Bible Study November 29, 2024

2 Timothy 1:7

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

I was thinking about the term “Black Friday” as I woke up this morning. I thought I would do a search for the origination of the term. Here is a portion of what I found:
“It is believed by many that the term Black Friday derives from the concept that businesses operate at a financial loss, or are “in the red,” until the day after Thanksgiving, when massive sales finally allow them to turn a profit, or put them “in the black.” However, this is untrue.

A more accurate explanation of the term dates back to the early 1960s, when police officers in Philadelphia began using the phrase “Black Friday” to describe the chaos that resulted when large numbers of suburban tourists came into the city to begin their holiday shopping and, in some years, attend Saturday’s annual Army-Navy football game. The huge crowds created a headache for the police, who worked longer shifts than usual as they dealt with traffic jams, accidents, shoplifting, and other issues.

Origin and history of the Black Friday sale following Thanksgiving Day in the United States. Shopping, consumerism, sales, Christmas, gifts.

Within a few years, the term Black Friday had taken root in Philadelphia. City merchants attempted to put a prettier face on the day by calling it “Big Friday.”

We are not shopping disciples as some are who are fighting at Walmart to buy one of three televisions that is in stock at a cost of almost nothing.

If we were to go back further we would see this day had another meaning. “Historically, Black Friday has yet another connotation, one unrelated to shopping. In 1869 Wall Street financiers Jay Gould and Jim Fisk attempted to corner the nation’s gold market at the New York Gold Exchange by buying as much of the precious metal as they could, with the intent of sending prices skyrocketing. On Friday, September 24, intervention by President Ulysses S. Grant caused their plan to fall apart. The stock market instantly plummeted, sending thousands of Americans into bankruptcy.

Fear of bankruptcy, fear of losing it all, fears in general. As our scripture for today says we should “live in power, love, and self-control.”

God Bless.

Bible Study November 27, 2024

Hebrews 4:14 – 16 (ESV)

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Do you feel like you have confidence in someone who has blazed the trail before you? Maybe experienced what you might be going through and can offer a word of advice that brings peace. The true trailblazer is none other than Jesus.

How about a prayer you have prayed and seen the answer that you wanted. Or how about the answer requiring you to wait a while before it came or maybe the answer from God was a “No.” Can we afford to wait for the answer He wants.

We know from verse sixteen that we can have confidence when we ask God for anything. The phrase “throne of grace” is used but what is the “throne of grace?” A bit of research tells us the following: In the scriptures, the throne of grace is a place where God’s power rules and where people can come boldly to receive mercy and grace. What can we find and expect as we approach it? From it’s name we know we can receive grace there, but not only grace but thankfully we find mercy. Mercy is something we need more than we may realize.

There we can find power it is where God is at work and Jesus is interceding for us on our behalf. It is also our source of forgiveness for the wrongs we have done.

The throne of grace is a place where people can receive mercy and grace to help them in times of need. He said come boldly, ask what you need, then live in expectancy of His will being done in your life.

“Anxiety and prayer are more opposed to each other than fire and water.” J. A. Bengel.

God Bless.

Bible Study November 26, 2024

Hebrews 13:1 – 3; 5 – 6

Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. 4 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

Many people are lonely. We hear of them seeking companionship on dating sites, on the web, through social media. Why is that? Are people really lonely, do they not like to be alone? Is it a security issue?

God has given us His Holy Spirit to be of comfort to us but we still seek companionship outside of His presence. I’m not saying we should not have friends but I am saying there are those times when we need to be alone and think on Godly ideas. Good friends can be a wonderful asset and a source of advice be certain it is scriptural advice.

The Holy Spirit is our Counselor and no one can give better advice than He. I know I have made decisions and acted before I have sought God on decisions. I recently had someone ask me a question about whether I would have served somewhere if I knew the complete situation surrounding it. My answer was “Yes.”  Believe God places people where He wants them and in Esther’s case “For such a time as this.”

If you have feelings of loneliness let me encourage to find a friend to talk to that will keep your confidence. Call your pastor, reach out to someone for comfort. As we approach the holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas reach out to someone do not be alone at this time of the year. Oftentimes we do not know when person is lonely.

“Loneliness I the first thing which God’s eye named not good.” John Milton.

God Bless.

Bible Study November 25, 2024

Luke 17:12 – 19

As he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

Leprosy was a dreaded disease in New Testament times. Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by a bacteria. It affects the skin, eyes, nerves, and respiratory tract. Thankfully today leprosy is curable with multidrug therapy (MDT) and early treatment can prevent disability.

Jesus had ten lepers come to Him for healing, Jesus had compassion on all ten and healed them miraculously. As far as we know that may been the only cure. Yet only one retuned to give thanks for the miracle that Jesus performed. Nine were possible grateful but never said so and that may be true today of the same percentages of those being thankful.

