BibleVersity

The following is from #1 of an 11 week series entitled: That's Not What the Bible Says "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able..." 1 For 10:13 (NASB)    Is it an encouraging thought that God knows your precise limit and that He never allows one ounce more than you can handle to come into your life? My mind conjures up an image of a man at the gym lifting weights with a trainer. The trainer never allows him to "max out", but always keeps him lifting weights that he knows are within the limits the man can handle. Except that's not how it works. Anyone who has ever lifted weights knows the goal is not to lift what you can, but what you cannot. Adding more weights little by little, challenges and stretches the limits of the body thereby increasing the mass of the muscles and ability of the body. In other words, the way to grow when working ou...

Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp..." Exodus 14:1    Have you ever stopped and considered why God led the Israelites to freedom by taking them through the desert? Really, think about the process for a moment. He led them out of the slavery for a day or two, then told them to turn back towards the city of their captivity, next to the sea, and make camp. This lead to their being trapped. Then He led them to a place with with plenty of water, but it was undrinkable. Not too long after that, when all their food provisions were depleted, He led them to a place where there was no food or water for themselves or their livestock. Why would God be so cruel? Well, if you know the rest of the story, then you may already know the answer. They were never trapped, for God parted the waters, allowing them safe passage through the sea and drowning their enemies. The undrinkable water was made drinkable, and they were provided food ...

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction... - 2 Corinthians 1:3-9    Affliction (pain and suffering) is an inevitable, unavoidable, and repeatable part of life. None of us are exempt. While  we would all like to avoid affliction, the truth is that pain and affliction  serve a greater purpose , whether it comes from our own choices, the ordinary course of life, an attack of spiritual forces, or from God Himself.  Richard Cecil is noted as saying, "God's way of answering the Christian's prayer for more patience, experience, hope, and love often is to put him into the furnace of affliction.” Even  though we cannot avoid affliction, we can use it for the glory of God. That’s right. Your pain can be used to glorify God. How do we do this?    First, we need to learn to receive God's comfort. Much like in life, some folks are better at letting ot...

"Indeed, has God said...", (Gen. 3:1, NASB).     It seems to me that one of the most effective tools Satan has in his arsenal is his ability to twist and misconstrue the Bible. A thorough reading will uncover that he often attempts to discredit and undermine the Word of God. And, since God's Word is our foundation for life and godliness, Satan compromises truth at its very.  Notice, Satan said to Eve,  "Indeed, has God said..." In contemporary language, "Did God really say that?     Satan is the master of taking God's truth and turning it into "if".  I would not go as far as saying that doubt is the exact opposite of faith (see Mk. 9: 14-27), but I am comfortable stating that when Satan can cause a child of God to take an "if" attitude towards the Bible, or even Jesus himself, then disaster is on the way. God's Word is God's Word , whether we believe it or not. Our unbelief does not change reality per se; it simpl...

"The Pharisees came out and began to argue with him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test him." (Mk. 8:11, NASB)    It's a classic, and anyone old enough to know who Gilligan is knows the story well. Charlie Brown wants so desperately to kick the football. His desperation is such that he will continue to believe that Lucy will actually hold the ball steady until he kicks it. However, after nearly 50 years of comic strip appearance, it just does not happen. Well, actually she does leave the ball in place on one occasion but he misses the ball entirely. He stubbornly refused to believe that he was going to kick that ball. He believed what he wanted to believe.    In the passage above, Jesus has just finished dismissing the crowd after feeding 4,000 men (not counting women and children) miraculously, and it has only been a page or two since we read of Him feeding 5,000 men (again, not counting women and children). The response of the Pharisees is a...

"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them..." (Lk. 6: 1-6, ESV)    In these short six verses, Jesus outlines three areas of spiritual life: righteousness, giving, and praying. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of spiritual qualities. These were chosen by our LORD to teach a very important lesson in Christian living. What lesson is this? Knowing who your audience is. Notice how Jesus addresses each aspect. The issue is not the acts themselves. I doubt many people would argue that these are unimportant or irrelevant aspects of serving God. Righteousness should be an important (and growing) part of any Christian's life. Giving is the same, and so is prayer. Each of these qualities should be present and increasing in our lives. In addition, these things should certainly be seen by those around us. If we truly are the people of God, then these qualities should be evident to those around us. The problem is when we p...

"But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches." Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, "I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" - Acts 19: 13-15 (NASB)    One of the great problems we have in the church today is one the apostle Paul encountered early in the Christian church: head knowledge of Jesus without heart knowledge. Paul encountered these brothers while ministering in Ephesus.  Ephesus was the hub for all things political, philosophical, and spiritual. This was the location of the temple of Artemis, one of the "Seven Wonders of the World". These "sons of Sceva", as Luke refers to them, were sons of a Jewish Chief Priest. They witnessed Paul doing some amazing things "in the n...