Dear Readers,

AskYourPreacher has now posted one thousand questions!  Thank you to all our readers for your confidence in us and for your dedication to the Bible.  When the Monroe Valley church of Christ started this website, we believed there was a need, but we weren’t sure… well, we are now!  We couldn’t ask for a more loyal group of readers.  Thank you for all your referrals (many people write in saying that they heard of our site through others) and kind words.  Nothing is more thrilling than helping people get in touch with faithful congregations, leading people to the saving waters of baptism, and seeing God’s Word prick hearts.  In a world of religious confusion, God’s Word has never changed.  Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,
The Ecstatic AYP Team

Who is the one who saw Lot’s wife turn into a pillar of salt?  If they looked back, would they too not of turned to salt?

Sincerely,
Pepper Person

Dear Pepper Person,

The story of Lot’s wife turning into a pillar of salt is recorded in Gen 19:26.  The Bible never tells us who saw her turn into a pillar of salt, but it may have been Lot’s daughters who were also fleeing the city (Gen 19:16).  Lot’s daughters could have been standing behind their mother when she turned back and looked at the city – something she was expressly commanded not to do (Gen 19:17).  Either that or they may have returned later to see her frozen as a pillar of salt.  The Bible isn’t specific about who saw the event, but there are numerous plausible answers.

What day is truly the Sabbath day?

Sincerely,
Sabbatarian

Dear Sabbatarian,

Saturday is the Sabbath day… but christians don’t have to worry about keeping the Sabbath.  The word ‘sabbath’ means ‘rest’.  The Sabbath day was a day that the nation of Israel was told to rest, stop working, and make holy to the Lord (Ex 31:15).  The Sabbath was part of the Old Testament law – a law that christians are no longer under (Gal 3:23-25).  We are specifically told not to let anyone bind the Sabbath on us (Col 2:16).  Christians worship Christ on the first day of the week – Sunday (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor 16:1-2).  We are not bound by the strict rules of avoiding all work like the Jews were, but we are told to treat Sunday as “the Lord’s day” (Rev 1:10).

My wife and I attend a church that is some twenty-plus miles from our neighboring community.  We have been there almost twenty years.  We both serve faithfully every Sunday.  Our church is very active in its own community, and there are plenty of churches in our neighborhood that we may be useful in serving at, but, quite frankly, I feel stuck (to be honest).  Here is my question: I’ve heard people in the body of Christ say “You can’t leave this or that church IF God has not released you yet”.  Other than what Hebrews 10:25 says, is a comment like that supported biblically?

Sincerely,
Stuck

Dear Stuck,

Heb 10:25 says that you need to regularly attend a faithful congregation, but it doesn’t say anything about where that congregation needs to be.  Rom 16:1-2 gives the example of Phoebe, who used to worship in Cenchrae and then moved to Rome.  It is necessary for any congregation you attend to be well-grounded in the truth (1 Tim 3:15), but the location is simply not important.  You might read our posts “Finding A Church” and “Down With Denominationalism” to help you in your search for a congregation near you.  There is no reason you need to attend a specific congregation when another faithful one is closer.

I dream about things before they happen.  And I have seen people after they have passed on since I was a little girl.

Is this looked at as bad, unnatural, or evil?

Sincerely,
Speaker For The Dead

Dear Speaker For The Dead,

It is looked at as lying.  God specifically condemns all forms of the dark arts (Lev 20:6) because such practices are idolatry and rebellion against Him (1 Sam 15:23).  Throughout the ages, there have always been people that have claimed to be able to perform supernatural feats, such as telling the future… and they all have been proven to be frauds.  If you could really tell the future, you wouldn’t be sending the question into this website – you would be on the five o’clock news.  Follow the example of the converts in Acts 19:19 that burned up all their books of the magical arts and wholly and completely turned to serve the Lord with honest hearts.