Love God

Inductive Bible Study – February 22, 2013

1 Corinthians 13:8

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

Interpretation

·         Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. – 1 John 4:6

Love is the only thing, other than God’s being, that is eternal, always was and always will be. God is eternal and God is love, therefore love is eternal. It is the most important trait a follower of Jesus should display. But it shouldn’t be a thing we show just for the outside appearance. Out of the overflowing of the heart, our actions and words take place. Out of our ever growing relationship with Christ, we become more and more like our creator; being transformed into his likeness; the likeness of God; God is love.

God’s greatest commandments to us are:

1.      
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. – Matthew 22:37

2.     
 You shall love your neighbor as yourself. – Matthew 22:39

So we know that God commands us to love. And that to gain love we are to be transformed into the likeness of God; who is love. Let me ask this question then in light of this: Do we love God with our spare time? Do we love God with our work ethic? Do we love God with a pure, undefiled heart? Or is there a secret sin that our flesh harbors onto? Because if we do cling to anything that is of our flesh, we practically are saying “Lord, I wanna love you but I would rather hold onto this earthly thing that will pass away”. Our God is a jealous God, and will not rule in our hearts with a lust or fleshly desire sitting beside Him. Holding onto something of the flesh denies God to transform us to His likeness; the likeness of God; God is love. Satan is so good at whispering lies to us and having us believe that earthly desires and lusts are of benefit. But we need to search our hearts because what is more important than an intimate relationship with our Creator, the God of love?

The modern day Christian is good at loving God on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. But are we loving God when nobody else is watching us? Are we loving God with our thought life? These are deep questions but we all need to come to grips with the fact that nothing we gain from this world, or any earthly pleasures will last. But love will last forever; love through a pure and undefiled heart towards our Maker; the God of love.

·        
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. – Colossians 3:2-5

Application

Today I will deny my flesh of the things that I’ve harbored to in the past. Taking every thought captive and reminding Satan of where he is going to spend eternity when he tempts me and remind him of my position in Christ: ‘I have died, and my life is hidden with Christ, who is my life, in God.’

Love Bears, Believes, Hopes, Endures

Inductive Bible Study – February 21, 2013

1 Corinthians 13:7

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Interpretation

Bear – carry or convey

Believe – feel sure that something is true

Hope – a feeling of expectation and desire

Endure – suffer patiently

It seems fitting that this verse comes today. In light of the loss my family has suffered this week (my cousin was killed in a car accident), God has still been shining through to comfort me and my family through His Word, through the encouragement of the body of Christ, and through the comforting of the Holy Spirit.

·         
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.                                              – 1 Corinthians 13:13

Love bears; even through painful losses and trials, God is right there beside us in the hard times to bear our burdens. If we don’t resist His Holy Spirit, he will step along side of us to comfort His children.

·         Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. – Matthew 11:29-30

·         Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. – Psalm 139:7-10

Love believes; believes in God’s promises, believes that He is our guide and strength, believes that His plans are greater than ours, believes that He is sovereign and knows the big picture, believes that I will see my cousin again on that glorious day. Love rests in this belief.

·       
 The Lord foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations. – Psalm 33:9-10

·         For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. – Jeremiah 29:11-13

Love hopes; hopes for God to work His plans for His glory, hopes that lives are impacted through God’s plans, hopes in the wonderful grace of our Lord to one day see our Maker.

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

Love endures; endures trials to be strengthened in faith, endures trials to encourage others who go through the same trial, endures trials to the glory of God

·       
 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. – James 1:2-4

·        
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.                          – 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Application

Today I will lift up the arms of my family members as the Spirit leads. To encourage them, pray with them, hug them, as the Lord would have me do.

Rejoice in Truth

Inductive Bible Study – February 20, 2013

1 Corinthians 13:6

It (love) does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

Interpretation

Rejoice in truths.

Philippians 1:6 reads: being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

God will put his finishing touches on you. In the time of trouble, our faith may seem small, but God will nourish it until it grows to the size he desires. God completes every work he begins. If God is for us, who can be against us?

In John 16:33 Jesus says: In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

Jesus has overcome the world. He alone is sovereign. He is in control despite the hurricanes of life. He will be glorified. In this we find peace.

Again Jesus says in John 14:27: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

This peace is a comfort to our souls; a fortress to rest in. We are comforted by the Holy Spirit in tribulations for the glory of Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

This is truth. Love rejoices in truth.

Application

Today I will rejoice in truth, I will memorize Psalm 16:6-8.

No Record of Wrongs

Inductive Bible Study – February 19, 2013

1 Corinthians 13:5

It (love) is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Interpretation

Wait, wait, wait, wait! No record of wrongs? Yes the word ‘no’ means none, nadda. How do we forgive someone who has wronged us in immense ways?

Let’s put into perspective what Christ did for us. God is love and according to this verse, He could not be love if He does keep records of our wrongs. But through the blood of Jesus Christ, through repentance and belief, God sees the washing of blood of His perfect Son so that He doesn’t keep records of the wrongs of His children. This is at the core of our faith, we should praise God every day for this fact but too often we take it for granted.

In Matthew 18 we read the account of the servant who owed a king ten thousand talents, today that would be millions of dollars, and the king took pity on him and forgave him his debt. However, that same servant went out to one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, a few dollars, and began to choke him, saying ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ He had the fellow servant thrown into prison until he paid him back. When the king found out what the servant who had been forgiven had done he called him back and said ‘You wicked servant, I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’

God laid down the ultimate sacrifice to forgive us of our transgressions. Shouldn’t we do the same for others?

