Stairway to Heaven
In this Easter season, Jesus’ time after the Resurrection gives us clues as to the gift of access to heaven promised us. God WANTS to have us as brothers and sisters, and that opportunity is offered to EVERYONE who chooses to trust God. Let's check out the ramifications of that access.
Is the Bible racist?
Since the concept of races is a misnomer propagated by the theory of evolution, we need to clearly understand the foundation of the human population on the earth – ONE HUMAN race. All people on the earth are actually ONE color – brown! And that brown manifests itself in many varieties from the beginning, when Adam and Eve carried the genetic variables within their genome. Light brown, dark brown, medium brown, and all the tints in between – the earth is full of wonderful and beautiful displays of skin color.
And did you know that Abraham and Mosses both had dark-skinned wives? The only "race", the only "unequally yoked" prohibition according to the Bible is between Believers and Non-Believers. Let’s explore.
FEAR – is it a GOOD thing, or a BAD thing?
The emotion of fear, the quality of being afraid seems to be built in to our character make-up from the beginning. So, it is a good thing, or a bad thing? Does fear protect us? Or is it a hindrance to our well-being?
And, how does the FEAR of God compare to our other fears? Does our fear of authority, or our fear of punishment protect us? Let’s check it out.
Spiritual Battles
Did you know that there are dozens and dozens of verses in the Bible that talk about spiritual beings, unseen forces, principalities and authorities. who are actively fighting against God and our potential relationship with Him?
We do not seem to talk about this much in church settings, but the verses are there. And it seems to be good strategy to KNOW you enemy and the schemes that are being actively used against you.
1 Peter 5:8-9
“But stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the WORLD are going through many of the same kind of sufferings that you yourselves are experiencing.”
Let’s explore some of these spiritual battles, those that Believers in the past experienced, as well as discussing what kind of tools we can used to fight spiritual battles in our own lives.