Bible Study October 30, 2024

Nehemiah 3:12, 17 – 18 (NASB)

12 “And I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anyone what my God was putting into my mind to do for Jerusalem and there was no animal with me except the animal on which I was riding.

 17 Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.” 18 I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us arise and build.” So they put their hands to the good work.”

This is the next Old Testament book I am going to study. Nehemiah saw the destruction of the walls of Jerusalem. When he heard what had happened scripture teaches he began to pray, to fast, and seek out God on the next steps.

Nehemiah traveled to Jerusalem to see the damage and then without consulting anyone he devised a plan (directed by God) to rebuild the walls of the city. He relied completely on God directing his path and developing the plans.

Once he knew exactly what God had in store for the city he laid out the plan, got people on board, and continued to work to rebuild the wall until it was finished.

Nehemiah had a plan; he had a need. Have you ever found yourself in such a place? Our vision should consider others and their need and not only focus on our situation. Nehemiah saw a need for the city way beyond a personal need.

Has God opened your heart to do something special, maybe serve some group in need? Could you assist The Bridge of Hope with some of your time? What he has placed on your heart to be a Nehemiah and see it through to the end.

“It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision.” Helen Keller.

God Bless.

Bible Study October 29, 2024

Revelation 4:8 (NASB)

“And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.”

Do you ever wonder how limitless God is? He is only limited by our minds. Remember God is a spirit and He operates in that world. He works and deals through our spirit not our minds or our body. If we are to see God move then we need to operate in the world of the Holy Spirit where He operates.

God is omnipotent and He operates with all power. Job 26:7 says, He stretches out the north over the empty space: He hangs the earth on nothing.” We limit Him when we forget His awesome power.

Many people find God unreachable when in fact He reaches down to us. We can see that when He sent His Son to this world for our salvation. He made the Light remove any darkness that existed.

God sees us as righteous because we have accepted His Son as our Savior. He has said He will take the dark sin in our lives and turn us into something beautiful, He can make the black turn white.

Have you had that experience? If not let me offer you this verse from Romans 10. “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

God Bless.

Bible Study October 28, 2024

John 3:20 -21 (NASB)

“For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

I remember visiting Mark Twain Cave when I lived n Hannibal it was dark when the lights go off. The same is true of any cave you visit when you get inside the lights go off and darkness is surrounding you. You began to try to your footing and dare not move it is an eerie feeling.

The same thing is true for the sin in our lives. Christ Followers desires are to follow as straight a line as we can but “We” get in the way. Sometimes things come along and we look at something, do something that is out of the path we are on. What happens when that occurs, we fall out of fellowship with our Creator.

How do we turn the lights back on? We do what we did when He first forgave us we ask for forgiveness and when we do we are restored back to the fullness of God and His care and protection. He is always looking for a way to show His path back into fullness of life.

“It is no advantage to be near the light if our eyes are closed.” Augustine.

God Bless.

Bible Study October 25, 2024

Matthew 5:9 (ESV)

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

In a world of turmoil we need peacemakers. People seem today to be looking for an opportunity to find what is wrong rather than find the good in people. We see that so prevalent in the campaign adds this year. Lies, deceptions, mistruths if we ever needed peace it in government, in our churches, in our homes.

Jesus said the peacemakers will be called the sons of God. What do you want to be called? We see people seeking revenge on one another. We see people saying one thing then doing something totally different than agreed upon.

What is a peacemaker? Scripture teaches us they are someone who seeks to reconcile people to God and to each other. Peacemakers are characterized by the following traits:

Reconciliation: They initiate reconciliation when others have wronged them and are quick to repent when they have wronged others.

Peace with God: They have peace with God and make peace like God.

Peace with others: They work to settle quarrels, not to start them. They are accepting and tolerant, and find no pleasure in being negative.

Humble: They are humble and trusting.

Slow to anger: They are slow to anger.

Watch their tongues: They watch their tongues and heal rather than hurt.

“The noblest revenge is to forgive.” Thomas Fuller.

Bible Study October 24, 2024

Acts 17:2 – 6 (ESV)

“And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also.”

Imagine for a moment you are in that setting doing what you are called to do share the Good News of Jesus when a mob comes in. What would you do? I ask that question because many people around the world are being persecuted for believing in Jesus Christ.

These people were offending others because “they were turning the world upside down.” Our culture today is asking if the church is relevant. Things have happened to people in the church throughout history. Even with some unsavory things done the impact of the church in the world is still relevant today.

