Thinking about God, Jesus and The Big Questions

I had a revelation recently. In previous posts, I did not understand how people like Jesus's mother Mary and other people in the Bible had so much faith. When they were told there was a plan from God, OK, then it seems straightforward to have faith, but when things go wrong - like when there was no room at the inn for Mary - it's easy to have doubts. Yet Mary didn't doubt, she still had faith in God's plan. To me, that was (and still is) absolutely amazing. I'm certain I would have had a lot of doubts in her place. Yet recently, it was revealed to me that the ground is in fact rock-solid-steady during those times. It's that it only  seems less steady when something unexpected-to-us happens, like when there was no room at the inn for Mary. Still, God had made provision for her. None of this was unexpected to Him. If you know for sure you are doing something according to God's plan, then Satan will make the ground appear shaky. But actually, the grou...

I mentioned in a previous post how initially as a Christian I was rather grudging about prayer, and considered it more of a duty than anything I would willingly do. But, reading the Bible and praying and getting to know God better definitely had results that completely changed me! One Easter I realized I had changed a lot as a person: I was happy to take a 1-hour shift of prayer at Easter Vigil at the church ( you can read about that here ). This Easter, I'm looking forward again to praying - another reminder that I have changed so much. Some relatives of ours are going on a fun vacation over Easter. In the past, I probably would have felt rather jealous that they are going on vacation while we are not going anywhere. But actually I didn't feel the slightest bit jealous this year. Because I knew that I wanted to pray at Easter Vigil. I feel that Easter is the part of the year where there is a lot of spiritual danger in the world. I wanted to pray, mainly to be thankful and pr...

At the End of Days, there will be a situation where people are required by some power other than God to be marked on the right hand and forehead in order to buy or sell. See the verse below: Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. Revelation 13: 16-17 We don't yet know what form this mark will take (a tattoo? an implanted radio-frequency ID tag?). But to understand a little better the events leading up to this, let's read a little of the preceding context of the chapter: Then I saw another beast that rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed. It performs gre...

We live in a post-Fall existence.  We therefore cannot truly imagine what the Garden of Eden must have looked like before the Fall.  However, it must have been a beautiful, comfortable, and low-maintenance place to live.  There were no weeds or thistles, no poisonous plants.  Tending to the plants and obtaining nutrition from these plants was a straightforward business. Adam and Eve had never seen a weed or an unwanted, undesirable plant in their lives. All the plants there were beautiful and/or useful: The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2: 9 Unlike Adam and Eve at that point, we on the other hand, are all too familiar with  weeds.  They spring up much faster than the plants we are trying to cultivate, and will choke their growth and spread their seed quickly. ...

Spiritual warfare is a means of using God's love to resist evil. It is defensive, not offensive. The Bible reading below shows that there is a battle is fought over spiritual matters: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 5: 10-12 What do we do when we are under spiritual attack? The Bible reading below says we must use the armor of God: Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes...