Bible Study

But grow in grace. and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  To him be glory both now and for ever.  Amen.  2 Peter 3:18

Recently, a friend of mine asked me how to study the bible.  It's simple, really.  You open it and begin to read.

Making an effort to meet the Lord in His Word every day is vital for Christian growth, and there are many different ways to study the bible.

You can begin by reading the Old Testament, or maybe the New Testament.  You can read it in the order of the Books, or you can read a book from the Old Testament and then the New Testament.

You can study topics, themes or people:

-Creation

-The Law

-Kings

-The Parables

-Prophets

-Prayers

-The Gospels

-Jesus

-The Promises of God

-The Miracles of Christ

-The Attributes of God

-The Names of God

-His disciples

-The Church

-End Times

Reading and studying the bible is endless. Doing a bible study with a friend is beneficial.  Whether you meet in person, or do an email bible study.

Having a quiet time with the Lord will strengthen and renew your Spirit every single day.

The Psalms, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, are three of my favorite books.  I consider these three books my 'comfort and conduct' books.  I will read all of Psalms, move on to read all of Proverbs, and then all of Ecclesiastes, and then begin them all over again.  I learn something new every single time.

Pray and ask the Lord where He wants you to read, or what it is He wants you to study.  He will always answer.  Ask Him to speak to your heart and show you something that you can apply to your daily life.

When you begin to read a selected passage, ask yourself, is there-

    1-A promise to claim?

    2- A prayer to echo?

    3-A command to obey?

    4-An example to follow?

    5-A warning to heed?

    6-A sin to avoid?

    7-A truth to believe?

    8-An ideal to attain?

Even if you were to close your eyes and open your Bible to a random passage of Scripture, it's ok.  The most important thing to do is simply read God's Word. 

It's His love letter to you.  He will lead and guide you in the way that you should go.

Psalm 119:105 says, 'Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.'

Remember, there is no right way or wrong way to read God's Word-Just read it!

    But that's just me!

"The word of God is always most precious to the man who lives upon it."  Charles Spurgeon

Grieve

And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.  

Ephesians 4:30

I read this verse during my daily devotion the other day and it really gave me something to think about.

According to Webster's Dictionary, grieve means:

    to cause to suffer

    to distress

    hurt, sorrow and agonize.

1 Corinthians 3:16 reminds me that the Holy Spirit of God lives inside of me, and because He dwells in me, I can hurt him by the things I do and the things I don't do.  

Everything I view, He views.  Every place I go, He goes.  So, I had to ask myself some hard questions:

    What do I put in front of HIS eyes?

    What do I make HIM listen to?

    Where are the places, I make HIM go?

    What words do I force HIM to speak?

And on the flip side:

    Do I neglect to help a brother or sister in need?

    Do I forget to thank my Lord for all that He has done for me?

    Did He want me to invite my friend to church, only to remain silent?

I need to be more aware that wherever I go, and whatever I do,

and wherever I don't go (like to visit my neighbor) and whatever I don't do, I can hurt my Saviour.  I can grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

And when I do that, I limit His work in me.

Yes, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.  Psalm 78:41

Lord, always remind me that you are constantly with me.  Help me not to grieve you by the things I place in front of my eyes, or by the things I listen to.  Help me not to grieve you by the places I go, or by neglecting those in need.

    That is my prayer today-

        But that's just me!

Place

Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Neither give place to the devil.  Ephesians 4:26,27

My husband and I were not saved when we first got married.  In fact, we were married for fourteen years before we got saved, and months apart from one another.  During that time, there were a lot of sunsets.

We spent many nights in anger, cold shoulders and silence.  Neither one of us wanting to yield our prideful way.  Before we knew it, this ignorance of practice, grew into a hard habit to break after salvation.  When disagreements, opinions, and misunderstandings get swept under a rug for years and years, one day you come to find out that these unresolved issues like to rear their ugly heads in the here and now.

The result:

Satan found his niche.

