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Home » How to Study the Bible
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How to Study the Bible

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Some students of God’s Word have been reading and studying the Bible as long as I have or longer — more than six decades now. If so, you’ve noticed the same thing I have: Bibles have changed. Not the text of Scripture, but what’s included along with the text has changed.

A Ribbon Runs Through It

When I was young, everybody pretty much had the same Bible: a large, black, leather-covered edition of the Authorized Version—the “King James Bible.” And because Bibles were intended to be read daily by individuals or families, these Bibles came with a black silk ribbon attached to the spine that was used as a place marker. When you finished your personal or family devotions, you moved the ribbon to that page so you could pick up right there the next day. Remember that?

While those big black Bibles are still available, the trend today is “study Bibles” filled with resources in addition to the biblical text. It might take a half-dozen color-coded ribbons to mark all the trails you can follow through a modern study Bible. The first Bible with added resources was probably the Geneva Bible in 1560, followed by various editions of the Authorized Version beginning in 1611. In the modern era, the most famous study Bible was the Scofield Reference Bible, published in 1909.

After years of being asked to undertake creating a new study Bible from my lifetime of study of the Word of God, I finally felt the time was right to consolidate my life’s work into a single resource. This study Bible is dedicated to helping the everyday student of the Word to clearly understand “What It Says, What It Means, and What It Means for Me.” Since 2013, The Jeremiah Study Bible has helped thousands of readers do just that.

Ribbons That Rightly Divide the Word

Paul wrote to Timothy: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, italics added). I love that phrase, “rightly dividing.” Ribbon bookmarks running through the Bible are a beautiful image of what Paul meant by “rightly dividing” the Word of God. Paul meant for Timothy to be a student of Scripture. Timothy didn’t have a study Bible he could mark up and underline like we do ours, but he was to be a diligent student nonetheless—and so are we.

I want to highlight three kinds of ribbons that must run through each of our Bibles if we are going to rightly understand God’s Word and apply it in the twenty-first century.

First Ribbon - What the Bible Says

This ribbon marks what the original authors of Scripture wrote to their original readers. Study Bibles help us immensely with this task by illuminating the meaning of the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Not all of us are called to be scholars of ancient languages, but the more we study the fruit of Bible scholarship, the more convinced we will be of the divine authorship of Scripture.

Second Ribbon - What the Bible Means

Once we know what the Bible says, we move to what the Bible means in its original context. And study Bibles provide numerous notes and aids to help us bridge thousands of years of cultural change. It’s important to know what the Bible meant to its original readers before we apply it to our own lives.

Just as ribbons mark the course of our reading and study of God's Word, so God's Word is to leave it's own mark on our lives.

Third Ribbon - What the Bible Means for Me

Too many people begin with this ribbon and invent their own theologies based on “what the Bible means to me.” That’s not where we begin. We learn how to apply the truth of God’s Word only after knowing what it says and what it means in its original context. Only then can we make accurate application to our own lives.

Just as ribbons mark the course of our reading and study of God’s Word, so God’s Word is to leave its own mark on our lives. Join me as we explore these three ribbons—the keys to “rightly dividing the Word of truth.”

What It Says – The Precise Accuracy of the Word

In 1804, a British ship, HMS Apollo, was leading a convoy of sixty-nine other merchant vessels to the West Indies on a route that put them parallel to the coasts of Spain and Portugal, about a hundred miles from land. A storm arose on Sunday, April 1, April Fool’s Day, but the captain was unconcerned because his compass assured him he was well into open sea. But in the wee hours of the morning, the ship wrecked against the jagged rocks of the coastline. Jolted from their hammocks, the crew ran scantily clothed to their posts and tried to save the ship from the cold sea. The waves crashed over the hull, flooding the ship from above amid the screams of ship-men still below. As night gave way to dawn, the surviving crew were amazed to find themselves not a hundred miles from land but wrecked against the Portuguese coast, which was littered with the debris of many of the other ships in their convoy. Of the sixty-nine vessels traveling with HMS Apollo, forty were wrecked, some with total loss of life. It was one of the greatest disasters in the history of British maritime shipping.

The captain of HMS Apollo faced court-martial, but he was acquitted when it was learned that the fault lay not with him but with the ship’s compass. Because the Apollo had taken on a large iron tank, the magnetism of the compass was thrown off just a little—four degrees— and the error accumulated day after day. As leader of the convoy, the captain had unwittingly led the others to shipwreck because his compass was defective.

Many people today are shipwrecked in life because of a defective compass, and they lead others astray. As Christians, we have a Book that gives accurate readings and precise directions, that allows us to navigate life with confidence, and that always points us in the right way. We can trust it, and we can trust what it says.

The Bible Is an Inspired Book—Then

According to Hebrews 2:10, the Lord Jesus is the Captain of our salvation. He provides us with an accurate compass. As God, He is omniscient. He knows every fact in the universe. His thoughts are always just, His opinions always right, His knowledge always total. When He speaks, He makes no mistakes, wastes no words, and withholds nothing necessary for our knowledge. Because He wanted to communicate with us in a permanent form we could ponder and pass on to others, He inscribed His message in a book (our word “Bible” comes from a Latin term for “papyrus” and means “book”).

