Showing posts with label bible study. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

EZRA - A ROLE MODEL FOR THE MODERN MAN OF GOD

Ezra, the great man of God, modeled how the Modern Christian man can become a man or woman of the Word. The text from Ezra 7:6-10 gives us Four Attributes of a True Man or Woman of The Bible, we are meant to be

EZRA 7:6-10 (NASB)

6 So this Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all [a]he requested because the hand of the Lord his God was upon him. 7 Some of the sons of Israel and some of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

8 And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, because the good hand of his God was upon him. 10 For Ezra had firmly resolved to study the Law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

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Thursday, October 29, 2020

PLUMBLINE DEVOTIONAL: COLOSSIANS 4:2-6

TEXT: COLOSSIANS 4:2-6

2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

English Standard Version (ESV)

PLUMBLINE DEVOTIONAL: COLOSSIANS 3:18-25 & 4:1

TEXT: COLOSSIANS 3:18-25 AND 4:1

18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

1 Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

English Standard Version (ESV)

PLUMBLINE DEVOTIONAL: COLOSSIANS 3:12-17

TEXT: COLOSSIANS 3:12-17

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. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

English Standard Version (ESV)

PLUMBLINE DEVOTIONAL: COLOSSIANS 3:1-11

TEXT: COLOSSIANS 3:1-11

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self[d] with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

English Standard Version (ESV)

PLUMBLINE DEVOTIONAL: COLOSSIANS 2:16-23

TEXT: COLOSSIANS 2:16-23

16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

English Standard Version (ESV)

PLUMBLINE DEVOTIONAL: COLOSSIANS 2:13-15

TEXT: COLOSSIANS 2:13-15

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities[b] and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

English Standard Version (ESV)

Thursday, May 14, 2020

THE POWER OF A PRAYING MOTHER

1 Samuel 1:9-11

9 On one occasion, Hannah got up after they ate and drank at Shiloh. The priest Eli was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s temple. 10 Deeply hurt, Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept with many tears.

11 Making a vow, she pleaded, “Lord of Armies, if you will take notice of your servant’s affliction, remember and not forget me, and give your servant a son, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.

1 Samuel 2:1-10

Hannah prayed:

My heart rejoices in the Lord;
my horn is lifted up by the Lord.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
because I rejoice in your salvation.
2 There is no one holy like the Lord.
There is no one besides you!
And there is no rock like our God.
3 Do not boast so proudly,
or let arrogant words come out of your mouth,
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and actions are weighed by him.
4 The bows of the warriors are broken,
but the feeble are clothed with strength.
5 Those who are full hire themselves out for food,
but those who are starving hunger no more.
The woman who is childless gives birth to seven,
but the woman with many sons pines away.
6 The Lord brings death and gives life;
he sends some down to Sheol, and he raises others up.
7 The Lord brings poverty and gives wealth;
he humbles and he exalts.
8 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the trash heap.
He seats them with noblemen
and gives them a throne of honor.
For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;
he has set the world on them.
9 He guards the steps of his faithful ones,
but the wicked perish in darkness,
for a person does not prevail by his own strength.
10 Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered;
he will thunder in the heavens against them.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.
He will give power to his king;
he will lift up the horn of his anointed.

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Thursday, March 22, 2018

A VERSE AND A THOUGHT: PSALM 24:6 - "TWO STEPS, IN PURSUIT OF....."

This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face—even Jacob....(Psalm 24:6)
In Bible terms, the word “generation” is the people who are alive at a point in time. God uses the word, which comes from the original word “dor”. God says in Judges 2:10 (All that generation also were gathered to their fathers, and there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel).

Jesus Himself came down hard on the lost people at that time, who was only half as bad as the sick culture today in Matthew 12:39 (But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet). He did so because while their mouths and fake religious “beliefs” said they were looking for a Messiah, their conduct was just like the pagans all around them. Nothing has changed in the 21st century.

Most people alive, since time began, were wicked and perverse “generations”. However, there were those who came to know the Lord, love Him for Who He is, and then passionately desire to know Him. Joshua, God’s great General, who was Moses’ understudy led the young Israelites into the Promised Land after God dispatched with all their rebellious elders. This group served the Lord. Josiah brought revival years later when they found the book of the Law of God and read it out loud.

Modern man does not seek or look for God. Most people who because true Christians claim to “find” God but from personal experience and the Bible, we know this is not so. No one seeketh after God, no one (declares the Lord). God rescues us when we finally come to the end of ourselves, cry out to Him and repent. It is only when the Great Pursuit begins!

