Tag: Firm Foundation

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, Firm Foundation, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time

Fruit of the Light

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based on the LGG Study, Firm Foundation w4d2

Scripture For the Journey
Read: Galatians 5:22-26; Ephesians 5:8-9/SOAP: Gal 5:22-23;Eph 5:9

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.


Galatians 5:22-26

For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! 9 For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.

Ephesians 5:8-9
Observations of the Journey

There are some Scriptures that are familiar to most believers – and I would venture to say that the passage about the fruit of the Spirit is familiar to most who are reading this post. If it isn’t, I will be so bold to say that it should be. Why? Because the truth represented in these verses can make a difference in how we are known. – Are we seen as Christ’s followers or as those who follow the ways of the world – or- perhaps, even worse selection – are we seen as a little of both?

Consider these words of Jesus to the church of Laodicea and decide which testimony would be the worst one. Jesus said, “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!” 1 In today’s passage from Ephesians 5:8-9, Paul explains it like this to the believers in Ephesus: “You were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. So, live like children of light- for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.”

The contrast between dark and light goes all the way back to Genesis and is used to compare evil and good. Our journey today reveals that “the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth.” When we are living by the Spirit, our lives will reflect the glory of God rather than the evil of the world and our old nature. Paul makes it very clear that when we choose the way of the world and give free rein to our old sinful nature, it doesn’t end well. –  

“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,2 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,3 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.4“
Galatians 5:19-21

None of these sins should describe the ongoing lifestyle of one who is free and forgiven in Christ and powered by the Holy Spirit.

Bibleref.com/Galatians 5:20

I shared a post on Sunday (on my Facebook page) that included a glance at the week ahead and a challenge concerning your/our testimonies. The jest of the post was the role our testimonies play, why they’re essential to our faith, and how it’s helpful to write them down. In the post, I shared a short and not-so-short example as well as prompts to help you with yours. If you haven’t seen the post – I encourage you to take a look at it later and find some time in the week ahead to jot down yours. .

Application: Living out the Journey

Today’s journey has reminded me that part of my testimony includes keeping one foot in the ‘church’ and one foot in the ‘world.’ – I became very good at it. I say this not with pride but as a reminder to everyone reading this post: It is up to us how we live. We can choose to walk faithfully in the light, or we can choose to tiptoe in the light and dabble in the darkness. However, I’m can tell you from experience that this is a very dangerous way to walk. It damages not only our testimony but likely will cause others to stumble or question the validity of our faith and/or the importance of our God and His ways. – “Worse still, the cause of Christ will be damaged as unbelievers scoff and sneer at us and blaspheme His name.”5

Friends, if we are living like children of the light, we will not be lukewarm. We will shine brightly with the “Light of Jesus,” we will be seen flowing with the “fruit of His Spirit,” who lives in us and empowers us to thrive in the ways of God, ways that reveal His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Don’t be fooled; without His power and direction and a commitment to live by the Spirit, we will readily yield to our old sinful nature and appear as though we are still in ‘darkness.’ When this happens, “the Christian life turns into a destructive and self-serving religious existence.” This is why we must learn how to ‘live by the Spirit.’ It is without question an essential part/requirement of a firm foundation.

Prayer of Response to the Journey

Father, thank You for saving me out of the darkness into glorious Light. Thank You for pursuing me in the wilderness and pulling me from the pit of destruction. Thank You for changing me from the inside out and teaching me to trust that You are working all things together (the past, present, and future) together for the good of those who love You and are called according to Your purpose! Thank You for the reminder not only of the importance of being a faithful follower of Christ – but, as Paul said, of keeping in step with the Spirit. Show us how to stay in step and help us practice it well – so that our lives do not turn into destructive and self-serving religious existences – but instead, may they flourish by Your Spirit’s power and be beautiful testimonies of Your Presence in us. This is my hope and plea in Jesus’ Name – Amen!

Worship Response to the Journey

I’m sure there are so many other songs that could be sung in response to today’s journey, but this is the one that kept flowing through my mind – though I really thought it was “testimony,” and not “sanctuary” – actually both work in connection to our passages from yesterday and today.

The More We Know

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, Firm Foundation, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, Know These Truths, LGG Study, Quiet Time

He’s Our Witness

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based on the LGG Study, Firm Foundation, w4d1

Scripture and Observation of the Journey
Read/SOAP: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 and Romans 8:15-17

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Romans 8:15-17

The focus of this week’s journey is the Holy Spirit and our salvation. Today’s particular focus is the ‘indwelling of the Holy Spirit.’ So, the question begs to be asked: What is the significance of God’s Spirit in us? I believe one of the best answers/explanations comes from Paul in Romans 8:16, where he writes: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.” God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is our witness that we belong to God. Paul actually says that without the Spirit, we do not belong to Christ (Rom 8:9).

