September 2008 Bible lesson

Proverbs 24:13-14 (KJV):
13 My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:
14 So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.

Proverbs 24:13-14 (AMP):
13 My son, eat honey, because it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
14 So shall you know skillful and godly Wisdom to be thus to your life; if you find it, then shall there be a future and a reward, and your hope and expectation shall not be cut off.

These verses in Proverbs compare the eating of honey to the getting of godly Wisdom, and it is sweet. Since Jesus is Wisdom, Verse 13 is telling us to taste of the life of Jesus and you will find how sweet He is. Jesus is also referred to as “the Word” and when we read and take in the Word of God, we find that it is also pleasant and satisfying to our soul, as noted by the Psalmist David in this scripture:

Psalm 119:101-103:
101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.
102 I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.
103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Verse 14 tells us that when we find the godly Wisdom in Jesus, it will also produce a future with fulfillment and a reward, and our expectation will not be cut off. When we obey the commandments of God, it will bring enlightenment that will cause our heart to rejoice according to the verses below. Even God’s judgments toward us are true and righteous and we need not fear them, if we have reverential fear for our Lord. These scriptures tell us that the Word of the Lord is to be desired more than gold and again the Bible mentions that God’s Word and His Wisdom are sweeter than honey.

August 2008 Bible lesson

Proverbs 22:5-6 (KJV):
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:5-6 (AMP):
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the obstinate and willful; he who guards himself will be far from them.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go (and in keeping with his individual gift or bent), and when he is old he will not depart from it.

These verses in Proverbs speak of the fate of the rebellious, as well as instructing parents to train their children in the right way. Verse 5 clearly tells us that the froward (rebellious) person will end up on a path that is hedged in with thorns and snares. We all probably know people who stay in “hot water.” Many young people, to their own hurt, will not listen to the advice of their parents and elders, and end up going down the wrong road. They just seem to take their lessons in life the hard way — doing their own thing. However, there is a group of Christian youth, who truly love the Lord, and have respect for authority and godly advice, and they are the ones described as “keeping” or “guarding” their souls. Among those are young people who are chaste and have kept their virginity. They will escape the ravages of sexually transmitted diseases and scarred emotions, so that when they meet their mates, they can begin a life together without pain and guilt. This is not true of the rebellious youth who go down the path of sexual experimentation and then are wounded by the thorns and snares that go with that lifestyle.

Verse 6 admonishes us, as parents, to help our children find the right path and stay on it. We are told in this verse to “train” up our children in the Lord. Many parents have grief in their hearts over their grown children who have gone astray from their Christian heritage and teachings. They have wondered why their children did not walk in what they were taught. One reason for this is that many parents did not “train” their children, but only “taught” their children about the things of God. Teaching is sharing information, while training integrates that teaching into a lifestyle. As parents, we should also pray and ask the Lord to help us direct our children in the calling He has for them. We need to recognize the God given gifts they possess and encourage them along those lines.

The Final 7 Years

President Bush has said that he believes the final seven years to the Battle of Armageddon will begin yet this year!. What he meant was that he believed a final peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians would be concluded before the end of this year. The Bible says, when this happens, the final seven years to Armageddon and to the Second Coming of Jesus will begin.

Major prophetic fulfillments normally happen once in a century. There are presently FOUR MAJOR prophetic fulfillments converging in one year! That’s the reason we believe 2008 will probably be the greatest year of prophetic fulfillment since the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Two Billion To Die

The Bible specifically prophesies a war for the near future that will kill one-third of mankind—two billion human beings. This war will start from the area of the Euphrates River (the area of Iraq and Iran), and will escalate into the worst war the world has ever known. This will happen at about the same time as the signing of the Middle East peace treaty.

Mark Of The Beast

Three and one-half years after the Middle East peace treaty, the mark of the beast will be implemented on earth. All who take the number of the Antichrist (666) will be eternally lost! The UN has asked all nations to implement a number system for all of their citizens by 2010, and almost every nation is doing it right now! In America, it’s called the Real ID.

The Nexus between Jesus and Lazarus

First, Jesus demonstrated His power over death, by delaying his return to Bethany until Lazarus died and was buried, instead of frantically returning to prevent his death. The unspoken request in the sisters’ appeal was that Jesus would return once He knew of Lazarus’ condition. Indeed, it embodied their sense that Christ’s love for the whole family would prompt His return. Interestingly, when the centurion requested healing for his servant (Matthew 8:5-7) and Jairus brought news of his daughter’s imminent demise (Mark 5:22-24), Jesus immediately went to their homes. Yet, with one of His dearest friends deathly-ill, He deliberately stayed away. Jesus obviously retained absolute control of His ministry. He had a plan, followed its self-imposed timetable and implemented its procedures as He determined-because He had absolute confidence in His death-defying sovereignty.

