The Goodness of God - 3

What can I say about His Goodness?  I don't think there are words to describe it. I think I'll let the Scriptures describe it for me.

Good and Upright

Psalm 25:8  "Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will He teach sinners in the way."

The Earth is Full

Psalm 33:5  "He loves righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord."

Taste and See

Psalm 34:8  "O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusts in Him."

A Strong Hold in the Day of Trouble

Nahum 1:7  "The Lord is good; a strong hold in the day of trouble; and He knows them that trust in Him."

There is Only One Good

Matthew 19:17  "And He said unto him, Why call thou Me good?  There is none good but One, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments."

Leads to Repentance

Romans 2:4  "Or despise thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads thee to repentance?"

What do you think now about His goodness?  He is good and upright and the earth is full of His goodness.  He has asked us to taste and see for ourselves of His goodness.  He is a stronghold for us and He is the only One who is good and His goodness will lead us to repentance if we allow it to.
Will you allow Him to lead you to repentance?  I am willing and I pray that you are too.  Grandma Joan

The Work of God in Us - 4 -

There are some promises that prove that God works in us to save us.  I would like to share some with you today.

Philippians 1:6  "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."  God does not force Himself upon us to save us, we have to allow Him in our lives for Him to send us the help we need.

Philippians 2:13  "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure."
Do you think that it is His good pleasure to save you?  Something to think about.

1 Thessalonians 5:21-24  "Test all things, hold fast what is good.  Abstain from every form of evil.  Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it."

Ephesians 2:1  "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins."

Jude 24  "Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling and present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy."

Hebrews 13:20,21  "Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.  Amen."

Galatians 2:20  "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live by faith in the Son of God, who loves me and gave Himself for me."

Psalm 18:32  "It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect."

Psalm 32:8  "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye."

Isaiah 26:12  "Lord, You will establish peace for us, for You have also done all our works in us."

Do these verses convince you that we cannot earn our salvation at all, it is all through a complete surrender to Christ and God and He does the work.  Our work is to surrender our all to Him which at times is a very hard work.  But we must do it.  God will instruct us and teach us in the way that we should go and give us the strength and power to obey.  Grandma Joan

The Power of God - 3-

Let's talk about the power of God today, His power in the world, in our lives, and any other place we might find His power.  I am sure without a doubt that we do not realize how mighty and powerful our great God is.  It is beyond our imagination to grasp just a little bit of what His power is.  So let's see what the Bible says about the power of God.

Genesis 18:14  "Is anything to hard for the Lord?  At the appointed time I will return to you according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son."  Sarah was at least 90 years old at this time and Abraham was at least 100 years old, and they considered their bodies dead as far as having a child was concerned.  But what God promises, He does and they did have a son.

Job 42:2  "I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You."

Psalm 89:8  "O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty like you, O, Lord..."

1 Corinthians 2:4,5  "And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power of Good, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."

1 Corinthians 1:18  "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved , it is the power of God."

2 Corinthians 10:4  "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God, for pulling down strongholds."

Romans 1:20  "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and God head, so that they are without excuse."

2 Peter1:16  "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty."

Job said, 'I know you can do everything,' and David said, 'who is mighty like you, O, Lord...'.  Also we should not put our faith in men and that includes some preachers, but in the power of God.  There are a lot of false theories blowing around out there, thats why we need to be students of the word.

The message of the cross is foolishness to some but to those who are being saved, it is the power of God.  The weapons of our warfare against evil, are not in our strength but mighty in God.

We can see God's wonderful attributes all around us, in nature, in miracles of healing, spiritual and physical and also emotionally.  We are eyewitnesses to what He has done in our own lives and those we love.  So let us trust in His mighty power to send us help in living a righteous life.  Grandma Joan

The Glory of God -2

Have you ever seen the glory of God, I haven't either.  I know that God's glory cannot be endured by humanity according to the Scriptures but we can at least read about it and one thing I do know is the more we study about God, the more we will want to be like Him, and just maybe we will find some verses in our studies to help us understand Him more.  Let's see.

Like Devouring Fire

Exodus 24:17  "And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel."

Filled the Tabernacle

Exodus 40:34  "Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle."

Priests Could Not Minister

1Kings 8:11  "So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord."

The Heavens Declare the Glory

Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork."

And They Were Afraid

Luke 2:9  "And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid."

Saw the Glory of the Lord

Acts 7:55  "  But he being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus  standing on the right hand of God."  Speaking of Stephen when he was stoned for confessing Christ.

We are Changed

2 Corinthians 3:18  "But we all,with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

We don't know a lot about God the Father, but one thing we do know is that He is full of love for this fallen world, and we know that for sure because He sent His only Son to die for our sins and pay our debt on Calvary so that we might receive His character and be able to live with Him for eternity.  If that isn't love, I guess I don't know what love is.  I don't understand it.  It may take us eternity to understand it.  We can let our imagination picture it all we want and it won't compare to the reality of it all.  So the next best thing to being there is to prepare to be there, don't you think.  I want to be.  I pray that you do too.  Grandma Joan

Gifts From God

God has special gifts for everyone who asks and He has a gift or gifts for you.  Sometimes we can only handle one gift but I think most of us can handle more than one.  Let's see. I am going to put the gifts in the verses in bold print, so let's see how many we can find.

Psalm 84:11  "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly."

Matthew 7:11  "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is heaven give good things to those who ask Him."

Luke 11:13  "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him."

Luke 12:32  "Do not fear, little flock , for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom."

John 3:16  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

John 4:10  "Jesus answered and said unto her, 'If you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, give Me to drink' , you would have asked Him, and He would have given you Living water."

Acts 2:38  "Then Peter said to them, 'repent every one of you, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins' and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Acts 5:32  "And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him."

Romans 6:23  "The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Ephesians 2:8,9  "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

James 1:5  "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given him."

1 Peter 4:10  "As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."

Well, you see there are many, many gifts that God gives His children and I would say that all that we found tonight are very important for each one of us to possess, don't you think so.  There are quite a few others that we didn't mention which you would not want to possess them all as it would end up being a great burden, like teaching, prophecy, healing, discerning of spirits, etc.  And you would not be able to do them all justice.  But the ones we studied today, we will be blessed to have them all.
Grandma Joan

God's Guidance in Our Life

Who doesn't need direction or guidance in their life?  I know I do.  There are always questions as to what we ought to do? or where we ought to go? or how we ought to do something?  Always in need of answers and guidance.  The Bible has some sure answers to these questions.  Let's see what they are.

