Devoted to Christ

I got my start bible last week and I’m anxious to read on what happens when a new believer had just accepted Jesus Christ. Commentary by Pastor Greg Laurie. I am gearing up for this weekend’s Crusade at Angel Stadium!

This can be one of the more difficult questions non-believers may ask a Christian. Here are a few pointers and tips of what the bible has to offer us.

• The bible declares that the earth is in a form of a circle. People have always thought the earth was square and flat. Job 26:10 He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters. At the boundary of light and darkness.
• Scientist have always tried to count the stars; and they have concluded that there are 100 billion to 70 sextillion (<-- such a word? yes!) stars! Science cannot count the stars or the number of sand.

  - Jeremiah 33:22
  “As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.”

  - Isaiah 51:13
  “(God) Who stretched out the heavens. And laid the foundations of the earth;”

• God did not give us the book for science; it’s a book of redemption.
• Bible declares the future hundreds of times and has come true.
• It’s confirmed by archeologist, the bible is true. The stone of Pontius Pilat has been recently found. Watch YouTube video.
• There are 66 books written by 40 authors whom were kings, scholars, and ordinary men inspired by God and empowered by the holy spirit. 2 Peter 1:20-21 – 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God[b] spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
• The bible is true because it gave me the experience it claimed to give me. <-- Speaking from my personal experience.

Last night’s Pulpit Ministry seminar (it was rather more of a service) proved to be a success as new preachers and song leaders were born. Please pray for these people that they have continued anointing and conviction to do the work of God; but first, remember to thank God for what He has done in your life.

Thank you Lord for using me for your glory. I continue to pray that if this is what you will set forth for me to do, I will gladly accept it!

As much as I’d rather be there in person, I’ll be participating online on this awesome event of bible prophecy and truth.

Click the above the image to view the conference happening on these dates:

June 25th, 7:00pm* – 9:00pm eastern and pacific
June 26th, 8:30am – 12:00pm eastern and pacific
1:15pm – 4:30pm eastern and pacific
7:00pm – 9:00pm eastern and pacific

We can study Bible prophecy all day long and get excited about it, but if it isn’t impacting in the way that we live, then we’re simply missing the point. In 1 John 3:

“What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him – and in seeing him, become like him.”

This comes to a much more greater understanding when you combine this knowledge and the Holy Spirit within you. When you have this “power” of understanding (see Acts 1:8 – But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me) you will have the power of knowing Jesus in telling others about him. So go and seek his face knowing that you have the power of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit to go about your life fulfilled.

Had an awesome time with Pastor Levi back in God’s house last Thursday while Pastor Greg was up in the Holy land of Israel. It’s great to see such faithful preachers come up from thousands of miles away to preach the gospel. I had the opportunity to speak with Levi and took a picture with him after the service.

His message about Fish Tacos with Jesus was awesome. Read John 21 for scripture reference. It was an interesting time of “fishing” when the disciples were witnesses of Jesus’s last miracle before ascending to heaven. In Fish Tacos with Jesus, there was bread, there was fish, so there you have it, breakfast with Jesus. That sort of made me hungry, even hungrier as I type this post, but I can’t eat right now because I’m fasting! But for a blood test tomorrow. Can’t fast for different reason now … when you commit fasting you have to do it explicitly for the Lord.

I find it more interesting that Peter was really a person that acted first and thinks later. He was very clumsy in many ways but was very honest and faithful to Jesus after having breakfast with Jesus. It’s amazing how he denied Jesus on the evening he was arrested before he died on the cross and was forgiven and accepted into Christ’s loving arms after he rose from the dead. Just like we are, we may have denied Jesus or the Holy Spirit, but we are bound once again after we accept him into our life.

Levi and I after Thursday evening Bible Study

PRINCIPLE #5 – PUT THE PASSAGE INTO PRACTICE

The Bible is “God’s game plan for living.” Based on that fact, the goal of studying the Bible is not just gaining information (example: finishing a Bible study) but to apply God’s truth to our everyday lives.

In studying the Bible, we need to answer two questions:

What was the writer trying to say?
What does it mean to my life now?

Here are some helpful suggestions for applying the insights you have gained from the study:

- Begin your study by asking God to show you specifically what He would have you to do with what He teaches you.
- Consider the implications of the truths that you have studied, then pray considering how your attitudes and actions compare with these truths.
- Take time to contemplate and imagine how you should apply these truths in the foreseeable future.
- Share with someone else what God has told you to do and ask them to pray for you and to hold you accountable to applying what you have learned.
- Prayerfully consider how the truth/s that God is teaching you in this study relate to the things He has been teaching you in the past months. Then, find a way to apply the truth/s from your study to the other areas of your life that the Lord is dealing with.

The Bible is the best commentary on itself. By looking up related passages and carefully comparing them with the passage that you are studying, you will come to a much fuller, more accurate, and exciting understanding of the truth that you are studying in your focal passage.

To find passages to do further study in, use:

1. The cross reference in your Bible
2. A topical Bible
3. A Bible Dictionary
4. A Bible concordance

If your time is limited, begin by studying references related to the central idea of your passage. As time allows, you can study passages related to other ideas in your passage. In this way you will be able to discover more fully what God is trying to communicate to you through your study.

PRINCIPLE #3 – OBSERVE HOW THE DETAILS OF THE PASSAGE DEVELOP THE CENTRAL IDEA

Having written our a sentence describing the central idea of the passage, begin now to list the other details of the passage and look for more insight. Here are some helpful steps:

- Write a brief outline of the ideas or events
- Look up the key words and research their definitions
- Observe the tenses of the verbs (past, present, future)
- Observe what adverbs and adjectives are used
- Observe all the implications you can think of in an illustration
- Observe any cause and effect statements
- Observe any commands, warnings, promises, examples, etc.
- Observe any repetitions in words or phrases

It can be very helpful to use reference aids such as the English dictionary, Bible dictionary, Greek/Hebrew tools, or a reliable commentary. It is important to not treat this part of your Bible study lightly because it is here that you are able to develop your own understanding of exactly what the author was led to say by God.