Month: November 2023

GOD’S WORD FOR NOVEMBER 20~ ~ Psalm 119:174 ~ ~ “I long for Your salvation, O Lord, And Your law is my delight.”

From the book, “How to Read the Bible” by Dr. Michael Youssef. Chapter entitled, “One King, One Kingdom”

In those amazing days when the crucified and risen Lord walked among the disciples, teaching them about the Kingdom, they still thought He was going to establish a political Kingdom of God on earth. They were obsessed with the notion of a political messiah who would overthrow the Roman oppressors and restore Israel as it was in the days of King David and King Solomon.

So in Acts 1, they asked Him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel?” Jesus replied: (Acts 1:6-9)

“It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Moments after He said these words, he ascended into the clouds.

The Pharisees, too, thought Jesus intended to establish a political kingdom. They repeatedly tried to trap Him into openly declaring Himself a political activist with ambitions to lead a rebellion against Caesar’s rule.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, riding on a donkey as foretold in Zechariah 9:9, the crowds praised Him and proclaimed Him their messianic King (see Matthew 21, Mark 11, and Luke 19) The religious leaders tried at first to silence the crowds. When that failed, they tried several times to trick Jesus into making a statement that would put Him in conflict with the Roman government.

In one of these encounters, the Pharisees and Herodians tried to trap Jesus into insulting Caesar by asking Him whether it was right to pay taxes. Jesus replied by pointing to Caesar’s image on a coin, saying, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Matthew 22;21). Jesus was saying that Caesar ruled a secular political kingdom, but HIS was the Kingdom of God.

Jesus’ Kingdom message came into sharp focus during His trial before Pilate, the night before the crucifixion. Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied in John 18:34-36:

“Is that your own idea, or did others talk to you about Me?….My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now My kingdom is from another place.”

Two Kingdoms:

There are two kingdoms – the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world. You either belong to one or the other.

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are adopted into the Kingdom of God. We are eager for Him to rule over every aspect of our lives, right here and now. We are eager to see His Kingdom reign over the entire universe when Christ makes all things new. That is why Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.”

As citizens of God’s Kingdom, we are members of the royal family. We have intimate fellowship with the King of Kings because we are His children. Through prayer, we have access to God’s throne. As Hebrews 4:16 tells us:

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of needs.

To become a citizen of another country, you must meet certain requirements. The Kingdom of God requires its citizens to accept the reign of King Jesus and to accept Him as Lord and Savior. It requires obedience to the Word of God. It requires us to say, “Not my will, but Yours be done.”

Yet even as we pray that prayer, our selfish human nature creeps in. Instead of praying for God to live out His will in our lives, our prayers often revolve around our own egocentric ambitions and desires. Instead of seeking God’s will, we try to bend His will to ours.

There is a war that rages within each Christian heart. It is a war between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world. In Christ, we know we have the ultimate victory. But in this life, we know that our will, decisions, and even our prayers are a battlefield between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world.

The better we understand the nature of God’s Kingdom, as revealed in His Word, the better armed we will be to win this battle. Empowered by the knowledge of our role as soldiers of God’s Kingdom, we press on – praying, obeying, and declaring His truth to a dying world.

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Genesis 5:24 (Amplified version)

 And Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God; and he was not, for God took him [home with Him].

Matthew 6:33

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.

2Kings 19:15

Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, “Lord, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1-2

I will raise my eyes to the mountains; From where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.

Isaiah 51:11

Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head; they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

GOD’S WORD FOR NOVEMBER 19 ~ ~ Psalm 45:6 ~ ~ “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.”

From the book, How to Read the Bible by Dr. Michael Youssef

Part 2 ~ ~ The Kingdom and the Covenant

The themes of the Kingdom of God and God’s New Covenant with humanity are woven throughout the Bible. If you know where to look, you can find these two themes in each of the sixty-six book of the Old and New Testament.

Rosalind Goforth (1864-1942) was an English-born Canadian author. She and her husband Jonathon Goforth, served as missionaries to China. In a biography of her husband, “Goforth of China,” she tells the story of her conversion to Christ.

When she was twelve years old, she went to a revival meeting where an evangelist preached on John 3:16, in which Jesus tells Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.,”

Young Rosalind was deeply moved by the story of God’s great love for all people. “I yielded myself absolutely to the Lord Jesus Christ,” she wrote, “and stood up among others, publicly confessing Him as my Master.”

