Michael : Heb. Mika’el, literally, “who [is] like God?”

The name “Michael” appears only in passages that are linked with the apocalypse.

Archangel: occurs only twice in the Bible. ἀρχάγγελος

Archaggelos (1Thess. 4:16 and Jude 9).

There are only 5 verses in the entire Bible that mention Michael, the Archangel. Here they are:

1. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Daniel 10:13

• But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince. Daniel 10:21

• And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. Daniel 12:1

• Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. Jude 1:9

• And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, Revelation 12:7

1 Thessalonians 4:16 says, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”

John 5:28 says, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his (Jesus’) voice. See also John 11:43,44 (Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead).

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” John 11:25

Jesus said, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Revelation 1:18

To Jesus alone, is ascribed the power to raise the dead.

Jesus is referred to as an angel or angel of the Lord.

In the Bible Jesus is often referred to as “the angel of the Lord”. In Exodus 3:2 says, “And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him (Moses) in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.”

Who was this “angel of the Lord?” Verses 4-6 gives the answer. The angel of the Lord is Jesus Himself.

Judges 2:1 says, “And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.”

Who is this angel of the Lord? It is none other than Jesus.

Joshua 5: 13-15 says, “And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?

¹⁴ And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?

¹⁵ And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.”

Notice that Joshua worships this being without rebuke prohibition. The only person worthy of our worship is one who is a member of the Godhead.

John tried to worship an angel and was refrained from doing so. Revelation 19:10 says, “And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Here we see clearly that no other being is to be worshiped but God Himself. An angel, though a more exalted being than man is not to be worship, only God is to be worshiped.

Conclusion: Michael, the Archangel is non other than Jesus, the captain of the Lord’s army. It is by the call of His voice that the dead in Christ will rise (see 2 Thessalonians 4:16.

The post Michael The Archangel first appeared on The Balanced Life: Bible Study and Christian Bible Discussion.

Join in the study and conversation.  Explore the Bible, study prophecies for our time and share in the Bible discussing.  One topic per week will be sent via email and the discussion link will be will be sent to all participants.   Tuesday evenings at 7PM, study starts August 11th, 2020.  Complete the form below to participate.

• Discover where we are in the light of Bible prophecy
• Unlock mysteries about God and His plan for you and our world.
• Know God better through His messages in the books of Daniel and Revelation.
• Discover that the Bible predicts accurately the rise and fall of nations.
• Understand the meaning of the Mark of the Beast, the Antichrist, and the Millennium.

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At the core of it, we are all tempted.  In many cases temptation can lead to bad decisions and bad decisions can lead to sin.  As Christians, we want to avoid sin and to do this, we allow Christ to live within us to strengthen us.  “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me…” Psa 28:7.

However, in many cases we work contrary to our own interests and contrary to the will of God.

Now, these points I am bringing out are simply to stimulate discussion and not to highlight a specific practice as sin.  Fair enough?  I want to present these thoughts in their entirety and then open to discussion.

I have always been a Trekkie.  I believe I have over the years watched every Star Trek movie and most of the episodes of every Star Trek series.  I believe I own every Star Trek movie that has every been released.  So, it was as a treat when I decided to take my kids to see the Star Trek movie “Into Darkness” in 3D.

The impact was profound.  My youngest became an instant Trekkie.  Not like me, but far beyond the norm.  Even attending a church BBQ, his conversations were only about Star Trek and explaining in detail about the ships.  Then the questions started about life on other planet and what that life would look like.  It was hard for him to understand that man has never traveled beyond the moon when he has seen men and women in ships travelling at warp speed throughout the Alpha Quadrant and beyond.  He was able to see inside the Starship and even admired the ships Vulcan first officer.

“Dad, what then is real?” he asked.

Recently, I had a long conversation with a close friend about pornography and his struggle keeping pornographic thoughts from his mind.  Often in the middle of his workday, sometimes in a meeting, thoughts would arise about videos he has watched.

So here are the basic discussion points that I would love to discuss today. Think about the media that we have access to.  Some of us consume hours of entertainment weekly.  It is almost crazy-talk to suggest avoiding the entertainment we love; the music and the music videos, the movies, the television shows including reality tv, even the commercials.