The Spirit’s presence in our life is not only an identifying mark that we belong to God, but He is also God’s divine power at work in us. It is the Spirit’s power that enables us to live a godly life, a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Without the Spirit, we would be caught up in the corruption of this world and given over to our human desires.1

Application: Living out the Word of God

We must remember that God bought us at a high price – that is, with the blood of the Spotless Lamb, the only begotten Son of God. Scripture clearly explains that this means we no longer belong to ourselves, to live as we please – for we are now the temple of the Holy Spirit of God. He lives in us, so we are to live in a manner that honors and pleases God.

Christ died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

2 Corinthians 5:15-17

It is also helpful and necessary to remember that we were born with a sinful nature. However, praise God, as Paul explains in the passages of today’s journey – God, in love, gives His Holy Spirit to all who, through faith, believe in Christ. It is by His Spirit that we become God’s adopted children, not only placed in the family of Christ but also made joint heirs with Christ. In other words, for a believer, the Spirit changes everything – and He does so from the inside out.2

And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.

Ezekiel 36:26

But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Hebrews 8:10
Prayer of response to the Journey

Abba Father, my heart rejoices to know that I am Yours and You are mine. I praise You for Your Spirit in me – a Spirit not of fear but of power, love, and self-control.3 A Spirit who bears witness that I belong to You, who teaches me all things and reminds me of everything You have said4. According to Your Word, You have given me Your Spirit to fill my heart with Your love5; help me to love as You love. Thank You for teaching me to serve at Your pleasure, but oh, how sweet it is to know that You desired and made a way for our relationship to be one of Father and child and not simply Master and servant6. May the fruit of the Spirit be evident in my life. Help me to faithfully live by the Spirit, following His leading in every part of my life – that You might be glorified in me. – in the name of the Spirit and the Son, I come and pray – Amen!

The More We Know

For more insight on today’s journey, visit lovegodgreatly.com

  1. Galatians 5:22-26 and 2 Peter 1:3-4

    But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. Gal 5:22-26
     
    By his divine power, God has given us everything we need to live a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. 2 Peter 1:3-4 ↩︎
  2. 2 Corinthians 5:15-17 … Christ died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
    So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! ↩︎
  3. 2 Timothy 1:7 … For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. ↩︎
  4. John 14:26 …  But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. ↩︎
  5. Romans 5:3-5 … 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. ↩︎
  6. Hebrews 12:5-11 … And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,“ My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. 6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” 7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? 8 If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. 9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? 10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. 11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
    Proverbs 3:11-12 … My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
    ↩︎

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, Firm Foundation, From the Insideout, God is good, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study

He’s Coming Again

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based on the LGG study, Firm Foundation w3d5

Scripture and Observation

Read/SOAP: Isaiah 25:8-9 and Revelation 1:7

He will swallow up death forever!
    The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears.
He will remove forever all insults and mockery
    against his land and people.
    The Lord has spoken!

9 In that day the people will proclaim,
“This is our God!
    We trusted in him, and he saved us!
This is the Lord, in whom we trusted.
    Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!”

Isaiah 25:8-9

I find Isaiah’s words to be dramatically beautiful. However, they led me to search for some commentaries as I wanted to make sure that I understood all the references, such as “He” and “Sovereign Lord.” When I checked out bibleref.com, I found another treasure of words to explain the words of Isaiah. The author writes:

This passage portrays an amazing moment of ultimate grace performed by the King Messiah. This moment occurs at the banquet which launches the Lord’s reign over all the earth. On Mount Zion, Isaiah describes the Lord as “swallowing up death,” the shroud that has been cast over all people since Adam sinned for the first time (Isaiah 25:6–7; Genesis 3:19).

Bible ref.com/Isa 25:8

I particularly love knowing that Jesus, “the King Messiah,” in an act of “ultimate grace,” swallows up death!” Friends, Jesus is coming again, which means death will not have the final say! Sickness, sadness, hurt, and sorrows will no longer be a part of our lives, for “All will be made new and right as we live in God’s perfect kingdom.1“

The LGG Journal entry for today, p 109, describes the Second Coming of Christ as a “beacon of hope for believers, lighting the way through the trials and tribulations of this world.” Isaiah’s prophecy points us to a time when we will forever be with our Savior. Surely, this is something we should wait for and look forward to with excitement and ‘readiness,’ not just to the kingdom Christ will establish but to be with Jesus, our Savior, “King Messiah.”

