Christian Living Archives - Page 10 of 53

March 3, 2022March 2, 2022

What Does Your Faith Do For You?

No matter who you are, you live your life based on faith. I don’t mean just religious faith, but belief in things that are the foundation of how you live and make decisions. We must determine whether that faith is justified no matter what we put our faith in. So what does your faith do for you?

In our age, many people have rejected faith in God, but what has replaced that faith? The longer I live, the more times I have found my faith in something or someone was not justified. People I have had faith in have let me down. When the object of their faith crashes, including stock markets and marriages, some people take their own lives.

We all must ask if the things we have faith in relieve our fearfulness. It is hard not to be fearful when we see the political chaos in America and war in the world. If we have faith in the dollar, the effect of inflation can challenge that faith. Faith in a person can sometimes be ill-advised because people are prone to failure. Sometimes a marriage ends in divorce because faith in a person’s mate is destroyed by behaviors.

What does your faith do for you? The history of Israel was disastrous, and Deuteronomy 32:16-20 indicates it was because they failed to have faith in God. Jesus talked about the power of faith in Matthew 17:16-20 when He said that faith the size of a tiny seed could move the mountains we face in life. In Mark 4:34-41, when Jesus calmed the sea, He asked His followers why they were fearful. “How is it that you have no faith?” He asked.

If we base our faith on people or emotions, we are likely to fail. Instead, we must build our faith on evidence. A study of Thomas’ faith in John 11:16 and 20:24-28 shows that he based his faith on evidence. The purpose of this site is to help searchers find faith. I don’t mean just emotional faith but faith based on the evidence of God’s creation and design in all aspects of life.

No philosophy or belief system other than Christianity can produce stability in life and the ability to do things you never thought would be possible. Hebrews 11 gives us a picture of the role faith played in the lives of biblical people. Let me ask, “What do you place your faith in, and what does your faith do for you?”

February 23, 2022February 22, 2022

Grow Your Faith in God

In today’s world, many people are asking for more faith. Jesus never treats faith as a commodity. You don’t pour faith into someone like water in a glass. Faith is a part of our thinking and our education. Faith is something that needs to be fed and nurtured. What do you do to nurture and grow your faith, and what does Satan use to defeat your faith?

In Luke 4, we read of Satan’s attempt to destroy the faith of Jesus. The temptations that didn’t work against Jesus are the same ones Satan uses on each of us. The first thing Satan did was tempt Christ with physical cravings. Jesus had not eaten for 40 days, and He was hungry. Satan knows when we have physical cravings, and he works to offer destructive things to meet those cravings – be it food or drink or sex or emotional needs.

The second thing Satan offered Christ is political power. Today, we are expected to embrace political positions that fly in the face of God’s commands. We see recreational drugs, prostitution, abortion, euthanasia, and immoral lifestyles asking for our support and endorsement. We don’t see people in the entertainment industry or political figures resisting these destructive forces, and many are leading others to practice them.

The third temptation Satan presented is expecting God to interfere in the normal processes of life. Satan has sold a big lie about disease and the consequences of the choice of gender change. Jesus responded to Satan’s challenge to violate the law of gravity and expect God to step in and prevent it from working. Jesus responded to each of the temptations by quoting scripture. This third one was Deuteronomy 6:16, which says not to test God. Expecting God to violate the laws He created when we practice destructive behavior is not logical or reasonable.

We need to profit from the biblical account of Satan’s activity and follow the lead of Jesus. Our daily articles on this site and our video series available free on doesgodexist.tv present positive evidence to build faith. You can also grow your faith by reading the Bible. We recommend Romans 1:19-20, Proverbs 8, Psalms 19:1, and Psalms 139:14-15. We have the tools to build our faith, and we urge you to use them!

February 16, 2022February 15, 2022

Mob Rule Mentality

One of the worst characteristics of humans is the capacity to allow mob rule mentality to destroy clear thinking, evidence, logic, morals, and kindness. Evolutionists point to the similarities between human mob behavior and the gang behavior of wolves, meerkats, monkeys, and killer whales as evidence for their theories. There is no question that humans can act like these animals, but these animals cannot behave in the way Jesus taught us to live.

