SufficientSelf's Bible Study & Devotional 2.0

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“Freed”

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32

Perseverance in the truth is a key mark of discipleship. If the children of God, continue in the Word of God it shall result in freedom. Why? Our obedience to God brings about spiritual blessings. The truth draws us in closer to the Son of God. It feeds our soul. It changes our hearts. It changes our mind. Absolute truth from heaven changes us with absolute power. If we know the truth of God (Jesus Christ and his word), then it will make us free. Free from what? Free from old desires and habits. Free from the bondage of sin. Free to love as Jesus loved us. Free to bless and serve others. Free to be a witness in a world that is coming to a close. My beloved, if you know Jesus in full pardon and for the remission of sin, you are freed. What a wonderful thought, in this time of isolation and separation, there is liberty and freedom where the Spirit of the Lord is dwelling. May God bless you, and keep you.

 

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“At That Time”

“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of they people: and there shall never be a time of trouble such as never was since there was nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book: and many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Daniel 12:2

I see a lot of posts, books, and movies about the end of the world. Personally, I believe there is a lot of false teaching and dialogue about that time. Can I affirmatively say we are living in the last days? Yes. Why? The apostles declared that it was the last days in the New Testament, and that the return of Jesus Christ would be imminent. Imminent simply means that it could be possible any day, impossible no day. So, yes we are living in the last days because of the truthful witness of scripture. Many people focus on the trouble that will befall humanity in those days, and it will be a terrible time like the world has never seen. A lot of time is spent speculating on what this (insert whatever Biblical passage) might mean or might not mean in regards to the Last Days. However, as Daniel wrote many, many years ago there is a time coming when some will awake to everlasting life and some to everlasting contempt. “At that time” we shall be resurrected and redeemed. “At that time” the wicked shall be judged. “At that time” the glorified Lamb of God, Lion of Judah, warrior King of Israel, Jesus Christ shall return. “At that time” the sheep and the goats will be separated. “At that time” the dead in Christ shall rise first, and we which are alive and remain will be caught up to meet them. Regardless of how these events come to pass, I know that “at that time” the end of time will be the beginning of eternity, and eternity never ever ends. “At that time” this way of living will be finished never to be rehashed again. O what joy, when “at that time” we awake in the likeness of Jesus Christ and inherit eternity.

 

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“People of Promise”

“And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 12:2-3

A promise is declaration or assurance that a particular act will or will not happen. When Abraham was called of God, a promise was given to him. A promise that through his family ALL families of the earth would be blessed. The fulfillment of that promise began when the Son of God left the portals of Glory to become man. That promise was completed when the tomb was found empty. That promise was then carried by and penned down by the eye witnesses who had beheld the Son of God during his earthly ministry. And over the last two thousand years, God’s promise to Abraham has been preached about, sung about, and testified about all over the world to people of different tongues, and races. Scores of people have been grafted into the big family of God. That promise is about the Savior sent for the salvation of man and deliverance for a people cursed by sin. My beloved, this morning, if you are saved, sanctified and on your way to heaven you are the people of promise. You are a part of that blessing promised to Abraham thousands of years ago. It is that promise that makes life worth living, and eternity worth it all.

 

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“On Guard”


“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” 1st Peter 5:8

I’ll admit it. I’ve been deceived many times in life. Passions, and emotions arise and I am tempted then I fail. Our minds become distracted. We focus on the present temptation. We, in our fleshly weakness, stumble and indulge that impulse, thought or desire. Then it becomes sin in our life. Then the conviction falls on our shoulders, and we begin to mourn the failure in our life. We repent, and ask God to forgive us again. He, in his grace, does forgive us. My beloved, we are in the midst of a violent spiritual battle. The devil and his angels are fighting to distract you and to cause you to fail. The devil whispers lies to you. He wages the battle in your mind to degrade you and to defeat you. He wants you to, do as Job’s friends suggested, curse God and die. We need to be on guard. We need to fight this battle with hearts full of thanksgiving and prayer. We need to be dedicated to talking and hearing from God in prayer and intentional study of scripture. We need to look to the one who has defeated death, hell, and the grave. We need to keep our focus on Christ alone. In him, we will find strength and power during the day of temptation. He was tempted in every manner and sinned not. We need to be like him. The irony to spiritual battle is that the devil is already defeated. He’s fighting a war that is already lost. One day, victory will come and it will be forever. Stay on guard, my friend.

 

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“Kings and Priests of God”


“And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” Revelation 1:5-6

In myself, I am not much. I have a tendency to overreact to situations. I have made mistakes and done things that I wish I had never done. I have failed. I have sinned. I have been miserable. I have hurt others. I have been selfish. My beloved, in my own strength, I am a weak and weary vessel. We have all been broken and cursed by sin. However, the righteousness of God’s son has been applied to us. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords has placed his goodness on us. His blood has cleansed the redeemed from all iniquity. In doing so, he has made every born again believer “kings and priests unto God”. One day, we will rule with him in the Gloryland. We are all priests of God. It is our duty to be a priest of God. We all have the ability to call out to him prayer. We all have a duty to witness and testify of his goodness. He has appointed us to the royal priesthood to be his ambassadors unto the nations. Simultaneously, we have been declared royalty. Why? We have been grafted into the family of God. We are a joint heir with Christ Jesus, and that means we are part of that royal family. I may not ever have much in this life, but in the next life I will be forever a part of the royal family of God. There, we will rule and reign with him into the endless ages of eternity. In myself, I am not much. In Christ, I am a king and priest unto God. Bless the name of the Lord forever. He has made us free.