Application

Today as we climb Dog Mountain (a mountain on Ranch property) I will pray that God lets me keep short accounts towards others. We all have different skill sets climbing this mountain and I want to be sensitive to the needs of my teammates.

Boast About What?

Inductive Bible Study – February 18, 2013

1 Corinthians 13:4

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant

Interpretation

Love is a lot of things in this passage and I could write a lot on each of these subsections but the thing that strikes me is that love does not envy or boast.

Envy – A grudging regard for the advantages seen to be enjoyed by others

Boast – Talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about oneself

So what does it look like to do acts of service to others in love without puffing yourselves up?

Jeremiah 9:22-24 says:

                                                   Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
                                                   or the strong man boast of his strength
                                                   or the rich man boast of his riches,
                                                   but let him who boasts boast about this:
                                                   that he understands and knows me,
                                                   that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
                                                   justice and righteousness on earth,
                                                   for in these I delight,
                                                   declares the Lord.

This passage paints a clear picture that it is he that understands and knows Me is the one who can take the boasting off of himself and onto the Lord.

The first part of this is ‘understanding’. We understand that God deserves all glory and honor and boasting because of Him sending His Son to a fallen world to save us from our iniquities when we are the ones who deserve to die on a cross a brutal death and spend eternity in hell. We cannot fathom the honor due to God and thus we understand that there is absolutely no way I should be boastful in my acts of love because God trumped all acts of love by infinity by dying for you and by dying for me.

The second part of this is to ‘know Me’. Not that we know about God, but that we know God. This isn’t a passive tense in Jeremiah. This is the Lord speaking through Jeremiah and he plainly says here ‘let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me’. We need to take the scriptures literally here and know that God calls each one of us to a personal relationship with him. God is love and perfect love does not boast. God is perfect in love so that He is jealous for relationship with me. Do I often sit back and wonder about the amazing concept that the almighty, infinite, omnipotent, holy, creator of this universe wants to have intimate relationship with me? I won’t ever understand this love because I’m not perfect in love like Christ is. But this inspires me to know God further and to boast in Christ.

Application

I will start my day off, before devotions, thanking God that he wants to have intimate relationship with me; keeping that in perspective as I go through devotions and throughout the day.

Speaking of the Spirit

Inductive Bible Study – January 29, 2013

1 Corinthians 12:3

Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

Interpretation

I have to admit one of the things that I’ve been learning a lot in the last few weeks is the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. Studying the Acts of the apostles and some of our other teachings have led me to cry out to God to give me a deeper understanding of the Spirit and what He can do to one’s heart. Thank God that he has given me a better insight on that but I always want to continue to learn new characteristics of God.

It’s funny that this verse came up today because this same topic is exactly what God has been working on in my heart over the last week. I tend to be vocal about various things and have no problem stating an opinion or a thought that I have about various topics but God has been revealing to me that I need to let the Spirit speak through me rather than me speaking from human knowledge. Today’s verse says ‘no one can say “Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit’ and I know that God spoke through Paul to the Corinthians and to me and a whole host of believers as well. I’m so blown away that God chose this verse for us to study on today. God is good.

Galatians 5 says ‘Since then we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit’. Keep in step, as in every step. It’s so easy for the prideful human heart to do ‘good things’ out of their own power. But God calls each one of us to lay down our pride and selfishness at the foot of the cross, where His grace is sufficient to wash us, and ‘keep in step’ with His Spirit.

Application

Today I will memorize today’s IBS verse so that I have a ‘sword of the Spirit’ against lies where Satan tries to get me to speak and act outside of God’s will.

Obedience Greater Than Sacrifice

Inductive Bible Study – January 25, 2013 – Grant Smucker

If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.

Mark 8:38

Interpretation

To obey is better than to sacrifice. When the Spirit speaks to us we know without a shadow of a doubt what we are supposed to do. Do we do that in boldness when He calls? Or do we save our own self-esteem and cling to the lies that Satan plants in us such as ‘they won’t think of you the same’ or ‘you will lose a friendship’. Jesus told us in Matthew 10:22 ‘All men will hate you because of Me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved’. In Luke 6:22 Jesus tells us ‘Blessed are you when men hate you’.

Do we live out this promise? Because if we don’t we are really just listening to the lies that Satan has placed in us and that will keep us from becoming intimate with God. John 14:15 says ‘if you love me, you will obey what I command’. Whoa! That is a strong statement. Do we love God? Judge that answer by if we answer yes to the Spirit’s leadings. ‘But if anyone obeys His word, God’s love is truly made complete in Him’ 1 John 2:5.

Application

Today when the Spirit speaks to me, I will obey.

Break My Heart For What Breaks Yours

Inductive Bible Study – Mark 8:37 – January 24, 2013

Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

Interpretation

Do we have a true heart for the lost? Do we truly realize that the unsaved can’t exchange any of their earthly possessions for their soul? Do we truly realize that the unsaved are going to an eternal hell? And that we hold the good news that can snatch a soul from eternal death?

