Who Am I? Part 4   Introduction I was born and raised in the denominations, “baptized” as an infant, and all that time I thought I was a Christian simply because I went to church and led a relatively good life. But when I sat down and actually studied with someone, I realized that I wasn’t a Christian; even though I was “baptized” as a baby. There was more to it than just a little sprinkling of water.   Obedience to God When I first moved out here to Arizona, I couldn’t believe the number of churches (denominations) that were in existence. I said to myself, “There is no way that all of these churches can be right.” Instead of looking for answers, I stopped going to church altogether. I didn’t understand that the bible had those answers. I assumed the bible was just another history book that covered information from Creation to the end of the first century more or less. In September, 2001 I obeyed the gospel and became a New Testament Christian. It wasn’t difficult at

  Who Am I? Part 3   Introduction There are some in the religious world who view the bible in two ways. The Old Testament is a book of Law, and the New Testament is a book of Love. The latter, meaning that since the Old Law was taken out of the way and nailed to the cross (Col. 2:14), we aren’t under any sort of law even today. People will go one step further and state that God’s love is unconditional. We’ll look at both of these aspects and show, from scripture, that there is law and God’s love does come with conditions.   God’s Conditional Love in the Old Testament When you follow the story of Abraham (Gen. 12ff), to Isaac (Gen. 17ff), to Jacob (Gen. 25ff), to his 12 Sons, you know that God had plans for a special people; His chosen people. He gave them the law; initially the ten commandments and others as well (see Leviticus) as they were His chosen people because He loved them. It's not that He didn’t love the rest of creation, but He chose this specific group

  Who Am I? Part 2   Introduction Most of us should be familiar with the children’s song, Jesus Loves Me. The last line of the chorus is, The Bible tells me so. And this is how we know that God, and Jesus, loves us. We simply can’t assume based on the premise that since God exists, and created us, therefore He loves us. To understand it fully, we must go to God’s word.   The Things God has done for Us He Gave us a Place to Live— In Gen. 1, the creation chapter, we know that God loves us because He gave us a place to live. Air to breathe, food to grow and eat, animals for food and clothing, and the intelligence to care for ourselves. He Gave us a Soul— And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed (Genesis 2:7-8). The soul is what separates us from animals. We think, we reason, and we emote.

  Who am I? Part 1   Introduction During the time of creation, in the book of Genesis, it is written, Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them (Genesis 1:26-27). This, of course, is what sets us apart from the rest of God’s creation. We are made in His image therefore was are the primary of all creation.   Not the Physical Form There are some who think that if we are made in God’s image than He must have had a (insert physical oddity); be it: big ears, large nose, huge hands, etc. But that’s not it. It’s the moral code that is part of our souls. Even those who claim to be atheists have a moral code. They understand right from wrong and won’t upset the balance of t

  You might recall, late last year, I did a series on miracles. Today's bible article features the discussion of miracles; particularly snake-handling as referenced in Mk. 15:20. You can read the article by clicking HERE .

  Series Introduction   Introduction Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and asked the question, “Who am I?” You have a name, family, ethnic background, etc. But do you really know who you are? We’ll look at four aspects to answer this question, and I’ll be using myself as the example.   I Thought I knew As children, adults always ask the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” For most of us, our answer changes year by year. I, personally, wanted to be a professional baseball player but I don’t really like sports. In College, I wanted to be a computer programmer but I wasn’t very good at math; not to mention that I flunked out in two classes that were part of my major. While in college, I took an aptitude test that I should be in the television industry. I took the courses and then got a job with a local TV station, but it didn’t pan out in the long run. When I became a Christian in September 2001, that was when I realized who I was. It all ca