Bible Study Diaspora James 1:1 ESV Matthew 28:19-20 ESV 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 ESV When I woke up this morning I had in my mind a long list of things to do and accomplish today. Once I was dressed I grabbed my writing equipment and put those in my bag. I always that in case I get an idea. I headed for my car and started writing. It was cold last night so it took a minute for my car to warm up, so I started praying. To be truthful I was sitting with God to ask where to go and

Bible Study Holiness Leviticus 19:2 ESV Mark 16:15 ESV Holiness in the Biblical sense means set apart or consecrated. In Leviticus 19:2 the instruction given to the children of Israel said, “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.” We might wonder why God considered holiness to be a vital part of our faith. It actually makes perfect sense. The old saying, “you are what you eat” also applies to

Bible Study Numbers 6:24-26 ESV Several years ago I attended a church that practiced giving a blessing at the end of every service. While the sermons were relevant and helpful, my favorite part of the service was the blessing we were given at the end of the service. Numbers 6:24-24 tells us, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” This partic

Bible Study 1 John 2:27 ESV I Corinthians 12:7-11 ESV When we turn to God through Jesus we receive an anointing of and by the Spirit. The anointing we receive is the same anointing of the Spirit the disciples received on the day of Pentecost. When we receive the anointing we are called to utilize our gifts of the Spirit. Our anointing will not be the same as John or Peter received because the Spirit gives us what we need. I John 2:27 tells us, “But the anointing that you rece

Bible Study Hebrews 13:16 ESV There was a time when I was younger and had children at home when this verse really hit home. I read this verse and I accepted it but I didn’t expect God to give me a test on it. Hebrews 14:16 says, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” One evening about the time I was finished cooking dinner we had a woman drive up to our house and come to the door. We lived in a church parsonage and

Bible Study Psalm 4:1, Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV It’s been said by many that hearing God respond to our prayers is ‘do-able’ but it’s been my experience that it’s certainly not easy. It’s a time consuming process. I don’t think that’s because God doesn’t want to be heard. More than likely it’s because we don’t know how to listen. After reading volumes about praying and listening I’m convinced why the majority of people in the western world don’t know how to listen to God. We be

Bible Study Ephesians 2:8 ESV Grace is a gift and while believers don’t always agree on the extent of the grace, it IS grace. Ephesians 2.8 tells us , “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” I happen to believe the grace Paul refers to is every minute of every day for every year. Feel free to disagree because I will not be offended. Part of my very long Seminary journey (144 graduate level hours) was embracing w

Bible Study Psalm 34:8 ESV When we choose God we also choose goodness, for no man is consistently and inherently good. Only God is good 100% of the time. Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” Think of it this way…when we take refuge in God we inherit God’s goodness. It seems easy, doesn’t it? I wish…but there is a conundrum. While we can say we want goodness, it’s not a one time choice. That’s because the circu

Bible Study Choose 3 Zechariah 7:9 ESV The Lord God gave the Prophet Zechariah three “take-away” commands. The words were in the form of a command. In the Hebrew the first word is שְׁפֹ֔טוּ (pronounced šə·p̄ō·ṭū) which translated means “execute” or give true. In Zechariah 7:9 he was told: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another. The three items on the list for Zechariah were all intended to be a person to person take-away.

Bible Study Proverbs 25:28 ESV It’s somewhat difficult for modern man to understand the importance of the city wall in the ancient world. We’ve studied it before but it’s important to reiterate that in the ancient world their best means of protection was having a strong city wall. In Proverbs 25:28 we are told, “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” At first glance we might wonder how personal self-control can be compared to a protec

Zechariah 7:9 ESV Matthew 7:21-23 LB John 14:6 ESV Understanding kindness can be somewhat difficult. It seems like that’s because in today’s world we think of kindness as being a person who appears to do kind things. Because that person does kind things people today make the assumption that person always does kind things, even to the point they let others misread them. That is not Biblical kindness. In Zechariah 7:9 we are told, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgm

Choose Patience Romans 8:25 ESV Hope is one of the greatest gifts God gave humans. When we really think about it, hope is a integral part of our every day lives. When we wake up often hope for the new day is our first thought. Even those who are faced with some difficulty can hope. Romans 8:25 tells us, “we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” Now the question really surrounds the subject of being patient while we hope. If we are unemployed and struggli

Matthew 21:22 ESV I don’t know about your experience with faith, but my experience was ever changing. During the late 1960’s through a good part of the 1970’s the Jesus movement put emphasis on a personal relationship with Jesus. Contemporary music changed the face of church worship services. The movement also changed the ‘face’ of how we view faith. Matthew 21:22 tells us, “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” As a child of the 1950’s I was r

When someone constantly puts you down and chides you for decisions you make, we need to remember they are often speaking out of their own...

Isaiah 2:3-4 ESV I recently had a conversation with a millennial about the world baby boomers grew up in. The focus of the conversation...

Colossians 3:13 ESV In the first Century the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Colossae (Colossians 3:13) and he told them, “Bear with...

Choose Grace As God gives unlimited unmerited grace to us, we should give grace to others. Even the Apostle Paul, who was a trained...

Nehemiah 8:10 ESV The year was 587 B.C.E. The city walls of Jerusalem lay in ruins. We barely have context and understanding for what...

Choose to Care Philippians 2:3-4 ESV Philippians 2:1-2 MSG The act of caring is much more than emotion. When we think about it we don’t...

I grew up in a household with two strong-willed people. They both wanted to be in charge and they argued about it a lot. I spent a lot of...