We know all these things in our head. But do we live it out? Our main purpose that God created us was to glorify God in works and speech. ‘For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son. That whosoever believes on Him shall not perish but have eternal life’ John 3:16. God loves everyone in this world and if we say to God ‘break my heart for what breaks Yours’ then why do we not have a stronger burden for the lost?

What is holding us back? What they might think, a possibility at a broken relationship, fear of rejection? These are all carnal things. If we don’t live out our burden for the lost then in a million years from now we will look back to our short time here on earth with regret. Yes, we served the Lord in His church and were involved in ministries. But is your life going to reflect a life that is not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ for the glory and honor of his name?

Application

Today I will pray that my heart becomes more burdened for the lost. I will also pray for the hearts unsaved I will come into contact during my 3 month stay here at PFR to be softened and prepared.

Desire

Inductive Bible Study – Mark 8:36 – January 23, 2013

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

Interpretation

Desire – a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen.

He that ‘desires’ to save his life will lose it. That makes sense in that our desires line up with God’s desires when we deny ourselves and follow Christ. Galatians 5:24-25 says, ‘Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.’ So what does it mean to ‘belong to Christ’? Is it that we are called to have relationship on a daily and momentary basis? Not just any old relationship but intimate relationship.

We all have those people in life that we are extremely close to. Those are the people we can share our deepest struggles, deepest hurts, and talk about things that you can’t talk about with anyone else. Then there are the good friends that you have a good time with. You can talk about what’s going on in your life or even ask for prayer in certain areas but you don’t go into the deep stuff. Needless to say, there are different levels of relationship that we experience here on earth and half of the cause for the intimacy of the relationship lies on yourself, while the other half lies on your friend. This is not so with God. When it comes to intimate relationship with God, He is not the 2^nd half that we need to rely on how intimate our relationship is. He already did way more than his half by dying for us. ‘Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends’. No, we are responsible for how deep our relationship with Christ is. Compare your relationship with God to your closest friend. Do you go to God in a way more intimately than with your closest friend? Here’s another thought, God doesn’t call us to end how intimate that relationship is. He always desires to have our relationship more intimate and as we become more intimate our desires line up with his as well.

Coming back to Mark 8:35, when our desires line up with God’s desires through intimate relationship then we won’t desire to save our life. But God will give us the boldness to ‘lose his life for My sake and the gospel’s’. O by the way, Jesus promises us when we are at that place that we will also save our life.

Application

Today I will spend extra time in his Word apart from my morning devotions.

Eternity Living

Inductive Bible Study – Mark 8:35 – January 22, 2013

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.

Interpretation

‘I don’t wanna gain the whole world and lose my soul’ Christian artist TobyMac sings. Our time on this earth is so short compared to eternity, why, we cannot grasp eternity. It’s one of those things that blows the human mind when we try to fathom it. O how I long for the day when I meet my Savior face to face but the anticipation of that precious day should motivate us and get our blood pumping to save the lost. Why are modern day Christians ok to live the ‘American dream’ with a cape cod country house, SUV and sedan, 3 kids, retirement plans, and the like; and just simply live with their plans, their ambitions, their hobbies, and their self-centered way of life? Don’t get me wrong, just because a Christian family appears they are living the ‘American dream’ doesn’t mean they have the wrong heart. God calls people to disciple those in their own ‘Jerusalem’ and send others to the ‘ends of the earth’. If that is the calling God places on someone then praise be to God. But we should all ‘set your minds on things above’ as Galatians 3 says. We are called to live with eternity in focus. When we do God gives us a burden for the lost which then results in us receiving boldness to proclaim the gospel of Christ to the ends of the earth. Mark 8:35 says that ‘whoever wants to save his life will lose it’. When we are focused on our plans, our agendas, and so on we may end up with what our hearts desire but will that ever be enough? Will our hearts ever be filled and satisfied with earthly things, even if they’re good things?

Eternity living is a lifestyle. It may sound like a nice cliché couple words that are slapped together but Hebrews reminds to ‘run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of the faith.’

Application

Today I will pray for each PFK ministry, that God would already now work in the hearts of those I will be coming into contact with. And I will also pray for my heart towards my other teammates who will be going to the field with me.

Christ's Yoke

Inductive Bible Study – Mark 8:34, January 21, 2013

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Interpretation

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Jesus lays out a three step process for those who desired to come after Himself. It is interesting how the first thing He mentions is the denial of self. That’s what I want to focus on in this interpretation.

Jesus called the weary and burdened to take upon His yoke and learn from Him. “For I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” For the longest time I have been the Christian that walks beside the yoke of Christ as it moves along and hold onto from the outside it but I’ve never truly fitted the yoke of Christ on my shoulders and let him carry my burdens with me. I would let God use certain areas of my life but then held onto my own wants and desires which would mar even the areas that I thought I was giving to God. I was good at putting on a face that showed I had it all together. I don’t show much emotion so it’s not difficult for me to do that. I know in my head what God requires for a sold out, God honoring life, but the bridge between my head and heart is broken. God has unraveled my heart though in the last two weeks and showed me of the gunk needs to be cleaned out. I thank God for this opportunity to focus on Him for an entire year and I pray that He will continue to clean out that gunk, continue to show me I can’t live on my own, continue to walk along side of me, and by God’s grace may he give me the faith to stick my neck inside the yoke of Christ, where His yoke is easy and His burden is light. I will never be at the point where all the gunk in my heart is cleaned out but wouldn’t it be great if Jesus would carry those burdens with me? He is calling.