God transmitted a message from His omniscient mind into this accessible book through the process of “inspiration,” a word that is made up of the prefix “in” and the term “spire,” which means “breathe.” Think of our word “respiration,” having to do with the lungs. Or the word “expire,” describing someone no longer breathing. The apostle Paul explained, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). In other words, God breathed it out, He spoke it, just as we use our lungs to breathe out and form audible syllables. Peter further explained, “Prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).

The Spirit of God came upon certain people at certain times and guided them in the words they wrote so that, without suspending their own personalities or intellects, their writings were from God. This was commonly accepted even at the time the Bible was being given. Speaking in the upper room after the ascension of Christ, Peter quoted Psalm 69, a prophecy about the betrayal of Judas Iscariot. Here’s how Peter put it: “Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus” (Acts 1:16, emphasis added). That’s inspiration—the Lord speaking through the mouth of David and the other writers of Scripture; and that’s why the Bible is matchless, incomparable, and different from every other book in the history of religion and literature.

The Bible Is an Accurate Book—Now

If the Bible is inspired by an omniscient God, it’s logical to assume it’s accurate in all it says, unfailing and infallible. Every word and syllable—every jot and tittle—is full of truth and authority. That doesn’t mean that every copy of the Bible is accurate, of course. There was a famous (or infamous) edition of the King James Bible published in 1631 by the London printers Robert Barker and Martin Lucas. It’s called the “Wicked Bible” because the editors inadvertently left out the word “not” from Exodus 20:14. Instead of saying, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” the verse read, “Thou shalt commit adultery.”

Those kinds of mistakes are thankfully very rare, and we have fullest confidence in the transmission and translation of God’s Word as it has been passed down from antiquity to us. While we don’t have the original inerrant parchments or papyri written by the actual biblical authors, we have a remarkable chain of manuscripts going back to very early days. No book in history has the richness of manuscripts as the Bible. No other book even comes close. So we persuasively can say the original biblical documents were inerrant, infallible, and wholly accurate, for Almighty God gave them and He makes no mistakes. And we can be confident that our existing copies are so reliable that when a faulty one shows up like the “Wicked Bible,” it stands out like a sore thumb.

The Bible Is a Relevant Book—Always

Since the Bible is inspired and accurate, it’s always relevant. It’s more up to date than any of today’s self-help books, advice columns, theological tomes, or runaway best sellers. Because it came from the mind of the eternal God, it is timeless in its application. We never know when a verse of Scripture may come out of thin air and change our lives.

Out of thin air? Well, consider what happened to Andres, the oldest son of Chief Fernando of the Muinane tribe in the nation of Colombia. As Andres tended his rubber trees in a large section of the South American jungle, he started asking himself questions about life, like where we came from and what happens after death. One night in boredom, he began fiddling with a transistor radio given to him by a rubber baron. Suddenly Andres picked up a sharp, clear signal from Trans World Radio. A man was reading these words: “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory” (Mark 13:24–26).

By strange coincidence, that very evening the moon did not give its light. Though Andres didn’t understand it at the time, a total lunar eclipse covered the jungle with blackness. The young Colombian, deeply stirred, returned home. The next day Jim Walton of Wycliffe Bible Translators arrived unexpectedly and, opening his New Testament in the village, began reading God’s Word.

God's Word is relevenat for all our days.

Andres was spellbound. He later said, “When I saw you reading that book, I knew it was the book from the radio, the book that had the truth.”

And when you said it was God’s Word, and you wanted to put it in my language, I determined to help you.” For the next eighteen years, Andres served Jim as co-­translator, helping complete the first draft of the New Testament and portions of the Old Testament.

As we study the Bible seeking its meaning according to sound principles of Bible study, it has a way of speaking to us. If it is inspired and accurate, it must be relevant.

We’ve never had so much material to read—billions of words are available online every day. It’s easy to sit down at our electronic devices and spend hours “surfing.” But too much surfing can wreck a person’s life on the rocky shoreline of deadly data. Instead, spend large portions of time studying God’s Word. It is precise and accurate in all it says. It is relevant for all our days.

The Word of God is a light for our steps, a lamp for our pathways, a plumb line for our thinking, and a sure compass for our souls.

What It Means – The Proper Awareness of the Word

  • Have you ever given something holy to a dog or thrown a pearl in front of a pig?
  • Have you ever seen a camel that would fit through the eye of a needle?
  • Have you read two verses in the Bible that seem contradictory?
  • Have you ever seen someone shave a man’s beard half off and steal his pants?

You have likely never seen nor heard of anyone doing these things in our modern world. But you have read about them in the Bible. The four situations above are examples of why understanding context is so important in knowing what the Bible means.

