CHRISTIANITY.

  Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 (13) Consider the work of God; For who can make straight what He has made crooked? (14) In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, So that man can find out nothing  that will come  after him.   (New King James Version) "These verses build on the preceding ones on wisdom being a defense. Yet as good a shelter as God's wisdom is, it cannot shield us from every possible event we might consider a calamity. Everybody faces such situations. Wisdom will aid us to resign ourselves to the circumstances of those times. “Resignation” is too often understood to have the sense of throwing up our hands and giving up, thus quitting under fire. It indeed can have that connotation, but not always, and such is not the implication here. The wisdom in this case is that we are to submit to the fact that there are times that nothing can be done to avoid certain situa...

  Matthew 13:3-9 (3) Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow. (4) And as he sowed, some  seed  fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. (5) Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. (6) But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. (7) And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. (8) But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. (9) He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" New King James Version     Change your email Bible version "The  seed  is the Word of  God , and its hitting the ground is not the end of the story. A variety of things can happen that will affect the growth of that seed. Some might fall on stone, others might be buried too deep. Rain may come a...

Proverbs 13:15 - Good understanding giveth favor: but the way of transgressors is hard. "When a person consistently has a perception of what is true and lives it, he gains a force of beauty of character. In other words, faithfulness creates favorable impressions that open doors for him. "For example, to whom would we rather loan money, to a person with a record of steady work and payment of debts or to one who cannot keep a job and consistently defaults on his obligations? Which one is more likely to get the loan? A person of good character recognizes his responsibility to truth, understands it, and submits to it. This produces the witness that glorifies God. If a person will not follow this process, he will not have the good character and the good name to go with it. If he recognizes and understands his problem but does not submit to the truth, he is deceiving himself. "This principle holds true in every area in which a name is built, including marri...

Galatians 1:6-8(6) I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, (7) which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. (8) But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. Galatians 4:8-10(8) But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. (9) But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how  is it that  you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? (10) You observe days and months and seasons and years.  (New King James Version) "Paul penned the book of Galatians because church members in Galatia were turning away from the true gospel and had embraced a false one ( Galatians 1:6-7 ). Early on, Paul had to establish his credentials - that  the gospel  ...

Galatians 3:22-   But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by  in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. "The Old Testament has "included" or "enclosed" or "shut up" all of humanity under the umbrella of sin. Not a single person can appear before  God  on the basis of his own merit or righteousness. The totality of mankind is enslaved by sin and does not have the means to break free from its grasp. By "concluding" that everyone is under the bondage of sin, or under the curse of sin, the scripture shows that  something external  to mankind has to act to provide a solution that can save man from himself and his sinful nature. This "conclusion" also demonstrates that none of the paths that man has embarked on—primarily justification on the basis of one's own works—are of any lasting worth. "Because all other paths are shown to be futile, the only option for salvation and glorification...

Daniel 4:17    "This decision  is  by the decree of the watchers, And the sentence by the word of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, Gives it to whomever He will, And sets over it the lowest of men." New King James Version God  will give the Kingdom to the lowest of men and women. Similarly, Paul writes in  I Corinthians 1:26 , "For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called." The lesson is to know that God rules, which has been the issue from the very beginning. Adam and Eve did not act as though they knew that God rules; they acted as though Satan or they ruled. They rejected the rule of God, and from that time on, God has concentrated on this very fact. Mankind will learn that God rules, and in order to do that, God is going to have to judge, to issue decrees, and to hand down sentences. His sente...

2 Timothy 3:15-17 - and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.  (New King James Version) “At the time Paul wrote this, "all scripture is inspired of God, and is profitable" referred to the Old Testament. Paul probably did not know that what he was writing would become Scripture. “At its worst, saying that the law—or any portion of the Bible—is "done away" could be spiritually suicidal. At the very least, it will hinder growth because a person will not be thoroughly furnished to all good works. It is similar in principle to a student attending school who ignores certain selected sections of the textbook on the basis of his own percepti...

