The views expressed by posters and commentators are not necessarily endorsed by Living Hope International Ministries. Feel free to disagree with us as we all work together to discover the truth of Scripture.
For keeping up with the conversation!
February 21st, 2010 by guest
by Joseph
I found a article by way of an Answers in Genesis (AIG) post, in facebook, that I though might be of interest for a few areas of discussion for a blog post…
1. Should AIG limit their website practice to Creation Science and the Biblical aspects of Science only?
2. Does AIG’s statement of faith reflect the truth of the Bible?
3. Does the AIG article give a fair presentation of how Christianity is portrayed in the Bible?
Thoughts?
February 20th, 2010 by Ron S.
A couple of my recent weekly posts have been about people who made a journey from one set of Biblical beliefs to another because of their investigation of the literal truth of Scripture. This search for truth led one former trinitarian woman to see that her old beliefs in the trinity did not match up to what Scripture actually showed. Another long-time Oneness preacher/singer/songwriter was led to finally see that Jesus is not the same literal being as God, but is really His Son, the real human Messiah.
Now I wish to present a slightly different perspective of a Jewish man who rekindled his ancestral faith while realizing that Jesus (or using his preference - Yeshua) was/is the human Jewish Messiah.
February 19th, 2010 by Angela
Awaken to Living Out God’s Passion and Purpose in Your Life!
Passion. Purpose. Motivation. Inspiration. These are all buzz words we hear floating around, both in our church culture and in our work and personal lives. We all want purpose to bring meaning to our lives. We all want to feel passionate about something. And once we find that purpose, we want to stay motivated and inspired, so we can be creative, productive, and effective.
I believe those qualities are what is lacking in our local churches today and why we bear so little fruit in our personal lives as a testimony of God’s Spirit dwelling within us, and so little fruit, as in the number of people we are instrumental in bringing to Christ.
February 15th, 2010 by Mark C.
God’s Agent
Part of the reason westerners don’t understand the relationship between God and His Son is because they don’t understand the Hebrew concept of agency. In that culture, when an agent represented a principal, the agent was viewed as, and even addressed as, the principal. An agent speaking on behalf of another was looked on as if he were the person whom he represented. This is especially true of the Angel of the Lord representing God.
Exodus 23:
20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.
February 14th, 2010 by Brian Keating
Many mainstream denominations believe that all human beings have complete control over their salvation. Basically, the belief is as follows: Every single human being can just decide to follow Jesus – and can therefore be saved – without God getting involved at all.
Overall, the belief is that God is not part of the salvation process at all. In other words, the belief is that every single human being can just “decide” to be saved – completely on his own.
Is the above idea true? Is it true that everyone can just decide to follow Jesus – and be saved – without God being involved in the salvation process at all? This post, and the one next week, will explore that topic, with a series of “questions” and “answers”.
February 13th, 2010 by Ron S.
A few weeks ago I posted an article (”From Trinitarian to Unitarian“) that was a faith story of a woman that had been a long-term main-stream trinitarian Christian who came to take a long hard look at her beliefs versus the truth of Scripture. After doing so, she changed her beliefs to align with what she actually found in Scripture.
February 12th, 2010 by Angela
Someone once sat on my living room couch and told me that if I did not believe that Jesus was God, then my sins were not forgiven.
Most modern day, Trinitarian churches believe this, and assume you believe this also. But, is this so? Is this what Scripture truly teaches? Let’s investigate to see if this is true or not.
I believe this man’s beliefs were based on a passage found in Mark 2, where we enter the picture and find Jesus about to heal a paralytic. Instead of saying, “Arise and take up your pallet and walk,” Jesus said “My son, your sins are forgiven.” But the scribes who were sitting there hanging out, were thinking, ‘Who does this guy think he is? He’s dissing our God! Who else can forgive sins, but God alone?’
February 10th, 2010 by Sean
Is Paul quoting Isaiah 45 in Philippians 2? I have often heard people make this claim and it seems to be uncontroversial. However, I’m not really sure. Below is a table comparing these texts. Note, especially, the underlined words.
| Isaiah 45:21, 23 21 “Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD [Yahweh]? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me…. 23 “I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. |
Philippians 2:9-11 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. |
February 8th, 2010 by Mark C.
Is Jesus Called God?
Time after time in the Scriptures, Jesus is referred to as the Messiah, the Son of God. There are only a handfull of verses that even seem to call Jesus God, and most of those are questionable on textual and grammatical grounds. Only two verses unquestionably call Jesus God, and we shall see in what sense they do so. The vast amount of Scriptures refer to Jesus as the Son of God, though.
February 5th, 2010 by Angela
“And as he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to him and knelt before him and began asking him, “Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” Mark 10:17-18.
I would call this a ‘rabbit trail.’ When the subject presented is ‘how should this man inherit eternal life’, which Jesus does eventually answer, Jesus’ attention is first zeroed in on the word “good” that the man used. Okay, so you’re wondering who cares? Why do we care that Jesus takes this one simple, descriptive word “good” that the man probably used haphazardly, without a single thought, yet Jesus takes the time to pause and reflect upon it? What’s the big deal?