  • DOGS, PEARLS, AND PIGS. In Matthew 7:6, Jesus said not to “give what is holy to the dogs” nor “cast your pearls before swine.” In biblical times, pearls were understood to be truths of Scripture, and the mysteries of the kingdom were holy whereas the Jews referred to Gentiles as dogs or pigs because both were unclean. Just as dogs and pigs cannot appreciate the value of pearls and holy things, some people are not ready to receive spiritual truth. Application: Better to move on to others than to argue or debate with those who reject God’s truth.
  • CAMELS AND A NEEDLE’S EYE. In Matthew 19:24 (and Mark 10:25; Luke 18:25), Jesus said, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” In Jesus’ day, the camel was one of the largest animals known and a needle’s eye was one of the smallest openings known. He was simply using exaggeration by way of contrast. We know of larger and smaller things in our modern world, so we could rephase the axiom with different words and have it mean the same thing. The key word is “easier.” Application: don’t let wealth make it next to impossible to receive God’s grace.
  • ANSWER OR DON’T ANSWER A FOOL? Proverbs 26:4 says not to “answer a fool according to his folly,” but Proverbs 26:5 says the opposite: “Answer a fool according to his folly.” Which is right? They both are based on the context of the Book of Proverbs. The context of Proverbs is wisdom versus folly. On the one hand, if you answer a fool you may become like the fool; you may become a fool yourself (verse 4). On the other hand, if you don’t answer the fool, he might think he is right and smart—so you better answer him to set him straight (verse 5). Application: it takes wisdom and discernment to know when to answer a fool.
  • HALF-SHAVING BEARDS AND STEALING TROUSERS When the king of Ammon died and his son ascended the Ammonite throne, King David of Israel sent a delegation of men to express his sympathy to the new king on the loss of his father. Instead of being grateful for the gesture, the young Ammonite king shaved off half of David’s men’s beards and cut off their garments “in the middle, at their buttocks” (2 Samuel 10:4) and sent them back to David. David’s men “were greatly ashamed” (verse 5). For a man’s beard to be shaved half off and his body exposed was a condition of great shame and humiliation. David allowed his men to live in seclusion until their beards regrew and their shame was past. To lift such an act out of context and apply it today would be indefensible, as would any other act of making another person feel ashamed. This was a hateful act perpetrated by a pagan king—not to be copied. Application: the context of the Old Testament.

Context Is Everything

Next, let’s look at the second ribbon that we must use to rightly divide the Word of God: what does the Bible mean? Or, what did the Bible mean to the audience to which it was originally written? To answer that question, we must become students of context.

A text taken out of context becomes a pretext.

By way of reminder, biblical context then means exactly what “context” means today. If someone hears you say, “I’m not going to ask Mary to attend,” without knowing the context, “Mary has been ill and has so many family things going on right now,” your words could be misunderstood and misapplied.

Instead of excluding Mary for selfish reasons, it was your compassion for Mary that was the focus, but without that context—reasons, tone of voice, body language, relationships—your words could be taken totally out of context.

It has been rightly said that “context is everything,” and I encourage you to remember this principle of biblical interpretation for this reason: A text taken out of context becomes a pretext. One of the ways people can make the Bible say whatever they want it to say is by taking biblical texts out of their original context. Those texts then become a pretext: a way to justify one’s actions while hiding the true motivation or reason.

Here’s an example: The fifth of the Ten Commandments told Israelites to “honor your father and mother” (Exodus 20:12). By Jesus’ day, Jewish tradition allowed men to circumvent that responsibility to their parents by dedicating to God (to the temple) the money they would have used for their parents. Jesus pointed out this hypocrisy in Mark 7:10–13. They used a Jewish tradition (“dedicate your money to the temple”) as a pretext for failing to care for their parents and adhere to the fifth of the Ten Commandments.

Another example: In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul gives advice that seems very strange to us today—if you are single, don’t get married; if you’re married, don’t change your marital status; if you’re a slave, don’t try to gain your freedom. In other words, don’t make any life-altering changes; don’t make any big moves—stay where you are. Why did Paul say those things? There are two possible reasons. First, life in the Roman world was very tenuous for the early church; persecution and trouble were widespread. And there was some sort of “distress” going on in Corinth when Paul wrote his letter. His restrictive advice was probably based on the Corinthians’ context. Basically, Paul instructed the Corinthians to avoid making changes that would draw attention to themselves at that moment, to be content until the crisis of the moment passed. Secondly, Paul may have been anticipating the imminent return of Christ: “But this I say, brethren, the time is short” (verse 29). Paul would have meant: “Don’t let your affairs be your dominant concern. Christ’s kingdom should set your agenda going forward. We live now for Christ, not for ourselves. If that requires sacrifice, so be it.”

So are we free to marry today and make long-term plans? Of course (Ephesians 5:22–33). First Corinthians 7 was addressing specific questions, rooted in context, that the Corinthians had asked Paul (1 Corinthians 7:1)—and his answers must be read that way.

