God is love is an expression frequently heard in the course of the Christian life. Some people will argue that God was love in the New Testament, but more like wrath in the Old Testament. But how can we reconcile this apparent change when we know that God is supposed to be immutable?
Oh, that fateful night when there was no room left at the inn. The Bible does not tell us the length of time that it took Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem for the census. If they joined a caravan, which would have been likely, it probably took them about 4 days. Some speculate that it may have taken longer since Mary was nine months pregnant, but that is not very likely since it would have been dangerous to leave the caravan. Regardless of the time, they arrived at Bethlehem and found no room for them at the inn, thus they stayed at the stables instead.
I was challenged with the question of Evangelism recently. The person was frustrated about losing friends because of evangelizing and wanted some advice, so I told him that I would consider the question. After all, Jesus did say that people will persecute us for following Him (John 15:18-23), but does that reflect our life or our methods? I have had my eyes and ears open, consulted some other people whom I consider very Godly, and proceeded to think about the problem of Evangelism.
During my usual quick read-through the scriptures, I normally plow through the Word for familiarity, not deep study. But this morning, I was not able to get past a verse of scripture dealing with life in the Lord, death, faith, and more. The verse was 2 Samuel 14:14:
The world is abounding with news of the end of the world. Some people are really freaked out about it and others are comically planning 'End of the World' parties. That is expected as Peter says that scoffers will come and make light of the end of the world predictions (2 Peter 3:3-9). But Christ says that no one will know when the end will arise (Matthew 24:36). So I do believe we are in the final days, but that could days, months, or even years off yet. I do not know for sure and neither does any appropriately educated Christian.
The Cedars are the beautiful trees of Lebanon which were used in the Lords temple created by Solomon. They are magnificent trees considered of high value in the Holy Land. The Cedars category comes from the study title that an old pastor of mine used as a method for discipleship.
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