On my way home from the meeting, she told her parents that she had an absolute assurance that God loved her and had saved her. Her parents, however, told her it was foolish to think she could be certain that she was saved.

Troubled with doubts, she went home, opened her bible, and started reading the Gospel of John. When she came to John 6:37, she found the assurance she was searching for in the words of Jesus. “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away,.”

About a year after she publicly confessed Jesus as her Lord and Savior, young Rosalind and her sister were having breakfast on Easter Sunday, “It was so warm,” she recalled, “Only spring clothes could be worn. My sister and I decided at breakfast that we would not go to church, as we had only our old winter dresses.”

She went to her room and took out her Bible, which she studied every morning. She opened it to Matthew 6 and read, “Why take ye thought for raiment (clothing)?….Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:28 & 33)

“It was as if God spoke the words directly to me,” she wrote., “I determined to go to church, even if I had to humiliate myself by going in my old winter dress. The Lord was true to His promise. I can still feel the power the resurrection messages had upon my heart that day so long ago.” As an extra gift of grace, the next day Rosalind received a package from her aunt. In the package were new spring dresses for herself and her sister.

Rosalind Goforth experienced an unforgettable lesson in importance of seeking the Kingdom of Gd.

Jesus told us that we should seek the Kingdom of God above all else – but what is the Kingdom of God? Many Christians have prayed the Lord’s Prayer countless times without understanding what the phrase “Your Kingdom come” really means.

As we trace the concept of the Kingdom of God from the Old Testament through the New Testament, I believe your faith will be deepened and strengthened in a powerful new way. Let’s grapple as if your lives depend on it, with the Biblical concept of the Kingdom of God.

A Tale of Two Kingdoms:

Most people fix their hope on things that pass away. Many seek meaning for their lives by getting attention on social media., Others have invested everything in gaining success and wealth. As religious belief has declined in the Western world, many people have made politics their religion, as if the political kingdoms of this dying age are the only things that matter.

But a Christian who truly understands the priorities of God’s Word has a very different focus. We do not fix our hope on things that are passing away – on worldly politics, wealth, or status. As Christians, we are called to seek first the Kingdom of God.

The Lord Jesus has promised us an eternal Kingdom in which He will one day transform everything. In His Kingdom, all the things people prize so highly will be less than a memory. Jesus’s earthly ministry was focused on the Kingdom. The central theme of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is that this world is wracked with poverty, injustice, sorrow and persecution – yet through Jesus we possess the “Kingdom of Heaven” (a term He used interchangeably with the “Kingdom of God”).

Jesus taught us to pray, “Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10). We are to pray continually that the Kingdom of God will come and that God’s will would be done on earth.

Luke’s gospel recounts a time when the Pharisees approached Jesus and asked when the Kingdom of God would come. Jesus replied,

“The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (See Luke 17:20-21).

The King James Version renders it “the kingdom of God is within you.”

(Tomorrow he’ll continue with this subject ~ ~ A Tale of Two Kingdoms)

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Psalm 68:32

Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; Oh, sing praises to the Lord, Selah

Isaiah 37:20

Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord, You alone.”

John 14:12

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

Proverbs 3:26

For the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.

Ephesians 3:12 (Amplified version)

 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him [that is, our faith gives us sufficient courage to freely and openly approach God through Christ].

Isaiah 40:31

But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

GOD’S WORD FOR NOVEMBER 18 ~ ~ Psalm 119:92 ~ ~ “If Your Law had not been my delight,
Then I would have perished in my misery.”

From the book, How to Read the Bible by Dr. Michael Youssef, finishing up with eight principles for correctly handling God’s Word.

6. Avoid Reading into the Bible what You Want it to Say:

Ask yourself, “What does the Bible REALLY mean here?” Try to clear away your preconceptions and biases. Try to read the Bible as if you are reading it for the very first time.

Approach God’s Word with a willingness to be completely changed in your thinking and your way of life. The fallacy of reading into the text is called “eisegesis,” meaning the process of interpreting a text through the lens of your own biases and presuppositions. Instead of reading INTO the text, a good student of the Bible should read OUT OF the text what is actually there. The process of setting aside our biases and reading out of the text is call “exegesis” – from the Greek word that means “to lead out.”

Ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate your understanding. If you need more insight to understand the meaning of words or the cultural context of the passage, consult a trusted Bible commentary. Make sure you have a good grasp of what the Bible passage is saying to you.