Psalm 16:11  "You will show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy.  At your right hand are pleasures forever more."

Psalm 18:36  "You enlarged my path under me, so my feet did not slip."

Psalm 32:8  "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye."

Psalm 37:23,24  "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in His ways, though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His right hand"

Psalm 40:1,2  "I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me and heard my cry.  He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, and the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps."

Isaiah 30:21  "Your ears will hear a word behind you saying, 'This is the way walk in it, whenever you turn to the right hand and whenever you turn to the left."

Psalm 25:9  "The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way."

Psalm 73:23,24  "Never the less I am continually with You.  You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory."

Isaiah 58:11  "The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought and strengthen your bones..."

These verses are not only guidance verses, most of them have a promise attached to them.  These verses mean a lot to me, we always need guidance, always.  We always have questions and wonder what we should do.  We have a Master guide right at our right hand to lead the way in every aspect of life.  There is no need in worrying or fretting about what we should do.  God is right there with His right hand of guidance.  Let's us always seek Him first before venturing out on our own way and being sorry we didn't take time for counsel.  Grandma Joan

The Sufferings of Christ

I don't think its humanely possible to even imagine what kind of suffering our Savior went through so we could have eternal life with Him.  I hope this study will brighten our understanding a little so that we will not want to hurt the One that died to save us.  I surely hope that this will give us some under-standing as to what Christ went through.

Isaiah 50:6  "I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair.  I hid not my face from shame and spitting."  Can you imagine being smitten, having your beard pulled out if you are a man, and being spit on?

Isaiah 53:5  "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed."  He was wounded for our sins, and was bruised for our iniquities and with His stripes we are healed from our sinful life.

Mark 15:34  "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?  What a horrible thought to think that your God has forsaken you.  That's a horrible thought for me, if I thought He had forsaken me, which I know He hasn't.  But the agony that Jesus went through He was feeling forsaken by His Father.  I can't imagine that at all.

Luke 22:44  "And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat  was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."  Being in such agony as sweating great drops of blood, it is so unreal to us today to imagine anything like that.

Hebrews 2:10  "For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings."  We can be brought to glory by the One who suffered for like this for us."

Hebrews 13:12  "Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate."  Jesus suffered outside the gate of Jerusalem on a hill called Golgotha.

1 Peter 3:18  "For Christ also hath once suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit." Christ did all this suffering to bring us to God and to put to death our sinful flesh and quicken us by His Spirit.

I have a simple mind, I guess because I like to say some of the verses using my own words to help me understand what the verse is saying.  I hope you don't mind.  You can do the same with your own thoughts.  It puts a better light on it for me  I hope it doesn't distract you in the least.  It is very hard for me to understand and I doubt if I ever will until some day when I see Jesus face to face, what He went through on Calvary.  I know it was an excruciating experience for Him, it wasn't the physical torture that He went through it was the fact that He had the sins of the whole world placed upon Him, yes your sins and mine.  He suffered for all the murders, rapes, tortures, robberies, abuse, and you name it plus all the things that you would consider small sins, which I don't believe any sin is small but certainly some are much worse than others.  Can you imagine all of that weight upon your shoulders?  Every sin that was ever committed He suffered for.  It is so hard to comprehend, I can't begin to fathom it.  All I can say is, 'Thank you Lord Jesus for doing that for me' and I hope that you can say the same thing.  We need to be so grateful that He carried all our sins to the cross and we do not have to pay the penalty for any of them if we have repented of them and confessed them to the Father, through Jesus.  It is so important and then remember what He said to the woman that was caught in adultery, 'Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more'.  Grandma Joan

A Need of Diligence or Persistance

You have probably figured out by now that I like to do word studies.  I pick a word and then bring all the texts together that mean the same as the word I want to study. It brings the verses together and make a lot of meaning to me.  I hope you enjoy and of course you know that you can do the same.  It is very rewarding for me.

Diligence means constant and earnest effort, thoroughness, steady, and energetic effort.  I think this describes it quite well.  As we study these verses, we can replace the word diligence with any one of these words and it will probably mean the same.

Proverbs 13:4  "The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied."

Proverbs 10:4  "A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich."

Galatians 6:9  "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

Proverbs 12:24  "The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor."

2 Peter 3:14  "Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by Him without pot or blemish, and at peace."

2 Peter 1:10  "Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall."
     You may want to read the first 10 or so chapters of 2 Peter 1 and see what these qualities are.  It is very good reading.

Proverbs 12:27 (last part) "Diligence is a man's precious possession."

2 Peter 1:2-4  "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who has called us to glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious  promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

Verse 5-7  "But also for this very reason give all diligence to add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. (charity meaning love) (Then go back up to 2 Peter 1:10 and finish the complete thought.

I hope you can go over this and over again until it penetrates deep into your heart.  It is so amazing what these verses are saying.  I have called this chapter, 'Peter's ladder' because it gives us a list of  things to give diligence to, to make sure our calling and election is sure and also so that we don't have to fall or keep falling.  We can have victory through our Lord Jesus Christ who has called us to glory and virtue.  We may often have to fall at the feet of Jesus in repentance and contrition but He forgives and picks us up and we are on our way again.  There is always hope no matter how bad we have fallen, and we have a very forgiving and loving God that is looking out for us every step of the way.  Have faith in God.  Grandma Joan

PS  Psalm 37:23,24  "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in His ways, though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His right hand."A precious promise.

The Definition of Sin

Right or Wrong? What is right and what is wrong?  Do we really need a definition of this?  Seems that most of us have a conscience to tell us the answer to this but sometimes consciences get seared and right and wrong get all mixed up, I don't know how but I suppose it has a lot to do with how we are raised or who we associate with.  I do know that some people have the best environment when growing up and then when grown, they choose the wrong company and before you know it they are in the wrong environment.  We are going to study what sin is today and see what the Bible has to say about it.

Vain Talk

Proverbs 10:19  "In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin, but he that refrains his lips is wise."

Contempt for Others

Proverbs 14:21  "He that despises his neighbor sins: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he."

Foolish Thoughts

Provers 24:9  "The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men."

