Tuesday 27 July 2010

How old was Paul when he died?

That is an interesting question since nowhere in the Holy Bible does it specifically give a birth date for Saul of Tarsus or a date for the death of the Apostle Paul. In fact, no other historical book exists that says how or when he died. According to Christian tradition, though, Paul was beheaded in Rome during the reign of Nero around the mid-60s A.D. at Tre Fontane Abbey. Some scholars said it was 67 A.D. and others claim it was in 68 A.D. Still others claim that it was closer to 64 A.D. when Nero burned Rome to the ground. The truth is, no one really knows the exact date and it’s not mentioned anywhere in the Bible.

So, without know when he was born, we really don’t know how old he was. Scholars have speculated that Paul was either in his mid-50’s or his mid-60’s when he died. They base this on when he was a student under Gamaliel learning to be a Pharisee (which would usually be around 13 or 14) and compare it to when he was a Pharisee and then when he converted to Christianity. But, truthfully, no one knows for sure.

Extra Info!!! Below is a suggested timeline for the life of Paul. It's pretty cool. Even though scholars don't all agree on the dates, you can get a pretty good idea of what his life was like.

A walk through the Bible & some of Paul’s experiences –


YEAR, BIBLE VERSES, WHAT HAPPENED?

1 Saul (his Jewish name) is born in Tarsus.

12 – 15 Enrolled in school in Jerusalem (Rabbi Gamaliel)

30 Jesus is crucified!
Saul is made a member of the Sanhedrin (religious board)

31 – 34 Gal 1:13 Saul persecutes the Christian Church in Jerusalem

34 Acts 7:58 – 8:3 Stephen is killed as Saul watches

35 Acts 9:1-9 Saul meets Jesus on the road to Damascus
Acts 9:17-19a Saul is baptized (and later given the Christian name ‘Paul’)

35 – 37 Gal 1:17 Paul goes to Arabia for a few years

37 Acts 9:19b-25 Paul ministers in Damascus

37 Acts 9:26-29 Paul’s first visit to Jerusalem as a Christian

48 – 57 Paul took 3 (and maybe even 4) big missionary journeys

57 – 59 Acts 21:17-31 Begins the story of his arrest and 2 years in prison

59 Acts 27:22-25 An angel visits Paul before the shipwreck

60 – 64 Phil 4:4-7 Paul is imprisoned in Rome; writes Prison Letters
(Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians)

68 Paul is beheaded

Wednesday 21 July 2010

When did unwholesome words come into the world? If Adam and Eve were Christians why did they come up with those words?

Awesome questions! Wow, you really like to stretch my brain, don’t you??? Well, the answer is that unwholesome words entered into this world when sin entered the world. Remember, “unwholesome words” just aren’t swear words. It’s anytime you say something that can be hurtful to others or that hurts the heart of God, such as taking His name in vain.

Look at what Ephesians 4:29 has to say about unwholesome words: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” As Christians, we are supposed to speak in a way that helps people according to their needs not make them feel worse.

Let me try and give you a real life example. Let’s say you’re really good at a video game and a friend comes over and wants to play it. Let’s say that friend is absolutely terrible at the video game and keeps losing. The unwholesome way to speak to that friend would be to say, “Give me that controller! You stink!!! I’ve never seen someone play this game as badly as you just did!” That does nothing to build up your friend. You didn’t curse at him but you said he stunk. The Christ Follower would say, “It’s okay … it’s a hard game to play but I know, with practice, you’ll get better.”

Now, regarding the second part of your question, I don’t know what kind of words Adam and Even came up with but, if they did come up with bad words, it’s because of the sin that entered the world. I’m fairly certain they did not invent many of the curse words we hear so often today but because of their sin, that has been passed on throughout the ages we, human beings, have invented inappropriate and unwholesome words to say.

Remember what happened immediately after Adam and Eve bit into the apple? Their eyes were opened and they realized they were naked. (Genesis 3:7) Right then and there, sin entered into the world. Adam and Eve even hid from God because of what they had done. I can only imagine what they were saying to each other too; it was probably the first time unwholesome words were spoken in the Garden of Eden. I’m not saying Adam all of a sudden started cussing but I bet he looked right at Eve and said something like, “Boy, that sure was dumb … thanks a lot!” Again, not using cuss words but certainly not using words to build her up. Of course, we don’t know what was said but we do know that from that point, sin was in the world and it is that original sin that perpetuates unwholesome words today.

