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What is the Adoption as Sons in Ephesians 1:5-6?
Do you know what it means to be adopted? Of course you do. We all know people who have adopted children. Maybe you have adopted a child, or maybe you yourself are adopted. But did you know what the modern form of adoption has almost no similarities with adoption in biblical times? If we don’t know how adoption worked in Bible times, we will misread and misunderstand Scripture. This study on Ephesians 1:5-6 explains how adoption worked 2000 years ago, so that we can better understand Ephesians 1:5-6. But before we look at Ephesians 1:5-6, we will look at a current event and answer a question from a reader. Current Event: The Fault Lines in Critical Race Theory Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the Social Justice (SJ) movement are causing intense damage to the world, and to Christianity. Those ...
The gospel spreads among truck drivers
In West Africa, truck driving is a dangerous and stressful job. Drivers face job insecurity, the threat of being robbed, and extortion from corrupt policemen. They also face cultural and linguistic barriers as they cross through borders taking imports from the coast to landlocked countries farther east. So when Christians offered to pray for Ahmed one day as he prepared to leave the port and transport his next load, he didn’t mind, even though he was Muslim. As he continued on his route though, he was amazed that the police never harassed him, just as the Christians had prayed. The next time he saw the believers at the port a few months later, he gathered a group of his friends and went over to them. The last time, the Christians asked him if he’d listen to a story, but he’d been in a hurr...
What is Predestination? (Ephesians 1:5a)
Have you ever struggled with the topic of predestination? This study of Ephesians 1:5 will define predestination and will help you find great encouragement in the truth of predestination. We will also look at the current event topic of racism in a Bible College, and answer a question from a reader about the Parable of the Ten Talents. Current Event: Theology Professor Asks God to Help her Hate White People Chanequa Walker-Barnes is a theology professor at Mercer University, and she recently published a book titled A Rhythm of Prayer: A Collection of Meditations for Renewal. One chapter includes a prayer in which she says this: Dear God, Please help me to hate White people. I want to stop caring about them, individually and collectively. I want to stop caring about their misguided, racist s...
Church planters in Kenya lead 211 to Christ during pandemic
Jonas is a church planter affiliated with The Timothy Initiative in Kenya and a respected leader in his village. When his nation shut down due to COVID-19, he saw the havoc it wreaked on his community. People lost their jobs and income. Price gouging and food shortages caused families to struggle. Jonas saw that people needed help – and that people needed Jesus. Jonas used his own income to buy food to share with the needy. Others were inspired by his generosity and donated food, which was distributed to the most vulnerable families in his community. Three other church planters joined in on the effort, and as they showed and shared the love of Jesus, the results were astounding: 863 people heard the Good News; 211 people received Christ! Among them was a Muslim man named Aasir. He lost his...
How Acts still happens today
The book of Acts is the exciting story of the advance of God’s Kingdom in the early days of the church. The good news of the Gospel had a lasting impact. Today, the book of Acts is still happening in many places around the world. You can read these inspiring stories in Joel News every week. We now turned these stories into something that has been on our mind for quite some time: a Bible reading plan that links stories from the book of Acts with similar real stories today. Our new e-book is a 7-day reading plan based on the first three chapters of Acts. It can be started on any day of the week. The Bible passages link to BibleGateway, where you can pick your preferred translation. Every passage is summarised and illustrated with a story from Joel News. Every day has a prayer or an applicati...
Why are some people Elect (Ephesians 1:4)?
What is election? Who are the elect? Why are they elect? How can you know if you are one of the elect? These are some of the questions we answer in this podcast study of Ephesians 1:4. We will also look at the Democrat effort to pack the Supreme Court and answer a letter from a listener about televangelists who don’t believe in eternal security. Democrats Want to Pack the Supreme Court The podcast begins with a brief discussion about the Democrat efforts to pack the Supreme Court. Listen to the podcast to hear my thoughts on the subject. Letter from a Listener Hello again Jeremy… I’m about to begin to read one of your books plus I’m still thinking about joining your discipleship group … I have some questions that I want to run by you… There are a lot of tv evangelists and prophecy teachers...
