We live in a world were things happen, unexpectedly. Driving from point A to be B has risks, being at the wrong place at the wrong time and suddenly disaster strikes . The news constantly broadcast the harmful events that occur during our day. Millions of dollars are devoted to making us safe...... Can we prepare ourselves to be ready for any and every situation that may come our way.... Our Lord summed up life this way..
Matt 6:34
So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.
It took me awhile to get my mind around this verse. Jesus is telling us that trouble is a part of life and as long as we are here in this sin filled planet earth trouble remains. When I became saved back on July 21, 1984 I was sooo high in the Spirit.. I thought all my troubles were OVER..
I was just a little baby in Christ very naive ... Now I can write an entire book on all the trouble that has since come my way. ...
I tell you what, whenever I see trouble or encounter difficulty I call on the name of Jesus!!!
Guess what, IT WORKS!!!!!
Prov 18:10
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.
As Christians we can live above the trouble , we can walk on troubled waters. The Lord has given us the feet of an hind so that we always land on our feet.
2 Sam 22:34
"He makes my feet like hinds' feet, And sets me on my high places.
Nothing happens to us without the LORD's knowledge. And while we may be surprised when something happens He never is.... He saw it coming from the very beginning.. And , He had to approve it first... And why would GOD allow any unfortunate event to come into our space.
Let's wee what the Holy Bible says about this :
2 Cor 1:5
For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ
What????? Perhaps you were thinking the suffering of Christ was OVER!!!!! Let me inform you
It is NOT... and guess what if you want a share in the Glory of Jesus, you must be a partaker of the suffering of Jesus..
Rom 8:16
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
Rom 8:17
and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him
Our protection therefore is not necessarily in ............not ...........being exposed to difficulty. It is in our dependence that the LORD will see us through the trouble. He is with us in the midst of our trouble as the OVERCOMING FORCE!!!! by HIM and through HIM we endure..
John 16:33
I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]
WOW!!!!!!!! Praise the name of JESUS.....!!!! Our outcome has been sealed... !!! trouble batters us on every side ... wham .. one hit and then another.. Yet we are still standing unharmed!!!
Another remarkable thing occurs when we are under attack. Well actually there are several remarkable things... Here are a few examples.
We become strong in Jesus
2 Cor 12:10
Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
We trust in Jesus
2 Cor 1:8
For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life;
2 Cor 1:9
indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;
We impact the lives of others who now experience the presence of GOD through our suffering
2 Cor 4:10
always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
2 Cor 4:11
For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
2 Cor 4:12
So death works in us, but life in you.
Do you realize that the LORD uses trouble, misfortunes and our life trials to spring forth HIS Spirit!!!!! , We are the alabaster box , with the aroma of Jesus contained inside.. Unless it is broken open ...........who can benefit from it's fragrance.
Song 1:3
"Your oils have a pleasing fragrance, Your name is like purified oil; Therefore the maidens love you
So when trouble comes our way we look to Jesus and say LORD , when I am weak then I am truly strong .. We are living an overcoming life beyond the mere creature comforts pursued by the World.....
Rom 8:18
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
.Let your Glory be Revealed.... I rely on You, I trust in You, and I cling to YOU..
John 3:16
For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Our Prayer Life
Draft Version incomplete..
Ever hear anyone say and perhaps even you have said this , Well all we can do now is pray.
Saying , all we can do is pray, sounds very much like an act of last resort. It sounds like something we do when we have become desperate because we have exhausted all other means to resolve a problem.
Is that what prayer is to us , something we do when we are desperate, and prayer becomes our last ditch effort to get help. Perhaps if we had prayer as a regular part of your daily living the moment of desperation would not have occurred.
Let us describe prayer, it is talking to GOD, communicating with GOD,fellowship with Him and making our needs known to our LORD.
There are many types of prayer , I am not going to attemp to explain them all so lets focus now on the prayer of petition.