The English translation of the word the Holy Spirit used in this psalm – “darash” – is not very accurate. It sounds great, as poetry, but the Great Pursuit is not about “seek” but Studying! So now, we see what God is leading us towards. Everywhere these days we have 40 days of this, 31 days of that, 15-day program or 48 hours on CBS. What the Lord presents here are two simple steps.
1. “Those who seek Him”: as shown in the paragraph above, this actually means “Study” Him. Bible study is what it means. How can you and I know about God if we do not know Who He is; How He operates; Why He does what He does and What we should expect….unless we get to know Him. Like any other relationship, we must know the God Who saved us. What the English translation translates as "seek", should actually be "study"(the Scriptures) to learn the very Attributes (or Characteristics) and Ways of God, with Whom we will be spending eternity! Bible study, praying the Scriptures as well as daily prayer to Heaven are the keys.
2. Once we study the Word and the Word Who became flesh – Jesus, as well as our Heavenly Father, Psalm 24:6 says there is the second step or “who seek His Face”. This is another incomplete translation because we literally cannot see the Face of God, as He is until we get to Heaven. What we can do is what the actual word use says, which is, being in the very Presence of God – His Manifest Presence. The general presence of God is the fact that He is EVERYWHERE- Omnipresent, to the saved and the unsaved. His Manifest Presence though is exclusive. His Manifest Presence was in the Garden of Eden when He walked in the cool of the day. His Manifest Presence was in the Tabernacle with Moses, Aaron in the desert. His Manifest Presence was at Calvary when God gave His life and opened up Heaven for all mankind. So now, we seek “His Face” or “His Manifest Presence” in one way only – Worship, prayer, and supplication. The Holy Spirit clears the path for us to be in His Presence when we respond, clearly and with righteousness, to come humbly to the Throne of Grace.

Seeking God and Seeking His Face = studying Him through His Word in addition to praise, pressing in and proclaiming His Holy Name.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

FIVE BENEFITS TO STUDYING THE BIBLE - EXEGETICALLY

George Muller, a giant figure in the history of the church, cared for 10,024 orphans in his lifetime explored with great faith and enthusiasm the inner life, faith and prayer. That’s what we remember about him. But his words surprised me when I read them–

“What is the food of the inner man? Not prayer, but the Word of God; and….not the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts.”

Bible Study isn’t a casual stroll through a book. Bible study isn’t googling various themes to help us find scriptures to fit our own personal predilections. It is an adventure into the voice, plan and providence of God. It is a living expedition that changes the reader not the interpretation. It’s pondering, applying, researching, and listening. Here are five benefits to an exegetical strategy of Bible study:

We get the big picture and the larger story. Historically (and currently), certain unfortunate groups have zeroed in on one chapter or even one verse of the Bible in order to develop their worldview. These efforts pervert the meaning of scripture because it ignores the Canon in favor of a particular nuance found in a particular part. Once we look at the bigger picture, the larger story, that’s when the Bible gets interesting, my friend! We see shards of truth in the details but nothing can compare to the full mosaic of the Word as we see the progression of Scripture.

Exegetical study reveals what God is saying rather than what we want Him to say. Exegetical Bible study begins with hands empty and open to God. If only we would constantly have the attitude: “Lord, I’m going to go deep, read with eyes afresh and heart open and allow You to speak truth. I will set my personal predilections aside and put on the full armor expecting that You will shake my foundation.”

We grasp Scripture and apply it appropriately. Most people, when they think about theology, envision demanding degrees, multisyllabic mysteries, and complicated conundrums. But the truth of God’s word is much simpler than some make it out to be. I love this thought from Soren Kierkegaard: “The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly.”
Organic discoveries are the best kind. It’s great to bask in the wisdom and inspiration of David Jeremiah, David Platt, Tim Keller and other amazing writers, but discovered truths from God’s word of the homegrown variety often have a greater, more personal impression on my life. I think you’ll agree. There are times when I discover something so relevant to my own crucible or to the struggle of those I love that I can’t resist sharing it. It brings me to life. It wrecks me in such a visceral way that I know it is the Holy Spirit at work.
You’ll enjoy the diversity of genres and styles. Unlike a textbook that’s filled with codes, formulas and theorems, God gave us a book of stories, poems, metaphors, sayings, commandments, laments, and prophetic reveals. Through exegetical study of scriptures the brilliance and clarity of God’s story comes alive with dynamism and surprising depth. We breath deep the truth of God’s character and the power of his grace. It’s a unified message told in a variety of methods and styles. Even the four Gospels blend together; telling the same story but doing so differently. John’s Gospel is poetic and teaming with symbols and purposeful progressions. Luke’s Gospel, the Gentile voice with a vision of suffering humanity and those lost in the margins of society. Luke’s orderly account is very different from the “fasten-your-seatbelts” Gospel of Mark. Surely, to exegete scripture is to unravel a message and the mystery of the whole counsel of God. It’s hopping on board to the message and seeing where it takes you. You might not know it when you start, but its destination is always life-changing and beautiful.

