A former Speech and Language Pathologist for nearly 20 years, I began educating our 3 children full-time in 2015 and have cherished every gifted moment (even the challenges). But what is interwoven into all aspects of daily life (as a wife, via motherhood, teaching, friendship, fitness, etc.) is Christian Apologetics (1 Peter 3:15)… which is why this blog exists.
✔️Mowing our neighbor’s lawn. ✔️Shoveling a widow’s snowy driveway. ✔️Taking meals to new parents. ✔️Giving money to combat human-trafficking. ✔️Sharing our dinner tables with those who are new to town. ✔️Listening to a grieving friend for as long as it takes. ✔️Forgiving those who have wronged us.
Yes, let’s keep doing all of the above, and more!
And…
Let’s always be prepared to share the #reason for the #hope that you have, with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15). Let’s be prayerfully prepared to explain why we love in these ways, and from Whom this love comes! For His glory, alone.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16
💡“Why is there evil and wars?” 💡“Is the Bible true?” 💡“How is the Bible relevant?” 💡“How do we reconcile science and faith?” 💡“If God created the universe, who created God?”
💡What if someone hasn’t heard of God? 💡“Do dogs go to Heaven?”
…and more!
Shared below is a 60m clip of Christian Apologist, Dr. Sean McDowell, speaking at a church in Singapore…answering 12 difficult (yet, common) questions pertaining to God and Christianity.
It’s an incredible resource to have on-hand for the treadmill, when folding laundry, while eating lunch, or as your prepping for dinner. There’s always time to prioritize researching these pivotal worldview issues, as well as learning how to answer the tough queries people ponder.
“but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” – 1 Peter 3:15
More pertaining to the scientific veracity of the Enneagram:
According to an interview with Dr. Rhenn Cherry, a Biblical Counselor who wrote his PhD dissertation on the Enneagram, approximately 139 doctoral-level mental health professionals, with an average of 26 years experience, participated in a peer reviewed study in 2015 which found the Enneagram placing 2nd to last place on the first round of testing and last on the 2nd round…out of 36 protocols.
The Enneagram is not a valid scientific tool pertaining to Personality, even if marketed as such.
If someone played Beethoven poorly, would you play blame Beethoven?
As Frank Turek suggests, “Of course not!”
The fact that Christians are unable to live-up to Jesus’s standards, only affirms our desperate NEED for Jesus and what He did on our behalf (Isaiah 53; 1 Co 15; 1 John 4).
If we are completely transparent, friends, we should all admit that we can’t even live up to our own standards, consistently…let alone, God’s.
Let this sink in:
God lovingly came down because WE need Him. We need freed from the sin which enslaves us (Eph 2; Rom 5; 1 Cor 15). It’s a work only God can do. And it’s a gift given to humanity!
“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 Jn 4:9-10).
I grew-up with Santa (and adored him). But when I became a mom, I was faced with the reality that if Steve and I pretended Santa was real, we would be lying to our children. 🎅🏼
But if we didn’t participate in the Santa tradition, would we be robbing something incredibly fun from our children? This was a genuine concern!
Let’s process through this concern together!
1.) Would we be stealing fun from our children by not acting as though Santa is real?
First of all, we need to identify the false dilemma fallacy of thinking that fun is solely dependent upon thinking Santa is real.
For example, we can watch movies and read books containing fictional storylines (ie., Chronicles of Narnia, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc.) and thoroughly appreciate them, without them being nonfiction.
Therefore, can children watch Frozen the movie and enjoy it without believing Elsa is real? Of course!!
Friends, we can hopefully agree that enjoying the fictitious story of Santa is NOT reliant upon believing he is real. For more information pertaining to the false dilemma fallacy, please click here for Kathy Gibbens’s podcast.
2.) Should the desire for fun supersede honesty?
Most parents view Santa as a “white lie.” The thought that we would be purposefully deceiving their children would genuinely grieve us. With this being said, we can agree that deception is most often NOT the motivation. Instead, experiencing an awe-inspiring activity is.
This brings us having to our first question: “Can we enjoy Santa without believing he is real?”
Parents, the last thing I want is for anyone to feel condemned if they have promoted Santa to their children. To reiterate, I grew-up with a sincere fondness for Santa Clause, and am not upset with my parents for nurturing the idea that he was real.
The purpose of this post is to lovingly put forth questions that we all should consider. For we all earnestly desire that our children trust our words. Especially, regarding what matters most: their trust that God exists, and that Jesus came to save them from their sins (1 John 4).
