Weekly podcasts from Rick and Jonathan dealing with life’s issues from a biblical perspective
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7 Questions with Christian Leaders by Jonno White from Clarity
Jonno White, Founder and Principal Consultant of Clarity
Ever wondered how some of the greatest Christian leaders think? Wonder no more! 7 Questions with Christian Leaders is a podcast where Jonno White, Founder and Principal Consultant of Clarity (based in Brisbane, Australia) asks great Christian leaders from around the world 7 questions about leadership. Their answers will encourage you in your own journey of leadership.
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The biblical definition for sin is “to miss the mark.” To illustrate the point, let’s think about shooting an arrow at a target. As you aim for the bullseye, you shoot. You hit the target but missed the bullseye. Because your shot did not hit the mark, it fits the definition of sin. You can say, “But wait a minute! I hit the target,” and you did, b…
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Does God Punish Us When We Break a Promise?
31:55
31:55
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
31:55What is the status of promises these days? Has the making of a promise become a simple figure of speech? When we say, “I promise,” are we really saying, “I’m going to try,” or “I really do intend to accomplish what I said I would do”? Have we lost our connection between our promises and our integrity? It seems as though the power of a promise has g…
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If we take a look around us, what we see can be confusing. On the one hand, we live in a time where science, technology and medicine are incredibly advanced. Billions of people throughout the world hold the world in their hands with their smart phones. That’s amazing! We are creating artificial intelligence that can solve problems and do research. …
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What Happens When We Wrestle With God?
53:27
53:27
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
53:27Many know the story of Jacob wrestling with an angel. When we just drop in on the account and read what happened, there are many unanswered questions. Why would you pick a fight with an angel anyway? Why would an angel even let you fight? Couldn’t the angel have overwhelmingly defeated Jacob even before the altercation began? What could possibly be…
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How Will I Choose to Live the Life That’s Ahead of Me?
51:56
51:56
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
51:56We have all heard the saying, “Life is what you make it!” It is usually at the approach of a new year or a birthday or some landmark life event when we turn our focus inward. We think about changes we would like to make. Normally, these changes are aimed at finding a greater measure of happiness, health or fulfillment in our daily lives. So, what s…
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When Jesus came to earth 2,000 years ago, he came to pay the price for Adam’s sin by willingly offering himself as a just and equal ransom price to redeem Adam – and therefore the entire human race – from sin and death. To prepare for his coming as a man, God sent the angel Gabriel to deliver preparatory messages to John the Baptist’s father Zachar…
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Jesus was here 2,000 years ago. His message was clear, as he had come to pay the price for Adam’s sin. He preached, he healed, he called some to follow him, and he gave people hope. Jesus called himself “the way, the truth and the life” and announced that the “kingdom of God was at hand.” Fast forward 2,000 years, and we have to ask, where are we? …
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How Do You Know If God Is Calling You?
51:49
51:49
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
51:49How does someone become a follower of Christ? Does it begin by becoming curious about this Jesus person and all of the world-changing influence he has? Perhaps we are living in fear and are searching for a kind of security that is different and higher than anything else we know. Maybe we’re overwhelmed with despair in our lives, and we’re searching…
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Why the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge?
29:28
29:28
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
29:28This may sound like an oversimplification, but we’re going to say it anyway: God is intentional. He always knows what He is doing and what it will eventually lead to. While this knowledge should serve as a great comfort to us, it can, because of our limited and imperfect minds, have the exact opposite effect. We may see things in the Bible that on …
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Life is forever busy. Whether it’s a holiday season or tax season or baseball season or following this, that and the other influencers on social media, we always have too much to do and not enough time or energy to do it. With all of this being said, how often do we stop and think about being generous? You know - just giving of our time or resource…
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What’s the Difference Between Burnt Offerings and Sin Offerings?
53:05
53:05
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
53:05The Old Testament Law given to Moses after Israel’s deliverance from Egypt was filled with rituals and sacrifices. All of this was designed to teach God’s people two very basic principles. These principles are fundamental for any civilization that seeks to perpetuate itself. The first principle is to comply with righteous and just rules that transc…
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Should Christians Be Involved in Exorcisms?
51:36
51:36
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
51:36Demons are scary. Not only are they mysterious, but they are also powerful beyond our human capacity. In our last episode, we mentioned scriptures that assure us they are restrained in “chains of darkness.” While this condition does limit them, they can still exert great influence on our world - and on individuals as well. We know Jesus cast many d…
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Are There Different Kinds of Evil Spirits?
