Here, we take a bit of the mystery out of miracles by answering four common questions asked by Bible readers.

1. How Can You Tell If a Miracle Is of God?

There are at least three biblical tests for recognizing a legitimate miracle:

a. The miracle glorifies God.
Miracles declare that God is active in our world and that he can disrupt the activities ...

 
 
Jesus clashed with the religious leaders of his day over many issues: religious traditions, associating with sinners, spiritual authority and more. On one issue in particular — the Sabbath — these leaders monitored Jesus’ actions scrupulously. The Ten Commandments prohibited work on the Sabbath since it was a holy day set apart (Exodus 20:8 – 11). Just as ...

Believe it or not, money and possessions are the most talked about subjects in the Bible — more than prayer, faith or salvation. That’s because God knew what areas we would struggle with. Our interaction with money should begin with acknowledging that everything belongs to God (Psalm 24:1). When we honor the LORD with our wealth, we demonstrate ...

 
 
Biblical poetry reveals expressions that run the gamut of human emotion — from the depth of despair to the height of happiness. While poetic language employs vivid imagery to describe events or themes of all kinds, most biblical poetry can be organized around two themes: the experience of human suffering and the assertion of God’s divine kingship.

Human Suffering

The lament psalms, the thanksgiving psalms and the book of Lamentations ...

 
 
In Jewish culture, women were accepted in positions of leadership. And we find stories throughout the Bible of women who showed extraordinary leadership and courage. Here, we take a look at the lives of three extraordinary women of faith who were used by God to help change the course of history.

Deborah: A Distinguished Judge and Leader of Israel

Deborah (Hebrew, “bee”) appears to have been a homemaker at the ...

 
 
Throughout the Bible we most often find God’s people turn to fasting as the natural, inevitable response to a grievous sacred moment in life, such as death, sin and tragedy. But other times a fast is not a spontaneous reaction and we have time to prepare to respond both physically and spiritually.

Fasting is not an end unto itself, but a means of focusing our minds and bodies for ...

The traditions of ancient peoples throughout the world share in common the inclusion of flood stories. The Mesopotamian accounts have garnered the most discussion since they are culturally closer to the Biblical material than any of the other non-Scriptural narratives. The most famous Mesopotamian flood account is the Babylonian version, found in the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (seventh century BC) as part of the larger Epic of Gilgamesh.

In this ...

The “fruit” of the Holy Spirit refers to the godly attributes of those who “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). The true manifestation of the Holy Spirit at work in a believer’s life is that the believer becomes increasingly more like Christ in character and actions. The fruit of the Spirit should characterize the life of every believer. Today we take ...

“Tama na” (“We’ve had enough”) was the collective cry of the Filipino people when a national election was rigged to keep a president-turned-dictator in power. It was time to challenge a government that declared martial law and used it to harass and imprison those deemed enemies of the state. The list of those arrested over almost a decade included politicians, professors, charity workers and ministers. Reports of torture and death also ...

On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus’ disciples prepared the Passover meal. The traditional Jewish Passover feast commemorates God’s rescue of Israel from Egyptian slavery. Jesus applied elements from this meal – the bread and the wine – to explain what He would accomplish on the cross transforming it into a remembrance of His own person and work.