The Bible is not ignorant about this issue. In Acts 7, you can read the account of a man named Stephen, who was accused of blasphemy by a group opposed to Christianity. The group’s claims were false, and Stephen made a defense of his activity. However, rather than consider the evidence and think about what he said, the mob “ground their teeth at him in rage.” Then “they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed at him, dragged him out of the city … and they stoned Stephen.”

Another biblical example of mob rule mentality is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In Mark 15, we see Pilate trying to reason with the crowd. Yet, in typical mob behavior, the same people who had honored Christ not long before cried out for His crucifixion.

In Acts 19, the teaching of Paul in Ephesus caused resistance from the followers of the goddess Diana (Artemis). This resulted in a mob action endangering Paul’s life and forcing him to leave Ephesus. When mob rule mentality takes over, people ignore logic, evidence, and knowledge. The result is always destructive. If you examine the biblical examples, you will see that there are people feeding the mob lies, false information, and emotionalism.

So here we are in 2022, and mob rule mentality is still around. Mob rule dominates American politics. It isn’t just the January 6 mob that is at issue here. Both political parties have been guilty of being driven by mob rule. The irrational and anti-science mob rule over vaccines is killing people and bringing significant economic damage to the United States and Canada.

I have a friend who was active in a religious crusade by a well-known evangelist. Her job was to go forward when the evangelist extended an invitation to come to Christ. She and ten of her friends were paid to respond to the invitation. The reason was that once people started coming forward, others would follow. I have seen young people at a youth rally or a Christian camp come forward because “everyone else was coming forward.” These may be trivial examples, but they have long-range effects on people’s lives.

The Church must not adopt a mob rule mentality. We must not ask people to follow a human leader or blindly do what others do. Biblical conversions were primarily one-on-one. Even when Peter preached to the people in Acts 2, the plea that he and all the apostles made was to individuals (see Acts 2:37). Individuals responded for themselves and were baptized. The first-century Church was not a mob but individuals meeting in people’s homes (Acts 2:46).

Christians need to avoid being influenced by mob rule mentality, whether it’s a political mob, a religious mob, or a nationalistic mob. Paul wrote, “..study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands. That you may walk honestly toward those who are outside …” (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12).

February 14, 2022February 13, 2022

God’s Original Plan for Marriage

Marriage is perhaps the most abused institution God has given us. Historically, people have used marriage for political purposes or as a national defense strategy. One way for a ruler to make peace with a rival king was to marry his daughter. The Bible describes cases of that, and they turn out to be a disaster. People sometimes use polygamy and arranged marriages to cement agreements of all kinds. They have strayed from God’s original plan for marriage by doing so.

Men have used marriage to denigrate and abuse women. They thought of women as possessions and baby machines but nothing more. In some cultures, you could show how wealthy you were by the number of women you controlled. Concubines were common among rulers in the ancient world. Even today, you can buy a wife online or through marriage brokers, and for some women, it has been a path to U.S. citizenship. In recent times, marriage has expanded to include all kinds of relationships, including homosexual and animal relationships.

It is no wonder that God’s original plan for marriage with a man and a woman is becoming less and less recognized in the world today. Genesis 1:27-28 makes it clear that men and women are equal. It is hard to misunderstand when it says, “…in the image of God, male and female He created them.” Passages like Galatians 3:28 point out that there is no distinction between races or sexes in the eyes of God. As far as value, we are “all one in Christ Jesus.”

Genesis 2 elaborates on God’s original plan for marriage between a man and a woman. In verse 18, God says, “It is not good for man to be alone,” and He created a “helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:24 concludes this relationship by saying, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife and they shall be one flesh.” The Hebrew word translated “cleave” means “adhere to.” This word refers to closeness, such as your tongue cleaving to the roof of your mouth (See Palms 137:6 and Job 29:10). This is not talking about a sexual act but a close relationship.