Unbelief

Romans 14:23  "And he that doubts is damned if he eats, because he eats not of faith: for whatsoever is not  of faith is sin."

Neglect of Opportunity

James 4:17  "Therefore to him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin."

Transgression of the law

1 John 3:4  "Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law."

All Unrighteousness

1John 5:17  "All unrighteousness is sin."

I really don't think these verses need any explanation, they are pretty plain and cover just about everything.  There is one verse that comes to my mind that I forgot and that is the one about the works of the flesh.  Here it is.

Galatians 5:19-21  "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery fornication uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings , and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Could I just add a good note to all of this?  I hate to leave a study with such a bad taste in our mouth.

Galatians 5:22-25  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no law.  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."

There it is, a brighter note to end this study.  If we live in the Spirit, we will also walk in the Spirit and none of this study will apply to us, and if it does we know what to do, don't we?  Run to Jesus and He will give us the strength to overcome whatever it is.  Jesus saves.  Grandma Joan

Choosing Your Friends -2-

Some more verses on choosing friends.  I have seen so much heartache from choosing wrong friends, please be careful when you pick friends, it's so important.

Proverbs 20:19  "He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips."

Proverbs 23:6,7  "Do not eat bread of a miser, nor desire his delicacies; for as he thinks in his heart, so is he.  Eat and drink! he says to you, but his heart is not with you."

Proverbs 11:13  "A talebearer reveals secrets,but he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter."

Proverbs 12:26  "The righteous should choose his friends carefully.  For the way of the wicked leads them astray."

Proverbs 16:28  "A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends.

Proverbs 19:6,7  "Many entreat the favor of nobility, and every man is a friend to one who gives gifts. All the brothers of the poor hate him; how much more do his friends go far from him!  he may pursue them with words, ye they abandon him."

Proverbs 20:6  Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man.?

Proverbs 27:5,6  "Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed.  Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful."

Proverbs 26:20  "Where there is no wood; the fire goes out: and where there is no talebearer,strife ceases.

Proverbs 26:23  "Fervent lips with a wicked heart are like earthern ware covered with silver dross.

Proverbs 26:24  "He who hates, disguises it with his lips, and lays up deceit within himself."

Proverbs 26:25,26  "When he speaks kindly, do not believe him for there are seven abominations in his heart; though his hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness will be revealed before the assembly."

Proverbs 22:24  "Make no friendship with an angry man. And with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his way and set a snare for your soul."

I think we know how to pick our friends now, don't you think?  Read them over and over if you have to, it will save much sorrow in the end.  Make no mistake, picking the wrong person for a friend will end in some kind of sorrow, it's not always the same but ends up painful.  Be very careful.  Grandma Joan

Choosing Your Friends-1-

Not long ago I tried to befriend someone, we got together nearly once a week and I was learning to love her.  I knew her reputation wasn't the best but I wanted to help her.  Someone wiser than I warned me that she was using me to get to my son.  So I became a little cautious and I told my son that I sure would like to know if she wanted to be a Christian or was just using me.  He showed me what kind of texts she was sending him and it nearly did me in.  Filthy stuff, not at all Christian.  I was very disappointed but should have asked God for guidance in that friendship.  The someone wiser than I was right, I was being used.  Just an example of choosing friends and being cautious.
The Bible has some good instructions regarding this subject and I will always be more careful.

Matthew 7:16  "You will know them by their fruits."

1 Corinthians 15:33 "Do not be deceived, evil company corrupts good habits."

Psalm 28:3  "Do not take me away with the wicked and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors, but evil is in their hearts."

Psalm 41:9  "Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me."

Psalm 55:21  "The words of his mouth were smoother than butter; but war was in his heart; His words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords."

Proverbs 11:13  "A tale bearer reveals secrets, but he who is of faithful spirit conceals a matter."

Proverbs 12:26  "The righteous should choose his friends carefully.  For the way of the wicked leads them astray."

Proverbs 16:28  "A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends."

Proverbs 19:6,7  "Many entreat the favor of nobility, and every man is a friend to one who gives gifts. All the brothers of the poor hate him; how much more do his friends go far from him!  He may pursue them with words, yet they abandon him."

Proverbs 20:6  "Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man?

More on tomorrow, these verses reminded me of an incident in high school. I always tried to help the underling, if you understand what I mean, those who no one wanted to befriend.  So that is exactly what I did.  I noticed after our friendship had gone on for a while, that I started picking up some of her traits, not words but character traits, hard to describe but I was young, a freshman in high school and it dawned on me what was happening to me, fortunately for me she quit school and I didn't have to terminate my friendship.  It is so subtle, it is hard to recognize right off the start.  So be very careful who you pick for friends.  You can be friendly and kind but don't have to associate with them. Grandma Joan

Grace Abounding-1-

Grace meaning unmerited favor of God, something that we cannot earn, manifested in the Sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for sinners such as you and I.  He suffered for every sin that was ever committed and will be committed.  All the murders, rapes, abuse, theft, anything and everything that man has done, small and great.  It literally crushed the life out of Christ, the burden was so heavy upon Him and that is why we have our sins forgiven and can look forward to life eternal with Him in heaven and on the new earth.  Thank you Father for such love, mercy and grace in the act of giving Your only Son as a sacrifice for our sins.

John 1:14,17  "And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth....For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

John 1:16  "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace."

Acts 4:33  "And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.  And great grace was upon them all."

Acts 15:11 "But we believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved."

Romans 3:24  "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

Romans 5:20 "But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more."

2 Corinthians 12:9  "And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.  Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

Ephesians 2:8,9  "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

Ephesians 4:7  "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gifts."

2 Timothy 1:9  "Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time 
began."

Titus 2:11,12  "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age."

Remember grace is unmerited favor granted to us without earning it, through Christ sacrifice on the cross.  God wants us to appreciate the gift of His Son so much that we will be willing to give Him in return our all and in all.  Is that too big of a price to pay for our redemption knowing what price He paid for us.  We cannot match the love that He has bestowed upon us but we can love Him in return with all our heart and soul and share that love with others, so they too, may share in His eternal kingdom.  Grandma Joan

Seven Remarkable Confessions of Faith in Christ - 4

Confession is the admission  of something.  In this instance it is the confession of faith in Christ.
Several Biblical characters have great confessions of the belief in Christ.  Following are some of them.