When you consider the sin we struggle with, strongholds that seem relentless in their temptation, how many of these sins do we witness happening repeatedly in the media we choose to consume.  I say consume because it reminds me that we are what we eat.   Or in context,” We are what we consume.” Swearing, smoking, lying, cheating, drunkenness.  In many cases the story-line lead us to cheer for the “bad guy” hoping they are successful in their sin.

I had not watched JOKER, the movie, but heard that twisted as it is, the audience sympathized with the Joker and wanted to see him succeed.

“There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.  2 Timothy:3.  Consider that everything listed in this passage of Timothy can be found in a single movie or book. And the selection of such books and movies is vast.

Is there any wonder why sometimes it is difficult to break strongholds?

The enemy seeks to devour.  Is it possible that we are being devoured by what we devour.

About a year ago I saw a funny video on YouTube.  I thought my Christian friend would have found it funny.  Not because he was Christian but because he is from the Caribbean island that this video was about.  The shock was visible and immediate.  I was surprised at the reaction because I checked the boxes.  No swearing, no nudity, no violence, no drugs, and it was funny.  However, the sensual and sexual overtones were shocking to my friend.

I realized that he is peculiar!  In the world but certainly not of the world.  I was too far in the world to even notice how far I was.  Instead of a repulsion or even unease to these types of media, I enjoyed them and even shared them with others.

It is like any addiction.  It could be time for a cleanse or rehab.  Our minds are busy trying to process what we see and hear often presenting these things to our conscious minds when we least expect.

Ok, thanks for bearing with me on that..  Thoughts?

If you would like to try something different, even for a month, try these few changes to curb temptation:

1. Change your music.  Make yourself a mixed Christian CD, or playlist on your device and listen to only this music for one month.
2. Wake a half hour to an hour earlier and spend that time in prayer and study of the bible or a devotional.  If you are used to morning worship, wake a half hour earlier anyway and spend an additional 30 minutes in prayer and study.
3. Stop watching television in all its secular forms.  News, tv series, movies, documentaries, anything that is on television, stop watching.  Find your news source (CTV, BBC, CNN, whatever it is) online and use this only as your news source thereby avoiding commercials and the temptation to surf.
4. Stop watching secular movies.
5. Praise God.  Let’s face it.  We all recognize Gods awesome handy work as we observe beauty around us in nature.  We all can see God working in our lives and recognize His awesome goodness toward us individually.  Take time to thank God and give Him praise.
6. Get connected with the awesome shows on 3ABN television, Amazing Facts or Hope TV.  Listen to some of your favorite pastors on YouTube.  Watch an Amazing Discoveries series on Health and Diet.
7. Spend at least a half hour before bed in study and prayer.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

Even though a month is far too short, understanding that avoiding the appearance of evil should be a lifestyle, thirty days is long enough if done without compromise.  It should be just long enough to start getting your sensitivity back to the sin we’re in.  After thirty days you may start to realize that this new lifestyle is excellent and freeing.  You may gain a glimpse of the abundant life that God wants you to have here while we prepare to live with Him for eternity.

“Of all the lessons to be learned from our Lord’s first great temptation none is more important than that bearing upon the control of the appetites and passions. In all ages, temptations appealing to the physical nature have been most effectual in corrupting and degrading mankind. Through intemperance, Satan works to destroy the mental and moral powers that God gave to man as a priceless endowment. Thus it becomes impossible for men to appreciate things of eternal worth. Through sensual indulgence, Satan seeks to blot from the soul every trace of likeness to God.” The Desire Of Ages, Chapter 12.

The post Temptation first appeared on The Balanced Life: Bible Study and Christian Bible Discussion.

When putting this post together, I was binge-watching one of my favorite Netflix series.  I realized I needed to look no further for indicators of where society is socially and morally.

Anna Stewart made an interesting observation in her article “Television Reflects Modern Society“. “How many people haven’t had the urge to murder one or two bad guys. Sell some marijuana to make ends meet. Or behave like a bad boss. There’s a little Dexter Morgan, Nancy Botwin and Jack Donaghy in everybody. Today, couch vigilantes get their kicks out of watching shows like “Dexter,” “Weeds” and “30 Rock,” not to mention seven other WGA-nommed TV shows.”