Let’s allow the reality of what God has done on our behalf lead the way! We don’t need to add fluff to God’s incarnation, as if it lacks awe-inspiring qualities. It’s a true, historical event which is filled with more than enough awe and wonder to last a lifetime!
Our family on the Polar Express Train with Santa. By the way, the kiddos have always known Santa as a fictional character, who is different from the real man, St. Nicholas .
The next time you grab for a slice of bread, think upon God’s sovereignty… Why?
Bread has been an important staple in our diets for thousands of years. God knows this fact and therefore draws upon it to teach us!
In Matthew 4, for instance, we get to hear Jesus proclaiming the imperative need of humanity for God’s words. Jesus responds to Satan’s twisting of Scripture, with rightly divided Scripture:
“It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”(Deut 8:3; Mt4:4)
And it’s within the Scriptures where we witness the profoundly reassuring sovereignty of God pointing to Jesus as the Word of God (Jn 1) as well as our Bread from Heaven (Jn 6:22-59).
And where was God incarnate born? Just as promised 700 years prior through the prophet, Micah, the Bread of Life was born in Bethlehem, which means, “the house of bread.”
“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace.”
Micah 5:2, 4-5
With all of this in view, by God’s grace alone, let’s pray for His help to prioritize the Scriptures above all of books and shows. This doesn’t mean we go without other books, but as a brilliant preacher of late once exhorted,
”Visit many good books, but live in the Bible.”
Charles H. Spurgeon
Keep living in the Scriptures and deriving sustenance from your Creator and King. And therefore, when you grab for bread for a meal home or out at dinner, please be diligent to remember the one who gave His life so that you and I could find life in Him. He is the bread of life (Jn 6:51)!
“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years.5 Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. 6 So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, 9 a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.
11 “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, 12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lordyour God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. 17 Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish.20 Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.
When we are walking through a trial (notice the word, “when”), we long for the rock-solid security which holds us upon shaking ground. We long for a real hope which steadies our emotions and reigns-in our reactive tendencies. The hope God gives us through His work upon the cross is not a myth nor is it a sales tactic. The hope our God provides is an anchor through the storms and a comfort in our pain. It’s an anchor provided by a real God who really came down to save. There’s no blind faith in this historical reality.
For this reason, the faith Christians have is a gift which isn’t built upon either myth or human emotion. The Christian faith is based upon evidence God provided through actual events. This faith is rock-solid, as is the hope which results.
Friends, it’s by trusting in God’s work that we can truly rejoice in hardship. It’s not blind, wishful thinking…It’s real.
Shared here is the tenth chapter of First Corinthians along with commentary from the ESV Study Bible as well as quotes from some early church fathers pertaining to the essential Christian message that Jesus as LORD.
To preface, the apostle Paul wrote his first letter to the church in Corinth between AD 53-55 with the hopes of (per the theme of his letter) alerting the Corinthian church that their conduct was out of step with the gospel message. Per the ESV Study Bible, at the root of much of the immorality and idolatry in Corinth, lay a lack of appreciation for the holiness that God requires of his people (p. 2188). Paul admonishes the Corinthians to “not put Christ to the test” as the newly rescued Israelites did in the wilderness, who ate, drank, and played with grumbling hearts (1 Cor 10:10).
The ESV Study Bible explains that “Paul sees Christ [the Messiah] as spiritually present with God’s people in Old Testament times. The Israelites tested Christ (“God” in Num.21:5) by becoming “impatient” with his provision of water and food. (p. 2205).”
“For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.”
1 Cor 10:1-5
Here in this portion of first Corinthians 10, “Paul is referring to God providing Israel with bread from heaven (‘manna,’ Exodus 16) and water from a rock. This rock appears both at the beginning of their wanderings in the desert (Ex.17:1-7) and near the end (Num. 20:2-13). Rabbinic exegesis from after Paul’s time surmised that the rock followed the Israelites throughout their wanderings. This understand of the rock may have been current in Paul’s time. If so, Paul’s claim that the Rock following them was both spiritual and Christ shows that he did not believe that a physical rock traveled with the Israelites, but that Christ (in spiritual form) was ever-present with them; he was there to supply their need for water, and therefore to judge those who tested him (1 Cor 10:9). ‘Rock’ is a common OT name for God (e.g., Deut 32:4, 15, 18, 30-31), and his probably facilitated Paul’s identification of the rock with Christ. (note on p. 2204).”
