BibleVersity

"But the fruit of the Spirit is...." - Galatians 5:22-23 (NASB)    I began a new series yesterday morning with the above mentioned title. For the next few weeks we will be looking at Spiritual fruitfulness according to Paul's listing in Galatians. However, we did not look at any among the itemized list yesterday. We began by looking establishing a simple fact of Scripture: God wants His people to be fruitful, or productive, in our life of faith. One major point that we drove home yesterday is the fact that bearing fruit is conditional. By conditional, I mean that we are going to bear fruit, either of the Spirit or of the flesh. The kind of fruit we bear is conditional upon the environment we establish for our lives. If we choose to make the things of God (Scripture, prayer, worship, communion with other believers) a priority, then we will bear Spiritual fruit. If we neglect those things then we will ultimately bear carnal fruit.    The reason I am informing you of all

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" - John 3:3 (NASB)    If you read the entire record of Jesus conversation with Nicodemus, it should become evident that Nic has not earthly idea what Jesus is talking about. Jesus himself even responded to Nic's confusion, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things." (v.10) It is relatively easy for us to look back at this encounter and be shocked at his lack of understanding; however I want to defend Nic's response for a moment. Nic had a major hurdle to overcome, but it had nothing to do with his knowledge of Scripture or his intelligence. His difficulty was spiritual blindness. Yes, he was educated in the Scriptures, but could not "see" the LORD, even though He was standing in front of him.    The NASB uses the word "see" in referencing God's kingdom, and for good reason. Certainly,

"Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came as far as the vineyards of Timnah..." - Judges 14:5 (NASB)    Samson is a childhood Sunday School favorite of many. He was strong, brave, and just downright awesome! Then, we become adults and realize that Samson is far from the superhero we thought he was as kids. Samson was chosen by God to be a Nazarite, (Num. 6:2-5). The Nazarite was covenant or dedication of sorts for a period of time. During the time the Nazarite could not cut his hair, could not touch a dead body (human or other), and could eat or drink nothing coming from grapes. We know from Scripture that Samson touched a lion's carcass, and had his hair cut. Many Bible scholars believe that it is implied by his lifestyle that he drank wine or ate grapes. These three broken commitments culminated in his loss of his supernatural strength.    You likely know these things, but want I want to draw your attention for a moment to Samson's lif

"Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?" - Judges 13:18 (NASB)    When I read this verse this morning, my initial response was simply, "Amen." The LORD's name is wonderful, it brings such comfort and such peace to my soul. This is most definitely true, but sometimes in our hurriedness we miss the bigger picture. In Hebrew, the word translated as "wonderful" is pil'îy. It is used only two times in the OT, both times referencing the nature of the LORD.  It means, "incomprehensible, wonderful, remarkable, something which appears to be supernatural."*  In this passage, the angel of the LORD appeared to Samson's parents, but they did not recognize Him (13:16). As they were trying to figure out who to give honor to they asked a "what" question, but the LORD gave them a "who" answer. The LORD was not dismissing their question, He was answering their question in a amazing manner. The problem was that Manoah and

"..Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands." - Judges 7:9 (NASB)     The story of Gideon is remarkable. Gideon, the new judge, had enlisted a formidable 32,000 man army to go against the Midianites and Amalekites. However, the LORD did not want the people to think they could do this on their own. So, in a unique manner, Gideon was instructed to whittle the number down to a meager 300. If you do the math, that is 0.93% of the original size; not very formidable at all. Furthermore, as you continue reading, you discover that this army of 300 never lifted a weapon against their enemies. Gideon instructed them to simultaneously blow their trumpets, then break some jugs that contained torches, and then shout. As they followed Gideon's instructions, their enemies below turned on each other in sheer panic while God's people stood and watched.     Why did God do this in such a manner? Well, among other reasons only God knows,  it is obvious

"like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word..." - 1 Pet. 2:2 (NASB)    For the last few days I have been physically sick. I have been confined to bed rest while recovering from fever, coughing, etc. I also have had great difficulty seeing. My vision is fine, but the nature of this illness has brought such discomfort to my eyes that the intensity of light and stinging sensation has made it difficult to keep my eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time. Needless to say, reading has been near impossible. Since reading has been put on hold for a couple of days, I have not been able to read the Word. Yes, I know that technology has made things much easier. I have apps on my devices that will "read" the verses to me. Furthermore, I can always find a preacher on television (no comment). However, it is just not the same as placing my eyes on the living Scriptures from the LORD. Once a person learns to take in the Word on their own, there just is no su

