Bible Study Planet

Four Ways To Enjoy This Day

admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:00:52 +0000

There are four things we can do to be blessed, and be a blessing to others, today:

1) Meditate On God’s Word

“I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” (Psalm 119:14-16)

God’s Word is a “light for our path.” (Ps 119:105) It brings us joy by “teaching, rebuking correcting and training us in righteousness,” (2 Tim 3:16) showing us what things are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy, (Phil 4:8) and by reminding us of all God’s promises. (Ps 119:76, Gal 3:14) Take time everyday to read the Bible.

2) Live Faithfully

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22)

Christians represent the living God to a dying world. Whatever happens throughout the day our goal should be to “conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” (Phil 1:27)

We should be faithful children, parents, spouses, employers, employees and friends, treating people the way the Bible tells us to, and remembering when we fall short “if we confess our sins He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jhn 1:9)

Another aspect of living faithfully is truly putting our faith in Christ, who we trust to not only pay for our sins, but also provide, guide, strengthen and comfort us. (Rom 3:22-26, Phil 4:13, 2 Cor 12:9-10)

3) Live For Others

“We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph 2:10)

We’re created in Christ to do good works, and He has blessed each of us with gifts which allow us to accomplish these works. Some are good at encouraging, some are able to teach, some love to pray, others have the gift of compassion… there are many different types of gifts but what they all have in common is the gifts God gives us are designed to serve others.

We’re encouraged to have the same attitude as Christ by “serving one another in love.” (Phil, 2:5-7, Gal 5:13) A day spent living for others will fill your heart with joy because “it’s more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

4) Rejoice In the Lord Despite Any Earthly Circumstances

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Every day we should rejoice with “joy inexpressible” because we have a “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet 1:3-4,8) Even when we go through hardships we still rejoice because we’re focused on this hope.

We rejoice in spite of the fact that the bank is about to foreclose, or the doctor has bad news, or whatever else comes our way. We rejoice because the source of our joy doesn’t come from our earthly circumstances, it comes from our heavenly standing. We rejoice always because we belong to Christ.

Who You Are In Christ

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:00:00 +0000

You Are A New Creation

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

You Are Justified

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

You Are Complete In Christ

“And you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” – Colossians 2:10

You Have Access To God Through The Holy Spirit

“For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.” – Ephesians 2:18

You Are A Saint

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus.” – Ephesians 1:1

You Are God’s Workmanship

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:10

You Are Hidden With Christ In God

“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” – Colossians 3:3

You Are Free Forever From Condemnation

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” – Romans 8:1-2

You Are United With The Lord

“But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” – 1 Corinthians 6:17

You Are A Minister Of Reconciliation For God

“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” – 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

You Are Assured That All Things Work Together For Your Good

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

You Are Bought With A Price And Belong To God

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

You Are God’s Temple

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” – 1 Corinthians 3:16

You Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens You

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

You Are Established, Anointed And Sealed By God

Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”
- 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

You Are Seated With Christ In The Heavenly Places

“And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” – Ephesians 2:6

You Are A Member Of Christ’s Body

“Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” – 1 Corinthians 12:27

You Have Been Adopted As God’s Child

“Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” – Ephesians 1:5

You Are God’s Fellow Worker

“For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.” – 1 Corinthians 3:9

You Are A Branch Of The True Vine

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 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.” – John 15:1,5

You Have Been Chosen And Appointed To Bear Fruit

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” – John 15:16

You Are The Salt And Light Of The Earth

“You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” – Matthew 5:13-14

You Are A Personal Witness Of Christ’s

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” – Acts 1:8

You Are A Citizen Of Heaven

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” – Philippians 3:20

You Have Not Been Given A Spirit Of Fear, But Of Power, Love And A Sound Mind

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” – 2 Timothy 1:7

You Have Been Redeemed And Forgiven

“In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”
- Colossians 1:14

You Are Free From Any Charge Against You

“Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” – Romans 8:33-34

You Cannot Be Separated From The Love Of God

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:38-39

You May Approach God With Freedom And Confidence

“Christ Jesus, our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.” – Ephesians 3:11-12

