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I have read the following on a web site and am wondering if the translations are correct. “There are two different Greek words that are translated as “temple” in English. One word “hieron” is used by Paul when referring to an actual building made with wood and stones. The other word “naos” is used when referring to the spiritual temple of God which refers to His people. The word “naos” is the one used in this 2 Thessalonians 2:4 verse, and therefore is NOT talking about a physical temple.”

Something you said in one of your answers was that God can’t forgive us if we don’t confess. I was taught that all our sins are forgiven already at the cross, but that we should confess them which is to admit our wrong to God so that we can be closer to God. But our sins are forgiven at the cross, everyone of them, so I feel it was wrong to say God can’t forgive us if we don’t confess because he already has.

My question is from Genesis 13-14 with Abram and Lot. After he rescued Lot, Melchizedek, priest and king of Salem and the king of Sodom meet Abram. For what purpose are Melchizedek and the king of Sodom together? Sodom was wicked and full of great sinners and Melchizedek was the priest of God and also the king of Salem. Why were a king of such a sinful and wicked city and a king and priest of God together like that when God could easily have made their meetings separate with the same outcome?

May the Lord continue to bless you in this unique and wonderful ministry He has given you! I have a question about Luke 2:13-14. And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” In passages like this we see the heavenly host ‘praising God’. A minister once said that if you check the scriptures, we never read that the angels are singing. He believed that only humans actually sing, not angels. Any thoughts on this statement?

There’s something I have been puzzling about. Let’s say there are two good Christian friends. They both dabble in witchcraft and read their horoscopes every day. Then God tells one of them to stop doing that because he doesn’t like it. So the first person changes his lifestyle, but the second one never hears from God. They remain friends, despite the change. Now why does this happen? Why does God call one person and ignore many others who are doing the same thing? If the activity is displeasing wouldn’t he tell ALL of them to stop?

From a different angle – if you’re Christian and you believe Jesus died to save you, and OSAS is true, why does God call you out of doing certain things? Because if your behavior had no bearing on being saved, then you could go around doing witchcraft or whatever and it would be okay, wouldn’t it? I’m really confused. Please help.

We recently changed churches, for reasons not that important, now the church is not talking to us. The other day we ran into the pastor he was rather upset with us and told us of all the mistakes we made in leaving his church. Is this a Biblical thing? Where does the Bible tell us we have to come to the pastor and tell him we selected another church to attend. I thought that as the church we were all united in the same work.

I know that there are different versions of fasting: some where people are allowed to eat after 3 pm, some after sunset, some can eat meat, some only chicken, some no meat at all, etc. With all the variations on fasting that are out there, I want to know if it is clear how Jesus fasted? I’ve been told that He couldn’t have done it on water alone for 40 days because his digestion tract would be so severely damaged afterward. I would greatly appreciate your insight into this!

Recently I asked for prayers for my daughter and myself as we are both due to have surgery in a few months. I did so on a message board that I get on when talking to my friends. Not long after I wrote the prayer request one of my friends messaged me back and told me they would keep us in their prayers and told me to check out (a currently popular self help book). Have you seen the movie or read the book? What is your opinion and how should I address this person?

Some years ago I asked (another Christian ministry) Why God, in his foreknowledge, had set up Adam and Eve for failure if he knew the terrible misery it would cause for generations of their descendants, including the descendant named Jesus? They replied that God knew it would be necessary for them to first obtain knowledge of good and evil in order to appreciate the goodness of God and life with him. Having known only perfection since the day of their creation, they had nothing with which to contrast it and were therefore blind to its blessing. What do you think?

I can’t express how much I look forward to reading your insights every day except to say “amen” to all the other’s comments.

My question is about tithing. When selling a home to buy another, how should the tithe be determined?