Phil 4:6
Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.
What stands out to me in this verse is that we are instructed to make definite request. We are not to pray in generalities. Here is an example; A young married couple a looking to buy their first home their family is growing with two children they need more space and they want to make a wise investment for their family's future. This couple humbly comes to GOD for guidance. Their prayer should not be Lord we want a house. The prayer should be Lord we want a 3 Bdrm house with 2 baths , brick with a deck on a quater acre lot. This is what we mean by definite request.
Our prayers reach the very Throne room of GOD. We are encourage through the Holy Bible to come BOLDLY to GOD's Throne of Grace.
Heb 4:16
Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].
Did you notice the Lord responds just when we need it and sometimes not a second sooner.
One thing I have found in Today's church is a teaching that says when you pray leave it at the alter and have faith that He has heard your prayer. It leaves the impression if you do not leave it there on the alter you are not fully exercising your faith.
Let me give you a Biblical based attitude for praying to our gracious and merciful Father and our LORD Jesus Christ..
Matt 7:7
Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you.
Notice GOD is saying be persistent in prayer.
Luke 18:1
ALSO [Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to turn coward (faint, lose heart, and give up).
I have heard this type of persistent praying called praying through... So how long is long enough when you pray??? Look for this result and not neccesarily to the answer we might expect.
Phil 4:7
And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Yes we have to read this verse together with Phil 4:6
God assures us that He is in control and therfore gives you comfort as He lays out His will in answer to our prayers.
Look at the following verses to understand how our prayers are transitioned into what GOD's will purpose and plan for us. Nothing is answered unless it is in accordance to HIS will.
Rom 8:26
So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.
Rom 8:27
And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God's will
The Holy Spirit takes our prayers and changes them to be in harmony and in accordance with His will. We may pray one way but when it reaches the ears of GOD if neccesary they have been changed , modified to fit His plan and will for our lives.
Ever hear anyone say and perhaps even you have said this , Well all we can do now is pray.
Saying , all we can do is pray, sounds very much like an act of last resort. It sounds like something we do when we have become desperate because we have exhausted all other means to resolve a problem.
Is that what prayer is to us , something we do when we are desperate, and prayer becomes our last ditch effort to get help. Perhaps if we had prayer as a regular part of your daily living the moment of desperation would not have occurred.
Let us describe prayer, it is talking to GOD, communicating with GOD,fellowship with Him and making our needs known to our LORD.
There are many types of prayer , I am not going to attemp to explain them all so lets focus now on the prayer of petition.
Phil 4:6
Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.
What stands out to me in this verse is that we are instructed to make definite request. We are not to pray in generalities. Here is an example; A young married couple a looking to buy their first home their family is growing with two children they need more space and they want to make a wise investment for their family's future. This couple humbly comes to GOD for guidance. Their prayer should not be Lord we want a house. The prayer should be Lord we want a 3 Bdrm house with 2 baths , brick with a deck on a quater acre lot. This is what we mean by definite request.
Our prayers reach the very Throne room of GOD. We are encourage through the Holy Bible to come BOLDLY to GOD's Throne of Grace.
Heb 4:16
Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].
Did you notice the Lord responds just when we need it and sometimes not a second sooner.
One thing I have found in Today's church is a teaching that says when you pray leave it at the alter and have faith that He has heard your prayer. It leaves the impression if you do not leave it there on the alter you are not fully exercising your faith.
Let me give you a Biblical based attitude for praying to our gracious and merciful Father and our LORD Jesus Christ..
Matt 7:7
Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you.
Notice GOD is saying be persistent in prayer.
Luke 18:1
ALSO [Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to turn coward (faint, lose heart, and give up).
I have heard this type of persistent praying called praying through... So how long is long enough when you pray??? Look for this result and not neccesarily to the answer we might expect.
Phil 4:7
And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Yes we have to read this verse together with Phil 4:6
God assures us that He is in control and therfore gives you comfort as He lays out His will in answer to our prayers.
