Above image courtesy of the volunteer photographers for Pixabay.
~ ~ ~ SCRIPTURE REFERENCE - 1 JOHN 5:5; ROMANS 10:9; 2 CORINTHIANS 5:7 ~ ~ ~ There are two references I'd like to bring your attention to. One is biblical and the other secular, but has biblical principles. Scenario 1: Jesus has been led into the wilderness by the Spirit. The devil takes this opportunity and runs with it; he tries to tempt Jesus into testing God. Fortunately Jesus knew enough Scripture to defend Himself against the devil's schemes. He was able to drive him away by standing firm on what He believed in. Scenario 2: While a lot of Christians tend to steer away from shows like Good Omens, I found myself fascinated only to find a little nugget of wisdom hidden in the script. Adam and his friends are caught in a predicament. They are about to come face to face with the devil and it seems as though all hell is literally about to break loose. The children, however, had a biblical mindset that we all need to learn from. Before the devil made his entrance, Adam's friends confronted the horsemen. They stood firm, like Jesus, in what they believed in. One in particular said, "I believe in a clean world." And the others seems to follow suit. Then what happened? The horsemen, also referred to as the more powerful demons, were destroyed by the word of what the children believed in. Shortly after, the devil comes crashing out of the ground and stands face to face with Adam. While everyone else was trembling with fear, Adam had a different plan in mind. He made eye contact with the devil and said, "You are not my father". Which leads us to the point of today's post. As children of God, we are to know what we believe and stand firm on it. With the right Scripture, we will be able to ruin any plans that hell itself would have for us. The devil doesn't rule us; our Heavenly Father does. With that being said, what are the practical things we can do to stand firm? - Read your Bible. We can't know what we believe if we aren't in the Word; never take a man's word for it. - Pray for understanding. If something doesn't make sense, the Holy Spirit is your best teacher. - Get under good Bible-believing teachers and preachers. With your Bible in hand, pay close attention to what they have to say. - Use Scripture to thwart the devil. What do you believe? Is there Scripture to back it up?
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Above image courtesy of the volunteer photographers for Pixabay.
~ ~ ~ SCRIPTURE REFERENCE - 1 CHRONICLES 28:10 ~ ~ ~ Often I find that the Lord wants to give us an extra boost. He doesn't necessarily always want to give us a five-point outline in our Bible study notes, but perhaps He just wants to encourage us. In today's passage, King David has summoned his son Solomon. He has just finished giving Solomon, and the people of Israel, a lecture on having a willing heart (we saw that in last week's post). Now, he is confident that Solomon is ready for God's work and gives him the instructions needed to complete the job. In verse 10, to paraphrase, David says, "You better pay attention. Listen to God because He chose you to do this." Then he says something powerful; "be strong, and do it." Wow. Sometimes all we need is for God to say "be strong". The Bible often says to "be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." Notice where our strength comes from. It's not within ourselves. If it did, we'd be drained right from the get-go. We rely on God's strength through prayer and feeding on His Word daily. He then says, "...and do it." This tells me that doing God's work is not an option or a suggestion if we are to 1) have a willing heart and 2) have total commitment. One of the biggest problems in our relationships with people (not just romantically) is a lack of commitment; it's no different with God. We're either in or out. So what are we to glean from this? The statement "Do It" stood out to me. We can't sit around and wait for the next best person to take our place. If God told us to do something, there's a reason. If He had not have planned for you to do it, then He would not have asked you. He doesn't want us moping and complaining; like it was said last week, He wants us to get down and dirty for the Kingdom. What's something that the Lord is calling you to do? Are you running away from it? Above image courtesy of the photographers for Pixabay.
~ ~ ~ Just a quick announcement before we get into the Bible! I know just a few weeks ago I posted a brand new schedule, but after a lot of thinking, I have decided to narrow my posting down to Sundays at 2pm. It will be devotionals and Christian growth/lifestyle. I found that posting the other things was far too overwhelming. If I should feel the inkling to post something during the week, I will let you know via social media. Make sure you are following me there to keep up with what's going on. A link to my Facebook should be in the About section. ~ ~ ~ SCRIPTURE REFERENCE - 1 Chronicles 28:9; 1 Chronicles 29 ~ ~ ~ One of the biggest and most effective tips in Bible study is to look for key words and themes in the passage that you are reading. In today's reading, you don't have to look very hard to see what God is trying to get across to us. As I was reading through these passages, I kept hearing the Holy Spirit asking me, "Are you willing?" See, the thing with today's Christians, they make it look like a pretty picture of a rainbow. They make Christianity look fun with all the jazzy lights and Bible study with friends at the local cafe`. While all that is fine and dandy, God wants more. The "jazzy light" Christian won't tell you life is going to get tough. They're not going to tell you that God requires much more than a weekly study in the book of Psalms. He wants us to get our hands and feet dirty. In the context of the above passage, the Lord is in the middle of instructing Israel how to build and maintain the house of God, including the holy objects such as the shewbread and candlesticks. We have to remember they didn't have forklifts and all the fancy machinery we have today. They had hammers and nails, and they had to borrow material from neighboring countries. The house of God didn't go up quick either; it took years before it was perfected. That is why in one of the verses, God required "skillful" and "willing" men. Building and maintaining a holy atmosphere was no walk in the park. He needed people who were willing to sacrifice their time and talents. He needed people who were willing to do what needed to be done. Now, take a look at the local church today. Let's see if the following scenario sounds familiar: "MarySue would you be willing to take over the nursery while JimBob goes on vacation this week? "I'm not good with babies. Let Susie do it." OR "We need members to come help clean the church for Easter. Any and all volunteers are welcome." Aaaaaand maybe two or three people show up. There's no willingness. There's no want. People used to take care of the things of God because it was meaningful and they loved the Lord. These days, we may be lucky to get four or five in the choir. Everybody in today's passage had a job, and they were willing to do it. Use them as an example and be willing to do what God has called you to do. |
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