Today is March 3, 2021
Verse of the Day -- 2 Corinthians 6:14
Do not be bound together with unbelievers . . .

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Christians should never date, much less marry, a non-believer!

MINI BIBLE STUDY FOR THE DAY

Using the phrase "bound together" is probably a reference to Deuteronomy 22:10:

 

You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

The ox was considered a clean animal and the donkey unclean. Also, their step and pull are not the same. Matthew 11:29-30 contrasts this struggle by declaring,

 

My yoke is easy and My load is light.

If Christians would heed the warning and never allow themselves to be bound together with non-Christians, countless tears and tragedies could be avoided. Whether it's marriage, business, or a church where non-believers are admitted into membership-when the bad times come (and they always do), you're forced to deal with the dark side.

Avoid this mistake at all costs.

 

 

 

 

 

QUESTION FOR THE DAY

Dear Compass,

I considered myself a strong, knowledgeable Christian. After a recent word study I no longer know what I believe. It concerns the word Satan in the Old Testament. The word simply means "adversary." It is not the proper name of a specific creature or angel. If "Satan" is such a huge part of Scripture (the primer to our fall), the Hebrews would have named him specifically.

It seems to me that the Devil is a New Testament invention started specifically by Christ, who I also seem to doubt now. The New Testament was written by the followers of Christ, sometime around 70 AD, which also negates any prophecy about the destruction of the Temple because it could have been written after. I am completely lost.

The Bible says that God gives us the faith we need to believe. Why am I no longer believing? Can you want to know God and have Him reject you? If God wanted all to come to Him, why not make an impression? A quick example: My wife gets pregnant and I leave for 50 years. As the child grows up, my wife tells the child daily how great his father is and how much he has done for them-even though they live in poverty under a bridge. How long do you expect that child to believe? I guarantee he would not believe for 50 years! Yet God (Jesus?) has done nothing in 2000 years.

We need to see Him in our lives, giving us discipline, supporting us, helping us, feeding the hungry, and taking care of us. That is what I do for my children because I love them dearly. If my Father in heaven loves me, then where is He? I have been praying about this for months and see no answer. I have prayed humbly in front of people at Bible study that He guide me, and nothing. We cannot even heal in the name of Jesus as the New Testament states. Even Paul was denied healing after he repeatedly asked.

I believe in God. Evolution is ignorance. I have studied it in detail, and it boggles my mind that any believe it. Help please! Please don't tell me to have faith because the Bible says "faith" is evidence of things you can't see but hope for (Hebrews 11:1). I cannot follow my heart while my brain is hung on a meat hook. I believe in God, but it does not appear He is here. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

ANSWER:

You've asked a LOT of questions! First of all, the factual information you cited in your letter is inaccurate-although we do not see that as your real problem. Although the word "Satan" is first used in the Old Testament as a general term meaning "adversary," it is used as a proper name for the first time in 1 Chronicles 21:1 to identify the tempter of David.

 

Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.

Throughout the New Testament, there is no question that Satan was identified as a very real entity by Jesus, the disciples, Paul and others. The author of Jude identifies him as the archenemy of Michael, the archangel, and John explains in great detail his persecution of the Church and his ultimate demise in Revelation. Jesus clearly acknowledged an evil kingdom under the control of a powerful, personal being, and He understood that the primary purpose of the Messiah was to destroy the works of Satan.

 

Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, "What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are-the Holy One of God!" -Mark 1:23-24

And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was. -Mark 1:34

Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, "You are the Son of God!" -Mark 3:11

and to have authority to cast out the demons. -Mark 3:15

 

 

Your dating of the New Testament "around 70 AD" also conflicts with the views of Bible scholars. Most of the NT books were written well before 70 AD. Matthew, which records the prophecy of the Temple destruction, is believed by scholars to have been written 15 to 20 years after the Resurrection and certainly prior to the Roman destruction.

Having said all that, we reiterate that these issues are not the cause of your lack of faith. You have a very man-centered, temporal, world-oriented view of Jesus Christ that is preventing you from seeing who He is and why He came. To say that He "has done nothing in 2000 years" shows a complete ignorance of God's plan for redeeming His people-one life at a time-from their deserved sentence of spiritual death and eternal damnation.

The reason you are living "in poverty under a bridge" is not because your Father doesn't care for you. It's because in your self-centeredness, rebellion and arrogance, you turned from your Father and went your own way, as did every one of us in the entire human race.

 

as it is written,
"THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."

"THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE,
WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,"

"THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS";

"WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS";
"THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD,
DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS,
AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN."

"THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES."
           -Romans 3:10-18

He didn't leave us, we left Him. But God in His grace and because of His love has promised to bring us home if we will accept the incredible restitution He has made through Christ's death on the cross. In the meantime, there are millions of people, trusting in His promises, who will testify that He is indeed "disciplining us, supporting us, helping us, feeding the hungry, and taking care of us."

Faith in God comes on His terms, not ours. Instead of dictating your own parameters for belief, humbly ask God to help you start over by showing you His truth and the reality of your situation. Until we are able to understand our desperate need for salvation, we are not going to be able to recognize the Savior for who He truly is. Paul addressed a similar concern with the Jews of his day:

 

Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. -Romans 10:1-3

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Compass International, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit, non-denominational ministry. Our mission is to defend the accuracy of the Bible from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22 by providing solid Biblical resources for maturing Christians. For more information on Compass, our eye-opening Bible teaching videos and articles, future Bible conferences and awesome Holyland trips, please visit our web site at www.compass.org or call 208-762-7777 for a catalog.

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Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission.

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