Bible Study December 13, 2023

Psalm 46:10 (LSB)

“Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

We live in a troubled world. Wars, rumors of war, inflation, sense of uneasiness on the world front. Fear of an attack internally in America we are not certain who is entering the country.

Yet we are to cease striving and know the God is our God. Sounds challenging at the least but that is what we are to do. There are some things we have no control over (other than voting) and when all seems lost God said, “Be still.” That in itself is a challenge. But when we have an internal perspective on things around us then we can live at peace.  

We have all faced things and as one writer said, “we all have been in the eye of the storm.” Things around us begin to deteriorate we see the external and we fear. One moment things are going well the next moment we get bad news. One moment all is well the next it changes.

Circumstances around us begin to fall apart. But it all God is there. I am often reminded of the words of this song from Andre Crouch:
“Through it all

Through it all

Oh, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus

I’ve learned to trust in God

Let me tell ya that

Through it all

Oh, through it all

I’ve learned to depend upon His word”

God is there totally in control, calm, and in His sight all is fine.

No matter what the circumstances He is our shelter.

God Bless.

Bible Study December 12, 2023

Philippians 1:9-11 (LSB)

“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in full knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and without fault until the day of Christ, 11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

Maybe one of the most misused words in our language is the word “love.” I remember growing up and we heard the word “Free love” often. Love is not free there is a price for loving someone.

Paul said it correctly to these believers at Philippi. He said the beginning of love is found in love our love for God not our love of God but for God. As we grow in the Lord (gain knowledge) we will develop the ability to love more deeply. Maybe the first scripture reference I ever heard was John 3:16.

There are many illustrations of God’s love in the scriptures. From His love for the disciples, the family of Lazarus (raising him from the dead), to healing the centurion that Peter cut off his ear, to dying on the cross for our sin, no greater love has a man than he lay down his life for another.

It is difficult to love sometimes. People say and do things that hurt us. There are types of things that come against us that make us not want to love someone but the commandment is to love others as we love ourselves.

God never gets tired of us telling Him we love Him but our love for Him should be reflected in our love for one another.

God Bless.

Bible Study December 11, 2023

1 Kings 19:10 (LSB)

“And he said, “I have been very zealous for Yahweh, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, pulled down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

Elijah sitting alone basking in self-pity over his plight. Who hasn’t at some point in our lives.

It happens when the joy is gone. This Sunday will mark the third Sunday of Advent when we light the Advent candle of joy. Some may have done something to you or said a word that was not truthful and it hurt you.

Sometimes people will unload on us because they have been given something they did not anticipate so you get to hear about it. Christ Followers know God has placed us where He wants us for His purpose. Then the rain comes and drowns out your parade and we get discouraged. It happens to all of us. Step up to dry land.

The good thing is that we do not have to stay in that place we can get out. We need to pick ourselves up and move on. Make the decision that you will not wallow in self-pity but you get up and get out of it. The first thing you do is decide to move on. Get over anything that is keeping you back it only hurts you.

God has so much for us to do and we can only do it in the right frame of mind.

God Bless.

Bible Study December 9, 2023

Mark 4:39 – 41 (LSB)

“And He woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. 40 And He said to them, “Why are you so cowardly? Do you still have no faith?” 41 And they became very afraid and were saying to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

Words carry a great deal of power. James talks about the power of the tongue and what damage it can do. One has said you cannot praise God and curse your enemy in the same breath.

When you think of a word that is important to you what is it? I read a small book by Kenneth Hagin titled “Words.” He says, “Children are a product of words.” Word scan heal or make us sick; words can bless or curse.

I think of the word “Faith” as a word that can help us all. We all claim to have faith at least faith in something. Hopefully it is faith in God. Often though faith is directed at a particular something rather than a particular God. A football player has faith in his teammates, a pastor has faith in the congregation he serves, a couple have faith in each other, Faith can be applied to many areas of our lives.

Jesus must have had faith that the wind would be calm or He would never have spoken the word of faith. What would or lives look like and the results that people would experience if we just spoke the word because we had faith. We would see because we believed not believe because we saw.

Where is your faith placed in God or something? If a thing confess it to God.

God Bless.

Bible Study December 8, 2023

Matthew 19:26 (LSB)

“And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

How often have you or someone you know needed something and rather than pray about it go about finding the solution on our own. I confess I have way too many times. I am working on getting better.

I would never have imagined when I lost my son Matt that a door would open for me. I thought at that time every door I came upon was a closed one. But it provided me several things.

One thing I found out is who I was and what I was made of. We think we’re pretty cool and life is going on things are looking good and boom it hits you. It could the loss of a job, a financial setback, a death as I experienced maybe a divorce. Any number of things come upon us and often we are unprepared for the outcome, I know I was.

