Things NOT found in the Bible, part 3   Introduction When I first became a Christian back in 2001, I would try to discuss the bible with people at work and share what I learned by reading the scriptures. I’d inquire what church people go to, and their beliefs, and in the other the conversation usually concluded with the phrase; “You believe what you want to believe, and I’ll believe what I want to believe.” The way people say that, or the other phrase, “It doesn’t matter what church you go to, we all worship the same God,” makes me want to find those phrases in the bible. Hint: They’re not in there! These phrases, that people use, as if quoting scripture, is basically a way of telling me that this conversation is over and you won’t convince me that your way is right. Let’s see what the bible has to say in regards to these phrases.   What I believe First, let’s look at the phrase, “You believe what you want to believe, and I’ll believe what I want to beli...

  Things NOT found in the Bible, part 2   Introduction Growing up as a child of the 70s, one of the phrases I seemed to hear a lot is, “Money is the root of all evil”. Naturally, it is used in regards to someone being obsessed with it or deep in debt. However, when you really think about how we use it daily, the question to ask is, Is money evil?   What does the Bible Say? Normally, I would save this statement for later in the article but I’m sure, by now, that you’ve figured out that there is a similar verse in the bible. In 1 Timothy 6:10, the apostle Paul writes, For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.   In this verse, you will notice two things different from the statement above. First, Paul says the “love of money” not just money. Second, he states it’s the “root of all kinds of evil” not every form of evil. So, we can con...

  Things NOT found in the Bible, part 1   Series Introduction Over the next several weeks we’re going to ask the question, “Is that in the Bible?” We’ll look at some things that people think are in the bible and then we’ll look at some things that people may not have realized are in the bible. This first group are things that you won’t find in the bible.   Introduction Many statements people have made over the years they claim come from the bible; usually by saying, “That’s in the bible!” But when challenged, they couldn’t tell you where it’s found in the scriptures. One of the things that I’ve learned, early on when I became a Christian, is to demand book, chapter, and verse for the things that we believe in. If it is in scriptures, they should be able to show you where it is.   Wash Your Hands One of the first things we’re taught as children is to wash our hands before a meal. Even if we didn’t play outside, or get dirt on them, our mothers wo...

  Little Things, part 6   Introduction In 2020, planet Earth experienced one of the most devastating pandemics in its history. One of the governments’ solutions to this was for everyone to be in lockdown, or quarantine, for a period of 30 or more days. To be inside the same four walls day-in and day-out for any length of time can be tasking on the mind, body, and spirit. Imagine in the days of the bible; those who had leprosy. They were quarantined indefinitely, and with other lepers, as a cure was not available; aside from a miracle. Our “little thing” focuses on Jesus and a certain leper in Mark 1.   Lepers according to the Old Law I’ll spare the details of describing leprosy and those who had it. Rather, let’s turn to the Old Testament and see what The Law had to say. Leviticus 13 and 14 gives a detailed breakdown of the disease and what was to be done with the individuals. Let’s look specifically at Leviticus 13:46, "He shall be unclean. All the days he ...

  An article called They're Coming After Your Children

  Little Things, Part 5   Introduction Siblings always will try to blame the other for something that went wrong, especially if something gets broken in the process. They may be the one who broke it, but will blame the brother or sister because they were distracted. In my own household, it was always the older blaming the younger for things that go wrong. But what happens when they try to blame a parent? Don’t think it could happen? It is our “little thing” for this article.   In the Garden In the first three chapters of Genesis, we see the creation of the world and, specifically in chapter 2, the creation of man and woman. God put man in the garden to tend to it and in verses 2:16-17 He said, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” This is very straight-forward; dozens of trees to eat from; leave the one alone. To me, thi...

  Little Things, Part 4   Introduction I’m sure this has happened to you before. You’re running late and you’re driving to a business; you know is closing soon. It’s one of those, “It can’t wait until tomorrow” situations. As you get closer, time seems to speed up and then, when you arrive, the business had just closed. Imagine a similar scenario back in the time of Noah when he was preparing the ark for the 40-Day flood. In this article, we notice a “little thing” that some might simply take for granted.   Build Me an Ark Everyone should know the story of Noah when he was commanded to build the ark. The reason is given in Genesis 6:5-7, Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, bo...