55:40
55:40
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
55:40The world is such a confused place. For many, discussing evil spirits is fascinating, as looking into dark mysteries beyond our world can be a thrilling and adrenaline-packed ride. For Christians, such conversations are entered into with a fear and respect, as we are speaking of dark and evil things beyond our realm and understanding. It is therefo…
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When we read the Bible, it sometimes appears to say things that just don’t make sense. Think about the scripture that plainly says God did not want the Apostle Paul to preach the gospel in Asia. Why not? Jesus told his disciples to preach the word throughout the world. Didn’t Asia count? This apparent discrepancy can stimulate all kinds of question…
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What Does It Mean to Have Christ in You?
52:14
52:14
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
52:14By definition, being a Christian is all about following in Jesus’ footsteps. It’s all about learning how to walk the walk and talk the talk that he himself lived. Of course, this is no easy task, as we are challenged with applying the life lessons he taught us 2,000 years ago to the very different lives we live in our present digital age. As differ…
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Is It Ever Okay for Christians to Lie?
55:56
55:56
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
55:56“Tell the truth!” For many of us, we can recall that strongly stated advice as coming from our parents when we were caught doing or saying something that we shouldn’t have. The immediate dilemma was obvious. If I tell the truth, then I’m going to get in trouble. If I lie or just tell a part of the truth, I may get away with it. But what if they fou…
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What Does “The Smoke of Their Torment Rises Up Forever” Mean? (Hellfire Series Part V)
31:37
31:37
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
31:37To many Christians, the fear of an eternal place of torment for unbelievers is very real. In the first four parts of this Hellfire Series, we addressed many of the sources of these fears one at a time. What we have seen is straightforward. First, the concept of "unquenchable fire" comes from the Old Testament and simply means a fire of destruction …
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What Defines Moral Behavior? (Part I) Personal Choices
56:21
56:21
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
56:21To be moral is to conform to a standard of right behavior. Ideally, to be moral is to stand for principles and actions that are positive and contributory to the world in which we live. This sounds great. It sounds like something we would all (with the exception of those who just don’t care) want to live by. However, there is a problem. Who defines …
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Why Did Jesus Need to Learn Obedience?
56:40
56:40
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
56:40Jesus is Lord. He sits at the right hand of the throne of God, which is the position of highest power and authority in ALL of God’s glorious creation. This position was not thoughtlessly given. It was awarded to Jesus because his loyalty to and reverence for the heavenly Father were and are without equal. This position of unfathomable power and glo…
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How Do We Understand the Rich Man and Lazarus? (Hellfire Series Part III)
36:54
36:54
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
36:54The subject of eternal torment can be volatile, as there are so many variations in its explanations. Aside from all of the questions and debates regarding the interpretation of Scripture, there’s one fundamental question that often gets overlooked: If a hell of torment is the ultimate consequence for sin, did God’s people always know that? Think ab…
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What Does Being a Good Samaritan Really Mean?
54:35
54:35
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
54:35Most people know something about the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The core thought that is well known is the concept of helping a total stranger in a time of their great physical need. Think about it, there are laws in place to protect those who engage in helping strangers in case something goes wrong, called "Good Samaritan laws." There are orga…
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Am I Too Cynical or Not Cynical Enough?
57:55
57:55
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
57:55Our world is such a cynical place. Sometimes it feels like every time you turn a corner, you’re met with frustration, unrest and a lack of trust. Because we have so many platforms through which we can speak, we do. When we speak, our words and sentiments are often full of accusation and vitriol. We harshly address “those people.” You know the ones.…
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Is the New Covenant Different From God’s Other Covenants?
1:04:20
1:04:20
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
1:04:20In our last episode, we talked about the great power of the solemn promises in the Bible called covenants. We observed how God had made several of these solemn promises, and that several are specifically labeled as “everlasting covenants.” As we look at Bible history, we can see that all of God’s promises have already been made and are already func…
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Do the Covenants of God All Last Forever?
58:44
58:44
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
58:44As Christians, we take great comfort in knowing that God is a God of unfathomable wisdom and integrity. We may be faced with things in life we never saw coming, but God is never caught off guard. With His foresight and eternal wisdom, He is not only prepared for anything, but He has preplanned for everything. God is also always as good as His word.…
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How Can We Become Influencers? (Part II)
1:01:04
1:01:04
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
1:01:04In Part I of our two-part conversation about influence, we began to uncover just how broadly and how deeply the power of influence runs. In our world today, influence has taken on a new - and in some ways even more significant meaning - than ever before. Now because we have social media, we have created a space for influencers to arise within our m…
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How Can We Become Influencers? (Part I)
1:01:27
1:01:27
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
1:01:27Influence. We are all touched by it in countless ways and countless times each and every day of our lives. Influence comes from all corners of life. If we are partial to someone, we generally accept their influence positively. If we are at odds with someone, we generally look down upon their influence. Either way, they influence us. Influence comes…
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If Jesus’ Resurrection Saved the World, Why Is It Such a Mess?
