Driven By The Bible

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”‭‭Psalms‬ ‭51:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬Because we know that this Psalm was written as a response to King David’s sins of adultery and murder, it’s easy to make its confession only about major sin. But King David didn’t go from the composer of some of the most beautiful Psalms of intimacy with God, to adulterer and murderer overnight.Let’s talk about it!

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:31‬ ‭ESV‬‬If the God who created Heaven and Earth, loves us so much that He became human in order to give Himself up to death, rose from the dead and conquered sin, judgment, death, Satan, and Hell, what do we have to fear? Let’s talk about it!

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age...”‭‭Titus‬ ‭2:11-12‬ ‭ESV‬‬Paul’s letter of encouragement and instruction to Titus powerfully exhorts non-Jewish Christians to honor God by keeping His commandments. It is our response to the grace we have received through Jesus. Let’s talk about it!

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6:7-8‬ ‭ESV‬‬If we’re honest, we will admit that it often seems as if the wicked prosper while the righteous don’t. If you’ve ever felt this way, you’re in good company. Many of the heroes of the Bible felt the same way. Let’s talk about it!

“for ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls’,”‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1:24‬ ‭ESV‬‬Strange verse today - mostly because it fails to include the climax of Peter’s point in this passage. Let’s talk about it!

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”‭‭Acts‬ ‭1:8‬ ‭ESV‬‬The parallels between the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai in Exodus 19-20, and the giving of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, are stunning. Let’s talk about it!

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:16‬ ‭ESV‬‬We must accept that our physical bodies will see death. Because of this, we should be strengthening and developing our eternal souls - the part of us that will move beyond death into intimacy with Jesus. And then, we must also cling to the promise that our physical bodies will be resurrected and reunited with our sounds to live forever in a perfect world. Let’s talk about it!

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."‭‭John‬ ‭13:34-35‬ ‭ESV‬‬This verse has been misinterpreted badly over the centuries. It’s actually been implied that before Jesus said these words, there wasn’t any commandment to love. Let’s talk about it!

“Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.”‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭21:21‬ ‭ESV‬‬Linguists consider Biblical Hebrew to be a “poor language,” meaning it has significantly fewer words to choose from than other languages. But this makes each word in the language take on a much deeper meaning. One such word is word we translate as “righteousness.” Let’s talk about it!

“...if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭7:14‬ ‭ESV‬‬Want to see how his Ancient prayer of King Solomon ties to the prophesies of Isaiah and the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount?Let’s talk about it!

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3:16-17‬ ‭ESV‬‬There is a disturbing movement among some pastors and teachers that says that the Old Testament is unnecessary or even detrimental to Christians. Last week, a very famous pastor and writer made this very statement. Let’s talk about it!

“May the LORD give you increase, you and your children!”‭‭Psalms‬ ‭115:14‬ ‭ESV‬‬We can and should pray for God’s blessing on our children. But that blessing is promised. We must also raise our children to worship and obey the One True God. That is where the blessing comes from. Let’s talk about it!

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭31:30‬ ‭ESV‬‬The world promotes a standard of womanhood that is impossible to meet and fleeting at best. But Biblical womanhood looks past the external an celebrates Godly character. Let’s talk about it!

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”‭‭Galatians‬ ‭2:20‬ ‭ESV‬‬Our standing before God is not about race or religion. Family status or church affiliation won’t bring us into the Kingdom of God. Only dying with Christ and being reborn as a New Covenant people will bring us into the Kingdom. Let’s talk about it!

“...looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:2‬ ‭ESV‬‬Life is a marathon. It is difficult. We will want to quit. But hold on. Keep running. Look to Jesus. He’s waiting with the heroes of the faith to cheer you on and declare, “Well done! Good and faithful servant!”Let’s talk about it!

“While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.”‭‭Luke‬ ‭24:51‬ ‭ESV‬‬First, this is a weird verse of the day. Second, you might think this episode is even weirder. Could our understanding of Heaven and Earth be unbiblical?Let’s talk about it!

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!”‭‭Psalms‬ ‭51:1-2‬ ‭ESV‬‬Modern Christianity emphasizes the need for a sacrifice to take the punishment for our sins. While this is definitely important, it is incomplete. Sacrifice in the Bible is about much more than that. It’s about the removal of our sin so that we can be free to enter into the presence of the One God. Let’s talk about it!

“Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.”‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭48:17‬ ‭ESV‬‬God’s favor and blessing are not without condition. Just as God promised Israel that they would profit from obedience to Him as He led them in the way they should go, our success and blessing is dependent on our obedience to Him as He leads us. Let’s talk about it!

“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”‭‭John‬ ‭3:18‬ ‭ESV‬‬What does it mean to “believe” that Jesus is the only Son of God? In the ancient world, this meant swearing allegiance to the King of Kong’s and Lord of Lords. It meant treason against the rulers of this world. Let’s talk about it!

“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34:18‬ ‭ESV‬‬We make a mistake to think that he heroes of the faith like King David or the Apostle Paul lived charmed lives. The truth is, from the moment they were called by God, they struggled. We shouldn’t expect anything different in our lives. Let’s talk about it!