7. Faithfully Apply What You Discover in the Bible

Ask yourself: “How can I apply this passage to my life today? How can I apply God’s wisdom to my problems, my decisions, my challenges today? How can I apply these Biblical principles to my business life, my home life, and my relationships?” Let the truth of God’s Word penetrate every aspect of your life. Apply its truths to real-life situations.

Learning to faithfully apply God’s truth to your life takes time. You cannot microwave the Scriptures, like heating up a cup of coffee. You simmer it slowly in the Crock-Pot of your thoughts and daily experience. When God speaks to you through a passage of Scripture, write it on sticky notes, and place it on your bathroom mirror, your refrigerator door, and the dashboard of your car. Live in that Scripture, memorize it, and let it bathe your mind – then look for opportunities to apply that Scripture to your everyday life.

Begin every day with the Bible open in front of you. As you explore the Bible, the Holy Spirit will point out areas of your life that should be brought under the authority of the Word. You’ll begin to hear specific encouragement in the Word. You’ll hear specific rebukes or challenges or warnings for your life.

Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) was known as the “Prince of Preachers.” born in England, he was a longtime pastor of the New Park Street Chapel in London. He committed his life to Christ after a snowstorm forced him to take refuge in a church, where he heard the words of Isaiah 45:22: “turn to me and be saved all you ends of the earth; for I am God and there is no other.” Spurgeon did not have a long list of degrees after his name. In fact, he dropped out of school at age fifteen, taught himself to read Greek and Hebrew, and learned to read the Word of God in its original languages. He daily asked the Holy Spirit to open his mind and teach him truth from God’s Word. Here is what Charles Spurgeon said about the Bible:

“The book has wrestled with me. The Book has smitten me. The Book has comforted me. The Book has smiled on me. The Book has frowned on me. The Book has clasped my hand. The Book has warmed my heart. The Book weeps with me and sings with me. It whispers to me and it preaches to me. It maps my way and holds up my goings. It was to me the Young Man’s Best Companion and it is still my Morning and Evening Chaplain. It is a living Book – all over alive – from its first chapter to its last word it is full of a strange, mystic vitality which makes it have pre-eminence over every other writing for every living child of God.”

This is a much-needed perspective on the Word of God. The Bible truly is a book with a “strange, mystic vitality.” It is our sword that arms us for the spiritual battles we face every day, which are intensifying all the time. And the Word of God encourages us to keep fighting the good fight, because the Lord is on our side. We have read the last chapter, and it tells us that Jesus wins and He will establish His Kingdom forever.

8. Boldly Share God’s Word

The best way to build the truth of God’s Word into your life is to give it away at every opportunity. Share the good news of the Kingdom and the King. Tell others about some new morsel of truth you uncovered in your morning time of prayer and Bible study.

God will lead you to people who need to hear a message from His Word. Not everyone will accept it. Sometimes people won’t want to hear about God’s Word. Don’t let rejection or opposition stop you. Now is the time to pray for boldness in sharing the good news with the people around us. We must pray for boldness rather than safety. We must obey God rather than human beings.

I believe we are only seeing the beginning of the opposition and persecution that is coming our way. We are heading for times of testing. Are we willing to stand for the truth and proclaim it in the face of persecution? Like the apostles of old, we need to share God’s truth boldly and fearlessly, as if our lives depend on it.

The good news of the Kingdom won’t win any popularity contests – but it is the truth. Let’s proclaim it without compromise or hesitation, so that one day we can stand in the eternal Kingdom of our Lord Jesus and hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share you Master’s happiness!”

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II Corinthians 4:15

 For all things are for your sakes, so that grace, having spread to more and more people, will cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

Hebrews 4:16

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Joshua 23:14

 “Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed.

Isaiah 54:5

For your Maker is your husband,
The Lord of hosts is His name;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;

John 14:18

I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.

Philippians 1:6

Being confident of this very thing, that He which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ;

GOD’S WORD FOR NOVEMBER 17 ~ ~ Psalm 119:142 ~ ~ “Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And Your law is truth.”

From the book, How to Read the Bible by Dr. Michael Youssef.

(continuing with eight principles for correctly handling the Word of God)

4. Understanding the historical and cultural context of Bible passages.

The account of God sending Elijah to confront King Ahab and Queen Jezebel and the prophets of Baal still speaks to us today, even though it took place nine hundred years before Christ. We learn that all religions are not equal, and that the pagan gods – whether Baal, Ashteroth, or Ashterah – are no match for the God of Israel. We learn that emotionalism and fervor – like the cries and chants of the pagan prophets – are not true signs of spirituality.