Living Contextually

Paul wrote, “All Scripture … is profitable” (2 Timothy 3:16). And we know that “all Scripture” was written many centuries ago. Therefore, “all Scripture” must be read contextually. As Christians we must …

  1. READ CONTEXTUALLY. Every time you open your Bible, remember you are reading something written in a totally different cultural context. That means we must understand what it said then before we know how to apply it now.
  2. STUDY CONTEXTUALLY. Use your study Bible to understand culturally different words, images, and meanings. Become a contextually aware student of God’s Word!
  3. APPLY CONTEXTUALLY. Scripture is not only for doctrine (knowing), but for “reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). The goal of Bible study is application leading to life-change through application. It is our responsibility to make proper application of the timeless truths of Scripture.
  4. LIVE CONTEXTUALLY. The Bible does not provide a verse for every single circumstance we might face in life. But the more we live in the context of Scripture as a whole, in the context of the presence of the Spirit, and in the context of obedience to Christ in all things, the more wisdom and discernment we will have in daily living. Those who are “in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17) have a new context for living— “behold, all things have become new.”

Remember: Context is critical!

What It Means For Me - The Practical Application of the Word

Did you hear about the professor who invented a complicated but finely-tuned machine in his garage? The contraption was years in the making. Finally one day an inquisitive neighbor persuaded the inventor to let him peek at it. There it was, an enormous apparatus with gears and belts and flywheels and electronic components with their flashing lights and digital readouts. With a push of a button, the machine hummed into motion with seamless precision, all the moving parts operating together like a miniature galaxy. The neighbor was hypnotized by the synchronization of the parts, then he asked, “But what does it do?”

“What do you mean?” asked the professor.

“I mean, what does it do? What is it good for?”

“Oh,” said the scholar, “it doesn’t really do anything, but look how wonderfully it works.”

That’s a picture of much of today’s thinking. We have elaborate theories and lots of opinions, but sometimes we never get around to application. We can accumulate information, explain ideas, and discuss data, but left unanswered is the question—So what?

Without application, any education—even training in the contents of the Bible—is useless. That’s why all the major professions include practicums for application. That’s why young physicians have internships at university hospitals before launching their careers, why educators begin as student teachers, why pilots spend hours in the cockpit beside seasoned aviators before flying solo, and why ballplayers have coaches to drill them before the season starts.

Warnings to Heed

With Bible study, information without application is stagnation. James told his readers, “Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). He compared the Bible to a mirror. As we gaze into the Word of God, we see ourselves reflected in it. We see our blemishes and stains. We see how we need to beautify our lives in God’s sight. Perhaps we need to apply the salve of the Spirit, the highlighting graces of faith, or the corrective lines of obedience. Some people walk away from God’s mirror without making the needed changes. “But,” said James, “he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (verse 25).

It's not enough just to be students of the Bible. We have to be disciples of the Lord.

This was also the theme of the Sermon on the Mount. Dismayed at the hypocrisy in His day, Jesus condemned the religionists who studied the Old Testament but never got around to applying its message. Through His sermon in Matthew 5–7, Christ urged life-changing obedience to His words and concluded with the story of the two builders. One built a house on a rock, the other on sand. The first man’s house withstood the storm, but the house on the sand collapsed.

What was the difference? Jesus said, “Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock, …. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand” (Matthew 7:24, 26, emphasis added).

Both men heard the words of Jesus. Both were in His audience that day, as it were, listening admiringly to His eloquence and wisdom. Both were Bible students who heard His words. But one put the truth into practice while the other nodded politely and continued his life as usual. Their responses were as different as rock and sand. The lesson is this: It’s not enough just to be students of the Bible. We must be disciples of the Lord, which means we study His Word with a determination to put it into practice, whatever the cost.

Questions to Ask

When we study the Bible, then, whether in a group or on our own, we should always consider what it says, what it means, and what it means for us. Don’t stop at satisfying your mental curiosity. Lots of people, for example, are fascinated by the study of the End Times, the Rapture of the Church, the Great Tribulation, and the Second Coming of Christ. I often preach and write about these things, but I always stress that God hasn’t given prophecy just to satisfy our inquisitiveness but to spur us to holy living and evangelism. Our beliefs should regulate our behavior. Knowing Christ is coming tomorrow should affect the urgency of obedience today.

Here are some questions to pose for every passage you study in the Bible:

  • Is there a commandment here I need to put into practice?
  • Is there a promise I need to claim?
  • An attitude to adopt?
  • A prayer to echo?
  • A habit I should begin?
  • Is there a behavior I must change?
  • Is there a sin to forsake?
  • How can I be more Jesus-like because of my study of these verses?

When you ask yourself those questions while studying the Bible, the Lord will reveal the answers. When you ask those questions while teaching the Bible, your listeners will understand the Bible wasn’t merely given to inform us but to transform us.

Lessons to Learn

This is one of the reasons the Bible is full of stories. As we work our way through God’s Word, we read about the dangers of lust, but we see those principles come to life in the story of David. We read about justification in Romans, but we see it happen in the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. God has given us a multi-dimensioned book to teach us His truth and to show us the difference it makes when we obey or disobey it. The lives of Bible characters are laboratories in which the truths of the Bible are applied, as are our own lives.

