Building on the Foundation

  When He appeared before Pontius Pilate for judgment, Jesus Christ had a revealing exchange. Questioned by Pilate about whether He was a king, “Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’ Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’” (John 18:37-38). Indeed, what is truth? We live in a world so filled with lies that it can be hard to know. At times, it seems as if almost everything you hear is a lie. Politicians lie, scientists lie, doctors lie, the news media lie, “influencers” lie, and many people you interact with will simply parrot whatever lies they’ve been brainwashed into believing. Worse still, many lies seem to be mixed with an element of truth. A few elements of the narrative can often be verified as fact, causing people to believe the rest. God spoke of ancient Israel, shortly before sending her into captivity, ...

Can God do whatever He wants? It’s a fair question, and it’s a question that most Christians have asked at one time or another. We're curious about God, and we find the idea of unlimited anything a little hard to fathom, and in the case of unlimited power, even a little uncomfortable.  We like God to operate a bit like a machine, where you put in one action and get the exact equivalent action out every single time.  A bit like a vending machine where you put in your quarter, push the number two button, and out pops a Kit-Kat bar.  We tend to define God in our own terms and write His Character in our own image, but that’s always a mistake. God doesn’t fit into a nice little box of doctrine, and it certainly cannot be said of Him, “ I know God and this isn’t what He would do, ” concerning anything He has not directly told us about His character.  In fact, much of the book of Job is dedicated to three men who thought they knew God and how His thought process worked, and...