5 Questions

Our associate pastor preached tonight and gave us a great idea for a good in-depth Bible study during daily quiet time. I couldn't wait to try it out and wanted to post it on here. He said to find a few verses to concentrate on, then after reading them ask yourself these 5 questions.

I chose Hebrews 4:14-16 (NJKV)
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

1. What do I like?
God understands how we are tempted to sin because he was also tempted.
He sympathizes with our weaknesses to sin, making it easier to go to Him in confession.
His throne is open for me to come to Him anytime for help.

2. What do I find challenging?
God was tempted like me, but He did not sin...that's a tough thing to compare myself to because often when I am tempted I DO sin.

3. What do I learn about God?
He is merciful and forgiving. His throne is open for me to come boldly to Him no matter what I have done wrong. He understands that it is difficult for me to resist the temptations of Satan and is willing to forgive me for my sins.

4. What is He leading me to do?
I think he is leading me to always come to Him and throw myself before His throne for forgiveness for my sins. There are times when I feel I can't ask for forgiveness because I don't think I'm sorry enough for the sin to repent. But He is telling me here that He understands my weaknesses and will help me in my time of need. I need to rely on Him for everything...even help with repentance.

5. What will I meditate upon?
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Heb. 4:16



What are your answers to these questions for this scripture? I'm interested to hear your input.

A New Post!

I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I've been very busy with several things in life. But I HAVE been in the Word and God has revealed so many things to me. I feel like I've really grown spiritually these last few months, but I still have a long way to go.

Today I read 1 Kings 13. This took place after Jeroboam led the people to worship false gods. In Chapter 13, a man of God came to Jeroboam with a message from God. God commanded that man to give his message and turn and go. He was not to eat bread or drink there and was not to return the same way he came. The man was on the right track and turned down the first person to offer him bread and drink. However, an old prophet came to him and told him to come back to his house and eat and drink with him. This old prophet lied to him and told him God told him "bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water." The man of God went back with him and ate and drank with him. Then the Lord punished him. When he left, he was killed by a lion.

What did I learn from this chapter? There are many people who come to you in life trying to lead you away from the Lord and what He has commanded you to do. This man was an old prophet who lied and led the man of God astray. Not all people who try to lead you away from God will appear to be the type who would do that; some may even be fellow Christians or church leaders. Here's the test we should always give...if what they say does not match up with the Word of God, don't listen! This old prophet claimed God told him to take the man back to his house to eat and drink. The problem is that didn't match with what the Lord had already told the man. We have to be careful what we believe when people try to influence us. It doesn't matter if it is your own pastor...always confirm what they say with the Word of God. The Bible will never lead you away from God; it will only bring you closer. Stay in the Word...even if it means only reading one verse a day...stay in it. If you don't, you open yourself up for Satan (the lion) to attack.

Don't be Deceived

Christians, don't be deceived. Satan doesn't blatantly come at you, he gets to you very subtly. Don't listen to any nonsense from the New Age, Feel Good Queen, Oprah. Don't even let it into your home. I urge you, when Oprah comes on, turn off the television and read your Bible.

Watch This:

Back Where I Belong

I've come to the realization that I have put the Lord to the side until I feel like I need Him again. What was I thinking? Do I not need Him all the time...in the good times and the bad? What a fool I've been. So, last night I talked it over with my accountability group and set my goal to get back on the right track with this. Today I started reading Jeremiah again. This time, I'm feeling led to read my King James Version Bible. And while it's more difficult to read than some of the other versions, some of the poetry in this version is so amazing to me and really touches my heart unlike anything else. I started back in the beginning of Jeremiah and it was like reading it for the first time. I feel refreshed and I am ready to be faithful to the Lord in my studies and my prayer life. Like Jeremiah, I want to be successful in the Lord's eyes. In the world's eyes, our success is measured by our career, possessions, happiness, etc. But success to the Lord is much different. Jeremiah was not successful according to the world. He was poor, imprisoned at one time, rejected by many, including his family, and even though he pleaded with Israel to return to the Lord, they would not listen. But Jeremiah was faithful to the Lord throughout his life. He never gave up on God, proudly proclaiming His word. Jeremiah was a very successful man, obdedient and faithful to the Lord. I want that kind of success in my life, no matter the worldly consequences. Because the eternal benefits of my success will far outweigh them.

Jeremiah 1:19 And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.

Antichrist?

I'm sure many of you have seen this email going around. A family member recently emailed me asking if it is true. See my comments below.

The Email:
The Book of Revelations!

This will make you re-think : A Trivia question in Sunday School : How
long is the beast allowed to have authority in Revelations ? Guess the
Answer? Revelations Chapter 13 tells us it is 42 months, and you know
what
that is.
Almost a four-year term to a Presidency. All I can say is Lord Have
Mercy
on us.!!!!!!
According to The Book of Revelations the anti-Christ is:
The anti-Christ will be a man, in his 40's, of MUSLIM descent, who will
deceive the nations with persuasive language, and have a MASSIVE
Christ-like appeal....the prophecy says that people will flock to him
and
he will promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in power,
will
destroy everything ..
Is it OBAMA?? I STRONGLY URGE each one of you to repost this as many
times as you can!
Each opportunity that you have to send it to a friend or media
outlet...do
it! I refuse to take a chance
on this unknown candidate who came out of nowhere.

My comments:

There are a lot of different interpretations of where the Anti-Christ will come from. But this email is silly. First of all, there is no book of Revelations, it’s the book of Revelation. John had just one revelation. So, that tells me from the beginning that the writer of this probably doesn’t know what they are talking about. I have no idea where they would get that it is a man in his 40s of Muslim descent. The Muslim religion was founded in the 7th century…long after the Bible was written. So, it wouldn’t mention anyone coming from Muslim descent because it didn’t exist at that time. What I would say is you should ignore emails trying to point out who the antichrist is. It doesn't matter...when the antichrist comes, he will come into power and there is nothing we can do to stop it. I do believe we ARE very close to the end times, but those of us who are covered by the blood of Christ don’t have to worry about the antichrist. The tribulation will not begin until after Christ has returned and raptured us into the clouds with Him and we will live with Him forever (1 Thess. 4:17). What we need to worry about are those who will be left behind. We talk to several people each day who do not know Christ as their savior…some of them are friends and family members who we love very much. And if Christ were to return today, they would be left here to suffer the tribulation and if they don’t receive their salvation during that time…they will suffer eternal hell. So, what we need to focus on is winning those lost souls to Christ. That is the most important thing. And we need to remember that we are the only Bible some people will ever read, so we must constantly examine ourselves to make sure we are properly representing Christ. When was the last time you shared the joy of your salvation with a lost soul?

Rev. 22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, "Surely I come quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Our preacher has been preaching on the book of Revelation on Sunday evenings for a few months. You can listen to any of them online here http://www.cbcnlr.org/view/96

Laminin

This is about 9 minutes long, but you have to listen to it. It's sooooo cool!

Help

I just had to share this with everyone. I hope my friend doesn't mind. I won't use her name just in case.

A friend of mine recently told me there was a time in the beginning of her marriage when they were really struggling. She didn't know what to do or what God had in store for her and her new husband. One day she was on the website biblegateway.com and she just typed in the search area the word "help". She said it was her way of just saying to God "help". Go to www.biblegateway.com and type in the search area the word "help" and look at the first bible verse that comes up in the search results.

Isn't it amazing how God speaks to us? I think He was very clear about what He has in store for her marriage.