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William Stewart

The Truth About Christmas and What Jesus Really Wants

Christmas
via NInaCliparts | Pixabay.com

There is less than a week remaining to Christmas day. Over the next several days, many will be rushing to the stores for some last minute shopping. Perhaps it will be for stocking stuffers, maybe a special gift for that special somebody.

Mall Santas have heard gift requests from hundreds of children – gaming consoles, sports equipment, DVDs, board games – the list goes on and on. Canadians spent $35 billion+ on Christmas gifts in 2005.1 The economic difficulties of the past few years has likely lowered that figure a bit, but a look at the mall, Walmart or Toys R Us would indicate it has had a minimal effect.

Exceedingly Abundantly Above All That We Ask Or Think

Exceedingly Abundantly Above
via Michael De Groot | Pixabay

So the Christian might know that we serve an awesome God who is not limited in His power, Paul wrote:

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Take a moment and think about that statement! We serve a God who is limitless, who is able to and does great things for His people!

What Must One Do To Be Saved? | Answering The Atheist

Inquiry:

Answering the Atheist, saved

What must one do to be saved? A list of 169 items necessary for salvation is given by the questioner. Obviously, we don’t have space to list them all here. Unfortunately the full list is no longer listed on the Skeptic’s Annotated Bible. In the original article, I address a few items – a sampling of the entire list. Is there a contradiction?

Sharing Your Faith – A Personal Testimony in Jesus Christ

testimony
via CongerDesign | Pixabay.com

It was a regular occurrence at the little denominational group I assembled with as a teenager for folks to get up and give their personal testimony. You’d hear a number of different things, from how the person came to faith to what God had done for them in the past week. As I recall, it was simply called “sharing time.”

Testimony is defined as:

an open acknowledgement; a public profession of religious experience. (M-W.com)

You Children of God – Rejoice In The Lord Always

rejoice in the LORD
via Michael De Groot | Pixabay

It’s a good practice when we study a book of the Bible, to focus on key words. Recurring words will help us understand the theme of a book. For instance, in John’s gospel, the word “Father” is found over 100 times. Jesus’ relationship to the heavenly Father is a major theme of John’s writing. In John’s first epistle, we see “know” over 25 times. His purpose – to establish the true knowledge we have in Jesus Christ. In the book of Philippians, the words “joy” and “rejoice” appear more than 15 times. There are certainly other topics addressed throughout, but the need for us to rejoice permeates the epistle.

Are We All God’s children? | Answering the Atheist

Inquiry:

Answering the Atheist, God's children

Are we all God’s children? Some verses say yes [this may apply to Jews and/or Christians only] (Deuteronomy 14:1; Psalm 82:6; Hosea 1:10; Matthew 5:48; 6:9; John 20:17; Acts 17:29). Other texts say only certain people are God’s children and that everyone else is a child of the devil (John 1:12; 8:41-44; Acts 13:8-10; Romans 8:14; 9:8; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 1:5; 2:3; 1 John 3:8-10). Is there a contradiction?

The Sin of Gambling: A Biblical Perspective

gambling
via Pixabay.com

It is a common thing to see advertising for a variety of gambling options on TV, on billboards, and online. Perhaps you’ve seen the lotto ad in which two men play a game of “hide and seek” with a helicopter and speed boat? Or the promise of $1,000 cash per week for life. The lotto industry makes all kinds of appeals for people to take a chance.

If the lotto is not your cup of tea, maybe a bingo would work. There are even church groups that conduct bingos.  Or maybe the casino might catch your fancy. Government operated casinos are emerging throughout Ontario. A whole host of games; slots, blackjack, roulette, etc. are available there.