 

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“Nothing Happened”


“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3

One of the greatest barriers to evangelism, and discipleship is that throughout the country (and the world) are people who profess a belief in God, but do not know Him. They might go to church a few times a year. They’ll pray for you on Facebook. They’re familiar with God and some form of religiosity. However, their hearts are far from Him. In their pride and vanity, they don’t dwell on the words of the Almighty. There is no praise on their lips, or joy in their hearts. They profess Him, but are far from him. Why does this happen? The only thing I can say is because nothing happened. The Bible is clear. You must be born again. To ever be freed from sin and shame, you must be born again. To go to heaven, you must be born again. To live a holy life, you must be born again. To experience lasting and complete forgiveness, you must be born again. To be pleasing and acceptable to God, you must be born again. When we are born again, we reject the old life of sin. We reject the curse that is brought down upon us. We look to the one who hung on the tree, and gave his life for you and me. We find hope in the fact that there is an empty tomb, and an occupied throne in heaven. If that is not where your hope is tonight then nothing happened. It is my earnest prayer, in these uncertain days, that men and women would reject the half-hearted, shallow belief and religiosity of the world and be born again by the spirit of God. I believe that the spirit is moving, and that we, in response, should draw nigh unto him. May the Lord bless you and keep you.

 

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“He’s in Charge”


“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:6-7

Division. Corruption. Scandal. Lies. We have heard about it on the news. We have seen it in actions from politicians in both parties. Throughout history, empires have fallen. Great conquerors have been brought to their knees. The time of plenty turned into the time of poverty. Division has destroyed families. We may have even been the ones who have personally experienced the results from it. However, regardless of the situations of history, the present or future in our human government, there is a kingdom that has been established in perpetuity. A kingdom that can’t be brought down. A kingdom that feels no threat or fear.A kingdom of peace and prosperity. A kingdom ruled by a perfect man. A kingdom ruled by perfect God. My beloved, look not to the depravity of this world, but look to the delight of the world to come. Today, Jesus is reigning in heaven on the right hand of God. A priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. The son of David. The root of David. The promise of Abraham. That’s the reality that we live in. It doesn’t matter who occupies the White House, or what party controls the legislature. A righteous king reigns over the entire world, and one day we will reign with him. The government is fair and just. The economy is plentiful. The citizens are redeemed and born of above. That is the reality of his reign right now, but one day a new heaven and a new earth will replace the old and that sounds like a place I want to be.

 

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“Joy in the Word”


“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart; for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.” Jeremiah 15:16

The Prophet Jeremiah lived in the last years of the Kingdom of Judah. Judah was plagued by unrighteous kings and people who worshipped idols. There was sin in the land. The laws of God were ignored. It was a troubling and discouraging time. It is much like the present age we live in. We live in a time where sin, and idolatry abound. We have exchanged a cross and crown for comfort and care. Lukewarmness and drop dead cold faith are everywhere. However, much like Jeremiah, we still have some things to rejoice about. First, we have the inerrant, perfect, inspired and transformative word of God in the Bible. My beloved, we need to be immersed in her pages. Entranced by the writings of the saints of old inspired by the Holy Spirit. We need to read it. We need to study it. We need to apply it to our lives. It will cause joy to spring up in our hearts. Secondly, Jeremiah knew his purpose in life. He writes “for I am called by thy name” and if you’re justified, being sanctified and waiting to be glorified you are as well. God has called you to a life of holiness and love through his son, Jesus Christ. Tonight, I hope that you will steal away from the troubles of the day and reflect on your position in Christ Jesus. I hope you will open the pages of God’s word and begin to let it change you. I hope you will dig deep into the word, and let it pierce the innermost part of your heart. I hope that, tonight, despite the circumstance you will find joy in the word.

 

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“Hid”

“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3

Hid is the past tense of the word “hide” and one definition for that word is to conceal oneself from danger or it can mean to keep secret. In this context the Apostle Paul means that believers are concealed in Christ. Hid away with Christ is a glorious thought. Hid under the blood shed at Calvary. Hid from the tempter and his devices. Hid from the curse of this world. Hid from the fleshly man. Hid in the power of the Messiah. Hid in the love of Christ. Hid in the mercy of Christ. Hid in the grace of Christ. My beloved, my life is not my own. I owe it all to him. He called me, saved me, and has enabled me by his Spirit to live for him in this life. We are all indebted to him. Praise be to God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ by whose blood we are redeemed and hidden in his glory. May the Lord bless you and keep you.

 

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“God Can”

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:7-8

I am truly in awe of God. I am amazed by the creation. I am humbled by his great love that he has bestowed on us. I am forever indebted for the plan of salvation. He created this world in six days. He hung the moon and stars. He spoke everything that exists into existence using only his voice. He made man and woman. He imparted the breath of life into this house of clay. I can’t do any of these things, but God can. As the song says, I can’t make the birds sing or flowers bloom when it turns spring, but God can. God can literally do anything. Without him, I can do nothing. The reason for this is very simple: he is God and there is none other. By his very nature, he is not bound by time, flesh or blood. He doesn’t feel the sting of age. He is not hindered by weakness. He can’t be deceived. You’ll find no flaw in him-- he is perfect. Everything about him is perfect.His ways are above ours. His thoughts are above ours. This morning, I hope that you find yourself immersed in the glory and beauty of God. We need to see and understand him in fullness. When I am weak, poor and pitiful--- God Can!