Application

Today I will be transparent with someone.

Sold Out!

Inductive Bible Study

Acts 2:45

And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

Interpretation

Sold… The believers sold items that the Spirit prompted them to give up for the glory of God and the serving of others. At the Spirit’s call they sold all of their life’s earnings. Anything that had any value to them in their previous unsaved life they gave up. Their property, life savings, animals, and whatever God laid on their hearts to give up. These aren’t bad things, but the heart that is obedient to God’s call draws closer to God.

We see an account in Mark 10 there is a rich ruler that wants to inherit eternal life. He looked good on the outward appearance as he states he has kept the 10 commandments since he was a boy. But then Jesus told him “One thing you lack. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. In Luke chapter 9 we several other accounts of Jesus and those who desired to follow Him. The first man, after being asked of Jesus to follow Him, said he needed to bury his father first. Another man made the initiative and told Jesus he desired to follow Him… but after he goes and says goodbye to his family. Jesus turned to him and said, “no one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the service in the kingdom of God.” Let me rephrase this quote. Anyone who desires to follow God with all his heart but holds onto, when the Spirit calls to let go, an object of significant value, he is not fit for true service in God’s kingdom.

What are the things in life that are special to us? Vehicles, social statusus, work, hobbies, friends? Are we willing to let anything go that the Spirit asks of us? Or are we going to stand on the sidelines of God’s army and hold onto something that will fade away. The human mind cannot embrace the length or breadth of eternity. By God’s grace may we let go of what is dear to us because our time on this earth is like the lilies of the field. Let us live with our eyes set on eternity. Let us live with our eyes fixed on Jesus.

Application

Today I will give up social time, something that I value in my heart, and give up an entire evening to sit at the feet of Jesus.

Brokenness

Inductive Bible Study – January 17, 2013

Acts 2:44

And all who believed were together and had all things in common.

Interpretation

We can see a picture of God working in the lives of the new believers. They received the Holy Spirit in response to Peter’s sermon on repentance. They were filled with awe and wonder at the things God was doing among them. Now we see God transforming their hearts and they are being emptied of self. Imagine 3000 plus people gathered in one spot and everything they have is in common. Another version says that they shared everything they own.

I have to think of today’s economy while pondering this verse. The rich have a larger percentage of their income taxed on them to give to the poor in the forms of government programs. However, in contrast to this form of a political system, the new believers are willingly sharing what they own with each other. The Holy Spirit is working in their hearts in a way that they are being emptied of self and filled with humility in order to serve one another. Gaining true selflessness is impossible by mere human effort though. It requires a emptying of pride through a breaking period in one’s heart through the work of the Holy Spirit. The result of brokenness allows God to work in one’s heart and fill with godly virtues. This verse of all the believers emptying themselves through the Holy Spirit on a platform of brokenness is a beautiful picture that the modern day church can take an example from it.

Application

To be emptied of myself I will truly ask for brokenness today. Knowing the results that come may not be pretty or be a good time to go through. But God makes things beautiful.

Miracles and Wonders

Inductive Bible Study – Acts 2:43 – January 16, 2013

And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.

Interpretation

I have to admit this verse blows my mind while thinking about it. The things that stick out to me are the miraculous signs and wonders. I am grateful that I serve a God who is all powerful and mighty enough to use His vessels in a way that is humanly impossible, forcing onlookers to glorify and honor God, not the man performing the miracles. In my mind I know God can do miraculous things, but deep in my heart there are big red flags waving at the first sign of healings, speaking in tongues, and the like. In examining my own heart for the source of these red flags I first tried to reason that seeing people abusing these gifts for their own glory is the reason for my hesitation. But God stopped that thought while I was writing this and said that my little faith is the culprit. Jesus said that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed we can move mountains. It seems so simple but what is holding me back? Why does it seem so hard to move what I know in my head to what I believe in my heart? God has been working in my heart and I have a pretty good inclination that my faith is going to be tried, tested, stretched, and by God’s grace grown over the next 11-1/2 months and beyond. Maybe I shouldn’t be looking for the big obvious miracles such as healings and tongues (although it would be awesome to see) but look in my past at what God has done in my life and find things that are miracles and not just mere random chance. Even in the last week, if I look in that sense, I can think of multiple miracles that God has performed in my life that were not of man but of God. Things such as the Spirit convicting my heart during On-the-mount of things I need to let go of, or people divinely sent to have a conversation with me after a meal that ministered to me greatly, or the way the Spirit bonded a group of 12 young believers into a family when we allowed Him. The Israelites set up stones to remember what the Lord has done. I need to ‘set up stones’ and realize that he is working in mighty ways but I don’t often take the time to realize that.

Application

By God’s grace may my faith be increased. I am not big into journaling or writing out my thoughts but I am going to commit today and henceforth to pick up a pen and notebook and search my heart for the ways God is moving in my life.

Addiction!

Inductive Bible Study – Acts 2:42 – January 15, 2013

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Interpretation:

Acts 2:42 shows the response of the new believers who; being convicted of their need for a savior, by the Holy Spirit through Peter’s sermon (the first church outreach); were compelled to follow or devote themselves to this savior. They were given an example of what devotion looked like through the examples of the newly Spirit filled apostles who clung to the teachings of Jesus, committing themselves to fellowship, the Lord’s Supper, and to prayer.