If a person’s view of marriage is that it is just a sexual relationship, then every person who engages a prostitute is married to her. Some marriages have failed because sex is the only thing the two individuals have. Marriage does fulfill the biological drive built into humans (See 1 Corinthians 7:2-), but that cannot be the sole basis of a marriage, or the relationship will not be what God’s original plan for marriage was designed to be. Becoming one and adhering means having a relationship that is so close that each one’s big concern in life is for the well-being of their mate. That kind of relationship blesses everyone, including children and family.

The New Testament tells us to conform to the laws of the land (1 Peter 2:13-15 and Romans 13:1-2), but the state may recognize relationships that God does not. Some people may want to marry their dog, cat, or chimpanzee, but God does not recognize such relationships. Cohabitation is not marriage and fails to bring the kind of blessings marriage brings. Studies show that cohabitation does not produce lasting relationships. Even though the LGBTQ community has adopted its own concept of marriage, the evidence does not indicate that it offers the stability and closeness God wants us to have.

As one who has been married for 61 years at the time of this writing, I can tell you that God’s system of marriage works. Jesus dealt with this issue many times. In Matthew 19:4-5, He repeats the message of Genesis. His critics asked why Moses allowed a perversion of God’s original plan for marriage. Jesus’ response was, “Because you knew so little of the meaning of love, but it was not intended that way at the beginning” (Phillips translation). How true that is in today’s world.

February 12, 2022February 8, 2022

Genuine Faith Leads to Action

I remember an incident when I was giving my lecture series at Purdue University many years ago. A young man told me he couldn’t argue with any of the evidence I had presented. He meant it as a compliment, but he teared up when I asked what he was going to do with it. Finally, he said, “I am going to put it out of my thinking because I don’t want to quit the way I am living.” Isn’t that the way a lot of us are? Genuine faith leads to action.

In Deuteronomy 31:20, God says about Israel, “When I have brought them into a land which I swore to their fathers, one that flowed with milk and honey and they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat. Then they will turn to other gods and serve them, and provoke me and break my covenant.” In Deuteronomy 32:16-21, we see that happening. A similar thing is happening in America today.

In Matthew 17:20, Jesus compares faith with the mustard seed, saying that we can move mountains if we have faith. Things have happened in my life that even people in my family don’t believe could be possible. If you don’t have faith, it is amazing what you don’t try. Even more amazing is what God causes to happen from the smallest of efforts with a little faith. Genuine faith leads to action.

In Mark 4:36-41, we read the story of a storm that was swamping the boat in which Jesus was sleeping. He quiets the sea by command, and His disciples were afraid. Jesus says, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”

Faith drives out fear. The history of the Church is full of people who did things that most of us would be afraid to try. In some cases, they died for their faith. That isn’t a bad thing. We have incredible promises from Jesus, even if our faith results in losing our lives.

Faith is essential, and genuine faith leads to action. We all have faith in something, but what is the basis of your faith?

January 31, 2022January 29, 2022

The Burden of Alzheimer’s Disease

One of the great scourges today is Alzheimer’s. At present, over six million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s. That is 1 in 9 people age 65 and older and 11.3% of the senior population. Since 2000, deaths from Alzheimer’s have increased by 145%. The burden of Alzheimer’s disease affects many of us in various ways – financially, emotionally, and spiritually.

Medical science is still looking for the causes of Alzheimer’s. There is a genetic connection, and Alzheimer’s also seems to be a product of environmental factors. God does not cause it, and so far, it appears to be untreatable. One of the blessings of Alzheimer’s is that the afflicted person is not aware of what is happening to them. In most cases, they do not recognize family or friends or what has taken place, good or bad, in the past.

I have seen that when we apply Christian principles, people with Alzheimer’s respond positively. First Thessalonians 5: 14 tells us to “comfort the feebleminded, support the weak and be patient with all men.” Alzheimer’s patients respond to kindness and love. As Christians, we have the unique perspective of putting the past behind us and accepting people where they are – not where they were 25 years ago.

