“Are you just reading, or are you studying the Word of God”— R Nelson
BIBLE REFERENCE:
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8.
WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT:
In these days in which we live, I believe very few people ever pick up the Bible and read it with sincere intensity, if at all. Sure, there are those that say they read the Bible in the morning for a daily devotion, they might read a verse or two, but I wonder how many just read words and do not really understand a word they read. I remember as a young child, I hated reading, so every time I picked up a book that I was told I had to read, I just read words and really learned nothing. I remember reading through a whole page and yet, had no clue what I just read. My mind was wondering off somewhere else. I’ve heard it said, that in order to understand something and have it stick in your mind you need to read something or hear something at least sixteen times. No wonder I never learned much in school, I couldn’t stand reading something even once. Well, there just happens to be a book that breaks that rule. Let me explain, the book that I am referring to is the Holy Bible. You can read the Bible inside and out as many times as you wish, but if you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and have not become born again, you will never understand what is written no matter how many times you read it. You can read it over and over, but until you submit your life to Jesus Christ you will just be reading words. Sure, some scriptures may speak to you in a fleshly kind of way, but you will never get the depth of the true meaning of what the Holy Spirit had intended for us to understand. We read in Ephesians 4:18; “having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; Until you submit to the Lord and become Born-again, your understanding of scriptures will be darkened, and you will be blinded to the truth as it clearly states in the verse above. 1 Corinthians 2:14; tells us, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” We also read inIsaiah 44:18; “They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend.” These verses are referencing those that are not born-again. What does Jesus say about this, “John 3:3-8; “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” See, we are all born of the flesh and there is nothing that we can do to change that but being born again is a choice that we must make sometime during our life before we can see the kingdom of God, or more specifically, as most people like to call it, heaven!
You may say, “Well, our church doesn’t teach that so I will not held accountable.” Let me clarify something for you, ignorance of the law will not stand up in the court of the Highest, Jesus Christ, any more than ignorance of the law stands up in the courts of our society. There will be no excuse at all when you stand before Jesus at the white throne judgement. It didn’t help the man who sped through a city limit speed zone sign that read 30 MPH while he was going 50! The man’s excuse that he didn’t see the sign didn’t mean a thing to the officer and neither will any of our excuses be accepted for not having repented and trusted in Jesus Christ. Tragically, many will finally know that Jesus Christ is real, and that heaven and hell are too when it is too late. Their ignorance won’t help them then, there choice will have been made. In other words, your eternal destiny will have been determined.
I have said this many times and I will not stop until Jesus takes us home, do not put your salvation in the hands of any one religion or person, including me. Your eternal fate is way too important to be trusting in any one person or religion to get you there. Only Jesus can save, those of us who have been called to share the Word of God are basically just spreading seed. Our job is to bring you to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and share the gospel of salvation. Only Jesus can make it grow and bring us into a faithful and trusting relationship with Him, and that won’t happen until you totally submit to His will. The Gospel is referred to as the living seed. When reading the parable of the sower, we see right up front what the seed represents in Luke 8:11; “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.” Once the seeds are planted, only God has the power to make them grow, but you must submit to His will first.
Something that might be more understandable is this. When you plant a garden early in the springtime, most likely you just start out with a seed or maybe a small plant, but once you plant it in the soil, fertilize it and water it, it is then up to God totally how well it will grow and how much fruit or vegetables it will produce. We are to plant the seeds of salvation into someone’s heart and then it is in Gods’ hands how much fruit will come out of that seed. Galatians 5:22 tells us, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,” if you have been born-again you will know it by the fruit of the Spirit that is mentioned above. If none of these are evident in your life, then you are most likely only Christian in word alone. These fruits of the spirit should happen automatically when you become a true born-again believer. They should not be something that you have to work at.
So, when you get into the Word of God, first reach out to God in prayer and ask Him to reveal the truth and hidden messages of the scriptures. If you are sincere in your intentions, you will start to see the Bible come alive like never before. You may still need to read a verse over and over again now and then to get to the depth of its meaning, but when it hits your heart and you understand, you will say “WOW,” why didn’t I see that before. I’ll tell you why, because without the Holy Spirit the Bible will just appear as a book with some history, some nice stories and myths and legends, but when the one who wrote the Bible in the first place, (The Holy Spirit) takes over in your heart it will come alive. The Bible is the living Word of God and it is alive in every sense of the Word. God knows your heart, if your heart is true, God will reward you accordingly. Here is a verse that we read in Hebrews 4:12; “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
ACTION POINT:
Please do not wait another day to make the right decision, we never know what a day will bring. The door to the age of “grace” could close at any moment and if you haven’t made the right choice by then, it will be too late. Just like when God closed the door to Noah’s ark, once the door was closed, no more could enter in, the saved were sealed, and those outside of the ark were lost forever as they were all screaming and yelling to get in, but it was too late. “The door was closed and let me add this for those that do not know this, God is the one who shut the door, not Noah. So, pick up a Bible and start to read it as if your life depends on it…because it does! Nothing else should be more important to you and your family. This message is “Written To the glory of God and Inspired by the Holy Spirit!” Amen!