Peter

Mathew 16:16 "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Nathanael

John 1:49  "Nathanael answered and said unto Him, Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, Thou art the King of Israel."

The Woman of Samaria

John 4:29  "Come, see a man; which told me all things that ever I did; is not this the Christ?

Peter's Second Confession

John 6:69  "And we believe and are sure that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Martha

John 11:27  "She said unto Him, Yes, Lord: I believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world."

Thomas

John 20:28  "And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God."

The Ethiopian Eunuch

Acts 8:37  "And Philip said If thou believe with all thine heart, thou may.  And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."

What is your belief today?  Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God?  I do and I'm sure you probably do too.  Don't be afraid to confess Him to your family and friends.  Thats what these people in the Bible were doing.  A simple way to confess Jesus is to pray over your food when you are eating out.  I used to be afraid to, but now I can.  I'm ashamed to say that it use to bother me but we should not be afraid or ashamed to confess Christ publicly.  Look at what He has done for us.
The more I study, the more I'm not afraid to talk to people about my beliefs.  I don't get the chance very often because I don't go out much.  One thing I can do is share a smile and it usually wins a smile right back.  So many people are down cast and don't smile much and I love to smile at people, I always get one back.  So don't be afraid to share your faith with others. Even in a smile.  Grandma Joan

The Mind of Christ

Can we have the mind of Christ? If so how does this happen and what has to take place so that we may have the mind of Christ.  Let's check it out.

Philippians 2:5  "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus."  How do we do this?

Colossians 3:2  "Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth."

Romans 12:2 "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

1Peter 1:13  "Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Take control of your thoughts and set them on things above.

1 Corinthians 2:15,16  "He who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him?  But we have the mind of Christ."

2 Corinthians 5:17  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

Romans 13:14  "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts."

Romans 8:1  "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."

Matthew 10:20  "For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you."

Ephesians 5:1  "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children."

2 Timothy 1:7  "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

If you set your mind on things above and not here below, and gird up your thoughts that they think on things above, then you will be on the path to fullness of life that we can have in Christ Jesus. All it takes is one moment at a time which turns into one day and then a short life time,  Sanctification is the work of a life time, one day at a time.  Yes, we can have the mind of Christ if we pray and ask for a new creation to take place and have repented of past sins and surrendered to Him our life, yes we can have a new mind, the mind of Christ which is a pure mind, which we all should have.  Right?   Grandma Joan

The Glorified Christ - 2

The subject of 'The Glorified Christ' is a very rewarding study, a little longer but a good thing to review and establish in our hearts.

Seen at the Transfiguration

Mark 9:2,3  "And after six days Jesus takes with Him Peter, and James and John, and leads them up into a high mountain apart by themselves: and He was transfigured before them.  And His raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller on earth can white them."

John 1:51  "And He said to Him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man."

Appeared at Paul's Conversion

Acts 9: 4,5  "And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecute thou Me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord?  And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutes:"

Described by the Revelator

Revelation 1:13 - 16 "And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.  His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters.  And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shines in His strength."

Revelation 19:11,12  "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He does judge and make war.  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew , but He Himself."

Wouldn't you just like to get a glimpse of Jesus, like those who were His followers in Bible times?
It would be so wonderful if I could just reach out and touch Him, I know I would be made well.  I know that He would bless me too.

You know, we can get a glimpse of Him through the study of His word.  So keep reading day by day and you will have some beautiful glimpses of Jesus through His word.  You can even touch Him by faith, because you know He is real and is right beside you teaching you and strengthening you by His Holy Spirit which He has promised to be with all those who love and serve Him.  Grandma Joan

Christ the Creator - 1

I am doing some studies on different subjects of Christ.  This one as Creator will be the first one because it is at the beginning of the Scriptures in Genesis.  I think the studies on Christ will be a fruitful field.  I hope it will be enlightening to you and to me, so let's get started.

John 1:3  "All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made."

1 Corinthians 8:6  "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him."

Ephesians 3:9  "And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ."

Colossians 1:16  "For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions,or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him , and for Him."

Hebrews 1:1,2  "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, Whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the worlds."

I hope this little study has been helpful, to some it may be a new revelation, but to most of you it is not a new subject but the verses may be new to you, either way it is a good subject to understand and help others with.  Personally, I didn't know there were that many texts on Christ as Creator, and yet I know one was left out, so perhaps there are a few more left out.  It is good to know that we are created beings and not made from a blob, or a big bang.  Some things just don't make sense at all. Creation makes a lot of sense to me and I like to share the scriptures. I hope it's been helpful. Grandma Joan

Promises to Those Who Keep Christ's Word

I love promises, don't you.  These promises today are for those who are obedient to the Words of Christ.  Remember, 'We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us'.  So we really don't have an excuse for not keeping His words, do we?  We cannot do it on our own, we have to depend upon Christ for the strength to obey.  Let's see what the promises are, maybe it will inspire us onward in our Christian walk.

Eternal Life

John 8:51  "Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death." This is speaking of the final death.

The Abiding Comforter

John 14:15,16  "If ye love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever."

Divine Fellowship

John 14:23  "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him."

Divine Disclosure

John 17:6  "I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gave Me out of the world: Thine they were, and Thou gave them to me; and they have kept Thy word."

Assurance

1 John 2:3  "And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments."

Access to God

Revelation 3:8  "I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou has a little strength, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name."

Christ knows whether we love Him or not.  He knows if we are keeping His commandments.  He knows all about us.  He knows if we deny His name to others.  How can we do that?  By pretending we are a Christian when we are not.  By taking His Holy Name in vain as in swearing.  By our dress.  By our words, by our actions. We really don't have to worry about this if we are abiding in Christ, he supplies the strength and the Holy Spirit prompts us all through the day if we have invited Him in.
I love the thought that we have a mighty helper at all times, don't you?  Grandma Joan

Characteristics of Christ's Words

I have never thought about the kind of words Jesus spoke, but it seems like He would want us to speak the same way, don't you think.  I want to do a study today about the characteristics of His words.  I think this will be very interesting, don't you.

Imperishable Words

Mark 13:31  "Heaven and earth shall pass away but My words shall not pass away."

Gracious Words

Luke 4:22  "And all bare Him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said Is not this Joseph's son?"

