Samantha Archives - Page 3 of 4 - As It Is in Heaven

August 2, 2021August 2, 2021

Zeal Without Knowledge…It’s Not Good – The Proverbs Series

zeal, passion, knowledge, God's word, Bible

It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.

Proverbs 19:2

The Zealous Enthusiast

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.

July 29, 2021April 9, 2022

Do I Really Need to Forgive People Who Hurt Me?

need to forgive, forgiveness, Jesus, God, debt, sin

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.

July 19, 2021July 20, 2021

Get Behind Me, Satan! How To Not Hinder God’s Work

hinder God's work, Satan, Jesus, Bible, God's work, God's will

“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.

July 8, 2021July 27, 2021

What’s God’s Favorite Crop? How To Be A Wheat-like Believer

wheat, good seed, God's seed, Bible, God's Word, heaven

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.

July 5, 2021July 5, 2021

A Closer Look: Daniel, the Faithful Prophet

Daniel, prophet, faithful, obedient, prophecy

Let’s set the scene. It’s approximately 600 B.C. and Babylon has attacked Judah and taken over, taking the Jewish people into Babylon as exiles. A command comes for the best among the nobility and royal family to be taken. The healthy, handsome, skillful, educated, quick learners. They were to be taken to serve in the King Nebuchadnezzar’s palace (Daniel 1:3-5). At this time, Daniel was one of those who was taken to the palace under this order. Besides fulfilling the above specifications, Daniel was also a prophet who could interpret dreams and is now well known for being faithful to God.

June 14, 2021June 29, 2021

Who Does God Want to Save? Just Christians or All People?

God save, God's will, Christianity, salvation

“It doesn’t matter. I’m going to hell anyway,” they say. Their faces tell it all, God hates me. God only cares about Christians. For one reason or another, many non-Christians often feel like God doesn’t care if they go to heaven or not. Like they’re on some blacklist with a sealed fate. But the truth is, God doesn’t only have Christians in His heart to save and redeem. He looks upon the whole world with this hope:

June 10, 2021June 10, 2021

A Closer Look: Abraham, the Father of Faith

Abraham, faith, obedience, God, covenant

For a long time growing up, I had very little connection to the Bible. Since the only real Bible we had was a King James version, as a child my reading plan always fell apart by the time I got to the Tower of Babel. And a children’s picture book of Old Testament stories could only take me so far. My knowledge was…vague at best. I could maybe recite a few key points regarding events of the Old Testament– often confusing Jonah with Noah. Regarding Abraham, I knew he had a son named Isaac…or was it Jacob? Or was he the one with twelve sons?

May 27, 2021November 8, 2021

Why Are the Pharisees the Bad Guys in the New Testament?

pharisees, bad guys, new testament, jesus

Heretic! Demon possessed! Liar!

A roar of countless voices hurls insults at Jesus. Hands grasping stones, prepared to throw. You’d maybe expect this kind of treatment for a cold-blooded criminal. But not for Jesus, the Son of God. Nevertheless, this is the kind of treatment he received when he went out to do the work of God. Most of us know that Jesus was not well-received during the time he was alive. But do you know who was to blame for Jesus’ treatment?

May 24, 2021May 23, 2021

The Danger of Adding Our Own Thoughts to the Bible

danger of adding our own thoughts, revelation, Bible, God, Jesus

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

Revelation 22:18-19

This passage comes as the very last warning written in the Bible. Scary, right?

The last thing God tells us is to not add or take away from His word, especially the prophecy of Revelation. If we take away from it, God will take away our place in the holy city, i.e. heaven, and if we add to it, He will add the plagues in the prophecy. Yikes.

May 10, 2021August 16, 2021

How is Your Spirit? Spiritual Plant Care 101

spiritual plant care, how is your spirit, faith, plant

From the title you can guess that this article will liken caring for our lives of faith to caring for a plant. But honestly–physical gardening? Hate it. No joke, it’s #2 on my list of things I hate to do. For those of you who, like me, can think of ten more exciting things to do than to watch grass grow, you might be flooded with images of pulling up never-ending weeds in the hot summer sun. Or lugging around a heavy bottle to give the plants water. Mom nagging you to cover them with a bucket at night.