All tagged fear

Lessons many of us learned in preschool and kindergarten still apply—be nice, share, and show respect for each other. We live in a world that seems to have forgotten these relational basics.

Even the church—the people not the institution—needs some reminders. We need to be reminded of some basics that Jesus often taught.

Growing up and living in Southern California, I was accustomed to the occurrence of earthquakes. In a strange way, it became somewhat normal if that's really possible.

But you can't anticipate or adequately prepare for an earthquake. They can be predicted to some extent but they hit without immediate warning.

Not everything in the Bible is to be taken literally. And yet, what's written in the Bible is not just figurative or symbolic. Discernment, spiritual discernment, is needed for a true understanding.

Events in the Bible are real, but they can also be figurative. The stories recorded in the Bible aren't random events, they're selected by God for a purpose.

They are intended to teach us something by example or by way of illustration. Just as in life, where we can learn from the success or mistakes we make, we can learn from the successes, wisdom, and failures of others.