Second, Jesus demonstrated His power over death by arriving in Bethany four days after Lazarus was buried. According to Jewish legend, the spirit hovered over the corpse three days before departing for Sheol. To everyone in Bethany, all hope of resurrecting Lazarus had vanished by the time Jesus arrived. Lazarus had disappeared beyond recall. Which explains the Lord’s return only after all hope of recovering Lazarus was past. Christ’s power over death couldn’t have been expressed as it was if He had been present even hours or a day after His friend’s departure.

The Gospel of John

The Gospel of John is one of four gospels in the Holy Bible and is the fourth book in chronological order presented in the New Testament. The Gospel of John is a unique perspective of the life of Jesus Christ. It varies from the other three gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke (also known as the synoptic gospels), by focusing more on spiritual themes rather than historical events. The author of this gospel was the disciple John, one of the twelve disciples that followed Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry. The author identifies himself in the last chapter of the gospel: “This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.” (John 21:24). John was also known as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (see John 13:23, 19:26, and 21:7.). Perhaps this explains the uniqueness of John’s record of the life of Jesus. The book is filled with first hand accounts of experiences with Jesus Christ that occurred during Christ’s 33 years of life on earth. Scholars generally accept that the Gospel of John was written between 50 and 85 A.D.

No Matter What, be still…

LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary, Who may live on your holy hill, He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken. We live in an evil world. When David wrote the book of Psalm, the world was evil. From the moment Adam and Eve took the first bite of that forbidden fruit, the world has been evil. Sadly, most of us tend to forget that fact, and too often think that the best way to live our lives is to take our guidance from the world. It’s a lot easier to watch TV, read the newspaper and best-selling novels, go to the movies and talk to our friends and co-workers than it is to study the Bible. It’s much simpler to take our cues from the world – and multiple TV talk shows – on how to live, how to handle relationships, how to vote, how to work – than it is to seek what God would have us do.

Be “Bold” When You Pray

As a Christian, one of the most important subjects to learn about is the mystery of prayer. It’s critical for us to learn how to pray—how to articulate those things that are in our hearts to God. We need to learn to talk to God about everything—things like our hurts, our needs, our joys, those things we are grateful for. Only then will we start to see some real change in our lives, and we can help others begin to see positive changes in their lives as well. In Matthew 16:19 it says, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven (The Amplified Bible). What I believe that really means is that God says He’s going to give you authority to bring HEAVEN to earth. That verse says that God will give you the keys of His kingdom. That’s a pretty powerful statement. Think about it: The very keys to His kingdom are in your hands! God has given you the power to release a bit of His kingdom into your life or into someone else’s life.

Jesus, The Most influential life…

Thousands of years ago God created the Heaven and the Earth. He created the sun, moon, stars, birds, animals, but the most beautiful of all of God’s creation was man. God made a man and when He saw that this man was lonely by himself, He also made a woman to be a companion and comforter to the man. He called the man Adam. The woman was named Eve by her husband. A beautiful garden called Eden was prepared by God as a home for Adam and Eve. In that garden God placed two very special trees. One tree was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. the other tree was the tree of life. To eat from the first tree made one to know what was good and what was evil. To eat from the second tree would mean that one would never die.

Many years before God created the world, God had made thousands of heavenly beings who served and worshiped Him in Heaven. These heavenly creatures are known to us as angels. There was perfect order amongst these great hosts. The captains in charge of them were chief angels, which were called archangels.

The Bible, And hidden meanings?

A Christian woman read an article in one of those supermarket tabloids that claimed the Bible is full of messages in secret code that can reveal the future to us. The examples given were very persuasive, but I couldn’t help but wondering why God did it this way…

And, Billy Graham answers, No, it is not true – and for a very good reason: God wants us to understand the message He has given to us in the Bible. He hasn’t hidden it from us, He wants us to know it so we can make it the foundation of our lives.

Emotional Baggages, make you ineffective

Are you carrying emotional baggage in the form of unresolved issues (past/present), negative emotions, unhealthy mindsets, and the like? If so, have you considered the impact of this on your life? The truth of the matter is that your emotional baggage can render you ineffective in your home, office, church, community, etc. Just like marathon runner, running with a backpack full of rocks, your baggage can have a severe impact on your ability to finish your race or even finish well. Now, when it comes to dealing with our emotional baggage, many of us have a challenge because we either deny the obvious, pretend everything is ok or are blinded to our issues. And so, you may find yourself wearing a mask to hide what’s going on, deep within you. Talking from experience, it takes more effort to keep up the facade than dealing with ones excess weight.