Since my last blog post, I am continuing my study through Isaiah and have ventured into 2 Corinthians. I will share some of the verses that affected me spiritually and really caused me to stop and think during my study through Isaiah. It says in Isaiah 34:18, "Search from the book of the LORD, and read: Not one of these shall fail; Not one shall lack her mate. For my mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them." If you're not searching God's Word, you should. It will not fail you and it will not lack in fulfilling, but rather fulfill over and above.
In Isaiah 35, God gives Isaiah a glimpse into the coming Kingdom. The 1000 year reign of Christ. I love how in verses 8-10 the Highway of Holiness is described. Nothing "unclean shall pass over it", "whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray", "But the redeemed shall walk there", "and the ransomed of the LORD shall return".
In Isaiah 37:16 I believe we are given a great example of how to start a prayer to God. Jesus gives us an outline of how to pray in Matthew chapter 6, and in that outline the beginning is praise to God. Matthew 6:9, "...Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name." Isaiah 37:16, is the start of a prayer from King Hezekiah to God. It says, "O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth."
Isaiah 40:6-8 - "6The voice said, 'Cry out!' And he said, 'What shall I cry?' All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. 7The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. 8The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever." People wither and fade away. Our eternity rests in the promises made in God's Word. The promise that if we have Jesus as our Savior then we will spend eternity with God. We can rest in that, and have peace in that. People don't stand the test of time, but God's Word does, it stands forever.
The latest thing to get me thinking and being truly thankful for is in chapter 43:1 and chapter 44:23. The two, in my opinion, go hand in hand. Let me give a little background story first. In Genesis 25:26, Jacob is born and he is named Jacob because he came out of the womb holding onto his brother's heel. For those that don't know, Jacob means supplanter or deceitful, and deceitful his was throughout his life. If you don't know the story I suggest you read it. Anyways, in Genesis 32 after Jacob wrestles with God, God renames him Israel which literally means Prince with God. Okay, now we can proceed. Isaiah 43:1, "But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel; 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have call you by your name; You are Mine." Isaiah 44:23, "...For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, And glorified Himself in Israel." God creates life in our birth. Then we are born, but we are not born pure we are born sinners. Look at the story of Jacob if you don't believe we are sinners when we are born. He came out of the womb grabbing onto his brother's heel as if to say "I want to come out first". Pride in the heart of a newborn already. However, God does not stop at the creation process. He takes that life he created and forms it when we allow Him to do His perfect work in us which is triggered by our true and whole hearted acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Read these verses from Romans.
Romans 8:1, and 12-17 - "1There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 12Therefore, brethren, we are debtors-not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For as many as are led by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father'. 16The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together."
WOW! There is so much goodness in Romans 8. I encourage you to read it. In any event, I shared these verses because when we have Jesus as our Lord and Savior and living according to the Spirit, we are considered co-heirs with Christ. We are Princes with God. We go from being created sinners (Jacob) to being formed into Princes with God (Israel). How awesome is that!? I am so thankful for that! Words can't even express the joy! Why does God do it? If you look at Isaiah 44:23 again, our redemption is for His glory. Simple as that.
Thank you for reading. I know these a multitude of things going on here, but it just goes to show the dynamics of God's Word.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Monday, September 3, 2012
Bible Study - 9/4/12
On my last blog I gave a rundown of some of the things I have come across while studying through Isaiah. Today I'm going to give a rundown of the things I've come across while reading through 1 Corinthians. Being that the last time I posted about something was in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and I am now in 1 Corinthians chapter 16, I will try to be as brief as possible.
One of the things I love about 1 Corinthians is that it is very matter of fact. There really isn't any need for interpretation. The letter explains itself pretty well. Following are just some of the verses that caught my eye through my study in this book over the last couple of weeks. This is not an all inclusive list either. I've studied this book many times. These are just the things that popped out this time around.
1 Corinthians 4:6, "...not to think beyond what is written..." - I love this verse for the very reason I just mentioned. This letter doesn't really need a whole lot of interpretation. There is no reason to think beyond what is written because the letter says what it means and means what it says. The main thing I take away from this verse and the surrounding ones is that there really isn't any reason to take scripture to far beyond what it says. If it's not clear or evident, than take it to prayer and seek the Holy Spirit for understanding, "Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law", Psalm 119:18 (NKJV).
1 Corinthians 4:15, "For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel." This verse stuck out to me because of the calling I feel God has placed on me. When a pastor is over a church, the relationship with the body is more than teaching them, it is likened to a father and his children.
1 Corinthians 5:1-5 - I challenge you, to go read these verses. This is a sort of church discipline, in my opinion, that is being neglected. That's all I will say about that.
1 Corinthians 5:11, "But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner - not even to eat with such a person." Wow. When you read this verse in its context it pretty much says that our mission is to spread the gospel to fornicators, those that covet, idolators, revilers, drunkards, and extortioners. To do that we have to go out to where they are. However, if we have a brother or sister in Christ who is practicing these things then we need to stay far away from them. The question is here is why? Well it could possibly be because that brother or sister that is practicing those things are being bad witnesses. How can you bring a non-believer to Christ who is practicing those things if they see "Christians" practicing those same things?