Living it Out: Application of our Journey

The foundation of our faith should be firmly rooted in the glorious truth that Jesus is coming again!🦋

Actually, the LGG Journal suggests that “Anticipating Christ’s return should influence our daily lives. Every moment carries eternal significance.” Why/how? Because “Our prayers, kingdom work, and evangelism are integral to God’s plan for that glorious day. As we yearn for His return, our actions and faithfulness are crucial in developing our perseverance until His coming.2“

Reflection for the Journey

Is your hope firmly rooted in the certainty of Jesus’ return?

Prayer for the Journey (inspired by today’s journal entry)

Jesus, thank You for your promise to return for us and to swallow up death!, Thank You for the hope of the new Kingdom, where sorrow and sickness will be no more and tears will be wiped away. Help us to be ready and eagerly anticipating that wonderful day! May we make every moment count for Your kingdom. As we wait, Lord, strengthen our faith and fill us with hope. – All of this for Your glory and our good –

  1. LGG Journal, Firm Foundation, p109 ↩︎
  2. LGG Journal, Firm Foundation, p109 ↩︎
The More We Know about the Journey

For more insight, be sure to check out today’s LGG Blog

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, Firm Foundation, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, Know These Truths, LGG Study, Quiet Time

Life through His Crucifixion

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based on the LGG Study, Firm Foundation, w3d2

Scripture and Observation:

Read: Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 3:18

But he was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed.

Isaiah 53:5

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

1 Peter 3:18

Peter writes about the reality of Isaiah’s prophecy. A reality that is very much to our benefit and is the incredible testimony of our God’s mercy, love, and grace. Christ was crucified, suffered, and died so that we could be healed from our sins and shame. Why? Because all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory and the wages of those sins is death; but God so loved the world that He gave His only son that whosoever believes in HIm should not perish but have eternal life.

Without the suffering of Christ on the cross – pierced, crushed, and beaten – sinners/humanity – you and I would never know peace with God. You see, while Christ is sinless(righteous), we are sinful(unrighteous), which is why Peter wrote: “…the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God …”

Living Out the Journey: Application

The Love God Greatly journal entry for today explains that “The crucifixion was not just a tragic event; it was the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan. Jesus willingly laid down His life, bearing the weight of our sins. This selfless act of love satisfied the justice of God, who cannot overlook sin. By carrying our sins, He willingly took on the punishment that you and I both deserve. Jesus made it possible for us to receive forgiveness and be restored to a right relationship with God.”

Friends, our sin rendered us lifeless and hopeless and destined for death, but in love, God made a way for us to come back into a right relationship with Him and enjoy eternal life in His presence. May we return His love and enter into that relationship wholeheartedly. May our faith rest firm in the foundation of His death and resurrection, through which we have new hearts, peace, and healing. May we live not as the sinners we were but as the new creations we’ve become – covered in the righteousness of Christ and filled with His Holy Spirit.

Prayer for the Journey

Father God, thank You for the crucifixion – the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Thank You for sending Jesus to take our place on a cross of sin and shame and suffering – that we might be healed and receive Your free gift of salvation by grace through faith that leads to eternal life. This is the hope and joy we cling to and give You praise – now and forever more – Amen!

The More We Know

The crucifixion also reveals the incredible depth of God’s love for us that He was willing to sacrifice His own Son to save us. This act of grace is the foundation of our faith and the assurance of our salvation.

Love God Greatly, Firm Foundation/p97

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, Firm Foundation, From the Insideout, God is good, Journey Through The Word, Know These Truths, LGG Study, Quiet Time

Love Is Essential

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based on the LGG Study, Firm Foundation, w1/d4

Scripture and Observation

Read: 1 John 4:7-10 and John 3:16-17 / SOAP: 1 John 4:8 and John 3:1

But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

1 John 4:81

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

Love is essential to Christian living because it is an essential part of God’s identity.

bibleref.com/1 Jn 4:8

Fresh off of yesterday’s journey exploring God’s call on our life to be holy as He is holy we are now met with the measure of His love and what it means if we do not love. I’m not sure which is harder to embrace: the act of being holy as God is holy or the act of loving others the way God loves us, and what it says about us if we don’t. Both callings are acts that God has called us to and equipped us for, but both can seem impossible to carry out. Actually, in and of ourselves, they are impossible. Holiness and love require the presence of God in us, and His presence is only received when we place our faith in Jesus – the second person of the Trinity – who Himself is holy and loved us enough to leave heaven’s splendor and die for our sins on a cross of shame. Now, this is love!