What we watch and hear today is as full of rebellion as it was in 2009. It is part of our plot lines and placed into our entertainment to draw us back over and over. Rebellion from government, governments rebelling against its people, rebellion in marriage and children rebelling against their parents. Rebellion against employers and companies rebelling against the people they make products for or against the environment. I watch as people rebel against the nature around them. People in movies even rebelling against their own bodies.

And what we see in society is no different. All of these attitudes and rebellious behaviors are played out daily in our cities, countries and homes.

Elements in our societies seem self destructive. Some want anarchy even though if there was anarchy many would not survive. Without laws, the floodgates holding back unbridled rebellion would collapse and even the anarchist could loose what they have, daughters, sons, homes, wealth, wives, husbands, security and peace.

“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Matthew 24:12.

Start of Rebellion

When will there be peace on earth?  Why is there such suffering, pain and rebellion in the world?

Things were not always like this. There was a time that there was no rebellion, a time when things were in harmony.

Let’s read about the first rebellion.  The Bible tells  about the first rebellion and that it didn’t start on earth.  The first rebellion was in heaven when an angel that protected the law of God rebelled. We learn about this in Ezekiel 28.

“You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.” Ezekiel 28:13-17.

In heaven, there is a garden of God called Eden. Lucifer was in a position close to God, a guardian cherub,  and he rebelled.

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Isaiah 14:12-14.

Then Revelation 12:12. “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

Perfect Creation

When God created the Earth, He made a perfect planet, and there was harmony among all creation. “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” Genesis 1:31.

Rebellion on Earth

Lucifer, whose name means “bearer of light”, or “Morning Star” was cast down. In his rebellion, he chose to be an “Adversary” or Satan.

“So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Revelation 12:9  And mankind, being tempted by the serpent, sinned.  This rebellion brought sin and death into what had been perfect and very good (Gen 3). From the time of rebellion until now, Satan has been causing rebellion, disharmony and unrest on Earth.

The two sides in the conflict.

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Revelation 12:7-9.

Some believe that Michael is a created angel and others believe like Bible commentator Matthew Henry, that Michael is simply another of the many names for Jesus Himself. Although that is for a different study, we know that Michael is fighting with the faithful angels for God’s side and Satan and his angels fight on Satan’s side. And Satan lost. He and his angels were cast out.

We see two sides, and with only two sides, who will be the jury? Or the judge?

“Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?” 1 Corinthians 6:2-3.

We are created to judge the world and fallen angels. We were not made to perish. In fact, God never intended for anyone to be lost. In fact in Matthew 25:41 we understand that the “everlasting” fire is prepared for the devil and his angels. But Satan, understanding our important role in the great war that started in heaven, set out to taint the jury.

What does it take to be a juror in Canada or the USA. There are three basic requirements for jury duty. You must be a citizen of the country. You must be over 18 years and you must be a law abiding citizen. ( In the USA is says you cannot have been charged with a felony).

Satan, set out to destroy law abiding citizens in Eden. To make us law breakers makes us ineligible to be jurors. “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Rev 12:17.

The fall of man was unfortunate. It not only made mankind part of Satan’s rebellion, it removed our ability to fulfill our purpose. But Jesus made a way to restore mankind by taking the penalty of sin upon himself. Then He gave us power to become sons and daughters of God again. He gave us power to be law abiding citizens.

Today, the devil knows he has a short time and realized one principle that by beholding, we become changed. And in these last days, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” 1Peter 5:8.

Consider the entertainment we watch and listen to in the context of the great war. We are all part of this great controversy and we all have a work to do in it. Consider that the war is still between God’s side and Satan’s side and every one of us is on one side or the other. By beholding we become changed. What are we beholding? Do we spend most of our days beholding evil, or sin? Do we behold rebellion? Do we act out rebellion in our lives?

How much time do we spend beholding God and contemplating the life of Jesus; the significance of the cross in restoring us or reconciling us to Him. How important is that to us in our daily thinking? While we were yet rebellious, Jesus died for us!

God’s Commandments,  if you keep them, you are God’s. If you strive to keep them and fail from time to time, you have Jesus, your advocate with the Father. “If you love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15.  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:4.

The first rebellion was over the Law of God in heaven. It has always been about the Law of God. Today we are told that the Law of God is done away with and we no longer need to keep it. This is a lie. Is this not Satan’s argument? Be not deceived. Your adversary is seeking whom he may destroy. He is making war with the remnant, those that keep the commandments of God. What better way to deceive the Christians than to turn them from God’s Law.

And what better way to turn people from God’s Law than to make rebellion attractive. Our entertainment today seeks to do just that. It aims to make stars idols. It takes God’s name in vain. It shows idol worship, whether that idol is money, or fame, or other God’s. There is no respect for God’s sabbath, in some cases claiming that God’s sabbath is on Sunday, the first day of the week and not the seventh day as God established. It glorifies disrespect for parents, often making parents seem out-of-touch, old fashioned or foolish. Entertainment glorifies killing and horror, adultery and riotous living. Entertainment shows elaborate schemes for stealing where the viewer is rooting for the thief. It also shows envy and covetousness.

Understand, as Christians, we are to turn away from the appearance of evil. Evil is sin and rebellion from God and His Law. Sin is the transgression of the Law. “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4.

Things to do.

Realizing that breaking habits is hard, start making changes today. Here are a few suggestions that may help in your Christian walk.

1. Spend time beholding Jesus in His Word. Get to know the teaching s of Jesus.
2. Consider the cross and what it means. Meditate on it.
3. Reduce, then eliminate rebellious entertainment.
4. Do not follow the crowd in error. Study to show yourself approved unto God. Salvation is individual. save yourself.
5. The Bible says to wash your garments white in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 22:14, “”Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.” This is something we do for ourselves by the Grace of God.
6. Avoid rebellious people. Especially those living riotous lives.
7. As you move away from rebellious entertainment and people, surround yourself with people that seek first the kingdom of heaven and His righteousness.
8. Spend time every morning speaking to God. Thanking Him for His sacrifice. Thanking Him that He has shown you truth in His Word and gave you a mind to understand wisdom.

God bless you and protect you in your walk with Him.

The post Rebellion first appeared on The Balanced Life: Bible Study and Christian Bible Discussion.

In may ways, I am in awe of how the world seems to be barreling forward in many exciting and many terrifying directions all at the same time.  These are truly the days to remember.

But each day, I recognize my need for a closer walk with Jesus Christ.  I need to be more comfortable saying His name; saying the name of Jesus!  So for this I have decided to post this year mainly about having a deeper relationship with God.

Daily Walk Checklist

A few years ago I posted a checklist for success in your daily walk with God.  This year I will highlight only a few:

Talking to God about everything.

Giving God control over everything.

Expecting God to control everything.

Giving up everything that is unpleasing to God.

Sounds simple right?  How do we get right on that?

These will be some of the topics I hope to brainstorm this year.  But there is a topic I will weave over and over throughout this year.  Praise and Thanks.

Before I get right into the “praise and thanks” explanation, I must say that I recognize that bad and good things happen to bad and good people.  With that said, consider the following.

Throughout the Bible, God makes promises to His people  It is an agreement.  If you love me, keep my commandments.   or, “If my people that are called by my name would humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and heal their land, ” 2nd Chronicles 7:14.

One of my favorites is, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” Psalm 37:25.

Praise And Thanks

When I think on the past year, I can think about what seems like deteriorating health, heavy financial challenges, a baby in an environment with no time for a baby, family troubles many miles away, equipment breaking down and car breaking down with limited resources to pay….    There is so much …

But when I think of the blessings of God and how He has answered my prayers.  How my family live in safe homes, are well clothed and well fed.  How are daily struggles feel insignificant in the environment of laughter and love.  I think of how God changed me from toxic to non-toxic, and how I know He that started this good thing in me will finish it until the end.

Today, I thank God for His promises because that’s all I have.  I know I deserve nothing yet in my unworthiness and desperation, in my darkness and helplessness I heard the promises.  Sure I still felt unworthy, I know my past and what I still struggle with, so how could the promises be meant for me, one who has broken every command and trampled every rule?

But I learned that it had nothing to do with me.  It was all about the promise maker.   All I had to do is recognize the state I am in, and want to be changed.  “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name,” John 1:2.   He will give me the power to become.

What does this have to do with Deeper?

Recognize Blessings

Get in the habit of thanking God for His goodness and recognizing His blessings.  We know we are messed up, but once we realize how terrible messed up we are and turn to Him, we immediately start seeing His working in our lives.   It is how God gets personal.  He personally wants you to become a son or daughter.  He wants to do this this year.  How can you not thank Him for that?   The God of the universe is personally working in my insignificant life because He wants to be with me forever, and He is hoping that I want to live with Him forever also.

Our outlook on life, on other people, on our work, our families and our wives or husbands changes when we thank God daily and recognize the blessings that these things and people are.  Praise Him for your life, and protection and when you clearly see how He has answered your prayers.

Recently, a church in Cambridge, Ontario in Canada took a Sabbath afternoon and knocked on doors in the community asking if there were anything that they would like the church to pray for them about.  A community that may have little to do with prayer in their daily lives, when the invitation was received submitted their requests.  While folks were knocking on the doors of the community, a prayer team were at the church praying for the people that were home that their hearts would not resist the invitation.

Because they believed in prayer and they know the God we serve, they went back into the same community two weeks later, to the same homes that requested prayer to ask how their lives were impacted because of the prayers made on their behalf by the church members.

This Year Of  Thanks and Blessings

When you pray, and your prayer gets answered, thank God.  Praise His Holy Name.  You prayed and heaven responded.

This year has already started.  We know we are in for some surprises this year, in the same way we met with surprises in years past.  But our goal this year must be to be closer to God.  To lay aside the things that are displeasing to Him.

“You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the LORD your God.”  Leviticus 20:7.
“because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” 1 Peter 1:16.

“You are my friends if you do what I command.” John 15:14.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11.

Today, start with God.  Thank Him for His love and promises.  Think of and thank Him for answered prayers.  Recognize His blessings and always trust in Him.

The post Deeper Walk With God – Blessings first appeared on The Balanced Life: Bible Study and Christian Bible Discussion.

You have heard it said that if it was too late for you, that you would not even be able to be concerned about your salvation.  The fact that you feel “called”, means that today, it is not too late.

If this is true, then if you do not sense your closeness to God, could this mean that you are lost?

John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Philippians 2:12-13, “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, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

Because God draws you through the inner working of His Spirit, you cannot even desire to do His will without the Spirit.

Consider these verses.  God contrasts for us what doing His will entails.  In some verses we see a contrast between God’s people and they way they live and those that reject God:

Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”

Galatians 5:19-22, “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.  

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

John 15:14, “You are my friends if you do what I command.”

Revelation 14:12, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”

1 Timothy 3:1-4, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.

I was considering the story of the 12 virgins.  How they would not have been there at all if they were incapable of doing God’s will. That day, they would not have responded to the Spirit to go meet the bridegroom.  But they were there.  In the right place at the right time.  But their relationship to God was not sufficient.

A man one day made a decision to start his day with Bible study and he also decided to read the daily devotionals on Amazing Facts.  So each morning he rose up a bit early and went to a solitary place in his home and prayed and did his morning worship.  He also decided that he wold continue his nighttime worship before bed.  He set in his mind that this he would try to form a habit of morning and nighttime study because he recognized his need to be closer to God.  After a few days he noticed his thoughts were more on God during the day.  He even decided to start a Bible study group online.  One day, he had a conversation with a someone close to him which quickly became a dispute.  Within minutes he went from having a respectful dispute to yelling and cursing and tossing things about.  The next day, he came to himself and realized that he too had little oil in his lamp.  

The mechanics of Christianity does not create a relationship with God.  The great news is that God wants to help us with this.

Matthew 7:21-23, ““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

In the passage of Scripture above we see lost people who believed they were doing some good, prophesying, doing many miracles and driving out demons.  This is work of people that thought they had a relationship with God but He didn’t know them.

It is hard to imagine that a person can hear God speaking to them through the pleading of the Holy Spirit and ignore it.  But it is true that some pick and choose what they will follow, what sin they will continue to indulge, and where they will harden their hearts.  Often we believe we take a calculated risk, believing that we have time left to get right with God.

Hebrews 3:12-15, “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. As has just been said:

The post Importance Of Today – Harden Not Your Hearts first appeared on The Balanced Life: Bible Study and Christian Bible Discussion.

Reaching Out

Matthew 4:19: “And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

This was Jesus as He walked by the sea of Galilee, seeing two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishermen.

Once Jesus had taught His disciples for three and a half years, after His death and His resurrection, He gave the great commission.

