Though I have been reading God's Word consistently since my last post, I have been unable to post about anything. It's been a pretty busy couple of weeks. So today I'm just going to give a rundown of some of the things I have come across in my studies through Isaiah and 1 Corinthians over the past couple of weeks.
In Isaiah 26, Isaiah is prophesying about a song Israel is going to sing on the Day the LORD returns to establish His kingdom. However, there are some aspects to the song that are so applicable to today. Lets take a look:
2Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in. 3You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed in You. 4Trust in the LORD forever, For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength...12LORD, You will establish peace for us, For You have also done all our works in us. 13O LORD our God, other masters besides You Have had dominion over us; But by You only we make mention of Your...15...You are glorified; (Isaiah 26:2-3, 12-13, 15b NKJV)
How great is this, we can experience perfect peace as long as we keep our focus on the LORD. How do we keep our focus on the LORD, by trusting in Him. He will provide us with strength everlasting to help us get through this thing called life. Now, we have all had, or have, other masters in our lives. Our bosses at work, parents, alcohol, drugs, pornography, and so on, but only God gets mentioned, only God gets glorified because He establishes peace in us through the works He is doing in us. Now when it comes to the day of the Lord's return, the world will learn God's righteousness because, 9...For when Your judgments are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9b, NKJV).
In Isaiah chapter 33 I came across this nugget of goodness as well:
5The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. 6Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, And the strength of salvation; The fear of the LORD is His treasure. (Isaiah 33:5-6, NKJV)
The New Living Translation says it like this:
5Though the LORD is very great and lives in heaven, He will make Jerusalem His home of justice and righteousness. 6In that day He will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.
I don't have much to say on that, since it's pretty self explanatory. God supplies us with a solid ground to stand on, eternal salvation, wisdom and knowledge. To gain these treasures, we have to fear Him, or revere Him which is a better translation.
Ever wonder where America got the idea of a three part government? The men God used to found this country and establish this government were God fearing men. They used the Bible as a foundation for this country to stand on. It's a shame that it's different now, but no political tangents for me. Anyways, in Isaiah 33:22 it reads, "(For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our Lawgiver, The LORD is our King; He will save us". The judicial, legislative, and executive branches of our government were molded after God's character. Great stuff!
I came across a bunch of stuff in 1 Corinthians, but I am out of time for now. Just keep your focus on the LORD and He will establish peace in you. Glorify God for the works He is doing in You.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Bible Study - 8/7/12
I have been journeying through Isaiah and 1 Corinthians in my devotional time. This morning I was particularly struck by a verse while I was reading through 1 Corinthians 3:5-17. It reads:
16Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17, NKJV)
The New Living Translation reads like this:
16Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? 17God will bring ruin upon anyone who ruins this temple. For God's temple is holy, and you Christians are that temple.
Wow! God's Word is calling the Church holy. Why is it holy? Because God is in the Church by way of His Holy Spirit. How did the Holy Spirit get in the church?
8But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8, NKJV)
4And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:4, NKJV)
The Holy Spirit is in the Church because He is in each person that has accepted Jesus into their life as their Lord and Savior. It says in Romans 8:11 (NKJV), "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through the His Spirit who dwells in you". The Holy Spirit is where? In the Christian. He is dwelling in the believer. Wait a second. God's Word is calling the Christian holy. We are holy and the Church is holy because of the Spirit that is dwelling in the believer and the believers make up the body of the Church. Pretty awesome. Now that we see that. Lets get onto the main point.
14And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For 'the two,' He says, 'shall become one flesh.' 17But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. (1 Corinthians 6:14-17, NKJV)
We share the same Spirit with Christ because it is His Spirit that dwells in us. IN THIS UNITY, WE ARE IN CONSTANT FELLOWSHIP WITH THE TRIUNE GOD. It's all caps because I'm making sure it sinks into knowledge, not just yours but mine as well. Anyways, knowing this, why are we so PASSIVE about sin? When we sin, we are defiling the temple because we are inviting something bad (sin) into the fellowship of something good (God). When you're watching something pornographic, you're watching it in the fellowship of God. When you're gossiping to a friend, you're gossiping in the fellowship of God. And so on. Isn't that crazy!
How about, when you're reading God's word, you're reading in the fellowship of God. When you're singing praise and worship tunes, you're singing in the fellowship of God. I would say these are much better options. Which one should you do?
The Bible is very clear about not quenching the Spirit. That means, when you are about to sin and you feel the Spirit in you telling you not to do it, but you do it anyway, you have just quenched the Spirit. You put Him out because you didn't heed His warning. He's warning us to not sin to keep us holy and to keep our fellowship with God pure and undefiled.
I am by no means perfect. I falter on a regular basis just like you, but think about the next time you falter, or are about to falter, Who you are including in that falter.
16Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17, NKJV)
The New Living Translation reads like this:
16Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? 17God will bring ruin upon anyone who ruins this temple. For God's temple is holy, and you Christians are that temple.
Wow! God's Word is calling the Church holy. Why is it holy? Because God is in the Church by way of His Holy Spirit. How did the Holy Spirit get in the church?
8But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8, NKJV)
4And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:4, NKJV)
The Holy Spirit is in the Church because He is in each person that has accepted Jesus into their life as their Lord and Savior. It says in Romans 8:11 (NKJV), "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through the His Spirit who dwells in you". The Holy Spirit is where? In the Christian. He is dwelling in the believer. Wait a second. God's Word is calling the Christian holy. We are holy and the Church is holy because of the Spirit that is dwelling in the believer and the believers make up the body of the Church. Pretty awesome. Now that we see that. Lets get onto the main point.
14And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For 'the two,' He says, 'shall become one flesh.' 17But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. (1 Corinthians 6:14-17, NKJV)
We share the same Spirit with Christ because it is His Spirit that dwells in us. IN THIS UNITY, WE ARE IN CONSTANT FELLOWSHIP WITH THE TRIUNE GOD. It's all caps because I'm making sure it sinks into knowledge, not just yours but mine as well. Anyways, knowing this, why are we so PASSIVE about sin? When we sin, we are defiling the temple because we are inviting something bad (sin) into the fellowship of something good (God). When you're watching something pornographic, you're watching it in the fellowship of God. When you're gossiping to a friend, you're gossiping in the fellowship of God. And so on. Isn't that crazy!
How about, when you're reading God's word, you're reading in the fellowship of God. When you're singing praise and worship tunes, you're singing in the fellowship of God. I would say these are much better options. Which one should you do?
The Bible is very clear about not quenching the Spirit. That means, when you are about to sin and you feel the Spirit in you telling you not to do it, but you do it anyway, you have just quenched the Spirit. You put Him out because you didn't heed His warning. He's warning us to not sin to keep us holy and to keep our fellowship with God pure and undefiled.
I am by no means perfect. I falter on a regular basis just like you, but think about the next time you falter, or are about to falter, Who you are including in that falter.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)