Many Christians today believe that killing in self-defense is sanctioned by the Bible. This is a terrible misunderstanding of Christ's teaching.

Among the spiritual realities that a faithful Christian must understand is God's sense of justice. The deaths of Nadab and Abihu are a case in point.

Our human nature is pure vanity with a heart that is desperately deceitful and wicked, motivated by self-centeredness, a deadly combination for producing sin.

King Jehoshaphat, by totally surrendering to God, achieved a miraculous victory over three armies by standing still, waiting patiently for His intervention.

Without the right relationship with God, we cannot have the evidence of things not seen. But with it, we can focus on what cannot be seen by most of mankind.

Like the Israelites, Christians must live by faith as we follow Christ through a spiritual wilderness. Faith is the vital component carries us through.

While the carnal mindset is hostile to everything in God's word, we have been provided a gift to enable us to overcome: the faith from being born of God.

At the end of the Parable of the Persistent Widow, Jesus asks, "When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith...?" The answer is surprising to many.

Those reveling in the 'new freedoms' of apostasy cannot be persuaded to return to former beliefs because they no longer believe in the sanctified Word of God.

We sometimes mistake faith for certainty about God's will. However, faith is not knowing what God will do but trusting Him to do what is best for us.

Faithfulness in a person ultimately rests on his or her trust in God, and if a person is going to be faithful, its because he or she believes what God says.

Gideon began his life as a coward, became a conqueror, and ended a compromiser, all the while needing assurances from God to bolster his flagging faith.

Far from being blind, faith is based on analyzing, comparing, adding up from evidence in God's Word, our own experience, and our calling by God's Holy Spirit.

The only tangible measures of faith is faithfulness, trust, and loyalty to God. We don't need to ask God for more faith, but rather work on being faithful.

There is a danger that arises when the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper: trying to put God under obligation to bless us through becoming 'super-righteous'.

The experiences of ancient Israel, bad and good, guide us in our spiritual pilgrimage to our Promised Land. The book of Deuteronomy is a strong foundation.

Abraham embodied living by faith. Through perpetually living in a tent, he demonstrated his complete trust and reliance upon God.

We must establish an iron clad trust in God for spiritual matters, including healing, rather than having a misguided trust in self or other human beings.

As technology becomes more available, the material world threatens to crowd God out of the picture. The information age will destroy us unless we manage it.

We may find God's means of correction discouraging, but when we place His actions in context with His overall plan, we can find peace in God's sovereignty.

We should never be tripped up when we see bad things happen to good people or vice versa, realizing that history is indeed following God's timetable.

The issue is not mathematical or astronomical, but instead a matter of trust in God's faithfulness, authority, sovereignty, oversight, or ability to govern.

As we attempt to overcome the world, we soon realize that we battle against invisible principalities, requiring us to form a close relationship with Christ.

God begins His spiritual creation by grace because the wages of sin is death. Consequently, God's people will exercise humility and faith in yielding to Him.

Both spiritual and physical healing require us to work intensely, asking for God's merciful intervention while working toward a solution, exercising wisdom.

Pride is a perverted comparison that elevates one above another. Because of its arrogant self-sufficiency, it hinders our faith. Faith depends on humility.

God established permanent patterns, electing Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as all of those He has called. This election should be our obsession.

The real issue in the calendar controversy is not astronomical, but faith in God's sovereignty, providence, and His right to assign responsibility.

In this time of GMOs, we cannot always be sure of the purity of the food we consume. Judging one another for carelessness is not an option open to us.

Desmond Doss was the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor. This Sabbath-keeping medic exemplifies total conviction.

The virtue of love gets the most attention, yet the life of Abraham illustrates how foundational faith—belief and trust in God—is to love and salvation.

Jesus and Abraham rose above their emotional pulls by exercising living faith—a faith built on acts of obedience. Faith can never be separated from works.

We have no idea when Christ will return. We must, in our mind's eye, see our God crafting us into what He desires, preparing us for His Kingdom.

The scattering of the church was God-ordained, providing a test for godliness. The isolating demonstrated by some groups is an abomination and an affront.

We are mandated to live by faith, being given trials of faith in order to chisel our character. We must totally and unreservedly accept God's sovereignty.

