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In the same way, every good (agathon) tree produces good (kalos) fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good (agathon) tree can't produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good (kalos) fruit. Every tree that doesn't produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. - Matthew 7:17-19 HCSB

In the verses above, I’ve noted two different Greek words that are both translated “good” into English. Now these two words can be used as synonyms for each other but, as in all languages, two different words may be equal but not equivalent. The different…  ( Click for more )

For you can have 10,000 instructors in Christ, but you can't have many fathers. Now I have fathered you in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Therefore I urge you, be imitators of me. This is why I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you about my ways in Christ Jesus, just as I teach everywhere in every church. - 1 Corinthians 4:15-17 HCSB

The Master gave us in the Great Commission not only a raison d'être but the requisite method. “Go,” He said, “and make disciples…baptizing them…teaching…  ( Click for more )

Also, this is why we constantly thank God, because when you received the message about God that you heard from us, you welcomed it not as a human message, but as it truly is, the message of God, which also works effectively in you believers. For you, brothers, became imitators of God's churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, since you have also suffered the same things from people of your own country, just as they did from the Jews. They killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and persecuted us; they displease God, and are hostile to everyone, - 1 Thessalonians 2:13-15…  ( Click for more )

Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. For by it our ancestors were approved. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen has been made from things that are not visible. - Hebrews 11:1-3 HCSB

Having been an atheist and having turned from my stupidity by studying both the "hard" sciences and logic, I am a great devotee of apologetics. However, in the many years since, I have never succeeded in leading a person to Christ using a purely apologetic approach. At some point, they…  ( Click for more )

Therefore, circumcise your hearts and don't be stiff-necked any longer. For the LORD your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords (in Hebrew Adonai adonaim), the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe. - Deuteronomy 10:16-17 HCSB

The Methodist denomination takes its name from the “methodical” approach John Wesley used with the Scriptures. Baptists gained their name due to their emphasis on the necessity of post-conversion baptism by immersion. Presbyterians are known for their hierarchical structure based on the Greek concept of…  ( Click for more )

These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. - Deuteronomy 6:6-7 HCSB

Because teaching the Scriptures to our children is impossible without studying the Scriptures, no discipline is more foundational than Scripture study. However, we study Yahweh’s words, not merely as an academic exercise, but as a religious act of devotion. Hashem’s words are to be in our heart. They are to be close to the very core…  ( Click for more )

Before the 1939/1945 war, if someone fell ill with pneumonia, there were several days of high fever while the patient fought for life against the infecting germ. Everything was done to maintain the patient’s strength, but no specific cure existed. Then, if the outcome was favorable, about the sixth day the body produced an out-pouring of antibodies into the blood, the skin soaked with sweat, the temperature came down and the patient sat up and asked for food. The ‘crisis’ had come.…  ( Click for more )

There is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother. There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filth. There is a generation--how haughty its eyes and pretentious its looks. There is a generation whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, devouring the oppressed from the land and the needy from among mankind. - Proverbs 30:11-14 HCSB

Every sin can be traced back to pride. Every good trait is founded in humility. God resists the proud and draws near to the humble. How much more do we need to know before we realize…  ( Click for more )

For you are called to freedom, brothers; only don't use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. - Galatians 5:13-14 HCSB

Seek out opportunities to serve secretly. Acting humble in order to gain the acclaim of others is not acceptable.

