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LAUGHING IN THE SPIRIT

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If you ask me, I don’t find the “laughing in the Spirit” that some of us practice amusing. I’ve witnessed it several times in the past. I have often observed how preachers “anoint” believers to experience it. I even once attended a conference with an invited speaker from somewhere else who was popularizing this in local churches. But I still find it questionable. Not because I oppose laughing inside the church (our church is loud and loves to laugh), or because I’m against laughing itself (I laugh by myself), but because it lacks strong biblical support. For those who are not aware, “laughing in the Spirit” (others call it “holy laughter,” or “unspeakable joy”) is what some people call the experience of uncontrollable, hysterical laughter that is supposedly a manifestation of the filling of the Holy Spirit in a believer. Because those who experience it are extremely happy, sometimes they fall down while laughing, lie prostrate, roll on the floor, or even float on the ceiling. (Please d...
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OBEYING THE IMPOSSIBLE COMMANDS: How to Apply Specific Commands in the Letters?

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Even though we believe that the epistles are the Word of God to us, we still cannot deny that they remain letters—written to specific people, about specific events, and intended specifically for them at that time. Even though we benefit when we read Paul’s letters like 1–2 Timothy, we still cannot deny that Timothy was the original recipient and that we are merely reading along (or you could say, gossiping!) in the conversation between the two. Even if we benefit from Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, or whatever else, we are still not the ones to whom the letters were actually sent. They were real people and not just titles of books in the Bible. It is only because of the grace and wisdom of God that the letters that were originally meant just for them have reached us today. Because they are letters, we can read direct and specific commands for the original readers that are impossible for us to follow literally. Paul instructed the church to welcome Epaphroditus (Phil 2:29)...
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ANSWERING CURIOUS QUESTIONS: HOLY SPIRIT

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The topic of the Holy Spirit is one of those that is not often discussed in modern churches, which is why many people are also confused about who He truly is and what He is. Because of the lack of basic knowledge about the Holy Spirit (and also lack of interest), many believers are misinformed and misled in this subject. Here are some of the common questions about the Holy Spirit and short, biblical answers to them: QUESTION 1: Is the Holy Spirit God? The Bible clearly reveals that the Holy Spirit is God. He was directly called the “Lord” (2 Cor 3:17–18). Therefore, an offense against the Holy Spirit is an offense against God Himself (Acts 5:3–4). We are called God’s temple because our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19). The Holy Spirit also possesses qualities that belong to God alone. He is present everywhere, or omnipresent (Ps 139:7–12). He knows all things, or He is omniscient (1 Cor 2:10). He is also all-powerful, or omnipotent (Rom 15:19), which is seen in ...
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WORK IS PART OF GOD'S ORIGINAL DESIGN

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Ladies and gentlemen, the vacation is over. It’s time to get back to work, brothers and sisters! Many of us see work as a burden to overcome. Perhaps if we really had a choice not to work, we wouldn’t even show up anymore! Many of us probably just dream of being the child of a CEO so we could avoid all the hard work. Many believers think that work, like many hardships of life, is part of the result of the Fall. If Adam and Eve had not sinned, then maybe we would still be relaxing in the garden, just listening to the birds sing. But a careful understanding of the creation story leads us to this truth: work is part of God’s original design. Created to Work Even before humans arrived, the Lord had already created the plants of the earth (Gen 1:11–12), but He did not finish everything. It is said that, “Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground” (Gen 2:5). He prepared ev...
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WE ALL ENCOUNTERED JESUS IN OUR OWN SYCAMORE TREE

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We are familiar with the story of Zacchaeus. Being a tax collector was a controversial profession at that time. They were often seen as wicked and brutal traitors of their fellow Jews, because their riches usually came from bribery, corruption, and abuse. They worked for Rome—the very enemy of Israel who had conquered them. And Zacchaeus was more than an ordinary tax collector. He was their boss (Luke 19:2). This means he dictated how much tax would be collected and managed others like him. If people already hated tax collectors, they most likely hated their leader twice as much! If Zacchaeus were alive today, he would probably be involved in flood control issues as well! Not only did he have a questionable background and a notorious reputation, but he also had a physical imperfection. He was short (v. 3). If you think about it, it seems like this man had every possible flaw in the world! If you were living in Zacchaeus’ time, you would most likely dislike him as well. Not only did he ...
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THE BIBLE AS A STORY

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For those who are not familiar with the Bible, they say it is scary to read. Some view the Bible as a very mysterious book that only a chosen few can understand. For others, it is discouraging to read because it is very thick, very long, and confusing. One of the common questions of those who are just starting to study the Bible is how it should be understood. This question could be answered in many ways. Seeing the Bible's "big picture" is one of the easiest and most useful ways to start studying it. To see the big picture is to understand that the Bible is just one long connected story. Yes, there are so many stories and characters that can be read in it, but if you think about it, everything mentioned in the 66 books of the Bible can be divided into just a few sections. 1. CREATION — Genesis 1–2 God created the heavens and the earth through His word. He also created Adam and Eve, placed them in the garden, and gave them the responsibility to be caretakers of the entir...
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WHEN GOD RESTED ON THE SEVEN DAYS

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It is already common knowledge that God rested on the seventh day. “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” (Gen 2:2-3). But it's also a common misunderstanding to think that God only rested on the seventh day. Because each day of the creation story reveals God’s rest —a truth that invites us to do the same. If we go back to the creation story, we might not notice the repeated statement: “And there was evening, and there was morning,” followed by mentioning which day it was (Gen 1:5, 6, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). Notice that it's not mentioned in reverse, like “And there was morning, and there was evening,” as if referring to the day starting at sunrise. Scholars note that the writer, in using this phrase, obviously was not referring to the day, but to the nightly rest after daily labor. I...
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