Category: Bible Studies

#6 of 100

#6 of 100

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to that website that has produced a list of the 100 MOST-READ Bible verses (i.e., read on their site). I do not question the statistics they supply. Number SIX on their list of the 100 most read is Proverbs 3.5. Verse six is needed to get the whole sentence:  Trust in the Lord with all your heart,  and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.  What a blessing is the Book of Proverbs!

In John G. Butler’s work, Analytical Bible Expositor, he breaks down the command of Proverbs 3.5-6 into a threefold charge, alliteratively each beginning with the letter D: (1) Dependence; (2) Deference; and (3) Devotion.

First, there is DEPENDENCE: Trust in the Lord with all your heart.  It is what God expects of us and, in fact, demands. So frequently, in Old Testament times, God’s people failed in this expectation! They were easily swayed away from the proper trust of God toward trusting the gods men had created for themselves. Also, they tended to trust in themselves rather than in the God Who had blessed them in so many ways in the past. It is easy today to fail in this regard by trusting science or the views of the worldly-educated rather than that which equips us for every good work (2 Tim 3.16-17), the very God-breathed word. How helpful it would be for you and me to reflect upon another great proverb: Prov 14.12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Another bit of wisdom is found at Proverbs 29.25, The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. Jesus makes so clear the importance of trusting in God as He teaches us: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

Second, there is DEFERENCE: Lean not on your own understanding. How many times have we made important life decisions having ignored this great principle? We serve, worship, and love an omniscient God. Not only so, He is a good God. He cares for His people. How foolish is it for us to think that we can come up with a better way than is presented to us in God’s Word? We have a Book to follow that will lead us from here to eternal glory. The abundant life Jesus speaks of in John 10.10 is by far the superior life to live while we walk upon this earth. Abraham certainly was wise to wait for “the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God (Heb 11.10). Guidance from the almighty is such a great blessing and leaning on His revelation as the guide for our lives will never be wrong.

Third there is DEVOTION: In all your ways acknowledge Him. Whatever we do, before we do it, we must be assured it is according to His will. It is easy to get to the point where we have little compartments for the many aspects of a modern-day lifestyle. We may set aside that certain amount of time on Sundays and Wednesdays for worship to God. The rest of the time is “for us.” That sort of reasoning is what leads to the opposite of what is suggested with this command from Proverbs 3.6. God’s instruction to us in Scripture is to be consulted in the multiple decisions of every aspect of our lives, day by day.

If it is our desire to have God direct our paths, it will be necessary to pay close heed to these three commands found in Proverbs 3.5-6. What a thrill it is to know there is a way to live which has God directing our paths! But it is a great challenge forever before us.

 

 

 

79 of 100

#79 of 100

One very large evangelical Bible Study website makes a claim as follows: “Today, _____  is the most-visited Christian website in the world with more than 140-150 million views per month.” That same site has produced a list of the 100 MOST-READ Bible verses (i.e., read on their site). I do not question the statistics they supply. I am confident it is a very popular site. It probably has grown since the posting of those numbers. I use it occasionally myself.

I am convinced that a helpful exercise is to study about these MOST READ Bible verses. If that many people are reading these 100 verses, would I not be better prepared to reach out to those people if I could demonstrate at least a hint of familiarity with and understanding of those verses? What a great conversation-starter, at least.

So then, by one count, number 79 of 100 most read Bible verses happens to be: James 1.3. The Book of James is an amazingly practical letter. The person who spends quality time with this epistle learns much about how to be a strong and faithful Christian!

The first part of the sentence of which James 1.3 is a part is the previous verse; certainly verse 4 also needs consideration since it gives the RESULT. James 1.2-4 reads: My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing (NKJV).

When James writes that we should COUNT it all joy, he uses the Greek word which Louw & Nida define as: to hold a view or have an opinion with regard to something[1]. James advises Christians to have a certain view of trials. That view is influenced especially by the knowledge of the reward that comes to the one who is not swayed away from faithfulness to the Lord by the trials one endures in life.

When we read this verse something does seem out of whack, though. HOW can I count trials as something joyful? Burton Coffman quotes from Zerr and from Russel to explain: “‘James could not have meant here that Christians are ‘to pretend that they get joy out of things which are disagreeable, for that would be an act of insincerity.’<9>  ‘The true view of temptation or trial is that it is an opportunity to gain new strength through overcoming.’<10>.”