I looked up the word 'place' and realized that there are many definitions.  Here are a few:

    A physical environment, space

    A way for admission or transit

    Physical surrounding, 'atmosphere'

    A locality for a special purpose

    A particular spot for occupancy

    A relative position

    A distinct condition, position or state of mind

    An available seat, and empty or vacated position

And the list goes on!

When offences remain in our hearts as the sun goes down, Satan has now taken up residence.

When I allow Satan a foothold in my life, I have taken Christ off the throne and put the devil there instead.  I have given him a place and a space to occupy in my life, to affect my life in a negative way, instead of the way the Lord has planned for me.  Self takes over and it can begin with a simple thought to resist reconciliation.

We need to be vigil!  Always ready, always armed with the armor of God! 

(Ephesians 6:10-18, 1 Peter 5:8) The devil works in subtle ways that aren't always recognized if we are not diligently watching!

The devil has destroyed many homes and relationships because he was allowed access to positions he was never meant to be.  The longer we allow him to stay there, the more power he has in our lives, and we become desensitized.

So how do we NOT give place to the devil?

Sometimes it will take talking until the sun rises-

    It will be worth it!

        But that's just me!

"A clear conscience is a soft pillow."  Amish Proverb

Lies

"And then she understood the devilish, cunning of the enemies' plan.  By mixing a little truth with it they had made their lie far stronger."  C.S. Lewis

It all began in the garden.

Lies.

"Think about how much falsehood and deceit there is in the world!  How much exaggeration!  How many untruths are added to a simple story!  How many things are left out, if it does not serve the speaker's interest to tell them!  How few there are around us or whom we can say that we trust their word without question?"  JC Ryle

Ephesians 4:25 says, Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

"A lie consists on speaking a falsehood with the intention of deceiving."  Augustine

Sometimes a lie is just that:  a falsehood spoken to make another person look bad just make oneself look good.  Other times a lie can be an exaggeration to make a story funny in it's telling.

Sometimes a lie can be by omitting 'part' of the whole story.

Lies are told to ruin another person's character.  They are told in anger, envy, jealousy and bitterness.  Some are told in hatred.

And sometimes, lies are told to make ourselves look good in the eyes of others.

You would think that lies are only told by the lost.

Unfortunately that is also a lie. 

Ephesians 4 was written to Christians. 

Lies destroy.  Lies lead people astray.  

Lies don't just affect the one person the lie is told too.  It affects the whole body of Christ.  (1 Cor. 12:12-27) Why?  Because we are all members, joined one to another.

Lies cause discord and our unity is broken.

Lying also affects the liar.

Lies hurt all those involved, the teller and the hearer.

It separates best friends.  (Proverbs 16:28)

I not only want to be able to trust those around me, but I want those around me to know that they can trust me-

    But that's just me!

"There is no such thing as white lies; a lie is as black as a coal pit and twice as foul."  

Henry Ward Beecher

Invisible

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.  Ephesians 4:32

Henry Drummond once said, "Have you ever noticed how much of Christ's life was spent in doing kind things?"

And if so, shouldn't we be more like Christ and extend kindness to those around us?  Regardless of who they are and regardless of if they will return the kindness extended to them?

I was in a store this morning doing errands and went to stand in line to wait at the Self-Check-Out, when I realized I stood behind a 'friend' from a former church.  I greeted her by name, and she turned her head with a smile on her face, but once she recognized who I was, she turned away from me and said nothing. 

I became invisible.

My heart broke.  I just stood there, shunned.

But then God reminded me that His friends turned away from Him too.

I left the store asking God to help me get over this hurt, while I prayed for the person who just ignored me.

Mark Twain said, 'Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.'

I want my forgiveness to smell sweet for my Saviour.  He forgave me too, and the next time I see this person, I will still greet her with a smile.

    But that's just me!

"People are often unreasonable, irrational and self-centered-

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives-

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies-

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you-

Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy over-night-

Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous-

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today will often be forgotten.

Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough-

Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway."

        Mother Teresa