If someone disagrees with us they want to “cancel” us. Dave Ramsey recently said who he was voting for and followed it with these words: “”People have threatened me like, ‘I’m going to cancel you.’ That’s hard to do. I own the show and so you’re not going to get to cancel me,” he said. “So you can leave, but you can’t cancel me.”

As he did we need to take a stand for what we believe from what we have learned from the scriptures. Stand firm, do not waver, do not back down. I believe we will see a time when the church will be more persecuted than it is today. Religious freedom may be an election or two away.

“Now the church is not wood and stone, but the company of people who believe in Christ.” Martin Luther.

God Bless.

Bible Study October 23, 2024

1 Corinthians 3:6 – 9 (TLB)

6 “My work was to plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos’ work was to water it, but it was God, not we, who made the garden grow in your hearts. 7 The person who does the planting or watering isn’t very important, but God is important because he is the one who makes things grow. 8 Apollos and I are working as a team, with the same aim, though each of us will be rewarded for his own hard work. 9 We are only God’s coworkers. You are God’s garden, not ours; you are God’s building, not ours.”

We all have a place in the Kingdom. That should make each of us happy but the kingdom is not complete without everyone coming into it. In St. Lois recently they closed the Stan Musial Bridge for two days because of a fire in an abandoned building. We have all seen burned buildings and the charred remains that are left.

Paul makes a comparison to a building and to the life that Christ has set forth for us. I remember a simple song I heard in Vacation Bible School about the man who built his house on sand compared to man who builds his house upon a rock. Even without knowing the song we know which house would withstand the weather.

The same thing is true for the belier our house will remain in times of trouble when the winds blow against us. The scriptures teach us we will face adversity but the reward is greater than the trial.

Paul continues this chapter talking about a time when judgement will come. Our building (our life) will be judged before the Great Judge of all mankind. We must insure through faith that our building stands.

“A Christian has one foundation: Jesus Christ! On that he must build for eternity.: Francis Schaeffer.

God Bless.

Bible Study October 21, 2024

John 15:5 – 8 (TLB)

5 “Yes, I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him shall produce a large crop of fruit. For apart from me you can’t do a thing. 6 If anyone separates from me, he is thrown away like a useless branch, withers, and is gathered into a pile with all the others and burned. 7 But if you stay in me and obey my commands, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! 8 My true disciples produce bountiful harvests. This brings great glory to my Father.”

We count on electricity to keep the lights on, to keep our homes cool in the summer, some warm in the winter. What would happen if the power goes off. The opposite would happen. We need to stay connected to the power source.

We to, must be dependent on what God says and what His scriptures say. The vine and the branches tell us the same thing. Branches cannot have any value if they do not stay connected to the vine. Jesus said if you are not connected you will not bear fruit.

Today maybe more than any day before this Christ is counting on us to stay attached to vine, and if you are not attached Jesus has made provision for you to be grafted onto the branch.

Remember without Christ we can do nothing but with Him we can all things. Which do you choose?

“I know I have needs, but that’s not my responsibility. My response is to rest in the vine’s ability to provide. I do not produce the fruit I just bear it.” Adrian Rogers.

God Bless.

Bible Study October 18, 2024

1 Peter 1:13 – 16 (The Message)

13-16 “So roll up your sleeves, get your head in the game, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”

We are into the major league playoffs with four teams vying for the opportunity to play in the World Series. I watch a few innings and I done with watching on a daily basis. There is a pitcher trying to get the hitter out while the hitter is keeping his eye on the ball hoping to connect for a hit.

In baseball a three hundred hitter is considered very good, there seems to be fewer and fewer each year. The pitchers are getting faster some exceeding one-hundred miles an a hour plus you need to stay vigilant so that you do not get hit by a baseball thrown at those speeds. Keep an eye on the ball.

In a way that is true with keeping our eye on the second coming of Jesus we must keep our eyes on Him. We must intend to hit the ball to the end keeping ourselves and our lives focused on Him.

We must remain intent on following the course that is laid before us so we do not miss the mark through complacency or in some case intentional disobedience. Our society today accepts abortion, homosexuality, dishonestly as an acceptable lifestyle. The scriptures teach much differently.

“True conversion gives a man security, but it does not allow him toe leave of being watchful.” Charles Spurgeon.

God Bless.