I realize we do not things for the praise of men but if we were honest we would are thankful and appreciative when someone thanks you for what you have done. A simple thank you goes a long way fro any gesture of kindness. Let’s all adopt the attitude of the one leper who returned at this Thanksgiving season.

“Praise the Savior, ye who know Him! Who can tell how much we owe Him?” Thomas Kelly.

God Bless.

Bible Study November 22, 2024

2 Corinthians 11:12 – 15 (ESV)

“And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”

We live in a broken world that is broken for one reason – sin. Satan is the author of sin and continues to write it on the hearts of those doing evil in our world. It can come in many ways.

We find false prophets and teachers in the churches of today. We see doctrine being taught that is contrary to the scripture and many people will believe what they hear because they either like or trust the source.  But beware.

From 2 Timothy 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (ESV). How do we do our best? Pray first for wisdom and understanding. Test scripture against other passages. Scripture must not be taken out of context but read and studied in it’s whole.

As an example look at Romans 8:28. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Does only good things happen to believers? No there are some bad things that come along like sickness, disease, financial setback, even death. These are not good but look at verse twenty-nine. “ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” I am not addressing predestination here but all things can work for the good if “ we conformed to His image.”

God Bless.

Bible Study November 21, 2024

Psalm 148: 1 – 4 (ESV)

“Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! 2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts!  3 Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! 4 Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!”

Eight time in these four verses we see the word “Praise.” How high should our praise be for the God of heaven and earth?

Today for a change of pace I am sharing some quotes on praise.

I may not be the man I want to be; I may not be the man I ought to be; I may not be the man I could be; I may not be the man I truly can be; but praise God, I’m not the man I once was.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

“When we complain about our current situation, we remain in it; when we praise God in the midst of difficulty, He raises us out of it.” Joyce Meyer

“We can always find a reason to praise. Situations change for better and for worse, but Go” Matt Redman

“The point is not to completely understand God but to worship Him. Let the very fact that you cannot know Him fully lead you to praise Him for His infiniteness and grandeur.” Francis Chan

“In a sense, we are better prepared to praise God than the angels are, for angels have never known the joy of redemption.” David Jeremiah

“I was one thing at one time, and I’m something new. I’m a new creature now. Don’t judge Alice by what he used to be. Praise God for what I am now.” Alice Cooper

God bless you as you praise God today.

Bible Study November 20, 2024

Psalm 63:1 – 5

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. 5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.”

Have you ever desired something that you thought you could not live without it? Ever had the desire for a new car, a different house and find out once you had it in your possession that it was really no big deal. Mayber it may have even garnered the desire for something else.

Many humans try to find satisfaction is stuff by acquiring more stuff. Here is George Carlin on “stuff”? “Actually, this is just a place for my stuff, ya know? That’s all; a little place for my stuff. That’s all I want, that’s all you need in life, is a little place for your stuff, ya know? I can see it on your table, everybody’s got a little place for their stuff. This is my stuff, that’s your stuff, that’ll be his stuff over there

That’s all you need in life, a little place for your stuff. That’s all your house is- a place to keep your stuff. If you didn’t have so much stuff, you wouldn’t need a house. You could just walk around all the time. A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it.”

He makes a valid point. Now what would the world be like if (I go back to many) people sought a relationship, study, prayer by seeking God rather than seeking stuff? It’s okay to have stuff but it should be in perspective to all else in our lives not the focal point.

“Where your pleasure is, there is your treasure; where your treasure is, there is your heart; where your heart is, there is your happiness.” Augustine.

God Bless.

Bible Study November 19, 2024

Galatians 6:2 (ESV)

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

As we read this several thoughts come to mind. Was Paul talking about a person living in deep sin with no hope of ever changing? Or was he talking about the believer who has fallen away over something in his life?

I believe it is the second situation in Galatians as we read today. “Caught” to me seems as though the believer has messed up.  “Contains the idea of falling. It is not the deliberate, the planned, aspect of sin that is stressed here, but rather the unwitting element. Mistake rather than misdeed is the force of the word, though without absolution of responsibility.” (Ridderbos, cited in Morris).

As I read this I was reminded of Ham the son of Noah, who saw his drunken father lying naked in his tent. Rather than covering him up he told his brothers who honored their father and backed up into his tent and covered him. How much better off would Ham’s descendants (the Canaanites) be if Ham would only have taken that step.

Secondly, the one taken in sin must be restored. But often we wonder how that is done. Scripture is clear on the restoration process. First, one goes and attempts restoration and if the fails two or more are to go. If that fails then the person is removed from fellowship. Our prayer and goal should be restoration.

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” Charles Dickens.

God Bless.