1:02:36
1:02:36
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
1:02:36Let’s begin by stating the obvious: the world is a mess! Now, we all know the world has been a mess for a very long time, so the question is, is this even news? The answer is yes, it is! Our present-day mess has everything to do with the ability to be connected with as many perspectives on and interpretations of truth as we would like. We can now e…
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Is Mourning Out Loud Over Our Losses Good for Us?
58:47
58:47
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
58:47Everyone experiences loss in their lives in one way or another. How we attempt to cope with those losses depends upon several things. First, the kind of loss we are facing can dictate whether our response to it is mild, strong or severe. Second, our cultural environment offers up expectations as to how our mild strong or severe responses are to be …
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We don’t know much about the spiritual world, especially before the creation of humanity. What we do know is that it was an entirely harmonious world with loyalty and obedience to God at its center. God foreknew that when pride crept into Satan’s heart and was exposed, it would lead to a massive shift in the way things would run. In heaven, it woul…
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Have We Lost Our Ability to Honor One Another? (Part II)
59:25
59:25
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
59:25Honor and respect. These seem like simple enough words but try and find them actively functioning in everyday life and you will find that they are surprisingly rare. As we speculate about why this is, we may conclude that we as a social order simply don’t perceive a need for them. The further we go down the road of each of us primarily answering to…
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Have We Lost Our Ability to Honor One Another? (Part I)
57:44
57:44
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
57:44Our society is in trouble. In many ways, it seems that we have lost our way, and we no longer have a general sense of societal respect. Maybe it’s just me, but when I was a kid, I was clearly shown the importance of valuing others. We were taught to respect those in charge, and respect those who enforced the law and kept order. We were taught to ha…
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Can My Marriage Be a “Happily Ever After”?
54:30
54:30
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
54:30It would seem that most entering into marriage do so with high expectations of a life of happiness, fulfillment and companionship. Unfortunately for far too many, these expectations are foreign to their reality. Excluding marriages that end in divorce, how many are truly happy and fulfilled, and how many are simply going along to get along? These a…
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What Did Jesus Really Think of the Pharisees? (Part II)
59:58
59:58
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
59:58Jesus was at odds with the scribes and Pharisees. They stood for traditions that had been built upon the foundation of the Jewish Law but were not part of the already complex rules and guidelines God had commanded through Moses so many generations before them. No, these traditions were fabrications, and were likely in place to separate the ruling c…
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It’s Time to Change, but How Much Is Enough?
1:00:30
1:00:30
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
1:00:30Let’s face it. We all know that each and every one of us can be better. We can be better human beings, better friends, co-workers, spouses, cousins and certainly better Christians. The challenge here is obvious. Being “better” requires change. Significant change. To be better in whatever area we are focusing on requires a different mindset, which b…
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Is My Christian Judgment Tainted by Bias? (Part II)
1:01:17
1:01:17
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
1:01:17In Part I, we laid a foundation for understanding and managing harmful biases. One primary lesson we learned was that we ALL - no matter who we are and what our background is - are biased. While this is an uncomfortable truth, it is a necessary realization, for a true Christian is to strive to overcome any and all fleshly inclinations. We also lear…
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1
Is My Christian Judgment Tainted by Bias? (Part I)
1:00:48
1:00:48
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
1:00:48I was recently summoned for jury duty. As I sat in the room at the beginning of the day, the court and its representatives showed some really informative introductory videos on what to expect and look out for when serving on a jury. The main topic they focused on was bias. Their premise was that we ALL have biases and we ALL can be in danger of fol…
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How Do We Know Jesus Is the Promised Messiah? (Part II)
1:05:15
1:05:15
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
1:05:15As Christians, when we think about Jesus and his reason for being born as a man, we’re always inspired by the selflessness of his sacrifice to redeem Adam and all of humanity from sin and death. This gift is truly beyond anything we deserve. When we think of the Messiah, we instinctively think of Jesus. In our last episode, we explored a Jewish per…
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What is the Biblical Process to Become Perfect? (Part III – Israel and Nations)
1:05:01
1:05:01
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
1:05:01God gave us the ability to understand and appreciate His plan of the ages by revealing that plan within the pages of the Bible. This plan is focused on the necessary steps to bring ALL of His creation - both heavenly and earthly - to an existence that will completely and forever live in harmony with one another under His mighty hand and will. In Pa…
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What is the Biblical Process to Become Perfect? (Part II – Mankind)
59:31
59:31
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
59:31In Part I of our series, we focused on how the New Testament describes "perfection." We found that Jesus, though perfect, had to be further "perfected" - further completed - by his personal experiences and sufferings in order to fully pay the ransom price for Adam. Similarly, but on a much smaller scale, Jesus’ disciples have a perfect beginning as…
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1
What is the Biblical Process to Become Perfect? (Part I – The Church)
58:33
58:33
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
58:33God has an amazing plan that includes every human being who has ever lived. Rather than torturing billions for eternity in a fiery hell, this plan will give all of humanity a legitimate opportunity to be taught how to live in a godly and righteous way. We’re saying God’s plan gives EVERYONE an opportunity to become perfect in His sight. Now, if you…
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1
Is There a Christian Secret to a Happy Life?
