Or watch the Video Zoom Session of our Study on YouTube:
In All That You Do…
“And whatever you do in
word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the
Father through Him.”Col. 3:17
One of the gifts of the reformation was to tear down the
divide between sacred and secular, particularly in vocation. Though we still
consider “ministry” a high calling we, at the same time, understand that it is
not the only engagement with God and His universe.
In the same chapter of Colossians, after speaking several
injunctions over the Christian home, Paul goes on to repeat, in verse 23, “And
whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,”
It is impossible for us to
escape the presence of the omnipresent God. Ps.
139:7-18 starts out by saying, “Where
can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” It is
impossible not to engage with God in His universe, and the key point is that it
is His universe. Pick up a grain of sand; it is His sand. Take a breath; you’re
breathing His air. Take a bite of an apple; who’s apple do you think it is? Ps. 24:1, “The
earth is the LORD’S and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell
therein.”
“There is not one square inch
of the entire creation about which Jesus does not cry out, ‘This is
Mine!’”Abraham Kuyper
In his article, May 2nd,
2018,4 Bible Passages to Break the
Sacred-Secular Divide, Nathaniel Williams says:
“The sacred-secular divide draws a sharp distinction
between the spiritual parts of our lives (praying, Bible reading, church
attendance, evangelism) and the rest of our lives (work, chores, rest, fun).
But the sacred-secular divide is flawed for a variety of reasons. Practically,
the sacred-secular divide leads to compartmentalization.”
We should never
compartmentalize our lives in such a way.
Rom. 12:1 in the MSG says, “So here’s what I want you to do, God
helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going
to work, and walking around life – and place it before God as an offering.
Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him.”
Even when we were rank
sinners, not wanting anything to do with God, He was still pursuing us. II Pet. 3:9,“The
Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is
longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should
come to repentance.”
When you are in England,
Charles is king whether you believe it or agree
with it, like him or not.
So what is the practical
outworking of this understanding?
I Co. 10:31 says, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or
whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
I often like to use John
Piper’s refashioning of the Westminster Confession to say, “God is most
glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”
So, imagine approaching your
life, in all its complexity, without grumbling and complaining. I Pe. 4:9, “Be
hospitable to one another without grumbling.”
If we really believe that
this is God’s universe, then all grumbling is against Him. Num. 14:27 says,
“How long shall I put us with this evil congregation who are grumbling
against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel which they are
voicing against Me.”NASB20
Phil. 2:13,14,“for it is God who works in you both to will and
to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining or arguments.”
In contrast, “Do not sorrow,
for the joy of the LORD is your
strength.” Neh. 8:10
This is a timeless
injunction!
There are four kinds of joy
found in Scripture: “joy”, “great joy”, “exceedingly great joy”, and “joy
unspeakable and full or glory.”
So we have choices. :)
Imagine if we simply allowed
the fruit of the Spirit, from Gal. 5:22 to permeate our daily far.
“Let all that you do be done with love.” I Co. 16:14
“and the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts
and minds through Chris Jesus. Phl. 4:7
“For ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
Heb. 10:36 KJV
God is glorified in us when
we do our simplest of tasks with joy, peace, patience, etc. Not
compartmentalizing our lives in such a was as if to think that there are some
things we can do with grumbling and complaining.
The secular person engages
God in every aspect of their lives making, therefore, every aspect of their
lives sacred.
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or
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Darkness”, “The Bondage Breaker”, "Freedom in Christ" series of
Discipleship Classes via the mt4christ247 podcast!
For those who require the
assistance of a Deeper Walk International Prayer Minister to experience healing
or your freedom in Christ, I highly recommend Christy Edge’s Life on the Edge
Freedom Prayer Ministry. You can schedule a session by going to : https://cedge216.wixsite.com/life-on-the-edge
“The views, opinions, and
commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and
do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers,
artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included
in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of
any entities the author may represent.”
Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship
Or watch the Video Zoom Session of our Study on YouTube:
Hearing from God
“Faith comes by hearing,
and hearing by thewordof God.”