Tuesday 13 July 2010

In heaven the souls look different so how do you know who's who?

Wow!! That is an amazing question! This is also a question that has been debated between biblical scholars. The Holy Bible makes it pretty clear that we are able to recognize people even in their glorified bodies. Remember when Jesus reappeared to His disciples after He was crucified? Look at what the Bible has to say about that:

“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.” (John 20-19-20)

It appears, by this passage, that the disciples recognized Jesus and were overjoyed. Next, look at what it says in the Book of Acts:

“After his suffering, He (Jesus) showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3)

Obviously, Jesus was recognizable to everyone He came into contact with after He had risen.

There is also the story of the rich man and Lazarus in the Book of Luke, Chapter 16. Look at these passages:

"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire. But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.” (Luke 16:22-25)

It appears that the rich man, while in Hell can see and recognize Abraham and Lazarus, the poor beggar, in Heaven. It also implies that Abraham can recognize the rich man in Hell. Also, Abraham tells the rich man to “remember” the things in his lifetime which tells me that the rich man will have the memories of his life.

In Mark 9:4, the disciples somehow recognize Moses and Elijah when they were with Jesus on the mountain. Moses and Elijah presumably were in their “glorified” forms.

But, according to scripture, we also get “glorified bodies.” These are new bodies and are called “Heavenly bodies” according to 1 Corinthians 15:40 which says, “There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.”

After Jesus died on the cross many of the saints of God who had died before his crucifixion, rose in their bodies from their graves and were seen and recognized, presumably before they were taken up into heaven. They arose because their graves had been disturbed by what seems like an earthquake at the moment of Jesus’ death.

Jesus also said that we would be like the angels of heaven; well, what did they look like??? For one, they appeared and disappeared like Jesus. They appeared in human form like us; they ate, drank and talked like mankind. (Genesis 18 & 19) Sometimes they appeared in radiant garment like Jesus when He appeared on the mount of transfiguration. In the book of Revelation angels some times appear as giants standing astride great masses of land. (Am I confusing you yet?)

The Bible only gives us glimpses of what is to come and what our heavenly bodies will be like, and it remains one of the mysteries of our faith. But it seems to me from the little evidence we have in the Bible, we can rest assured we will know each other in heaven!

Sunday 11 July 2010

In the Bible, God's name is spelled Jehovah but in Indiana Jones Last Crusade it's spelled Iehovah. Why?

That is a great question! And the answer is actually in movie too! So, in the movie, this was actually the second test that Indiana Jones had to pass, remember? The first test talked about a penitent man and Indie had to kneel before God so that his head wouldn’t get chopped off!

The second test was, “to proceed in the footsteps of the Word of God.” Both Indiana and his dad realized that the riddle dealt with the name of God, which is Jehovah. BUT, Indiana almost fell through the floor when he stepped on the letter “J”, remember? The reason was (and both Indiana and his dad say it at the same time) because in the Latin alphabet Jehovah starts with an “I”!!!

So, Indiana steps on the tiles in this order: I – E – H – O – V – A. This is the way to spell Jehovah in Latin!

Wow, thanks for asking such a cool question because I got to watch one of my all time favorite movies in the process of finding out the answer!

Saturday 10 July 2010

If God gave us great things in life, why does he take them away sometimes?

Wow!! That is an amazing question! And it is such a difficult question to answer because the answer can be so frustrating at times. It’s almost like when you’re mom or dad says, “Because I said so…that’s why!”

Let me first start by telling you about the character of God. As hard as it is for us to understand this, God is good all the time. God can do no evil. He’s not like some angry, evil person who delights in watching us suffer. God loves you and only wants what is best for you.

The Bible has many scriptures relating to God’s love for us; in fact, one of the greatest scripture verses is John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, and whoever shall believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God gave us Jesus and what’s really amazing is this: “But God demonstrates His love for us in this: while we were still sinners he sent His son to die for use.” (Romans 5:8)

I quote these two verses to show you how much God loves you. One of my favorite Scripture passages is Jeremiah 29:11-13, which reads, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Wow! The Lord of all creation loves us all so much that He wants us all to prosper and to be protected. He also wants to give you a hope and a future.

He also promises us that He will listen to us through prayer! We also know that He loves us deeply and because of that He “knit us in our mother’s womb” and we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:13-14) We know that He thinks about us so much and so often that the sheer number would outnumber the grains of sand on a beach (Psalm 139:18).