If your view of life is “survival of the fittest,” you will have very little empathy for someone living with Alzheimer’s. That person is no longer among the fittest and may be a burden. On the other hand, if your view is that all humans have value and God will bless us for serving those in need, the burden of Alzheimer’s disease becomes an opportunity.

Matthew 25:21-40 finds Jesus talking about the blessing of serving others. Verse 36 speaks of Christians reaching out to help someone who is sick or in prison. Alzheimer’s is a kind of prison and is certainly a sickness. The need for us to bring love, care, and relief applies as much to an Alzheimer’s patient as to anyone else.

Data from Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org) 1-800-272-3900.

January 29, 2022January 26, 2022

Christianity Brings Freedom from Ceremonial Laws

People must decide how to live and how to treat one another. The atheistic evolutionary system suggests that the only governing law is “survival of the fittest.” Writers like Ayn Rand espoused the idea that if we do what benefits us personally, the world will become a utopia. From a biblical standpoint, there are three systems of laws that answer the question of how we should live, and Christianity brings freedom from ceremonial laws.

Christianity is not a set of “thou shalt not” rules, but misconceptions abound because people don’t understand the difference between the Old and New testaments. The Old Testament emphasized ceremonial laws. Leviticus describes a rigid set of laws to follow. (See the first 13 verses of chapter 1.)

In the New Testament, Galatians 3:10-25 refers to this system as a “curse” because breaking one ceremonial law invalidates the whole system. Many people believe those ceremonial laws are binding today. However, Colossians 2:13-17 points out that Christ did away with the ceremonial laws. The New Testament does urge Christians to pray while allowing tremendous freedom as to how and when. Only communion and baptism could be considered ceremonial activities.

The second kind of law we all have to deal with is civil law. Deuteronomy 24 is an example of applying laws of that kind at the time of Moses. Civil laws have changed as culture has changed. Romans 13:1-7 tells Christians to obey civil law, but those laws can sometimes conflict with the third kind of law, which is moral law.

The moral laws of the Old Testament were all repeated in the New Testament, but Christ gave us a way to successfully follow laws that benefit humans. The teachings of Christ deal with attitudes. Rather than just saying “do not murder,” Christ says “do not be angry” (Matthew 5:22). Rather than saying “do not commit adultery,” Christ says not to look on a person with sexual intent (Matthew 5:28).

Christianity brings freedom in many ways. That includes freedom from ceremony, power struggles, violence, racism, and gender issues. Christian faith also frees us from arranged marriages, religious taxes, and spending money on extravagant buildings, idols, or shrines. Yet, tragically, some have encumbered people with ceremonial laws and destructive civil laws in the name of Christianity. Jesus said, “You shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32).

January 16, 2022January 12, 2022

What Christianity Is Not

It is interesting to read atheist websites and realize the basis for their atheism. In many cases, atheists say the reasons they don’t believe in God are the same reasons I had when I was an atheist. If those reasons were valid, I would still be an atheist today. Let’s consider what Christianity is not:

JUDAIZED CHRISTIANITY: Many of us do not care for ritual or ceremony. We also have little or no use for those who claim their position in life makes them of greater importance than others. The biblical concept of Christianity also rejects those things. In Acts 15:5, some wanted to force religious rituals on the gentile Christians. Verse 10 tells us the leaders rejected that idea. In Matthew 15:1-9, Christ soundly rejected human caste systems and traditions. In 1 Corinthians 7:17-24, we read that God takes us wherever we are in life. Galatians 3:26-28 makes it clear that in authentic Christianity, everyone is equal no matter what their race, sex, or ethnicity.

