We are living in a world that can be very discouraging and depressing, and a word of encouragement can be very uplifting. We know that in our spiritual life, roadblocks will be put in front of us in order to deter us from achieving our goal, but we mustn’t let these deter us in any way! We can and will win if we keep the Way of God.

What is the definition of encouragement?   In collinsdictionary.com we read that it is “the activity of encouraging someone, or something that is said or done in order to encourage them.” It then gives the following synonyms: “inspiration, help, support, aid, favour, comfort, comforting, cheer, cheering, consolation, reassurance, morale boosting, succour.”

Merriam Webster gives these definitions of encourage:

Continue reading "How important is encouragement in the life of a Christian?"

The importance of this period relates to the covenants God made with Abraham—which included God’s promise to deliver Abraham’s future descendants from slavery:

“Then He said to Abram: ‘Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions’” (Genesis 15:13-14).

The time did come when God began to fulfill His promise to save the people of Israel, and God chose Moses to lead the nation out of Egypt:

“And the LORD said: ‘I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt’” (Exodus 3:7-10).

Continue reading "What events recorded in the Book of Exodus concerning the Passover period are still relevant to Christians?"

This is a fundamental question that affects every facet of life. If there is no God, then everything is determined by man. It seems that the consensus of opinion in society is that concepts of right and wrong are just a matter of personal choice.

Dr J Slattery, writing specifically about sexual matters, stated the following:

“In today’s culture, right and wrong are sorted through a grid of what we perceive as being the best for ourselves and our fellow humans. Essentially, human beings are now ‘god,’ with the authority to determine our own moral compass. With this type of humanistic worldview, morality is defined as ‘do no harm.’ Ethics and morality are measured by whether or not people are harmed. ‘She’s not hurting anyone, so how could she be doing something wrong?’ From this perspective, Christians who stand against gay marriage, for example, are thought to be doing harm. They are ‘hurting’ people who want to celebrate the gay lifestyle. In contrast, those who want to participate in gay marriage are viewed as doing no harm.”

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The Worldwide Church of God Bible Hymnal which was originally published in 1974 (“Hymnal”), is, and has been for a long time, an integral part of our weekly Sabbath and annual Holy Day services. In the opening notes of the Hymnal, headed, “How This Hymnal Came to Be,” Mr Herbert W Armstrong gave the historical background, and below are a few of the observations he made:

“It is… scriptural to sing hymns. Jesus sang hymns. After His last Passover, it is recorded, ‘And when they had sung [a] hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives’ (Matthew 26:30). I knew that the Psalms were, in fact, songs—or hymns. It was clear in my mind that God’s people should sing God’s inspired words, not man’s uninspired and often unscriptural words. But the Bible has not preserved nor revealed to us the music. God has left it to us to compose the music.

Continue reading "Understanding the Wording of Some Church Hymns"

It is interesting to review this section of Scripture although Mr Norbert Link has already addressed aspects of this recently in a member letter and a StandingWatch programme.  In this Q&A, we want to show specific details of some of the New Testament apostles and make appropriate observations on a number of Scriptural references.

First of all, let us read what Deuteronomy 18:20-22 says:

“But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death. You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?’ If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.”

Continue reading "How do you understand Deuteronomy 18:20-22, and weren’t some of the early apostles guilty of preaching wrong information?"

It’s a good question to ask and one to carefully consider; after all, they were doing the Work of God not long after Jesus was crucified and returned to heaven. In fact, this question is more important than we may, at first, think!

We know the process that true Christians have to go through when they are called by God. In his sermon on the Day of Pentecost, just 7 weeks after Jesus’ resurrection, Acts 2:38 states: “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” It is not just a question of “giving your heart to the Lord” but a complete change of direction. We read that we are to “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13). The Authorized Version has here, more accurately, “But straight is the gate, and narrow is the way…”

Continue reading "What can we learn from the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas?"

The word fool is defined as a person who acts unwisely or imprudently. The Bible has an added significance to this word as someone who disregards God’s Word.

Several Scriptures that describe such a person, often contrasting him- or herself with one who is wise and/or righteous, can be found in Ecclesiastes 10:2-3. A fool’s heart continually goes towards foolishness (Proverbs 26:4-12).  Fools do not learn their lesson from their mistakes and they continue on with them, doing the same foolish things over and over again, leading to their own destruction (Isaiah 32:6).

The book of Proverbs lists quite a few more characteristics of fools in contrast to the wise:  They don’t care about understanding (Proverbs 18:2, 6-7); they hate knowledge (Proverbs 1:22); they love doing evil (Proverbs 10:23); they broadcast folly or stupidity (Proverbs 12:23); they speak perversity (Proverbs 19:1); they are quick-tempered (Proverbs 12:16); they are deceitful and mock sin (Proverbs 14:8-9); they reject discipline and bring grief to their parents (Proverbs 15:5, 20; 17:25; 19:13); and they give in to sexual immorality through lustful behavior (Proverbs 6:32; 7:7-23).

Continue reading "What is meant by the fools and foolish of this world?"

We cover the matter of sexual sins in our booklet “God’s Teachings on Sexual Relationships” on pages 95-105, showing, quite clearly, that homosexuality is most certainly condemned in the Bible.

We read in Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible the following notes about Sodom: “A city on the shore of the Salt Sea south of Engedi; destroyed in the days of Abraham and Lot along with Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim.  BC 1900.”   All four cities are mentioned in Genesis 10:19.

On the website Britannica.com, we read: “Sodom and Gomorrah, notoriously sinful cities in the biblical book of Genesis, destroyed by ‘sulfur and fire’ because of their wickedness (Genesis 19:24). Sodom and Gomorrah along with the cities of Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar (Bela) constituted the five ‘cities of the plain,’ and they are referenced throughout both the Old and New Testaments and the Qur’an.”

Continue reading "You write about the sexual sins of Sodom and Gomorrah but weren’t they guilty in other ways?"

One of our many booklets is entitled, “Sickness and Healing – What the Bible Tells Us,” and the aim of this Q&A can be likened to a trailer which is a preview, generally, for a film or book coming out in the future.   However, in this case, it is for a booklet that was first published in 2004.

With the coronavirus pandemic, most people are looking to the medical profession and scientists for answers, although politicians and other leaders are also involved in the implementation of the recommendations that the scientists and the medics make.   Hopefully, the people of God will have their priorities right and the last sub-heading in our booklet is, “Let God’s Will Be Done”—where it states the following:

“Whatever trials or sicknesses we have to deal with in our lives, let us ALWAYS be subject to God’s Will, giving Him the honor, praise and thanks for whatever He does for us. God created us, and He knows what is best for us. When Job was plagued with sickness, he thanked God for it, knowing that God would not have allowed it unless there was a purpose. Job did not understand that purpose for a long time, and neither might we be able to see God’s purpose clearly during a particular illness, but God knows, and that should ultimately be sufficient for us.

Continue reading "Can Physicians Be Helpful to God’s People Today?"

We conclude this series with further examples of hyperbole from the Word of God.

Matthew 18:23-35:

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

^{23 “‘}Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

^{24 “‘}And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.

^{25 “‘}But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.

^{26 “‘}The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, “Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.”

^{27 “‘}Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

²⁸ “‘But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, “Pay me what you owe!”

Continue reading "Hyperbole in the Bible (Part 3)"