These believers must have been in such a state of complete awe and reverence for God. Yes, their sins are forgiven through Christ’s atonement on the cross and the resurrection from the grave, but they are also part of the first group of believers to receive the Spirit. The feeling of peace given to them from God was like nothing they have ever experienced. God, the Holy Spirit, was dwelling in them and directing their lives in their everyday lives. The new believers were broken while believing as we read earlier that the words of Peter pierced their hearts. Out of this brokenness is where the Holy Spirit can consume the new believers and they are so much in awe of this that they are wanting deeper relationship with God. This is why the new believers are devoting themselves to the apostles’ teachings, to lifting each other up while being lifted up, to sharing communion, and to intimate prayer with God.

Application:

I want to become addicted to the Holy Spirit. My application is to cry out to God to break down my pride, break down my selfishness, and break down my thought life on a daily basis so that I can be filled with the Spirit.

God... the Ultimate Farmer

Inductive Bible Study

John 15:1

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.

Interpretation

Definition for vinedresser; a person who cultivates and prunes grapevines. A vinedresser essentially is a farmer. I grew up on a farm and know that if you don’t take care of your crops by cultivating, fertilizing, applying insecticide and weed control; you get a much smaller harvest. A farmer won’t let his crops be choked out by weeds or destroyed by bugs if there’s anything he can do for the crop. He desires the best for his crop because his livelihood is dependent on getting a bountiful harvest.

God desires the best for us as well. Like the farmer, God won’t let his children be choked out by lusts and destroyed by sin if there’s anything He can do because He is the vinedresser.

Take this into consideration though. A farmer can cultivate, fertilize, and protect his crop up to a certain extent; but he is also so much dependent on enough rain to give the plants moisture, enough sunlight for photosynthesis to take place, and is also at the mercy of hurricanes, tornados, and droughts; all of which can destroy a crop. This past summer was a very trying time for Midwest farmers who had one of the worst droughts in recent history and many farmers lost their livelihood because their investment had no return. A farmer can only do so much to grow his crop but for the rest he can only have faith that he will be able to harvest that crop.

Not so with God. He is in complete control of hurricanes, tornados, and droughts in our lives and will not give us more than we can bear. In a hurricane the first few outside rows of a cornfield are often the last rows to be flattened because they have been strengthened by previous thunderstorms and wind gusts that they have encountered. God will let the hurricanes of life happen in our lives when we need to be strengthened in our faith. Unlike the farmer, God is in control of all of the essentials his crop needs; including cultivating, fertilizing, giving enough rain and sunshine, and being there with us through the windstorms of life.

In Romans 8 we read ‘we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.’

Application

Today I will rest in God’s promise that he is my vinedresser. I will ask God to show me of my imperfections that need pruned, confess that to God, write it down, and allow the vinedresser to do what is best for His crop.

Emotional Highs

Inductive Bible Study – February 14, 2013

John 8:35

And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.

Interpretation

I have heard the quote a million times “If you’re in the Word, the Word will keep you from sin. If you’re in sin, sin will keep you from the Word.” But it’s so true. And that’s what Jesus is touching on here. If you are a slave of sin, as Jesus mentions, then you do not abide in the word.

But what does it mean to abide in the Word? If we bring up the definition of Abide again it states: accept or act in accordance with a rule or decision; and: live or dwell. Does one who simply reads the Word every day abide in it? No because there is also action needed to be in accordance with the Word. It’s more than just feeling a good emotion that God has spoken to me. It’s acting it out practically. We can’t rely on our emotion to govern us because they are so feeble and are of the flesh. When we abide in God’s word we realize that His sovereignty and grace is enough to sustain us and we don’t need emotional spiritual highs all the time. It’s great when we go to a conference or some inspirational teaching and we get that mountaintop experience, but that emotion fades off and if we’re not careful our abiding fades with it; unless we cling to the truths of scripture rather than our emotional state.

The author of Psalm 23 seemed to get it.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me;

Honestly I don’t think walking through this valley is going to be a time of emotional highs. But the author abides in the truths of God’s Word and claims them for his own.

The slave that Jesus is talking about in this verse might have Spiritual highs, he may even read the Word every day out of duty, he may even think he is righteous because he doesn’t do any ‘bad’ sins; but they are not abiding, they are slaves of their greed and pride, they are slaves to sin. But thanks and glory be to God that His grace is enough because I was this slave.

Application

Today I will not allow emotions to define my day. I will write down my emotions from today and take every thought captive and present it to God.

Win An Argument... Or Not

Inductive Bible Study – February 14, 2013

John 8:34

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

Interpretation

I love the example we see from Jesus on how to minister to others. Let’s back up over the past few verses and remember what has transpired. Jesus says “if you abide in my word you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Then the Jews come back with this crazy response that contradicts itself saying “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone.” We know that this is an oxymoron due to the bondages Israel, the offspring of Abraham, has been in the past. I wouldn’t want to hire any of these Jews to be my lawyer. But notice Jesus’ response to this floating idea. He doesn’t come back at them and say “Remember Egypt? Remember Babylon?” No, Jesus is more concerned about ministering to their needs more than the satisfaction of winning an argument. We have tendencies of trying to win arguments with the people placed in our lives rather than actually ministering to souls. And we ought to apply the example set before us by Jesus and let go of our selfish egos that are just concerned about being right.

