THE CURIOUS BELIEVERS

Abba  is an Aramaic (the common language of the Jews in Jesus’s time) term for “father.” It is a respectful yet intimate way of addressing one’s father. The word comes from the sound uttered by a small child. Because calling someone abba was so personal, the Gemara (a rabbinical commentary on the Jewish Mishna) states that slaves were not permitted to use this title for the head of the family. To call someone abba was a privilege reserved only for children. In this sense, abba was almost like a proper name for one’s father. It may be compared to the unique way you personally call your own father (like “daddy,” “papa,” “pops,” etc.). Out of reverence, Jews did not use abba to address God in prayer. Instead, they used ab , the Hebrew equivalent. Greek-speaking Jews often joined the Greek word pater to abba,  forming the phrase abba pater (“Abba, Father”). “The two together express the love and intelligent confidence of the child.” (Vine’s Dictionary of Bible Words, 1999). Je...

The sacrifice of Abraham not only reflects his faith in God but also God’s love for us. We are familiar with the story of Abraham. We know how he was promised a son, and how he waited for a long time before God fulfilled His promise. We can imagine how heavy it must have been when God seemed to take back the very son he had waited for. For Abraham, Isaac was the son God promised from the very beginning (Gen. 12:1–2). On Isaac also rested the future generations that would be as numerous as the stars in the sky (15:5). For Abraham, to sacrifice Isaac meant throwing away years of waiting in the past and letting go of the hope of the future. We can feel the weight of Abraham’s decision when he still chose to obey. He passed the test! He responded in faith by offering Isaac, who himself was a gift from the Lord. And God provided a ram as a substitute sacrifice in Isaac’s place on the altar (22:12–14). Later, when the law of Moses was given, the concept of substitution became even clearer. A...

  Some of us might already have a negative view of Hagar even before reading her story. We know her as the proud mother of Ishmael, the other son of Abraham. Since Sarah was Abraham’s true wife and Isaac was the promised son, it’s not surprising for us to view them as the “heroes,” while Hagar and her son Ishmael become the “villains.” In a sense, that’s true. This leads many of us to disregard her story and ignore the truths it presents. Because barrenness was a serious problem in ancient times, people had different ways to deal with it. Some resorted to polygyny (taking another wife of equal status), others to polycoity (having handmaids or concubines whose sole purpose was to bear an heir, like in Hagar’s case), and still other methods. Obviously, Hagar entered the scene because Abraham and Sarah (still Abram and Sarai at that time) couldn’t wait for God’s promise. They came up with their own strategy to “help” the Lord fulfill it (Gen. 16:2). Hagar did conceive, with Abram as...

One of the most important parts of Christ’s earthly ministry that is often overlooked is His command for His own disciples to rest. When we read the Gospels, they are always busy, always going somewhere, always surrounded by crowds, always serving. Perhaps that’s why many of us today think this is what the ideal godly life should look like—always busy in ministry, always going on missions to remote places, always in Bible studies until dawn, always having to do more for the Lord. In short, you must always be exhausted! In Mark 6:31, we see Christ’s concern for His disciples: “Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’” There was so much to do that the disciples couldn’t even eat or rest. We might think Jesus should have been pleased with this—after all, they were so busy in ministry, serving so many people! But Jesus knew what was best at that moment: ...

  It is easy to talk about forgiving others until you actually have difficult people in mind. It used to be so easy for me to say that I must forgive others—I even memorized Bible verses about it. But when I discovered that the people I considered “close friends” were talking behind my back, it probably took me years before I could finally say that it no longer hurt and that I was no longer angry at them. It also took time before I could genuinely pray for them and be glad to see them being blessed. Christ taught so much about forgiveness. In His teaching on prayer, we read, “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt. 6:12). He even explained that if you do not forgive, then you will not be forgiven by God (vv. 14–15). We are familiar with Christ’s words to forgive “seventy-seven times” or “seventy times seven” (18:22). This means we must forgive as many times as necessary (see also Luke 17:3–4). He even told a parable about the unforgiving servant who was ...

𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗵𝗶𝘀𝗺 Anthropomorphism is “attributing human characteristics to God. God is a spirit and does not have a physical body like human beings. However, the only way we human beings can understand God is to think of Him in the sphere we know—having a body like we have.” (Cain and Keener, 2012). Here, God is described as if He has a body like man. The writers of the Bible often used such idiomatic expressions to help readers better understand who God is and how He interacts with us. We know that God is spirit (Jn 4:24), and a spirit does not have a physical body (Lk 24:39). Obviously, Christ is an exception because He is God who became man. The following examples of passages must not be taken literally, as if God has physical body parts, but we still need to understand the point of comparison. Face (Ex 33:23; Ps 10:11; Jer 21:10) Eyes (2 Chron 7:16; Ps 11:4; Jer 16:17) Ear (Ps 10:17; Isa 37:17; Dan 9:18) Nose (Ex 15:8; Ps 18:15; Isa 65:5) Mouth (1 Kgs 8:24; Isa 34:...

  “The Bible is a product of ancient times; therefore, it is not relevant today.” This is often heard from those who believe that the Bible is outdated and no longer useful for our modern lives. They argue that ancient people lived very differently from us, and since the Bible was written by them, we cannot benefit from it. They claim that their thinking was too “primitive,” making it impossible for us to learn anything from them.  Is the Bible still relevant to modern-day people?  Yes—and several points should be mentioned here. 𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 The wheel was already used by Mesopotamian cultures as early as the 4th century BC. This means it is also a product of ancient people—yet it remains useful and will likely continue to be so in the future. It is wrong to generalize that just because something is old (or comes from ancient times) it is no longer beneficial. Things may change in form or method of use, but their usefulness remai...

  One of the hard realities of the Christian life is unanswered prayers. Christ promised that He will give what we ask (John 14:13), but only if we ask in His name—that is, according to His will (see also 1 John 3:21–22). At times, there’s nothing wrong with our prayers, yet the Lord still does not grant them. Paul asked for his “thorn in the flesh” to be removed (2 Cor 12:7–8). God answered, but He still did not give Paul what he asked. Out of great sorrow, Christ asked the Father to take away the “cup of suffering” from Him (Matt 26:39). And as we know, He was still crucified. He submitted to the Father’s will, despite not receiving what He asked for. How do we respond to this as believers? Christians respond to this reality in different ways. Some deny that unanswered prayers exist. Yet, both Scripture and our own experiences point us to this truth. Others say that God’s “no” is still an answer. In other words, there is no such thing as unanswered prayer. But unanswered prayers ...

  Pastors/teachers with scandalous sins. Hypocritical church leaders. Judgmental church people. And yes, unfaithful Christian husbands and wives. Name it—we have it! Christianity is full of imperfect people. Disappointing? Yes. Discouraging? Absolutely. But we cannot deny this truth. If we think about it, even without pointing out other people’s sins—just by focusing on ourselves—we’d still reach the same conclusion. Christians are still sinners. Each of us sins differently from others, but at the end of the day, we still sin. Some admit it. Some get caught. Some are experts at hiding it. But all of us still fall short. John is right when he said, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 Jn 1:8). But there is a greater truth than this: We have a perfect Christ. Fortunately, the truth of Christianity does not depend on individual Christians but on only one person—Christ, and Christ alone. If it depended on us, it would have been gone a long...

 Gender and sexuality are hot issues today. Those who want to be “inclusive” and “gender sensitive” often say that addressing God as male is offensive because it supposedly promotes gender bias. Some even suggest that we can call God “Mother,” since in reality, God has no gender. I’ve even seen some explanations claiming that the Lord can be considered “non-binary” or even “transgender.” Their imagination is limitless! These are the same people who take offense at anything and everything. Some have even gone so “creative” that they change God’s pronouns into “she” or “they.” As thinking believers, this is a topic worth discussing. How do we deal with these? Let’s consider a few important points: God is Spirit. The Bible clearly says that God is a spiritual being (Jn 4:24; 1 Tim 1:17), so He doesn’t have a physical body like ours (see Lk 24:39). The fact that Jesus came as a male when He was on earth does not mean that God was already male before the incarnation. Being male or femal...