I don’t know about you but throughout the course of my life there have been some people that have been particularly hard for me to like, let alone love. So when I read our passages today, particularly 1 John 4:8 and the inference that if we do not love then then we do not love God – I knew I had to look a little deeper into the meaning behind it. I found the commentary from bibleref.com to be the most helpful:

To “know” God requires a person to have a relationship with Him … Love comes from God, so those who demonstrate love show they have fellowship with Him. The inverse is also true. The person who does not demonstrate love does not know (or is not walking in fellowship with)* God.

Bibleref.com/1 John 4:8

If we are walking close to God His love will naturally flow through us – even toward those who we don’t really care for. For this holiness and love to be seen and heard in us we must be in fellowship with God. To “know” God requires a person to have a relationship with Him, Love comes from God, so those who demonstrate love show they have fellowship with Him. 

This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

1 John 4:10

When we place our faith in Jesus Christ, we are filled with His Holy Spirit, the third person of the Triune God, who teaches, guides, and empowers us to live as God called us to live.2 Paul teaches us that believers are not only sealed with the Spirit but we are filled with and controlled by the Spirit. He also teaches that when we let the Holy Spirit guide our lives, we will be known by His fruit – which includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.3

But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)

Romans 8:9

 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

Ephesians 1:13-14

The bottom line is this: if we want to live out God’s calling on our lives of holiness and love, we must first believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.4 Following our salvation, we must choose for ourselves which nature will control us – the old sinful nature or the new spiritual nature. 5One leads us away from God, and the other leads us to a life of holiness filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.

It seems fitting to close with these words of Joshua to the Israelites: “But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”6

Prayer of Response to the Journey

Father, Your love is indeed powerful – it saves and actively, lovingly pursues. Yours is a relentless love, or as David described it, a “love that follows us all the days of our lives…” and for this, I am most grateful. I pray for everyone who is on this journey with me that they might be building their lives on the truths of Your Word. I pray that they might find their feet firm on the foundation of Your Word and live out Your calling on their lives. I pray that we will choose to live by Your Spirit and not by our old sinful nature. I pray for anyone on this journey who does not know you to believe in Jesus and be saved that they too might know and share in the power and promise of Your Love – In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray and praise You – Amen!

*Emphasis mine

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, Know These Truths, LGG Study, Quiet Time

The Importance of the Trinity

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Scripture and Observation

Scripture: Matthew 3:13-17 and 28:16-20/SOAP: Matt 3:16-17

After Jesus was baptized, just as he was coming up out of the water, the heavens opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my one dear Son; in him I take great delight.”

Matthew 3:16-17

Yesterday, we looked at God’s existence and explored the importance of believing (in faith) that He does exist and that He rewards those who seek Him. Faith in God and His existence are the bedrock of a firm foundation. –

Today’s journey will reveal that it isn’t just faith in God, the Father, but in the Triune1 God – Father, Son, and Spirit- as we will see emphasized through the baptism of Jesus and again in His command in Acts 1:4-8, first, to wait for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit and second, to baptize new believers in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is clear that the Trinity is another foundational piece of our faith.

The Triune God is a Christian doctrine that states that God is one being that exists in the three divine persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are coeternal, consubstantial, and share a single nature. 
Christians believe that the three persons of the Trinity are intimately related, and that each person is omnipotent, omniscient, and wholly benevolent. The Trinity is also known as the Three-in-One.

Google/AI Overview
Application from the Journey

As with God’s existence, the doctrine of the Trinity requires faith. For how can we even conceive “three persons in one?” However, God’s Word is firm on the teaching and emphasis of the Trinity, the Father – Son – and Spirit. We see it in today’s passages as well as in Genesis 1:1, John 1:1 and 14, and others.

Consider with me Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 4:17-24, where Paul teaches not just the Ephesians but all believers, that our faith calls us to “live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness, they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against Him.” He goes on to say, “But that isn’t what you learned about Christ…” and then encourages them by instructing them to “let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes … Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy.”

Clearly, the Trinity is a foundational ‘piece’ of our faith, as baptism, the very act that identifies us as followers of Christ, is meant to also identify us with the Father and the Spirit.