"...and there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done..." - Judges 2:10 (NASB)    As I was reading this passage of Scripture one single thought came to mind: Why? Why did the succeeding generation not know the LORD and all that He had done. The Israelites saw the LORD perform incredible miracles during their deliverance from slavery in Egypt, in His supernatural provisions for 40+ years, and in His mighty presence going before them in defeating the inhabitants of the "Promised Land." How could a generation rise up that did not know God? It's simple: they were never told. We could debate the possibilities of other reasons that this new generation rose up apart from God, but the most obvious reason is the simplest one. The generation that died failed to pass on the most important legacy. If you continue reading in the chapter you will find that the next generation, turned their back on the commands of

"…but they shall become as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you." - Judges 2:3 (NASB)    The angel of the LORD is speaking to His people, the Israelites, and has a pretty harsh message for them. What did they do that brought this on themselves? Nothing! Don't misunderstand me, they were supposed to do something, but they chose not to. In chapter one of Judges we find Israel not "in control" of the promised land. However, the land's previous inhabitants were still there. God had given His people specific instructions to drive them out and make no covenants with them. They accomplished this in numerous places, but there were some areas that the inhabitants were so dug-in that Israel said, "Forget it. We will just make them our slaves," (my commentary, not a quote from Scripture). You can read the full list of those inhabitants whom they allowed to stay put in verses 27-36 of the same chapter.     As I was meditating on

"But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men." - Jn. 2:24 (NASB)    As I was reading this morning, I was completely caught off guard by one simple thought that the Holy Spirit challenged me with: Can Jesus have faith in me? Let me back up just a little. In the context of chapter two, Jesus has returned to Jerusalem for the Jewish Passover feast, as was His custom. While He was there He undoubtably performed signs and wonders of which John does not elaborate on (v.23). As the people saw the signs, John writes that many "believed" in His name. That is good news. Then, we read verse 24 where Johns writes, "But Jesus…was not entrusting Himself to them." Something was gnawing at me, so I began to research the original language and noticed something powerful. The Greek word for "believe", PISTEUŌ , is the same word used in verse 24 translated as  "entrust."* As I was thinking about the connection, the

"Praise the LORD? Praise the LORD from the heavens;" - Psalm 148:1 (NASB)    If it difficult to read through any of the individual Psalms in the collection without seeing the term "praise," and the task is impossible in this one. When it comes to praise, the Psalmist leaves no one and nothing out: angels, hosts, sun and moon, waters, fire and hail, snow and clouds, mountains and hills, creeping things, kings, and the list goes on. It is almost as if the Psalmist is trying to tell us that it is the responsibility, the purpose of creation to praise the LORD. If that is what you gather from reading the Psalm, then we agree. However, some interesting questions start to come to our mind, such as, "How can snow praise the LORD?", or "How do the mountains praise the LORD?", since both of these are non-living items. The answer lies in the meaning of the word "praise."    We tend to think of praise as singing songs or speaking good of, b

"…We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote…" - (Jn. 1:45, NASB)    It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of Jesus throughout the Word of God. Although I believe that Philip did not fully understand at that moment, he grasped the OT Scriptures enough to recognize that the man standing before him was the Messiah. Too often we limit the Biblical account of Jesus to the gospels. However, even a casual observer reading through the Bible should be able to see the fingerprints of Jesus throughout. Jesus, the anointed of God, is the central figure, and the great revelation of God to humanity. The OT hinted, foreshadowed, foretold, prophesied, and looked forward to His arrival on earth. The Gospels record His supernatural arrival, life, words, and ministry, along with the central event of creation: the cross, death, and resurrection. The epistles outline the meaning and application of His glorious existence, along with the effects of Jesus&

"Answer me quickly, O LORD, my spirit fails…" - Psalm 143:7 (NASB)    Patience! That word alone generates all kinds of emotions within us. Many of us have heard, if not said it ourselves, "Don't pray for patience, for God will send trials on you that will teach you patience." While I am not so sure about the theological implications of that kind of prayer, it is apparent in each of our lives that patience is needed. If you read the entire Psalm 143, you will find that David is a wreck. We cannot be certain exactly what he was facing, but it involved his enemies, or the enemies of God, and it brought great pain into his life. When he uses phrases like, "crushed my life" , "dwell in dark places" , "my spirit overwhelmed within me" , and "my heart is appalled" , it is apparent that he is devastated on the inside. The sum total of his current situations brought him to the ground. It is during this time he cries out, &quo