Why Read the Bible?

We read the Bible so we can find the power of God’s word, and the way to God through Christ Jesus the Lord. 

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:12-13 ESV) 

If God sees every single thing we do, good and bad, how can anyone stand before Him without guilt.  We can stand before Him only because Jesus paid the price for our redemption, and God will see Jesus’ righteousness instead of our inability to live according to God’s holy standards. (Philippians 3:9; 2Corinthians 5:17-19, 21; 1Corinthians 1:30-31; Romans 10:13) 

“By this the love of God was revealed in us, that God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us.  By this we know that we remain in Him and He in us, because He has given to us of His Spirit.  We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God.  We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.  By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, we also are in this world.  There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.  We love, because He first loved us.” (1John 4:9-19 NAS) 

It is because of the righteousness of Christ that we can stand before God without fear. 

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16 ESV) 

Because we believe in Jesus that our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and we will escape the judgement reserved for unregenerate sinners. (Revelation 20:11-15)  

Watch out, however, because the precious Grace of God is not an excuse to continue in a sinful style of living. 

“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!  Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?  But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.  You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. 

I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness.  When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.  What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!  But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:15-23 NIV) [1]

 

 

 

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[1] https://biblehub.com/

The Truth About the Trinity

There are those who deny the Trinity of God.  Some of them say that the Trinity is not taught in the Bible because the word Trinity does not appear in it. 

There are many verses or passages in the Bible that describe One God in Three Persons.  However, none are clearer that this one: 

“And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.

For there are three that bear witness in heaven:

the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit;

and these three are one.”

(1John 5:6-7 NKJV) [1]

Note:

Many Bible scholars point out that much of 1John 5:6-7 does not appear in the earliest manuscripts or in early translations from the original Greek into other ancient languages.  I would point out that 1John 5:6-7 has been included in translations of the Bible since the 16^th Century and may be accepted as Biblical instruction.  Readers requiring further proof that God is indeed One God in Three Persons are referred to my post dated 7 November 2019.  The verses quoted in that post include:

Deuteronomy 6:4-7
Matthew 28:19
2Corinthians 13:14
1Peter 1:2
1Corinthians 12:4-6
Ephesians 4:4-6

The Trinity is proclaimed in many other Bible verses as well.

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[1] https://biblehub.com/nkjv/1_john/5.htm

 

She is Gone

When a Christian dies, the part of them that is not of the physical body, goes to be with Jesus. (Philippians 1:21-23)  It is far better to be “at home with the Lord” than it is to remain here.  Our earthly life is filled with good and bad experiences alike, but when we leave we go to be with Jesus in heaven (2Corinthians 5:1), “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4 ESV) 

My wife died one month ago after suffering a long time with Alzheimer’s disease.  God blessed us with wonderful help from enhabit Hospice, which made it possible for me to care for her in our home.  My sister also stayed with my wife once or twice a week to provide me with the opportunity to run errands or take an afternoon off.  I will never forget the help she gave us. 

Christians who must stay here for a while longer grieve when our saved, born again loved ones die in the Lord, but we do not grieve in the way those who do not believe, those who have no hope, grieve. (1Thessalonians 4:13)   For we have the blessed hope, the confident expectation, of spending eternity in the glory of God’s presence forever. 

Nevertheless, it has been month of sadness.  The Lord has been my strength.  His strength has revealed itself in my weakness. (2Corinthians 12:9-10) All the credit belongs to Him.  The praise, honor, and glory are His.  Amen. 

Now, please join with me to echo the Apostle Paul and declare:

 

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

(1Corinthians 15:54-55 ESV)

 

 

Are You Ready?

A friend and I were talking about someone who had just passed away.  My friend said, “Tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us.” 

Jesus taught us about it in the following parable: 

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”  But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”  And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”  And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully,  and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’  And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’  But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’  So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:13-21 ESV) [1] 

Therefore, it is prudent to keep ourselves ready.  Jesus told us how: 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John3:16-17 ESV) [2] 

Jesus said “whoever.”  That means anyone.  It does not matter how dark your past has been.  You can be saved if you repent (turn away) from your sinful way of life and believe that His shed blood will wash you clean. (Matthew 26:28, 1John 1:7)  Believe that He gave His life to satisfy the death sentence under which you are living; God’s just penalty for all sin.  Trust Jesus.  He never fails us.  Please do it now.  Tomorrow is not promised to any of us.

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[1] https://biblehub.com/esv/luke/12.htm

[2] https://biblehub.com/esv/john/3.htm

 

Hope in Time of Need

I regret that it has been so long since my last post.  My wife is in the end-of-life stages of a terminal illness.  Caring for her needs at home and making the final arrangements for her have consumed much of my time and energy. 

I have been blessed by help from family and a wonderful hospice service.  For these, I will always be grateful. 

I am being sustained by the Word of God and by Christ living in me. (Philippians 4:13)  I know that my wife of 45 years will be with Jesus in heaven immediately after she leaves her earthly body. (Philippians 1:23, 2Corinthians 5:6-9))  Yet, for those of us who will be waiting to join her, it will be painful to live on here without her. 

The Word tells us that we who are in vital union with Christ have the blessed hope of the Rapture, when Jesus will return, accompanied by the souls of the believers who have gone before, to gather His people unto Himself: 

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.  For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.  For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.  For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.  Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1Thessalonians 4:13-18 ESV)

 

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,  so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:27-28 ESV)

 

I am sustained because in the meantime I can lean on Jesus.  Praise be to Him who loves us so much.

 

 

Acknowledgement:  The scriptures quoted were copied from: https://biblehub.com/

 

Jesus: Living Word and High Priest

 

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. 

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:11-16 NKJV) [1]

 

Jesus Christ is the Living Word, and our great High Priest.                                        (John 1:1-2, Hebrews 9:11-12)

  

 

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[1] https://biblehub.com/nkjv/hebrews/4.htm

 

Peace Through Prayer

The Apostle Paul wrote this while he was in a Roman prison:

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.  Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;  do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7 ESV) [1]

[1] https://biblehub.com/esv/philippians/4.htm