I had been a giver in my life. More times than not we give stuff away whether it is money, furniture or almost anything we have is available. We never sell anything to a relative.

 Second thing I found out about myself was a sense of care I did not realize was there. I had spent years in the business getting results and being rewarded for results. In the world of business you need to treat everyone equally. I tried to treat them as equals. 

The loss of my son gave me new insight into grief on the most personal level one can experience. It brought tragedy and radically changed me. I came out a better person for it. What seemed impossible God made it possible.

What is your platform to help others?

God Bless.

Bible Study December 7, 2023

Matthew 25:44 – 45 (LSB)

“Then they themselves also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.”

We are in the Christmas season 2023 and this verse reminds me of several things. One, the obvious is that we should help others out. Many people have the means and ability to care for themselves, they are fine. Some people choose to live off of others. But there are those who truly need help. I believe these are the ones Jesus was talking about.

When we lived in Ohio I knew of two families where their children had been addicted to illegal drugs. Both were in jail for their wrongdoing. I had the opportunity to visit both young men. They both subsequently completed their programs and one has went on the stay clean and have a beautiful family. He hit rock bottom and his family was there for him. I am thankful I had a little part in helping him.

The second young man did not fare so well upon his release. He ended back up on drugs and unfortunately lost his life at twenty-five years of age. Both of the men needed someone to give them a drink, clothing, an encouraging word.

We cannot always impact the outcome but we can do what we are led to do to help others along their path, but our path must be clear first. I wish both of these would have turned out the same but they did not.

As we celebrate the Advent season be the rainbow at the end of someone’s rain.

God Bless.

Bible Study December 6, 2023

Ephesians 5:15 – 18 (LSB)

“Therefore look carefully how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 On account of this, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,”

Have you ever done something that haunts you and you cannot get it out of your mind? I wish I could forget them but they keep coming back to mind.. Maybe it is reminder not to do them again. If that is the case then I am okay with it.

It make me think about not doing it again. I hope I have learned from my mistakes as I go forward in life. We should make the best of every opportunity even if we do not think it could be. One of the things that comes to mind is what Paul is talking here about being wise and particularly here in the use of wine or alcohol.

Everyone must decide for themselves how they will handle an alcoholic drink. One thing I will say is that it can easily lead to a dependency on it. However, that is the case with anything that can become addictive to us. Caution on the side of being wise.

Addictions of any kind are harmful. Be careful who you associate with make certain they will build you up. You do not want to have all Christian friends if you do who will share the gospel with them? But make certain they do not drag you down before you have an opportunity to impact their lives.

If you drink alcohol do it in moderation do not get drunk.

God Bless.

Bible Study December 5, 2023

Proverbs 18:13 (NASB)

“One who gives an answer before he hears, It is foolishness and shame to him.”

I am the first admit I do not know everything in fact I am fortunate enough to learn new things almost daily, thankfully. When we lived in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma I hired a man to work for us. He had been there a couple of weeks, new to the business, and said to me “too much knowledge is dangerous.” My response was as I called him by his name “as is too little.”

It seems insecurity comes as a defense mechanism for those who seem to be masking their fear behind a façade of knowledge. I have to come the place realizing I do not know everything, then simply admit it and tell someone I will check it out and get back to them. I get a lot of questions about things from the scriptures that I do not have the answer.

The flipside of “knowing too much” is the ability to ask a question of someone who can help you understand the question, provide some dialogue, and open up good lines of discussion. Oftentimes we all need someone in our lives that provide wisdom, insight, and the suggestion to us to not send the email but let it simmer overnight. I am thankful for those in my life that do that for me, many may not even know they are helping.

Then when we are asked a question or to provide some insight ask the question behind the question such as what prompts that question, what is it you are looking for exactly?

There is nothing wrong with “I do not know but I will find out.”

God Bless.

Bible Study December 4, 2023

Romans 8:38 – 39 (NASB)

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

There can be nothing better than anyone can experience than the love of Jesus Christ and the care He has for us. We see and hear of people around the world some suffering in their life and know that in the situation they are in God loves them. No greater love has a man than He lay down his life for another.

We are partnering with Bridge of Hope this Christmas season to help provide some basic essentials for people who have little or nothing. This Sunday we will light the second Advent candle for “Hope.” What we want to do is in any way possible help others find hope.

As we live in the Advent season let all seek God. I know there are times we get busy but we should never forget that God is working behind the scenes in our lives to care for us. We should extend that same love to others not only at this time of the year but year-round.

As we look at these verses let us in all ways love one another as Christ has loved us. After all nothing can separate us from the love of God let us love equally by our caring and giving.

God is there holding us, loving us, and watching over us.

God Bless.