James tells us that the testing of our faith produces patience. What is involved in this TESTING? The original word only is found here and in 1 Peter 1.7. It “was used for coins that were genuine and not debased. The aim of testing is not to destroy or afflict, but to purge and refine. It is essential to Christian maturity, for even Abraham’s faith had to be tested this way (see Gen. 22:1–8). The meaning of patience transcends the idea of bearing affliction; it includes the idea of standing fast under pressure, with a staying power that turns adversities into opportunities. James 1:3” [NKJV Study Bible].

If I count trials I may face as joy, rather than allow them to overcome me and cause me to become unfaithful, James says the cause is that PATIENCE has been produced. David Sain wrote of it: “The word, as often used and understood in our daily usage, signifies the ability to wait, to submissively wait. However, it means far more than that in this text. Here, it signifies the ability to bear, to persevere, to endure. And it is so translated in the New American Standard Version: “…knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance” (James 1:3).”[2] James is teaching us that no matter what, we can overcome trials.

[1] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 364.

[2] David Sain, The Behavior of Faith, 2011 MSOP Lectures, p. 31.

Study Guide for 2 Samuel

LemmonsAid Study Guides

When we last had Bible Classes PRE-Covid19, we were engaged in a study of 2 Samuel on Wednesday nights. In July our classes will begin again, Lord willing. We have now completed a study guide for the 17th chapter of 2 Samuel. There are eight pages containing several parts including questions, lessons, outline, summary, etc. I hope the guide will be helpful to many in taking a look at this very interesting chapter in the life of King David. You can find the PDF by clicking H-E-R-E. Other guides also are available by clicking H-E-R-E.

TRUTH for May 2020

I have found it always to be profitable to read the four monthly articles produced by Roger D. Campbell in his TRUTH journal. He is an excellent Bible student and preacher of the gospel and world evangelist. This month’s articles include these interesting titles:

  1. Will Every Child Who Honors His Parents Live a Long Life?
  2. Samuel as a Type of the Christ
  3. Giving Our Best to the Lord
  4. Ephesians 2.8-10… By Grace You Have Been Saved

Find them by clicking H-E-R-E.

TRUTH for 2002

We are so thankful for the good writing skill of our friend Roger D. Campbell. It is always helpful to read his monthly publication, TRUTH. Here is the issue for February of 2020. It contains four articles:

  1. The TRUTH about Murder. An excellent discussion.
  2. The Lord’s Passover (Exodus 12.13).
  3. My Heart Drops When I Hear those Words
  4. Paul, A Pattern of Believers (1 Timothy 1.16)

You may read these articles by clicking H-E-R-E.

Truth 1911

Truth
Truth Journal for November 2019

It is always pleasant to find in the Email box the next issue of TRUTH from Roger D. Campbell. He is a great Bible student and he teaches God’s truth in an easily understood fashion. I have high regard for his love for lost souls and his dedicated work in both domestic and foreign fields of labor. Please take a look at these important studies. Always there are four excellent articles. This issue includes:

  1. Serious Questions about Truth and Knowledge
  2. 12 Truths about the Ten Commandments
  3. The Privilege of Citizenship in God’s Kingdom/Family
  4. Thomas: A Man Misunderstood/Misjudged

Please read this PDF file by clicking H-E-R-E.

Lessons from Acts

4400.Acts7LessonsPlaque

  1. Seven Lessons from Acts 1… 19050502.4401
  2. Seven Lessons from Acts 2… 19051202.4402
  3. Seven Lessons from Acts 3… 19051902.4403
  4. Seven Lessons from Acts 4… 19052602.4404
  5. Seven Lessons from Acts 5… 19060202.4405
  6. Seven Lessons from Acts 6… 19060902.4406
  7. Seven Lessons from Acts 7… 19061602.4407
  8. Seven Lessons from Acts 8… 19063002.4408
  9. Seven Lessons from Acts 9… 19070702.4409
  10. Seven Lessons from Acts 10… 19072102.4410
  11. Seven Lessons from Acts 11… 19072805.4411
  12. Seven Lessons from Acts 12… 19102702.4412
  13. Seven Lessons from Acts 13… 19110302.4413
  14. Seven Lessons from Acts 14… PDF
  15. Seven Lessons from Acts 15… PDF
  16. Seven Lessons from Acts 16… PDF
  17. Seven Lessons from Acts 17… PDF
  18. Seven Lessons from Acts 18… PDF
  19. Seven Lessons from Acts 19… PDF
  20. Seven Lessons from Acts 20… PDF
  21. Seven Lessons from Acts 21… PDF
  22. Seven Lessons from Acts 22… PDF
  23. Seven Lessons from Acts 23… PDF
  24. Seven Lessons from Acts 24… PDF
  25. Seven Lessons from Acts 25… PDF
  26. Seven Lessons from Acts 26… PDF
  27. Seven Lessons from Acts 27… PDF
  28. Seven Lessons from Acts 28… PDF