Rm. 10:17
We have often said that
prayer is a dialogue with God, and that hearing what God says is far more
important than what we say.
The question should arise,
how do we hear God?
In the Old Testament select
prophets heard directly from God. We read that as early as Cain and Able they
heard from God. As the population grew we move swiftly through Scripture to
observe how people heard from God. By Deut. 18:18 the LORD says to Moses, “I will raise up for them a Prophet
like you from among their brethren and will put My words in His mouth, and He
shall speak to them all that I command Him.” vr. 15, “Him you shall hear.”…Wonder
who that was?
By Jos. 8:31 we first see, “as
it is written in the book of the law of Moses,”...A Bible
I Sam. 3:1, “And the word
of the LORDwas precious in those days; there was no open vision.”
until God said, “Samuel! Samuel!”
and Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”
Two principles:
1) God prepares His prophets.
2) Goddidnot continue until He got the appropriate response.
We read examples of people
hearing from God by audible voice, dreams, direct revelation, direct encounters
with the “angel of the LORD”, one donkey, and the written word of God.
In the New Testament, “the
Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory…” Jn. 1:14
Jn. 12:50, Jesus says,
“...whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
Jn. 14:26, “But the Helper,
the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all
things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
The Holy Spirit spoke to the
apostles, they wrote stuff down, and the church sealed it; closed
cannon...right?
How do we hear from God
now???
His word, the Bible, of
course. This is the Word of God; the Logos.
How did we get to the
Bible? Rm. 10:14, “How then shall
they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in
Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?”
Is there any direct revelation today? Of course
there is.
The Bible is sufficient
information for salvation, and for how to live righteously before God. II Pet.
1:3, “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life
and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.”
But what about the particular
engagements of life; who should I marry, what profession should I pursue, where
should I go to church, where should I live, what should I have for breakfast???
No
chapter and verse for those!
We pray with a hope and expectation that we
will, in some way, hear from God.
Joel said, and Peter repeats, “And it shall come to pass
in the last days, says God, That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your
sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams.”
Acts 2:17
In this verse we engage two
OT methods in which people heard from God saying that it shall occur in the
last days.
In Acts. 21 we read of a man named Philip who, “had four
virgin daughters who prophesied.” It was never recorded what they said, but
they spoke the word of the Lord.
God, who is, “the same yesterday, today and forever.”
Heb. 13:8 engages with us in the same ways as always, but we also must apply
some important principles.
*God can not contradict
Himself. So any revelation that we
receive, either by dream, voice, notion, prophecy, must be consistent with
His word. God is never going to tell you to rob a bank, enter into a
homosexual relationship, worship an idol, or put peanut butter on a pepperoni
pizza.
*We should be very
cautions with “thus sayeth the Lord”. If we read on in Deut. 18:23, “when
a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if
the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken in
presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.”
We believe, and emphasize
that our God is a very personal God, who invites us to call Him Father.
He has given us much and continues to beckon us into a deeper, richer, more
intimate relationship with Him. He desires that we would engage with Him by
embracing His word, and conversing with Him all the day long.
He has promised, on His part,
never to leave us or forsake us. When you ask God a specific question, expect
and answer.
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or
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Darkness”, “The Bondage Breaker”, "Freedom in Christ" series of
Discipleship Classes via the mt4christ247 podcast!
For those who require the
assistance of a Deeper Walk International Prayer Minister to experience healing
or your freedom in Christ, I highly recommend Christy Edge’s Life on the Edge
Freedom Prayer Ministry. You can schedule a session by going to : https://cedge216.wixsite.com/life-on-the-edge
“The views, opinions, and
commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and
do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers,
artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included
in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of
any entities the author may represent.”
Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship
Or watch the Video Zoom Session of our Study on YouTube:
The Simplicity of the Gospel
“But I fear, least
somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be
corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”II Cor. 11:3
Consider the simplicity of
life in the garden in comparison to the complexity that most of us are steeped
in at present.