Are you just reading, or are you studying the Word of God—R Fritz
I know many people who have read the Bible more than I have. The most important part of reading the Bible is understanding it. Too many people as well as Pastors are looking at their understanding. That is why we have so many interpretations of the Bible. To understand the Bible, you need the Holy Spirit to give you that understanding. 2 Corinthians 3: 3-6 says “Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. And such trust we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” This is clear that those that have the Spirit of the living God (the Holy Spirit) have the word written in the heart. You just need to stir up the Holy Spirit while studying the Bible. Without the Spirit, Gods word are just words, Gods spirit makes the words come alive. I have seen this happen many times and this is when I get excited. Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” I talked about this verse last week. This talks about the words you read or speak through the Holy Spirit coming alive and convicting people. People without the Holy Spirit cannot convict anybody. God’s word comes alive and convicts their spirit. If you have the Holy Spirit, the words spoken by you by the Holy Spirit also convicts. When I start writing, the words are teaching me as they hit the page. This is what happens as the words come into my mind.
We should believe or trust after we have spoken Gods word, or the Holy Spirit has spoken through us to love ones their spirit hears them. We do not understand that your words convict family and friends. It is what they do with that conviction that matters. They can ask God or somebody what should I do or keep doing what they have been doing all their life. That becomes their choice. Your words have done their job even though it did not change their heart. They need more people with the Holy Spirit talking to them. Too many people do not like the situation they are in, hear the message of Jesus Christ and return back to their situation they are in. Fear shows up. They know what they have and do not want to take a chance that Jesus could be their opportunity to change their situation. There is a verse in Proverbs that explains this. Proverbs 26:11 says, “As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.” For those who do not have dogs let me explain what this is. When dogs throw-up their food (vomit), they go back and eat it. Even though it made them sick, they like it. People return to what they know no matter how bad it is. Sometimes they need to get worse before they take a chance on themselves.
Fear has a foothold in their life. We need to pray for people before or while we talk to them to pray against the spirit of “fear.” You might ask where I got this from. It was studying the Bible, books, on the subject of fear. Fear dictated what I did and did not do in my life. I had to overcome fear. The answer was the Holy Spirit giving me the verses to stop fear. One of first things I did was read every verse in the Bible that talked about the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost and study them to find out who and what the Holy Spirit was. I had to be comfortable with the Holy Spirit living in me. Satin also knew what I was doing. He tried to give me words to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. I saw the words in the spirit, I refused to speak the words I saw. Mark 3:29 says and this is Jesus speaking “But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness but is in danger of eternal damnation:” I knew that because I studied every bible verse on the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit. God knows your past, present and future. Satin only knows past and present. He wants to dictate your future. I chose the Lord and also the Holy Spirit to live in me. The Bible talks about the Holy Spirit coming upon people and the Holy Spirit indwelled in them. I can personally tell you how and why I know the Holy Spirit lives in me. The Holy Spirit gives me the answers to questions as I or other people ask me. I was asked a couple days ago if I would take a pastor friend of mine to a funeral 5 hours away. I thought I was just going to be the driver. I was asked by my friend to read some scripture, as I was reading it, I could not control my emotions. This was the Holy Spirit operating in me. The Holy Spirt told me many years ago “he would use my tears for his glory.”
You might ask why I told you this. If you are looking for answers to your problems or issues you are dealing with. The answer is right in front of your face, on your table, in the drawer, or on your computer, phone, or iPad. It is called the Holy Bible. I studied the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit because I wanted to know everything about it. I also ask that you also study your enemy Satin and the devil in the Bible. The Holy Spirit is the spiritual answer. I encourage everybody to study and to know assuredly you have the Holy Spirit. I have learned that in every blog I write, I sometimes learn as much as you do by studying. Your future is up to you. God Bless.