respond (73)

Ian

Unpolishing the Church

Haggai 2:1–9, Matthew 16:13–20 There is a lot of hand-wringing about the demise of the church. To put things in perspective, it is often better to read the Old Testament than the New. Yet people often skip all the prophets because it appears so dark…

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Ian

Separating Works

Deuteronomy 18:9–14, 1 Samuel 28:3–25, Galatians 5:16–26 The list of people not to listen to is interesting. As part of the Israelites' preparation to enter the Promised Land, these people were to not be sought out. From a cultural standpoint, this is not a small…

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Ian

Blaming God

2 Chronicles 12:1–8, James 1:12–15 When we read the Old Testament, the phrasing is often such that we could say God caused most suffering. In fact, there are many who truly believe that despite the balance of scriptures. Let’s take the story of Rehoboam and…

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Ian

Spirit Grades

Jeremiah 23:30-40, 1 John 4:1–6 What is a spirit? In the Scriptures, there is the Holy Spirit. That is certainly one. However, often the time spirit is used, it is not a good thing. There are evil spirits. There are deceptive spirits. It is the…

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Ian

Respond How?

Haggai 1:4–14, Amos 7:10–17 It would be nice if nice things just happened. It would be nice if all the stuff that needs to happen, just happened. It doesn’t work that way. Someone has to take responsibility. God had fulfilled his promise that the remnants…

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