In Proverbs 15 we read ‘A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out place’

Application

I will continue to be led by the Spirit to talk and what to talk. I will pray in the morning for 15 minutes for the Spirit to lead my speech and will right down how God does that today.

Physical or Spiritual Eyes

Inductive Bible Study – February 13, 2013

John 8:33

They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

Interpretation

The believing Jews are a little bit off on their thinking. They are entrapped by physical thinking and not looking into the heart issues. Their minds are trapped in earthly thinking of physical tyranny and bondage as to what Jesus is referring to when he says ‘the truth will set you free’.

On a side note I find it intriguing that the Jews said the offspring of Abraham was never enslaved when in fact they were in bondage in Babylon and Egypt in the past. However, I’m not gonna keep dwelling on this bunny trail.

This isn’t the only example in the Bible, or even in the book of John, of looking at the physical things, rather than spiritual things. Nicodemos was baffled at how a man could be born again when he was talking to Jesus in John chapter 3. “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” he asked. His mind was entrenched on physical things, not on spiritual things.

This reaction is a natural human reaction. It’s easy for me to be hard on these guys in the scriptures but the truth is I am just as much human as these guys. I have the natural carnal tendency to look at situations at a physical sense instead of looking at it in a spiritual sense. My personality is that of believing I am capable to handle a variety of things and I have taken advantage of that in the past. Even in the good ministries I was involved with at home I was able to fulfill my positions of responsibility and leadership on my own strength, looking at those situations in a physical sense. The worst thing for my ego is that I was able to get by in those areas of responsibility on my own strength which convinces my human flesh that I can continue on like this. However, if I continue on this road of self-motivation perhaps Satan will use me as a false teacher and lead those under me astray. That’s a scary thought. So what do I do about it?

Abide in my word and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Simply, fall at the feet of Jesus, take on His yoke in which He carries our burdens with us, and abide in His truth.

Peter was a head strong, stand up, confident, bold guy in the flesh. I can relate to him in so many different levels comparing myself and my passions to his. Yet, God was able to transform him and use him as a vessel to bring great honor and glory to the Name of Jesus. God can do the same in my life, and He can do the same in yours.

Application

Today, in the process of God transforming my prideful heart, I will write an email to humbly apologize to someone back at home for the way that I have treated that person in the past.

FREEDOM!

Inductive Bible Study – John 8:32

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Interpretation

Hearing this verse brings my mind back to my childhood watching Veggie Tales in the episode of Larry Boy and the Fib from Outer Space. Every time Jr the asparagus told a lie the fib from outer space would grow larger and larger until he was so big that he enslaved Jr and he was in deep bondage. The only way Jr could slay the fib was by telling the truth to everyone and to repent. I can still hear Bob the Tomato quoting this verse in John at the end of the episode.

This verse was sowed into my mind at an early age but I can still reap the benefits of living this verse out. God’s Word is filled to the brink with promises we can cling to. Promises that can comfort us when life takes a wrong turn, promises that we can use against Satan when he discourages us, promises that God will be with us wherever we go, even when it doesn’t seem like He is there. All these are truths in Scripture that we can cling to. The Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Some truths from Psalm 119:

Open my eyes that I may see

wonderful things in your law.

My comfort in my suffering is this:

Your promise preserves my life.

I need to realize that anytime there is discouragement in my heart there is a truth in scripture that God has written specifically against that lie that Satan is trying to make me believe. We need to put on the full armor of God and the Sword of the Spirit is a powerful piece that stifles the devil. Let’s use it.

Application

Today I will write down and memorize the truth that God shows me in my devotions and meditate on it throughout the day.

Abide in the Vine

Inductive Bible Study – February 11, 2013

John 8:31

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in my word, you are My disciples indeed.

Interpretation

So do you want to be a disciple? Or perhaps God has placed in your heart to disciple someone He has placed in your life. Jesus breaks it down in a way that is pretty easy to understand. ABIDE in my word. The dictionary describes abide as: accept or act in accordance with a rule or decision; and: live or dwell. So if we break down Jesus’ statement a little bit further then we have, “If you live and dwell in My word and act in accordance to My word, you are My disciples indeed”.

So does this mean we read our Bible in the morning every morning and we are set? Well, that’s part of it. Remember, abide is to dwell and live in. We are to meditate on the things God shows in those devotional times and chew on them throughout the day. He desires to have relationship with us throughout the day and he speaks to us through meditation. When this is coupled with unceasing prayer then we can have growing relationship with our creator.

In John 15, Jesus gives us a visual of the believers relationship with God in the example of the vine and the branches. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser… Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me. 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.”

Psalm 91 says that ‘he who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust”’

Application

To abide in the vine, today I will spend an extra half hour outside of morning devotions devoted to reading God’s Word and prayer.

Calloused Spiritual Eyes

Inductive Bible Study – February 8, 2013

Acts 3:10

Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what happened to him.

Interpretation

This incredible miracle just took place and the crowd watching is filled with wonder and amazement. This is great but what does that mean to someone like me who has never seen a lame man receive his ability to walk?

