Please distinguish the terms "vow", "oath", "swear" and "pledge." Some of these are interchangeable and some are referred to in the bible as totally different from each other. I'm specifically interested in what Jesus meant in Matthew 5:33-37 and how that applies to nowadays "pledging" for a building fund or other church projects.
I recognize the Bible states that God "predestines" us (Christians) for a future with Christ in Heaven [Ephesians 1:4-6, Romans 8:29-30, Romans 11: 5-6] and that he does NOT predestine others to Hell (1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9]; however, does this mean that only a few of the Christians on Earth were predestined by God and the rest "happened" to come to Christ by the work of these Christians and the Holy Spirit? Or were ALL the people who God knew would become Christian through His omniscience thus "predestined" by Christ?
Will God, through the Holy Spirit, finally give up on calling someone for salvation, if the person continues to reject the call?
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?
Many people believe that the Gifts of the Spirit are no longer with us. What does the Bible say about this?
