Dr Paul Allen

The Spirit is on our side (John 16:7–8) More significant for believers, who are beginning to experience the malevolent opposition prophesied by Jesus, is John informing them that the Spirit is on their side.  He will transform those who were once convinced that they were right to reject Jesus and the message offered by his followers. The Spirit, who is promised by Jesus as his replacement, will convince those who fought against the gospel that they were wrong to do so.  Where believers have only human intellect, with all its shortcomings, to combat voices of derision, the Spirit has the wisdom of heaven available to him (John 14:26). Where Jesus’ followers only have limited courage to speak confidently to those who dismiss them, the Spirit has divine authority available to him (John 15:26; 16:13).  Whereas Christians have limited knowledge, the Spirit has the ability to always see the truth (John 16:13). While they may be unaware of the innermost feelings and thoughts of ...

Most of us have probably gone through a period in our Christian lives (or are still there) when we thought about little else than what the Bible says about end times prophecy. So why is there so much disagreement on the topic of biblical eschatology? I recall how, shortly after I became a Christian as a high school student, the timetable for the tribulation period and the rapture became an obsession. To date, it was right around the time when Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth was made into a movie. While I know some people who came to the Lord because of that film and its end-times trajectory, my path toward becoming a biblical scholar showed me that discerning exact end times details weren’t a fruitful use of my time. Now having taught eschatology at a Bible college many times, I know that not only was Jesus unsure of precisely when he would return (Matt 24:36), but we aren’t going to figure that out any time soon either. No end-times scheme is self-evident (or “biblical” as adher...

As We Forgive (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Five Ways to Start Forgiving Right Now  1. Pray for the person who wounded you . Ask God for insight and understanding into this person’s life and for the situation you’re challenged with.  2. Look the offending person in the eye, say hello, and offer a compliment . It’s easier to hold on to grudges and hard feelings when you pretend the other person doesn’t exist. It’s not as easy when you have to be reminded they’re human just like you. Whether they respond in kind doesn’t matter. What matters is what you do.  3. Do the right thing . Whether someone is willing to meet you halfway or not, do what is right and don’t worry about what the other person is doing or not doing.   4. Be OK with what you’ve got . Sometimes problems develop because our expectations are higher than what someone else is willing to give or be. When you’ve done what you can to bring a relationship closer, but there’s no movement from...