You May Find Grace And Mercy In Time Of Need

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” – Hebrews 4:16

You Are Confident That The Good Work God Has Begun In You Will Be Perfected

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” – Philippians 1:6

You Are Christ’s Friend

“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you riends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” – John 15:15

What Every Christian Should Know About Justification

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:00:04 +0000

What Justification Means

To be justified means to be declared not guilty of all sin and penalty of God’s Law. God treats those who are justified as righteous and treats them as if they have kept all of His laws.

How We’re Justified

We cannot justify ourselves by any work we do because our works fall short of God’s standard:

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Rom 3:23)

Justification is a gift from God:

“…and are justified by his grace as a gift…” (Rom 3:24)

The gift of justification is Christ taking our place in judgment by paying for our sins on the cross:

“…through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation [payment] by his blood, (Rom 3:24-25)

At the cross we gave Christ our sin and He gave us His righteousness:

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:21)

This gift is received by faith alone. This means trusting completely in Christ to pay the penalty of our sin:

“…to be received by faith.” (Rom 3:25)

“Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom 5:6) so that he might take away their sins. Christ has no sin of his own, but is punished for human sin.

We have no righteousness of our own, but we take the divine righteousness when we come to Christ in faith, and now stand accepted before God.

Living for Christ

admin — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 11:27:49 +0000

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” – Colossians 3:2-4

Living for Christ puts Christ at the center of our life

It’s only as we learn to die to self that we begin to live for Christ.

Human nature seeks everything for itself and nothing for Christ. But when you become a Christian, you’re no longer the center of your life, Christ is.

Life has a new center, a new direction. Christ comes first. His plan for our lives replaces our own. It’s no longer what we would like to do but what the Lord wants us to do. We now say “Not my will, but Your will, be done.”

Dying to self and growing in Christ — this is what Christian living is all about.

While we’re thinking how this or that will affect us, whether it will benefit us to make this sacrifice or that self-denial; while we are consulting our own ease, our own comfort, our own interest or advantage in any form, we have not yet learned fully what the love of Christ means.

Living for Christ leads to peace

When Christ is small and self is large we cannot be deeply restful. Everything annoys us. We grow impatient of anything that breaks our comfort. We grieve over little trials. We resent whatever would hinder or oppose us.

But when self decreases and Christ increases then a life of friction and worry is changed into a life quietness and peace. When the glory of Christ streams over this little, cramped, fretted, broken life of ours peace comes, and the love of Christ brightens every spot and sweetens all bitterness. Trials are easy to bear when self is small and Christ is large.

God really thinks about our lives and has a purpose of His own for them, a place He would have us fill, a work He would have us do. Surely if God cares enough for us to make a plan for our life, it must be better than any plan of ours could be!

How do we die to Self? (From Colossians 3:5-9)

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”

How do we Live for Christ? (From Colossians 3:12-17)

“As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 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.”

- J. R. Miller

What The Bible Says About Parents

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:04:44 +0000

Parents receive their children from God:

Ge 33:5; 1 Sam 1:27; Ps 127:3

A parents duty to their children include:

- Loving them: Titus 2:4

- Leading them to Christ: Mt 19:13-14

- Training them up for God: Pr 22:6; Eph 6:4

- Instructing them in God’s word: De 4:9; 11:19; Isa 38:19

- Telling them of God’s judgments: Joel 1:3

- Telling them of the works of God: Ex 10:2; Ps 78:4

- Commanding them to obey God: Deut 32:46; 1Ch 28:9

- Blessing them: Gen 48:15; Heb 11:20

- Having compassion towards them: Ps 103:13

- Providing for them: Job 42:15; 2Co 12:14; 1Ti 5:8

- Leading them: 1Ti 3:4,12

- Correcting them: Pr 13:24; 19:18; 23:13; 29:17; Heb 12:7

- Not provoking them: Eph 6:4; Col 3:21

- Praying for their spiritual welfare: Gen 17:18; 1Ch 29:19

- Praying for them when they are tempted: Job 1:5

- Praying for them when they are sick: 2Sa 12:16; Mark 5:23; Joh 4:46,49

Unfaithful parents:

