Wed, Jan 30th - 12:55PM

BIBLE STUDY - KNOW YOUR BIBLE

How did God protect Jacob when he fled from his uncle, Laban?

God had instructed Jacob to go back to his homeland. Then the Lord said to Jacob, ‘Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you (Gen. 31: 3).  

When Laban heard that Jacob had fled, he was determined to pursue him. Laban took his relatives and went after Jacob. After seven days, he caught up with Jacob in the hill country of Gilead (Gen. 31: 22-23). But God protected Jacob by appearing to Laban in a dream. God said to Laban: Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad (Gen. 31: 24). 

Wed, Jan 16th - 3:29PM

BIBLE STUDY - KNOW YOUR BIBLE

Is the Seventh Day Adventist Church and the Church of God International teaching a false doctrine by observing the Sabbath Day? 

   The keeping of the Sabbath Day was given to the Israelites. We read: Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites. ‘ You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you.  Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested (Exodus 31: 12-17).

 The Sabbath law was given under the first covenant. The first covenant became obsolete (Hebrews 8: 13) when Jesus established the New Covenant through his death and resurrection. It should be observed that Jesus did not utilize the Old Testament law when dealing with the teachers of the law, the Pharisees and the woman who was caught in adultery (John 8: 2-11). It should also be observed that Jesus and his disciples broke the Sabbath law ( Matt. 12: 1-14).

   If the law that governed adultery was applicable during the ministry of Jesus why did he not use it ? If the Sabbath law was relevant during the ministry of Jesus, why did he and his disciples "work" on the Sabbath day? Jesus did not utilize the law dealing with adultery and he and his disciples broke the law of the Sabbath in anticipation of the New Covenant which he came to establish through his death and resurrection. Jesus said to the Pharisees: For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12: 8).

Jesus is the end of the law (Rom. 10: 4), therefore the laws of the first covenant are not relevant under the New Covenant. The Old Testament laws have been done away with.

   The apostle Paul said to the churches in Galatia: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort (Gal. 3: 2-4). He said further: What then was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come (Gal. 3: 19). The Seed is Jesus (Gal. 3: 16).

 The apostle Paul cautioned the Galatians: All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law. Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, The righteous will live by faith’. The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, ‘The man who does these things will live by them.’ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree (Gal. 3: 10-13).

  If you are observing the Sabbath Day law, are you not making of little or no significance the cross of Calvary? Please remember the great sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification (Rom. 4: 25).

  Please remember that the Sabbath Day law was given to the Israelites under the first covenant (Exod. 31: 16-17).

  If you are observing the Sabbath day, then you are obligated to observe all the laws given under the first covenant.

   If you are observing the Sabbath day, please learn from the response that Jesus gave to an expert in the law when he questioned,  Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law  (Matt. 22: 36). Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments (Matt. 22: 37-40).

  Please remember that the law does not save. We are saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2: 8). 

   The apostle Paul in his concern for the Galatians wrote: But now that you know God – or rather are known by God – how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and monthe and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you (Gal. 4: 9-11).   

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Sat, Jan 12th - 2:42PM

BIBLE STUDY - KNOW YOUR BIBLE

A Christophany is the appearance of Jesus in human form before his incarnation. (These appearances may also be called theophanies since Jesus is God).

Different names and titles are given to Christ (Jesus) in the Old Testament.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden (Gen. 3: 8). 

The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. … Then the Lord said, I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son. … (Gen. 18: 1-2, 10). 

The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going (Gen. 16: 7-8)? 

So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, Let me go, for it is daybreak. But Jacob replied. I will not let you go unless you bless me. The man asked him, what is your name? Jacob, he answered. Then the man said, Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome (Gen. 32: 24-28). 

Then he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God (Exod. 3: 6). 

Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward, he said, Listen to my words: When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord (Num. 12: 5-8). 

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, Are you for us or for our enemied? Neither, he replied, but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come. Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, What message does my Lord have for his servant? The commander of the Lord’s army replied, Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy. And Joshua did so (Joshua 5: 13-15). 

A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. … Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, what is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true? He replied, Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding (Judges 13: 2-3, 17-18). 

The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word (1 Sam. 3:21). 