Mighty Words

Luke 4:32  "And they were astonished at His doctrine: for His word was with power."

Spiritual Words

John 6:63  "It is the Spirit that quickens; the flesh profit nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."

Life-giving Words

John 6:68  "Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go?  Thou hast the words of eternal life."

Incomparable Words

John 7:46  "The officers answered, Never man spake like this man."

Words of Judgment

John 12:48  "He that rejects me, and receives not My words, hath One that judges him: the word that I have spoken the same shall judge him in the last day."

Divine Words

John 14:24  "He that loves Me not keeps not My sayings: and the word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father's which sent Me."

Our words can be Spiritual, Gracious and powerful, if we are speaking on Spiritual things.  I believe that we can copy Christ's life if we let His Spirit dwell within us.  And if we do slip, we have an Advocate with the Father who forgives if we confess and repent.  I praise God that He is a forgiving God and loves us beyond words.  We cannot comprehend His love, but we can study His word and learn about Him and see how much He loves us.  I pray that this little study shows you how important Christ's words were and are to us even today.  My life has had a complete U-turn since I have been studying each day, and listening to Him speak to me from His word.  I like this verse in Philippians 4:13.  "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me."  You can too.  Grandma Joan

Hope For The Future

Do you need hope for your future?  I think we all do and there is plenty of hope for us in the Bible.  I will try to encourage you with some hope in this study.  I hope it encourages you as it does me.

Jeremiah 29:11  "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope"

Zephaniah 3:17 "The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."

Malachi 3:16  "Then those who feared (reverenced) the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name."

1 Corinthians 2:9  Eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

2 Peter 1:10,11  "Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble: for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

1 John 3:2  "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."

Revelation 21:4  "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.  There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

SC 64  "Do not draw back in despair, we shall often have to bow down and weep at the feet of Jesus because of our short comings and mistakes, but we are not to be discouraged, even if we are over come by the enemy, we are not cast off, nor forsaken and rejected of God.  No, Christ is at the right hand of God, who also makes, intercession for us."

Did these verses give you some hope?  I hope so, hope is something we all need to spur us on in this life.  It seems like things keep getting worse and worse until some people don't seem to have any hope at all, but there is hope in God, that is the only place there is hope for our future, so I encourage you to read these verses over and over and look up some more texts to give you hope, this is just a beginning.  Grandma Joan

Characteristics of a Surrendered Life and Fellowship With Christ

When we surrender our hearts and lives to Christ, there are certain character traits that we will possess and these traits of character will cause us to want that fellowship with Christ to keep us in a surrendered condition.  I thought that it might be good for us to study the subject just to make sure we are in this fellowship or abiding in Him.

Romans 6:2  "God forbid.  How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
              If we are dead to sin, we cannot sin any longer willingly.  We can slip and fall but not deliberately.  Remember, we have an advocate in heaven Jesus Christ who forgives when we slip up and He forgives freely because He loves us.

Romans 6:11  "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
             Reckon means to believe ye yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin.  When we surrender ourselves to Christ, we must believe that He has accepted us  and now we are His.

Galatians 5:24  "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts."
             If we are Christ's, we have crucified the sinful flesh with all our sinful affections and lusts and now....

Colossians 3:3  "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."
          ....we are dead to sin and our life is hid with Christ in God, what a relief from all the worldly baggage that we have been carrying around!

1 Peter 2:24  "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness by Whose stripes ye were healed."
               Christ bore our sins in His own body on the cross, that because we are dead to sin now, we can live a righteous life in Him because we have been healed from sin by His death.
       
Romans 6:6  "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin."
             We can let our old man of sin be destroyed now so that from now on we do not serve sin.

Romans 8:36  "As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."
             For Christ's sake our old man of sin is killed all day long if we stay surrendered to Him.

2 Corinthians 4:11  "For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh."
             Our old man of sin is always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake so that we might allow Jesus to be made manifest in our new body that has been delivered from sin.

Galatians 2:20  "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
             This verse is the answer to how we can have fellowship with Christ every day of our lives.
By letting Christ live in us by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us.

2 Timothy 2:11  "It is a faithful saying, For if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him."

I know this sounds like a hard thing to do, but do you know that the hardest part of all this is giving up on self.  We are normally a selfish person and giving up on our own selfish hearts is not easy but we can do it.  If I can do it, you can do it.  Yes, we may fall back into our selfish pit, but please don't stay there.  We have an Advocate in Jesus to present us to the Father if we repent.  And if we repent, we are restored.  How wonderful is this?  We don't have to live a sinful life at all.  We can be happy and free in Christ and there is nothing in this world better than that.  Grandma Joan

P.S.  This study was a little long but so worth it.  Remember the words, 'Jesus save me' when we slip and fall and He will.

Blessings for You from God's Word

I need blessed, don't you?  I am blessed in so many ways, I can't recount them all but anyone who trusts in God and His word will be blessed in many ways.  The Bible tells us of many ways we will be blessed, let's check it out.

Psalm 1:1-3  "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of God, and in His law he meditates day and night.  He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper."
     What a promise!! Read the conditions and then accept them, then accept His promise.

Psalm 32:1,2 "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whom there is no deceit."
     We are blessed when we repent and our sins are forgiven and covered by the blood of Christ.  We are blessed when God does not ascribe iniquity to us and we have no deceit.

Psalm 41:1-3 "Blessed is he who considers the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.  The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be blessed on the earth; Thou will not deliver him to the will of his enemies."
     More promises to consider and also the condition.  Great promises for those who consider the poor.

Psalm 112:1  "Praise the Lord!  Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments."
      Fear in this verse means to reverence the Lord, and we need to delight greatly in His commandments and we will be blessed when we do.

Psalm 128:1  "Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways."

Psalm 119:1-3  "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.  Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart!

     From studying these verses, it became very clear that God wants us to be obedient to His commandments and walk in His ways.  We don't want to miss out on God's blessings, do we?  So, the only way I know how to receive His blessings is to be obedient, but I can't even do that without Him.  We must surrender our will and our ways to Him and THEN He will gladly give us His power to do what He asks us to do.  I believe this whole heartedly.  It is the only way as I study His word.  There is no other way.  Let's accept His will and His way in our lives and receive all the blessings we have learned about today.  Praise God, we can do it through Him.  Grandma Joan

Benefits of Studying God's Word -2-

Let's just light into this study, I can't wait to see some more benefits.