All man’s needs were met, and
he had unbridled fellowship with God.
Our physical self was cared for and supplied.
Our intellectual self was engaged with the Creator.
Our emotional self was stimulated with creation.
Our sense of self was plugged directly into Truth
untainted or confused by lies.
Satan plants a seed of
desire, as if to say, “there is something missing”...a key element.
Paul bookends this letter to
the church in Corinth with this notion of simplicity. In 1:12 he writes, “For
our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted
ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly
wisdom but by the grace of God…”
The abundant life that Jesus
promises in John 10:10, if considered in the context of all of Scripture, is a
simple life.
We have complicated life
with:
Striving – “And my God shall supply all your need
according to His riches in glory
by Christ Jesus.” Ph. 4:19
Covetousness – “You lust and do not have…” Js. 4:2
Contentions – “But avoid foolish questions, and
genealogies, and
contentions, and strivings about the law…” Tit. 3:9
What does this simplicity
look like?
Jesus said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for
I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My
yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Mt. 11:29,30
Jesus offers a yoke, but it
differs from the yoke of slavery to sin.
He invites us to learn from
Him; I suggest from His example.
Which is gentility and
lowliness of heart.
Where is the striving in
“rest”?
The early church experienced
this simplicity: Acts 2:46, “So continuing daily with one accord in the
temple, and breaking bread from house to house they ate their food with
gladness and simplicity of heart.”
Scriptures
like this beckon the church back to our first love!
As the culture forces us into
its mold, a weight of complexity comes along with it.
Paul urged this, “that you
also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your
own business and to work with your own hands,
as we commanded you.” I Th. 4:11
Of himself Paul said, “I
have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.”
Phi. 4:11
And he adds, in I Ti. 6:6-8, “Now
godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this
world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and
clothing, with these we shall be content.”
Busy is not a
virtue, especially toward worldly
gain.
Ps. 39: 6,7 says, “Surely
every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He
heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them.
And now Lord, what do I
wait for? My hope is in You.”
-----Join
us for another Bible Study Next Week -------
or
Join our “Victory over the
Darkness”, “The Bondage Breaker”, "Freedom in Christ" series of
Discipleship Classes via the mt4christ247 podcast!
For those who require the
assistance of a Deeper Walk International Prayer Minister to experience healing
or your freedom in Christ, I highly recommend Christy Edge’s Life on the Edge
Freedom Prayer Ministry. You can schedule a session by going to : https://cedge216.wixsite.com/life-on-the-edge
“The views, opinions, and
commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and
do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers,
artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included
in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of
any entities the author may represent.”
Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship
Or watch the Video Zoom Session of our Study on YouTube:
Right Alignment With God
“Order my steps in thy
word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.” Ps. 119:133
God has created an ordered universe.
Ps. 8:3,4 says, “When I
consider your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which
You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son
of man that You visit him?”
In these two Psalms the words
“order” and “ordained” are the same word in Hebrew: “kun”
We would have to read the
entire Bible to reference how often God is establishing order. And I suspect we
would be shocked, as I was, as to how vast its usage.
Paul states this in I Cor.
14:33, “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace…” NIV (NKJV uses “confusion”)
Sin has caused chaos and
disorder, but even in and through our crazy world we sense and see evidence of
a steadfast and unchanging order.
Though forces are tugging at
us to remain in a state of confusion, God’s order is always available to us to
come into alignment with. Consider this statement in the backdrop of Is. 40:3,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”’
Some examples leaped out
at me from Scripture.
In I Sam. 8-16, it seems clear that it’s God’s intention to
set a king in Israel in the person of David, but the elders of Israel’s intention
was different from God’s; “Now make us a king to judge us like all the
nations.” 8:5
God’s order for Israel was
that they would be set apart, and not “like the other nations.”
By Jer. 19:15 the prophet
speaks, “Thus says the LORDof hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring on
this city and on all her towns all the doom that I have pronounced against it,
because they have stiffened their necks that they might not hear My words.’”
