In John 3, Jesus is discussing the new birth with Nicodemus, and is "amazed" (my quotes) at the fact that Nicodemus did not understand this- He says in verse 10,"you are Israel's teacher and you do not understand these things." Where in the Old Testament is the new birth described in such detail that Jesus could have assumed Nicodemus should know about it?
Can you tell me what the flower that is "the lily of the valley" symbolically referred to Christ? I would like to know if this is the same 'lily' promoted as the 'Easter lily'. After examining some of the roots of the holiday called "Easter", it is easy to see that most of this 'holiday' has nothing to do with the Resurrection of Christ. I have read information that the "Easter Lily" falls into the category of non-Christ related holiday decorations... however, my mother says Christ was the Lily of the Valley. Can you tell me more about this flower and whether or not it truly is Biblical with the "Easter" celebration?
What is the gift of the Holy Ghost?
I recently read an interpretation of Ephesians 2:8-9 that said, "faith there is not the gift - salvation (the subject of the entire passage) is the gift of God. Faith is a feminine noun, while the demonstrative pronoun that ("it is" is not in the Greek) is neuter and could not refer to faith. The Greek will not permit "faith" to be the gift." How do you interpret this passage?
I was wondering if I am praying to God in Jesus' name: I was under the impression that they are the same. So if they are the same, why differentiate between the two, (ie: Jesus / God created the heavens and the Earth)?