Reposted by Permission of Lifeway Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Click here for Lifeway Blog.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

BRAND NEW FROM SUSAN ROHRER IN 2014

Author/Movie Producer
Susan Rohrer

JUST RELEASED:
"WHAT LAUREL SEES"
(Fiction: May 2014)

Click here for more information

One reason Susan Rohrer is both my favorite bible study author AND
writer of dramatic fiction, is her ability to switch from rightly dividing the Word of Truth in her previous work ("Secrets of the Dry Bones: Ezekiel 37:1-14") to what I think is her most accomplished work as a novelist! "What Laurel Sees" has just about every unexpected turn of events one can realize that involves a relatively small cast of characters in the book - which reads more like a screenplay. In fact, as an objective observer and reader, I would suggest that if Hallmark movies or Lifetime Channel were looking for their next dramatic made-for-TV classic, this would be it.

Among other things, the novel is basically a reflection of the sad shape we find the world in these days - a world where the rich, ambitious and powerful use all means necessary for their own personal gratification. It is a world of political intrigue, adultery, manipulation and the sad circumstances of what happens to a victim of religious abuse. Add to this, the wronged ex-wife of a slain councilman - Frank Fischer, a woman who has the gift of prophetic vision from the Lord, and is therefore quickly discounted as a headcase by everyone else in her world. Laurel Fischer is that ex-wife who lost her husband to the beautiful socialite Shana Fischer. Shana, the ambitious temptress and mistress of Frank Fischer worked the legal system, with him, perfectly in their eyes and somehow managed to gain of Laurel's only child, Grace. The adulterous couple used Laurel's oft-spoken-of gift as a "seer" or "visionary" to influence a judge to effect such a rare decision. This part of the narrative plays a strong role in the developing human drama, as Ms Rohrer's novel progresses.

The book gets on the off ramp of the freeway of mystery very early on. It picks up speed when the apparently unredeemed councilman is found slain. This sets off a chain of swift moving events. Events also swirl around a hard-nosed newsman. An unlikely romance springs up which sets this hardened self-described atheist reporter Joe Hardisty on the road to redemption, which could be a guidepost for many in the secular world of mainstream media! Somewhere in the first third of this novel, the well-crafted storyline grips you and never lets you pull off that freeway to the shoulder, until you are through reading it! This is what happened to me as I was unable to put it down on a three hour trip. As a person who almost never reads fiction, it takes a special gift of writing and credible authorship to get me to get even half way through such a book. "What Laurel Sees" is that kind of literary work and thus, it is highly recommended for your early summer reading! The dramatic conclusion of the book is worth the several hours of "page-turning"!

NEW: LIFE CHANGING BIBLE STUDY BY SUSAN ROHRER:

Secrets of the Dry Bones: Ezekiel 37:1-14

The Mystery of a Prophet's Vision (Illuminated Bible Study Guides Series) [Kindle Edition]

(NON-FICTION, January 2014)

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

"BEST KEPT SECRET IN CHRISTIANITY?"....READ THIS BOOK!

Having read all of Ms Rohrer's books, I venture to say that this is her most inspired, powerful, meaningful and capable of a transformative role in the life of the reader. It is written in such a way as to engage and appeal to both the new believer as well as the more mature Christian into an in-depth self examination. The Secrets of the Dry Bones will cause ANYONE who are serious about Will and Work of God in your life, to reevaluate and consider everything anew! I know it did me! I was so excited about having to look into the mirror of my own soul at some of the author's questions and promptings for study.The book, content, the Scriptural passages, the challenges met me at the current point in my life when all three of those things lined up perfectly to minister to me.

I found the book written in a fast moving, easy to read and comprehend style which can hold a reader who is interesting in inspiration, encouragement, illumination and transformation. A special treat to the reader is the early format of looking at evidence and clues to this transformation from the purposes and promises of God (Ezekiel 37). The author executes that flawlessly....sort of like the CSI of biblical exposition! I recommend this book as tremendous resources for discipleship and growth, for any child of God.

WHO IS SUSAN ROHRER & WHAT INSPIRES HER: