In English we have a lot of words for “believe” (“think,” “feel,” and “know” are just a few). But the Greek language (the language of the New Testament) has just one word for “believe” (“pisteuo,” pronounced peh-STEW-oh). This Greek word means believing with everything you’ve got—to the point where believing actually changes … [Read more...]
On the Shore Or In the Boat?
Before Jesus invited Simon Peter to be a disciple, Peter was just a regular guy who worked hard to support his family using his talent for fishing. That was his view of life: work hard, fish hard, use your talents to make a living. Luke’s gospel shows how Jesus changed Simon Peter’s point of view and helped him understand what … [Read more...]
Does Bible Literacy Matter?
The importance of Bible literacy is a fair debate. Even the Bible itself tells us that knowledge, just for the sake of knowledge, can be detrimental—it puffs up and leads to pride (1 Cor. 8:1). And if Bible knowledge runs the risk of making us prideful (and in turn, self-righteous), why not simply focus more on the … [Read more...]
Planning a Funeral
How would you complete this sentence: “Because I have been raised with Christ, I will …”? Does anything pop into your mind? If not (and that’s okay!), the passage below will help you fill in the blank. Most of the New Testament is a collection of letters written within a few decades of Jesus’ ministry. These letters were … [Read more...]
Just EXACTLY Who Is Jesus?
Within the first 100 years after Jesus’ ministry, a lot of talk about Him was still going around. Some of it was inaccurate (hmmm…imagine that!). To help people sort out the information, there was a need to get the Truth down on “paper”—and voila!—the New Testament was written. The New Testament book of Hebrews offers one of the … [Read more...]