Gifts for Moms, Dads, and Grads
Gifts for Moms
Will Unbelievers Be Annihilated or Suffer Eternally? (Revelation 14)
The reality of a believer's faith will reveal itself in observable and concrete ways—those who endure follow God in obedience.
Tough Passages
86 results found
Will the Unsaved Suffer Eternal Judgment? (2 Thessalonians 1)
Salvation comes by grace through faith to believers, who consequently display their faith as they continue to trust in Jesus, heedless of suffering and persecution in this life.
Will God’s Wrath Come upon the Sexually Immoral? (Ephesians 5)
Not everyone who commits these sins is excluded from God’s heavenly kingdom. Yet, those who persistently give themselves over to them demonstrate that they are indeed excluded from eternal life.
Why Would Jesus Weep Right Before Raising Lazarus? (John 11)
No one knows better than Jesus what is going to happen in this episode. No one is better at mourning with those who mourn than Jesus. Jesus loves people, so he weeps with them, and over them.
Why Were There Such Strict Dietary Laws in the Old Testament? (Leviticus 11)
The first topic of Israel’s discipleship is how to eat in holiness by distinguishing between clean and unclean animals. A variety of approaches have sought to explain these dietary laws.
Why Were Ananias and Sapphira Killed? (Acts 5)
The account of Ananias and Sapphira causes understandable trouble for readers who believe their punishment to be harsh, but we should read it in the context of the description of the believing community.
Why Was Satan Allowed to Torment Job? (Job 1)
What is curious is that God is impressed not by Satan’s extraordinary abilities but rather by Job’s character.
Why Was a Man Killed for Touching the Ark of the Covenant? (2 Samuel 6)
God provides solemn reminders of the need to avoid impious infractions of the requirement to “offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:28–29).
Why Is Love Called the Greatest of These? (1 Corinthians 13)
Love is not a spiritual gift. It is essential for using spiritual gifts, and it is more important than spiritual gifts.
Why Does Paul Tell the Church to Deliver Someone to Satan? (1 Corinthians 5)
God’s church must be unleavened or pure. Tolerating unrepentant sexual immorality ruins the whole church’s purity.
Why Does Jesus Silence People Who Say Who He Is? (Mark 1)
Generally speaking, Jesus had to defer the full disclosure of his identity because God’s Messiah was to die and be raised from death in order to be enthroned as the eternal Messiah-ruler.
Why Did the Lord Seek to Put Moses to Death, and What Is a “Bridegroom of Blood”? (Exodus 4)
“Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, ‘Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!’” What is going on in this passage?
Why Did Ruth Enter Boaz’s Tent in the Middle of the Night? (Ruth 3)
Naomi’s plan initiates this scene’s events. After Boaz has eaten and gone to bed, Ruth is to enter his tent, lift the blanket at his feet and lie down, and wait for him to wake. Why does she do this?
Why Did Paul Publicly Rebuke Peter? (Galatians 2)
This passage clearly teaches that this subtle but very common problem in the church is a serious distortion of the gospel and needs the corrective rebuke of the apostle Paul.
Why Did Jesus Tell People Not to Bury Their Father or Say Goodbye to Their Family? (Luke 9)
Disciples have a more important calling and responsibility: heralding the good news of the kingdom.
Why Did Jesus Say, “On This Rock I Will Build My Church”? (Matthew 16)
When Peter forbids the cross, he is a stumbling stone. When he proclaims Jesus as the Christ, he is a rock.
Why Did Jesus Curse a Fig Tree? (Matthew 21)
The cursing of the fig tree is symbolic. The prophets use the fig as a symbol of Israel in its fruitlessness.
Why Did Jacob Wrestle with God? (Genesis 32)
What is in view in Genesis 32 is a monumental struggle for Jacob, a struggle he cannot win but which he is determined not to lose.
Why Did God Send Bears to Attack a Group of Boys? (2 Kings 2)
Is this a shocking incident? Yes it is. But this incident is also one that fits perfectly with the flow of 2 Kings 1–2, in which we see very clearly how God not only works in the darkness but will not be silenced.
Why Did God Command Hosea to Marry a Prostitute? (Hosea 1 & 3)
What is God teaching us about his faithfulness in the story of Hosea and Gomer?
Why Are Christians Told Not to Love the World? (1 John 2)
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
Who Were the Nephilim and the Sons of God and Daughters of Man? (Genesis 6)
Whichever interpretation is adopted, what is abundantly clear is that as man multiplies and fills the earth—evidence itself of God’s blessing (Gen. 1:28)—sin multiplies also.
Who Were the Nations in Nebuchadnezzar’s Prophetic Dream? (Daniel 2)
A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.
Who Were the Magi, and Why Did They Worship Jesus? (Matthew 2)
Popular Christian images of the magi clash with Matthew’s account. The magi were counselors, not kings, and while they bore three gifts, their number (unstated) was large enough to cause a stir in Jerusalem.
Who Is the Man of Lawlessness? (2 Thessalonians 2)
The man of lawlessness seeks to make himself the central person of worship, beyond any other religious objects or personages in his day.
Who Are the 144,000? (Revelation 7)
Who will escape the wrath of God at the final judgment? Only those who belong to God, those who are sealed by him, who are numbered by him.
What Was Paul's Thorn in the Flesh? (2 Corinthians 12)
This passage gives every indication that the thorn in Paul's flesh is still a present reality and thus represents a prolonged, sustained pain. But what was the thorn?
What Is the Unpardonable Sin? (Matthew 12)
Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
What Is the Sin that Leads to Death? (1 John 5)
What is the “sin that leads to death” and why does John not say we should pray for people committing such sin?
What Is the Rapture? (1 Thessalonians 4)
What does it mean for living believers to be “caught up together with them in the clouds” and to “meet the Lord in the air?"