Many Christians tend to wonder why God doesn’t choose to work in miracles in our church today like He did for the early church. Is it a lack of faith? Complacency? Do we serve the same God now that was the God in Acts? Of course we do serve the same God, he is the same today, yesterday, and forevermore. But is it something we are doing wrong as Christians or does God just choose to work differently in the American culture than he did for the early church? I don’t have all the answers for these questions. The only thing that I know is that God is sovereign and in control and will work according to His will and not to anyone else’s. Is the real issue to this subject the fact that myself and the American church doesn’t take the time to actually reflect on the miracles that God performs in our lives? We Americans are so wrapped up in careers, social medias, entertainment, sports, and other ‘stuff’ that can take our eyes off of how God is moving and onto the world.

The simple fact that God loves us is a miracle. I am the lowest of low and God chose to come down to this world, suffer false accusations, take in scourging after scourging until his back was fileted open, receive a crown of thorns which pierced his skull, carrying his cross to calvary, with the weight of all my ugly sin in the past and future on His shoulders. That, my friend, is true love; unconditional love; a miracle. Another miracle is the fact that he is actually transforming my life to His likeness.

Think about this: Him breaking down a prideful heart and healing it is just as much a miracle as healing a man lame from birth. The only difference between the 2 mentioned miracles is that so many Christians spiritual eyes are calloused to see Spiritual healing and we can only recognize physical healing. I have had these callouses, but thanks to God’s grace He is softening them. And in this softening, I’m filled with wonder and amazement; just like the crowd at the temple who witnessed the healing of the lame man.

Application

Today I will pray that God continues this softening of my Spiritual eyes to make me more sensitive to His awesome works. I will also write down the miracles, big or small, that God performs today.

Actions Speak Loud

Inductive Bible Study – February 7, 2013

Acts 3:9

And all the people saw him walking and praising God.

Interpretation

Put yourselves in the shoes of the crowd. You’re going to the temple during one of the times of prayer in the afternoon. You pray to God out of a sincere heart but sometimes you fall into the gravity of the law of diminishing returns. Doing this multiple times every day without the guidance of the Holy Spirit could get monotonous at times. Every day, multiple times a day, you walk past beggars at the gates. Beggars whose lives are completely dependent on the pity of others. Every once in a while you drop a denari in one of their collection cups to obey the law of Moses to take care of the poor. But then you don’t give it a second thought.

While praying you hear joyful shouting behind you, you turn around and to your amazement this beggar that has sat at the gate for years is jumping around like Michael Jordan. What is going on? What happened to this guy? The Curious George inside of you needs to find out how this happened. You remember seeing how deformed his feet were and he hasn’t used most of his leg muscles all his life and now he’s an athlete. You hear people saying that Peter and John healed them and you remember hearing about these guys as the Jesus radicals. You say to yourself ‘I’ve gotta check into this’.

Ok, back to reality. In Christ we have great things happen to us, maybe not physically like the lame man, but spiritually. Likewise, we also go through trials in life where instills lies into us telling us that we are alone in this battle, when in reality it is an obstacle to strengthen our reliance on Christ. We can’t always control what happens in our life, whether good or bad, but we don’t proclaim Christ whether or not good or bad things happen to us, in and of itself. We proclaim Christ through our reaction to the bumps and turns in life. This lame man honored God by praising him when he was healed, Job honored God, after losing all his possessions and children, by saying ‘the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the Name of the Lord’. Our reactions speak volumes.

Application

Today in the hope to let my actions speak I will journal all the events from today and to the best of my ability write down my reaction to each mini adventure.

Rejoice

Inductive Bible Study

Acts 3:8

So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them – walking, leaping, and praising God.

Interpretation

How often do we rejoice in what the Lord has done for us? This man had no shame to express his joy in front of all the people at the temple, and not in a way that brought honor to himself, but we read later that the people were amazed at what happened which opened up an opportunity for Peter to preach the Gospel and in response many were saved. All of which stemmed back to a joyful man, not ashamed to let the world know of the goodness that the Lord had done in his life.

What about us? We all deserve to go to hell. In His great love for us, and by His grace, He sent His one and only Son to die on our behalf. For us, wretched humans, separated from God, chained down by our sin, living in agony in our guilt. What does God see in us that would cultivate such love? Only by His majestic grace we are saved. I deserve to go to hell. We all deserve to go to hell. Try to grasp the awfulness and torture of an eternity in the lake of fire. First the heat is unbearable, but our nerves never die. The thirst is unquenchable, but we can’t even have a drop of water. And no human can grasp our minds on eternity. While we can’t imagine what the pain, anguish, and gnashing of teeth this fire pit is like, we also can’t fathom this immense anguish for 10,000 years and it being still like day 1. How wonderful His grace that He allowed His son to take on Himself what was rightfully ours.

Psalms 95 says ‘O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.’ Not only has God saved me from the pits of hell, but he is transforming me into His likeness. That is something to get excited about.

Do we praise God as we go throughout the day? Do we let others see our joy so that God is honored and glorified? Do our once lame souls leap at the excitement of what God has done for us?

Application

Today I will tell someone of the praiseworthy things God has been doing in my heart lately.

Big Faith

Inductive Bible Study – February 5, 2013

Acts 3:7

And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

Interpretation

Peter had no small amount of faith in this encounter. He had already counted the cost. Imagine what would have happened if Peter said all these things and then he went to pull this man to his feet and he just simply toppled over again. It would have been a slap in the face. Remember that in response to this miracle and Peter’s sermon following the number of believers went from 3000 in chapter 2 to 5000 in the beginning of chapter 4. Peter had no doubt in his mind that God wasn’t going to do the act that he put into Peter’s heart. He was operating out of faith that God would come through and would glorify himself. Peter himself says later in verse 16 that ‘by faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong’.