So
much for set apart
Our aim is always to comeintoalignmentwith God’s plan
and will for our lives. It’s obvious, when sin is present, that we are out
of alignment, but when sin is not evident it doesn’t always mean that we are on
mission.
God’s grace keeps us in
alignment.
We use several vehicles to
get into alignment:
Reading God’s word; “Your word I have hidden in my heart
That I
might not sin against You.” Ps. 119:11
“Keep my commands and live,
And my laws as the apple of your
eye.
Bind them on your fingers;
Write them on the tablets of your
heart.” Pr.7:3
Listen to God’s word:
“Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word
of God” Rom. 10:17
Prayer: As we have said
before, prayer is a conversation with God. Let
us be mindful that in this conversation, what God has to say is far more important than what we
have to say.
Our prayer is the key element
that must align with God’s will and His word. Rom. 8:26, “Likewise
the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray
for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered.”
Fasting is a vehicle that can
bring us into alignment with God.
Ps. 69:9,10 “Because zeal for You house has eaten me up,
And
the reproaches of those who reproach You
have fallen on me.
When I wept and chastened my soul with
fasting,
That became my reproach.
Jesus prayer in the garden is
a model for this, “nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
We can be very capable of
using God’s word to fabricate all sorts of goofy prayers, but when we humble
ourselves, and engage with the Holy Spirit, God’s perfect plan will manifest. That’s
alignment.
The two men on the road to
Emmaus were confused (disordered). Jesus brought them into alignment as He “expounded
to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Lk. 24:27
This episode always reminds
me of Amos 3:3, “Can two walk together, except they agree?”
Agreement with God is
synonymous with alignment with God,and
alignment is not always the easy path.
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“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are
those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the
opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other
authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not
necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may
represent.”
Encouragement for the Path of
Christian Discipleship
Or watch the Video Zoom Session of our Study on YouTube:
Knowing You, Jesus!
“Now concerning things
offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but
love builds up.” I Cor. 8:1
This passage of Scripture,
ch. 8:1-13, is a corrective response, most likely to a direct question. But I
sense the Holy Spirit saying that Paul is using this opportunity to speak to
more than the act of eating food offered to idols.
“an idol is nothing” vs.4. Also see Is. 44:13-20; Ps. 115:4-8
Except what we make it by way
of conscience.
Conscience is: “an inner
feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of
one’s behavior”
Me.” Ex. 20:3... vs. 5 says, “I am a jealous God.”
This jealousy is for us. We should be flattered to say the least. The number
one accusation that God brings against the children of Israel is idolatry. He
compares it to adultery.
In II Cor. 11:2,
speaking further to the church in Corinth, and the church at large, Paul says, “For
I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, For I have betrothed you to
one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”
Often bogged down in our “light
afflictions” we lose sense of God’s
intention toward us.
The father of a young lady
use to ask a suitor, “what are your intentions
toward my daughter?”
The church is Christ bride, “prepared
as a bride adorned for her husband.”Rev.
21:2
So, what of this “knowing”
business???
There is a sort of knowing, such as, knowing information.
We often say things like, “I
know about someone” yet we can not claim to know that person. It may identify
interest, but not necessarily affection, camaraderie, or any form of intimacy.
In this short passage of Scripture, I Cor. 8:1-13, we engage
three similar English words; “knowledge”, “knows”, and “known”.
Each word has a different
shading toward the same intent.
Knowledge, vs. 1 – “gnosis” means:
knowing (the act). ie. (by implication) knowledge;- knowledge, science.
Knows, vs. 2a – “eido” means:
consider, perceive, see, wish, understand,
be aware
Known, vs. 2b, 3 - “ginosko” means: a prolonged form of a primary verb; to
“know” (absolutely) in a great variety
of applications and with may implications
The big picture is Jn.
17:3, “And this is eternal life, that
they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
I Cor. 13:12 says, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then
face to face. Now I know in part; but
then I shall know just as I also am known.”
This knowledge transcends mere information, and is far more
satisfying.