When you perform a mitzvah, keep in mind the following quote: “All the good things I do are but a drop in the ocean in comparison to what I ought to do.”[1]

When you perform a mitzvah for someone,…  ( Click for more )

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, because He cares about you. Be sober! Be on the alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are being experienced by your brothers in the world. - 1 Peter 5:6-9 HCSB

Notice His command: “Humble YOURSELVES”. Humility doesn’t “just happen.” God won’t zap us with it. He expects us to work…  ( Click for more )

Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. - Romans 12:2-3 HCSB

Humility is not self-hatred or having a “poor me” attitude. Acknowledge what Yahweh has done for you in the past and place your hope in His continued provision. Admit your continuous need of…  ( Click for more )

"There was a judge in one town who didn't fear God or respect man. And a widow in that town kept coming to him, saying, 'Give me justice against my adversary.' "For a while he was unwilling, but later he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or respect man, yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice, so she doesn't wear me out by her persistent coming.'" - Luke 18:2-5 HCSB

Human pride leads us to believe that we are self-sufficient, masters of ourselves and captains of our own fate. Hubris says “I have no need of God or…  ( Click for more )

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.” - Matthew 5:3 HCSB

The Bible teaches four basic lessons about humility: what humility is (self-honesty), how and to whom humility is to be expressed (to God and others), the results of humility (spiritual health and ultimate exaltation) and how to develop humility in our personal life (be teachable, be obedient, be a servant).

True biblical humility can be defined as an ultimate form of self-honestly. It is not thinking poorly of oneself.[1] Humility is often defined by contrasting…  ( Click for more )

“I always pray for you, and I make my requests with a heart full of joy because you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.” Philippians 1:4-5 You may not be gifted as a missionary. You may never have to face the danger of martyrdom. It’s not everyone’s task to face the devil in his lair and send him packing through the power of the Holy Spirit. You may spend the entirety of your life safely within the confines of the state or county in which you were born. But you can take part in the great…  ( Click for more )

A gossip goes around revealing a secret, but the trustworthy keeps a confidence. - Proverbs 11:13 HCSB

We have all seen the cop shows where a criminal confessed something to a priest that was critical to the case, but the priest believed he couldn’t reveal the key piece of evidence for fear of breaking the “sanctity of the confessional.” Unfortunately, many Christians have formed their views on the issue of confidentiality more out of what they have learned off the television than out of the Bible.

Obviously, an elder would not make for a very popular…  ( Click for more )

Although these have a reputation of wisdom by promoting ascetic practices, humility, and severe treatment of the body, they are not of any value against fleshly indulgence. - Colossians 2:23 HCSB

A young girl began wearing long-sleeve shirts all the time. She was very careful to not show her arms but one day, as she was washing some dishes, her father noted some cuts on her forearms. At first, she tried to say she’d simply gotten scratched by her playful dog but there was something about her tone that made her father keep questioning. Soon it became apparent that she…  ( Click for more )

If your brother becomes destitute and cannot sustain himself among you, you are to support him as a foreigner or temporary resident, so that he can continue to live among you. Do not profit or take interest from him, but fear your God and let your brother live among you. You are not to lend him your silver with interest or sell him your food for profit. - Leviticus 25:35-37 HCSB

With so much poverty in the world, how do we decide who to help? What should be the goal of our assistance? What measurable marker can we use to know where and when to draw those lines?

The phrase…  ( Click for more )

"Then the king will do whatever he wants. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will say outrageous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, because what has been decreed will be accomplished. He will not show regard for the gods of his fathers, the god longed for by women, or for any other god, because he will magnify himself above all. Instead, he will honor a god of fortresses--a god his fathers did not know--with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches. He will deal with the strongest fortresses with…  ( Click for more )

Then Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20 HCSB

It is interesting how many Christians believe that a physical act could lead to their salvation after God spent so much time trying to pound the very opposite into our heads. If a physical act was…  ( Click for more )

The LORD then said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you." Therefore, that place has been called Gilgal to this day. While the Israelites camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month. The day after Passover they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land. - Joshua 5:9-11 HCSB

Most Jews tend to focus on the first Passover at this time of year. You know - the one in Egypt when Yahweh delivered His people from Egyptian bondage and made freedmen…  ( Click for more )

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their unrestrained ways, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. In their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep. - 2 Peter 2:1-3 HCSB

Adonai destroys the omens of the false prophets and makes fools…  ( Click for more )