But we should not read about Elijah’s challenge to the pagan prophets and then rush over to the local New Age center to challenge the guru to a contest of sacrifices! That’s not what God wants us to learn from the life of Elijah. Instead, we should realize that our God is a mighty God and that He calls us to be witnesses for Christ in this godless culture, speaking His truth with the bold courage of Elijah.

Ask yourself, “What did this Bible passage say to the reader to whom it was written? When the ancient Hebrews or early Christians first heard this passage, how did they understand it? What was their cultural context? How did they apply this passage to their daily lives?”

But even though the Bible is one unified story, it has been told in numerous cultural contexts. Parts were delivered to the ancient Hebrews in the time of Moses, parts were delivered to the Jews living under the sway of the Babylonians or the Persians, and some parts were delivered to Greek-speaking audiences living under Roman oppression in Europe and Asia Minor.

For example, Moses was speaking to Israelites who had spent four hundred years surrounded by the idolatry of Egypt. They knew very little about Yahweh. They had no written Scripture, only oral traditions, so they had little knowledge of God. Moses had an enormous challenge trying to teach them about God as he led them out of Egypt. Even after God rescued them in the miraculous Red Sea crossing and provided them with manna in the wilderness, their understanding of Him was limited. That’s important information to keep in mind when you see the Israelites repeatedly sliding back into idolatry and rebellion.

Centuries later, when Ezekiel and Jeremiah prophesied in Israel, they possessed written Scriptures. They had a lot of information about God. The prophets told the People again and again to remember the Lord who had rescued them from their enemies. The Israelites had received many blessings from God, yet they turned their backs on Him. They saw God perform miracles before their eyes, and yet they still wanted to worship Baal.

So it’s important to understand that while Moses was talking to ignorant people, Ezekiel and Jeremiah were talking to rebellious people who rejected God’s commandments. Understanding the intended audience for a certain passage of Scripture can help you to more accurately apply God’s Word to your own life.

In the New Testament, we see that the Apostle Paul wrote letters, usually addressing specific problems, to various churches. The church in Philippi had very different problems from the church in Corinth or the church in Thessalonica. Paul dealt with each church and each issue in a specific and targeted way, and he gave each church Biblical and godly answers. The better you understand the background of each church and the problems Paul was addressing, the better you’ll understand what the Bible says about your own spiritual issues.

5. Use Study aids to improve your understanding of the Bible

There are many books on the market that can improve your understanding of God’s word – books for new Christians and beginning students of the Bible, books for young readers, books on Bible history, on theology, on individual books of the Bible and on and on. I recommend that you read the Bible itself before turning to any of these study helps. Then turn to additional resources to deepen your appreciation of what you have read and meditated on.

Reading a passage in two or three translations can bring out shades of meaning you might miss by reading only one. To better understand the meaning of the original Hebrew and Greek words in the Bible, use online tools like Strong’s Concordance with Hebrew and Greek Lexicons; you can search the concordance at strongsconcordance.org)….. You can find many Bible translations and other study tools at www.biblegateway.com).

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Psalm 91:1&2

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Psalm 4:8

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

*Psalm 91:4 He shall cover thee with His feathers and under His wings shalt thou trust; His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

*Psalm 37: 39 & 40

But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength in the time of trouble.
And the Lord shall help them and deliver them;
He shall deliver them from the wicked,
And save them,
Because they trust in Him.

Psalm 9:20

Put them in fear, O Lord,
That the

nations may know themselves to be but men.

GOD’S WORD FOR NOVEMBER 16 ~ ~ Psalm 119:165 ~ ~ “Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble.”

From the book, How to Read the Bible by Dr. Michael Youssef

(Eight principles for handling God’s entire Word)

1. Ask the Holy spirit to open your understanding and real His Truth.

As you read, ask the Holy Spirit to guide your reading just as He guided the writing of the Bible. It is impossible to accurately understand God’s Word without the illumination of God’s spirit. Filtering the Bible through our human intellect invites misunderstanding. As Paul told Timothy, “Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.” (2 Timothy 2:7)

In my own human fallibility, I am prone to misunderstand and misinterpret God’s Word. So whenever I open the Bible and study God’s truth, I begin with an earnest prayer: “Holy Spirit, open my eyes that I may see wonderful truth from the Bible. Illuminate my mind, so that I can discover the deep meaning You have for me in Your word.