Look at the following verses to understand how our prayers are transitioned into what GOD's will purpose and plan for us. Nothing is answered unless it is in accordance to HIS will.
Rom 8:26
So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.
Rom 8:27
And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God's will
The Holy Spirit takes our prayers and changes them to be in harmony and in accordance with His will. We may pray one way but when it reaches the ears of GOD if neccesary they have been changed , modified to fit His plan and will for our lives.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
How does a Christian Succeed
For video version click link below:
To answer that question here is a not so subtle hint:
Prov 16:3
Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.
The remarkable thing about this verse ----- Our thoughts can be agreeable to His will. According to the inerrant Holy Bible if we commit and trust our works to Him our thoughts can actually be GOD's will.
This is a very strange concept for the secular world and even among many religious circles.
Yet here it is plain as day in the Word of God.
Let us compare this to a New Testament verse to bring home it's relevancy;
Cor 2:16
For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart
I am not here to provide a defense for the Word of GOD, it says what it says. Once the revelation is had, the gates of hell can not prevail against it.
Now that we have come the conclusion that our thoughts can become agreeable to His will we also learn that His will is central to our success.
But what are we succeeding in, what defines our success, is it a career that carries high esteem in society? Is it the accumulation of wealth, is that what we are after?
Before I knew Jesus I always thought career accomplishments and wealth told the world that I am somebody.
Here is an interesting concept of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Mark 10:21
And Jesus, looking upon him, loved him, and He said to him, You lack one thing; go and sell all you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come [and] accompany Me [walking the same road that I walk].
Clearly this way of thinking is not in line with how we view success... giving away all we have?????
Now why would the Lord want any of us to do that. If we are too tied to material possessions does it skew our thinking and distract us from seeing the success that is found only in GOD's Word, God's will and in GOD's ways. Perhaps the next verse can explain things a little further.
Luke 8:14
And as for what fell among the thorns, these are [the people] who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked and suffocated with the anxieties and cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not ripen (come to maturity and perfection).
This passage of course is found in the parable of the sower, and the seed is the Word of GOD.
If we can not let go of material temporal things or neither can we free ourselves of the daily anxieties that accompany the pursuit of material things then the Word planted in us becomes unfruitful . It seems to me that GOD's desire for us is beyond the obtaining of mere material possessions. We have a higher calling, our call is to bear fruit in the kingdom of GOD .
Matt 6:19
Do not gather and heap up and store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust and worm consume and destroy, and where thieves break through and steal.
Matt 6:20
But gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust nor worm consume and destroy, and where thieves do not break through and steal;
The first thing that comes to mind here is Wow.. we are going to be missing out on all the creature comforts of life... shall we lives as monks?????? Maybe we should if it will assure us a place in the kingdom of GOD.. it would be worth it... But let us look at this next three verses:
Luke 18:28
And Peter said, See, we have left our own [things--home, family, and business] and have followed You.
Luke 18:29
And He said to them, I say to you truly, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God
Luke 18:30
Who will not receive in return many times more in this world and, in the coming age, eternal life.
It must be understood, living for Jesus does NOT mean living a destitute life. Jesus says that if He clothes the grass of the field how much more will He cloth YOU. What God is saying is get your mind off of living day to day trying to maintain a certain standard of living . Instead roll your works upon Him trust in Him, seek first the Kingdom of GOD and all these things will be added unto you as well.....
Matt 6:31
Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?
Matt 6:32
For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.
Matt 6:33
But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides
GOD is our provider Jehovah Jireh is our provider and because of this David through the [rompting of the Spirit of GOD wrote:
Ps 37:25
I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging bread.
Since we can be certain that the Lord will meet our earthly needs we can go about the business of being sucessful in HIM.
At the end of our road in this very minute period of time lets us be able to say:
2 Tim 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;
2 Tim 4:8
in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Now lets us finish our course so that like Paul we can receive a crown of righteousness!!!!
