My question is on Alcohol. I get really confused on whether we should consume alcohol or not. I know drunkenness is a no no and is not an issue for me, but I do like a beer every now and then. Should I feel guilty about doing this?

Also if you could explain the wine/new wine issue. I’ve heard some preachers say it was grape juice, but isn’t there a verse that says don’t get drunk on new wine? Great site by the way.

My husband and I made a new years resolution to read the bible together every day. We started with Genesis and we were wondering why Abraham kept denying that Sarah was his wife. I read a little bit further and Isaac denied that Rebekah was his wife. We were wondering why they would do this and thought maybe you could offer us some insight.

Let me just say that I love your site. I am a repeat visitor and your last response to my question helped out a lot and I appreciate it.

My new question is this, why in certain Bible versions (i.e. NIV, KJV, etc) is there a footnote with a reference that a particular word is written or phrased differently in other manuscripts? Like for example in the NIV version there is a footnote for John 1:18, that reads: Some manuscripts but the only (or only begotten) Son. Why is this so, I thought all the Bible manuscripts where all the same just translated into English, various languages and versions. Can you please explain this?

I had a miscariage at 6 and 1/2 months. I did a Cleansing streams course at my church and the two ladies who ran this course were praying for me. I told them about my baby, one of the ladies told me that she saw a girl of about two years old standing next to me, looking at me and smiling, she described my granddaughter to a tee except my granddaughter has blue eyes and my baby had green. They told me that she watches me. Could you please try and help me discern how my baby would be two years old. I have no doubt she is with Jesus and I am grateful that she is safe, happy and with Him away from this troubled world. Although a cuddle would be great, but I’ll wait for that until I go home. Thank you and God bless you for this site. I have often asked this question of others, but no one can give me an answer.

You have said Mary and Elizabeth were cousins, which normally suggests common grandparents. How could this be if Mary was of the tribe of Judah and Elizabeth was a Levite? Also Elizabeth was so very much older than Mary.

I was reading Ezekiel 38 again and ran across the statement of Israel dwelling safely when Gog and Magog war begins. I thought that Israel returned to God during the war and that until they returned to Him they would not dwell safely.

A well known and very respected minister once said in a sermon, “Satan often sends some good things into your life to get you walking in the direction he wants.” I know that Satan masquerades as an angel of light and not all miracles are from God. Can and does Satan answer our prayers?

I’ve recently had a discussion about sin and sin nature with fellow Christians. We disagreed on some issues, which is not all that unusual, but afterwards they defined some of my beliefs as those of the Free Grace Movement. Then they warned me this was dangerous. My understanding of this topic is somewhat limited and I wondered what you thought about Free Grace?

Thank you so much for being a continued source of reference.

I was in a conversation today with a gnostic and asked him what his point of view was on scripture. After some discussion he tried to tell me that there are inaccuracies in scripture. One of the things he brought up was that the “cast the first stone” story from John 8 wasn’t in the original mms and was added by the Catholic church as part of a conspiracy later. I told him that I was aware that it wasn’t in the older copies of John, but was in the older copies of Luke (which is how I understand it) He didn’t seem to believe that. I then told him that 2 Timothy 3:16 says that scripture is God breathed and that God would not allow His word to be corrupted to which he just replied “yeah, but it was.” Can you offer any more ammunition other than just knowing that he’s clinging to his a prior mind set regardless of the evidence presented?

Is it possible to sin unknowingly?