The boy who could not read, hear or talk
In Nepal, a majority Hindu country in the Himalayas, the government tries to hinder the growth of the church. But without success – the church grows strongly, often with miracles. Take the story of 18 year old Tilak, a deaf-mute teenager. One day Pastor Biju, a church planter affiliated with The Timothy Initiative, stopped to pray with him. As the pastor prayed for deliverance and healing he witnessed a bewildered look on Tilak’s face. Something amazing happened to the deaf-mute boy. Tears streamed down his face, as he discovered that he could hear and speak for the first time in his life. A miraculous healing had just taken place. Tilak rushed to his mother, who heaved sobs of joy and relief. Her boy was healed, and it was all because of Jesus. The entire family surrendered their lives to...
You are in Heavenly Places RIGHT NOW (Ephesians 1:3)
Does God forgive suicide? Spoiler alert: YES! And what is Paul referring to in Ephesians 1:3 when he writes about heavenly places? Is that heaven or something else? These are a few of the questions that get addressed in this episode of the Redeeming God Podcast. Will God Forgive Suicide? I received a tragic email from a reader recently. Here is what she wrote: My brother recently took his own life due to depression. The last sentence of his letter that he left behind, he stated that he hopes to see us in God’s kingdom if it is in God’s will. As I’m reflecting back, my brother believes in God and believes in Heaven. He knows that what he is doing isn’t the right way to escape his emotions, but he’s going to do it anyways. While at the same time, he’s hoping that God will have mercy on his s...
A real sharing community
The first church was marked by the fact that the Christians had everything in common. There was no need among them. Many people in today’s fast-paced world have, for any amount of reasons, become social outsiders, pariahs, outlaws. For this group Timothy and Monica Chang started a community in Jongli, a town in Taiwan. God led Timothy to lay down his position as a pastor of one of the largest evangelical churches in the nation, and open the doors of his home to have a new family. In Jongli he met the poor, the despised and rejected, and with these people he formed a community called Hebron. Today, the community of 200 is made up of poor people, mentally unstable, youth at risk, people who recently have come out of jail, but also rich people who decided to turn their lives around, as ...
The Origin of the Mosaic Law
My Gospel Dictionary online course has a new lesson on “Law.” In it, I briefly explain why the Mosaic law was given. The reason is simple: God wanted a personal relationship with each Israelite based on love, but the Israelites rejected this offer and wanted a mediator (Moses). When people reject a relationship with God, the only way for God to (1) Guide their behavior and (2) Teach them that a relationship is best, is to give them law. God knew, and Moses knew, that law would only make things worse, but it was given nonetheless to teach the Israelites (and us) a lesson. What lesson? That a relationship based on love is FAR better than a religion based on law. Along with taking the lesson on law in my Gospel Dictionary course, you can also read more about this idea here: Overview of Exodus...
97,344 people accepted Christ in Rwanda
A record-breaking 97,344 people accepted Christ in baptism during a two-week evangelistic outreach by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Rwanda. The baptisms took place at 2,227 sites across the African country. Local church leaders credited the Holy Spirit and Total Member Involvement for the unprecedented number of baptisms. “When each member is involved, there will be a big harvest,” said Sophonie Setako, president of the church’s North-West Rwanda Field, as reported in Joel News. Total Member Involvement is the name of an initiative that encourages each church member to find ways to share Jesus with friends and communities. In Rwanda, the 720,000 members took Total Member Involvement to heart. Many studied the Bible with neighbours and went door-to-door, inviting people to the evangel...
The Two Greatest Blessings (Ephesians 1:2)
In this podcast episode about Ephesians 1:2, we discuss the gun violence and the shooting in Boulder, CO this week, answer a question from a reader about the warning passages of Hebrews, and take a detailed look at Ephesians 1:2, in which we discover two of the greatest blessings we have from God. Take a listen! Gun Violence in the USA A short plea for clear thinking and fact-based conversations about gun violence in the United States. Don’t listen to the lies from the news about this. They have an agenda and will not give you the facts. Question from a Reader about the Warning Passages of Hebrews When I was 7 I “accepted Jesus”. I grew up in a pastor’s home but was never discipled. When I hit my college years, I became involved in sexual sin and alcohol. Unfortunately I was un...