To answer that question here is a not so subtle hint:
Prov 16:3
Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.
The remarkable thing about this verse ----- Our thoughts can be agreeable to His will. According to the inerrant Holy Bible if we commit and trust our works to Him our thoughts can actually be GOD's will.
This is a very strange concept for the secular world and even among many religious circles.
Yet here it is plain as day in the Word of God.
Let us compare this to a New Testament verse to bring home it's relevancy;
Cor 2:16
For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart
I am not here to provide a defense for the Word of GOD, it says what it says. Once the revelation is had, the gates of hell can not prevail against it.
Now that we have come the conclusion that our thoughts can become agreeable to His will we also learn that His will is central to our success.
But what are we succeeding in, what defines our success, is it a career that carries high esteem in society? Is it the accumulation of wealth, is that what we are after?
Before I knew Jesus I always thought career accomplishments and wealth told the world that I am somebody.
Here is an interesting concept of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Mark 10:21
And Jesus, looking upon him, loved him, and He said to him, You lack one thing; go and sell all you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come [and] accompany Me [walking the same road that I walk].
Clearly this way of thinking is not in line with how we view success... giving away all we have?????
Now why would the Lord want any of us to do that. If we are too tied to material possessions does it skew our thinking and distract us from seeing the success that is found only in GOD's Word, God's will and in GOD's ways. Perhaps the next verse can explain things a little further.
Luke 8:14
And as for what fell among the thorns, these are [the people] who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked and suffocated with the anxieties and cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not ripen (come to maturity and perfection).
This passage of course is found in the parable of the sower, and the seed is the Word of GOD.
If we can not let go of material temporal things or neither can we free ourselves of the daily anxieties that accompany the pursuit of material things then the Word planted in us becomes unfruitful . It seems to me that GOD's desire for us is beyond the obtaining of mere material possessions. We have a higher calling, our call is to bear fruit in the kingdom of GOD .
Matt 6:19
Do not gather and heap up and store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust and worm consume and destroy, and where thieves break through and steal.
Matt 6:20
But gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust nor worm consume and destroy, and where thieves do not break through and steal;
The first thing that comes to mind here is Wow.. we are going to be missing out on all the creature comforts of life... shall we lives as monks?????? Maybe we should if it will assure us a place in the kingdom of GOD.. it would be worth it... But let us look at this next three verses:
Luke 18:28
And Peter said, See, we have left our own [things--home, family, and business] and have followed You.
Luke 18:29
And He said to them, I say to you truly, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God
Luke 18:30
Who will not receive in return many times more in this world and, in the coming age, eternal life.
It must be understood, living for Jesus does NOT mean living a destitute life. Jesus says that if He clothes the grass of the field how much more will He cloth YOU. What God is saying is get your mind off of living day to day trying to maintain a certain standard of living . Instead roll your works upon Him trust in Him, seek first the Kingdom of GOD and all these things will be added unto you as well.....
Matt 6:31
Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?
Matt 6:32
For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.
Matt 6:33
But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides
GOD is our provider Jehovah Jireh is our provider and because of this David through the [rompting of the Spirit of GOD wrote:
Ps 37:25
I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging bread.
Since we can be certain that the Lord will meet our earthly needs we can go about the business of being sucessful in HIM.
At the end of our road in this very minute period of time lets us be able to say:
2 Tim 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;
2 Tim 4:8
in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Now lets us finish our course so that like Paul we can receive a crown of righteousness!!!!
Friday, February 13, 2009
How to understand the Holy Bible of our LORD Jesus Christ
The Bible is written by GOD and men are the instrument or pen in which GOD uses to document HIS Holy Word in the earth. Before we proceed this must first be understood beyond even the slimiest doubt about the Bible.