  • We are made to be like God … Genesis 1:27
  • When we are in Christ, we are new creations; our old nature is gone – replaced with His righteous nature… 2 Corinthians 5:17
  • We are filled with His Spirit, who not only teaches us everything we need to know and remind us of all that Jesus taught … John 14:26, but He develops in us the characteristics we are meant to exhibit as God’s children: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. – As Luke taught us through the words of Jesus, The Spirit is God’s equipping power to live as God has called us to live.
Prayer and Worship Response to the Journey

Father, I have sweet memories of singing the doxology2 every Sunday morning at church when I was growing up. I didn’t realize its importance then, but I loved it and now realize that it was a call for us to praise You, Father-Son-Holy Ghost, the ONE –> The three in ONE from whom all blessings flow! I am so grateful for this memory flooding my mind – for the teaching of my youth and the foundations of my faith. – To You be all the glory and praise! Amen –

Reflections on the Journey

How does Scripture describe the roles of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the work of salvation?

The More We Know

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, Know These Truths, LGG Study, Quiet Time

God’s Existence – Do you believe?

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Hey Friends 💕 Welcome to day 1 of our first journey in 2025! The LGG Study, “Firm Foundation,” is the perfect way to begin the new year, as the passages will help us build our lives on the unshakable truth of God’s Word. In this first week, we will be looking at “The Nature of God,” – starting with God’s Existence and the importance of believing what Scripture says about His existence.

Scripture and Observation
Scripture: Genesis 1:1-5; Hebrews 11:1-7/SOAP: Gen 1:1/Heb 11:6

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Gen 1:1

Now without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who approaches God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. Hebrews 11:6

What stood out in my mind after reading the familiar passage in Genesis was this one truth: It takes faith to believe what we have not seen and cannot even conceive to be possible. I’m sure that is why the study then directs us to Hebrews chapter 11 – where the author points out that it is only by faith that we can come to believe that in the beginning, before there was light or life, there was God, and He created the world.

The author of Hebrews goes on to make many other “by faith statements,’ including… the world being “put into order,” Enoch being “taken up to be with God without seeing death…” and “Noah building an ark when he saw no evidence of the need…” – It is why Hebrews 11:6 emphasizes that “without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who approaches God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.”

Application – of today’s journey

It is clear that our faith in God’s existence, as told in His Word, is an essential piece of a “firm foundation,” specifically that:

  • God exists – and that
  • He spoke the world into existence out of nothing

Without faith in this truth, we are like those who were condemned in Noah’s day. For. as the Scriptures say, without faith, we cannot obtain the righteousness of Christ1, which is necessary for us to be made right with God. (see Rom 3:22; 5:9; and 2 Cor 5:21)

Friends, it is so important to understand that faith is not just hoping that what the Bible says is true; as Hebrews teaches, it is being sure of what we hope for and being convinced of it – even though we have not seen it or understand how it could be true.

For we walk (live) by faith, not by sight.

2 Corinthians 5:7

Perhaps this is why Paul taught, “We walk by faith, not by sight” in 2 Cor 5:7, a verse that I use often when I am facing struggles or when I don’t understand where God is leading. According to Bibleref.com, the verse is a testimony to the faith of Paul and His fellow believers, that “they so thoroughly believe the gospel, including their own resurrection and eternal satisfaction, that the struggles facing them are not the most important concern. What they “see” includes death, pain, suffering, opposition, and challenge. They feel the burden of those things deeply (1 Corinthians 1:8), but they count the unseen things waiting for them with Christ as more real than the suffering of the moment (2 Corinthians 4:18).” – The same was true of Noah in his day and should be true of us today – “for without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who approaches God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6

Prayer in response to the journey

Father, it is good to be reminded of the importance of our faith – not just in Christ but in the ‘realness’ and existence of You. To believe that in the beginning, the world was dark and empty and without form until You spoke, saying: “Let there be light” is an essential element of our faith – for as we have been reminded, without faith it is impossible to please You, for the one who approaches You must believe that You exists and that You reward those who seek You. As we proceed through this journey, Father, continue to reveal Your truths to us and grace us with understanding so that individually and together, we might build our lives on the unshakable truth of Your Word.

The More We Know About the Journey

For more insight into today’s journey, be sure to check out today’s LGG Blog.

We will look specifically at the Trinity on day two, but in today’s passage, it is worth noting that in the beginning, when God created the world – Jesus/the Word was with God (Jn 1:1, 14) and that the Spirit of God was also present (Gen 1:2)

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