John 1:14,17 NIV The Word became flesh and made his dwelling 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.
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
The whole point of my blog is to encourage it's readers to dig into the word of God and find out what he has to say to us. It seems like a very important thing to want to know but it can be overwhelming to get the big picture from such a large book.
The NIV Grace and Truth Study Bible is a great way to give you a larger perspective of the overall story of grace and truth. The Bible is easy to understand with the information contained in the notes and the references to other portions of scripture that apply to what you are reading.
Most of the notes throughout the Bible are an explanation of several verses at a time helping you to understand broad concepts of truth rather than spending time in deep details. The information in the notes is a fresh perspective for long time readers and Bible students but it isn't overwhelming for new readers to grasp.
Get your copy of the NIV Grace and Truth Study Bible at the FaithGateway store.
This is an unpaid review for a Bible that was received for free as a member of the Bible Gateway Blogger Grid. #BibleGatewayPartner
Too many want to embrace God's promises after death without obeying him in
this life.
1 John 2:4-5 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s
commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.
5 But those who obey God’s word
truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in
him.
1 John 3:4-8 Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is
contrary to the law of God.
5 And you know that Jesus came
to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him.
6 Anyone who continues to live
in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or
understand who he is.
7 Dear children, don’t let
anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that
they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous.
8 But when people keep on
sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since
the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.
American citizens are prone to think of themselves as God's people and future
residents of Heaven but way too many of us are not basing their beliefs on
what God and Jesus said about the people that will be in Heaven.
The idea that you can know about Jesus and what he did without allowing it to
have an affect on how you live is a very American way of viewing the gospel
but it is not the gospel that the Bible tells us about. It doesn't take a
Bible degree to see the truth that so many are missing.
The fact that so many believe the wrong thing about their eternal future
proves that way to many of us haven't examined the Bible to see that their
thinking is obviously wrong. The Bible never teaches us to believe without
being changed into someone new that looks obviously different from the rest of the world.
Jesus Tells Us:
Matthew 16:24-26 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?
Matthew 18:3 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn
from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into
the Kingdom of Heaven.
Luke 6:46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you
don’t do what I say?
John 14:15 “If you love me, obey my commandments.
John 14:23-24 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My
Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of
them. Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my
words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent
me.
John 15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command.
The First Church Leaders Tell Us:
Romans 12:1-2 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to
give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a
living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly
the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world,
but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.
Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing
and perfect.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since
we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died
to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new
life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for
Christ, who died and was raised for them.
2 Corinthians 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
1 Peter 1:13-15 So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.
James 4:8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
Titus 1:16 Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the
way they live. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing
anything good.
Too many people want to embrace God's promises after death without doing what he told us to do in this life. God has made it clear that his people that love him will also want to please him just like we want to please the people around us that we love.
Too many of us are working to gain all of the pleasures and satisfaction that the world has to offer without considering the end result. We can gain the whole world and enjoy every pleasure that it has to offer but what eternal value does it have?
1 John 2:17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
The Bible makes it clear that I am not saved because I live the right way but it is equally clear that if I truly love God and believe in the work of Jesus through his death and resurrection then I will not be able to live a life that displeases God. The character traits of Jesus will gradually become a greater part of who I am.
Hebrews 1:1-3 Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. 2 And now in these final days, He has spoken to us through His Son.
God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son He created the universe. 3 The Son radiates God's own glory and expresses the very character of God, and He sustains everything by the mighty power of His command.
When He had cleansed us from our sins, He sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.
The Bible is God's story revealing himself to us so that he can know him. Thankfully God's desire is to be known, from the beginning in the garden he revealed himself when he could have stayed obscure and mysterious if he had wanted, but that would be incredibly sad for us.
God inspired men to write his story and protect it from evil forces that would love to destroy it. Think about how many thousands of years old the earliest scrolls are and how many opportunities Satan has had to get rid of it, there were evil kings that ruled Israel without any fear of God and there were the kings of other countries that invaded Israel, Satan would have loved for those ancient manuscripts to be gone.