1:02:44
1:02:44
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
1:02:44Way back in the 1980’s Bobby McFerrin recorded and released his very popular song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” It's a simple and upbeat perspective on living. When you think about it, the title is a profound instruction for life. Don’t worry; instead, be happy! About 100 years before this catchy song, Hannah Whitall Smith wrote an ageless book called …
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As we have discovered from Parts I and II of this series, God is the Mighty One who has power and authority. He is the Self-Existing One who created humanity in His image for the purpose of having a personal relationship with them. Planet Earth was and is to be the eternal habitation of this human family. As God revealed Himself through man’s exper…
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Whether we like it or not or believe it or not, the presence of powers higher than our human understanding cannot be denied. The debate begins and rages when we try to label these powers. Our human perspectives, belief systems and even how we claim to apply science all come into play here. As Christians, we by definition believe God is the ultimate…
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1
How Do I Know If I Have Really Forgiven Someone?
1:07:28
1:07:28
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
1:07:28We have all been wronged by someone. Sometimes the wrong is especially deep and hurtful, and we are debilitated by it. We have all also heard the saying “forgive and forget." The forgiving part sounds like a really magnanimous Christian thing to do. However, it can be deeply challenging, depending upon the hurt we have suffered. The “forgetting” pa…
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1
Am I Throwing Away My Life’s Greatest Privilege? (Part I)
1:01:44
1:01:44
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
1:01:44When God miraculously rescued His people from Egyptian slavery and established Israel as a nation, He put a system of rulership through judges in place that did not include having a king. We all know what happened. The people complained to the prophet Samuel because they wanted a king like everybody else. Even though they were warned of the dire co…
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1
Do I Walk in the Spirit or the Lusts of My Human Nature? (Part IV)
59:47
59:47
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
59:47When the Apostle Paul listed the "fruit of the spirit" in the 5th chapter of Galatians, he placed it right after a nasty list, recounting 15 "deeds of the flesh." This fruit list was positioned as a remedy for any Christian who might struggle with any of those earthly issues. In Part I and II of this series, we examined the depths of sin in that “e…
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1
How Do I Let Go and Let God?
1:05:15
1:05:15
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
1:05:15"Let go and let God." This simple statement is focused on faith and trust, two fundamental challenges for Christians. We may think it’s easy to have faith, but when we are in times of difficulty, the depth of our true faith is revealed and sometimes revealed as seriously lacking. We may think that we have trust, but when pressed, when we feel like …
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1
Is It a Sin if I . . . ? (Part III)
1:04:04
1:04:04
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
1:04:04Sin is a difficult thing to handle. We are constantly challenged to daily live up to godly standards of righteousness. As our social order expands into countless variations of perceived freedoms, there are many questions that need clarifying regarding what is right and wrong in God’s eyes. Today we examine two of those questions. First, is it a sin…
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1
Is It a Sin if I . . . ? (Part II)
1:00:52
1:00:52
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
1:00:52As long as no one gets hurt, I can do pretty much whatever I want! Such is the battle cry of our present age. We are so advanced in our awareness and thinking that it has become easy to throw off the once-constricting values of ages gone by and just be in the here and now. In our last “Is It a Sin if I…” episode, we looked at things like how we dre…
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1
Will I Survive God’s Final Judgment?
1:02:23
1:02:23
बाद में चलाएं
बाद में चलाएं
सूचियाँ
पसंद
पसंद
1:02:23Talking about the Day of Judgment can be difficult. The sad truth is that as magnanimous as the love and mercy of God through Jesus are, the opportunity to fail throughout the Day of Judgment will be very real. God created humanity with free will. The Day of Judgment will be about teaching our race how to use that free will to make righteous choice…
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