My friends suggested that I get a Strong's Dictionary Concordance/Word Study to help me with some of my questions and to understand the Bible more precisely.  What is this, and where do I obtain one?

Sincerely,
Ready To Book It

Dear Ready To Book It,

A concordance is a book that gives you an alphabetical list of the words in the Bible and tells you every verse that you can find that word in.  It allows you to search the Bible by word, and some expanded concordances also allow you to search the Bible by topic.
A word study is a book that allows you to study the definitions of various words in the Bible – specifically the definitions from the original Greek language.  It can be a very helpful tool in understanding certain passages with difficult wording.
Strong’s is a specific brand of concordance and word study.  It can be found at most Bible bookstores and even at Amazon.com – here is a link.

Hello.  Well my question is: do dreams have to do anything with spiritualism?  I’m asking this because lately I have been having really strange and creepy dreams.  My husband doesn't believe in God at all and neither does my family (parents and brothers either), and it is really hard for me to seek the Lord because it’s hard to believe; I want to believe with all my heart because I already accepted Jesus, and I used to be so into God.  But now, I don’t know what happened; there’s doubt in my heart.  Two days ago, I dreamed that a snake was in my living room, and my husband and my baby were lying on the floor, and the snake was around my husband's head, and then that snake bit my baby, and I stabbed her because she was in so much pain.  And then last night, I dreamed that I was into witchcraft, and I would see when satanic people would kill people. It was really graphic.  Can this mean something?  My husband doesn't believe in God, and he always curses God and is challenging God.  I don’t know what to do.

Sincerely,
Tossing And Turning

Dear Tossing And Turning,

The days of dreams and visions have passed.  In the past, God spoke to various people through dreams, visions, and prophecy, but today He speaks to us through His Son, Jesus Christ (Heb 1:1-2).  Now that we have the complete and perfect Bible – there is no need for God to give people individual dreams or visions (1 Cor 13:9-10).  It is through the Word of God that we learn how to live faithfully (Rom 10:17).

We are sure that your dreams mean something, but they don't mean anything supernatural or prophetic.  Dreams are part of our mind trying to make sense out of our day-to-day life.  As you mentioned, you have a great deal of internal struggle within your family, and that is affecting your sleep patterns.  The fact that you are writing into this site tells us that you are trying to put the pieces together and get help.  One of the things that we do here at AskYourPreacher is try to connect people with a desire for answers (such as yourself) with congregations near them that can help them find long-term relief.  If you would like us to do that, just e-mail us back at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org, and we will happily help in whatever way we can.

What does the word ‘for’ mean?  Example: for forgiveness, for remission of sin, etc.

Sincerely,
Looking ‘For’ Answers

Dear Looking ‘For’ Answers,

In English, the word ‘for’ can mean ‘because of’ or ‘in order to receive, acquire, or achieve’… but in the Greek language, it can only mean one of these things (more on this a little later).  For example, if someone said, “I went to the store for my wife”, they probably mean that they went to the store because their wife asked them to.  On the other hand, if I said, “I went to the store for milk”, I probably mean that I went to go and get milk… not that the milk asked me to go to the store!  In the English language, the word ‘for’ can be used with either definition, and context has to decide which is the more appropriate use of the word.

However, the Greek language (the original language of the New Testament) is much more precise.  The word used in the phrase “for forgiveness of sins” in places like Acts 2:38 is a word that specifically means “that you might receive, acquire, go towards, unto”.  The Greek word translated most often as ‘for’ in most modern translations is ‘eis’ (pronounced the same as ‘ace’), and it always means the same as “I went to the store for milk”… never “I went to the store for my wife”.

A political group recently distributed a questionnaire for candidate endorsements, and it suggested politicians should not worry about global climate change because it is up to God to regulate carbon in the atmosphere.

I am wondering what position you and/or your church take on this notion that carbon regulation is up to God, and not governments, and therefore, global climate change should not be addressed or taught in schools.

Do you think people are responsible to care for our habitat?  Or will God take care of the environment?

Sincerely,
Mr. Green

Dear Mr. Green,

Politics and religion often overlap, but it is important to remember that they are not synonymous.  The Bible says nothing about whether or not global climate change (the latest buzz phrase for global warming) is a scientifically viable issue or not… we leave that up to the scientists to debate.

The Bible says God has delegated a great deal of authority over this earth to mankind, and that means we have a real responsibility to not mistreat this planet (Gen 1:28) – but that doesn’t mean we have total responsibility over what happens to this world.  God also says that this world is held together by His might (Col 1:16-17).  Mankind cannot destroy this earth prematurely… God decides the final long-term fate and timing of this planet’s demise (2 Pet 3:10-11).

People should be responsible in how we behave, but the notion that we are destroying the earth is rubbish… God is the only one who can destroy the universe.

Is it sinful to watch horror movies?

Sincerely,
Screamer

Dear Screamer,

There is some debate to be had over seeing a movie that is rated for gratuitous violence.  At the very least, christians should be very, very cautious about viewing anything rated ‘R’ (a rating that most horror movies receive).  According to the MPAA, an ‘R’ rating on a movie is received for one (or a combination) of five things:

1. Adult themes and activities.  This is a generic listing, but it is fair to say that this content almost always involves subject matter that is inappropriate for anyone with morals.  ‘Adult themes’ are almost always synonymous with ‘sinful behavior’.
2. Hard language
3. Intense or persistent violence
4. Sexually-oriented nudity
5. Drug Abuse

When a christian looks at that list (and at least one of those things MUST be present to receive an ‘R’ rating), it should explain why ‘R’ rated movies can be such a bad thing.  Christians are to dwell upon things that are pure, wholesome, good, and holy – not worldly filth (Php 4:8).  When we dwell upon evil things, like what is found in ‘R’ rated movies, we set ourselves up for spiritual failure and death.  Jesus Christ wasn’t “culturally relevant” in the sense of being like others.  Jesus abhorred worldliness.  The Bible tells us to flee immorality and, instead, to live soberly and righteously in this present world (Tit 2:12).  Everyone must make their own decisions regarding what movies to watch and what movies to avoid, but before you go to that next horror movie, ask yourself, “What am I putting into my mind?”