Pondering The Scriptures: Recent Episodes
Richard C. Trucks
I encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ to Ponder this question. What am I doing with the life Jesus has given to me? Before answering this questioin read Matthew 22:34-40 and honestly evaluate if you are obeying this commandment.
As a believer in Jesus Christ as my savioir I have a very close
relationship with him and he gives me his grace and peace
each day.
everyday
In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
Proverbs 3:1-4 describes a successful life as one who has
Jesus Christ as their Savior, studies the Bible and lives their
lives according to the Bible.
In John 3:16 we are taught, "For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotton Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." One must have Jesus
as Savior in order to have spiritual life and grow spiritually.
In 1 Peter 1:13-16 believers in Jesus are instructed to live
a holy life because God is holy.
In Ephesians 2:8-9 we read, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing, is is the gift of God not a result of works, so that on one may boast." No one will go to heaven by being a good person or a member of a church. Salvtion is given to us when we have faith in his son alone for forgivenwss of sin.
We are ijnstructed in James 1 and 1 Peter 1 that the purpose
of trials in the life of a believer in Jesus is to show them their
faith is real and to cause them to be spiritually strong.
In 1 Peter 1:3-6 The Lord promises all those who believe in Him
will have an eternal inheritance guarded by His power.
In this life there are times when it seems that God is not with us
but that is not the truth. God is eternal and He is sovereign in
all of life and He will never leave you or forsake you.
The verses in this lesson focus on parts of verses in the
account of the birth of Jesus but are rarely mentioned in
sermons or Bible Study lessons.
The christmas gift each believer in Jesus may give to Him not
only at christmas but each day of the year.
In Isaiah 7:14 The prophet promises that God will send The
Messiah to save His people from their sin and the name of the
Messiah is Immnauel which means God with us.
The most important reason for giving thanks to the LORD is
given to us in Psalm 107:1-3. The LORD has redeemed us
from trouble, which is being dead in tresspasses and sin, Ephesians 2:1-2.
The world in which we live is crooked which means it is warped.
It is also Twisted which means it is perverted and depraved. In
other words the world is spiritually deprived. The believer's role is to encourage people to believe in Jesus, ask Him to forgive them of ther sin and become their Savior and Lord.
In Romans 1:18-26 Paul is meditating on how the Lord is going
to use him in the life of the believers in Philippi. Believers in the church are praying for him and Paul is also praying to discern how the Lord is going to use him. In Romans 1:25 Paul comes to the conslusion how the Lord is going to use him.
The Lord places believers in Christ into all kinds of situations
so we will have the opportunity for the gospel of Jesus to shine through our our attitudes and actions, Matthew 5:16
In Philippians 1:1-2 Paul refers to the believers in Jesus Christ
as saints. A saint is a person who trust in Jesus alone for salvation and is set apart from sin and dedicated to God.
Only the people who believe in Jesus as their savior have
forgiveness of their sin. They are truly in "The Vine" who is
Jesus and they will have spiritual fruit in their lives, Galatians 5:22-23
The most important question you have been asked iis in
John 11:26, "Do you believe this? Do you believe in Jesus
as the resurrection and the life. Please read John 11:17-27 in order to understand the importance of this question.
Jesus is the good, the excellent, Shepherd because he willfully
laid down is live for His people and satisfied God's holy and just judgement on our behalf. Therefore anyone who believes in Jesus has been forgiven of their sins and possess eternal life.
as their Savior will
There are many religious people in the world who believe
that their good works and believeing in any god will get them
into heaven. In John 10:9 Jesus says, "I, I am the door. If anyone enter by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture".
Most people believe they are going to heaven when they die
because the beliver their good deeds will be more in number
than their bad or evil deeds therefor God will let them in heaven. Such a belief is darkness because it is not the truth.
One must believe in Jesus as their Savior in order to go to heaven when they die. Please read John 3:16
In John 6 Jesus points out that we have a spiritual apetite and
we long to have our apetite satisfied just like we have an apitite for physical for food and drink. We know how to satisfy
our hunger and thirst. Do you know how to have your spiritual
apetite satisfied? It is only satisfied when we have Jesus Christ as our Savior.
There are those who hope they will go to heaven when they die but they are not sure. Some do not know what will happen to their soul at death. Others hope they have lived a good life and their good deeds will out number their bad and they will go to heaven. Finally, there are those who trust in Jesus alone for the forgiveness of their sin and they will go to heaven when they die. Which one are you?
How a believer in Jesus Christ lives in a world of evil doers
and wrong doers and has the ability to delight in the LORD.
Based on Romans 8:1-4 The Spirit of LIfe, which is the Holy
Spirit lives in the heart of each believer. And the Holy Spirit
teaches us God's Word, helps us remember God's Word and
also helps us obey God's Word.
When and individual becomes a believer in Jesus Christ the
Holy Spirit comes into that person's heart and begins to change the desires of theie heart.
When a person becomes a believer in Christ he or she
is to conduct their life according to the Bible. The desires
of the believer are to please and honor the Lord in every aspect of our lives. We are instructed how we can dothis in
Romans 6:12-14.
In Romans 6:1-4 we read that we are to walk in newness of life.
In Christ we are free from the bondage of sin and death, God the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts to teach us from the Scriptures on how to live our new life in Christ.