It all starts with Adam, God created Adam perfect without sin, just as Jesus is without sin, but Adam sinned, and through him sin entered the world. God tells Adam and Eve someday their great-great-great-great…. grandson will save the world from sin. He will crush the snake, and death will be conquered.
Abel showed us Jesus because he died blameless for someone else’s sin, just as Jesus died blameless for our sins. But Abel’s death cannot save us.
God sent Abraham away from a loving father into a dark world to act as a light to the rest of the world. God sent Jesus to act as a light to a dark and sinful world to show them the way back to God.
Isaac was a willing sacrifice on that altar, fully believing his father that all would be well. Jesus was a willing sacrifice for us on the cross, knowing His death paid the price once and for all for our sins.
Jacob shows us how far God will go to pursue a lost sheep. Just like the story of the prodigal son, Jacob was brought home to God.
Because of the sins of his brothers Joseph was handed over into slavery, but because of their actions Joseph was able to save his family in Egypt. Jesus was handed over to death by lies and half truths, but because of his death and resurrection we are saved from sin.
In Exodus we find the story of the Passover Lamb, and Christ is the sacrificial Lamb given for us.
Moses was called out of 40 years of wilderness to lead his people to freedom from slavery to Egypt. Jesus was called out of 40 days of wilderness to lead his people into freedom from slavery to sin.
In Leviticus we read of the high priests making sacrifices for the people, and Christ has become our High Priest, making the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins.
In Deuteronomy Moses prophesied of a prophet who would come that would be greater than Himself. Jesus is that Great Prophet.
In the book of Joshua, Joshua met the Captain of the Lord's host. That man is Jesus Christ.
In Judges, the leaders were judges who delivered God's people, each of them typifying the Lord Jesus.
Ruth was rescued from poverty by her bridegroom Boaz. The church was rescued from their poverty of sin by its bridegroom Jesus.
Samson shows the folly of trying to do it all yourself. We can do many of the right things, but without the light of the world we cannot truly follow God.
In 2 Samuel when the king is being enthroned, the entire scene is descriptive of the Lord Jesus.
The books of Kings speak of the glory of God filling the temple and the Chronicles describe the glorious coming king, both referring to Jesus, the King of Kings.
Saul looked like the perfect king. He was handsome, he was tall, he was strong, but he did not follow God and ultimately was a weak king because of it. Jesus did not look like a king, he was common, he was a carpenter, but he is the True King.
A true king, one that pursued God and loved him with all his heart, king David pointed his people to God. Jesus was both man and God and lived a perfect life. Jesus is the perfect king of all.
Solomon shows us the folly of a church not daily relying on God. He followed God for a while, but his house was built on his own wisdom, not God’s and at the end of his reign it was washed away.
Ezra depicts Jesus as the Lord of our fathers. Job says clearly that the Redeemer is coming! Esther offers a picture of Christ interceding for His people. Christ appears time after time in the Psalms, including when David describes Him as "the Shepherd."
All the kings of Northern Israel show us what life without God is like. It’s painful, there are lies, murder, blasphemy, and more hurt. In the end a world without God falls, and the kingdom of Israel fell.
Hezekiah became king after many who had not followed God. He wanted to bring Israel back to God, and did. Jesus wanted to bring Israel back to God, and there were many Pharisees telling him it could not be done. But ultimately Jesus brought the world to God.
Jonah ran from God, which Jesus never did, but then Jonah sat in the belly of a big fish for 3 days, and preached the words of redemption just like Jesus. Jesus was dead and in a grave for 3 days, and resurrected to preach the words of life to the world.
Isaiah was given a vision of heaven and what Jesus will come to do. He tells of Jesus birth, and his eventual death and resurrection.
