What do we know about the history of Thanksgiving Day? Is this Festival an occasion that true Christians can participate in? What do we read in general about true thankfulness to God for His physical blessings, even in difficult times, and how can Thanksgiving Day contribute to this attitude of thankfulness?

In our free booklet, “Is That In the Bible? Man’s Holidays and God’s Holy Days,” we say the following about “Thanksgiving Day”:

“The first observance of the Thanksgiving Festival in America occurred in early November or December of 1621… when the Governor of Plymouth Colony, William Bradford, appointed a three-day feast. That observance was established to show gratitude to the Almighty as that difficult year drew to an end and the harvest was plentiful. While this was not the first Thanksgiving in America (thanksgiving services were held in Virginia as early as 1607), it was America’s first Thanksgiving Festival…

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Some claim that even though God might have promised people in the Old Testament wealth, prosperity and riches, this is no longer the case for New Testament Christians, as the New Covenant has “better promises,” which allegedly succeed Old Testament blessings.

It is true that as converted Christians, we are living under the conditions of the New Covenant. We read in Hebrews 8:6 that the New Covenant is based, founded or established on better promises. But what are those better promises, exactly?

One of those promises is forgiveness of sin, which was never part of Old Covenant promises. Before the New Covenant came, there was no forgiveness of sins—animal sacrifices do not forgive sins (Hebrews 10:4, 11). They just served as a reminder of sins. When those sins were recognized and “repented” of, a physical relationship with God could be restored so that people were allowed to stay within the community of Israel. They did not repent in a spiritual sense and did therefore not receive forgiveness in a spiritual sense, as they were not called for salvation at that time.

Continue reading "Does God promise us physical blessings when we lead a righteous life?"

We will conclude this three-part series on what it means to be a Christian pilgrim, having looked at five attributes so far, that are required. Let us continue with additional necessary attributes. 

(6)                A PILGRIM views correction in a positive way.

This is something that is alien to the non-Christian mind.  Man, in general, wants people to flatter them, to cosy up to them and to be sycophants.   Immediately when any correction appears on the horizon, however gentle, however lovingly given, and however right that correction may be, the hackles usually go up, a defensive position is taken and offence can so often be the result.   That’s the way of the world.   As with almost everything, our position should be diametrically opposed to such behaviour.

Continue reading "What does it mean to be a Christian Pilgrim? (Part 3)"

In part one of this series, we started to look at what it means to be a Christian pilgrim.   First of all, we saw that we must clearly see the vision that is ahead of us and to seek those things which will last for eternity in the Kingdom of God.

Let us now continue with our study of this subject.

(2)              A PILGRIM’S roots must not be entrenched in this world.

We alluded to this already in part 1 of this series. To elaborate, there was a classic case of someone being entrenched in the ways of this world that ended in the loss of her life.   In Genesis, chapters 18 and 19, we find a story we know well – discussing the depravity of Sodom and Gomorrah.   And our current society, with all of its sexual sins, homosexuality and deviant behavior, is just like that.   

Continue reading "What does it mean to be a Christian Pilgrim? (Part 2)"

True Christians—those who are called by God to His Way of Life—may be referred to as Christian soldiers, ambassadors for Christ, disciples, followers and pilgrims.   In this Q&A, we will look at what it means to be a Christian pilgrim.

There are many religions that have pilgrimages to certain “holy” places, but as these are not of the One True God, they will not be addressed.  What we will look at in this three-part Q&A is the act of being a Christian pilgrim.

In bibledictionarytoday.com, we read this definition of a pilgrim:

“The term ‘pilgrim’ comes from the Latin word peregrinus, which means ‘foreigner’ or ‘wanderer.’ In the biblical sense, it refers to individuals who are on a journey, often with a divine purpose. The concept of being a pilgrim encapsulates the idea of living as a stranger in a foreign land, seeking a spiritual homeland.

Continue reading "What does it mean to be a Christian Pilgrim? (Part 1)"

This is a question that may seem obvious to anyone living the true Christian Way of Life but may be confusing to those who feel that their priorities, even though they may think that they are a committed follower of Jesus Christ, must be to their spouse and children with God being subordinated to a lesser role in their lives.

A well-known sportsman in the UK was asked about the priorities in his life, and he said that they were his family, his faith and then listed other priorities.   His Christian faith was known to those who knew him well, and it seemed that he was a man of faith.   However, was he correct in listing God as second to his family in his list of priorities?

Each and every one of us will have their own list of priorities.  We may not sit down and list them, but we will know what we put first and those things that mean the most to us.   When we have a list of things to do, we generally organise these according to how we perceive their importance.   When we put God first, it means that He is top of our list of priorities.

Continue reading "Does God really have to come first in our lives?"

The word, millennium, derives from the Latin mille, meaning thousand. “M” in Roman numerals represents the number 1,000. Over time, “the Millennium” has become a reference to the thousand years mentioned in Revelation 20, verses 2-7. The term “millennium” is not actually found in the Bible. We will use millennium in this Q&A as a parallel designation to the thousand years, as appears below in Revelation 20:2-7:

“(2) He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 

“(3) and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

Continue reading "What is the Millennium and where is it mentioned in the Bible?"

Before we answer this question, let us address the problem prompting this question.

First of all, it is clear from Scripture that Samson, Gideon and Jephthah WILL BE resurrected to eternal life and that they WILL enter the Kingdom of God when Christ returns.

We state the following in our Q&A, titled, “Were There ‘Christians’ in Old Testament Times?”:

“We know that Old Testament followers of God will be in the Kingdom of God… we find a rather long list of God’s Old Testament servants in the 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews. The list includes people like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. Verses 39-40 explicitly state: ‘And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise [of eternal life and of entering the Kingdom of God], God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect APART FROM us.’”

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First of all, let us look at this phrase. From Wikipedia we can glean this interesting information: “‘In God We Trust’ is the official motto of the United States of America, Nicaragua, and of the U.S. state of Florida. It was adopted as the United States’ motto in 1956 as a replacement or alternative to the unofficial motto of E pluribus unum, which was adopted when the Great Seal of the United States was created and adopted in 1782. ‘In God We Trust’ first appeared on the two-cent piece in 1864 and has appeared on paper currency since 1957.”

It is an interesting question to ask if this would be permitted today.   And even if it were, would it be embraced with the same deep intended meaning? You just have to wonder as the USA, as well as many other nations around the world, have become much more secular and permissive societies. 

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From time to time, we are faced with the question of how men and women should wear their hair, especially in church services. Some new people who get in contact with us feel that a woman must wear a veil in services, and especially during the opening or closing prayer. Others feel that a man can wear shoulder-length long hair, or he can do so by wearing it as a ponytail. Then, teens and young adults, and/or their parents, often may not know what hair length and hairstyle is appropriate for them.

We have previously addressed the issue of proper hair length in Q&As. Before extensively quoting from them, a word of caution, which we set forth in regard to proper dress in chapter 12 of our free booklet, “How Can Young People Cope With Life?”, but which would equally apply to the question of proper hair length:

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