Question: How can I truly listen to God? Listening to God's voice is something we learn to do over time. It is different from learning to ..read more

Q: Is getting a vaccine an act of unbelief in Jesus' healing power? What is the biblical view on this issue? EDITOR'S NOTE: This question is NOT about the Covid-19 vaccine. Pastor Paul is responding to a general question about vaccines, medicines and doctors and how such things fit into a life of faith.  What might be an act of unbelief for one person isn't necessarily an act of unbelief for another. It all comes down to the heart. For example, one man may submit to a surgical procedure but place himself completely in the hands of God for the outcome, while another man has the same proce ..read more

Why is the Apostle John known as the beloved? Why does Scripture tend to lead us to believe Jesus loved John more than the other disciples? It's true that John referred to himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved" on several occasions. But here are some important facts: First of all, John is the only one who uses this title for himself, so, technically speaking, he wasn't "known as the beloved" — it's simply a kind of nickname he applied to himself. But the next fact is that John never explains why he uses that title nor does he explain what it means.  I think we can be absolutely certa ..read more

Q&A: Matthew and Luke give very different genealogies for Jesus in their Gospel accounts. I've heard you say that Matthew is recording Joseph's lineage while Luke is recording Mary's. What proof do we have that this is correct? While I personally believe that Luke is giving our Lord's maternal genealogy through Mary, my position is based on clues rather than proof. And yet, I believe those clues are compelling. The key is that Matthew and Luke each give a different name for the father of Joseph. Matthew says Joseph’s father was Jacob (Matthew 1:16), while Luke says it was Heli (Luke 3:23 ..read more

The reason you're struggling with this question is entirely understandable. We don't call it the mystery of the incarnation for no reason. But the truths that we see in God's Word concerning Jesus and His coming to earth are not for the mind. Rather they are truths for the heart. We accept them because they are revealed in His Word. And what we see is this: Jesus is CLEARLY declared as "God" in several places in the New Testament. (John 1:1, Titus 2:13, 1 John 5:20, Colossians 2:9. Hebrews 1:3 and many, many more.) Also, Jesus made statements that NO ONE could make except God. One of the clea ..read more

Navigating the biblical command to honor one’s parents can create real challenges for adults. The exhortation from God’s Word is clear (Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:2) but the application can be difficult. Some labor under memories of abuse or neglect from their parents. Some, who’ve had attentive parents, are simply engaged with the demands of their own family. Parents ought to be a blessing in the lives of their married children, but this isn’t always the case. It’s not uncommon for me to hear about parents making demands of their married children, using the biblical command to honor one’s par ..read more

Q:I was watching your teaching on Jonah tonight and it touched on something that has recently started confusing me. I always hear people saying Jesus rose on the 3rd day, and to me it always seemed that he died on the cross on Good Friday and rose from the dead early on resurrection Sunday. To me that always seemed like two days. And in Matthew 12:38-39 Jesus even said, "For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” So, was it two or three days? For modern readers of the Bible ..read more

Q: The more that I learn about the sovereignty of God the more it seems like prayer can’t actually change things. The thought comes to my mind that it’s okay to not spend time in prayer because His will is going to happen anyway. Yes, our God is sovereign, but you're forgetting a few things about both God's sovereignty and prayer: 1. In His sovereignty, God created mankind with a freewill. That freewill doesn't override God's sovereignty but it works within it and our prayers can make a difference in our own and other people's lives. 2. Because God is sovereign, He has given into the hands of ..read more

QUESTION: What would you say to the person who is fearful of praying against God's will—His plan for their life? A: I would begin by cautioning against giving in to irrational fears and anything that could be exploited by the enemy. Next, I would encourage a deeper understanding of God's Word that would supplant the places where this kind of fear might choose to dwell. The idea that a person can pray themselves out of the will of God is a diabolical thought that is sure to steal both the pleasure and the intimacy of prayer. God wants you and I to come to Him and pour out our hearts, and you c ..read more

Q: What about the Apocrypha? Are there really lost books of the Bible? A: For those who may not know, the word apocrypha means "hidden" and when we talk about the Apocrypha we're referring to a collection of writings that are not found in the Bible. The apocryphal books were written primarily during the intertestamental period — roughly 400 years between the Old and New Testaments. The books of the Apocrypha include 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, the Letter of Jeremiah, Prayer of Manasseh, 1 Maccabees, and 2 Maccabees, as well as additions t ..read more