Let’s step back and acknowledge a crucial fact about Paul.
Some Bible skeptics claim that John’s gospel, the latest gospel written, created a narrative that wasn’t present at the earliest beginnings of the church. What do they skeptics suggest John forced upon Jesus?
Jesus being God, the second Person of the Trinity.
Skeptics claim that Jesus never asserted that He was God in the earlier gospel accounts, but that is incorrect! Numerous New Testament Scholars, Christian and non-Christian, alike, view Mark as the earliest gospel account. Per Reasons to Believe, there are 18 places in Mark which demonstrate Jesus claimed to be God incarnate. To save you time here, please click on this link to read about these claims per Reasons to Believe.
Hang with me! There’s MORE!!
Not only does Mark deflate the debunked argument that Jesus’s deity was later-developing, Paul wrote about Jesus as God in his letters as well! Paul was martyred sometime between AD 64-67; therefore, logic tells us that his letters were written before John wrote his letters (between AD 70-100). One striking example of Paul’s perspective that Jesus as LORD was how Paul took the cherished Shema of Deuteronomy 6:4, and incorporated Jesus into it via first Corinthians 8:6! Here are the passages side-by-side:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
“yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”
1 Corinthians 8:6
To add to Paul’s declaration that Jesus was actively leading Israel in Old Testament times, Jesus’s half-brother, Jude, also spoke to the LORD’s divine nature at work in history:
“Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. “
Jude 1:5
Before we dive into the tenth chapter of first Corinthians, please consider reading an article by Stand to Reason’s Tim Barnett, also known as “Mr. B.” of Red Pen Logic (article) which details the impactful beliefs of Christians living either during the time of John, or immediately after his death. Please take note that the examples provided here were written more than 200 years before the Council of Nicaea:
“And that Christ being Lord, and God the Son of God, and appearing formerly in power as Man, and Angel, and in the glory of fire as at the bush, so also was manifested at the judgment executed on Sodom, has been demonstrated fully by what has been said.”
Justin Martyr (AD 100-165), Dialogue with Trypho, 128. Translation from Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, Ante-Nicene Fathers, I:264
“Being as you are imitators of God, once you took on new life through the blood of God you completed perfectly the task so natural to you.”
Ignatius (AD 50-117); Ignatius, Letter to the Ephesians, 1.1.
“Christ Jesus [is] our Lord, and God, and Savior, and King, according to the will of the invisible Father.”
Irenaeus of Lyons (AD 130-202); Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 1.10.1
With all of this in view…
It is clear that the earliest teaching about Jesus (by Jesus and his followers) declare Him to be LORD. So what do we do with this important information? We follow Peter’s admonition in 1 Peter 3:
“but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”
1 Peter 3:15-17
We can learn from both Paul in 1 Corinthians 10 as well as Peter in 1 Peter 3 that setting Jesus as Lord in our hearts as holy is imperative! Sisters, God came down to save us from our sin and self-centeredness (“I’ve got this!”). Why would we attempt to live as if we are without hope when God lovingly sacrificed Himself on our behalf! We have abundant hope in Him each and every day! A hope that doesn’t fade! Therefore, let’s be thankful and share this good news with others!
First Corinthians Ten
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
2 Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, 5 but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. 6 For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. 7 For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9 Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12 for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, 15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.
17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— 34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.
“If there’s any religion that should invite questions, it’s Christianity. Because Christianity is true…and there’s good evidence for it. So faith is NOT blind! We need to stop communicating that to this generation.”
“Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, ‘Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man “Your sins are forgiven,” or “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk”? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.’ Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, ’Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!’”
Mark 2:8-11
“When Jesus had finished giving instructions to his twelve disciples, he moved on from there to teach and preach in their towns. Now when John heard in prison what the Christ was doing, he sent a message through his disciples and asked him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’
Jesus replied to them, ‘Go and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news, and blessed is the one who isn’t offended by me.’”
Matthew 11:1-6
Conclusion
Friends, we need to stop leaning into a wrong definition of “faith.” Blind faith is not biblical faith.
In John 1:29 we witness John the Baptist boldly proclaiming Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” However, when John the Baptist was arrested and was awaiting his beheading, he doubted if what he knew about Jesus was correct. Does this type of questioning sound unique to John?
Sisters, if John the Baptist had doubts about Jesus being the Messiah, we too will have doubts. Especially during incredibly intense trials!
But did John sit back in his prison cell and allow those doubts to swirl in his mind? No, he knew where to take them! Honest questions about God should never be squelched nor shamed…They should be welcomed! And if you noticed Jesus’s response to John’s question, he readily answered John without rebuke.
You see, we shouldn’t fear the possibility of having doubts, they will come. Instead, we should be concerned when our hearts grow apathetic, and our minds become numb.
Our hope and confidence doesn’t hang upon the unproven character of God, but quite the opposite! Our faith rests entirely upon what’s known about God through creation (Romans 1) and His Word (1 Timothy 3). Therefore, we recognize that biblical faith doesn’t deter questions, but instead, invites them. Faith boldly submits to God as our real refuge and savior!!
This is such an incredible interview! If you have 50 minutes this week, please take time to watch! 🎞️
Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age: 1.) Homosexuality is normal. 2.) Pagan spirituality is kind and inclusive. 3.) Feminism is good for the Church and the world. 4.) Transgenderism is normal. 5.) Modesty for women is outdated and dangerous.
Side note: I especially appreciate how Rosaria, at the 30:35 minute mark, identifies the Enneagram as one salient example of how paganism has entered churches.
She lovingly called it out.
65 minutes
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
Ladies, did you realize that Satan, “The Father of Lies,” (John 8:44) is well-versed regarding scripture?
He sure is!
This is extremely important to understand! For quoting the Bible doesn’tnecessarily equate to correctness nor to worshipping God.
According to a recent 2022 poll by Arizona Christian University, only 37% of professing Christian pastors hold to a biblical worldview. Therefore, the tendency towards eisegesis, interpreting the Bible through the lens of “preference” vs accuracy, is highly probable.
One profound example of Satan twisting scripture was when Jesus was fasting the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. (Matthew 4) After the fast, Jesus was hungry…Satan then approached Him and arrogantly questioned Jesus’s identity as God’s own Son. Mind-blowing, haughtiness! Satan continued to tempt Jesus…How?? By quoting scripture. He spoke words you and I would read in the Bible and hear at church. But Satan’s motives were to utilize those verses in ways that would benefit his own agenda (ie “eisegesis”)…and he perpetuates this scheme still, today.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Cor 10:5
The Father of Lies takes what is Biblical and twists it. His irreverence is intentional and his deception, crafty. One of his the most salient schemes is placing the focus upon ourselves, instead of upon God. Satan wants us out of God’s Word, off of our knees, and isolated – out of community and obsessed with “Self.” Nevertheless, despite his continuing efforts to alter our understanding of Truth, He can’t change Truth. God’s one and only Son is Truth. (John 14:6) And God’s Word is Truth. For this reason, we need to test the spirits by measuring every teaching against God’s Word alone. We shouldn’t rely solely upon a teaching we hear from a stage or a podcast, but we genuinely need to get into the Word for ourselves, and pray for God to lead.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
James 4:7
Be encouraged, Ladies! Jesus endured temptation without sin. Jesus wasn’t deceived by Satan’s lies, but instead succeeded where Adam and Eve had failed. He later took our sin upon Himself… cancelling our debt… nailing it to the cross. And Because of what He has done for us, we can now approach the Throne of Grace through Him.
It is with Jesus’s help, that we can test every message carefully: in prayer and by His Word. We can also grow in Christ within a Gospel-Driven community... knowing that God will work through our brothers and sisters in Christ as to lovingly correct us when needed. Gals, no matter what may come, lean-into prayer… soak-up His Word… and “be a Berean.” Test what you hear. God’s got you. ♥️🙏🏼
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Col 3:16
Praying with and for you,
Mer
3 minutes with Mike Winger
Referenced Scripture
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 1:1,14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Hebrews 4:14-16 “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Genesis 3:1-7 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.”
Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Acts 16:16-18 “As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.”
Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
2 Timothy 2:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”
2 Peter 2:1-3 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”
Matthew 7:15-20 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”
2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”
Colossians 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”
Jude 1:4 “For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
Romans 16:17-18 “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.”
Ephesians 4:14 “So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”
1 Corinthians 1:18-25 “18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach[b] to save those who believe.22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
1 Corinthians 6:11 “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
1 Corinthians 8:1 “Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up.
1 Corinthians 8:5-6 “For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”
1 Corinthians 10:13-14 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”
Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”
2 Corinthians 4:1-3 “Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.”
James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
Hold Fast Apologetics 