Esenta Crestinismului

Vreau sa raspund in articolul acesta unei persoanei care nu intelege esenta crestinismului. Unii cred ca credinta inseamna a face anumite lucruri. De exemplu unii cred ca esti crestin daca te nasti dintr-o familia crestina. Altii cred ca daca dai la saraci esti crestin sau daca esti sarac inseamna ca esti crestin. Mai spun altii ca daca faci fapte bune si mergi la biserica din cand in cand ca esti crestin si asa mai departe. Vreau sa vedem ce este scris in Biblia despre a fi crestin si ce face un crestin adevarat.

Intai sa intelegem ca nimeni nu se naste crestin. Unii cred asa dar nu este

How Job overcame temptation

There is a case in the Old Testament where a man is tempted to curse God and turn away from being faithful to Him.

What do you do when tempted?

Temptation is a major problem for every person on this earth. If you are breathing then you will be tempted. There is not a day that goes by when temptation does not come our way. Among Christians and nonChristians the common thread is temptation. The difference between Christians and nonChristians is how we handle temptation. I would like to look at temptation from a Biblical perspective to see why we are tempted and how we can overcome

Confusion between crime and punishment

I have written a few articles on the subject of punishment for an offense, focusing on capitol punishment for murder. In response to the article many people have commented that crime and punishment are one and the same, when in fact, they are very different. Since we live in an age of relativism I am not surprised that many do not know the difference between crime and punishment. If you want to believe that crime and punishment are one and the same then you can and it is correct, that is, if you believe the lie of relativism. If you have common sense and realize that there is right and wrong then you will quickly be able to distinguish the difference between crime and punishment. For those of you who do not know the difference, let me see if I can clear things up for you. Before I begin I would like to quote from the Bible about how people in an age of relativism think.

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools (Romans 1:21-22)

Is one life more valuable than another?

I went to teach at a college dorm last Tuesday night and was shocked by what occurred. First of all, many of the dorms in Moldova use the co-ed staggering method of housing. For example, a dorm with 6 floors will have a girls floor followed by a guys, repeating the same pattern all the way to the top floor. From talking with a few former college

Biblical Prophecy and Daniel IV

As I wrote in the previous article we will gain further insight into Daniel 7 when we look at the New Testament book of Revelation. The book of Daniel lays the blue-print of Biblical prophecy or the skeleton while Revelation adds the meet to the bones. Let’s take a look at a few passages from Revelation to see what further insights we can gain. Revelation 13:1-9 is the first passage that we will consider. Before we begin, as a way of review, let’s compile what we have learned so far.

Biblical Prophecy and Daniel III

As we continue to look at Daniel we will learn some new insights from chapter 7 that further explain Daniel’s dream about the 4 beasts that coincide with the 4 parts of the statue from King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel chapter 2. In verses 15-22 of chapter 7 we will gain further insight about the kingdoms and what is to come.

“As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within me, and the visions in my mind kept alarming me. “I approached one of those who were standing by and began asking him the exact meaning of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: ‘These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth. ‘But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come.’ “Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet, and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head and the other horn which came up, and before which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts and which was larger in appearance than its associates. “I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.

Biblical Prophecy and Daniel II

I would like to continue our look at the Biblical book of Daniel and see what else we can learn about prophecy; how it came true during Daniel’s lifetime and how this prophecy is still coming true today. As you may remember, Daniel is a slave in the Babylon during the reign of king Nebuchadnezzar. The king has a dream that none of his wise men or magicians can interpret and he becomes furious. He begins putting them to death and Daniel is called upon to tell the dream and its interpretation. God reveals both to Daniel and he passes the message on to the king, giving all the credit to God. The dream was of a statue with four main parts (the feet and toes were a continuation of the legs) along with a stone that becomes a mountain that fills the whole earth. The mountain represents the last earthly kingdom, God’s, which is to come in the future. All of the interpretation was given in chapter 2 of Daniel. Of the kingdoms there are 2 mentioned by name, the Babylonian empire and God’s final kingdom. The kingdoms in between are not named, although the parts of the statue give us a description of these kingdoms that we will learn more about today. In Daniel chapter 7, Daniel himself has a dream and this dream along with its interpretation help clarify who these other kingdoms are. Let’s take a look at this dream and see what new insights that we can gain.

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and related the following summary of it.  Daniel said, “I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.  “And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another.  “The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it.  “And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, ‘Arise, devour much meat!’  “After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.  “After this I kept looking in the night

Biblical Prophecy and Daniel

I would like to look at the Biblical book of Daniel. Many people have many different ideas about the account of Daniel. As with any prophecy the reader must understand a few very important rules to keep in mind while studying Daniel. This will not be exhaustive but I would like to share a few. First of all, the reader must realize that the writer of the prophecy can either be talking about 3 major groups of people; the Jews, the Gentiles, or the Church (made up of Jews and Gentiles). Sometimes the author can speak of the 3 different groups all in the same chapter so you must pay close attention to the words that are used along with the context to determine which group is being spoken of. In Daniel there are 2 of the major groups mentioned; the Jews and the Gentiles. Another key rule to remember is the time that is spoken of. Sometimes the writer refers to his own time, while at other times he speaks of the immediate future or the distant future. Sometimes he mentions the first coming of the Messiah (Jesus Christ) or the second coming of the Messiah (when He sets His feet on the earth for the second time and not to be confused with the rapture, when He will return to take the Church but not set foot on the earth). Keeping these rules in mind let’s take a look at the major prophecies mentioned in Daniel.

1. Daniel finds himself a slave in the Babylonian empire in the service of King Nebuchadnezzar and he (Daniel) trusts in the Lord through this difficult time. Many people seem to think that if God allows something negative to happen to them that they have license to turn their back on God and do whatever that they want to do. Daniel was a boy/man of principle and even when his life was turned upside down he remained faithful to God and served Him diligently. During Daniel’s time in Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream that neither he nor his wise men of Babylon can interpret. Daniel

The “Prodigal Sons”

I am preparing to go to summer camp with our youth group next week where we will be serving as missionaries at Lake of the Ozarks, MO. I am excited about the chance to share the Love of God through the Word of God with the people of the area. As I prepare to go I have been preparing Bible studies for our group and sermons for the kids with whom we will work. I would like to share a couple of these messages with you. The first one comes from Luke 15 and is commonly known as the “Prodigal Son”. I find this passage even more amazing every time that I read/study it.

Understanding the audience is the key to