LEGALIZED CHRISTIANITY: As an atheist, I saw Christianity as a long list of “don’ts.” Everything I wanted to do was a “no no,” and if you engaged in it, you had massive piles of guilt heaped upon you. It took me a long time to understand that you don’t earn salvation in the Christian system. It is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). In 1 Corinthians 13, we find that there are three things a Christian should have – “faith, hope, and love but the greatest of these is love.” Legalism is what Christianity is not.

LAWLESS CHRISTIANITY: Closely related to legalized Christianity is “lawless Christianity,” in which a person or a group of persons spell out what is okay and what is not okay. There is no written authority in lawless Christianity. Instead, the rules are laid down and interpreted by a religious leader. The “clergy/laity” system is not logical or biblical. Humans are not only selfish and ignorant, but they are prone to power struggles. In many cases, lawless Christianity has turned the Christian system into an entertainment business. I can get better entertainment in the secular world than any human or group of humans can produce in a church building.

Don’t reject God because of what Christianity is not. Read James 1:27, Matthew 25:31-40 ,and Acts 2:38-47. There you will see that Christianity changes people, makes the world a better place to live, and fulfills one of the most important needs we all have. That is the need for a reliable and functional spiritual experience, because we are created in the spiritual image of God.

January 3, 2022January 2, 2022

Billie Eilish and Pornography

Every time we mention the damaging effects of pornography, we get a few nasty emails suggesting that we are just control freaks who want to deny a harmless activity. The Bible makes it clear that God would have us “abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22). A recent news report about Billie Eilish and pornography shows it is not harmless.

Young people today have easy access to porn because it is readily available online. Billie Eilish, a Grammy-winning singer, stated that the porn she began watching online at age eleven “really warped her mind” about healthy sex and relationships. Porn composes a third of all internet downloads in the United States and is a pandemic among young people.

In The Daily Telegraph, Judith Woods wrote that online porn is “suffused with hatred for women.” She goes on to say that the sex depicted on porn sites is “terrifying, dominant, and violent… There is choking and spitting and angry misogyny… Women are degraded, used” and “discarded.”

Anyone who thinks this activity is not damaging to young minds is simply ignorant about how young people learn. Furthermore, the whole purpose of sex is lost in a culture that denigrates marriage and uses sex as a weapon or a recreational activity.

Sex in marriage creates a sacred, unique, and pure relationship between a man and a woman. Therefore, Christians must teach children what sex is about at an early age before the world exposes them to pornography. In the case of Billie Eilish and pornography, that was age eleven.

Reference: The Week, December 31, 2021/January 7, 2022 page 19.

January 2, 2022December 31, 2021

The Biblical Message of Newness

As we start a new year, let’s consider the biblical message of newness. Human religions call people to focus on maintaining the traditions and practices of the past. Some Christian denominations have done the same, but the Bible calls for newness.

“Kainos,” the Greek word for “new,” is used extensively in the New Testament. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words says this about “kainos”:

“…denotes new, of that which is unaccustomed or unused, not new in time, recent, but new in form or quality, of different nature from what is contrasted as old … new covenant, new commandment … new character … new name … new life of the quickened spirit of the believer … impossible to dissociate this from the operation of the Holy Spirit by whose power the service is rendered.”

The biblical message of newness carries throughout the New Testament. In Luke 5:36, Jesus says, “No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have a torn garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old.” Likewise, you can’t take old lifestyles and patch them into being a Christian. Colossians 3:10 tells us to “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator.” Hebrews 10:19-20 talks about a “new and living way” opened to us by the blood of Christ. Galatians 6:15 calls Christians “a new creation.”

Ephesians 4:22-24 talks about “being made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” In 2 Corinthians 5:17-18, we read, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come. All of this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”
The biblical message of newness continues to the end of the New Testament. Revelation 21:1-4 describes a new heaven and new earth where God says, “I am making everything new.”

We don’t change by our own power, and New Year’s Resolutions don’t work because they depend on us. However, becoming a Christian and opening yourself to God does work. God isn’t going to force people to accept Jesus Christ, but for those who do, He offers newness. If you haven’t opened yourself to being made “kainos,” isn’t it time to do so?