Sheila Alewine

"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." What exactly is Scripture lighting and guiding us in? Together, we'll look at just a few of the way that Scripture illuminates, not just our everyday lives, but the keys to right, righteous living.

Is Father’s Day a day of joy and celebration for you? For many, it’s a painful reminder of what they’ve lost or what they never had. The history we have with our parents and our children is often filed with regrets. What hope is there for broken relationships between a father and his son or daughter?

The Bible is filled with stories of imperfect people just like you and me who did their best to navigate the complicated relationships called family. Thankfully, God gives us good examples to emulate, as well as the colorful stories of those who struggled, so that we can learn what to do and not to do. In addition, as New Testament Christ-followers, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, instructing, and empowering us to live the way God intended – in right relationship with each other.

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/greenleaf123

Jesus often spoke in parables, or stories. Some, like the prodigal son, are long stories. Others, like the parable of the wineskins, are just a few words. But length has no bearing on the rich biblical truth to be found in this story.

Jesus designed this parable to show us that God is not concerned with a specific level of achievement or return on His investment in us. He is interested in the attitude of our hearts; He desires only faithful obedience and devotion.

Record-setting earthquakes are destroying cities. Raging forest fires are consuming thousands of acres. Hurricanes are causing never-before-seen flood levels. Tropical storms are bringing massive tsunamis.

And that’s just nature. What about the cultural, political, and religious landscape of our world?

Government corruption exists at all levels. Sexual perversion is applauded as normal and good. Wars continue across our globe as nations try to destroy each other. False teachers abound; bad theology and heresy have infiltrated the church. Marriage has become passé; the divorce rate has dropped because few bother to wed. Homes are filled with strife. In many countries, homelessness is at an all-time high. Suicide is increasing due to mental illness, addiction, and hopelessness.

What’s a Follower of Jesus to Do?

God created a perfect world, but sin wrecked it. From the moment Adam and Eve disobeyed God by taking a bite of the forbidden fruit, we’ve grown farther and farther away from the world God wanted us to enjoy.

Scripture identifies the problem: sin has separated us from our Creator, and He has allowed us to have our way. Thankfully, our loving Heavenly Father provided a way out of the depravity of sin. From eternity past, He had a plan to rescue the world. The gospel of Jesus is our hope, both personally and collectively.

If we have repented of our sin and received the gift of salvation, acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord, we are saved. We have a living hope! God’s Word tells us how we can continue to trust in Him when the world feels unstable.

Here are six ways to find peace of mind and walk faithfully and obediently as victorious children of God.

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/tuaindeed

A quick internet search for “how to prepare to die” will result in a myriad of articles all focused on “end of life planning.” Most of these address practical things such as wills, estate planning, powers of attorney, medical preferences — all things that are helpful for this life, but not much use in preparing for what comes after death.

In a secular culture, death is perceived to be the end. By and large, most people don’t give a lot of consideration to what could be waiting for us when we close our eyes in death. Followers of Jesus Christ have a different perspective; we believe what the Bible says about life after death is of great importance and merits our attention as we look ahead to the end of our lives.

Hebrews 9:27 tells us, “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” Unless the Lord returns and we are caught up alive to meet Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:14), we will all die. This is an appointment for which we all must prepare.

Paul is a great example for how a Christ follower can prepare. What did he teach us by word and example about this important topic?

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/ookawaphoto

It would be nice if there was a single passage of Scripture that gave us all the details about these fallen creatures. Instead, we must connect Scripture to Scripture to see things from a wider perspective. What happened? Where are they now? What will their future be?

The concept of debt forgiveness is essential to understanding God’s view of forgiveness. We can only practice forgiveness to the degree that we are aware of our own need for it, and this begins with our relationship to God.

As people who believe the Bible is our inerrant, infallible authority, we trust its words to tell us the truth about salvation, eternal life, and what it means to live pleasing to God in this world. Our standard isn’t popular opinion or cultural norms, but the truth we find in the Word of God. Any deviation from the truth found in the Bible is considered heresy.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

In the New Testament, the word Gospel is translated from the Greek word euangelion, meaning good tidings, glad tidings, a good message.

Blue Letter Bible writes that the gospel is “the glad tidings of the kingdom of God soon to be set up, and subsequently also of Jesus the Messiah, the founder of this kingdom.” After the resurrection, the term “gospel” includes preaching about Jesus’ suffering on the cross to obtain eternal salvation of all mankind. After his death, Jesus was restored to life and exalted to the right hand of God in heaven. One day he will return in majesty to make all things new.

Photo credit: Unsplash/Aaron Owens

Of all the articles I’ve written or blogs I’ve posted, this is perhaps one of the most important I’ve had the opportunity to write. It’s the greatest question one could ever ask, and the answer can make an eternal difference.

There are two kinds of people reading this right now. One is already a Christian – a follower of Jesus who has repented of their sins and trusted in the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for forgiveness and salvation. The other is not a Christian; they have never fully understood or accepted the gospel as presented in Scripture.

There are many, many Scriptures that speak of salvation and how a person can be rescued from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of Christ (Colossians 1:13). Volumes have been written on this topic. It even has its own theological designation: soteriology, the study of salvation. It’s very clear, taking the whole counsel of God’s Word, that becoming a Christian is far more than an intellectual assent to some facts (a religious work that we might do). It is, instead, a work of God on our hearts; He does the work of salvation, and we are simply those who receive it as a gift.

I believe Jesus answered the very important question, “How do I become a Christian?” in one succinct statement in John 14:6. He had told His disciples that He was leaving but would be back to take them to His Father’s house. Thomas was distressed to think of the Lord’s departure, even though Jesus said, “You know the way where I am going.” After all, isn’t that the essence and purpose of becoming a Christian? To follow Jesus as His disciple, and to be with Him, where He is, forever?

“Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me’” (John 14:5-6, emphasis added).

How is Jesus the way, the truth, and the life? If we understand this, then the means of becoming a Christian will be clear.

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/fizkes

I am so grateful that my earthly father had trusted the words of our Heavenly Father. He had beheld the Son and believed, and now, all the promises God made have come to their full experience for him.

Whether it’s the heirloom nativity scene that takes a place of prominence in your own Christmas decorations, a child-proof version that you purchased for your children to enjoy, or the community display in front of the local church, almost every nativity scene includes a few camels and three wise men dressed in colorful robes. While they are an important part of the story of the coming of Jesus, our nativity scenes don’t tell the real story of the wise men’s visit, as they imply these kings of the east knelt at the manger.

In fact, Scripture reveals that the wise men visited Mary and Joseph after they had moved to a house. The timeline isn’t clear. According to the information given to Herod, the star that led the wise men could have appeared two years earlier, and it took that long for them to discern its significance and follow it to Bethlehem. Or the star appeared when Jesus was born, and was still in place two years later, over the home where the little family was living, until such time as they planned to return to Nazareth. Jesus could have been a toddler of two at the time He found these scholarly men bowing at His feet.

We find the reference to the two years after the wise men had completed their visit. They were warned by God not to return to Herod, and left without updating the jealous Gentile king. In Matthew 2:16 we read, “Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.”

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Rudall30