Thu, Jan 10th - 12:53PM

BIBLE STUDY - KNOW YOUR BIBLE

Are there Scriptures that we can share with others to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jesus is God? 

Many Bible believing people accept that Jesus is God (a distinct person of the Trinity).

Jehovah Witnesses teach that Jesus is the son of God. They also teach that Jesus was created. (They use Chapter 8 of the Book of Proverbs Wisdom's Appeal to do so). They reject the scriptural truth that JESUS IS GOD. They teach that Jesus is a god.

 Islam teaches that Jesus was born of a virgin and he is a prophet but it rejects the scriptural truth that Jesus is the Son of God and therefore God.  

The majority of Jewish people reject Jesus as their Messiah. They are still waiting for their Messiah to be revealed. 

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2) The Word is God and Jesus is the Word. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ... The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:1,14).

3) The son is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6).

4) God the Father calls the Son - God. Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom (Heb. 1:8).

5) God the Father calls the Son - Lord. In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands (Heb. 1:10).

6) The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (Isa. 7:14). Immanuel means God with us (Matt. 1:23).

7) For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him (Jesus) (Col. 1:19).

8) God is called the first and the last in the Old Testament. This is what the Lord says - ... I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God (Isa. 44:6). Jesus is called the First and the Last in the New Testament. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End (Rev. 22:13).

9) God is eternal. Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity (Psalm 93:2). Jesus is eternal. But you Bethlehem ... out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times (from days of eternity) (Micah 5:2).

10) God laid the earth's foundation in the Old Testament. Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me if you understand (Job 38:4). Jesus laid the earth's foundation in the New Testament. But about the Son he says ... In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of your hands (Heb. 1: 8-10).

11) God is called Savior in the Old Testament. But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me (Micah 7:7). Jesus will bring salvation in the New Testament. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him (Heb. 9:27-28).

12) God will be the judge in the Old Testament. O God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages. He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that he may judge his people (Psalm 50:3-4). Jesus will be the judge in the New Testament. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom (2 Tim. 4:1). ... This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you (2 Thess. 1:7-10).

13) The Lord brings his rewards in the Old Testament. The Lord has made proclamation to the ends of the earth: Say to the Daughter of Zion, See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him (Isa. 62:11). Jesus brings his reward with him in the New Testament. Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done (Rev. 22:12).

14) Jesus will raise the dead at the last day. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out - those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned (John 5:28-29).

15) Jesus will transform the bodies of living believers when he appears. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body (Phil. 3:20-21).

16)  Jesus will reign for ever and ever. The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever (Rev. 11:15).

17) Jesus is the giver of eternal life. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand (John 10:27-28).

Tue, Jan 8th - 4:52PM

BIBLE STUDY - KNOW YOUR BIBLE

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT?

As believers in the Trinity, are there Scriptures that we can share with believers in Judaism and Islam as well as with Jehovah Witnesses to show that the Holy Spirit is one of the persons who make up the Trinity (the Godhead) and that the Holy Spirit is indeed God?  

There are three major monotheistic religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Monotheism teaches that there is one God. But only Christianity acknowledges the concept of a Trinity, one God revealed in three persons. 

Jehovah Witnesses teach that Jesus is the son of God but that he is not God. They teach that Jesus is a god. They also teach that the Holy Spirit is a force and not a person.

ANSWER

The Holy Spirit is not a force as taught by Jehovah Witnesses. The Holy Spirit is a person, one of the three persons of the Trinity. We cannot grieve a force but we can certainly grieve a person. 

What does the Scripture record about grieving the Holy Spirit? And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (Eph.4:30). 

Not only is the Holy Spirit a person but also God. 

 The following Scriptures clearly demonstrate that the Holy Spirit is God. 

1) Now the earth was formless and empty, ... and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters (Gen. 1:2). 

2) ... and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts ... (Exod. 31:3). 

3)The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life (Job 33:4). 

4) But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come (John 16:13). 

5) But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor (the Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned (John 16:7-11). 

6) But when the Counselor (the Holy Spirit) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me (John 15:26). 

7) All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines (1 Cor. 12:11). 

8) The one who sows to please the sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life (Gal.6:8). 