Psalm 119:92,93  "If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.  I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life."  Benefit, preservation of life.

Psalm 119:97,98  "Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.  Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me."  Benefit, gives us wisdom.

Proverbs 9:10  "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." Benefit, wisdom, knowledge and understanding.

Psalm 119:105  "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.  Benefit, His word lights our way.

Psalm 119:133  "Direct my footsteps according to your word, let no sin rule over me."  Benefit, Our path is directed by His word.

Psalm 119:153  "Look upon my suffering and deliver me, for I have not forgotten your law.  Benefit, it gives us deliverance.

Psalm 119:165  "Great peace they have who love your law, and nothing shall offend them."  Benefit, His word gives us peace.

Psalm 119:18 "Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from your law." Benefit, a revelation from God.

Psalm 119:25  "Revive me according to your word."  Benefit, Revival.

Psalm 119:28  "Strengthen me according to your word."  Benefit, strength.

Psalm 119:99  "I have more understanding than all my teachers.  For Your testimonies are my meditation."  Benefit, more understanding.

Don't let the devil intimidate you into not believing God's promises.  I know it takes faith, but thats why we studied faith.  Sometimes people have a hard time putting faith into something they can't see, but when you put these studies into practice it will increase your faith abundantly.  Study and pray over your studies, and you will have the benefits of God's word brought into your life.  I know what I am talking about because I have experienced it and you will too.  When you experience God's power in your life, no one, no not anyone can tell you otherwise.  I have been persecuted because of my strong belief and it will not affect me because I have experienced His love and forgiveness and so much more.  Grandma Joan

Benefits In Studying The Word of God -1-

Did you know that there are numerous benefits for us if we study God's word?  I would like to study some of those benefits in this study.  God wants to pour out His blessings upon us in such abundance that there is not enough room to receive them.  Some of these verses might inform us of the reason that we do not receive these benefits and other verses tell us what the benefits are, so let's check them out and see how we can benefit from the study of God's word.

Psalm 119:5,6  "Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying...Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands."  Steadfast means, loyal, faithful, devoted, dedicated, reliable and more.  You can read the first part of the verse as: Oh, that my ways were loyal, faithful, devoted, etc.  Then we would not be put to shame.  Benefit, His word establishes dignity and honor.

Psalm 119:9,11  "How can a young man keep his way pure?  By living according to your word. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against thee." Benefit, keeps our way pure.

Psalm 119:24  "Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors."  Benefit, They protect our minds and maintains our integrity.

Psalm 119:28  "My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.  Benefit, gives us strength.

Psalm 119:49 "Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope."  Benefit, it gives us hope.

1John 1:9  "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  Benefit, cleanses us from all sin.

1 John 5:11  "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life,and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."  Benefit, Eternal Life.

John 16:24  "Until now you have not asked anything in My name.  Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete."  Benefit, assurance of answered prayer and joy.

Proverbs 3:5,6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.  Benefit, assurance of guidance.

1 Corinthians 10:13  "No temptation has seized you but what is common to man, God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  but when your tempted, He will provide a way of escape.  Benefit, Assurance of victory over temptation.

Psalm 119:67  "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word."  Benefit, His word leads us back.

The benefits from this study are absolutely great benefits:  Dignity and Honor, makes our way pure, maintains our integrity and protects our mind.  Cleanses us from all sin, Eternal life, Assurance of answered prayer and joy, assurance of guidance, assurance of victory over temptation, and His word leads us back.  This study must go on for another day at least.  Think of all the benefits of His word and I am sure there are many, many more, so will check it out tomorrow.  Grandma Joan

The Work of the Holy Spirit -3-

I think we have discussed the names given to the Holy Spirit, but I would like to refresh our minds on this and also it pertains to His work in and for us.  He is our Helper, Comforter, Guide, Teacher.  there are probably more, just can't think of them just now.  These are titles given to Him as He works in us to help us, comfort us, guide us and teach us.  We have so much help from Him, how can we fail to be In Christ as we learned we should be.  We have all heaven at our bidding.  Also angels to guard us and lift us up when we fall, so much help, if we fail it will not be heavens fault, it will be ours.

John 14:16,17  (Jesus speaking to the disciples)  "I will pray the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him or knows Him; but you know Him for He dwells with you and will be in you."  No need to fail with the Holy Spirit with us forever and dwelling with us and being in us.  What a promise!!

John15:26 (Jesus speaking)  "But when he Helper comes whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me."

John 14:26  "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and  bring to remembrance all things that I said to you."

John 16:7,8  (Jesus speaking)  Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I go not away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to  you.  And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin and of righteousness, and of judgement."

John 16:13,14  "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take what is Mine and declare it to  you."

Acts 2:1-4  "When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, an it filled the whole house where they were sitting.  Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.  Ad they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

1 John 4:13  "By this we know that we abide in Him, because He has given us of His Spirit."

We have so much help in our daily lives, if we will just ask for it and believe that Christ bestows all this help upon us if we will just accept it and let Him help us, guide us, comfort us, and teach us.  What more could He do for us.  I know we live in a very wicked world but we have all the help we need not to participate in the wickedness if we will just stay connected to Christ and remain in Him.
Grandma Joan

The Holy Spirit Dwelling in You -2-

The Holy Spirit has several names, Spirit of Truth, (John 14:17), Comforter, (John 14:16) Guide, (John 1:13), Teacher, (Luke 12:12) and probably others.  Just before Jesus returned to His Father He promised to send the Holy Spirit in His place, so the disciples would not be without the help that they needed and that promise is for us too.  He is the One who prompts us to do what is right when there is a question about right and wrong.  He is the One who translates our prayers into heavenly language so they come before the Father in purity and love.  And He wants to dwell within our hearts to guide, comfort and teach us each day so we can live a pure life in Christ.

Ezekiel 36:27  "And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them."

John 14:17  "Even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him not, neither knows Him but ye know Him ; for He dwells with you, and shall be in you."

Romans 8:9  "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit dwell in you.  Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.

1 Corinthians 3:16  "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you?"

1 John 2:27  "But the anointing which ye have received of Him abides in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him."

