Love Truth Blog

Is the Bible filled with contradictions? Some might answer the question in the affirmative. They may even provide a long list of examples illustrating these apparent contradictions. For instance, they will point out that Paul writes, “Bear one another’s burdens,” (Gal. 6:2), 1 but then a few lines later states, “For each one will bear his own load” (Gal. 6:5), and then ask, "Do we bear one another’s burden or do we bear our own burden?" The solution to the problem is this: Context; Context; Context ! The problem is in fixating upon the bits and pieces of the text, like a verse, phrase, or word, and ignoring the surrounding context. It is unlikely that Paul in Galatians 6:1-5 would say one thing then completely contradict himself in the same paragraph. Paul’s point is that a person should be mindful in caring for the spiritual well-being of both another person and himself. Verse 1 is an exhortation to help restore a fellow brother who has fallen in sin with gentleness, wh...

Worshipping God makes a difference. Not just singing inspirational songs, but when life imitates art, and one’s makes it “all about You, Lord,” universal change becomes reality. All the people will see God’s glory shine in the place of worship and they will sing “He is good, and His love endures forever!” 2 Chronicles 7 illustrates for us why worship matters. Here we find that Solomon’s newly built temple is filled with the glory of the Lord, fire from heaven consumes the burnt offering, the people outside the temple witness the divine manifestation of fire, and they fall down, declaring, “Truly He is good, truly His loving kindness is everlasting” (vv. 1-3). The king and the priest offered animal sacrifices and songs of praise to God, places were consecrated (i.e. set apart solely for use in worship), and sacred meals were eaten (vv. 4-10). Once all ceremonies were completed, God speaks to Solomon. He says, I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a hous...

One interesting question that came my way was this: Did Jesus have to pray to God? I do not believe Jesus prayed to God in the sense of confession for the forgiveness of sin. Jesus did not have to pray in this sense. The truth is Jesus does pray. Something that the Gospel writer's sought to communicate was that prayer to be one of the essential components of Christ’s ministry. Mark points out that on one occasion, during a time the Lord ministered miraculous healings to crowds, that “in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house , and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there” (Mark 1:35). Luke tells us that Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray” (Luke 5:16). Elsewhere Luke notes that on occasion Jesus went off to a mountain and spent the night in prayer (Luke 6:12). Jesus taught the disciples how to pray to their Heavenly Father (Luke 11:1-4; cf. Matt. 6:5-13). He even prayed in anticipation of the cros...

Some have trouble figuring out how King Saul died because the telling of the event in 1 Samuel 31 differs the telling of the same incident in 2 Samuel 1. Yet, there is really no conflict here, and the obvious differences serve a larger literary purpose. 1 Samuel 31 records that Saul was critically wounded in battle from archer fire, so he called upon his armor bearer to strike him down for he did not want fall injured into the hands of the Philistines, but the armor bearer refused , so Saul took his own life (v. 2-6). However, in 2 Samuel 1 there is an unnamed Amalekite man who came with “dust on his head” to David, and gave the following report: I have escaped from the camp of Israel…The people have fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also…by chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and behold Saul was leaning on his spear. And behold the chariots and the horsemen pursued him closely. When he looked beh...

Today, I read the following Associated Press article: WORLDmag.com Community Blog Archive Petraeus warns about Quran burning Pertraus warns, “Images of the burning of a Qur'an would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan—and around the world—to inflame public opinion and incite violence.” This comes in response to the plans of Dove World Outreach Center led by Terry Jones to hold a Qur'an burning on the ninth anniversay of 9/11. I think Pertraus is most certainly correct. Christians can never go the route of repaying evil for evil. Such a conscious act of desecration is unwarranted to those called to be peacemakers. Instead of defiling a book that Muslim hold in high esteem, why not seek another way? Cannot a Christian faithfully testify to that God has spoken to us though Moses and the prophets in the Old Testament, and Christ and the apostles in the New Testament, and what they have offered has been faithfully handed down to us without resorting to violence? W...

Lots of rumors floating around about CRI. For those wanting the truth, check out the following YouTube video... CRI Responds To False Accusations Against Hank Hanegraaff In, Breaking The Silence "In, Breaking the Silence, the Christian Research Institute's Elliot Miller responds to false accusations against CRI's President, Hank Hanegraaff. Dr. Walter Martin's daughter, Cindee, and son-in-law, Rick, have participated in this powerful defense of CRI and its President." http://www.WalterMartinJude3.com "Controversy for the sake of controversy is sin. Controversy for the sake of the truth, is a divine command." Dr. Walter Martin, 1988 God bless...

I thought these are some quite profound words penned from the confines of a Chinese prison by Watchman Nee: Oh, to be wasted! It is a blessed thing to be wasted for the Lord. So many who have been prominent in the Christian world know nothing of this. Many of us have been used to the full—have been used, I would say, too much—but we do not know what it means to be wasted on God. We like to be always ‘on the go’: the Lord would sometimes prefer to have us in prison. We think in terms of apostolic journeys: God dares to put his greatest ambassadors in chains. “But thanks be unto God, which always leadeth us in triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest through us the savour of his knowledge in every place” (2 Cor. 2:14). “And the house was filled with the odor of the ointment (John 12:3). The Lord grant us grace that we may learn how to please Him. When, like Paul, we make this our supreme aim (2 Cor. 5:9), the Gospel will have achieved its end. ( The Normal Christian Life ) All...

What is “the second death” all about? Revelation 2 includes a letter to the Christian community in ancient Smyrna written by the prophet John on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is “the first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life” (v. 8). 1 The letter is meant to encourage believers in Smyrna. They were reminded that the Lord knew of their tribulation and poverty, albeit they were spiritually rich (v. 9a). He also knew the persecutors were “a synagogue of Satan,” and that they would endure tribulation and imprisonment for a season of “ten days,” but they were to “be faithful until death” (vv. 9b-10). The Lord then offers the following promise, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death” (v. 11). The concept of “second death” is further elaborated in Revelation 20, wherein John makes the following contrast: “Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these ...