9) The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke i:35). 

10) And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will (Rom. 8:27).  

11) Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God (1 Cor. 6:19). 

12) Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit  and have kept for yourself some of the money you received from the land? ... You have not lied to men but to God (Acts 5:3-4).  

13) No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him - but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit (1 Cor. 2:9-10). 

Sun, Jan 6th - 2:27PM

BIBLE STUDY - KNOW YOUR BIBLE

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TELL US ABOUT GOD THE FATHER?

1)  At the baptism of Jesus, God the Father spoke from heaven: This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased (Matt. 3: 17).

  2) The apostle John wrote: No one has ever seen God, but God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side,has made him known (John 1: 18).

    3) From the cross, Jesus cried out: Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani - which means, My God, My God, why have you forsaken me (Matt.27:46).

   4) Jesus said to a group of Jewish people: As it is , you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God  (John 8:40).

   5) At the transfiguration of Jesus, God the Father spoke: This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him (Matt. 17:5).

 6)  God the Father said of Jesus: Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom (Hebrews 1:8).

7) The apostle Paul wrote: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21).

8) The apostle Paul penned these words: Paul, an apostle - sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead ... (Gal. 1:1).

Fri, Jan 4th - 12:57PM

BIBLE STUDY - KNOW YOUR BIBLE

What does the Bible teach about God? 

THERE IS ONE GOD. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one (Deut.6:4). There is one God but he is revealed in three persons - God the Father (Matt. 3:17), God the Son (John 1:18) and God the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 1:22; John 14:26). 

In each of the three persons dwell the other two. Don't you believe that I am in the Father,and that the Father is in me (John 14:10). If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him (John 14:7). When they came to border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to (Acts 16:7). (The Spirit of Jesus is identified as the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:6). Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (2 Cor. 1: 21-22). (The Spirit of God is the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13).

GOD REFERS TO HIMSELF IN THE PLURAL

1) Let us make man in our image, in our likeness,... (Gen. 1:26). 

2) The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil ... (Gen. 3:22). 

3) Come, let us go down and confuse their language so that they will not understand each other (Gen. 11:17). 

4) Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for us  Isa. 6:8). 

GOD IS A TRINITY 

The word trinity is not found in the Scripture but reference is made to Father, Son and the Holy Spirit in several contexts. Each person of the Trinity is distinct. 

1) At the baptism of Jesus, we observe the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) and God the Father (Matt. 3:16-17). 

2) When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, there was mention of God - the Most High, the Holy Spirit and the Son of God (Luke 1:26-36). 

3) In the commission that Jesus gave to his disciples, they were instructed to baptize believers in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). 

4) Jesus created all things. ...all things were created by him and for him (Jesus) (Col. 1:16). So when God created the heavens and the earth all persons of the Trinity were involved (Gen. 1:1-2). 

5) Jesus said: But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything (John 14:26). 

6) The apostle Paul penned these words: But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, Abba, Father (Gal. 4:4-6). 

7) We read in the Book of Titus: But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ... (Titus 3:4-6). 

8) In John's Gospel, the three persons of the Trinity are identified - Jesus, the Holy Spirit and God the Father (John 16: 7-11).

Wed, Jan 2nd - 9:17PM

BIBLE STUDY - KNOW YOUR BIBLE

WHO WAS MANASSEH?

We are looking at Manasseh, the son of King Hezekiah. He was born after God added fifteen years to Hezekiah's life. "I will add fifteen years to your life" (2 Kings 20: 6).  Manasseh became the King of Judah when he was twelve years old. He was a wicked king. He did more evil than the Amorites (2 Kings 21: 11). He built altars to all the starry hosts. He sacrificed his own son in the fire. He practiced sorcery and divination. He consulted mediums and spiritists. He provoked the Lord to anger. (2 Kings 21: 5-6). He shed the blood of many innocent people filling Jerusalem from end to end (2 Kings 21: 16). 

Manasseh was taken to Babylon as a prisoner by the Assyrians (2 Chronicles 33: 11). In his distress, he turned to God. "And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God (2 Chronicles 33: 13).

What do we learn about God? God loves his human creation unconditionally. He wants people everywhere to repent. "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2: 3-4).