Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:38   What is obedience? Obedience is defined as, “compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another's authority.” It’s a decision that we make to respect God and those He has placed in charge of us, even when it isn’t easy. When we choose to be obedient, we are able to receive all of the promises that God has made to those who follow Him. What does this mean for me? The Bible gives us clear directions on how God wants us to behave. In the Old Testament, He gave Moses a list of Ten Commandments that He wanted the Israelites to follow. The rules came because His people, the Israelites, were not making the right choices on their own. He deeply loved the Israelites (in the same way that He loves us today), but they were making decisions that hurt both Him and each other. Teaching the Israelites to do what was right was a way that He show...

    Question How should Christians engage with social media? Short Answer Biblical principles apply to all parts of life.   What the Bible Says Romans 12:18 says, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” Yet, we don’t seem to think this applies to the online world, especially when we have a strong opinion on a matter. However, all things belong to God ( Proverbs 16:4 ), including social media, which means our online interactions should be no less guided by the Holy Spirit than our in-person ones. Scripture tells us to be slow to speak ( James 1:19-20 ), but that doesn’t mean we are to spend time dwelling on what upsets us. We are to take every thought captive ( 2 Corinthians 10:5 ), think before we speak ( Proverbs 16:23 ), and, at times, remain silent ( Psalm 4:4 ) so that our anger doesn’t lead to sin ( Ephesians 4:26 ). When defending ourselves or our positions in the online world, Christians are quick to reco...

Question: Do I need to be like the Proverbs 31 woman?   Short Answer:  Only in that she fears the Lord   What the Bible Says Proverbs 31:9-31 shows us a model of virtuous perfection. The woman in these verses is praised by her husband and blessed by her children. She cares for her household and the needy. She’s wise in words and in business. Scripture says that she surpasses all the other noble women. But when we focus on what she is, desiring to be her, we miss the heart of the passage and veer into the lane of sinful comparison ( Galatians 6:4 ). Every good work and noble trait is futile without the fear of the Lord because, without that, we can only serve ourselves. The most significant part of the passage is this: “a woman who fears the Lord.” That’s it. The Proverbs woman produced good fruit and did good works because she feared the Lord, not the other way around. Her fear of the Lord isn’t an extra detail to be spoken of as if it also describes her l...

  Short Answer: Those who are right with God have a spiritual responsibility to bring those who are walking in sinfulness before the Lord so that He might be moved to mercy on their behalf.   What the Bible Says Scripture repeatedly shows us that God calls those who are righteous to intercede for those who are not. Abraham asked that God spare Sodom if ten were found righteous (Genesis18:16-33) . Moses pleaded that God would spare the Israelites for their idol worship in the wilderness ( Numbers 14:11- 20 ). Daniel petitioned for mercy instead of disaster for Judah during their Babylonian exile ( Daniel 9:19 ). Each time, God faithfully responded. To Abraham, He promised that if just ten were found righteous, He would spare the city ( Genesis 18:32 ).   He told Moses that He would forgive the Israelites because of his words ( Numbers 14:20 ). To Daniel, He sent the angel Gabriel with a message of hope for Judah ( Daniel 9:20 – 27 ). We are not told that interces...

    Short Answer:  Sin entered the world when the first husband and wife came into spiritual agreement that eating the fruit of unrighteousness was acceptable.   What the Bible Says ·          This  is  now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh ( Genesis 2:23 )       So when the woman saw that the tree  was  good for food, that it  was  pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make  one  wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. ( Genesis 3:6 )   Although Eve was the first to eat the fruit ( Genesis 3:6 ), we’re told that sin entered the world through one man ( Romans 5:12 ) - Adam. The argument that Adam bears responsibility because he was created first is valid, but alone this explanation misses a deeper spiritual truth. When God brought Eve to Adam, Adam said, “This  is  now bone of my bones and fles...

  Short Answer: We have to learn the difference between being prompted to speak by the Holy Spirit and a desire to speak from a lack of self-control. Not all thoughts, even what we believe to be righteous, are meant to be spoken. What the Bible Says The Apostle Paul tells us to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” ( 2 Corinthians 10:5 ). We generally talk about this verse in the context of what we believe to be “bad” or sinful thoughts. However, the key word in this verse is every . Every thought, even the ones that we believe to be righteous, must come before the Lord before it comes out of our mouth. First, only God knows the true motivation of the heart – even yours. We can say that we’re speaking out of love to help our brothers and sisters in their walk with Christ, but only God knows if there are hidden motivations behind your words ( 1 Chronicles 28:9 ). Second, as we don’t know anyone else’s heart, we can’t know how our words will be received. J...