Who Created Evil?

by Chuck Ness

The debate about who created evil is an important one since atheists and skeptics use the existence of evil in their arguments against theism. It is incumbent upon all Christians to understand what the Scriptures say about the God they worship and the existancxe of evil in the world. If God created everything, and if evil is in the world, does it follow that God created evil? We are told as Christians to believe what the Bible says. Even the popular children's song, “Jesus Loves Me”, has in its lyrics,

 

“Jesus loves me, this I know for the Bible tells me so”.

So, let us read what the Bible says.

In (Genesis 1:1) we read,

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

The New Testament says in (John 1:3),

“All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

So, we now know that God made everything through Christ, but are there any Scriptures that specifically say God is the author of evil? The closest we can get is (Isaiah 45:7),

“I make peace and create calamity”,

and (Amos 3:6), 

Running The Race To Finish Well (part 1)

by Jose Barajas

Being raised in a Catholic home meant that I was baptized as a child, and would take classes that prepared me for my first communion. Two things that have always struck me as being odd about the ceremonies I went through are A, baptizing a child goes against what scripture teaches us and B, my first communion was performed by a Spanish speaking priest. As a Hispanic family you would think nothing about it, except that I was raised to speak English not Spanish. So as you can guess I was clueless of what the Spanish priest was saying.  For all I know, I confessed to committing adultery and murder. 

All this to say, I don’t believe my sins were ever absolved or forgiven, because my heart was not really into it. Truth is, I know for a fact I was not changed. It never ceases to amaze me how many have, and still do, fall into the same trap of man’s traditions when it comes to confessing their sins. Yet they are never truly believed nor repented of their sins. I, of course, speak from experience and not just from the time I was a Catholic.

Would You Like To Hear About My Best Friend Jesus?

When you give your life to Jesus, HE should become everything to you. Your strength, your joy, your comfort, and the insatiable desire of your heart. Everything we learn about our Savior offers us more satisfaction, more faith, more rest. Jesus is a never ending, never exhausted banquet of Mana that will fill our souls. HE is the water of life that will quench our thirst forever. Nothing tastes better to our hearts than him, and because of the Gospel we can keep eating of HIS goodness for all of eternity.

Eight Messages (A Book Review)

Caleb Stevenson's commentary on the letters to the Seven Churches of Revelation is not what modern readers will be prepared to read. First off, he covers eight churches, the eighth one being the modern church of America. Unlike the many commentaries that attempt to explain the letters wholly on a 22nd century understanding, he takes you back to the mindset of the 1st century church.

In today's modern World, everyone wants to know how the Book of Revelation will impact their life as we head into what could possibly be the last days before Christ returns. True, many early Christians thought they too were in the last days, but history proves they were not. It goes without saying that when John received his visions that the One, Jesus, Who gave the visions, knew the end was thousands of year in the future. Thus it makes no sense to believe that the intended readers of the letters were expected to believe the messages were for those thousands of years in the future.

What Is Life About?

The post at the end of this commentary has been making its round on Facebook. It is about Steve Jobs thoughts on life as he is ready to die. He tells us that he finally learned what life was all about. Well, I offer it, with this truth.

Not one time did Job mention anything about GOD, Christ, his salvation or anything of an after life. While he claims he learned something about wealth, and what life is truly about, he truly did not learn what the meaning of life is. That's because when it comes down to it, life is not about this world, and as Jesus said when his family came to take him away,

""""Who is My mother, or My brothers? Here are My mother and My brothers. Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's. If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. """" Paraphrased from accounts in Matthew, Mark & Luke

23 Renown Women Of Scriptures

I created a new chart that lists 23 women from the Scriptures. There are more than 23 women I could cover, but I took the 23 I felt were more recognizable to most Christians. Now, we all know who these women are, and their stories. From Eve to Mary, these women have had as great an impact on mankind as the men. Three, or maybe 4, are not known for their love of the One true GOD, while the others are remembered for their strength and courage in the face of adversity. 

Books of The Prophets / Chronological Timeline Chart

When you open the Bible to read the books of the Prophets, you will notice they are not listed in chronological order. I have stated time and time again that while I believe every Word in the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit, I do not believe the divisions of chapters nor verses are inspired. Like the division of chapters and verses, I also do not believe the placement of where all the books themselves are located was inspired.

If Anyone Thirsts

The Feast of Booths, also known as the Festival of Tabernacles, was a week-long celebration when the Jews remembered the intervention of God during their wandering in the wilderness, as described in the book of Exodus. (Exodus 17:1-7)

As part of this holiday, the priests would carry water from the Pool of Siloam to the altar, remembering God's provision of water from the rock. The last day of the feast is the culmination of the festivities, when the priests would recite Psalm 118:25 while making seven circuits around the altar. This backdrop is crucial for understanding why Jesus spoke these particular words, at this particular time.

The Women Of Jesus' Genealogy

Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba

Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.
Matthew 1:3-6
It is without a doubt that Matthew's desire was to present Jesus to a Jewish Christian audience as a Jewish royal figure. Not just the Son of Abraham, but rather the Son of David as mentioned in the very first verse. Thus the legal heir of King David's throne. This is why he had to incorporate the genealogy that traced his lineage back to David. However, something that has intrigued theologians since the early years of Matthew's Gospel, is his inclusion of four gentile women. Women who, with the exception of Ruth, possessed no exemplary character. To modern readers this might not seem so out of place, but for a first century Jewish scribe to include women in a record of ancestry was unheard of. The World of the first century was based upon Patriarchal systems where women had no rights to speak of. They were but possessions of the men who controlled the World.

Habakkuk, Then & Now

 

by Chuck Ness

As I was reading Habakkuk during my morning quiet time, I was given some insight I have not considered before. The phrase, ”The more things change, the more they stay the same,'' came to my mind. Jeremiah and Habakkuk were contemporaries living in Judaea just before and during the time when Babylon took them away. While Jeremiah taught that wickedness in God's own people has doomed them, Habakkuk preached about the corruption that had infested the government of their day. His opening verse gives us all we need to know about how evil the government of the Southern tribe of Judah had become.

Rumors Of Wars

We are most definitely living at a time in history the Prophets of old warned us about.

I can imagine how those great Prophets trembled at the thought of living in the future when this time would come amongst us. Oh it is not the ultimate end, but rather the very beginning of what is to come.

I do not have a good feeling about the near future, and nothing we do from here forth will change what is about to happen.

Palace intrigue is at the point where kings and queens of the past have trembled over the fear of assassination, revolt, and empire changing events.