Published a new article on “Knowing Jesus vs. knowing about Jesus—what is the difference?”

Excerpt:

 Fan magazines help us answer this question. Adoring fans of movie, TV, music, or sports stars buy thousands of dollars’ worth of information, photos, and juicy tidbits. After poring over such material, the fans feel as if they really know their heroes. But do they? They may know certain facts about their chosen hero. They may be able to cite birth date, favorite color, and childhood pets, but, if they were to meet that person face to face, what would the hero say? Does the fan really know the hero?

Read more - http://www.gotquestions.org/knowing-Jesus.html

Today is National Day of Prayer. Got questions about prayer? - http://www.gotquestions.org/questions_prayer.html

Published a new article on “What does it mean that we live in a fallen world?”

Excerpt:

The word fallen is used in the Bible to describe someone or something spiritually and morally degraded. Israel is described as “fallen” (Amos 5:2), as are angels (Isaiah 14:12; Revelation 12:4) and the glory of mankind (1 Peter 1:24). Each of these has fallen away from the heights of God’s good will for them, fallen into sin, and therefore fallen under the just wrath of God. Those in a fallen state suffer the degrading and deadly spiritual, moral, and social consequences of sinfulness.

Read more - http://www.gotquestions.org/fallen-world.html

Published a new article on “Is Jesus God in the flesh? Why is it important that Jesus is God in the flesh?”

Excerpt:

Since His conception by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary (Luke 1:26-38), the real identity if Jesus Christ has always been questioned by skeptics. It began with Mary’s fiancé, Joseph, who was afraid to marry her when she revealed that she was pregnant (Matthew 1:18-24). He took her as his wife only after the angel confirmed to him that the child she carried was the Son of God.

Read more - http://www.gotquestions.org/God-in-the-flesh.html

This week’s Question of the Week: “How can I know if something is a sin?”

Excerpt:

 There are two issues involved in this question, the things that the Bible specifically mentions and declares to be sin and those the Bible does not directly address. Scriptural lists of various sins include Proverbs 6:16-19, Galatians 5:19-21, and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. There can be no doubt that these passages present the activities as sinful, things God does not approve of. Murder, adultery, lying, stealing, etc.—there is no doubt the Bible presents such things as sin. The more difficult issue is in determining what is sinful in areas that the Bible does not directly address. When the Bible does not cover a certain subject, we have some general principles in His Word to guide us.

Read more - http://www.gotquestions.org/know-sin.html

Published a new article on “Why is every sin ultimately a sin against God?”

Excerpt:

Sin often harms another person, but, ultimately, all sin is against God. The Bible is contains many references to people admitting, “I have sinned against God” (Exodus 10:16; Joshua 7:20; Judges 10:10). Genesis 39:9 gives us a closer look at this. Joseph was being tempted to commit adultery with Potiphar’s wife. In resisting her, he said, “My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” It is interesting that Joseph did not say that his sin would be against Potiphar. This isn’t to say that Potiphar would be unaffected. But Joseph’s greater loyalty was to God and His laws. It was God he did not want to offend.

Read more - http://www.gotquestions.org/sin-against-God.html

Published a new article on “Is temptation a sin? Is it a sin to be tempted?”

Excerpt:

 Temptation, by its very nature, feels wrong. God’s moral law is written in the heart of every human being (Romans 1:20), and when a sinful temptation is introduced, our consciences immediately sense danger. However, the temptation itself is not the sin. Jesus was tempted (Mark 1:13; Luke 4:1-13), but He never sinned (Hebrews 4:15). Sin occurs when we mishandle temptation.

Read more - http://www.gotquestions.org/temptation-sin.html

Published a new article on “How can I give my life to God?”

Excerpt:

We all live for something. We start life fully committed to pleasing ourselves. As we grow, that usually doesn’t change much. Our focus can become more dispersed among areas that are important to us, such as relationships, careers, or goals. But the bottom line is almost always a desire to please ourselves. The quest for happiness is a universal journey.

However, we were not created to live for ourselves. We were designed by God, in His image, for His pleasure (Genesis 1:27; Colossians 1:16). French philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every person, and it can never be filled by any created thing. It can only be filled by God, made known through Jesus Christ.”

Read more - http://www.gotquestions.org/give-life-to-God.html

Published a new article on “Why is following Christ so difficult?”

Excerpt:

No sane parent has ever said, “I wish my children would misbehave,” and there’s never been a self-help book entitled How to Live an Unhappy Life. We all want blessings, happiness, and fulfillment, and we associate a happy condition with a certain amount of ease. Jesus promises blessing and fulfillment to those who follow Him (John 4:14), but many people have been surprised that the way of Christ is not as easy as they had hoped. Sometimes, following Christ can be downright difficult.

The fact is, blessing and hardship are not mutually exclusive. The disciples “left everything” to follow Christ, and the Lord promised them “a hundred times as much” blessing in return (Mark 10:28-30). Jesus warned that all who follow Him must deny themselves and bear a daily cross (Luke 9:23). Hardship, to be sure, but hardship with a purpose and leading to the joy of the Lord.

Read more - http://www.gotquestions.org/following-Christ.html

This week’s Question of the Week: “Did God create evil?”

Excerpt:

 At first it might seem that if God created all things, then evil must have been created by God. However, evil is not a “thing” like a rock or electricity. You cannot have a jar of evil. Evil has no existence of its own; it is really the absence of good. For example, holes are real but they only exist in something else. We call the absence of dirt a hole, but it cannot be separated from the dirt. So when God created, it is true that all He created was good. One of the good things God made was creatures who had the freedom to choose good. In order to have a real choice, God had to allow there to be something besides good to choose. So, God allowed these free angels and humans to choose good or reject good (evil). When a bad relationship exists between two good things we call that evil, but it does not become a “thing” that required God to create it.

Read more - http://www.gotquestions.org/did-God-create-evil.html