Ethel Edison, who now lives in a Florida retirement village, recalls learning to apply Scriptural truth at age fifteen:

When I was teenager, my mother and I lived alone. She was divorced, and we were very worldly people. I was already five-foot-eight and could pass for twenty-one. Mother and I would go on double dates with servicemen. The kids in high school rejected me because I didn’t date peers; I went with soldiers. Then one day, through the ministry of a local church, I became a Christian. A nearby lady who worked with Child Evangelism Fellowship told me I must learn 1 Corinthians 10:13. She emphasized the word must, knowing of my environment and lifestyle. I looked it up and thought it contained too many words and phrases to memorize. But I worked until I learned it: ‘No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.’

“The power of that verse kept me from the temptations I faced as a new Christian. My biggest worry was my boyfriend, a soldier in the army, and I didn’t know what to say to him. But that same week he was transferred and taken out of my life. The Lord was applying 1 Corinthians 10:13 to my experience, even as I was working to do my part in applying it.

“Three months later, my mother was converted. Shortly afterward was New Year’s Eve, which had always been the biggest night in the year for us. This year, we skipped the parties and went to church. When Mother got home she realized she had not once thought about what she would have been doing in the world, and after that she had no doubt she was truly a Christian. God had given us both a way of escape.”

Ethel later became a career missionary in Africa. She had many occasions to put 1 Corinthians 10:13 into practice, along with the many other verses she learned.

Each page of the Bible is a discipleship manual telling us how to live. Every passage of Scripture has one correct interpretation but many applications. We can never exhaust the impact of a Bible verse, and it will never fail to improve our conduct as we put it into practice.

Bible study should be practical, applicable, and livable. Know what the Scriptures say. Interpret God’s Word wisely, and put it into practice constantly. Always ask yourself: What does it mean for today? What does it mean for me?

Learn more about The Jeremiah Study Bible here.


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All You Need Is Love: Forgiveness

When Jesus saw [the friends’] faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
Mark 2:5

The hardest part of forgiving another person is acting like the offense never occurred. But that is what forgiving someone means—restoring relationships to the status they enjoyed before the offense took place. It’s one thing to say, “I forgive you,” but it’s another to act like all the effects of an offense are completely erased. After all, according to Paul in 1 Corinthians 13, love is known by its actions more than its words.

Jesus faced this dilemma when He healed a paralytic man. When He told the man that his sins were forgiven (and by extension, he was healed), He was criticized. He was accused of blaspheming by saying He had the authority to forgive sins—something only God can do. So, Jesus proved He had the authority to say, “I forgive you,” by doing something harder. He healed the man’s paralysis. After all, as Jesus explained, actions speak louder than words (Mark 2:8-11).

We cannot go through life without being hurt by others, so we should learn to forgive. Even more, we should practice demonstrating our forgiveness by our acts of lovingkindness. Look for opportunities to do both.

Forgiveness is to be set loose from sins.
G. Campbell Morgan

The Conspicuous Hand

The Lord your God cares.
Deuteronomy 11:12

In a letter to Brigadier General Thomas Nelson, George Washington marveled at how God’s hand had protected him and given success to the cause of liberty: “The hand of Providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and… has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations.”

In the middle of life’s battles, we’re tempted to question God’s ordering of our circumstances, but every follower of Christ can look back and see the conspicuous hand of God’s Providence. He is committed to caring for us, watching over us, and giving us strength when we are within His will.

Moses reminded the Israelites that God was taking them into a land of hills and valleys, of water and streams, “a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year” (Deuteronomy 11:11-12).

That’s the way He cares for us too—every day, all year long, always.

[The Lord] loves, and cares, and sympathizes, and understands, and seeks, and saves, and forgives, and helps, and encourages, and walks by our side… taking care of us in life when we can’t take care of ourselves.
W. A. Criswell

New Beginnings: Ezekiel

In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
Ezekiel 1:1, NIV

We often need fresh starts after enduring bitter disappointments. As a young man, Ezekiel had dedicated himself to be a priest. He was from a priestly family, and he undoubtedly looked forward to serving God in Jerusalem’s temple. Priests began their temple duty at the age of thirty. But when he was about twenty-five, Ezekiel was seized and taken to Babylon, and he never saw the temple again. When his thirtieth birthday came, he must have struggled with questions of “why” and “if only.”

That’s just when God appeared to him as he was among the exiles by the Kebar River. Ezekiel looked up and saw remarkable visions of God—the throne of God surrounded by angelic beings. Amid the strange and apocalyptic vision described in Ezekiel 1, God called the thirty-year-old exile to be a powerful prophet.

Oh, to see the glory of the Lord while in the midst of the disappointments in life. When we think life has collapsed around us, the God of glory appears above us. God always has a plan, and our false starts become His fresh starts.

