Articles

• Who Should You Receive from—Official Ministers or Independent Ones?

    I remember an occasion where I went to the hospital to visit someone. It was in the heat of the summer and so I naturally wore shorts, sandals and a t-shirt (with cut-off sleeves). By happenstance, the woman in the elevator with me was clearly a member of some religious sect in light of […]

• Why LOYALTY (Faithfulness) Is Important

  I remember a couple of old movie stars, like Kirk Douglas, making statements that they didn’t believe men can be monogamous. But this is a copout to commit adultery or live in fornication. It explains why the bride & groom vow to be faithful to one another. In other words, yes, humans — and especially […]

• What’s the Secret of a Successful Marriage?

  The Bible says that “a cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). In a marriage the three-strand cord consists of husband, wife and the LORD. As the husband and wife draw nearer to the Lord (James 4:8), they naturally come nearer to each other, as illustrated here:     So “come near […]

• What Does “the Spirit, the Water and the Blood Testify” Mean?

  Let’s read the whole passage in question with special focus on the key verses 5-9: 1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out […]

• Is the Phrase “Higher Levels, Bigger Devils” Biblical?

  The phrase “Higher levels, bigger devils” was coined to illustrate that the further a believer goes in spiritual growth the more he or she will attract satanic attack. The Bible refers to the maturation process of disciples in terms of going “from strength to strength” or “glory to glory” (Psalm 84:5,7 & 2 Corinthians 3:18). This […]

• What Does It Mean to “Worship God in Spirit and in Truth”?

    The Lord said to the Samaritan woman at the well: 22“You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they […]

• Should Ministers Officiate Weddings and Funerals?

  Interestingly, there are no references in the Bible to ministers officiating weddings or funerals, including pastors. I point this out because some people seem to think that ministry is mostly about performing one or the other. Evidently God didn’t get the memo. This is not to say that ministers shouldn’t preside over weddings and funerals. […]

• Should Ministers Be Paid?

  The Bible plainly instructs that ministers must not pursue dishonest gain because that has to do with greed (1 Peter 5:1-4). Christian ministers cannot simultaneously be lovers of money, aka lucre-worshipers (Matthew 6:24, 1 Timothy 3:3 & Titus 1:7). Why? Because people obsessed with money and materialism will naturally take advantage of their position to manipulate […]

• Are Some Leaders Beyond Accountability?

  King Solomon made the observation: Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?” Ecclesiastes 8:4 In other words, when someone is at the top of the proverbial Totem Pole, they have the authority to make decisions and carry them out, regardless of what those under them think or […]

• If Healing Comes by Faith, Why Use Anointing Oil, Handkerchiefs, etc.?

  The covenant (contract) that the believer has with God thru Christ is a covenant of faith (Hebrews 11:6, Romans 4:16 & Galatians 3:6-9) and so everything we receive in our covenant is by faith, including eternal salvation (Ephesians 2:8) and answers to prayer (Mark 11:22-24). The same goes for receiving a healing, as observed in […]