How often in life are we faced with a task that seems bigger than ourselves? Paul, in 1 Corinthians 2, goes on to say ‘my message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.’ When we have an important decision to make in life, do we pray about it? Do we seek God’s council on it? Or do we rest on our own wisdom, not on God’s power? I know for me personally it is easy to figure stuff out on my own. I’m somewhat independent so making that decision comes naturally. But that is pride. I can’t make these decisions on my own and glorify God, which is our purpose in life. God is glorified by those who live by faith and do what is impossible to earthly wisdom so that God is glorified.

Application

Today I will study the ‘faith chapter’, Hebrews 11.

The Name of Jesus

Inductive Bible Study – February 4, 2013

Acts 3:6

Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

Interpretation

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. What power there is in His name. God is almighty, all powerful, and magnificent.

In His great love for us, and by His grace, He sent His one and only Son to die on our behalf. For us, wretched humans, separated from God, chained down by our sin, living in agony in our guilt. What does God see in us that would cultivate such love? Only by His majestic grace we are saved. I deserve to go to hell. We all deserve to go to hell. Try to grasp the awfulness and torture of an eternity in the lake of fire. First the heat is unbearable, but our nerves never die. The thirst is unquenchable, but we can’t even have a drop of water. And no human can grasp our minds on eternity. While we can’t imagine what the pain, anguish, and gnashing of teeth this fire pit is like, we also can’t fathom this immense anguish for 10,000 years and it being still like day 1. How wonderful His grace that He allowed His son to take on Himself what was rightfully ours.

In light of this our hearts should be rid of ourselves. Our human nature cries out for the heart to focus on self, to focus on my wants, my desires; but God gave ALL for us. Dare not we think that our salvation was anything on our end. There was absolutely nothing I have done to gain this salvation. It was only by God’s unending grace that He chose me as His own. Should we not then die to ourselves to live for God? Should he not then receive all glory and dominion?

Peter and John came to this lame man. They were filled of the Spirit and were sensitive to His voice to heal this man. But notice that Peter did not say “in the name of the church of Christ, walk”. No, Christ gave His all for us and neither we as individuals nor the church body should dare not receive any of that glory in light of the Christ’s sacrifice for us to spend eternity with Him, rather than in anguish forever. The name of Jesus is used many times in Acts and in the epistles and every time it is used to bring glory to the Messiah and off of myself. Because it is nothing I have done. It’s nothing Peter has done that this lame man can walk, only by the magnificent grace of our awesome God.

Application

Today I will listen for the Spirit’s voice to use the name of Jesus to bring glory to the Son, and off of myself.

Gifts for one

Inductive Bible Study – January 31, 2013

1 Corinthians 12:11

All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

Interpretation

It’s easy for a Christian to label which parts of the body is more important than others.  The quick tendency is to say the pastors or the worship leaders or youth leaders as the most important part of the body. The service of the administrators, groundskeepers, prayer partners, preachers, and worship leaders all share one thing in common when done in humility. They are done for the glory of God.

One of the things I have been able to be a part of the body back at home was serving in the powerpoint and sound ministry. I was able to notice that the only time anyone actually realized that there were 2 people sitting in the back of the sanctuary running the technology was when there was a mistake in sound or powerpoint. In my own selfish heart I was wondering why this was so. But God spoke to me and said ‘you shouldn’t be seeking affirmation from others. Do it as unto me.’ Collosians 3:17 says And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

No matter what gifts God distributes us we shouldn’t be judging our gifts against other peoples gifts but should keep our eyes on Jesus, the perfect example of servant hood.

⁵ Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

⁶     Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

⁷     but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

Application

Today I will thank staff members of PFR for the tasks that they do that seem to go unnoticed, but are such an important part in God’s kingdom.

Manifestation

Inductive Bible Study

January 31, 2013

1 Corinthians 12:7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

Interpretation

The first thing I wanted to look into this verse is the actual meaning of manifestation and found that it is ‘an event, action, or object that clearly shows or embodies something’. So in context of this verse we see that every believer is given an; event, action or object, of the Spirit that clearly embodies the common good. But what does that look like?

In the secular realm we see people all the time that are just naturally good at something, whether it’s good business practices, good salesman persuasion, good trade skills, or whatever. But in the secular realm these things are used outside of the Spirit and, while they are good things, often times are used to build himself/herself up. He/she may be able to afford a country cottage, 2 vehicles, vacation every year, retirement, and a round of golf each week, but is all the possession stuff being used for the common good?

Even in the church spectrum there are those out to build a name for themselves, concerning themselves on what others think of them and they use their natural talents to build that self-image. Psalm 118:8 says ‘It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man’.

However, when we are led by the Spirit and in growing relationship with Christ, God will use our natural talents and our spiritual gifts for the common good of the body of Christ. Our physical bodies need the nutrients and energy in food in order to grow stronger. Likewise, God will use our talents and spiritual gifts, when led by the Spirit, to cause growth to the Body of Christ. We can easily talk about the church in a general sense, saying things like ‘if only the church would use the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good’. But our responsibility is not to look at the church as a whole. Our responsibility starts with our personal relationship to God.

Application

Today I will pray to God to search me for any way in me, in interacting with the body of Christ, that does not benefit the common good.