Jerusalem Meeting

David Lemmons and Mathias Posilambi
DRL and Mathias in Manado August 2015

Why did Paul go to Jerusalem in Acts 15? Would not the Holy Spirit have guided them in answer to their question? Another great question that was turned in by one of YOU. Let’s take a few lines to consider this excellent question. Will you study it with me?

 It is certainly true that Jesus promised the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit to guide the apostles into ALL truth! Notice John 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. And, John 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. There should be no question in anyone’s mind whether or not the apostles (including Paul) knew every single thing that they needed to know to do the work of spreading the saving message. Jesus’ words make that perfectly clear.

 So then, there must have been some other reason that a meeting took place in Acts 15. Let’s read it… Acts 15:1-2  And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.  (2)  When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. Luke informs us here that certain Judaizing teachers were causing problems (dissension and disputation). They were seeking to bind parts of the Law of Moses upon Gentiles. Let us not for one moment think that Paul was confused about this matter or that he needed consultation with others before he could give his answer to these false teachers! Listen to what Paul wrote: Galatians 1:11-12  But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.  (12)  For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. The truth of the gospel was revealed to Paul by Jesus Christ and he had the exact same authority and guidance that the other apostles did.

 Back to Acts 15.1-2. Let’s ask the question: What word is the antecedent for the word THEY in verse 2? Who was it that determined that such a meeting was needed? Grammatically, it could be: PAUL AND BARNABAS. But contextually, that does not make sense because of the phrase: AND CERTAIN OTHER OF THEM. It seems the antecedent has to be THE BRETHREN of verse 1. Paul and Barnabas were quite willing to defend their position in Jerusalem or anywhere else. It was the brethren who were beginning to be influenced by the false teaching of the Judaizers. They needed some confirmation that the position of Paul was the true position.

 Those false teachers had attacked the authority of Paul and Paul was thus forced to defend his apostolic authority. That is what he does in 2 Corinthians and Galatians. The thing that came out of the meeting of Acts 15 was recognition that Paul’s position was true and a letter was sent out to the Gentile churches (Acts 15.20). Paul had the SIGNS of an apostle (2 Cor 12.12) and none of the Gentile Christians ever should have questioned Paul’s teaching, but evidently some were in that sad state. Not only was the Judaizing doctrine a problem among the Gentiles, there were many Christians of a Jewish background who also were having difficulty with that particular doctrinal discussion. The doctrine was always WRONG and the Jerusalem meeting simply was one means of getting that message firmly presented among all brethren.

 Paul went to Jerusalem for the meeting of Acts 15 because he loved the souls of men—he wanted that question to be answered once and for all, if possible.

TRUTH for January 2019

Truth.1901TRUTH for January 2019 is now available. We are thankful to Roger Campbell for his study of the Bible and his interest in helping others better to appreciate and know God’s Book. Will you please consider the four excellent studies for January. Listed below are the titles and first paragraphs of the four one-page articles found in TRUTH for January of 2019.

 

  1. Prophets of God in the First Century Church

Fulfilled Bible prophecy is evidence that the Bible’s message came from the mind of God. We thrill to read of the foretelling of the virgin birth of the Christ (Isaiah 7), the coming fall of Babylon (Isaiah 13), and the influential role of King Cyrus (Isaiah 44). Each of those memorable prophecies is found in the Old Testament. But what about prophets in the New Testament church? To read more download here: Truth1901.

  1. Lessons We Can Learn from David Sparing King Saul

King Saul was granted the privilege of being the first human king to rule over the nation of Israel. The message of 1 Samuel 18 shows how the relationship between Saul and a young man named David was soured. When Saul heard some in Israel praising David more than they praised the king himself, he was extremely upset. Saul was angry, he was afraid of David, he kept his eye on him, he counted David as an enemy, and more than once he tried to kill him. To put it mildly, in his dealings with David, Saul was not a very nice person. To study SEVEN lessons from this Bible account, download: Truth1901.