God called Hosea to love and marry a woman who did not love him, he stayed a faithful bridegroom, though his bride was not faithful. Jesus too has married a faithless wife, the church. Though we wander far from His love at times, Jesus will always stay faithful.
Josiah became king as a young boy. He followed God from a young age, just as Jesus showed us in Luke that He followed hard after God from a young age.
In Daniel we see Jesus ruling and triumphant. We do not see Jesus the sacrificial lamb, we see Jesus coming at the end to punish and to reward. He rules eternal and forever.
Jeremiah the weeping prophet shows us a Jesus who cries for the world’s sins. Jeremiah cries for the fate of Jerusalem, a city he loves and knows will be destroyed. Jesus hundreds of years later cries for Jerusalem as He looks at a city caught in sin and bound for judgment if they do not repent.
Ezekiel gave us Jesus’ favorite title, the Son of Man. Over and over God calls Ezekiel “Son of Man,” and Jesus called himself “Son of Man.”
Joel describes Him as the Hope of His people. Amos tells us that Jesus is the judge of all nations. Obadiah warns of the coming eternal kingdom.
Jonah offers a picture of Jesus being dead for three days, then coming back to life to preach repentance.
Zephaniah says that He will be the king over Israel. Zachariah is the prophet who speaks of Jesus riding on a colt. Malachi is the one who calls Him the Son of Righteousness.
Without the Bible we would have no hope of really knowing God, he would be a distant and mysterious being, thanks to scripture we have a lot of information about God and his character. Without the Bible we would not know that our lives have meaning and purpose much greater than ourselves. We would not know love or the reality of eternal life.
Now that there are so many copies of the Bible and it has been copied into so many languages, instead of destroying the Bible, Satan's new strategy is to get us to neglect reading it and to doubt it's message when we do read it.
Satan will ask you, "Did God really say that?" We need to be "digging the word" so that we will know for sure what God said.
Thank you Lord for protecting your story and allowing us to read it and learn about you. I don't want to neglect Bible study because it is the best revelation of who you are and why I am here.
It is obnoxious to disregard the opportunity to know him better.
Psalms 19:7-8 The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight for living.
Few people have a real appreciation for instruction books and owners manuals, we like to be self-sufficient, independent thinkers, we quickly toss the instructions and set out on our own way.
For some of us the issue might be with the fact that you have followed the instructions before and it didn't work out. When you were finished the product doesn't look like the picture on the box and there are parts left over that seem to be necessary.
There is an instruction book that you can trust that will give you the best results if you are willing to apply it. We should think highly of this book and give its teaching an opportunity to have an affect on us because these instructions were given to us by the one that created us.
Instruction books that are seldom ever going to be best sellers but this one is different. The one that knows us best gave us instructions that are perfect, trustworthy, right and clear so we shouldn't be surprised that there are so many Bibles around.
The thing that should surprise us it that with all of the benefits of God's instructions there are so few people reading and applying it. David says in Psalm 19 that these instructions from God revive the soul, make the simple man become wise, makes your heart have joy and it gives us insight. You cannot get these benefits from any self help book!
This instruction book will help you build your life on a firm foundation that will survive when tragedy comes. The Bible will help you build your life so that there aren't any pieces left over that don't fit anywhere. If you follow God's instructions then you will be the most useful, ready to do the work that God wants to do through your life.
Psalms 119:167 I have obeyed Your laws, for I love them very much.
It isn't just a matter of following God's instructions because you know you ought to, our Lord wants our heart to follow his ways with great delight, we should be joyful in obedience. When you have the opportunity to receive instruction from the greatest teacher that knows everything then you should cheerfully welcome his input and follow through on what you learn.
Nothing good can come from rebelling against the Lord, and nothing bad can come from obeying Him—even physical death for the sake of following the Lord is better than denying His will.
I need to be eager to learn what God's word says because it really is God's word. God has done a lot to reveal himself to me and it would be obnoxious to disregard the opportunity to know him better and follow his instructions.
