Setting Out On A Personal Bible Study Plan

Recently I dealt with a severe case of bronchitis and it was during my time of convalescence that the Lord led me to a wonderfully new and exciting personal time of devotion.  One night as I laid in bed I felt the urge to go across the hallway into a room that I had designated as a study area and bring the small desk and chair into my bedroom beside the window that looks toward the church.  Little did I know that this would become such a sacred and wonderful place in my life.  From that point on the first thing I do each morning is retire to this desk and spend time in the Word of God.  I have all sorts of computer equipment available, but for this process I have chosen to write in a journal.  I started off by wanting to write how the Word affected me, but soon realized that God had a greater plan.  That was for me to read over the Scripture He leads me to for the day and write that Scripture in the journal, writing in a somewhat artistic format the part of the Scripture that speaks to my life.  Here is an an example of one of my journal entries...As I read through 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 on January 31, 2014 the Lord spoke these words in the passage to my heart that day: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation...Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ...We are ambassadors for Christ...He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him! This little procedure has changed my life in a very dramatic and wonderful way.  However you choose to do a personal Bible Study, the main thing is to start one and do it daily with a focus to let God speak His Word and His Will into your life.

Know the Enemy

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. (Genesis 3:1-6, NLT) 

This is man's first encounter with Satan here on earth.  Notice that Satan was the shrewdest, the most devious and cunning animals God created; what a great definition of who Satan is. He starts off with a somewhat innocent question about what God has said that they could and could not do?  He appeals to two basic needs of mankind - food and power! When the woman explains the reason for not eating from the tree, Satan tells her the only reason they are told not to eat of this tree is because her and Adam, if they eat from it, will be just like God, knowing all things and being just like Him!  What a loaded question this is and it is exactly how Satan works today in our lives.  He tricks and deceives us into thinking we have all the wisdom and knowledge we need to be like God and just like God. He leads us to believe that if we study textbooks and science enough we will be just like God.  However, we may have earthly wisdom, but there is a wisdom that goes well beyond human understanding and that is godly wisdom that is supplied to us by the Holy Spirit.  Let us continue to seek godly wisdom over human wisdom each and every day of our life.  Let us know our enemy and his schemes so that we will not fall into his trap of wanting us to think we can be on the same level and just like God!  

Seek the Lord while you can find Him. Call on Him now while He is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that He may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for He will forgive generously. “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:6-9, NLT) 

The Author

Mark 1:21-22

Then they went into Capernaum, and right away He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach. They were astonished at His teaching because, unlike the scribes, He was teaching them as one having authority. (HCSB)

This morning as I sat down to spend time in the Word I was led to these two verses of Scripture.  As I spent time meditating and reflecting on this passage the Holy Spirit led me to a wonderful find and that was in the word "authority" is the word "author".  Jesus is the Author and Finisher, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last!  When we read the Word we are hearing the Author of the Word.  We hear the One speaking the Word into our lives!  The Word is being revealed to us by the Author of Creation!  Jesus knows everything about us and we need to allow the Author to lead our life, as well as allow the Author to have authority over our life; that is what we should strive for. Jesus loves us so much and He desires to have an intimate relationship with us - so reach out and allow the Author to write the next chapter of your life; He knows everything about you and desires what is best for you! 

Are You Ready?

“Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son —except the Father only. As the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. For in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah boarded the ark. They didn’t know until the flood came and swept them all away. So this is the way the coming of the Son of Man will be: Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one left. Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. But know this: If the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into. This is why you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." (Matthew 24:36-44)

Now I know for my friends that live in an area that snow is abundant may be wondering about this paragraph, but for those who love snow and live in a snow starved area then this paragraph will make perfect sense.  This morning I am sitting at the desk in my bedroom, beside the window, looking out from time to time to see if the snow has arrived that the weathermen are predicting.  I love snow and I love to see big snow falls.  My niece who lives near Greenville, NC is suppose to get between 6 and 12 inches of snow and yet we are not suppose to get very much here in the middle of the state.  I wish we would get 12 or more inches because I love the beauty of the snow as it lays on the ground.  Schools are letting out early; businesses, churches, and charities are canceling events.  There is a level of anticipation that gets to the point of people staring out the window waiting to see when that first flake falls.

As I sit here and think about the anticipation of the snow to arrive, I have to ask myself, do we have those same anticipation for the return of Christ.  The Bible promises that our Lord and Savior will return to call His children home.  Yet we continue to live as if that is something so far-fetched and in the future that we ignore the fact that He could return at this very minute.  The Bible warns as well as cautions us to be alert and prepared for that moment when the Lord will return!  Are we ready?  Are we prepared and anticipating this return?  Today let us prepare our lives for His return!  

Family

This past Monday I traveled with my family down to Raleigh to meet my niece's family for lunch and to spend the afternoon together.  As we arrived, there was a lot of excitement in that we had not seen each other since Christmas.  What a wonderful afternoon we had as we laughed and spent time together.

We also have another family and that is the family of God.  I often wonder if we have the same excitement when we gather together as followers of Christ to enjoy each other's company.  We are one with each other because we are made a part of the family of God by the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  The Word of God tells us that we are to love one another as Christ has loved us and people will know that we are followers of Christ by our love.  The old campsite song: We are one in the Spirit; we are one in the Lord... holds true in our walk of faith with each other.