(2 Peter 1:19-21) – “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (New King James Version) “This warning is very instructive. First, Peter assures us that biblical prophecy is "more sure" than even eyewitness testimony (verses 16-18)! When God speaks, whatever He foretells WILL happen! God's Word will not return to Him empty; it will accomplish what God sends it to do (Isaiah 55:11). "The apostle also says we would "do well to heed" it. Prophecy is vital to our growth! It strengthens our faith in God, teaches us how He works, and gives us a guide to His purpose for humanity. Until Christ returns, we need to study the prophecies to...

  Matthew 6:11  -  Give us this day our daily bread. New King James Version     Change your email Bible version "This is apparently the only material request in the entire model prayer; all the other requests are for spiritual aid such as forgiveness, protection, and guidance. With this in mind, is  Jesus  telling us to ask for physical food every day? A literal meaning is often the most likely understanding, yet the continuing context of the chapter suggests He had more spiritual matters on His mind. Just a few verses later, in  Matthew 6:25-26 , 31, He teaches: Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? . . . Therefore d...

Hebrews 2:14-15 - "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (New King James Version) "Some religions make no mention of Satan as a reality. Others include him as a reality and enemy, yet they make little or no accounting of him actively working to destroy mankind and God's purpose. Jesus makes no bones about Satan actively working to destroy men. In John 8:44 , in accusing the Jews of unbelief, He puts Satan's nature in plain words: ""You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the fa...

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Romans 10:1417 How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?   And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!"   But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says,  "L ORD , who has believed our report?"   So then faith  comes  by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. New King James Version "The word of  Christ  is what brought us out of  the world  and that to which we were converted. When we drift away from it, we become confused, and we begin dividing, bickering and fighting among ourselves. The solution is given elsewhere in the Bible:  Get back to what brought us together in the first place —the combination of the word of Christ and devotion to Him, to the love that we had at the beginning ( Revela...

   Matthew 14:14 (14) And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.    Mark 6:34 (34) And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things. New King James Version     Change Bible versions " Jesus  is "moved with compassion" when He sees the needy multitudes exhausted and wandering like sheep that had been tattered from cruel fleecing. Twice He is "moved with compassion" when He sees the hungry multitudes without food ( Matthew 14:14 ;  15:32 ). The two blind men ( Matthew 20:34 ) and the leper ( Mark 1:41 ) also stir His compassion, as does the sorrow of the widow at Nain ( Luke 7:13 ). "In addition, Jesus uses the word translated "compassion" in three of His  parables : The king has compassion on his bankrupt servant and f...

Proverbs 8:13    (13) The fear of the LORD  is  to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate. New King James Version "What does "the fear of the Lord" entail? Another proverb,  Proverbs 9:10 , helps us to understand: "The fear of the L ORD  is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." While  Proverbs 8:13  defines what the fear of the Lord  is ,  Proverbs 9:10  shows what it  produces . Understanding the effect of the fear of the Lord will help us to understand the cause. "This verse uses a Hebraism in which the two clauses are written in parallel. The "fear of the L ORD " in the first clause is linked to "knowledge of the Holy One" in the second, while the "beginning of wisdom" corresponds to "understanding." Most translations hide the fact that the Hebrew word rendered as "Holy One" is actually plural. It refers...

Hebrews 1:10-12    And:   " You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the  LORD  are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; And   they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the   same, And Your years will not fail." New King James Version "To us, the physical  seems  so solid, indestructible, and permanent, at least in terms of our own brief existence. But Hebrews tells us to get our attention off the immediate, the "around and about," the physical. We are to reorient our lives, our thinking, our focus, toward the eternality of Christ's dominion. "A profound reality of  God  and His Word is that  they are changeless . "You remain,"  Hebrews 1:11  says, but we grow old and die. The eternal values never change, and even more exciting, they can be taken through the grav...

   Ephesians 2:1-3 (1) And you  He made alive,  who were dead in trespasses and sins, (2) in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, (3) among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.  New King James Version     Change your email Bible version "Satan subtly persuaded Adam and Eve that by taking the knowledge of good and evil, they would be like gods, and by this he inserted himself as a rival to  God  for man's loyalty. He implied that they could institute their own ways and standards. However, he concealed from them that he would influence mankind in establishing those ways and standards so that he, the god of  this world , would be sovereign and obeyed. The resul...