If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
Proverbs 25:21
While it’s important to take care of the physical needs of people–even our enemies–you may be surprised to hear that there’s more to this proverb of King Solomon.
Continue reading “Food We Should Give to Our Enemies – The Proverbs Series”
“A gentle tongue is a tree of life,
but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.”
Proverbs 15:4
A “tree of life” most likely makes you think of the Garden of Eden. But what does it mean that a gentle tongue is a “tree of life?”
Our words can hurt, or they can heal. They can build others up, or tear them down. I’m sure you’ve been hurt by what someone has said at some point in your life. And maybe you have even hurt others with your own words. On the other hand, I’m sure you’ve been encouraged by others’ words and you have encouraged others also.
Continue reading “Is Your Tongue a Tree of Life? – The Proverbs Series”
It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.
Proverbs 19:2
Zeal is defined as enthusiasm, passion, eagerness in pursuit of something–fervor. Maybe you’re a Christian trying to share the gospel. Or rather, maybe you’re someone who wants to help the poor, or work for a world of justice. But if we do these things without sound knowledge of what we’re doing, it’s no good. We might even end up doing the opposite of what we intended, or missing the mark.
Continue reading “Zeal Without Knowledge…It’s Not Good – The Proverbs Series”
People do bad things. Nothing new there. We’ve been wronging each other for thousands and thousands of years. Me too–I’ve done my share of things that hurt others and I’ve also been wronged. And for the first time, I think I can safely assume that you as well have been on the giving and receiving ends of wrongdoing.
Where am I going with this? The concept of forgiveness.
Continue reading “Do I Really Need to Forgive People Who Hurt Me?”
If you grew up in the United States and are old enough to remember the ‘90s, then you may recall a show named, “Touched by an Angel.” It was a popular Christian family drama that ran from the mid-‘90s to the early 2000s.
The concept of “guardian angel” is a popular belief in many Christian communities. And this TV show used that idea for their basic plotline. If you’re not familiar with the show, it centers around three angels (disguised as normal people) who help others during difficult times in their lives. The main character of each episode doesn’t realize they had been touched or helped by an angel until the end of each episode when the angels reveal themselves to be messengers sent by God.
Continue reading “Touched By An Angel: A Look At God’s Heavenly Workers”
“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”
Revelation 3:15-16
To be spat out. Well, that’s serious business. When would one use such uncomfortable words? Wouldn’t it be when we’re disgusted by something? When we’re at a point when we can’t hold something any longer and have to get rid of it?
So why would these words come from Jesus? This warning of calling it quits, this threat to reject. What kind of people would make Jesus say this? From the verse above, we can see that it’s those who are lukewarm. Let’s see what this means.
Continue reading “Don’t Be Lukewarm! How To Not Get Spat Out By Jesus”
“Get behind me, Satan!” These were words that Jesus spoke to his own disciple, Peter. Undoubtedly, Jesus was known for being sharp with his words, but doesn’t it seem a little extreme to call a disciple, who left everything to follow you, ‘Satan?’ But unfortunately for him, Peter had done something to hinder God’s work. Let’s take a closer look at the situation.
Continue reading “Get Behind Me, Satan! How To Not Hinder God’s Work”
In today’s world, we are all about inclusivity. We don’t want to alienate people or make them feel left out or bad. That’s a great thing when dealing with people in our daily lives. We should be loving and accepting of others. We can share information and knowledge with people we meet and form relationships with them.
But if you had a deep secret, you wouldn’t want to tell just anybody, right? You would only tell the people you trust. If you told just anyone, that person could tell someone else and then your secret is no longer a secret. We all have things we would only tell to people we trust. God has those things, too.
Continue reading “Would Jesus Choose to Explain the Secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven to You?”
If you have been around the church for a while, you’ve probably heard about the ‘Ten Commandments’ or the Law that God gave to the Israelites. Introducing these Laws of the Old Testament brought about a great shift in the way people at the time lived their lives. Now, there was a clear line between right and wrong. Now they had to be mindful and self-controlled about every decision they made.
Continue reading “Why Don’t We Follow the Laws of the Old Testament?”
You guys are like…really into wheat…
…says a friend who clicked around on the As It Is in Heaven blog. You’ve probably also noticed the trend. Now I like wheat as much as the next person, but our styling and content isn’t coming from an individual wheat obsession. As always, there’s a biblical reason.
Continue reading “What’s God’s Favorite Crop? How To Be A Wheat-like Believer”