We need Bible knowledge and application of what God has revealed to us.
2 Timothy 3:13-17 But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived. 14 But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. 15 You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work.
In Paul's final letter to Timothy, not too long before Paul would be executed, he warned that what Timothy believed would be challenged after Paul is gone. Deceived people won't keep it to themselves, Paul knew that the people that were against his ministry and against the gospel would attempt to deceive Timothy, he would have the truth questioned and he would be tempted to walk away.
It is sad enough to be deceived but sadder still is the fact that deceived people will deceive others. (2 Timothy 3:1-9, 4:6 / 2 Peter 3:17) The lessons that Timothy's family taught him and also the training that he received from Paul would have to take root in Timothy's life to keep him from being ineffective in ministry.
Imagine having Paul as the leader of your small group helping you through long term discipleship. (2 Timothy 1:5-6, 16) Paul's investment in Timothy was rewarded abundantly as you can see in Paul's letters and in the history of the early church:
Ministered together in various cities (Acts 17:14, 15, 18:5, 20:4 / 2 Corinthians 1:19).
Timothy was in Rome with Paul while Paul was in prison (Philippians 2:19–23)
Paul frequently mentions Timothy in his epistles (Romans 16:21 / 2 Corinthians 1:1, Philippians 1:1, Colossians 1:1 / 1 Thessalonians 1:1 / 2 Thessalonians 1:1 / Philemon 1:1)
Paul often sent Timothy to churches as his representative (1 Corinthians 4:17, 16:10 / Philemon 2:19 / 1 Thessalonians 3:2),
Timothy served as pastor of the church at Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3)
Timothy took in the sound teaching of his family and from Paul and he allowed it to control his life. The truth was presented to him but it couldn't be forced upon him to apply it to his life. Timothy had to decide what he would do with the information that God revealed to him. (Deuteronomy 29:29)
God's authority isn't forced on us, I get to decide to be a rebel, but my rebellion won't be allowed to last forever. At the end of time it will be a different story as we meet our maker we will all recognize his authority and bow down to him.
We see examples of God speaking in the Bible, the phrase "God said" is found around 3800 times, but after "God said" it was up to man to decide if he would yield to God's authority and pay attention to what "God said."
“It’s not only information about God; it’s the voice of God in print.”
-Tony Evans
The word of God has the authority of God to put the plans of God in motion for my life but the pursuit of the American dream and the pursuit of personal freedom makes it difficult to yield to any authority.
James 1:22 But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
I need to remember that God is in charge, God wrote the Bible, therefore the Bible has authority over my life and I need to learn everything I can about what it says. But knowledge isn't all, I also need application, I need to allow it to influence my thinking and my actions so that I will please God.
The only way to be a citizen of this kingdom is to be born into it.
Isaiah 52:1, 7, 8, 13 Wake up, wake up, O Zion! Clothe yourself with strength. Put on your beautiful clothes, O holy city of Jerusalem, for unclean and godless people will enter your gates no longer.
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!
The watchmen shout and sing with joy, for before their very eyes they see the LORD returning to Jerusalem.
See, my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted.
Someday the beautiful state that the world was in at the end of the creation story will be restored. The beauty and peace and especially the access to God that Adam and Eve had will be restored to all of God's people from every corner of the earth.
The Bible is the story of the Kingdom of God being restored, first the Bible makes it clear that we are so bad, from the original sin to the first murder and then shortly there after the story of Noah. Our tendency has always been to reject God and embrace evil.
John 3:3 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God."
The Bible lets us know that the day is coming when the king will restore his kingdom, the Book of Life will be opened and the citizens of the kingdom will be brought together to enjoy God's presence even more fully that it was in the garden.
The Book of Life is a list of all of the people that belong to God's kingdom. This country won't have any illegal immigration and there won't be any discrimination based on your color or the place of your first birth.
Have you become a citizen of God's eternal kingdom? Find out how you can have peace with God that starts now and last for eternity.