2. Avoid Proof Texting.

What is proof texting? It means taking short passages of Scripture, sometimes a single verse, and giving it a “spin” or interpretation – usually different than the writer intended—to support a particular belief or doctrine. I often say, “Put the text in its context.” When you quote a Biblical text out of its context and offer it as proof that the Bible supports your position, that’s proof texting. Instead of obeying God’s Word, you are twisting Scripture to make it serve your purpose.

Here is an example: the Apostle Paul wrote,

“but (God) said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

I have heard people quote this verse out of context and apply it to moral weaknesses. They say, “I used to struggle against the temptation sexual sin or substance abuse, or uncontrolled anger. But then I read that God’s power is made perfect in weakness. So I don’t need to struggle against temptation. I will just accept my moral weaknesses.”

Now, it’s obvious from the context that Paul is writing about physical weakness, about a chronic medical condition that would not heal. God told Paul to rely on His grace to endure the suffering he was experiencing. Paul was NOT encouraging people to give in to their moral weaknesses! But this is how some have twisted Paul’s meanings through proof texting, in this and other verses.

3. Know when to take God’s Word literally or figuratively.

You might say, “I take the entire Bible literally!” But there are several places in Scripture where it would be a serious mistake to do so. There are certain linguistic principles that need to be observed, whether the passage was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek. If you don’t understand these principles, you will misunderstand what God is saying to you.

In all Semitic languages – language groups that originated in West Asia and North Africa – there is something known as “Hebraic hyperbole.” It’s the use of extreme, even absurd exaggeration to make a forceful point.

In Matthew 18:9, Jesus uses Hebraic hyperbole when He says, “And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.” I know that a lot of Christians struggle with the temptation to sin with their eyes – but I have met very few one-eyed believers. So this is apparently a Bible passage most Christians interpret figuratively, not literally.

Jesus exaggerates to make a strong and important point. If your eye causes you to sin, please don’t blind yourself. Instead, consider unsubscribing from that streaming service with all the immoral content that tempts you. Or ask a close Christian friend to hold you accountable for your internet viewing. Do whatever it takes to remove temptation from your eyes.

There are many ways to flee temptation and keep sinful images out of your mind without literally gouging out an eye. When you read Hebraic hyperbole in the Bible, don’t take it literally – BUT by all means, TAKE IT SERIOUSLY!!!

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Isaiah 50:7 For the Lord God will help me: therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

Isaiah 58:10

And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:

Isaiah 59:19

So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.

Ephes 1:19

And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to those who believe, according to the working of his mighty power

Ephes 2:6 And has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

GOD’S WORD FOR NOVEMBER 15 ~ ~Matthew 4:4 ~ ~ “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

From the book, “How to Read the Bible” by Dr. Michael Youssef

Menelik II was emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 until his death in 1913. He claimed to be a direct descendant of the Biblical King Solomon. He practiced the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian faith.

The emperor was apparently aware that Christians should feed on the Word of God. Matthew 4:4 tells us, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” and 1Peter 2:2 says, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” But the emperor didn’t understand when the Bible should be taken literally and when it should be taken figuratively.

Whenever Menelik II had a headache or digestive disorder, his remedy was to tear a page or two from the Bible and eat it. He believed that literally “feeding” on the Word made him feel better.

In December 1913, the emperor suffered a stroke. He survived, and seemed to be recovering. But one day, he felt very ill. He ordered his servants to bring out a Bible and feed him the entire books of First

and Second Kings, page by page. Before he could finish his meal of Scripture, he collapsed and died.

God has called us to feed on His Word as if our lives depend on it. But God obviously intended that His Word should nourish our minds and souls – not our digestive tracts. God gave us the Bible as Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:15, “to make (us) wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

In that same letter, Paul told Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the Word of Truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15). In those days, before there was a recognized canon of New testament Scriptures, the “Word of Truth” Paul referred to was the Old Testament. Paul didn’t dismiss the importance of the Old Testament –he UNDERSCORED its importance.

In the King James Version, the phrase about a worker who “correctly handles the Word of truth” is translated “rightly dividing the Word of Truth.” the original Greek word for “correctly handling” or “rightly dividing” the Word of truth is “orthotomounta,” a compound word. “Ortho” means “right” or “straight,” and “tomounta” means “to cut.” Literally, Paul is saying that the Bible must be correctly cut (interpreted) in the same way that a skilled carpenter would make straight cuts on a piece of wood.

