Studying God's Word

We can’t reach out and physically touch God anymore like the disciples could. When Jesus ascended He left us the Holy Spirit as a helper and the Holy Bible as a guide. If we plan to live a life of service to God we must organize our life around God’s Word.  Not only is this common sense it’s God’s command. As the Chinese say, a long journey begins with the first step, so immerse yourself in the Bible immediately and read it every day and pray for enlightenment. Try your best to follow God’s commands.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 – All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Matthew 24:13 – But whoever holds out to the end will be saved.

Philippians 4:11 – I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

Ask for forgiveness when you fall and then get up and keep on going. God will build up your character and make you strong enough to endure anything this world can throw at you. The Bible is the very medium of life and the gateway to an eternity in heaven with God.  When any man reads or hears the word of God in the presence of the Holy Spirit eventually they will be convicted of their sin at which time the Father is revealed, leading them to believe and accept Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Romans 10:9 – That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

2 Timothy 3:15 – And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

The power contained in God’s Word, our Holy Bible, makes a nuclear bomb look like a firecracker. This earth will one day be destroyed by fire but God’s Word will stand forever. We know our citizenship is in heaven, yet God saw fit to create us and drop us into this hellhole we call earth. Why? So we can seek God, find salvation and live our lives to the glory of God Almighty.

Luke 21:33 – Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 – Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.

Micah 6:8 – What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

We are weak and can’t succeed on our own and God knows it. In His mercy, grace and wisdom God has given us the only tool we’ll ever need to overcome; the Holy Bible. Think of the Bible as a spiritual Swiss army knife. There is nothing the Bible can’t do. It contains God’s wisdom and power and through it we are saved unto eternal life.  The Bible is Christ-centered and a historical record of the unfolding of God’s salvation plan for man.  When we get to heaven we’ll be amazed at how much power is in God’s Word and how little it was utilized here on earth.

Matthew 1:22-23 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

Philippians 3:20 – Our citizenship is in heaven.

Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

The second greatest command of God (after the Great Commission) is that we pray. Prayer unlocks the storehouse of God’s riches. God wants to bless us and it’s a spiritual truth we first have to ask God to receive His blessing. We do not have because we do not ask. God always answers prayers, but  in ways that will benefit us and on His timetable.

James 4:2 – You do not have because you do not ask.

John 14:14 -If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

James 5:16 -The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Psalm 6:9 -The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer.

We must pray to God out of obedience. Because God hears our prayers and answers them we have an ongoing conversation with God. We’re communicating with the Almighty! When we talk with God we’re building an intimate relationship with Him. Jesus has commanded all His disciples to pray to God and set the example for us by frequently doing so Himself.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 – Pray without ceasing.

Colossians 4:2 – Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.

Matthew 6:6 – But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Ephesians 6:18 – Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end and with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

We should be spending more time with God in prayer and asking for all things important to us because our prayers are not in vain. We should be praising God with our prayers. We become more Christ-like the more we pray which is a very good thing.  It is a divine privilege to be able to converse with the God of the universe anytime we want.  We learn to appreciate that by praying more it will strengthen our faith and our relationship with God. We were created to commune with God.

The word “fear” has a totally different definition in the Bible than we see in common usage today. It doesn’t mean to be afraid of God in the normal sense but rather to look upon God with “awe and reverence.”  All through the Bible we are told to “fear” the Lord which means it’s important,  It’s foundational in our relationship with God. We must never lose sight of the fact we are dealing with the all-powerful Creator of the universe.

Proverbs 9:10 – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Proverbs 10:27 – The fear of the Lord prolongs life.

Proverbs 14:27 – The fear of the Lord is a foundation of life.

Psalm 2:11 – Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

Job 6:14 – He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

Once Jesus is Lord of our life our entire life should be devoted to love, worship and obedience to God. “Fear” of the Lord is essential for us to receive spiritual knowledge, understanding and wisdom.  In order to deepen our relationship with God we need to cultivate an attitude of “fearing” God. Meditate about the attributes of God to increase your fear. Use your prayer time to stoke you awe of God. To “fear” God is to be in a right relationship with Him.

Justification is the one time process of being “justified” or saved unto eternal life, which happens during our lifetime here on earth by our own free will choice. After we get to heaven God will free us from the presence of sin, which we call “glorification”. Justification and glorification are both actions taken by God for which we have no part.

Philippians 2:13 – For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Sanctification is the lifetime process of becoming more spiritually mature and emulating Christ over time. This is the period from our salvation to our death. While sanctification is still a process accomplished by God, this time we are required to participate.

Romans 8:29 – From all eternity God’s plan was for us to be conformed to the likeness of His Son.

