Author Archives: cgispringfield

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About cgispringfield

The Church of God, International in Springfield, Missouri is a Sabbath keeping congregation.

Hermeneutics

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by Mike James

To better understand the Bible, it’s important we understand the term hermeneutics. A basic definition for this term is the science and art of biblical interpretation. We can further break hermeneutics into two types: General and Special.

General hermeneutics is the study of rules that govern the interpretation of the entire biblical text. Special hermeneutics is the study of rules that govern the interpretation of specific literary forms like parables, types, and prophecy.

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Christian Goals

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by James Fire

Christian goals are mentioned throughout the Bible. Hebrews 11:13-16 describes those who embraced such goals that led them in faith. “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed they were strangers and pilgrims of the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared them a city.”

There are two methods or types of goals discussed.

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Patience is a Virtue

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by Mike James

The Bible has a lot of positive things to say about patience. So does the world, as the title of this article mentions. A virtue is right or moral behavior, so I think it is important for us to develop our patience. One definition of patience is the ability to wait, or to continue doing something despite difficulties, or to suffer without complaining or becoming annoyed. Wow! Sounds like a tough assignment, but let’s get a little deeper with patience.

Romans 12:12 reads, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (NIV). Sometimes, being patient will include dealing with afflictions or being upset. In those types of troubled times, we will need to pray. The longer you are in those situations, the more hope will be developed. Troubling times in my life have prepared me for troubling times in the future. Knowing you have moved through trouble once makes your hope to overcome future trouble easier to handle.

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