2 Pet 1:21For no prophecy ever originated because some man willed it [to do so--it never came by human impulse], but men spoke from God who were borne along (moved and impelled) by the Holy Spirit
The next infallible truth that must be understood is that NO One's opinion counts regarding what is said in this BOOK. Anyone interpreting the Bible is WRONG!!!!!! .
The Bible is not to be interpreted by man. Understanding of the Bible is imparted to us through the agency of the Holy Spirit .
Pet 1:20 [Yet] first [you must] understand this, that no prophecy of Scripture is [a matter] of any personal or private or special interpretation (loosening, solving).
Understanding of the Bible comes through GOD HIMSELF.
Matt 16:17 Then Jesus answered him, Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. For flesh and blood [men] have not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven
When David needed understanding , David went directly to the source.
Ps 119:73 Your hands made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.
Today's New Covenant Christian can find understanding through the gift GOD gave us in the person of the Holy Spirit.
John 14:26 But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.
Now we have often heard people complain and say when I read the Bible I do not understand what is written. My wholehearted suggestion is that we seek GOD through prayer to discover what may be causing us NOT to have understanding of HIS Holy WORD the Bible.
I want to show you a few scritpures that might reveal to you where the hinderance may be found.
Eph 4:18 Their moral understanding is darkened and their reasoning is beclouded. [They are] alienated (estranged, self-banished) from the life of God [with no share in it; this is] because of the ignorance (the want of knowledge and perception, the willful blindness) that is deep-seated in them, due to their hardness of heart [to the insensitiveness of their moral nature].
An unrepentant heart could very well be the cause of a lack of understanding. God requires we confess our sins , and forsake our previous behavior and then we must live uprightly before HIM.
A second and very common reason would be we do not spend enough time searching out HIS WORD. If the only time you open your Bible is on Sunday during Church service, your understanding will be little.
2 Tim 2:15 Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.
And lastly and most importantly in order to understand the Bible we must be BORN Again...otherwise we simply can not relate....
John 3:3 Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God.
2 Pet 1:21For no prophecy ever originated because some man willed it [to do so--it never came by human impulse], but men spoke from God who were borne along (moved and impelled) by the Holy Spirit
The next infallible truth that must be understood is that NO One's opinion counts regarding what is said in this BOOK. Anyone interpreting the Bible is WRONG!!!!!! .
The Bible is not to be interpreted by man. Understanding of the Bible is imparted to us through the agency of the Holy Spirit .
Pet 1:20 [Yet] first [you must] understand this, that no prophecy of Scripture is [a matter] of any personal or private or special interpretation (loosening, solving).
Understanding of the Bible comes through GOD HIMSELF.
Matt 16:17 Then Jesus answered him, Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. For flesh and blood [men] have not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven
When David needed understanding , David went directly to the source.
Ps 119:73 Your hands made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.
Today's New Covenant Christian can find understanding through the gift GOD gave us in the person of the Holy Spirit.
John 14:26 But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.
Now we have often heard people complain and say when I read the Bible I do not understand what is written. My wholehearted suggestion is that we seek GOD through prayer to discover what may be causing us NOT to have understanding of HIS Holy WORD the Bible.
I want to show you a few scritpures that might reveal to you where the hinderance may be found.
Eph 4:18 Their moral understanding is darkened and their reasoning is beclouded. [They are] alienated (estranged, self-banished) from the life of God [with no share in it; this is] because of the ignorance (the want of knowledge and perception, the willful blindness) that is deep-seated in them, due to their hardness of heart [to the insensitiveness of their moral nature].
An unrepentant heart could very well be the cause of a lack of understanding. God requires we confess our sins , and forsake our previous behavior and then we must live uprightly before HIM.
A second and very common reason would be we do not spend enough time searching out HIS WORD. If the only time you open your Bible is on Sunday during Church service, your understanding will be little.
2 Tim 2:15 Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.
And lastly and most importantly in order to understand the Bible we must be BORN Again...otherwise we simply can not relate....
John 3:3 Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)