Ezekiel is the prophet of the glory of the Lord…. Ezekiel looked beyond the sufferings of Christ to the glory that should follow.
J. Vernon McGee

Modern Idolatry

Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Colossians 3:5

Colossians 3:1 tells us to “seek those things which are above, where Christ is.” In verse 5 we’re told to put to death the passions that come from below—"fornication, uncleanness, passion, and evil desire.” Then the Lord added the sin of greed or covetousness to the list, calling it idolatry.

That verse changes our view of idolatry. It’s not just bowing down to a small carved statue or a pagan worshiper offering incense at a shrine to Buddha. It’s the act of becoming too attached to the material things of the world—falling more in love with the things on earth than on things in heaven.

This has nothing to do with how much money you do or don’t have—a poverty-stricken person can covet just as much as a billionaire. It has everything to do with what’s at the center of our affections. Is it Christ? Is it things above? Or is it things below?

Make sure Christ is at the center of your life and that your love for Him eclipses everything else!

You don’t have to go to heathen lands today to find false gods. America is full of them…. Whatever you love more than God is your idol.
D. L. Moody

Faithful Fathers: Abraham

And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.
James 2:23

We can imagine a child writing an appreciative and sentimental memoir about her “perfect father,” understanding that “perfect” was not intended to be taken literally. But how about a book titled The Righteous Father? The patriarch Isaac could have written that book about his father, Abraham.

Righteous doesn’t mean sinless, of course. We know that Abraham wasn’t perfect. But he did manifest some qualities that every father should emulate. First, he believed the promises of God about the future God had planned for him (Hebrews 11:8-12). And when he believed God, “[God] accounted it to [Abraham] for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). Again, not perfect or sinless, but in a right standing with God. Second, as a result of Abraham’s trust in God, he became a “friend of God” (Isaiah 41:8). Could any father set a more worthy example to his children or grandchildren than that of being friends with God? Living in right standing with God? That means communing with Him, walking with Him, living for Him, and above all, trusting Him and His promises.

Follow Abraham’s example as a faithful father by deepening your friendship with God.

Friendship is the marriage of affections.
Thomas Watson

A Whole Person

In all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility.
Titus 2:7

In mathematics two of the basic kinds of numbers are integers and fractions: 2, 100, and 56 are integers, while ½, ¼, and 2.5 are fractions. Integers, from a Latin root meaning “whole” or “entire.” The word integrity comes from the same root; a person with integrity cannot be divided in beliefs or morality based on varying circumstances.

When the apostle Paul wrote to his young pastoral protégé, Timothy, he told him to show “integrity” in doctrine, to be incorruptible in belief and in actions. Paul wanted Timothy to hold fast to the truth of God, not allowing himself to be divided. A person of integrity obeys the whole counsel of God every day, in every circumstance. Daniel’s three friends in Babylon demonstrated integrity when they were threatened with being burned alive (Daniel 3:16-18). They told the king they would not divide their allegiance, that they would maintain their faith in God and His promises. That is integrity.

Are you a whole person or a fractioned person today? If your beliefs, and therefore your actions, have become divided, gather them back together as you commit to God and His Word.

Integrity of heart is indispensable.
John Calvin

Victory in Him

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:57

To first-century leaders in the Roman world, the imagery was familiar: A victorious Roman general returning from battle leading his soldiers and their captives into the city. Citizens lined the streets applauding while the aroma of celebratory incense filled the air. Paul uses that image to say that Christ leads His followers in a victory procession through every difficulty in life (2 Corinthians 2:14-15).

The Christian’s victory is through Christ. The victory over the world, the flesh, the devil, and sin was won by the Cross and the empty tomb. He did for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We have victory now and for eternity only because of the victory Christ won for us. Therefore, if we are to experience victory in this life, it will come only as we depend on Him. As Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20, the life we now live is the life of Christ in us as we keep our faith in Him.

If you need a victory in your life, begin every day by renewing your faith in Christ in whom all our victories are to be realized.

The spiritual battle, the loss of victory, is always in the thought-world.
Francis Schaeffer

New Earth

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Revelation 21:1

A great misconception carried by many Christians has to do with the location of heaven. The word heaven itself implies that our eternal destiny is somewhere “up there” in the heavens. But the Bible says our eternal destiny is earthly, not heavenly. As Peter wrote, we look for a “new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).

In his vision of the future, the apostle John saw that “new heaven and a new earth,” our new domain being pictured as the New Jerusalem “coming down out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:1-2). Somehow, at the end of the age, when Christ has returned to reign and inaugurate the eternal state, this earth will be renovated and a new earth will be the result—a new earth full of righteousness in which pain and sorrow will be absent. The beautiful imagery of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 lets us know that the new earth will be a place that reflects the glory of God throughout.

Jesus said He was going to prepare a place for you if you belong to Him (John 14:1-4). The New Jerusalem, on the new earth, is that place.

Let thy hope of heaven master thy fear of death.
William Gurnall

The Conspicuous Hand

The Lord your God cares.
Deuteronomy 11:12

In a letter to Brigadier General Thomas Nelson, George Washington marveled at how God’s hand had protected him and given success to the cause of liberty: “The hand of Providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and… has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations.”

