Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Draw Near: Week3, Thursday – Every Word is Purified

Today’s Scripture – Hebrews 4:12-13; Proverbs 30:5-6 (SOAP: Proverbs 30:5-6)

Hebrews 4:12-13

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

Proverbs 30:5-6

Every word of God proves true.
    He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.
Do not add to his words,
    or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Draw Near: Week 3, Monday – The Law of the LORD is Perfect

Today’s Scripture – Psalm 19:10-14; John 17:14-19 (SOAP: Ps. 19:10-11)

Psalm 19:7-9

The instructions of the Lord are perfect,
    reviving the soul.
The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy,
    making wise the simple.
The commandments of the Lord are right,
    bringing joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are clear,
    giving insight for living.
Reverence for the Lord is pure,
    lasting forever.
The laws of the Lord are true;
    each one is fair.

Jeremiah 15:16

When I discovered your words, I devoured them.
    They are my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name,
    O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Draw Near: Week2, Thursday Draw Near to God and …

Today’s Scripture – Jer 29:12-14; James 4:8 (SOAP: James 4:8)

Jeremiah 29:12-14

In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.”

James 4:8

Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Draw Near: Week 2, Wednesday What Do I See

Today’s Scripture – Psalm 19:4-6; John 1:14-18 (SOAP: John 1:14)

John 1:14-18

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

15 John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”

16 From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

Please don’t miss today’s blog, it is a crucial element of the Draw Near Study.

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Draw Near: Week 2, Friday Created by Him

Today’s Scripture – Ps 19:4-6; Colossians 1:15-20 (SOAP: Colossians 1:15-16)

Psalm 19:4-6

Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
    and their words to all the world.

God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
    It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
The sun rises at one end of the heavens
    and follows its course to the other end.
    Nothing can hide from its heat.

Colossians 1:15-20 Christ Is Supreme

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
    He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,[a]
16 for through him God created everything
    in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
    and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
    Everything was created through him and for him.

17 He existed before anything else,
    and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
    which is his body.
He is the beginning,
    supreme over all who rise from the dead.[b]
    So he is first in everything.
19 For God in all his fullness
    was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
    everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
    by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

Don’t miss today’s teaching by Melissa, as she focuses on observation insight. Click the Blog button below.

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Draw Near: Week 1, Friday SOAP Bible Study Method

Today’s Scripture – Psalm 19:1-3; Psalm 104:24-25 (SOAP: Psalm 104:24-25)

Psalm 19 A Psalm of David

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
    night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
    their voice is never heard.[a]

Psalm 104:24-25

 O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!
    In wisdom you have made them all.
    The earth is full of your creatures.
25 Here is the ocean, vast and wide,
    teeming with life of every kind,
    both large and small.

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Draw Near: Week 1, Thursday

Today’s Scripture – Psalm 95; Job 38:4-5 (SOAP: Job 38:4-5)

Psalm 95

Come, let us sing to the Lord!
    Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come to him with thanksgiving.
    Let us sing psalms of praise to him.
For the Lord is a great God,
    a great King above all gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth
    and the mightiest mountains.
The sea belongs to him, for he made it.
    His hands formed the dry land, too.

Come, let us worship and bow down.
    Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,
    for He is our God.
We are the people He watches over,
    the flock under His care.

If only you would listen to his voice today!
The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah,
    as they did at Massah in the wilderness.
For there your ancestors tested and tried My patience,
    even though they saw everything I did.
10 For forty years I was angry with them, and I said,
‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from Me.
    They refuse to do what I tell them.’
11 So in My anger I took an oath:
    ‘They will never enter My place of rest.’”

Job 38:4-5

“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know so much.
Who determined its dimensions
    and stretched out the surveying line?

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Shame Breaker, Week4 – Friday God, The Shame Breaker

Today’s Scripture – 2 Corinthians 4:7-18 (SOAP 2 Corinthians 4:15-18

2 Corinthians 4:7-18

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.[a] This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.

13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”[b] 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus,[c] will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you.

 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are[d] being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Posted in From the Insideout, God is good, Journey Through The Word, Know These Truths, Prayer Starters, Quiet Time

A Faith that Moves Mountains

James says it like this, Dear brothers and sisters, whenever you face troubles consider them an opportunity for great joy, for you can trust that when your faith is tested your endurance has a chance to grow, so let it grow – because when your endurance is fully developed you will be perfect and complete needing nothing, James 1:2-4. The Psalmist said it like this, I have set the Lord always before me and because He is at my right hand I will not be shaken, Psalm 16:8. And, as a Holocaust survivor, Corrie ten Boom said, “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.” I believe we will all face, have faced, or even now are facing ‘troubles’ in our lives. I am learning the truth of James’ statement, the troubles of this life -whether big or small – help deepen our faith.

Faith may not change our ‘situation’ but fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our Faith certainly changes our perspective.

Fears are turned to peace, comfort replaces sorrow, where there are desperate needs we witness gracious provision; and when the thing needed is not provided – it is through faith we wait or through faith that we learn to do without. Through the eyes of faith, we witness miracles or walk in hope where none seems possible. Through faith we love the unlovable, forgive the unforgivable, and we cling to what is good rather than turning to the wrong we may desire. In faith, we turn to God when a doctor delivers unwanted or unexpected news. Through faith, we sit by the bed of a loved one or walk the halls of the hospital. With faith, we rise out of bed in His strength – even when we feel too week, sad, or lonely to go on, and in faith, we say good-bye to those God calls home. As John wrote in 1 John 5:4, and the old hymn repeats … “Faith is the victory that has overcome the world.” Faith doesn’t just move mountains it moves hearts closer to God. We lean on Him through our troubles and we find that He is trustworthy and true – and so when the next trouble comes we run to Him – through this habit the roots of our faith are deepened and we are made stronger – until God’s love runs deeper than the deepest pit of hatred and death … and we are able to consider the hardest of situations a joy because we know that God is with us … and the very knowledge of His presence keeps us from being shaken. This, my friends, is a Faith that moves mountains. Me – From the Insideout

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Shame Breaker, Week4-Monday The Shame of Exposure

Today’s Scripture – John 8:1-11; Psalm 25:2; Colossians 1:21-23 (SOAP: Ps. 25:2; Col. 1:22)

A Woman Caught in Adultery

Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

11 “No, Lord,” she said.

And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

Psalm 25:2

I trust in you, my God!
Do not let me be disgraced,
    or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat.

Colossians 1:21-23

This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.