Bible Study February 23, 2024

John 8: 31 – 33          (ESV)

“31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

When you forgive someone does it change the circumstances? Does it eliminate the harm done? The answers to those questions is it does not change it. But who does it change? That’s right the one forgiving. Learning to forgive helps both the forgiven and the forgiver.

There are multiple stories in the scriptures about forgiveness. There are two Old Testament words for forgive in the Bible. The first and more common one is means “to practice forbearance, pardon, or forgive.” It is never used of a man forgiving another human, but only of God forgiving man. The other Old Testament word for forgive means to lift up, take away, bear up, or carry. It offers a beautiful visual for what God does with our sin and guilt.

The New Testament word used for forgive means to release from legal or moral obligation or consequence, to cancel, remit, or pardon. It can also mean “to go away or send away, to disregard, to let be.”

For some references to look at you might consider the following. Jacob and Esau – Genesis 33, Joseph and his brothers, God’s continuing forgiveness for Israel, David’s forgiveness after and adultery and murder are some samples of forgiveness.

Paul J. Meyer authored several books on self-help. In one he said, “Forgiveness does not mean we have to allow ourselves to be mistreated … [it] does mean that we allow God to work in our lives ad it the lives of the people against whom we hold bitterness.”

God Bless.

Bible Study February 22, 2024

John 20:19 – 23

“19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Have you ever been around or been the one who had a question but thought it might be a “stupid” question and did not ask it? I imagine we all have. There really no such questions.

That was a concern of Thomas who is often referred to as “Doubting Thomas.” I prefer to call him “Believing Thomas.” After all he did believe.  He at least had the courage speak up when he needed to. Maybe others questioned if it was Jesus but he said something.

Thomas had doubts maybe others did also but he spoke up. That takes courage in the midst of other believers. We all face doubts about many things, do you believe God is concerned about what we doubt? He understands us better than we understand ourselves. There is noting wrong with questioning whether it brings about the desired results and we grow stronger in our faith.

“Turn your doubts to questions; turn your questions to prayers; turn your prayers to God.” Mark Littleton.

God Bless.

Bible Study February 21, 2024

Romans 8:35 – 38

“35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

No Christian should ever fear or suffer anxiety from being separated from God. He has promised us He will never leave us. The scriptures teach us of His faithfulness to His followers.

In our series on spiritual warfare we know Satan will lie to us to make something look good. We further know he will deceive us as he did Adam and Eve. He said to Eve “You shall surely not die.” She fell for his trap. That is what Satan does he traps us into believing one of his lies. He may say God will not protect you, forgive you, or supply all your needs. That is a lie.

God’s love is both pure and permanent. He loves even the worst sinner and wants to offer His forgiveness to them yet Satan tells them something much different. Why does a person listen to Satan over the voice of God? Maybe they are enjoying the sin they are living in, maybe they do not understand the concept of faith that we believe without seeing.

“The true measure of God’s love it that He loves without measure.” Unknown.

God Bless.

Bible Study February 20, 2024

Jonah 1:1 – 4 (ESV)

“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. 4 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.”

Running away has its consequences. It’s always dangerous to go the wrong way, you may get lost or even worse be in an accident. Neither is a pleasant experience.

Jonah was that man who chose to try to get lost from the presence of God by going to Tarshish rather than where God had appointed for him to go. It has been said before but it so true “You cannot hide from God.”

What Jonah needed to do is what we need to go when we go against God’s plans for us. Repent. But it took Jonah some time and could have cost him his life had the fish that swallowed him not had a case of indigestion. Not everyone is so fortunate.

“Repentance is one of the most positive words in any language. It tells us when we can change direction. It assures us God will help us improve.” Robert J. Morgan. Repentance is the key to finding the perfect relationship with Jesus Christ. Repentance is needed and necessary for a fulfilling life.

We must seek forgiveness for what we think, what we do, what thoughts cross our minds, and what actions we take. We have heard the phrase the “the spirit is willing” that is where we need to take the next step and follow the Spirit.

God Bless.

Bible Study February 19, 2024

Acts 11:20 – 24 (ESV)

“20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.”

I read a joke the other day that went like this “I didn’t realize husbands came with unattached ears.” Sometimes I miss something that is being said because my mind is thinking about something else. If I am spoken to I should listen to the speaker. should listen to the Word of God.

The above passage was written to the church in Jerusalem and when they heard the good news they immediately dispatched Barnabas to Antioch. Barnabas encouraged those in Antioch to remain faithful to the cause of Jesus.

God sends ministers to churches to speak His Word and He has given us the scriptures that people will grow in their faith and the Body of Christ will grow and flourish. We find in the scriptures what He has spoken to the church. Will the church of 2024 and beyond follow His Word or will it fall away? We must accept the scriptures as God’s word for the day. We may not agree with everything but He has given it to us for a purpose and that is to bring us into the fullness of His image.

If we accept “In the beginning God” from Genesis 1:1 and we accept “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all” from Revelation 22:21 then we must accept every word found in between. He did not say you can be selective.

“Unity is necessary among the children of God if we are going to know the flow of the power … to see God do wonders.” A. W. Tozer.

God Bless.

Bible Study February 17, 2024

Colossians 3:12 – 16

“12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing
with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each
other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all
these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And
let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in
one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

One of the most difficult things to do is to forgive. The
reasons may be many but basically it likely boils down to we do not like to admit
we were wrong.

Charles Stanley wrote in one of his books “Forgiveness is
something each of us have to deal with one way or another.” The best way is to
do it is immediately when it comes to our mind. It may be a face to face meeting,
a call, or a note but it should be done and done quickly.

We may put it off because the damage was a deep hurt or maybe
we lost a loved one at the expense of another. I know that feeling and it is
not easy it took me some time to deal with the situation. I have come to find
peace after the loss.

Possibly the other party may not even know something needs
forgiveness as it lies with the one needing to forgive. The damage done by unforgiveness
can do us great harm. Make the decision, then make the contact. You will then
live in peace over it.

“Forgiveness is the economy of the heart. A Christian will
find it cheaper to pardon than to repent. Forgiveness saves the expense of
anger, the cost of hatred, the wast o f spirits.” Hannah More.

God Bless.

Bible Study February 16, 2024

Romans 5:1-8 (ESV)

5 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Are you a believer in Jesus Christ? Have you accepted His forgiveness for the sin in your life when He sought you out? That is the question we all must ask ourselves before we die and enter into eternity – then the time has passed.

Paul told the church in Rome Christ has died for all sinners but what is a sinner? Simply said a sinner is a person who has rejected God. The greatest sin (if you can classify sin) is the ultimate rejection of Jesus as our Savior. Many people get wrapped in the things they have done wrong and it is important we recognize our sin (wrongdoings) but the sin that sends us into eternity to the lake of fire is the rejection of the saving grace of Jesus. Sound complicated let me reassure you it is not difficult.

We believe God seeks out everyone for a relationship with Him. When He does that then we find a place and simply ask Him in to forgive your sin, turn from what you have done in the past (He will be there to encourage you), make Him the Lord of your life, then go tell someone what just happened.

After this, find yourself a good Bible believing church and commit to attending and studying the scriptures with a good translation like the New Living Translation or the English Standard version. If you have a question simply respond to this with message and I will get in touch with you.

God Bless.