People of the Bible

"Ananias: a Certain Disciple at Damascus" - By Carl Ballard

"Ananias: a Certain Disciple at Damascus" - By Carl Ballard

When the Lord needed a man to receive and teach the truth to the zealous Pharisee Saul, who had “made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison” (Acts 8:3, NKJV), he called on “a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias” [Acts 9:10, NKJV]. For the nature of this special need, God did not call on any of the apostles, nor a local elder, nor even someone already known for his work as an evangelist. He sought a man who is simply registered in Scripture as “a certain disciple”.

"Isaac - God Has Made Me Laugh" - By Jared Synan

"Isaac - God Has Made Me Laugh" - By Jared Synan

God promised Abraham and Sarah a child in their old age, and, despite their worldly attempts to bring about children on their own (possibly motivated by frustration, desperation or fear), God held true to His promise to them. Genesis chapter 21 shows Sarah giving birth to Isacc, with verse 2 specifying that she bore him "at the set time of which God had spoken to him" (NKJV). After being barren for so long, Sarah and Abraham were overjoyed with the blessing of their new baby, and in response to this they named him Isaac, which means "he laughs." Genesis 21:6 records Sarah saying "God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me" (NKJV). While it must be acknowledged that not all of Abraham and Sarah's actions or decisions were good ones, here we see at the very start of Isaac's life that they are properly responding to this blessing; not only rejoicing personally, but also glorifying God, recognizing His might and power at work, and making it known that He is the author and source of their happiness, as opposed to glorifying themselves or their own efforts.

"A Man Who Was Attacked When He Tried To Protect The Foreigners (Lot)" - By Cameron Piner

"A Man Who Was Attacked When He Tried To Protect The Foreigners (Lot)" - By Cameron Piner

There was once a man who was an immigrant and a foreigner to his current city. He welcomed and cared for other strangers and foreigners whenever they came to town. But, one day, the leaders of the city came to his door and wanted to drag the foreigners out of the house and into the street. The men of the city wanted to harm the foreigners, but this hospitable man protected the foreigners. However, the men of the city were enraged that he wanted to protect the foreigners, so they attacked the man instead, intending to do worse to him than they had originally planned to do to the foreigner. This is a real story, but maybe not the one that you are thinking about. The story that I am talking about was recorded in Genesis 19, and it is a story about Abraham’s nephew, Lot.

"“If you do well, will you not be accepted?” Not all “worship” is the worship of God" - By Carl Ballard

"“If you do well, will you not be accepted?” Not all “worship” is the worship of God" - By Carl Ballard

Life outside the Garden of Eden meant that there was no longer direct contact between the holy God and the people that He had created to bear His image. [cp Gen 1:26-28; 3:8, 24] While we never truly get to witness how Adam and Eve approached God again after their sin, the Bible does register the approach of Cain and Abel with their offerings as they come before Him in worship.

"Adam And Eve Illustrates God And Us" - By Cameron Piner

"Adam And Eve Illustrates God And Us" - By Cameron Piner

This article is going to be about Adam & Eve, I promise. However, I want to start by talking about God for a bit. Because, while the people in the Bible may seem like they are the main characters or heroes of the stories in the Bible; in reality, they are not the main character. God is the Main Character of the Bible. God is the Hero of every story in scripture. Meanwhile, the people, whom we are reading stories about, are there to illustrate different aspects of our God and His relationship with His people. This is true with the story of Adam & Eve as well. So, let’s go on a brief journey to consider some passages about God, then we will come back to talk about Adam & Eve.