So this week as we attend Emanuel or your own church please let the love of Christ flow through us and let us enjoy being a part of the family - the Family of God!

Being Deliberate

Today I am sitting in the Hampton Inn in Hickory, NC doing something I have desired to do for about a year, and that is to get away once a month to a secluded location to spend time in prayer and the Scripture in order to draw closer to the Lord. I am trusting God to help me accomplish this goal each month in 2014. 

Not to make this week's post a diary, but I awoke this morning and jumped right into a time of prayer and Bible Study.  I had forgotten how wonderful it is to spend those special moments pondering over Scripture in a deliberate and intentional way of seeking God's plan and direction for my life.  I began the morning with a study of the Gospel of John and immediately I was drawn to the fact that the Lord created me and knows me better than I know myself; and if I believe this fact then it would only be right and proper to seek Him for direction and leadership in my life.  How about you? Our Lord created each one of us and knows us better than we know ourselves - should we not seek Him for all the things we are dealing with in life?  

The second point that came so strong to me this morning came from the 5th verse of chapter 1 where we read in the Scriptures, "That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it" (HCSB).  As I read this verse a powerful thought came to my heart: It is through and by the light of Jesus we find our way in a world of darkness. Jesus is the light to guide our paths and if He is our Lord and Savior, He is there to guide us along the pathways of life.

Now the day has just begun, but I have learned a valuable lesson, I need to be deliberate it taking time each day to sit down in solitude and focus on the Word of God and what He is teaching me through the Holy Spirit!  So I challenge all of us - Seek the Lord daily and be deliberate about it and I promise our lives will never be the same.

We Are In Need of Prayer

We Are In Need of Prayer

This past week SCOTUS made an historic vote that I believe will affect the church in a powerful way.  Although we are told that a church or pastor will not have to ignore its religious convictions when it comes to this ruling, but I feel that it is just a matter of time before someone will "test the waters" to see if a church or minister can be held in error for not adhering to the overturning of the Defense of Marriage Act. It amazes me how the Bible is no longer the center of so many people's life and more painful to me is the people in the church who are unwilling to stand up for the Word of God over and above their own social convictions or their own political affiliations that are of the world.  Satan has dimmed so many eyes.  As I reflected on this event in history I was led to the tiny minor book of the Prophet Zephaniah.  In chapter 1 we read these words, "The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah. I will completely sweep away everything from the face of the earth — this is the LORD’s declaration. I will sweep away man and animal; I will sweep away the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, and the ruins along with the wicked. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth. This is the LORD’s declaration. I will stretch out My hand against Judah and against all the residents of Jerusalem. I will cut off every vestige of Baal from this place, the names of the pagan priests along with the priests; those who bow in worship on the rooftops to the heavenly host; those who bow and pledge loyalty to the LORD but also pledge loyalty to Milcom; and those who turn back from following the LORD, who do not seek the LORD or inquire of Him. Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD, for the Day of the LORD is near. Indeed, the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has consecrated His guests. On the day of the LORD’s sacrifice I will punish the officials, the king’s sons, and all who are dressed in foreign clothing. On that day I will punish all who skip over the threshold, who fill their master’s house with violence and deceit. On that day— this is the LORD’s declaration— there will be an outcry from the Fish Gate, a wailing from the Second District, and a loud crashing from the hills. Wail, you residents of the Hollow, for all the merchants will be silenced; all those loaded with silver will be cut off. And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish the men who settle down comfortably, who say to themselves: The LORD will not do good or evil. Their wealth will become plunder and their houses a ruin. They will build houses but never live in them, plant vineyards but never drink their wine. The great Day of the LORD is near, near and rapidly approaching. Listen, the Day of the LORD— then the warrior’s cry is bitter. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities, and against the high corner towers. I will bring distress on mankind, and they will walk like the blind because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung. Their silver and their gold will not be able to rescue them on the day of the LORD’s wrath. The whole earth will be consumed by the fire of His jealousy. For He will make a complete, yes, a horrifying end of all the inhabitants of the earth."1  The last verse of this passage came to haunt me as I read this chapter when it it says, "For He will make a complete, yes, a horrifying end of all the inhabitants of the earth." We tend to think this is completely about Judea and Jerusalem and the olden times of the Old Testament, but this is Bible Prophecy of our future.  When we turn from God there are great consequences.  However, God gave us Jesus so that we could be reconciled with Him. Listen to the beginning of chapter 2 of Zephaniah, "Gather yourselves together; gather together, undesirable nation, before the decree takes effect and the day passes like chaff, before the burning of the LORD’s anger overtakes you, before the day of the LORD’s anger overtakes you. Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth, who carry out what He commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be concealed on the day of the LORD’s anger."2 We need to turn back to the Lord and humble ourselves to Him and we will be concealed from the day of the Lord's anger.  We need to be in prayer for the Church, for the Nation, and for the world in which we live. I also feel we need to be in prayer for the people of the church to wake up to and come alive in the Word of God!

1 The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. 2009 (Zep 1:1–18). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.

2 The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. 2009 (Zep 2:1–3). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.