In the middle of life’s battles, we’re tempted to question God’s ordering of our circumstances, but every follower of Christ can look back and see the conspicuous hand of God’s Providence. He is committed to caring for us, watching over us, and giving us strength when we are within His will.

Moses reminded the Israelites that God was taking them into a land of hills and valleys, of water and streams, “a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year” (Deuteronomy 11:11-12).

That’s the way He cares for us too—every day, all year long, always.

[The Lord] loves, and cares, and sympathizes, and understands, and seeks, and saves, and forgives, and helps, and encourages, and walks by our side… taking care of us in life when we can’t take care of ourselves.
W. A. Criswell

The Need for Prayer

Now it came to pass in those days that [Jesus] went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
Luke 6:12

Officially, church historians recognize seven ecumenical church councils held between A.D. 325 and A.D. 787. The first, the First Council of Nicaea, met to agree on the nature of Jesus of Nazareth as both Son of God and Son of Man, as both fully divine and fully human.

The humanity of Christ, while at the same time divine, is hard to understand. But thankfully, Scripture gives us illustrations: Like us, Jesus suffered, experienced hunger, required sleep, ate food, and had limits on His knowledge (Mark 13:32). One of the most striking and helpful illustrations of Jesus’ humanity was His prayer life. We might think that, if Jesus was truly divine, He would have had no need to pray for knowledge, guidance, or help. Yet He did, following the example of godly men like Daniel in Babylon (Daniel 2:16-18). Jesus repeatedly said that He only did what the Father showed Him to do (John 5:19), and prayer was His means.

If Jesus, the Son of God, needed to go to His Father in prayer for strengthening and guidance, how much more do we (Psalm 32:6)?

Prayer and a holy life are one.
E. M. Bounds

What Is Humility?

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
1 Peter 5:5, NIV

What is humility? Is it the opposite of pride? If pride expands one’s importance, does humility deflate one’s importance? That’s the view given by most English dictionaries—a deemphasis on one’s own importance. But what is the biblical view of humility

If someone compliments you on a job well done, do you refuse to take credit or receive their compliment? Or do you graciously say, “Thank you,” in a spirit of genuine appreciation and humility? In Romans 12:3 Paul exhorts the believers not to think of themselves pridefully but rather to think of themselves “soberly”—that is, realistically or accurately. Paul’s topic is the grace given by God to each Christian to serve in the Body of Christ. We should neither overestimate the gift of God’s grace or underestimate it. Rather, we should think of it soberly and realistically—humbly—and minister accordingly. To think less of God’s gift would be to devalue it; to think realistically about it allows one to serve humbly.

How do you view yourself? With pride? With false humility? Or soberly and realistically according to the grace of God in your life?

A really humble man…will not be thinking about humility, he will not be thinking about himself at all.
C. S. Lewis

The Power of Confession

For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer.
Psalm 32:4

California is a dry state that needs water to be transported over many miles to population and agricultural centers. Snowfall in the winter and melting snow in the spring are critical factors in replenishing shrinking reservoirs. In periods of modern droughts, aerial photographs document the receding water levels in reservoirs around the state—shorelines growing wider and drier as water levels fall.

Such is the picture David paints with his words in Psalm 32—a drought of spiritual vitality brought on by his own sin. When he failed to confess his sin to God, his “bones grew old” and he groaned “all the day long” (verse 3). It was like his soul was being evaporated by the heat of his own guilt and shame. But then the rains of grace came and David confessed his sin and God forgave him (verse 5). And he encouraged his readers not to make the same mistake he had made (verses 9-10).

Confession and repentance reveal the access to restoration. Hiding sin does not remove it from God’s sight; but when we seek God’s forgiveness, the refreshing living water from the Father is poured out on us and we are restored—that is the power of confession.

The way to cover our sin is to uncover it by confession.
Richard Sibbes

Treasure!

I rejoice at Your Word as one who finds great treasure.
Psalm 119:162

Earlier this year, a volunteer for a charity in Arizona was going through books donated for a sale. One was an old copy of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. The volunteer decided the dilapidated volume wasn’t worth saving and was about to throw it away when she thumbed through it and found a hidden chamber. Someone had used a knife to cut a hole in the middle of the book. Inside was $4,000!

That’s nothing compared to the treasure you’ll find when opening the covers of the Bible. Perhaps it would help to think of it in those terms. Use your imagination to see every word of Scripture turning to gold as you read it. Think of every promise as a precious stone. See the words about Jesus in the Gospels as sparkling like diamonds. Visualize your daily Bible study time like a miser running his hands through a chest of gold.

The treasury of Scripture will enrich your mind, refocus your goals, replace your doubts, and redirect your path—but only if you read it and heed it. Start today!

To get the best use out of [the Bible] for daily life,...Give it the best and freshest, not the most tired and dull, hour of the day.
M. S. Kimber in The Sunday School World, 1893

Hello Heaven!

