Exactly when people began using eggs to symbolize the new life of Spring is hard to ascertain. The practice pre-dates Christ by many centuries. Ancient Canaanites, Babylonians, Persians, Romans, and others celebrated Spring as a time of plant, animal, and human reproduction; their revelry often included unbridled sexual perversion. Even the people of Israel were caught up in the practice, worshiping “Asherah” (the fertility goddess) and “standing pillars” (phallic symbols) “on every high hill, and under every green tree” (1 Kings 14:15, 22-23). God soundly rebuked them for it.
The Egyptians’ goddess of motherhood and fertility was Isis; rabbits were used as symbols of birth and life. The Babylonian version of this goddess was Ishtar, who had supposedly been hatched out of a huge egg that had fallen into the Euphrates River. Eggs were always used in her celebration as symbols of love, life, and reproduction.
As early Romans adopted the gods of neighboring tribes, they honored Flora as a goddess associated with flowers and Spring, but there were other goddesses whose roles overlapped hers. They used eggs to symbolize the beginning of new life, and western civilization gets the practice largely …

Decisions made in times of temptation are often the wrong ones. Put on the spot, spurred on by peer pressure and our own selfish desires, we often cave in to sin. That we do sin as Christians is a matter of record (1 Jn. 1:5-10), but so is the fact that we can strengthen our resistance.
James 1:2-4 says, “Count it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Faith, steadfastness, and confidence in one’s ability to resist evil are enhanced through small victories. Little by little, bit by bit, we gain a sense of strength and assurance. It’s not that we become sinlessly perfect, but that we prove to ourselves we can do the right thing with God’s help.
No doubt, this is how young Daniel attained such a strong resolve. It’s highly unlikely that he suddenly became faithful to God upon entering Babylonian captivity.
His resolute faith was no doubt based upon his earlier experiences in Israel. As a young man, particularly in the corrupt …

Old doctrines never die; they always manage to get recirculated. A good many years ago I first heard the teaching that baptism in the New Testament was given as an ordinance for Jews only, symbolizing their transition from the Old Covenant to the New, but that baptism was never intended for Gentiles at all. Cited as evidence was the fact that after the rebaptism of twelve men (presumed to be Jews) in Acts 19:1-7, we don’t read of another case of Gentile baptism in the New Testament. What about it? This teaching has resurfaced and is very popular with many of our neighbors. Frankly, I’ve never understood the baptism of those men in Acts 19 as having any real connection to the question. To say that New Testament teaching excludes Gentiles from the commandment of baptism is to plainly ignore scripture.
Consider…
The Great Commission “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16). Note that the gospel is intended for all creatures, the Lord making no distinction in how …

Just as you determine from reading Jeremiah that no one in Judah had any regard for righteousness, here come the Rechabites.
In a curious passage in Jeremiah 35, God gives the prophet instructions regarding this obscure people. Jeremiah is told to bring the Rechabites into a chamber of the temple and set before them wine to drink. He follows the Lord’s instructions and sets before them a table full of wine pitchers and cups, telling them to partake.
But the Rechabites are scandalized at the very suggestion. They say, “We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, ‘You shall drink no wine, neither you nor your sons forever. You shall not build a house; you shall not sow seed; you shall not plant or have a vineyard; but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.’ We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us…” (vs. 6-8).
What’s all this about? The Rechabites were a branch of the Kenites, a nomadic people from Midian …