Pr. Jaron Halsted said, at the end of his teaching
“Understanding the Need for the Anointing”.
“We have substituted the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil for the tree of life.
Gen. 3:1-7 – Eve RATIONALIZED the word of God.
Rationalism has eclipsed anointing – Exchanged God’s covering for man’s
covering. v.7
Suzanna also shared the lyrics to Knowing You Jesus by
Graham A. Kendrick as we briefly mentioned it at the beginning of the study:
Knowing You Jesus / Lyrics
All I once held dear, built my life upon All this world reveres,
and wars to own All I once thought gain I have counted loss Spent and worthless
now, compared to this
Knowing You, Jesus Knowing You
There is no greater thing
You're my all, You're the best You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love You, Lord Yeah-yeah
Now my heart's desire is to know You more
To be found in You and known as Yours
To possess by faith what I could not earn
All-surpassing gift of righteousness
Knowing You, Jesus Knowing You
There is no greater thing
You're my all, You're the best You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love You, Lord
Oh, to know the power of Your risen life And to know You in Your
sufferings To become like You in Your death, my Lord So with You to live and
never die
Knowing You, Jesus Knowing You
There is no greater thing
You're my all, You're the best You're my joy, my righteousness
You're my all, You're the best You're my joy, my righteousness
You're my all, You're the best You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love You, Lord
You're my all, You're the best You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love You, Lord Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Graham A. Kendrick
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"Freedom in Christ" series of Discipleship Classes via the mt4christ247
podcast!
“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are
those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the
opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other
authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not
necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may
represent.”
Encouragement for the Path of
Christian Discipleship
Today’s photo of “Tranquility at Lake Nottely” comes
to us from Fred Dimmick who shared this beautiful collaboration between God and
man on social media on April 19th.Apparently, Lake Nottely is a “man made” lake and is one of many
reservoirs of the Tennessee Valley Authority. It is located entirely in Union
County, Georgia, within the Chatahoochee-Oconee National Forests. The lake was
formed in 1942 by the damming of the Nottely River and it extends 20 miles upstream
to the town of Blairsville. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Nottely ).So man dammed Nottely River to “make the lake”
to help with flood control but you don’t get the lake without the river (God’s
creation) and we don’t get that sense of “tranquility” without that sunset and we
don’t get that underlying peace without the presence of God.
Well, it’s Friday, let’s thank God for that too, and
Fred’s photo has me thinking of the countryside home I will return to this
evening and of the possibility of finding some tranquility out in God’s
creation as the wife has scheduled a hike to Crowne Point tomorrow. I have never been there, but I am trusting
TammyLyn to lead me to something good and look forward to the trip.
My research this morning shows me that there is a “Crown
Point Historic Site” (https://parks.ny.gov/historic-sites/34/details.aspx)
on the shores of Lake Champlain, but I’m honestly not sure if that is our
destination or not, but I was able to download a couple of PDF maps to my Abobe
cloud if I discover there is no other Crown Point in the Great White North and
want to be able to find my way.While I
usually would just spontaneously “Go and See”, it can also be nice to know
where exactly you are going and having a map or a guide to give you the heads
up on the lay of the land.It’s good to
know the truth about what you will experience.
And speaking of the truth, that brings us to
continue in our current series, which is an examination of some of the common
lies that the enemy tells us to cause us to doubt our faith, steal our peace,
or to influence us to choose not to follow the Lord with the way we live our
lives. And so today, because I am thinking
about guidance,
Today’s big lie is:
Lie # 11:I Don’t
Have to Read the Bible.
How many people that you know who claim to be “Christians”
have said those words to you?I pray its
not many, but the hard truth is that a recent article by Stephen Presley on Religionunplugged.com
(https://religionunplugged.com/news/2023/4/8/no-one-is-reading-the-bible)
indicates that there has been a “dramatic decline in Bible reading” quoting a study
from the American Bible Society that noted ““an unprecedented drop in the
percentage of Bible users in the United States” noting that “nearly 26 million Americans reduced or
stopped their interaction with Scripture in the past year.”
