If you grew up attending a Pentecostal church you probably sang the song, Blow the Trumpet in Zion, in church a few times. I remember seeing people march around the inside of the church (yes, they were very Pentecostal) as they sang along with the worship team and celebrated the armies of God being victorious over his enemies. There is just one small problem. The Bible verse where the text of this song is drawn from does not have anything

The book of Revelation is one that has elicited significant debate and theories about its role in Scripture. Is it purely allegorical? Are the events on its pages prophetic imagery destined to play out at some point in the future? Could it be an apocalyptic description of things that have already happened? Or maybe even a combination of all of these and more? These are not questions to be answered in this article. Instead, let us focus on one piece

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” How many times have you heard a Christian quote this verse from Philippians 4:13? It is usually a declarative prayer right before a test, a big game, or some type of challenge. “I can win because I can do all things through Christ!” I love that people recognize they can receive help from Jesus in any situation, and I love that they put their faith into action when making these

Jesus warns us in Matthew 7:1 about the dangers of being judged when we judge others. Some have taken this passage to mean that a Christian should never judge anyone, but that is not what Jesus is really saying here. The verse in question says: “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.” – Matt. 7:1 If that was the whole story, we could take it at face value, but when we read it in context, it changes

The birth of Jesus is one of the most important events in human history. God became man so he could save all humanity from sin. It is an event celebrated throughout the world every year, even by those who do not profess to be Christians, and it is celebrated by followers of Jesus every day of the year. The account of his birth is both interesting and exciting. Two of the four gospels share the account of his birth, but

There are few Christians who are unfamiliar with the story of how Abram and Sarai took matters into their own hands to birth a child who could be Abram’s heir. Most look at this story with a bit of disdain for their actions. Here’s the biblical account: “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian slave-girl whose name was Hagar, and Sarai said to Abram, “You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children;

There has long been a debate in many different Christian denominations about the role of women in ministry. Some say women can have the same roles as men to pastor, teach, oversee churches, and carry out all the other common functions within church ministry. Others take the opposite stance and say that women are not allowed to hold positions of authority, especially over men, and they are limited to duties and responsibilities apart from leadership. The debate is understandable because

I came across a passage in 1 Chronicles recently that I never noticed before and it intrigued me enough to do a little research. 1 Chronicles 4:17 says, “The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. These are the sons of Bithiah, daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered married; and she conceived and bore Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah father of Eshtemoa.” Maybe you noticed what I did. The daughter of Pharoah is listed in the genealogical charts of the Israelites.

A being appeared on the scene quite early in human history and tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God. It is a story every Christian is familiar with as it resulted in the original sin and ultimately set up the greatest story of reconciliation. But who was the serpent? Barring any additional context, there would be no way to ascertain this serpent’s identity. Initially, all we know is that the serpent challenged God’s authority and his command to Adam and

Just before the biblical narrative about God judging the earth with a flood, we encounter an interesting verse that some have interpreted to mean God has established a maximum of 120 years for the lifespan of any human. Let’s look at this verse: “Then the Lord said, My spirit shall not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred twenty years.” – Gen. 6:3 Some have proposed that God determined humans could not live

Everything in the universe belongs to God. The planets, the stars, the asteroids floating through space, and even the things humans have not yet discovered all belong to him. The psalmist declared in Psalm 24:1 that “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.” He owns every plot of land, every building, every piece of sand, every car on the highway; it all belongs to him. So, we should not be surprised when we come across a

As one who follows Jesus, you have likely realized at some point that Satan desires to see you fail. He wants to destroy anything you do that causes the kingdom of God to expand on the earth and causes his kingdom to shrink. He wants to kill your dreams, your motivation, and your desire to follow God. He is the father of lies (John 8:44) and will use his evil nature to influence anyone and anything that will serve his

If you have read the Bible for even just a short amount of time you have likely found that there are many verses that correct specific activities or issue warnings for people not to engage in those activities. Rev. 3:18-23 is a great example of Jesus threatening judgment if there is no repentance of a specific sinful action. But then we have this verse in 1 Cor. 6:12 that can be puzzling to one who does not have a full