We become sanctified through relying on the Holy Spirit and exercising spiritual disciplines such as prayer, worship, Bible study, memorization of Scripture, giving and serving. We will never be able to quit sinning this side of heaven but we can sin less.  As we humbly walk through this life with our God our goal is to sin as little as possible and when we do sin to immediately ask God to forgive us, which Scripture says He will do.

John 15:5 – I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Our spiritual growth is empowered by the Holy Spirit but we must “show up” for God. We present ourselves before the Lord when we exercise spiritual discipline. We must initiate the sanctification process by giving God something to work with. If you do nothing to gain knowledge, understanding and wisdom you disobey God and you will remain on spiritual milk and not much use to God down here on earth. Disobedience equals lack of reward in heaven. The choice is yours.

All Christians should know well the three step process of salvation referred to as justification, sanctification and glorification. The heart of the gospel message is that we can be saved through faith in Christ. God saves us by His grace through our faith alone. This is a free gift of God that can’t be earned. Jesus Christ died a substitutionary and atoning death on the cross in our place and on our behalf.

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The moment we believe in Jesus and place our trust in Him to be our Lord and Savior our eternal destination changes from hell to heaven. This is what we call “justification”. Through the spiritual truth of imputation the sins of all men were transferred, or imputed, onto Christ while He hung on the cross. Jesus bore the wrath of God for our sins.

Romans 5:1 – Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:7 – In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.

Once we are freed from the penalty of sin, eternal death, we are regenerated by our new birth in Christ. We are “born again”. Justification is a one time instantaneous event through which we are saved. At that point our walk with God is just beginning.

2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

In return, Jesus Christ, the sinless one, the Son of God, imputed, or transferred, His righteousness onto us so that when God looks upon us He sees only the righteousness of His beloved Son. Our sins have been wiped clean. We have a God that loves us that much.

A recurring theme in the Bible is that we should always look back and remember what God has done for us in the past. Looking back on God’s fulfilled promises gives us confidence that God will be faithful to us now and in the future. We can count on God to keep His promises and to do what is right and perfect. Looking at what God has done will tell you what God will do because God never changes.

Malachi 3:6 – I am the Lord, I do not change.

Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Psalm 102.27 – But You are the same, and Your years will have no end.

James 1:17 – Every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

It would be a mistake to focus only on the New Testament and ignore or gloss over the Old Testament as outdated because we are under the new blood covenant of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is part of God’s Word and is relevant and everlasting. Omit it at your peril. The Old Testament was validated in its entirety by Jesus during His ministry.

Matthew 5:17 – Do not think that I came to destroy the Law of the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.

Matthew 5:18 – For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass away from the law till all is fulfilled.

While the Israelites were wandering in the desert of Sinai for forty years God gave them food from heaven each day (manna) so that the Israelites would learn to depend on Him for their daily physical sustenance.  God also wants us to learn to depend on Him, not for His benefit, but ours. Christians today are to lean on God for our daily spiritual sustenance through the Holy Spirit, the Bible and prayer. God is all we need!

John 6:32 – Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread of heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

John 6:33 – For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.

John 6:35 – I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

John 6:41 – I am the bread which came down from heaven.

John 6:48 – I am the bread of life.

The Bible uses bread as a metaphor for life; complete nourishment your body needs to remain healthy, but in a spiritual context. Remember what I said earlier about the Bible. If God repeats anything in His Word it’s important for us to know.  The more God repeats a spiritual truth the more important it is. Five times within 16 verses of the book of John God tells us He is the bread of life which is all we need. That’s like God screaming at the top of His lungs and pointing His finger at something we should take note of.

If you know God’s Word then you’ve read Revelation so you know what’s coming. If you watch a lot of cable TV like I do you can start to panic a little bit because the airwaves are filled with evil run rampant and the world seems to be falling apart. Just step back a minute and take a deep breath. Try to relax. God’s got this.  God is sovereign and He is in complete control of His planet. Everything that is happening around us is foretold in the Bible and is unfolding according to God’s will. God tells us repeatedly in the Bible not to worry.  As believers we belong to God and our destiny is in heaven so nothing of any eternal consequence can befall us here on earth. Each of is appointed a time to die and we have no control over that. What we can control is our attitude and keeping our focus on God. We are simply to persevere in our walk with God, do the works God has planned for us to do and offer continuous praise and worship to God in heaven until we’re called home.

Micah 6:8 – What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 – Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 – He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

Phil. 4:6 – Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

Phil. 4:11 – I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

Isaiah 43:13 – From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can oppose what I do.

When it comes to matters related to God and your faith never blindly take anyone’s opinion. Always verify any truth with God’s Word or discard it. If there are still skeptics who don’t think God loves them enough to pursue them may I suggest they read the following:

Romans 8:11 – 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 His Spirit who dwells in you.

Romans 8:16 – The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

Romans 8:28 – And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:31-33 – What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

Romans 8:34-36 – Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intersession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Romans 8:37-39 – Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.