God's love for His children is eternal, it will never be removed
from us and our lives will demonstrate to those around us what God's love means to us.
When a child of God sins against their heavenly Father
he or she must confess the sin, repent and ask for the
father's forgiveness. Jesus intercedes for us to the Father and we are forgiven!
Those who trust in Jesus Chrst alone for their salvation will
go to heaven immediately upon their death. Those who do not
believe in Jesus Christ will spend an eternity as an object of God's wrath because they do not believe in Jesus as their Savior.
The Believer in Jesus Christ should conduct their lives
according to the Wisdom of the Lord which is in The Bible.
Believers in Christ should not live according to the wisdom that comes from the world.
If we have the fear of the LORD in our hearts then we will have
a strong deire to receive the knowledge and wisdom of God and live by it each day.
In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we are instructed concerning the
importantce of studying Scripture and then living according
to what we are taught by the Holy Spirit.
The passages of Scripture in this lesson reveal to us how Jesus
interdes for His followers who who faithfully draw near to Him.
The Believer in Jesus Christ will die a physical death but their
soul will never die, We all have enemies but the Believer has Jesus to protect them. The Believer will spend eternity in heaven while the non-believer will be in hell experiencing the wrath of God for etrnity since they did not believe in Jesus as their Savior.
In Psalm 23:2-3 we are instructed how Jesus Shepherds us
by living in our hearts by the Holy Spirit and placing men who
are His undershepherds in the church teaching believers God's Word.
Jesus promises those who trust in Him alone for salvation
to shepherd them which means to watch over them, protect
them and meet every need we have.
Proverbs 22:17 describes a mentor as one who is wise, teaches
the Word of God and can be trusted.
When someone prays to receive Jesus as their Savior God
forgives of their sin and the Holy Spirit begins living in their
heart and He will live there forever!
God sent His only Son into the world to die for our sins, to be
raised from the dead on the third day and each person who
trust in Jesus as their Savior will be forgiven and have eternal life. And the peace and joy of Christ will be in their heart.
God's joy for me comes into my heart when I trust in His son Jesus Christ as my savior. As I study and obey God's Word His joy becomes more obvious to me personally and to those around me.
God loved the people of every tribe and nation that He sent His
only Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to die for their sin. If anyone receives Jesus as their Savior they will be forgiven of
their sin and spend eternity in heaven when they die.
The Lord Jesus Christ gives us His peacen anytime we
come to Him in prayer informing Him of our fears, worries
and anxieties. Jesus will grant to us His peace which surpasses
all understanding.
How does a Believer in Jesus walk in Him?
Colossians 2:6-7 instructs Believers how to
walk in Jesus.
It is easy to rejoice in the Lord when life is easy but during difficult and trying times it is so hard to rejoice in the Lord. Philippians 4:4 and 4:10-13 instructs us how to rejoice in the Lord regardless of the situation in our lives.
Understanding how the Lord works in our hearts to reveal
His plan for our lives and how He enables to live our lives
in a manner that is Pleasing to Him
There are times in the life of a Believer in Christ that we do not sense that the LORD is listening to us. James 5:13-18 contains principles which helps us to communicate with the LORD through prayer.
Whenever anyone takes an oath or makes a vow the Lord
expects that person to fulfill the vow they have made.
When the Lord brings difficult times into our lives we need to
turn to Him on order to work through these times in a way that
will honor the Lord and enable us to receive the Lord's grace
and mercy in our lives.
When I choose to disobey the Word of the Lord I am placing
myself above the Scriptures and making myself equal with God.
Believers go through times when we feel like the LORD is not
listening to us and not answering our prayers. James 4:1-10
will help you have an understanding of why the LORD might
not be answering your prayers
The heart of a Believer in Christ should be controled by the
Holy Spirit and filled with the fruit of the Spirit as opposed to
being filled with ungodliness and the fruit of the flesh
If our faith in Jeus Christ saving faith then we will have the
works in our lives that our faith is alive and we do have salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ.
James gives us very clear instruction on how to live before the
LORD in a manner that will honor Him and will enable us to live our lives in a manner that our faith in Jesus is real.
I ask each of you to make a list of what you believe about God. Then search the Scriptures to see if you can base your beliefs about God in Scripture. After completing your study see how much of what you believe about God is Biblical. Ponder the results of your study! Correct the beliefs about God that are not based on Scripture.
Evaluate Your Priorities In life to determine which issues in my life are most important to me. Especially what priority have I givent to my spiritual needs?
In James 1:5-8 we are going to learn how to approach the Lord as we ask for wisdom on how to deal with the issues we are facing in our lives.
We often see trials, testing and tribulation in our lives as negative times and experiences. These trials can be very challenging and difficult times in our lives. However the prupose of God in our lives is to strenthen our faith, confidence and trust in Him.
According to 1 Corinthians 10:31 Blelievers in Jesus Christ are to live their lives in a manner that will honor Him.
As a Believer in Jesus Christ the attitude of my heart, the thoughts of my mind and and the words of my mouth should show that my life shows forth the light of Jesus in me.
The world if full of spiritual darkness which causes anxiety, fear and hopelessness in the lives of people. As Believers in Christ live their lives in obedience to the Word of God people will see the hope, joy and love of God in our hearts. Then they will ask, "Why are you so peaceful?" The opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been given to the Believer.