God’s ways are higher than ours   God is transcendent and exists beyond the physical universe we live in. His ways are higher than ours and his thoughts are high above ours. But in what way are his thoughts and ways higher? Can we ever hope to understand him? Do his ways even make any sense to us? Or does he operate by a completely different logic as some Bible teachers claim? In Isaiah we find the following familiar verse: ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9) Misusing God’s Word Sadly, some pr ..read more

Let us return to the Lord: Hosea’s plea   During the 8th century B.C.  God sent the prophet Hosea to the house of Israel. Hosea’s mission was to call the people to repent of their idolatry, cruelty, and injustice, and to return to God. His impassioned pleas to this wayward people reflected his own tragic relationship with his wife, who he was trying to bring back from a life of adultery and prostitution. His message is also relevant to us today, as God is still calling people to abandon their godless lifestyles and turn back to him.   Hosea’s history Hosea lived during the final ..read more

How God answers prayer   Jesus taught that God hears and answers our prayers because he cares for us. But how does God answer prayer? In other words, how do we know when he is answering? Does he always answer in the way we expect? Jesus’ promise to his disciples was simple: If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.  (Matthew 21:22) But how is his promise to be understood? Some people take this to be God’s only teaching regarding prayer, meaning he will give us anything we want without limit. The problem with this is demonstrated by the following tru ..read more

Paths to God’s Wisdom   Life is so full of challenges and difficulties, but also many opportunities. How do we make our way through this world and choose the best path with all of the perils and obstacles in our way? God has given us intelligence to solve problems and find answers to our questions. But we need more than intelligence to succeed, flourish, and to live a safe and fruitful life that pleases God. For those, we need wisdom. So, what is wisdom and how do we acquire it? What are the paths we can take to find wisdom?   What is wisdom? Wisdom is taking knowledge and applying i ..read more

Pure and Faultless Religion—James 1:27   There are so many religious people in the world. Some practice religion only as a social obligation while others practice their faith with complete sincerity and conviction. But sincerity and conviction don’t make one’s religious practice pure or good. Some beliefs and practices are inherently impure and corrupt. Throughout history misguided religion has been the source of much evil in the world. We find strange, questionable, or fruitless practices even among Christians. Is there such a thing as pure religion? The Bible says that there is, and it ..read more

Who are the elect in the New Testament?   The word elect generates a lot of discussion and debate in the Christian church. Both Jesus and the apostles use the term in their teachings. So, who are the elect in the New Testament? The term “chosen” is used even more in the Bible.  Are the elect and the chosen the same? Standard definitions According to most dictionary definitions, the elect are people who are chosen or singled out. We elect officials to fulfill certain specific roles in the government. The president elect is the person the people choose to be president. So, practically ..read more

Jesus’ Parable of the Prodigal Son   The parable of the prodigal son is perhaps the most touching of Jesus’ parables. It’s the story of a wayward son and his reconciliation with his father. Jesus told it to illustrate how a sinful person is reconciled to God. But it just rebellious and irresponsible people that need to hear this? Or does the story relate to everyone? This is the last of Jesus’ “lost” parables of Luke chapter 15: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and now the lost son.   The prodigal son’s decision In many of his parables, Jesus uses stark contrasts to illustrate his poin ..read more

Predestination in the Bible     Many Christians stay away from the subject of predestination because they see it as controversial and think that discussing it only leads to disagreement and conflict. Others put it into the “things I will not understand until heaven” category. But predestination is an important Christian doctrine and a great consolation to believers if understood correctly. So, what is predestination in the Bible?   Popular understanding of predestination Most dictionary definitions of predestination follow the definition associated with Augustine, John Calvin, a ..read more

Whatever is true, noble, right, and pure   The world is so full of human conflicts, failure, and negativity. And personal problems and disappointments can assault our lives. How can we be free from the constant chaos that floods human existence? Is there a way we can rise above it all and live in peace? A good start would be to heed the apostle Paul’s practical wisdom in Philippians 4:8—thinking about whatever is true, noble, right, and pure. Pleasing God in our thought life God has sovereignly given humans the ability to choose what to think about. If he hadn’t, we would be at the mercy ..read more

Jesus the Good Shepherd   Our need for a shepherd Many of us, when we consider our lives, the problems we have, and the pain we suffer, wonder: “Where is God?” and “Does God care for me?” We may have anxiety and fear from all of the uncertainties we face or just be disoriented from the chaos of life. Some of us have intentionally taken wrong and destructive paths and are suffering from it. Whatever our condition, we are all in need of a shepherd—one who cares for us, leads us, and protects us from danger. And not just any shepherd, but Jesus the good shepherd. Much of the isolation and di ..read more