CHRISTLIKE GOSPEL OUTREACH

  What is praying in the Spirit? Praying in the Spirit is mentioned three times in Scripture.  First Corinthians 14:15  says, "So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind."  Ephesians 6:18  says, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."  Jude 20  says, "But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit." So, what exactly does it mean to pray in the Spirit? The Greek word translated "pray in" can have several different meanings. It can mean "by means of," "with the help of," "in the sphere of," and "in connection to." Praying in the Spirit does not refer to the words we are saying. Rather, it refers to how we are praying. Praying in the Spirit is pray...

There are three occasions in the book of Acts where speaking in tongues accompanied the receiving of the Holy Spirit" Acts 2:4 ,  10:44-46 , and  19:6 . However, these three occasions are the only places in the Bible where speaking in tongues is an evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit. Throughout the book of Acts, thousands of people believe in Jesus and nothing is said about them speaking in tongues ( Acts 2:41 ,  8:5-25 ,  16:31-34 ,  21:20 ). Nowhere in the New Testament is it taught that speaking in tongues is the only evidence a person has received the Holy Spirit. In fact, the New Testament teaches the opposite. We are told that every believer in Christ has the Holy Spirit ( Romans 8:9 ;  1 Corinthians 12:13 ;  Ephesians 1:13-14 ), but not every believer speaks in tongues ( 1 Corinthians 12:29-31 ). So, why was speaking in tongues the evidence of the Holy Spirit in those three passages in Acts? Acts 2  records the apostles being baptized in...

From a human perspective, it seems reasonable to think it is okay for a couple to have sex if they are going to be married soon anyway. However, God’s Word has a clear and direct command on this topic: “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral” ( Hebrews 13:4 ). The “sexually immoral” in this verse includes all those who engage in sex outside of marriage. The world views fornication lightly, but not God. Paul exhorts the Christians at Corinth, saying, “Now for the matters you wrote about: ‘It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.’ But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband” ( 1 Corinthians 7:1–2 ). His words will later encourage those who are able to live single and celibately in order to fully serve Christ ( 1 Corinthians 7:7–9 ,  25–40 ). Biblically, the only appropriate context f...

The common idea of a "soul mate" is that for every person, there is another person who is a "perfect fit," and if you marry anyone other than this soul mate, you will never be happy. Is this concept of a soul mate biblical? No, it is not. The soul mate concept is often used as an excuse for divorce. People who are unhappy in their marriage sometimes claim that they did not marry their soul mate and therefore should divorce and begin the search for their true soul mate. This is nothing more than an excuse, a blatantly unbiblical excuse. If you are married, the person you are married to is your soul mate.  Mark 10:7-9  declares, "A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." A husband and wife are "united," "one flesh," "no longer two, but one," and "joined together,"...

  All the various forms of modern idolatry have one thing at their core: self. We no longer bow down to idols and images. Instead we worship at the altar of the god of self. This brand of modern idolatry takes various forms. First, we worship at the altar of materialism which feeds our need to build our egos through the acquisition of more "stuff." Our homes are filled with all manner of possessions. We build bigger and bigger houses with more closets and storage space in order to house all the things we buy, much of which we haven't even paid for yet. Most of our stuff has "planned obsolescence" built into it, making it useless in no time, and so we consign it to the garage or other storage space. Then we rush out to buy the newest item, garment or gadget and the whole process starts over. This insatiable desire for more, better, and newer stuff is nothing more than covetousness. The tenth commandment tells us not to fall victim to coveting: "You shall not...