Unacceptable Gifts for God

Gift

“I hate, I reject your festivals, nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; and I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I […]

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Add to Your Faith (Part 8): Add Love

Add to Your Faith

As we reach the end of Peter’s list of qualities we are to add to our faith, we come to one that Paul described in another context as “the greatest of these” (1 Corinthians 13:13) – love. It is fitting for this to be the final trait, though not because it is the least important. As […]

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Fictitious Names

The Heretic Detector

In the nineteenth century, religious journals were a common and effective way for those who were making the “restoration plea” to spread their message far and wide. Alexander Campbell’s Christian Baptist and Millennial Harbinger were two of the most prominent journals, yet others also received wide circulation, including Barton W. Stone’s Christian Messenger, Benjamin Franklin’s […]

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Add to Your Faith (Part 7): Add Brotherly Kindness

Add to Your Faith

The first few qualities that Peter said we are to add to our faith relate to behaviors, attitudes, or traits that impact us personally. We are to learn what is right (knowledge), do what is right (moral excellence), refrain from doing what is wrong (self-control), and continue to do these things (perseverance). In the previous […]

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Book Review: Amusing Ourselves to Death

Amusing Ourselves to Death (cover)

Over the past few years, I have posted reviews for two books by Chris Martin: Terms of Service: The Real Cost of Social Media and The Wolf in Their Pockets: 13 Ways the Social Internet Threatens the People You Lead. Both of these books examine how social media (or the social internet) affects us (and, in […]

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Add to Your Faith (Part 6): Add Godliness

Add to Your Faith

As we have discussed the qualities we are to possess as Christians, we have emphasized the fact that faith is the starting point. All of the characteristics must be based upon faith; otherwise, these traits will be manifested in ways that are contrary to God’s will. Whether or not this matters to us will depend […]

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Our Daily Meditation

Man sitting by the water in autumn

When we think about what we can do as individuals to grow spiritually, a few obvious things come to mind: reading the Bible, studying, prayer, and so on. One practice mentioned throughout the Bible but often ignored today is meditation. Yet if we practice this correctly, it can greatly help us in our service to […]

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