Paul is not saying that we should “divide” the New Testament from the Old and throw the Old away, as some tragically do. He’s saying we should interpret the entire Word of God rightly and with precision – not in a careless and slipshod way.

I believe we now live in the days foretold by this Old Testament prophecy in Amos 8:11:

“’The days are coming,’” declares the Sovereign Lord, ‘when I will send a famine through the land – not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.’”

The Apostle Paul also foresaw a time when there would be a famine of the Word of God – not because there were not enough Bibles to go around, but because of neglect, apostasy, and a desire to have our biases confirmed. Paul wrote, in 2 Timothy 4:3-4:

“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

May we never partake in a willful famine of the Word of God. The burden of my life is to equip you for the days that are coming upon us. The burden of my life is to teach God’s people how to rightly divide the Word of Truth. (Tomorrow he’ll) give eight principles for correctly handling God’s Word, both the Old and the New Testaments.

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John 6:35

And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

John 6:51

I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

Psalm 37:23 & 24

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

John 14:26

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

Proverbs 6:21&22

(God’s Words))Bind them continually upon your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
When you roam, they will lead you;
When you sleep, they will keep you;
And when you awake, they will speak with you.

GOD’S WORD FOR NOVEMBER 14 ~ ~ II Timothy 3:16&17~ ~ “All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

From the book, “How to Read the Bible,” by Dr. Michael Youssef.

In the same way, God’s judgment against sin is a function of his loving kindness and mercy. The judgment and punishment of sin is a necessary part of a functioning society, whether in ancient Israel or in America today.

God’s judgment is always just. Throughout the Bible, we see an all-wise God who maintains these two attributes – divine wrath and divine love – in perfect balance. In the Old Testament, God demonstrates a fatherly patience and compassion toward humanity (see Isaiah 54:10, Jeremiah 31:3, and Hosea 11:4).

In the New Testament, Jesus warns of the judgement to come – and He says that those who reject His gift of grace will be held accountable (see Matthew 11:21 and revelation 20:11-15).

God’s unchanging nature enables us to trust Him. In His Word, God testifies that He is unchangeable in all of His attributes:

“I, the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.

Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from My decrees and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. (Malachi 3:6-7)

God’s plan for redemption also remains firm and unchanging. As God told Moses in Exodus 3:14, “I am who I am” and the New Testament tells us this in Hebrews 6:17:

“Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath.”

The apostle James tells us in James 1:17-18:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coning down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all He created.”

A.W. Tozer aptly summed up God’s unchanging character in his book “The Attributes of God.”:

“God never changes. What God was, God is. What God is and was, God will be. There will never be any change in God. Don’t call me a heretic; check on me. Go to the Word and see if it’s right…

There has been a lot of careless teaching that implies that the Old Testament is a book of severity and law, and the New Testament is a book of tenderness and grace. But do you know that while the Old Testament and the New testament declare the mercy of God, the word “mercy” appears in the Old Testament over four times more often than in the New?…

The God of the Old Testament and the God of the New is one God. He did not change.”

What is the one major change between the Old Testament and the New? The unapproachable, holy God becomes approachable. In the Old Testament, God lives in unapproachable light. In the New Testament, God becomes a man, Jesus the Savior. Through the death of Jesus upon the cross, He brings peace with God to every man, woman, or child who calls on His name.

The Old Testament makes plain OUR NEED of salvation. The New Testament makes plain GOD’S PLAN for salvation. In this way the New Testament completes the Old Testament. We can depend on God to always be Himself. His plans never fail.

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Jeremiah 33:3

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and hidden things that you have not known

Isaiah 54:10,

For the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.

Jeremiah 31:3

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”

Hosea 11:4

I drew them with gentle cords,
With bands of love,
And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck.
I stooped and fed them.

Revelation 20:11-15

 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone NOT found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

(There is only one way to get our name in the Book of Life – and, therefore, not end up in the lake of fire – that is to take on the Robe of Righteousness that Jesus offers us in exchange for our sins, which He took on Himself and took OUR punishment for them. Submitting our lives to Him in gratitude for that exchange is what puts our names in the Book of Life, and gives us eternal life with Jesus. No good works, including “being good” or prayers, or going to church, or anything else, will do us any good for salvation. Those things we do AFTER we’re saved, out of love, gratitude, and worship to Jesus for saving us, and shown by the following verse:)

Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

GOD’S WORD FOR NOVEMBER 13 ~ ~ Joshua 1:8 ~ ~ “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

From the book, How to Read the Bible, by Dr. Michael Youssef

There is a common misconception in the church – and even among some Bible teachers and preachers – that the Bible contains two separate and largely unrelated stories. According to this mistaken view, the Old Testament is the story of Israel’s history, the Law of Moses, and God’s wrath and judgment – and the New Testament is the story of God’s love, mercy, and grace through Jesus Christ.

Because of this misconception, many in the church have decided to toss out the Old Testament and preach only from the New Testament. They claim that the Old Testament is no longer relevant and that all the teachings we really need for Christian life are found in the New Testament. Yes, the New Covenant is superior to the Old because “the new covenant is established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6). But the New Covenant does not invalidate the Old Covenant.

The death and resurrection of Jesus fulfilled the promises of the Old Testament – but Jesus did not change or erase any of the Old Testament promises. God did not change from one Testament to the next. The entire Bible is God’s Word to us. It fully reveals God’s love and His justice.

The Old and New Testaments complement each other. Neither Testament is complete without the other. Whether in the Old Testament or the New, every passage of Scripture points to God as our Creator and to Jesus as our Redeemer. The first Old Testament prophesy about Jesus is found at the beginning of the Bible, in Genesis 3:15, when God tells the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers, He will crush your head and you will strike His heel.” the offspring of the woman is Jesus, who crushed Satan’s head when He died upon the cross.

The renowned Bible scholar Alfred Edersheim identified 456 Old Testament verses that Jewish rabbis claimed were predictions about the coming Messiah or His times. For example, Micah 5:2 predicted that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, and Zechariah 11:12 predicted that He would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver. (for a partial list of messianic prophecies fulfilled by Jesus, see Chapter 13).

So the story of Jesus the Messiah does not begin in the gospel accounts in the New Testament. The first prophecy of Jesus appears in Genesis 3 and the prophecies of the coming Messiah are woven throughout the Old Testament.

Those who claim the Old Testament is no longer relevant are lopping off the first half of one continuous story of God’s dealings with the human race. The New testament must be understood within the context of everything that happened before.

The Old Testament tells why humanity needed a Messiah, where He would come from, what He would do, and why He would have to die for our sins. Those who would toss out the Old Testament are unwittingly attempting to shove Christianity off its foundation.

Many people reject the idea that God judges sin. But what if God allowed sin – including murder, violence, robbery, and oppression – to grow unchecked?

In the United States, we have seen what happens when sin and violence go unpunished. Sometime in the early 2000’s, billionaire George Soros quietly began funneling money to political candidates running for district attorney in cities nationwide. Many voters had no idea what these well-financed candidates stood for, so they unwittingly voted for those who were soft on crime. Once in office, these district attorneys stopped prosecuting entire categories of crimes, including violent ones. They ended cash bail for arrested suspects, putting violent criminals back on the street the same day they were arrested!

The predictable result was a 33 percent rise in the homicide rate in 2020 alone, with the trend line continuing to rise steeply ever since. Many businesses have been forced to close or leave areas where illegal activities have been decriminalized by radical prosecutors.

It is righteous and compassionate to punish crime. God instituted government to protect the innocent. In a just society, evildoers should be afraid of the sword of government. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 13:4:

“For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But I you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”

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Job 10:12

You have granted me life and goodness;
And Your care has guarded my spirit.

Psalm 5:12

For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

Psalm 30:7a

Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong;

Psalm 115:12&13

The Lord has been mindful of us: He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great.

Proverbs 8:35

For whosoever finds me finds life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord.

GOD’S WORD FOR NOVEMBER 12 ~ ~ “Hebrews 11:3 ~ ~ “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”

From the book, “How to Read the Bible” by Michael Youssef

(Yesterday, we saw that the Old Testament salvation is just like New Testament salvation—

By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. They looked to Christ (Messiah) by looking forward, as we look back to His sacrifice. Today we’ll see more about God’s Old Testament Covenant with Abraham and his descendants, and how it points them and us to Christ)

Dr. Youssef:

Later in Old Testament times, God made conditional covenants with Israel that required the people to meet certain standards. The clearest expression of a conditional covenant between God and Israel is found in Deuteronomy 11:13-21:

“And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled.’ Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, 1est the Lord’s anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you.

“Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth.”

When some people hear terms like the “Law of Moses” or the “Old covenant,” they think only of the Ten Comandments. But God’s covenant with Israel includes ALL the laws that He delivered to Israel in the first five books of the Bible. Genesis through Deuteronomy. When we speak of the Old Covenant, we speak of the covenant God made with Israel through Moses.

You might be surprised to learn that the concept of the New Covenant comes from the Old Testament. The prophet Jeremiah writes in Jeremiah 31:31-34:

 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

The New Covenant was promised in the Old Testament. Then, Jesus instituted it at the Last Supper when He took the cup and said:

“This cup is the New Covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.” (Luke22:20, also see 1Cor 11:25).

With His death, Jesus became the Mediator of the New Covenant, and His blood became the only blood sacrifice required under the New Covenant. In this way, Jesus fulfilled the promise God spoke through Jeremiah,

“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

The Old Testament saints demonstrated their faith in God by keeping the laws and sacrifices that look forward to the coming of the Messiah. As New Testament saints, we look backward to the sacrifice of the cross – and we look forward to His return. Whether in Old covenant times or New Covenant times, there has only been one way to be saved: by grace through faith alone.

Our unchanging God revealed Himself fully in Jesus Christ. That is why Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). No one before or after Jesus could make such a claim. As the Apostle Peter said in Acts 4:12:

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

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2Timothy 2:13

If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself.

Luke 1:70 and 79

As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began. To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace.

Psalm 23:3

He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

(Charles Spurgeon) “If the Lord does not change the place for the better, He will make us the better in the place.”

Isaiah 46:4

And even to your old age I am he; and even to gray hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.

IPeter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and His ears are open to their prayers…..

GOD’S WORD FOR NOVEMBER 11 ~ ~ 1 Peter 1:23 ~ ~ “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,”

From the book, How to Read the Bible by Michael Youssef

Many Christians misunderstand the basis of salvation in the Old Testament. They think that people in the Old Testament times were saved by keeping the Law of Moses and making sacrifices on altars. Nothing could be further from the truth. People in Old Testament times were saved on exactly the same basis as we are saved today: Salvation is a gift of God’s grace which we receive through faith.

Genesis 15:6 tells us, “Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.” In Romans, his great treatise on faith, the Apostle Paul writes,

“What does Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’

Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised. This is why ‘it was credited to him as righteousness.’” (Romans 4:3, 20-22)

Abraham lived four hundred years before Moses. He didn’t have the Law of the Ten commandments. He could not have been saved by observing the Law and the sacrifices, which came centuries later. Abraham was saved by grace through faith.

If human beings could be saved by works, by keeping the Law and making animal sacrifices, then they would be able to boast of their own righteousness, their own works, their own observance of the Law. As the Apostle Paul states in Ephesians 2:8-9:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God –not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Suppose someone in the Old Testament times kept all the laws and made all the sacrifices, yet that person’s heart was not right with God. Would those works save him? Of course not.

The same principle is true today. If a person goes to church every Sunday but has never surrendered in faith to Jesus Christ, will church attendance save him? Of course not. His heart is far from God. We can only be saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

People in Old Testament times lived under the Old covenant. Ever since Jesus introduced the New Covenant during the Last Supper, hours before the crucifixion, we have lived under the New Covenant. A covenant is a formal agreement. Under the Old Covenant, which God gave to the people through Moses, God’s people demonstrated their faith by obedience to God’s Law –and the symbols and sacrifices of the Law pointed forward to Jesus Christ. Under the New Covenant, our faith is in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross.

God made several covenants with His people in Old Testament times. In Genesis 12, He told Abraham (or Abram, as his name was then) to leave his country and go to a land that He would give him. He said, in Genesis 12:1-3:

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Later, God performed a covenant ceremony with Abraham involving animal sacrifice (See Genesis Chapter 15 and Hebrews 6:13-15).

God’s covenant with Abraham was unconditional, a promise that required nothing of Abraham.

(More about this subject tomorrow.)

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Romans 6:22

 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

Isaiah 51:11

 Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away

Psalm 37:18

 The Lord knows the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.

John 6:47

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believes on me has everlasting life.

Jude 24, 25

Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen

Exodus 33:17

And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that you have spoken: for you have found grace in my sight, and I know you by name.

Psalm 42:8

Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the day time, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.