Bible Study June 14, 2024

Hebrews 11:1 – 6 (Legacy Standard Bible)

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the men of old gained approval. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he was approved as being righteous—God approving his gifts—and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for prior to being taken up, he was approved as being pleasing to God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who draws near to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”

Hebrews has been referred to as the “Faith Chapter” in the scriptures. True faith says we continue to believe in the midst of our circumstances – any circumstance. Believing in God is not enough we must seek Him. All through scripture faith and seeking are synonymous.

Faith that actively seeks God out is the faith that pleases God. These people described in Hebrews eleven were faith seekers, believing God wholeheartedly. Let’s be diligent in seeking God and it begins with me, what does He want me to do?

Phillip Yancey in his great book “What’s So Amazing About Grace” speaks of the term “ungrace.”  Tells the story of a family where the father and husband was a drunk and kicked his wife and the children’s mother out of the house. Some of the children lived the same way – how they were raised. Yancey says “Ungrace does its work quietly and lethally, like a poisonous undetectable gas.”

This Sunday we are sharing about a situation where a dad showed grace and not ungrace. Join us if you can or follow us on Facebook.

God Bless.

Bible Study June 13, 2024

Daniel 11:32 (Legacy Standard Bible)

“And by smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.”

How do we know God and who He is? John Jesus said in John 17:3 “”And this is life eternal, that they may know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

I believe many of us would agree there is a difference between knowing about God and knowing God. Most people almost one hundred percent would say they know about God. It may be from a fleeting comment made by someone they overheard, it may be from a church visit or experience they had. I believe would also agree it that knowing about God is far different than knowing God.

The fool has said in his heart “There is no God.” Paul said, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools as they sought to change the glory of the incorruptible God and they began to worship and serve the creation more than the creator.

This refers to knowing God in a personal intimate way. In such a way as you carry on daily conversations with Him, and seek His advise before making any major decisions. You look to Him daily for comfort, advise, and strength, He is your closest friend and confidant.

Knowing about God will not get you salvation, a home in heaven but knowing God will get you peace, joy, forgiveness (salvation), a hope for the future, and an assured mansion in heaven.

“The right knowledge of God is the strength of the soul, and, in the strength of that, gracious souls do exploits.” Matthew Henry.

Bible Study June 12, 2024

Psalm 37:1 – 4 (Legacy Standard Bible)

“Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward doers of unrighteousness. 2 For they will wither quickly like the grass And fade like the green herb. 3 Trust in Yahweh and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in Yahweh; And He will give you the desires of your heart.”

As we see the latter days approaching for the great planet earth the church is going to face persecution. There will be evil doers among us doing what they can to destroy the church. It will come from many sources but rest assured governments will be involved in restricting religious freedom.

But nations will fall, leaders will fall because the church will survive forever. We see persecution is foreign lands and think it could never happen to us in America. We might ask what persecution is. While Christian persecution takes many forms, it is defined as any hostility experienced as a result of identification with Jesus Christ.

Religious freedom is a disrespected human right.

Freedom of religion, like all freedoms of thought and expression, is inherent. Our beliefs help define who we are. They serve as a foundation for what we contribute to our societies.

However, today, many people live under governments that abuse or restrict freedom of religion. Christians in such areas face persecution, suffer deeply, and are denied basic freedoms.

When countries restrict religious freedom—including the free expression of Christianity and free worship of Jesus—they are rejecting this vital human right, which is built into the conscience of every human being and has been validated time and time again throughout history.

And it could happen in America.

God Bless.

Bible Study June 11, 2024

Matthew 24:15 – 20 (Legacy Standard Bible)

“Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. 18 And whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his garment. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.”

Do you find it a paradox when we are told to understand the passage yet we scratch our heads asking what the writer is saying. I admit I do then I go to a good resource to help me out.

In this passage Jesus is talking about the image that will be erected in the temple and rule for three and one half years which will trigger the Great Tribulation. Daniel talks about this his book in chapters 9, 11, and 12. Paul too writes about it in 1 Thessalonians as well as John in Revelation 13.

Satan’s ultimate plan is to destroy all that exists but his greatest objective is to destroy mankind. Once he destroys a life he could care less about that life. When the life is gone he is off looking for someone else to destroy.

Unfortunately he is working daily to lead people away from a Jesus relationship and into his captivity of sin. It may be an addiction, adultery, thievery, it can take on any image but he wants your life and when he has he rejoices. Anything that separates us from a relationship with Jesus can allow Satan the open door to take us. Stay on guard.

