KNOWING YOUR BIBLE
August 15, 2021: Dear Friends, In this session, we will complete our series on learning about God, who he is and how he thinks and wants us to think and act. All blogs have and will focus on learning about God and his wisdom and knowledge. However in this series the focus was to search for and find particular verses throughout the Bible that tell about different aspects of God’s character and being.
Learning about God will help one to have a more complete understanding of God and His Holy Word, the Bible. Insight into how God thinks and how he wants his followers to think and act will influence daily life experiences. Return to previous blogs on this subject, beginning with the July 4th blog, and if time allows, progress forward through today’s session, reviewing and contemplating on this series on learning about God.
Today’s focus will be in helping one to realize how close God is to us. Many might think God lives up in the air,perhaps on another planet, looking down on us in his attempt to influence our thoughts and actions and the way we live. In John, chapter 4, verses 23-24, Jesus said: “But the hour is coming, and is here now, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.” And in John, chapter 14, verses 15-17, Jesus said: “If you love me you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, (The Holy Spirit) to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive , because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.”
In the process of learning and knowing God through Bible reading and study, the words, “Father”, “Son”, and “Holy Spirit,” become familiar. These words, often referred to as the “Trinity”, are heard in sermons, either together or individually, and in benedictions, such as ”Go in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Many interpret the Bible as referring that all three are the same, in one Godhead. Jesus, the son was sent by God, and lived as God on earth, teaching, preaching and setting examples, of how God wanted us to live and think and act. Once the believer believes in Jesus, the Holy Spirit of God enters and lives in the soul of the believer. In Acts 2, verse 38: “Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’”. God’s spirit then guides and directs the individual as he or she lives and progresses through life.
Because the Bible is God’s Holy Word to it’s reader, the importance of learning and knowing the Bible correlates with the spirit to help the believer learn and know the truth of God’s words. Growing in the wisdom and knowledge of God through reading and studying the Bible will further increase the commitment and love of God in the soul of the believer, influencing thinking, decision making and actions. The Holy Spirit is what makes the teaching and instructions of the Bible become real in the inner processes of the thinking mind. MAY GOD BLESS YOUR BIBLE STUDY THIS WEEK! All verses are from the New Revised Standard (NRS) Version of the Bible. BIBLE VERSES: The Nearness and Closeness of God: Exodus, chapter 13, verse 21: “The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light.” and chapter 31, 3-5: “The Lord spoke….’and I have filled him with divine spirit, and with ability, intelligence, and knowledge in every kind of craft….in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood in every kind of craft.’” and in chapter 33, verse 14: “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Psalm, chapter 16, verse 8: “I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Psalm 32, verse 8: “ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” Isaiah, chapter 41, verse 10: “…… do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.” and verse 13: “For I, the Lord of God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Do not fear, I will help you.” Luke, chapter 17, Jesus said in verses 20-21: “……the kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!.’ For in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.” Acts, chapter 11, verse 15; ‘And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning.” chapter 13, verse 4: “So being sent out by the Holy spirit…….” and verse 52: “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” Other verses to search for and read: Acts 1, verses 1-12; and chapter 2, verses 1-4; and chapter 13, verse 9; and chapter 16, verses 28-34.