So more people are drawing away from reading God’s
word, which would cause us to question “Do I Have to Read the Bible?”
While the last thing I ever want to do is to create a
legalistic requirement or checklist of “things you must do to be a Christian”,
I would point to scripture to show that the study of God’s word should be a
fundamental aspect of our faith.
Before I present the verses (and another link to Open
Bible . Info), I just want to tell you that when I was born again in 2010, I
really had a sense that the Lord did indeed actually save me because I suddenly
had a real desire to be a “real Christian” which was accompanied by a new found
passion to know God more by reading His word.I have been reading the Bible ever since.I’ve read it several times in various translations
and have consuledt numerous commentary’s and other Christian books and I have
greatly benefitted from knowing what the Bible says and applying its wisdom to
my life.Which naturally brings me to
the first verses that come to mind, when I seek to encourage others to read the
Bible:
James 1:22-25 (NIV2011) 22 Do not merely listen to
the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the
word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a
mirror 24 and, after looking
at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the
perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they
have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
Head knowledge is one thing, but the
Bible was meant to be a guidebook to living. It’s purpose is to draw us close
to God, cause us to make Christ as our Lord and Savior, to teach us how God
would want us to live our lives, and to tell us of what is it to come in the
future.Spoiler alert : Jesus is coming
back.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT2) tells us 16 All Scripture is inspired
by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is
wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what
is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and
equip his people to do every good work.
God gave us His word to teach us what
is true, to do what is right, and to equip us for life.Some people turn the word Bible into an acronym
to remind us that it is our “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth to highlight
its purpose.
Hebrews 4:12 (NLT2) tells us 12 For the word of God is
alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting
between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost
thoughts and desires.
The Bible is a living word and it
speaks to our hearts to guide us in the way we should go.It’s the best way to hear God’s voice.
Romans 10:17 (NKJV) tells us 17 So then faith comes
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Our faith comes through the word of
God. The good news about Jesus that causes us to believe is, surprise, Bible
based.So our faith came by hearing what
the Bible had to tell us about Jesus. Most of what know about Jesus is contained
in its pages.So this living word saves
us but it also assures us that we have been made new and are transformed by its
study.
2
Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) tells us 17 Therefore, if anyone is
in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold,
all things have become new.
And
Romans 12:2 (NKJV) tells us to 2 … not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what
is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Our
minds, hearts, and lives are to be transformed by the truth of who God is and
who we are in Christ which is all found in the Bible.
So
here’s a link to open Bible.infos 59 verses about Bible reading, https://www.openbible.info/topics/reading_the_bible to encourage
you to not stand on your freedom to “not read the Bible” but to be further assured
that God gave us His word to help us.
We
might be lazy, prideful or stubborn but we should also know the enemy, Satan,
is delighted when Christians don’t read the Bible or know what it says.So to combat that first person lie from the
enemy that tells you “I don’t have to read the Bilbe”, turn the tables on the
spiritual forces of darkness by saying: “Yeah, I don’t have to read the Bible
but God invites me to read His word so I can hear Him speak and that’s a
conversation that I definitely want to be a part of! I will read the word of God
and do what it says!”
So
keep walking and talking with God, and pick up the Bible regularly to see what
He is telling you there.
---------------------------------
For those who want more evidence for Christianity
than my simple apologetic will provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s
website, https://crossexamined.org/ .
Today’s
Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.
This
morning’s meditation verses are:
Colossians
3:9-10 (NLT2) 9 Don’t lie to each other,
for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature,
and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.
Today’s verses contain the
proof text of what I consider to be one of the first things a Christian
Disciple should commit themselves to when they decide to “be a real Christian”.Stop lying!
Satan is the Father of
lIes (John 8:44) and so thr last person we want to resemble as Christians is
the devil so we seek to encourage all who read this today to speak the truth in
all things – stop lying to each other.
