-sex couples. The announcement states that the blessings ..read more

by Mike James Throughout my years in the Church of God, I have heard different ideas about the following scripture (Matthew 28:19): “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (KJV) “Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: (ASV) “having gone, then, disciple all the nations, (baptizing them -- to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, (YLT) The Greek word used here for “in,” “into,” and “t ..read more