With all the military metaphors in the Bible, there can be no doubt that God likens the Christian life to a war against the evils and temptations we face.

Abraham, the father of the faithful, did not have a blind faith; it was based upon observation of God's proven track record of faithfulness.

Fully accepting God's sovereignty should drive us to seek Him so that we can come to know Him as completely as possible, which is vital to our salvation.

A spiritual Israelite undergoes a metamorphosis in which his own self-centered will is broken so that God's creative work can be completed within him.

We must emulate Christ, who learned through suffering, preparing Himself for His role as High Priest. Giving in alienates us from the fellowship with God.

Commitment to a course of action is essential for physical or spiritual success. Faith motivates and sustains right action, protecting us from wavering.

God has given to us spiritual sonar to help us to navigate in uncharted venues. As we pray, study, and meditate, we develop our spiritual sonar.

We should be willing to give up anything for the Kingdom, controlling our speech, thoughts, behaviors, and lives. We cannot grow in grace without works.

Anxious care and foreboding are debilitating and faith-destroying. Meditating on what God has already done strengthens our faith and trust in God.

Fear and discouragement have infiltrated the church of God, causing many to stop fellowshipping on the Sabbath and some to give up keeping it altogether.

Abram learned that God gives material prosperity to those who are not seeking it. Those who seek riches are destined to fall into a snare.

The seven 'I will' promises Got made to Abraham were truly foundational promises, impacting the lives of multiple billions of people up to the present day.

God based the promises He gave to His friend Abraham on the patriarch's proclivity to believe Him even when he had only partial (and disturbing) information.

God did not take ancient Israel by a direct route, and our lives likewise may seem to wander. We must trust God in spite of the detours, following His lead.

Attainment of calm joy does not come from anything earthly, but it comes from God, and is dependent upon inculcating godly love.

Human beings, even those who have been called, have an innate fear that God will not always provide. This fear originates in doubt about God's power.

As God's children, we have no need to become discouraged for long. God has given and done so much for us that we have no reason to get down.

We learn from Abraham's experience to trust God even when we have incomplete information. When we attempt to take the expedient way out, we will run into trouble.

We are in various stages of our wilderness journey, not knowing where our journey will take us. The turns give us opportunities to strengthen our faith.

Salvation is not a one time event, but a continuous process—not just immunity from death, but a total transformation of our nature into a new creation.

Nothing and no one can thwart God's purposes. We need to develop the faith to yield and conform to His will as clay in the potter's hands.

We are assured that even though inexplicable things happen in our lives, God is still sovereign. We must develop childlike faith to trust in Him for solutions.

Living faith has its roots in fervently, diligently seeking God and His righteousness with intense desire (like a passionate lover) through habitual prayer.

We have the tendency when we see something to register it as truth imprinted on our minds. Jesus warned of deceptions that could confound our sense of sight.

Eternal life is to live a quality life as God lives, having developed a close relationship with God, living by faith and accepting His sovereignty over all.

Here are four qualities of character that our full acceptance of God's sovereignty will build and that will prepare us for whatever work God may choose for us.

Having experienced the turmoil of the Catholic—Protestant clash, the framers of our Constitution did not want any sect dictating religious doctrines or practices.

Because the world is under the sway of the wicked one, if mankind were left to its own choices, the world would revert to the condition before the Flood.

Becoming equipped for leadership requires that we discipline ourselves in following God's way of life, allowing the mind of Jesus Christ to be in us in.

Wisdom does not give us complete understanding into the ultimate purposes of God, but when accompanied with faith in God, it will brighten our countenance.

Real saving faith is a gift from God, but we are obligated to walk by this faith, developing incremental levels of faith through obedience.

The faithful life and work of Noah illustrates that after justification, walking by faith with God is a practical responsibility.

Even though a Christian's potential is so wonderful, it is still necessary for God to motivate His children to reach it. This begins with the fear of God.

Our conviction reveals itself in living by faith. Moses is a stunning example of how a convicted Christian should live — with loyalty and faithfulness to God.

Hebrews 11 provides examples to bolster faith. The faith described is not blind, but is carefully developed from systematic analysis of available evidence.