1 Corinthians 6:12, "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." This is an interesting verse for many reasons. When you read it with the surrounding verses it still begs the question, huh? I look at it at the way it is written. To explain this, lets look at smoking. Smoking is lawful, but not helpful. It's obviously bad for the body. Research shows that. Smoking is lawful, but it can become sin if you are brought under the power of it. When it becomes an addiction, a have to have, is when it goes from being lawful to sin. At least that's the way I read this verse.
1 Corinthians 7:19, "...keeping the commandments of God is what matters." Plain and simple. No need for explanation.
1 Corinthians 8:1-3, "1...Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. 2And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. 3But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him." Love builds the body of Christ. Through love we are able to serve one another and meet needs that need to be met. Edifying the body. Knowledge says it, but love does it.
1 Corinthians 8:9-12 - Read these verses. How we handle ourselves around others has a huge impact whether they are believers or not. However, when you sin against our brothers and sisters in Christ and wound their weak conscience you sin against Christ, as it says in verse 12.
1 Corinthians 9:14, "Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel." 1 Corinthians 9:16, "For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!" We have to preach the gospel. To preach the gospel we have to live the gospel. I'm not saying we have to go evangelizing the world, because not everyone has that gift. However, if we are living the gospel then our lives are preaching the gospel. We are being witnesses of Christ as Christ Himself told us to be.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4, "3For I delivered to you, first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures". If you were looking for two verses that laid out the Gospel message simply, here they are.
1 Corinthians 15:25-26, "25For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26The last enemy that will be destroyed is death." These verses got me thinking about the millennial reign of Christ. It says in Revelation that we will reign with Christ 1000 years, then the beast will be released and then cast out to fire for all eternity, which then starts our eternity with Christ. So, while we are reigning with Christ for those 1000 years, will there still be enemy forces on this earth contending with God? When I read these two verses all I can say is, I think so.
1 Corinthians 15:57, "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." We have victory over death because Jesus Christ is our Lord. How awesome is that?
One of the things I love about 1 Corinthians is that it is very matter of fact. There really isn't any need for interpretation. The letter explains itself pretty well. Following are just some of the verses that caught my eye through my study in this book over the last couple of weeks. This is not an all inclusive list either. I've studied this book many times. These are just the things that popped out this time around.
1 Corinthians 4:6, "...not to think beyond what is written..." - I love this verse for the very reason I just mentioned. This letter doesn't really need a whole lot of interpretation. There is no reason to think beyond what is written because the letter says what it means and means what it says. The main thing I take away from this verse and the surrounding ones is that there really isn't any reason to take scripture to far beyond what it says. If it's not clear or evident, than take it to prayer and seek the Holy Spirit for understanding, "Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law", Psalm 119:18 (NKJV).
1 Corinthians 4:15, "For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel." This verse stuck out to me because of the calling I feel God has placed on me. When a pastor is over a church, the relationship with the body is more than teaching them, it is likened to a father and his children.
1 Corinthians 5:1-5 - I challenge you, to go read these verses. This is a sort of church discipline, in my opinion, that is being neglected. That's all I will say about that.
1 Corinthians 5:11, "But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner - not even to eat with such a person." Wow. When you read this verse in its context it pretty much says that our mission is to spread the gospel to fornicators, those that covet, idolators, revilers, drunkards, and extortioners. To do that we have to go out to where they are. However, if we have a brother or sister in Christ who is practicing these things then we need to stay far away from them. The question is here is why? Well it could possibly be because that brother or sister that is practicing those things are being bad witnesses. How can you bring a non-believer to Christ who is practicing those things if they see "Christians" practicing those same things?
1 Corinthians 6:12, "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." This is an interesting verse for many reasons. When you read it with the surrounding verses it still begs the question, huh? I look at it at the way it is written. To explain this, lets look at smoking. Smoking is lawful, but not helpful. It's obviously bad for the body. Research shows that. Smoking is lawful, but it can become sin if you are brought under the power of it. When it becomes an addiction, a have to have, is when it goes from being lawful to sin. At least that's the way I read this verse.
1 Corinthians 7:19, "...keeping the commandments of God is what matters." Plain and simple. No need for explanation.
1 Corinthians 8:1-3, "1...Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. 2And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. 3But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him." Love builds the body of Christ. Through love we are able to serve one another and meet needs that need to be met. Edifying the body. Knowledge says it, but love does it.
1 Corinthians 8:9-12 - Read these verses. How we handle ourselves around others has a huge impact whether they are believers or not. However, when you sin against our brothers and sisters in Christ and wound their weak conscience you sin against Christ, as it says in verse 12.
1 Corinthians 9:14, "Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel." 1 Corinthians 9:16, "For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!" We have to preach the gospel. To preach the gospel we have to live the gospel. I'm not saying we have to go evangelizing the world, because not everyone has that gift. However, if we are living the gospel then our lives are preaching the gospel. We are being witnesses of Christ as Christ Himself told us to be.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4, "3For I delivered to you, first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures". If you were looking for two verses that laid out the Gospel message simply, here they are.
1 Corinthians 15:25-26, "25For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26The last enemy that will be destroyed is death." These verses got me thinking about the millennial reign of Christ. It says in Revelation that we will reign with Christ 1000 years, then the beast will be released and then cast out to fire for all eternity, which then starts our eternity with Christ. So, while we are reigning with Christ for those 1000 years, will there still be enemy forces on this earth contending with God? When I read these two verses all I can say is, I think so.
1 Corinthians 15:57, "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." We have victory over death because Jesus Christ is our Lord. How awesome is that?
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