Elisha and the Shunammite Woman’s Promised Son

Well, I decided to blog again about the divided kingdom. We tackled Elijah’s ascension and Elisha as his successor. 2 Kings 4:8-37 talks about Elisha and the Shunnamite woman. Some say that being wealthy is a curse. It’s a curse if you let your wealth control you. In this case, we have a godly woman whose name isn’t mentioned for a reason. There’s a reason that God decided not to have their names written down in the Bible. We had Elisha with the unnamed widow and now this wealthy woman. I guess God decided not to have her name recorded for a reason.

The Thessalonican Church’s Growth in Persecution

2 Thessalonians was said to have followed six months after the first letter, 1 Thessalonians. The church at Thessalonica was getting persecuted. Many were getting disowned. It’s very easy to admire the faith of the apostles but not be willing to suffer as they did. Personally, I don’t even find myself looking forward to suffering the horrible things in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. I couldn’t imagine myself walking to my execution either for a swift beheading like Paul, to be crucified downward (at request) like Peter, to be flayed like Bartholomew, to be put into an arena of lions. Yet, somehow, persecution has been allowed by God for a very good reason. Sometimes, persecution will not only get rid of the phonies in the Church but also the phony attitude that true converts may be struggling with. Sometimes, a good old tribulation might be what Christians need to act better in a world gone wrong.

What I Felt While Reading John F. MacArthur’s “Worship: The Ultimate Priority”

I could remember how I once thought John F. MacArthur taught salvation by works, only because I spent too much reading David J. Stewart’s site. I did feel some conviction about some stuff Stewart wrote yet it was hard to get out of it because of the conspiracy theories. Fortunately, I stopped and decided to investigate MacArthur’s site Grace to You, and found out he wasn’t teaching salvation by works or what lordship salvation is all about. There’s a wealth of books written by MacArthur. My first book was called Fool’s Gold. Later, I decided to investigate The Gospel According to Jesus and Hard to Believe. One book I later got (and at a cheaper price due to being legally and locally printed in the Philippines) is Worship: The Ultimate Priority. The book covers what the Christian life is all about–worshiping God.

The Importance of the Lord Jesus’ Resurrection

Today is Easter Sunday. I’m afraid that after Easter Sunday, many people will go back to worldly living. However, for the elect of God, Easter Sunday is the victory against sin which was necessary with the death, burial, and resurrection. Why must there be a resurrection? 1 Corinthians 15:14 says:

Understanding More About Limited Atonement This Good Friday

Today is Good Friday, often associated with the crucifixion of Jesus. Some people still continue to argue for a Thursday crucifixion (literally 72 hours) or even a Wednesday Crucifixion (which is four days instead). A controversial doctrine of TULIP is limited atonement. It really can be controversial because limited atonement is often said it limits the atonement. It’s viewed as cruel because we have the tendency to believe Jesus died for the whole world but you must receive the free gift of salvation. Yes, the atonement is available for everyone but only those who receive it will benefit from it.

A Medical View of Jesus’ Suffering for Good Friday

Crucifixion was a death reserved only for the worst of criminals. The message of the cross is foolishness to the world (1 Corinthians 1:18). I remembered reading Hard to Believe by Dr. John F. MacArthur and found how the idea of the sinless Savior dying a criminal’s death was very hard to swallow. It’s already hard to swallow the fact salvation can’t be attained by our efforts. How much more is it to preach that salvation was attained when the sinless eternal Son of God was given a death reserved only for the worst of criminals in the Roman Empire?

The Church is Called to Bear Christ’s Cross

I went backtracking a few of Charles H. Spurgeon’s devotions. One of them had Luke 23:36 as the message which says, “On him, they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.” Since Holy Week changes year after year depending on a lunar cycle (which must somehow coincide with the Passover), I had to backtrack to give this Good Friday study.