Building on the Foundation

  In both Old and New Testaments, we occasionally find puzzling verses that require much thought, study, and prayer to understand. Today, let’s examine one such passage in the Book of Deuteronomy. The passage begins clearly enough. Deut. 22:25-27 plainly states that if a man rapes a woman who is betrothed to another man, the rapist must be put to death. Naturally, this would extend also to a fully married woman. The Bible deems raping another man’s wife to be just as terrible of a crime as murder: “For just as when a man rises against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter” (Deut. 22:26). But in vv. 28-29, we read something different: “If a man finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out, then the man who lay with her shall give to the young woman's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife because he has humbled her; he shall not be permitted to divorce her all his days.” Thos...

Are you struggling with pronouns like a confused penguin? Fear not, my friend! As a seasoned wordsmith and Bible buff (not to brag, but I have written a couple of posts. Hehe), let me guide you through the treacherous waters of pronoun use. Trust me; you'll be pronouning like a pro in no time! So sit back, grab some popcorn, and hang on as we dive into the not-so-wild world of pronouns and remove your confused penguin look. The first thing to straighten out is the question that might be on everyone’s mind. What is a pronoun? Well, quite simply, it is a noun that has lost its amateur status. It has gone pro. Having gone pro, it is now a word that stands in for a noun. Like nouns, pronouns refer to people, things, concepts, or places. Most sentences contain at least one noun or pronoun. A pronoun can serve as the subject or object in a sentence, and it will usually refer back (or sometimes forward) to an antecedent—the noun that the pronoun stands in for. Pronouns are used to avoid t...

What is spiritual death? Does it have the same weight as physical death, or can you repent and return to God? Is all spiritual death equal? These questions drove me to study this topic, one my cousins and I have been theorizing on for a while. The Bible has a lot to say about spiritual death, and it is vital that we understand what spiritual death is - after all, the second death is spiritual. The permanent kind.  Rev 21:8 KJV But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. There’s no coming back from that one. What about spiritual death while we are still alive physically?  Ephesians 2:5 KJV  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) Paul says that we were spiritually dead before we had the blood of Christ applied to our sins. Or does h...