- Cause trouble for their children: Ex 20:5; Isa 14:20; Lam 5:7

- Teach their children evil: Jer 9:14; 1Pe 1:18

- Set a bad example to their children: Eze 20:18; Amos 2:4

Faithful parents:

- Are a blessing to their children:Pr 31:28

- Leave a blessing to their children: Ps 112:2; Pr 11:21; Isa 65:23

Examples of bad parents:

- Eli: 1Sa 3:13

- Saul: 1Sa 20:33

- Athaliah: 2Ch 22:3

- Manasseh: 2Ch 33:6

- Herodias: Mark 6:24

Example of good parents:

- Abraham: Gen 18:19

- Joseph: Gen 48:13-20

- Mother of Moses: Ex 2:2-3

- Hannah: 1Sa 1:28

- Job: Job 1:5

Jesus Won’t Turn You Away

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:37:57 +0000

“Whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37)

We sometimes fear being rejected by Jesus, but the Lord answers all our doubts and put our hearts at ease with one simple phrase – “Whoever comes to me I will never cast out”

You say: “But I am a great sinner.”
Jesus answers: “I will never cast you out.”

You say: “But I am a life-long sinner.”
Jesus answers: “I will never cast you out.”

You say: “But I am a hard-hearted sinner.”
Jesus answers: “I will never cast you out.”

You say: “But I am a backsliding sinner.”
Jesus answers: “I will never cast you out.”

You say: “But I have served Satan all my days.”
Jesus answers: “I will never cast you out.”

You say: “But I have sinned against God.”
Jesus answers: “I will never cast you out.”

You say: “But I have sinned against mercy.”
Jesus answers: “I will never cast you out.”

You say: “But I have nothing to offer.”
Jesus answers: “I will never cast you out.”

If you come to Christ for forgiveness of sin He will forgive you.

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”(Romans 19:13)

And again…

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

- John Bunyan

The 3 Steps of Repentance

admin — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 13:02:07 +0000

“Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation…” – 2 Corinthians 7:10

To repent means to change one’s attitude towards sin and God. It’s a change that must occur in both the mind and the heart.

In Matthew 27:3 Judas repented in his mind but not his heart. In other words, he had a sense of regret or remorse, but he remained in his sin instead of turning to God for forgiveness.

Repentance of the mind and the heart leads to salvation and consists of three steps:

Step 1 – Recognize Your Guilt

The idea here is that we understand who we are and where we stand before God. 1 John 1:8 tells us that “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” While Romans 6:23 tells us the “wages of sin is death”.

The first step in repenting involves understanding that we are sinners and stand under God’s judgment.

Step 2 – Trust That God Will Forgive You

In Psalm 51 David wrote, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.”

Repentance is not only acknowledging our sin, it’s also recognizing that God is willing and able to forgive our sin.

We’re promised in Hebrews 8:12 that God will “forgive our wickedness and will remember our sins no more.”

The second step in repenting involves believing that God will forgive us.

Step 3 – Turn From Sin, To God

Once we realize that we stand before God guilty of sin, and that He is willing to forgive us, we must then come to Him to receive that forgiveness. We come to God the Father though Jesus Christ, who is God the Son.

John 3:16 declares that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” 1 John 4:10 tells us that Christ is “the propitiation [or payment] for our sins.”

Because Christ paid for our sins, Romans 3:24 tells us that we have been “justified freely” through Him, and we now stand before God innocent.

The final step in repenting involves calling on Christ to save us from the penalty of sin. Acts 2:21 promises that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.”

Once we have repented and come to Christ for forgiveness Ephesians 2:19 tells us we are “no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.”

If You Died Today

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:12:24 +0000

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. – Romans 3:23-24

If you died today, and God asked you why He should let you into heaven, how would you answer Him?

If you answered “Because I went to church”, or “Because I did good deeds”, He would not let you in.

But if you answered “Because I have trusted in Jesus Christ to pay for my sins“, He would say “Welcome”.

Why?

It’s not that going to church or doing good deeds are bad. It’s just that they don’t have any ability to remove sin from our lives.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God… (Rom 3:23)

God’s glory is perfect, and unless our sin offering is perfect, it falls short of His glory.

So when we try to offer going to church or our good deeds or anything else as payment for our sins God rejects them because the offering is corrupted by sin and falls short of His glory.

Then How Are We Saved?

…being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Rom 3:24)

Where our sin offering is corrupted and rejected Christ’s sin offering on the cross was perfect and is accepted by God the Father.

When we call on Christ to be our Savior it means we’re relying on His sacrifice to make peace with God on our behalf.

When we do this God credits Christ’s perfection to us and we are justified, or declared innocent.

The Gospel Described In Two Words

admin — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 11:00:25 +0000

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). (Eph 2:4-5)

“But God.”

With these two words we come to the introduction to the Christian message, the peculiar, specific message which the Christian faith has to offer to us.

These two words, in and of themselves, in a sense contain the whole of the gospel.

The gospel tells of what God has done, God’s intervention; it is something that comes entirely from outside us and displays to us that wondrous and amazing and astonishing work of God.

The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 6:23)

And again:

Now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Eph 2:13)

- D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Your Sin Dropped Into The Sea

admin — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 02:15:12 +0000

You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. – Micah 7:19

As soon as a person trusts in Christ Jesus, their sins are gone from them, and gone away for ever.

They are blotted out now. What if a man owes a hundred dollars? If he has a receipt for it, he’s free, it’s blotted out, there is an erasure made in the book, and the debt is gone.

Though the person committed sin the debt has been paid, he is no more a debtor to the law of God. Doesn’t our text say that God has cast his people’s sins into the depths of the sea?

Now, if they’re in the depths of the sea, they cannot be on his people too. Blessed be his name, in the day when he casts our sins into the depth of the sea, he views us as pure in his sight, and we stand accepted in the beloved (Eph 1:6).

Then he says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12) They cannot be removed and be here still.

Then if you believe in Christ, you are no more in the sight of God a sinner, you are accepted as though you were perfect, as though you had at kept the law, for Christ has kept it, and his righteousness is yours. You’ve broken it, but your sin is his, he has been punished for it and you’ve been pardoned from it.

- Charles Spurgeon

Bible Study Planet

Four Ways To Enjoy This Day

1) Meditate On God’s Word

2) Live Faithfully

3) Live For Others

4) Rejoice In the Lord Despite Any Earthly Circumstances

You may also enjoy reading:

Who You Are In Christ

You may also enjoy reading:

What Every Christian Should Know About Justification

What Justification Means

How We’re Justified

You may also enjoy reading:

Living for Christ

You may also enjoy reading:

What The Bible Says About Parents

Parents receive their children from God:

A parents duty to their children include:

Unfaithful parents:

Faithful parents:

Examples of bad parents:

Example of good parents:

You may also enjoy reading:

Jesus Won’t Turn You Away

You may also enjoy reading:

The 3 Steps of Repentance

Step 1 – Recognize Your Guilt

Step 2 – Trust That God Will Forgive You

Step 3 – Turn From Sin, To God

You may also enjoy reading:

If You Died Today

Why?

Then How Are We Saved?

You may also enjoy reading:

The Gospel Described In Two Words

“But God.”

You may also enjoy reading:

Your Sin Dropped Into The Sea

You may also enjoy reading: