- Feb 1, 2020
Scripture Reading: Psalm 111, Proverbs 18, Philippians 2
Blessed to be sitting here doing my bible study with one of my step children asking questions about how we study the Word and how he can do so also 🙂
Psalm 111: 1 – 10
“Praise the Lord. I will extol the Lord with all my heartin the council of the upright and in the assembly. 2 Great are the works of the Lord;they are pondered by all who delight in them. 3 Glorious and majestic are his deeds,and his righteousness endures forever. 4 He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate. 5 He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. 6 He has shown his people the power of his works,giving them the lands of other nations. 7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;all his precepts are trustworthy. 8 They are established for ever and ever,enacted in faithfulness and uprightness. 9 He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever—holy and awesome is his name. 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.”
Psalm 111:7 “The works of His hands are faithful and just; (even when I may not think so) all His precepts are trustworthy.”
Proverbs 18 1: -4
” An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all sound judgment starts quarrels. 2 Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. 3 When wickedness comes, so does contempt, and with shame comes reproach. 4 The words of the mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream. 5 It is not good to be partial to the wicked and so deprive the innocent of justice. 6The lips of fools bring them strife, and their mouths invite a beating. 7 The mouths of fools are their undoing, and their lips are a snare to their very lives. 8 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts. 9 One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys. 10 The name of the Lord is a fortified tower ;the righteous run to it and are safe. 11 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale. 12 Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor. 13 To answer before listening—that is folly and shame. 14 The human spirit can endure in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? 15 The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out. 16 A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great. 17 In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross-examines. 18 Casting the lot settles disputes and keeps strong opponents apart. 19 A brother wronged is more unyielding than a fortified city; disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel. 20 From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled; with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied. 21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. 22 He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord. 23 The poor plead for mercy, but the rich answer harshly. 24One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
Proverbs 18:9 “One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.” Do everything to the best of your ability don’t do things half heartedly especially serving the Lord.
Proverbs 18:15 “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.” Keep reading, seeking and learning about God and His mission for us.
Philippians 2
Imitating Christ’s Humility
1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God,did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothingby taking the very nature of a servant,being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man,he humbled himselfby becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest placeand gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,to the glory of God the Father.
Do Everything Without Grumbling
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. 14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
Timothy and Epaphroditus
19I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. 20I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. 21 For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. 23 I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. 24 And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon. 25 But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. 26 For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. 29 So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, 30 because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me.
Phillipians 2: 3-4 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
Lately I have been struggling with the question am I prideful? I catch myself saying “well I prayed for this or that” as if my prayers are what healed someone or something happened because I prayed. But this thinking is flawed as it was not me that produced the miracle or answered the prayer but God. Yet I know God desires for us to come to Him in prayer and ask for things as an act of faith-growing and obedience. I think God is highlighting examples of how Christ lived. Showing me how to live humbly like Christ. God wants us to be servants of Christ; to walk out our faith as He did even to the point of death if need be. Jesus wasn’t about taking credit for the things God did through Him, He was always pointing to His Heavenly Father and encouraging us to as well.
Philippians 2: 7-8 “rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness….he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death…”
Philippians 2: 11″ every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2:12-16 “…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, (Keep your faith fresh; always pursuing that feeling of being on fire for Christ, because we don’t know when we will be called to Heaven) for it is God who works in you to will and act in order to fulfill His good purpose(the closer we are to Christ, the easier it is to fulfill your God Given purpose. We must be vigilant in listening to His direction and seeking His will not our own in order to fulfill His purpose in our lives.) Do everything without grumbling or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure.…Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the Word of Life.”
(We are constantly being watched by non-believers, even when we don’t know it. They are always watching to see if our faith is genuine or if we are walking with integrity. Philippians 2: 21 “For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.” I can attest to this as well, before I was saved I was always watching to see if Christians were living life the way I thought God wanted them to live. I didn’t know the awesomeness of Gods love and forgiveness. I had no idea that we are all sinners, our entire lives. I thought Christians were expected to be perfect and the “real” ones were perfect, never sinning once they were saved. I didn’t realize that God looked at out heart and mind as well as our actions; that He considered even thinking about commiting a sin, a sin. Matthew 5: 27-28 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ” Just thinking about it is sin. Who then is sin free and able to enter into Heaven? The answer is no one, that is until Jesus was sent to be the ultimate cover-all sacrifice for us. Now if we believe in Jesus and His sacrifice and ask Him to cover our sins for us we are in. Does that mean we are perfect forever. NO. We try and live a life worthy of His sacrifice. We try and not sin; and when we fall short which we will, everyone does, His forgiveness and sacrifice are right there to keep us in line to Heaven. Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” BUT 1 John 1: 9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.)
Well I’ve tried to make this a bible study that anyone can pull up and read. My hope is that you will read the scripture and find new meaning in the verses placed in front of you. I also pray that you would be brave and bold enough to share them with myself and the rest of the world here on my page. Just drop a comment down below, with the scripture reference and what the Holy Spirit is speaking into your heart. Because God speaks to each and every one of us through His Word and there is a lot we can learn from one another. ———>Walking in Grace, Teresa.