After being a habitual
liar to cover up my shortcomings or sins for most of my life, it was a great
relief to make that decision to stop lying.When the Lord put this conviction on my heart I was far from perfect,
still am far from perfect, but because the Holy Spirit in me convicts me to
tell the truth, I have had the humbling but freeing experience of “ratting
myself out” when I invariably would make some foolish decisions.
When you are “throwing yourself
under the bus” regularly because you want to walk the walk as well as talk the
talk of being a Christian, by telling the truth, you eventually learn to stop the
shady behaviors that normally have to cover up to.
Telling the truth helps us
to “know our Creator” and to become more like Him. Comically, I would and still
sometimes do regrettable or foolish things and usually confess them shortly
after because I couldn’t bear to remain in deception’s shadow. The Holy Spirit
convicts me to “do what is right” now like all the time! And so I am
increasingly honest in my actions as well as my words. Not perfect mind you, by the deep relief that
comes from living in the truth a I usually instruct anyone that I disciple to “stop
lying” because of the joy that I have found that comes from knowing that you
have nothing to hide and you are living in harmony with the Lord.
As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I
always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to
assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from A.W. Pink’s “The
Sovereignty of God.”
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage all to purchase A.W. Pink’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available on
many websites for less than $20.00.
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
ByARTHUR W. PINK
APPENDIX I
THE WILL OF GOD concludes..
Again; God commands
us to be perfectly holy in this life (Matt. 5:48) because this is right in the nature of things, but He has
decreed that no man shall be perfectly holy in this life because this is best, all things considered, that none shall
be perfectly holy (experimentally) before they leave this world. Holiness is
one thing, the taking place of holiness is another; so, sin is one thing, the
taking place of sin is another. When God requires holiness His preceptive or
revealed will respects the nature or moral excellence of holiness; but when He
decrees that holiness shall not take place (fully and perfectly) His secret or
decretive will respects only the event of it not taking place. So again, when
He forbids sin His preceptive or revealed will respects only the nature or
moral evil of sin; but when He decrees that sin shall take place His secret will respects only its actual
occurrence to serve His good purpose. Thus the secret and revealed will of God
respect entirely different objects.
God’s will of decree is
not His will in the same sense as His will of command is. Therefore, there is
no difficulty in supposing that one may be contrary to the other. His will, in
both senses, is His inclination. Everything that concerns His revealed will is
perfectly agreeable to His nature, as when He commands love, obedience, and
service from His creatures. But that which concerns His secret will has in view
His ultimate end, that to which all things are now working. Thus, He decreed
the entrance of sin into His universe though His own holy nature hates all sin
with infinite abhorrence, yet, because it is one of the means by which His
appointed end is to be reached He suffered it to enter. God’s revealed will is the measure of our
responsibility and the determiner of our duty. With God’s secret will we have
nothing to do: that is His concern. But, God knowing that we should fail to
perfectly do His revealed will ordered His eternal counsels accordingly, and
these eternal counsels, which make up His secret will, though unknown to us
are, though unconsciously, fulfilled in and through us.
Whether the reader is
prepared to accept the above distinction in the will of God or not he must
acknowledge that the commands of Scripture declare God’s revealed will, and he
must also allow that sometimes God wills
not to hinder a breach of those commands because He does not as a fact so hinder it. God wills to permit sin as is
evident, for He does permit it.
Surely none will say that God Himself does what He does not will to do.
Finally, let it be
said again that my responsibility with regard to the will of God is measured by
what He has made known in His Word.
There I learn that it is my duty to use
the means of His providing, and to humbly pray
that He may be pleased to bless them to me. To refuse so to do on the ground
that I am ignorant of what may or may not be His secret counsels concerning me
is not only absurd, but the height of presumption. We repeat: the secret will
of God is none of our business; it is His revealed
will which measures our accountability. That there is no conflict whatever
between the secret and the revealed will of God is made clear from the fact
that the former is accomplished by my use of the means laid down in the latter.[1]
“The views, opinions, and commentary of this
publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to
reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries,
or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication,
and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the
author may represent.”
Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship
