Tag: law

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Beginning to Forever, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study

Listen and Obey

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Based on the LGG Study, From the Beginning to Forever/w3d4

Read: Ex 20:1-21 and Deuteronomy 6:4-15; SOAP Deuteronomy 6:5

“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed, and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Read More

Deuteronomy 6:4-15

“When the Israelites had crossed through the Red Sea, God gave them rules by which to live. This is known as the law. The law was meant to reveal the people’s sin and show their need for God’s grace. It was also meant to show them what a holy life looks like.”

From the Beginning to Forever/p107

These rules and this message are specifically to the people of God. A message that emphasized the importance of God’s people loving Him. It wouldn’t be an easy command to keep because it wasn’t simply a feel-good type of love. For Israel, God’s children, this love required every part of them ~all of their mind, all of their being, and all of their strength. They were not only to obey the commandment to love like God with their whole being, but they were also not to forget the commandment. Again, not as easy as it may sound because they weren’t just to obey the commandment(s), but they were to “keep them in mind, teach them to their children, speak of them (verse 6) all throughout the day and evening. They were to be written down and put in places where they would be seen and remembered easily.

God knew that the people could never fully uphold the law. This is why they needed a Rescuer.

From the Beginning to Forever/p107

So, why were these words of instruction so important? Why is there a mandate to remember them, talk about them, and teach them to the children? The answer is found, at least in part, in Deuteronomy 6:12-15 – where we read: be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. 13 You must fear the Lord your God and serve him. When you take an oath, you must use only his name. 14 “You must not worship any of the gods of neighboring nations, 15 for the Lord your God, who lives among you, is a jealous God. His anger will flare up against you, and he will wipe you from the face of the earth. However, David also addresses the purpose/benefit of remembering the commandment(s) when he wrote: “I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11)

Obedience isn’t always easy. My grandson experienced that at preschool today when he ended up in time-out more than a time or two. For a three-year-old, he is typically a very well-behaved, kind, and respectful little boy (and, for the record, I would say that even if I weren’t his Oma ☺). You see, it wasn’t that he didn’t know how to obey; it was that he got caught up in what he saw or wanted to do, and he forgot the importance of remembering, listening, and obeying.

Friends, let’s ask God to help us keep His Word in mind, to teach His Word(s) to our children, speak of them (verse 6) all throughout the day and evening. Let’s write them down and put them in places where they will be seen and remembered easily. Let’s be ‘all-in’ in our relationship with God, making every effort to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength.

You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. ~ Hebrews 3:13

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

Joyful People

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based on the Love God Greatly Study, Psalm 119, Seeking Him With All Our Heart/ w1d1

THE JOURNEY (SCRIPTURE AND OBSERVATION)

Scripture: Psalm 119:1-8 / SOAP 1-2

Joyful are people of integrity,
    who follow the instructions of the Lord.
2 Joyful are those who obey his laws
    and search for him with all their hearts.
3 They do not compromise with evil,
    and they walk only in his paths.
4 You have charged us
    to keep your commandments carefully.
5 Oh, that my actions would consistently
    reflect your decrees!
6 Then I will not be ashamed
    when I compare my life with your commands.
7 As I learn your righteous regulations,
    I will thank you by living as I should!
8 I will obey your decrees.
    Please don’t give up on me!

Psalm 119:1-8 NLT

While works are not part of our salvation (Eph 2:8-10), they should play a part in our faith (Phil 2:12). As we have discovered on many of our journeys, the Christian faith is not meant to be passive. If we want to enjoy the full and satisfying life that Christ came to bring, we must be active in our faith. The Psalmist paints a clear and beautiful picture of what this means.

As we will see throughout the Psalm, the full and satisfying life requires the Word of God. However, it’s not just to be carried in our hands, laid on a table in our homes, or downloaded on our phones but hidden in our hearts and minds and part of our speech and way of life.

Why aren’t all believers joyful? Because there is a key to being filled with the joy of the Lord. The Psalmist writes that joyful people are people of integrity, meaning they are honest and have strong moral principles. Joyful people are those who obediently follow the instructions of the Lord and obey His laws. They are the people who seek after God with all their hearts; they want to know Him and model their lives after Him.

LIVING THE JOURNEY (APPLICATION)
  • live an active faith
  • search diligently for God with all of your heart
    • learn His righteous regulations
  • don’t compromise with evil
  • walk only in His paths
  • carefully keep God’s commandments
  • give Him thanks by living as you should
Question FOR THE JOURNEY
  • What is the best way to search for God?
    • How do we do this, specifically with all of our hearts?
PRAYER FOR THE JOURNEY

Father, help us – You are good and faithful. Your Word is TRUTH, and Your ways are upright. Help us to be like You. Help us to walk only in Your path and not compromise with evil. Let us live in such a way that we are not ashamed. Help us to thank You by living as we should – Holy and upright – as You have called us to. – In Jesus’ Name – amen!

THE MORE WE KNOW

What should we learn from Psalm 119?

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

The Gospel of Mark: Week 1 Thursday – The Sabbath

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Today’s Scripture: Mark 2:18-28 (SOAP: Mark 2:27-28)

A Discussion about Fasting

Once when John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t your disciples fast like John’s disciples and the Pharisees do?”

19 Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. They can’t fast while the groom is with them. 20 But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

21 “Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before.

22 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins.”

A Discussion about the Sabbath

One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. 24 But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”

25 Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 26 He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions.”

Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”

When Jesus broke the Sabbath law, the Pharisees questioned Him. They were concerned Jesus had broken the law and was leading others to do the same. Jesus reminded them what the Sabbath was for: to …

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In our memory/focus verse this week (Mark 1:35) why does Jesus go out to a deserted place? Comment below

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Everlasting Covenant: Week 3, Wednesday – A. Better. Covenant.

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Today’s Scripture: Hebrews 8:6-13; 2 Corinthians 3:4-6 (S.O.A.P. 2 Corinthians 3:4-6)

Hebrews 8:6-13 New Living Translation

 But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.

7 If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. 8 But when God found fault with the people, he said:

“The day is coming, says the Lord,
    when I will make a new covenant
    with the people of Israel and Judah.
9 This covenant will not be like the one
    I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
    and led them out of the land of Egypt.
They did not remain faithful to my covenant,
    so I turned my back on them, says the Lord.
10 But this is the new covenant I will make
    with the people of Israel on that day,[a] 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.
11 And they will not need to teach their neighbors,
    nor will they need to teach their relatives,[b]
    saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’
For everyone, from the least to the greatest,
    will know me already.
12 And I will forgive their wickedness,
    and I will never again remember their sins.”[c]

13 When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.

2 Corinthians 3:4-6 New Living Translation

 We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. 5 It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. 6 He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.

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Everlasting Covenant – Week2 Tuesday – Christ Fulfills the Law

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Question of the Day: What is the law’s purpose?

Today’s Scritpure: Exodus 24:3-8; Matthew 5:17-20 (S.O.A.P. Matthew 5:17)

Teaching about the Law
Exodus 24:3-8 New Living Translation

Then Moses went down to the people and repeated all the instructions and regulations the Lord had given him. All the people answered with one voice, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.”

4 Then Moses carefully wrote down all the Lord’s instructions. Early the next morning Moses got up and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He also set up twelve pillars, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent some of the young Israelite men to present burnt offerings and to sacrifice bulls as peace offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses drained half the blood from these animals into basins. The other half he splattered against the altar.

7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people. Again they all responded, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded. We will obey.”

8 Then Moses took the blood from the basins and splattered it over the people, declaring, “Look, this blood confirms the covenant the Lord has made with you in giving you these instructions.”

Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

20 “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

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Matthew 5:17 Reference
Posted in LGG Study

Bridge to Everlasting Covenant Week 2, Tuesday

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Question of the Day: According to verse 4, why was Christ born of a woman, born under the law?

Today’s Scripture: Galatians 4:4-7 (S.O.A.P. Galatians 4:4-5)

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent Him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that He could adopt us as His very own children.[a]6 And because we[b] are His children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”[c]7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child.[d] And since you are His child, God has made you His heir.

Posted in LGG Study

Jesus Our Everything: Week 4, Day 5

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Question of the Day: According to Romans 5:20, what happened where sin increased?

Today’s Scripture: Hebrews 10:1-18; (S.O.A.P. Hebrews 10:1-2; Romans 5:20-21)

Concluding Exposition: Old and New Sacrifices Contrasted

For the law possesses a shadow of the good things to come but not the reality itself, and is therefore completely unable, by the same sacrifices offered continually, year after year, to perfect those who come to worship.[a] 2 For otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers would have been purified once for all and so have[b] no further consciousness of sin? 3 But in those sacrifices[c] there is a reminder of sins year after year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 So when He came into the world, He said,

“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body you prepared for Me.
6 “Whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings You took no delight in.
7 “Then I said, ‘Here I am:[d] I have come—it is written of Me in the scroll of the book—to do Your will, O God.’”[e]

8 When He says above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings You did not desire nor did You take delight in them”[f] (which are offered according to the law), 9 then He says, “Here I am: I have come to do your will.”[g] He does away with[h] the first to establish the second. 10 By His will[i] we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest stands day after day[j] serving and offering the same sacrifices again and again—sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But when this Priest[k] had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, He sat down at the right hand[l] of God, 13 where He is now waiting[m] until His enemies are made a footstool for His feet.[n] 14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are made holy. 15 And the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us, for after saying,[o] 16 “This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put[p] My laws on their hearts and I will inscribe them on their minds,”[q] 17 then he says,[r] “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no longer.”[s] 18 Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

Romans 5:20-21

20 Now the law came in[a] so that the transgression[b] may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more, 21 so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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Romans 8:1-11

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Today’s Scripture: Romans 8:1-11 (S.O.A.P. Romans 8:1-2)

Question of the Day: What is condemnation and how are believers free from it?

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.[a] 2 For the law of the life-giving Spirit[b] in Christ Jesus has set you[c] free from the law of sin and death. 3 For God achieved what the law could not do because[d] it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

5 For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by[e] the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit. 6 For the outlook[f] of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in[g] the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but[h] the Spirit is your life[i] because of righteousness. 11 Moreover if the Spirit of the one[j] who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ[k] from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you.[l]

After Thoughts