Some have alleged that the word “amen,” customarily used in affirmation, including affirmation of a prayer in Christian and Biblical usage (e.g., Matthew 6:13), is “pagan.” Is this true? Continue reading
Author Archives: Rod Reynolds
Have We Entered Our Rest?
The Bible speaks of a rest for the people of God. What is that rest? Have Christians already entered into the rest? Continue reading
Do You Have the Fear of God?
When God tested Abraham by commanding him to sacrifice to him his only son, Isaac, Abraham obeyed in faith. “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called,’ concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense” (Hebrews 11:17-19).
It was not God’s intent that Abraham actually slay his son, but God sought to test the extent of Abraham’s faith and see if he indeed had in him the fear of the Eternal (Genesis 22:10-12). Abraham proved that his fear of God was genuine, because he obeyed (Genesis 22:15-18; 26:4-5).
To fear God means to regard him with awe and deep respect, to see him as exalted and holy, just and righteous, to love him without reservation. Such fear comes from the heart. Because God is righteous and just, the fear of God is to hate evil (Proverbs 8:13). As Christians, we must overcome sin and put it out of our lives. Having a genuine fear of God, as we’ve described, enables us with God’s help to do that. If you truly hate evil you will abhor it and want to put it away from you (Proverbs 16:6).
Do you have the fear of God? We will discuss how that can be determined. One way to test yourself is ask yourself, do I hate what God hates? Do I hate evil?
Continue readingFeast of Tabernacles Observance
When God revealed his law to ancient Israel, he commanded them to keep, besides the weekly Sabbath, a series of annual festivals. All of the commanded assemblies are rehearsed in Leviticus 23.
Among them is the Feast of Tabernacles, beginning in the seventh month of the sacred calendar on the fifteenth day of the month. It was to be kept for seven days (Leviticus 23:34). At the end of the eighth day, the last great day, or high day, of the feast, the festival season ends (Leviticus 23:36). In certain respects the eighth day is a feast of its own, with its own special meaning, though closely connected with the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles coincided with the fall harvest season in Israel, and was to be a celebration of rejoicing accompanying the great harvest of the fall season (Deuteronomy 16:13-15).
Continue readingTaking the Message to the World
Jesus gave his Church the following commission, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you…” (Matthew 28:19-20). As you examine the material available on this website, you will find information about God’s purpose and plan for your life, and how to fulfill your God-given destiny. You will find answers to questions about what the Bible teaches about subjects you may have wondered about.
Much of what you read or hear from this website may surprise you, or perhaps even shock you. It may, in some respects at least, be different from things you’ve believed to be true. But we invite you to accept the challenge of proving the truth of what we teach from your own Bible (Acts 17:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:21). If you have the will, and are prepared to make the effort, you can swim upstream against the lethargy and spiritual blindness that affects most of the world. Continue reading