“Let Jesus be first and uppermost in thought and life and let all other things trail on after.” S. H. Hadley.

God Bless.

Bible Study June 10, 2024

Matthew 24:14 & 22 – 24 (Legacy Standard Bible)

14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in the whole world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

22 “And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”

I am fairly certain many people who have went to paradise awaiting Jesus return often wondered how the Gospel will be proclaimed to all the world. It would have been a great question to raise since they were not alive during our time of the great technological advancements.

However, we can easily see it in our day how that will happen, but that raises even additional thoughts. We are commissioned with the great commission to evangelize the world and we have seen great crusades such as those held by Billy Graham in our day. As we see the day approaching of Jesus’ return we see the scriptures being fulfilled.

Even during the tribulation when all hell is loosed one earth people will find God through the 144,00 Jewish evangelists. God will not quit reaching out to His creation for salvation.

Until then we can do our part to share the message of hope for those we meet.

“While we are creating sophisticated organizations and employing the latest technology to win the world to Christ, let us not forget that our neighbor judges Jesus Christ by what he sees in us.” Charles Colson.

God Bless.

Bible Study June 7, 2024

Luke 12:35 – 40

““Gird up your loins, and keep your lamps lit. 36 And be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find awake when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. 38 Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the [m]third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. 39 “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 40 You too, be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”

We have seen earthquakes, natural disasters, wars and rumors of wars all throughout the world. Scripture teaches us these things will happen before the return of  Jesus. We have been and are warned to be vigilant while awaiting His return.

Today we marvel at the state of the world. Conditions in many countries are brought them down to, Famines, wars are being seen more frequently than in the past. As we see these things materialize we should not worry we have security in Jesus and His promises to those who believe.

Watch, prepare, wait, believe for His return. We have read of many false prophets dating His return and they were all wrong. Many have claimed to be the Messiah and they too were wrong. No man knows the time nor will man ever know until He makes his grand return – Be ready,

“The world is in trouble, but Jesus came to rescue us from the consequences.” Erwin Lutzer.

God Bless.

Bible Study June 6, 2024

Mark 13:22 – 23 (LSB)

“For false christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23 But as for you, see! I have told you everything in advance.”

Turmoil is present in much of the world today. We are seeing it in Ukraine and in the Middle East especially. The Old Testament is a book about the nation of Israel it’s impact on the world and how it will impact history.

We have no idea what will come from the war in Ukraine but we can rest assured Israel will not be defeated by any adversary. But we can also be assured that in the midst of conflict the Gospel will move forward. In fact, many times when things get difficult the Holy Spirit moved and amazing things began to happen.

We can take the position that all things will ultimately work out as they will but I am firm believer that things do not “just happen.” God has His plan in place and He will not alter or change it, we can rest on His Word.

We can outline our assertions of what will take place but they will take a backseat to the message of our creator. History shows us much about the future and history is the story of God and His plan for the future including His return.

We can and should in complete assurance that no matter how things look to the human eye God has it all under control.

“When things look the darkest to the world, they look the brightest to the Christian. Our King is coming back.” Vance Havener.

God Bless.

Bible Study June 5, 2024

John 15:1 – 4 (Legacy Standard Bible)

15 “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. 3 These things they will do because they did not know the Father or Me. 4 But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you [a]may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.”

Jesus said he would be our resource to help us on all we do.

First, the relationship of abiding means that we cannot “go it alone” in our spiritual lives, what Parker Palmer once described as a “free floating spirituality.” Jesus notes the impossible cannot happen: “the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless you abide in me”

Jesus talked about how grapes grow and compared it to how we should grow. In the story, Jesus is like the vine that gives the branches food, water and everything it needs to grow fruit. We are like the branches that grow out of the vine. When we’re connected to Jesus, we’ll produce fruit, too. The question becomes how deeply we are connected to the roots.

Without connection the vine dies, the branches die and nothing continues to exist. The branch is entirely dependent on the vine. The branch gets its life from the vine. In the same way, we are entirely dependent upon Christ. We get life from Jesus. Jesus gives us his life, and it’s through the life of Jesus, as we depend on him, that we are able to bear fruit.

“The branch … rests in union and communion with the vine; and at the right time, and in the right way, is the fruit found on it.” Hudson Taylor.

God Bless.