Matthew 28:18-20, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

(See also Mark 16:15 – 18 and Luke 24:47)

This 3 part series on personal evangelism will explore what it is, why we do it and ideas on how we do it.  Tonight we will explore the great commission itself and what it means for us today.

When we think of evangelism, often we think of going door to door dropping information or camp meetings, or smartly dressed people, usually in twos approaching others in the mall or on the street.

Evangelism is the preaching of the gospel or the practice of giving information about a particular doctrine or set of beliefs to others with the intention of converting others to the Christian faith. – Wikipedia

Websters Dictionary: Evangelism – the winning or revival of personal commitments to Christ.

In general, the Gospel or ‘good news’ is a message revealing why God created mankind back in the Garden of Eden. Man’s destiny, if he is willing to accept it, is to live forever and have a relationship with God as a member of his family, with the same perfect, sinless character as He possesses. The means of accomplishing this awesome goal is through the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus, who is mankind’s one and only Savior and the ONLY means by which humans can have a close relationship with the Father.

The Gospel contains not only information ABOUT Jesus but also concerns the great and wonderful message he brought regarding the coming Kingdom of God on earth. It includes a call to repent of sin, to accept Christ’s sacrifice for the forgiveness of those sins, to go under the waters of baptism and receive God’s Spirit, and to live a life of obedience to God’s laws, ways and will. – biblestudy.org

The time comes for everyone when they realize that life on this earth is not forever.  The life we observe around us is full of dangers that can take you out in a moment.  But if you are fortunate not to die from accident, disease, or violence, you will definitely die of old age.  This is what we observe every day, whether of people we know or things we see and read on the news.  As they say, “there are two certainties in life, death and taxes.”  Notice they don’t say “happiness.”

Every day as far as you can remember you interacted with those around you in darkness.  Some grew up in the church but weren’t fully aware, and others came to a knowledge of the truth later in their teens, or even later.  But once we come to a knowledge of God, things change.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

There was a time when we were all walking in darkness, some unaware and some aware.  But when we come to Him, we are washed, sanctified, justified in Jesus though the Spirit.

We are talking evangelism, reaching out to a sin-darkened world.

1 Peter 2:9-10, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:  Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”

When we were called out of darkness, the Bible says that we are to declare praises of God.  A priesthood, a nation of evangelists spreading the Gospel to those that do not yet have it.

But how do we do this?

When I was younger, I believed that evangelists were people you would see standing in front of hundreds if not thousands, preaching and teaching the Kingdom of Heaven and the love of Jesus.  And yes, some are preachers.

Ephesians 4:11-12, “And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”

Now that is clear.  We all have a work to do, and all work together for the edifying of the body of Christ.

To bring it down into simple terms, teaching is as simple as allowing your life to be a testimony to others of God’s will being lived out in you.  Living according to God’s will is going to make you a peculiar person.

Teaching can be as simple as declaring God’s goodness in your life, His mercies, protection, His answers to your prayers, His life changing power!

Here is a funny example.  Someone you know approaches you at church and asks how your week was and you reply, “What a wonderful week, God has blessed me in so many ways.  I am so thankful.”  Yet that same person a few days later at work has a friend ask the same question, “Hey, how was your week?”  And the reply is “What an awesome week, thank you for asking!”  Declaring God and His goodness to the believers and omitting God in conversation with non-believers does no one any good.

If you are taking part in this short series on evangelism, it may mean that you recognize that every person you know, drive by, buy from or sell to, stand behind or sit next to and every person in your family, is part of this great war or struggle for the hearts and loyalty of man.  This is sobering.  When you interact with people, how can you not want to share what you know?  How can you, walking in light, passively watch while friends and family are consumed by darkness of this world?

Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”

John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”  1 John 5:2-3, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”

John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Because we love God, because we are led by the Spirit of God, because we are obedient to the will of God we live our lives demonstrating the love of God to our friends, family and neighbors.  If God’s will is that no-one perish but have everlasting life, then it should be demonstrated in our lives.  Imagine all your friends, family and neighbors having a saving relationship with God through Jesus.

Romans 10:13-15, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”

Let our lives and our witness be the proof of the love of God and His power to transform sinners bringing us out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Ivan S.

The post Evangelism – Reaching Out first appeared on The Balanced Life: Bible Study and Christian Bible Discussion.