So then the obvious question is why does He sometimes take away the great things in life? Honestly, I don’t know why. What I do know is that God has a plan that is much bigger than we can even imagine. There is no way for us to fully understand why God does some things because we tend to look at it from only our perspective.

Let’s look at the earthquake in Haiti, for example. It is so easy for us to ask, “Why did God kill all those people?” But, here’s the thing: God didn’t kill anyone. He allowed certain things to happen and He allowed some people to die, but He didn’t set out to kill them. I know it’s hard to understand but God doesn’t kill people, either out of anger or to punish them. He does allow it and He does have a reason for allowing it to happen … we just don’t know why or can understand God’s thinking. God is a “big picture” kind of God and we’re more the “in-the-moment” thinkers and reactors.

Remember though, there were some miracles that occurred down there too. I read a story about a child who was found alive after SEVEN days without food or water. How does that happen??? Even more amazing, they found a 69-year old woman alive after TEN days. How is that possible??? Ten days without food or water??? I can’t even go a day without eating or drinking something. One survivor, who was trapped under a collapsed building, talks about confessing his sins and giving his life to Jesus … only to be rescued within hours of that prayer. Another woman was pinned under a house in a kneeling position and was stuck in that position for FIVE days. She said that during the entire time, THE ENTIRE TIME, she was praying to Jesus. And when they found her and dug her out, she was able to walk into her husband’s arms.

There was an orphanage in a small town called Petion-Ville. Do you know that while every building around the orphanage collapsed, including a building that housed volunteers, the main orphanage did not collapse and every child survived? How do we explain that?

How do we explain any of those miracles? I’m sure there are many more but those are the ones I can remember. It’s because God also has a plan for each and every survivor. Do I know what his reasons are? Absolutely not! But, my faith in God is so strong that I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that it fulfilled God’s overall divine plan. One of my favorite Bible verses is a simple one and one that is easy to remember. It is Proverbs 3:5-6 and it says, “Trust in the Lord, your God, with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”

We have to trust God’s will despite what we see as being so sad and so tragic. And know and put your faith in the fact that God is good.

Friday 9 July 2010

Why do we do offering?

We do an offering because it is a way that we show God that we love Him. It is a practice that was established way back before the time of Moses. Abraham, the father of the Jews, gave back to God in Genesis 14:20 when he gave God a tenth of everything he had. In fact, the word “tithe” (which is another name for an offering) means “a tenth.”

Look at what it says in Leviticus, "A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.” (Leviticus 27:30) “The entire tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod—will be holy to the LORD.” (Leviticus 27:32)

Jesus continued to preach and reaffirmed the value of tithing in the New Testament when He said, “Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices — mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law — justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” (Matthew 23:23)

Did you know that by faithfully tithing, God promises you a blessing? In fact, God says it this way in Malachi 3:10, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” This is the only place in the entire Bible, Old and New Testament, where God says to test Him.

But, here’s the key: You must do this joyfully. Don’t do it begrudgingly. Don’t do it because you feel you are forced to do it. God would rather you didn’t give at all. He wants you to do it because you love Him and want to give back to Him. Remember what it says in Proverbs 3:9, “Honor the Lord with all your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops.” And here’s what it says in Luke 12:34, “For where your treasure is, your heart will be also.”

Thursday 8 July 2010

Why did God leave the earth?

God’s realm is Heaven and that is where He sits and reigns. Jesus, as we know, was God in flesh. Jesus came to this world for one reason, to save us from sin. Part of the salvation plan required Jesus to live, then be crucified and killed, and then to rise again on the third day to show the world that He conquered death. Jesus then ascended to heaven where He sits until His second coming. We don’t know exactly when that will be…no one does. BUT, we must prepare for His return because that’s part of God’s unstoppable plan.

God left the earth but that doesn’t mean His presence isn’t here. Look at this beautiful planet we live on and all of the different people, plants, animals, lakes, mountains, rivers, deserts…all of the majesty of God’s creation. How could we possibly say that God’s not here with us? God is also present when you need Him. God has the power to be everywhere and to know everything…pretty amazing, huh? My brain doesn’t understand how He can do that but I know, through faith, that He can do that.

God may have physically left the earth but His presence and His glory is all around us. Jesus left, temporarily, because it was all part of God’s salvation plan to bring us closer to Him, through faith.