Faith is so important to the believer in Christ. It’s by faith that we receive salvation. And it’s by faith that we live an obedient Christian life and survive the trials and storms that come against us. But how do we increase our faith? Did Jesus say anything about this? In this article we’ll see the connection between a strong faith and knowing God.
The gospel stories often include closeups of individuals that highlight their responses to Christ and his ministry. Mary of Bethany and Judas Iscariot were two followers of Jesus that had two greatly different responses. Matthew and John artfully contrasted them in their gospels to teach us some important lessons about faith, love, devotion, and obedience to God.
For centuries, God had promised a Messiah who would bring salvation and deliverance to the people. Toward the end of his public ministry, Jesus entered Jerusalem with his disciples to present himself as the humble King of the Jews, in fulfillment of those promises. His triumphal entry into Jerusalem was received well by many people but very poorly by others. Who were the people present that day and why did they respond the way they did?
Is there any evidence for the existence of God? If so, how can we find it? These questions, if asked and pursued sincerely, can lead one into a great body of knowledge and truth. I maintain there is strong evidence for God’s existence from logical, scientific and historical perspectives. If you are a skeptic or agnostic, my hope is that this article will persuade you.
Jesus’ parable of the shrewd manager is a great story with an important lesson. But it’s a difficult one for many people. In it, Jesus used a dishonest and conniving character to illustrate an important spiritual principle. Why would he do that? And what is the principle he’s teaching?
Faith is widely used word, and most people use it without even thinking. But it’s a very important word, so how should we define it? More importantly, what does it mean as it is used in the Bible? And why is this important to our relationship with God? Surprisingly, the biblical meaning is no different than how we most use it in everyday life.
Most of us know what patience is, even though we might not have much of it ourselves. We all really appreciate it when someone is patient with us. But for some reason we have a hard time remembering to be patient with others. Who is someone we can hold up as the supreme example of patience? Our Creator of course.
Serving God is one of the greatest privileges of the believer. We serve an awesome God, and the blessings are enormous. But it isn’t always easy. At times God’s servant can find that ministry can become a burden and personally unrewarding. The problems can seem much greater than the rewards. And serving God in humility is even more difficult, especially when conflicts or opposition come.
We all hate the word favoritism. And we resent those who are picked as favorites—in school, at work, or anywhere else. Why? Because we instinctively know that favoritism is unfair. The Bible teaches that God is impartial to all and that he shows no favoritism. So, if that’s true, why were the Israelites his “chosen people?” And how does this conform to the fact that only those who believe the gospel are saved?
To some people, the teachings of Jesus and those of the apostle Paul don’t always agree. Critics of the Bible and of the Christian faith like to point out what they see as glaring differences. Even solid believers are known to gravitate toward the teachings of either Jesus or Paul. But are Jesus and Paul really at odds? Is there a conflict between the two?
