The teaching set forth in Matthew chapters 24 and 25 is commonly identified as the Olivet Discourse and contains a detailed explanation of the end-times.
Which of the Bible doctrines is the most foundational and crucial for the proper understanding of all other doctrines? The answer may surprise you.
As a youth, Josiah would have to assume the throne vacated by his grandfather and father, and he would have to choose his own path as a man and king.
The skeptic struggles with God's existence and thus His work, but the fingerprint of God is on everything that He touches.
Discover a time frame and corresponding historical events found within scripture. In doing so, unlock a deeper level of biblical understanding.
The vastness of the Bible can make it a difficult book to study; however, viewing it in light of its natural divisions makes its study manageable.
For ages, men have contemplated what happens at death. The greater question is what happens to a man after death.
This life offers only a window of time to work for the Lord. Youth and old age both offer their own hindrances to service. In many ways, though not entirely, youth should be spent in learning, middle age in doing, and old age in teaching. Many of the greatest servants of the Lord found in scripture began their journey in youth by learning of the Lord and His ways (1 Kings 18:12; Psalm 71:5; 2 Chronicles 34:3; Job 29:4; Ecclesiastes 12:1). As they approached the prime of life, they put their learning to use by serving the Lord (Numbers 8:24-25). As they passed their prime, they would pass their knowledge on to the next generation in hopes the work of God would go on (2 Timothy 4:1-8).
If the average person were asked whether they would rather laugh or cry, the answer would be obvious. Yet, our thoughts are not always in line with God's thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). According to the Bible, "Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better" (Ecclesiastes 7:3). Laughter is much more enjoyable than sorrow, but we learn very little in laughter. Sorrow, on the other hand, teaches us and molds us into better servants for our Lord. This is by no means to say that laughter is evil or harmful, but that sorrow is better from God's perspective. Solomon spoke of laughter in Ecclesiastes 2:1-2. He gave himself to mirth and pleasure, but in the end found it to be vain.
As believers, we have a God given responsibility in the area of hospitality. In two places we find the phrase "given to hospitality" (Romans 12:13; 1 Timothy 3:2). The passage in 1 Timothy speaks of the qualifications of a bishop, but the passage in Romans identifies hospitality as a responsibility for all believers. We should be "given to hospitality." In Titus 1:8, we find that a bishop must be "a lover of hospitality." Just as with the command to be "given to hospitality," it is God's will that every believer be "a lover of hospitality." It ought to be our joy and our purpose to spend time with others, desiring to strengthen or encourage them in some area of need.