I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside.
2 Peter 1:13-14, NIV

Peter wrote his final letter shortly before his execution. He wasn’t discouraged; he was looking forward to the future. He spoke of “looking forward to these things.” and “[looking] for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13-14).

Life is full of hardships and heaviness. We have the promises of God to help us in difficult days, and we have the Holy Spirit within us. We have a purpose for being here—to refresh the memory of others regarding the things of the Lord. But we’ll soon put aside the tent of our earthly body, and what a relief! Goodbye hardship and heaviness. Goodbye trials and troubles. Hello Jesus! Hello heaven! Hello golden streets, glorified bodies, endless days, and the fresh air of New Jerusalem!

During difficult times, the hope of eternity gives us strength. If you’re prone to worry yourself to sleep each night, turn your thoughts upward and close your eyes thinking of heaven and its eternal throne.

A tent or a cottage, why should I care? They’re building a palace for me over there.
Harriet Buell, in her hymn “A Child of the King”

Overcoming Temptation

Temptation. Whether we realize it or not, it is part of our past, and it will be part of our future. The moment we resolve to stand strong and walk away is when temptation grows most intense. That is why Scripture is of paramount importance. God's Word contains the answer to resisting temptation before it's too late. Consider these verses:

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full–grown, brings forth death (James 1:13–15).

Some people wonder about the value of the Old Testament in a Christian's life. The apostle Paul addressed that question in 1 Corinthians 10:11—"Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition." To what things was Paul referring? He listed them in verses 7–10. They are idolatry, immorality, infidelity, and disloyalty.

Temptation is not sin; yielding to temptation is.

With that background, Paul exhorted believers not to make the same choices the Israelites made—not to provoke God's discipline by willfully sinning. None of us is above God's discipline if we engage in sin. We must look for and take "the way of escape" God provides in every situation where temptation is found (verse 13). To think our temptation is unique is to believe a lie. "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man" (verse 13). There are no "new" temptations in life.

The apostle James argued that if temptation becomes serious, it is because we have allowed it to do so. Our own "desires" entice us away from God and desire "gives birth to sin" (James 1:13–15). God doesn't tempt us, but He may allow temptation to enter our lives in order to give us opportunities to make obedient and mature choices.

Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, and He took the same means of escape that is available to us—obedience to God's Word (Matthew 4:1–11; Hebrews 5:8). Temptation is not sin; yielding to temptation is. There is always a righteous choice to be made if we are willing to seek it.

Ready and Willing

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9

A leper approached Jesus and said, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus touched the man, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed”—and he was healed (Mark 1:40-42).

That event is a beautiful example of the willingness of God. In fact, there are no instances of Jesus being asked to help or heal and Him answering, “I am not willing.” There is a place where the Bible says God is “not willing,” and that is 2 Peter 3:9. In writing about the timing of the Day of the Lord (the end of the age), Peter says God is waiting for all who will be saved to come to Him. He is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” Said another way, God is willing for any who want to be saved to come to Him (John 6:37; 7:37). The question is never whether God is willing but whether man is willing.

Have you responded to God’s willing invitation to come to Him?

God is far more willing to save sinners than sinners are to be saved.
J. C. Ryle

Steadfast

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:58

Paul’s letter to the people at Corinth was an exhortation to remain steadfast. The church in Corinth was an undisciplined church, and he was letting them know that even though the culture around them was in flux, their faith in Jesus Christ needed to remain focused and sure. It is true for us today also. How can we remain steadfast in our faith and avoid the pressures of this ever-changing world? By devoting time each day to the study of God’s Word.

As we read the Bible and immerse ourselves in God’s truth and character, our lives are changed—we become more like Him. God’s Word is a powerful litmus test for our souls and actions. As our lives center on God, giving priority to hearing His voice and reading His Word, we become bolder in sharing our faith.

Joshua had the confidence and courage to lead God’s people into the Promised Land because He believed in God’s promise and presence. We serve the same God who said: “And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:8).

You can place your steadfast trust in Him.

When we find a man meditating on the words of God, my friends, that man is full of boldness and is successful.
Dwight L. Moody

Creation Care

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:28

Marine litter is a huge ecological problem. Many countries’ coastlines are littered with plastic and debris, and there is an “island” of plastic more than the twice the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean where currents have accumulated the debris. Fish become entangled in discarded fishing nets and lines, with bellies full of plastic debris they have swallowed.

Such images are in stark contrast to the pristine beauty and glory of Eden as presented in Genesis. Though mankind was given the mandate to “have dominion over” (that is, to care for) all of creation, we have not done a good job. When God’s mandates go unfulfilled on earth, God’s glory is diminished. And that mandate extends to our personal life as well. Paul writes that we belong to God and we are to glorify Him with our care and use of our body.

When you see opportunities to care for creation—nature or your own body—do so as a way of glorifying the Creator.

The creation is both a monument of God’s power, and a looking-glass in which we may see his wisdom.
Thomas Watson