  Let us first assume what the critics are saying—that Christ was not really a historical figure, but merely a fictional character or a product of the imagination of the gospel writers. If this claim were true, what can we say about it? In Christianity: Opium or Truth? (Gooding and Lennox, 2014), the authors examined this issue and showed that such a claim is unreasonable. They pointed out several things worth reflecting on: 1. The authors must be extraordinarily clever if Christ was only a fictional character. If Christ were just imaginary, then the gospel writers must have been incredibly skilled! What they wrote about Christ’s life was so convincing that people in their time believed it, even though they could have easily confirmed whether what the writers said was true or not. The original readers could verify the details, interview eyewitnesses, visit the places mentioned, and expose the writings as false—if they truly were false. It is rare to find even one author capable of...

In the gospels, Jesus' story revolves around so many questions. Some say there are more or less 183 questions found in the story of Christ. Sometimes He is the one asking (Matt 6:27; 16:13; Mk 4:40; etc.). Sometimes He is the one being asked (Matt 19:16; 22:36; Jn 4:9; etc.). At times, His questions highlight the point He wants to make (Matt 18:12; Lk 6:39; 14:5; etc.). Sometimes He simply wants people to think (Matt 13:51; 16:15; Lk 10:36; etc.). Christ’s frequent use of questions reveals something about His identity: He is the Curious King. His curiosity does not mean He is seeking knowledge that He does not yet know, for He already knows all things (Jn 16:30). Rather, He uses questions to challenge listeners to think so they can discover spiritual treasures that are sometimes hidden. His message of repentance—which means “change of mind”—also calls them to rethink, relearn, and reflect. In his book Becoming Curious (2017), Casey Tygrett explains, “The Jesus who changed the worl...

Recently, I came across a series of posts from a pastor whom I really respect. His opinion was very interesting because it was the first time I had encountered it. It appears that the view is not only new (at least to me), but also quite alarming. And now, let us take time to discuss the ideas presented in this view. There are three main points found in the posts: El Elyon is the real name of the Most High God. El Elyon is different from Yahweh. Yahweh is just one of the sons of God who was placed in charge of Israel. The Father whom Jesus was calling on was El Elyon, not Yahweh. As a result, El Elyon is actually the Father of the believers. UNDERSTANDING EL ELYON El Elyon is usually translated as “God Most High” in our Bibles. The word “El” may carry the idea of “to be strong” or “to be in front of” as a leader. The word “Elyon” shows El’s supremacy as a being. Since every deity had a concept of power and position, this is a generic title and could refer either to the true God or even...

The biblical concept of righteousness is fascinating. The Old Testament has a group of words for it ( “tsadaq,” “tsedaqah,” etc.) that share similar ideas and form a picture of how we should understand it. The basic idea of righteousness means meeting the standard. In other words, a person or thing can be called “righteous” if it meets the standard or is as it ought to be. The same Hebrew word (or a related one) for righteousness is used to describe a weight that is correct or just (Deut 25:15; Lev 19:36; etc.). Sacrifices that were prepared and offered correctly according to the prescriptions are also considered “righteous” (Deut 33:19; Ps. 51:21; etc.). The “righteous” path is one that leads in the right direction (Ps. 23:3). The Lord is also said to send rain in righteousness (Joel 2:23), because it comes at the correct timing. Since righteousness means aligning with the standard, it is often used in a legal sense (Ex 23:7; Deut 25:1; etc.). In the New Testament, the group of words ...

  In the present time, magic is often related to illusion or entertainment. It is also separated from religion and science in practice today. But in ancient times, this was not the case. Magic “involved tapping into external sources of power or knowledge.” (Walton and Keener, 2016). In the ancient Near East, magic was connected with religion. Magic was also part of medicine in those days. Magical formulas were often used to prevent or cure illnesses. 𝗠𝗔𝗚𝗜𝗖 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗪 In the OT, particularly in Deuteronomy 18:9–13, even though the word “magic” itself is not mentioned, there is a complete ban on magical activities such as child sacrifice in rituals, divination, sorcery, witchcraft, consulting spiritists/mediums, necromancy, and others. Though these practices were common among the pagan people in Canaan, the Lord was not pleased with them. This was one of the reasons why God drove out the original inhabitants of the Promised Land (vv. 9, 12). The death penalty for witch...