Category: Faith Questions
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What Must I Do to Be Saved?
What must I do to be saved? That question in its various forms has plagued people ever since the fall into sin. If the all-important answer can be found in keeping God’s commands or staying on his good side by being a good person, we haven’t done that. We can’t. We want to do something…
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Does God Really Care About Me?
Sometimes I forget who God is. I momentarily lose sight of who God is because I’m so fearfully fixated by some problem I’m facing in life. And to my shame, I wonder: Does God really care about me? That problem—whatever it may be—seems mountainous. It looms impossibly large, occupying my thoughts, my time, and my…
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What Does It Mean to Extol the Lord?
“Praise the Lord. I will extol the Lord with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly” (Psalm 111:1). If you’re like me, extol is not a word you use every day (or maybe ever). When I came across it in the verse from Psalm 111 (quoted above), curiosity got…
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How Do I Forgive Others?
“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” He replied, “If you have…
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How Do I Live as a Christian in This World?
“Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!” (Amos 6:1). Like many of the Old Testament prophets, Amos had a hard but necessary message to preach to God’s people. God’s charge to…
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Does Jesus Welcome Sinners?
“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them’” (Luke 15:1-2). “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them . . . ” If it shocks you that this accusatory observation came from…
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Do I Choose to Believe in God?
“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For…
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Why Do We Need Law and Gospel?
“‘Let the prophet who has a dream recount the dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?’ declares the Lord. ‘Is not my word like fire,’ declares the Lord, ‘and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?’” (Jeremiah 23:28-29) The prophet…