Pastor Gabe's Old Blog

On Friday, I posted a new WWUTT video on John 10:10 which reads, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." The "thief" is often depicted as Satan. The context refers not to Satan but agents of Satan. Jesus was specifically talking about false teachers, whom he describes as thieves and robbers (see John 10:1-10). In doing so, Jesus was referencing Ezekiel 34 where the prophet said the following: "Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shephe...

Dear Pastor Gabe Thank you for the WWUTT ministry! It has been a blessing to me and other people that I know. I have a question regarding speaking in tongues. Can we really advise that it is okay to use any spiritual gift such as tongues for private or mere personal edification? Wouldn't this be a deviation from the rest of 1 Corinthians, and be done in a way that is really not typical of how Paul points that kind of thing out? I'm not saying that someone should not use the gift if it is given, just that I think the biblical use of the gift would not entail speaking mysteries to the wind, so to speak. Paul would rather speak five words that could be understood. How easy is that to do (Jesus saves all repentant sinners)? It seems he's making a point there. Thank you again! Neil That's an e-mail I received last year when I held more liberal beliefs than I hold now concerning the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues. A friend of mine (When We Understand the Text wa...