  1. Do You Find Worship Boring?

“Boring is defined as someone or something dull or uninteresting” [ http://www.yourdictionary.com ]. As humans, we find certain things and certain people interesting; at the same time, hearing someone discuss other topics may put us to sleep, as we have zero interest in those matters. To read more, download: Truth1901.

  1. 1 Corinthians 15.1-8—The Gospel

The theme of the fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians is “The Resurrection.” Paul writes about Jesus’ own resurrection from the dead, he notes the consequences which would follow if there were no resurrection, and he speaks of the future resurrection which will occur when the Christ comes again. To consider FIVE points from these verses, download: Truth1901.

Meet Temptation with Christ

baguette bakery blur bread
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

In Luke 4.1-13 we have the record of Jesus being tempted of Satan. Though He was tempted, He never yielded to temptation (Hebrews 4.15). What a marvelous example we have to follow: our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2.21)! We ought often to thank God for this blessing.

We will not fare as well as did our Lord in meeting temptation (Romans 3.23). However, we do have the ability to resist temptation and we CAN be successful in our battle with Satan and S-I-N! Three points should make this clear to us. Please study the references attached to these points…

  1. We have a HEAVENLY EXAMPLE (Luke 4.1-13).
  2. We have a HEAVENLY ASSURANCE (1 Corinthians 10.13).
  3. We have a HEAVENLY PRESCRIPTION–Revelation 3.10. The saints at Philadelphia were commended by the Lord. They had kept His word of PATIENCE. That word means: “to continue to bear up despite difficulty and suffering … to put up with…” [Louw-Nida]. God’s Word is that which makes it possible to resist temptation (Psalm 119.11).

An “entire alphabet of help” (26 total) from Scripture to resist temptation…

In order to meet temptation with Christ, we must. . .

  • A.  “Keep the word of Christ’s patience” (Rev 3:10).
  • B.  Know the Bible (Psalms 119:11).
  • C.  Be godly (2 Peter 2:9).
  • D.  Look for the way to escape temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13).
  • E.  Remember Lot’s wife (Luke 17:32).
  • F.  Use the “Spiritual EPA” (Philippians 4:8).
  • G.  Follow the Example of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11).
  • H.  Pray (Matthew 26:41).
  • I.   KNOW that we are ABLE to resist (1 Corinthians 10:13).
  • J.  Don’t allow temptations to discourage and then destroy (1 Peter 5:6-7).
  • K.  Refuse to allow Satan to create doubt in your mind about what God has said or what He really means (Genesis 3:4-5).
  • L.   Refuse to believe Satan’s lie that something good will come from doing something evil (Genesis 3:4-5).
  • M. Do not allow Satan to use your God-given ability to envision, visualize, and fantasize to create a picture of the pleasure of sin–these pleasures are ONLY for a season (Genesis 3:4-5; Hebrews 11:25).
  • N.   Remember that when God says NO to something it is NOT to diminish your pleasure, but to ENHANCE it (John 10:10).
  • O.  Remember this world is not your home (1 Peter 1:17).
  • P.   Think about the NEW ways God can use you as you choose not to yield to temptation (Hebrews 11).
  • Q.  THINK about how much might be riding on the decision you are about to make (Matthew 16:26).
  • R.   Realize that it is OK to be angry about SIN (John 2:13; Mark 3:5)–Personalize the enemy:  SATAN.
  • S.  Beware of your STRENGTHS (1 Corinthians 10:12).
  • T.  Shift your energy from preoccupation with life’s inconveniences and your own pain to GOING TO WORK FOR THE LORD–Put on the Lord Jesus (Romans 13:14).
  • U.   Know that the way out of temptation is THROUGH it–Patiently endure it and do so with JOY (James 1:2).
  • V.  Understand that the Bible speaks of SINS OF IMAGINING (e.g., Matthew 5:27-28).
  • W. Do not waste time devising evil plans or making provision for the flesh, BUT rather put on the Lord Jesus (Romans 13:14).
  • X.  Do not forget about the OMNISCIENCE OF GOD–Some day all that you thought was secret and hidden will be made manifest and made known (Luke 8:17).
  • Y.  Appreciate and use the DISCERNING POWER OF GOD’S WORD (Hebrews 4:12).
  • Z.   Bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Life on this earth is filled with trials, temptations, and disappointments. In order to live the best way it is possible to live here, we must be determined to:  MEET TEMPTATION WITH CHRIST.