Being filled with the Spirit is not a one time event.  It is something that we should seek and receive every day.  This filling has to be repeated so that every part of our lives is filled with His presence, and so we are empowered to live as we should.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit does not so much mean that we possess more of Him, but that He possesses more of us.  Only when we commit all aspects of our life to the Spirit every day can He use us to God's glory.

Just a simple personal story of how the Holy Spirit saved my life just by being open to His directions. I had been away from home for two weeks with my son, and all the time we were there, I kept getting weaker day by day until I felt I needed to get home.  I was worn out when we arrived and went to bed a little early, as I laid my head on my pillow, the thought came to my mind that if I didn't get up and get to the hospital, I wouldn't be here long, and to go and tell my son to get me to the ER.  Which he did.  They did a blood count and my hemoglobin was so low it took two pints of blood to bring it up.
The first transfusion I have ever had but had I kept going like I was, I wouldn't have lasted long.  I was so thankful that I obeyed.  God wants to help us if we are willing to obey.

Let's be faithful to Him and plead for the infilling of His Holy Spirits power in our lives to make us more like Jesus.  Grandma Joan

Is It Possible for You to Receive the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit? -1-

God is willing to pour His Spirit out upon every human being.  It is the power of God in our lives that brings us to repentance and willing to walk in His path.  It is His power in us that causes us to do His will.  How do we receive the Holy Spirit into our lives?  Let's study some of these verses and become enlightened as to who may receive and how we may receive His Spirit.

Upon young and old

Joel 2:28  "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions."

Christ the Giver of the Holy Spirit

Matthew 3:11  "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance but He that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear:  He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire."

Bestowed in Answer to Prayer

Luke 11:13  "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him.?

Through Waiting Upon God

Luke 24:49  "And behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high."

Empowered for Service

Acts 1:8  :But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

Personal Cleansing Precedes

Acts 2:38  "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

God is more willing to give us His Spirit, than we are to give good gifts to our children.  I love to give my children good gifts and God is more willing than that to give us His Holy Spirit.  What a promise! The Holy Spirit will be given in answer to prayer, so we must ask for this Gift and patiently wait upon God to bestow it upon us.  We also must be ready to receive Him, by a cleansing of the heart and mind in repentance of our sins and a turning away from them. God wants a pure temple to
fill with His Holy Spirit.  God is holy and wants us to be Holy too.  1 Peter 1:16  "For it is written, 'be ye holy for I am holy'"  How are we holy?  By confessing our sins and repenting of them and letting Christ reign in us by His Holy Spirit.  It is a daily habit of turning to God first thing in the morning and asking for His presence in our lives throughout the day and letting Him guide us by His Spirit all through the day.  May that be our plea, to be filled to overflowing and letting others know what a wonderful life we can have in His presence.  Grandma Joan

Belief In Christ-6-

We just did a study on Faith In Christ, today we are going to do one on Belief In Christ, which could be considered the same except for most of the verses are different but the message is the same.  I just believe that we don't have this subject of In Christ filling our hearts and mind to the point that we cannot be moved in our belief.  We must be grounded. Christ must be the center of our belief and our all and in all.  There is no other way as we will see in this study.  This will indeed help you if you allow it to sink deep down into the core of your being.  Please pray for that to happen.

John 3:16  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  A promise

John 14:6  "Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me."

John 6:47  "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believes on me hath everlasting life." This is a promise.  A promise

John 3:36  "He that believes on the Son has everlasting life:" A promise

Acts 16:31  "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."  A promise

Mark 9:23  "Jesus said to him 'if you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." A promise

Mark16:16  "He who believes and is baptized will be saved."  Not 'can be', 'may be', or 'could be' but will be saved.  A promise

John 1:12  "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name."  A promise

John 3:18  "He who believes in Him is not condemned."  A promise

John 5:24  "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me, has everlasting life."A promise

John 11:26  "And whoever lives and believes in Me, shall never die."  This is speaking of the second death or the eternal death when life shall be no more.  A promise

Romans 10:9  "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."  A promise

Philippians 1:29  "For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake."  Have you suffered for His sake, I have and it is not a light matter to be persecuted for Christ but when you have all these promises, it gives you courage to go on and live for Him regardless of the persecution, because you know if you are faithful you will have eternal life.

Hebrews 11:6  "But without faith it is impossible to please God for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Rewarded with eternal life with Him, how amazing!!  A promise

1John 5:13  "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know you have eternal life and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God."  It is important to know that no matter what happens to us, we are to continue to believe on the One who loves us and died for us.   A promise

John 8:24  "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if you believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins."  This is a promise too, but one that we do want to be fulfilled.  We do not want to die in our sins, do we?  And we don't have to either, do we?  We must believe to the saving of our souls.  Hebrews 10:39  "But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition: but of them that believe to the saving of the soul."

Another wonderful study, so enlightening to the mind and so rewarding also.  I pray that your belief has grown stronger as you have studied these lessons and that you will be rewarded with eternal life. Don't worry if you are condemned or persecuted for your faith in Christ, you will receive the reward of eternal life with Him, He is promised, "For all the promises of God in Him are yes, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us." 1 Corinthians 1:20.  Also "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 2 Peter 1:4.

Believe with all your heart and share what you believe with others and the promise is, you will be saved.  Of course if we believe in Him, we will love Him and serve Him and be obedient to Him, isn't that right?  Of course it is.  I pray that you will believe with all your heart in Jesus.  Grandma Joan

Faith In Christ, cont'.-5-

I found these neat demonstrations of faith on the internet and they kind of help me understand faith a little bit better.  I don't know who the authors are but I thought you might like to read them before we start our Bible study.  You don't have to believe them, but I think they are truth, you be the judge.

"Faith is believing that God is who He says He is and will do what He has promised to do."

"Faith is action based upon a belief and sustained by confidence  that when God says something then it is forever settled in heaven."

"We are given faith as a means of grace.  We are not creating or earning grace, but are making use of the gift given to us by which we may enrich ourselves and others.  It is not our work being done, it is our participation in the gift that is being done."

Galatians 3:2  "This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?"

Galatians 3:26  "For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith."

Jude 1:20  "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit."  I believe that we can build up our faith by studying God's word and praying that the Holy Spirit guides us in these studies.

