Thinking about God, Jesus and The Big Questions

In Isaiah 19, there is a reference to the "language of Canaan" being spoken in Egypt in the future. From what Bible scholars say, the language of Canaan is a type of Hebrew language (see reference 1). It's the language that the Hebrews spoke in the land of Canaan. Let's take a look at what is actually said in Isaiah. In it, there is a clear prophecy of a time in the future where the Nile is dried up: The waters of the Nile will be dried up, and the river will be parched and dry; its canals will become foul, and the branches of Egypt’s Nile will diminish and dry up; reeds and rushes will rot away. There will be bare places by the Nile, on the brink of the Nile; and all that is sown by the Nile will dry up, be driven away, and be no more. Those who fish will mourn; all who cast hooks in the Nile will lament, and those who spread nets on the water will languish. The workers in flax will be in despair, and the carders and those at the loom ...

It's clear when Solomon asked God for wisdom, that this was pleasing to God.  The book of Proverbs covers a lot about the importance of wisdom. Solomon was the wisest man in the world. Because the wisest man in the world was clear about the importance of wisdom, it should be even more important to us (who are in more need of it than Solomon). All wisdom comes from God. Therefore, praying for more wisdom will always be a good prayer and is in keeping with what God wants for us anyway. Then it occurred to me - why not ask for the same for our bodies? We should not automatically assume that our bodies have to only go in one direction: downhill, as we age. Even though this happens a lot, we shouldn't just assume it's inevitable.  Of course, we needn't be foolhardy either and refuse to make useful changes as we age! If sometime in the future I get to the point that I'm struggling to mow the lawns, I'm hoping that I'll realize it's time to either hire a lawn ...

The Bible makes many consistent prophecies about the end of the world. It will not end peacefully with a reverse Adam and Eve, no matter how much I want it to.  By "reverse Adam and Eve", I mean a gradual decline in population until only 1 man and 1 woman are left, both of which do not procreate. I used to wish for this type of ending of the human race because it seemed peaceful. But this wouldn't even be a peaceful ending anyway, because a constant long-term aging population results in all kinds of demographic problems - they're just different problems than a young population would have. So, no matter how good it sounds to have the human race dwindle away until no-one is left, it a) is clear from the Bible this isn't the way the human race ends on Earth, and b) it wouldn't really be a peaceful way for the human race to go anyway because there would be a lot of social problems with such a top-heavy demographic composition. How does the human race on Earth end ...

Most of the book of Proverbs was thought to be written by King Solomon, who was the wisest man who ever was or will be. The rest of its authorship is thought to be from other Jewish people as the accumulated wisdom of the people.  This book is very valuable. Not only does it contain wisdom that is available to all of us today, but also, the more I read it the more I see it as perhaps the most subversive book of the Bible, which I have written about here .  Many people don't always avail themselves of this source of wisdom, even in instances when they are seeking wisdom from other sources (e.g. self-help books, financial savviness books, etc).  The book of Proverbs does not need to be the only book we read to gain wisdom, but it should certainly be one of them! For where else can we get the words of the wisest man who ever lived, in addition to the accumulated wisdom of others? There are several things which are repeated multiple times in Proverbs. Since they are repeate...

Most people are familiar with at least some of the content of the end time prophecies in the books of Daniel, Revelation, and some of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).  Yet Isaiah also had a very specific prophecy about Egypt: 1 An oracle concerning Egypt. See, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud      and comes to Egypt; the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,      and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. 2  I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,      and they will fight, one against the other,      neighbour against neighbour,      city against city, kingdom against kingdom; 3  the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out,      and I will confound their plans; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead      and the ghosts and the familiar spirits; 4  I will delive...

To say that Jeremiah had a difficult life is no understatement. God tasked him with telling the people of Israel what God had to say. Much of it was warnings. Jeremiah did this, but the people wouldn't listen to him. Instead they persecuted him. None of this stopped Jeremiah though. He remained faithful to the Lord and did everything that was required of him. Indeed, he even went what most people would consider above and beyond - he interceded for the people to the Lord as shown in the Bible: Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look around and take note! Search its squares and see if you can find one person who acts justly and seeks truth— so that I may pardon Jerusalem. Although they say, ‘As the Lord lives’, yet they swear falsely.  O Lord, do your eyes not look for truth? You have struck them, but they felt no anguish; you have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refus...

This question had puzzled me for a long time. If Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, why did he later stray from God? Surely being so wise, he could see that it was important to be close to God? Luckily, our pastor happened to work this question into a sermon.  Yes, Solomon was wise, but he was human just like the rest of us. All of us are temped to stray away from God. And all of us are able to resist that temptation - when we ask for help from God. In fact, the question of why Solomon strayed from God is not even the right question. In reality, we should be asking ourselves "If Solomon is so wise yet strayed from God, then how do we, as less wise people, avoid straying from God?" It is clear from the Bible that Solomon did not wake up one day and say "OK, from now on I'll disobey God." It wasn't sudden like that. It was a gradual slow ignoring of God, by degrees. He married wives who followed other gods, which influenced his views gradually. This w...