James 5:15 "And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven."  What an awesome God we have!  To be forgiven is a wonderful thing, and to be raised from a sick bed is an awesome thing too.  I know.  Several years ago I was helping my husband lift a wood heater up onto a hearth and I blew a vertebrae in my lower back.  Thats the only way I can describe it.  I was paralyzed in my legs and spent my days in traction and lying on the couch during the day.  On the eleventh day I was reading my Bible in Psalms 6, and I realized that I needed to give in to my situation and give it to God as to what He wanted in my life and I told Him I was willing to be in this situation if that is what He wanted for me the rest of my life.
While I was lying there, all of a sudden I realized that the pain was gone and I pulled my legs out of traction and sat up, then I stood up and I was so shocked that I fell back on the couch, and about that time my husband walked in and I asked him to check my back to see if the swelling was still there.  I had a swelling that was red and about two and a half inches across and it was gone and I got up and walked.  I will never forget the joy of that moment.  Thank you Father for that healing!!

Hebrews 12:2  "Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
1 Timothy 6:12  "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses."

Ephesians 4:5 "One Lord, one faith, one baptism."

1 Peter 1:9  "Receiving the end of your faith - the salvation of your souls."

Hebrews 10:22 "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."

1 Timothy 1:19  "Having faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck."

Acts 26:18  "To open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me."

This ends our Faith in Christ studies, and I pray they have been meaningful to you and have increased your faith abundantly.  That is what it is all about.  Courage my friends in your walk of faith.  I pray for you, will you pray for me?  I need prayers too.  Thank you, Grandma Joan

Faith In Christ cont'. -4-

Have you enjoyed the In Christ studies, I sure have.  After doing them I had a turn for the better today, my faith is much better and God is so good to me, just had to share that.  I hope you have enjoyed them too.  I hope that they have helped you in your Christian walk.  We are just continuing the Faith studies today, so here we go.

Ephesians  6:16  "Above all, taking the shield of faith, where with you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." We need the shield of faith to protect us from the wicked one.  We must have it if we are to prevail against him.

Galatians2:20  "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Romans 11:17 "The just shall live by faith."

1 John 5:4  "This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith."

Hebrews 10:23  "Let us hold fast to the hope we profess, for He who has promised is faithful."

Hebrews11:3  "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are, were not made of things which are visible."

Hebrews 11:4  "By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it, he being dead still speaks."  His story of obedience still speaks on to us.

Hebrews 11:5  "By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, and not found for God had taken him; for before he was taken he had this testimony that he pleased God."  It pays to please God, we are always honored by God even when we lose friends over our belief in God and our obedience to Him.  Our names are written in the Book of Life in heaven, I would say that is quite an honor.

Hebrews 11:7  "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with Godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith."

Hebrews 11:30  "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down..."

Hebrews 11:31 "By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe..."
Faith has accomplished so much, it makes my faith look so small.  Faith is so important in our lives, it can move mountains of circumstances if we only believe. So important!!!

1 Corinthians 2:5  "Your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."  There is so many religious beliefs out there, you should not trust the wisdom of men, but the power and word of God.  Then you know you are on the right path.

James 1:3  "Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience."  God testing our faith, does produce patience.  I can agree with that.  I have had a bad heart valve that was critical, and because I have some bleeding in my stomach from abrasions they can't operate on it.  It's been put off again and again, and just this week it had to be put off another two months.  Do you think I am worried about it?  Not at all, I believe God is doing something special so that I don't have to have the surgery. I praise Him instead of complaining.  This is what I have learned from my studies.

1Peter 1:7  "That the genuiness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
Our faith is very precious to God if it is genuine and when it is tested I hope I am found to praise, honor and glorify Jesus Christ.  That is what counts, that we alway give God all the honor that is due His holy name.

2 Thessalonians 1:11  "Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power."

I pray every time I do one of these studies that God will bless every reader and that He would guide every study to be an influence for good in someone's life.  There is one more study on faith, they are so good, I hate to see them end, but there will be others just as good and uplifting because I know God is in control.  I pray that He blesses you immensely with a whole lot of faith in Him.  Grandma Joan

Faith In Christ - 3

Faith is one word that has been hard for me to understand.  I understand the human side of it but it has been hard for me to understand the Faith In Christ side of it.  I have understood it to some degree but not as deep as I would like to, so decided to add this to the In Christ study and maybe I could get it cleared up in my head just what Faith In Christ means.  I hope it helps you as well.  I believe it is a very important aspect in the Christian walk.  There was a couple in are church when I was a teenager and every time they came over, my stepfather and the husband of the couple would get in to a discussion on faith and believe, I don't know to this day if they ever came to a solution, being a teenager I wasn't involved in the discussion but wish now that I had been.  Faith is so important and so is believe.

 The dictionary says it is a strong or unshakeable belief in God without seeing.  Sure of what we hope for and certain for what we do not see.

Andrew Murray says: Faith expects from God what is beyond all expectations.

SC. 63  "Where there is not only belief in God's word, but a submission of the will to Him; where the heart is yielded to Him, the affections fixed upon Him, there is faith - faith that works by love and purifies the soul.  Through this faith the heart is renewed in the image of God."

MB 86,87 "But the prayer that comes from an earnest heart, when the simple wants of the soul are expressed, as we would ask an earthly friend for a favor, expecting it to be granted- this is the prayer of faith."

MB 53  "The only true faith is that which works by love to purify the soul.  It is as leaven that transforms the character."

MB 37  "Without a living faith in Christ as a personal Savior it is impossible to make our influence felt in a skeptical world. We cannot give to others that which we do not ourselves possess."

Romans 10:17  "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."  So the more we saturate our minds with the word of God, the stronger our faith will be, right?

Hebrews 11:6  "But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."  We cannot really please Him without faith and if we diligently seek Him He will reward us with stronger faith. I believe that that is what it is saying.

Proverbs 3:5,6  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding."

2 Corinthians 5:7  "For we walk by faith, not by sight."

Romans 5:1,2 "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  By whom also we have access by faith into the grace where in we stand, and rejoice in hope of the love of God."

Hebrews 10:38,39  "Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him.  But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul."

This study is so good, and I needed it the worst way and I am not through with it yet but think I better continue with it tomorrow so that we have time to comprehend the whole meaning of faith. It truly is a very deep study and I want to get to the bottom of it as much as God allows so we will continue in the next study.  May God help us understand this important subject.  I believe it is a life and death subject as far as our Christian walk goes.  Grandma Joan