Thoughts By Scott

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

The Scriptures Illumine Our Path

Photo by Nathan Kolb

This blog ought to have been February 8, 2017

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:19b-c

to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

Insights: Not only are the Scriptures reliable, but we see in the later part of verse nineteen that they also illumine our path. Psalm 119:105 states, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Until Jesus returns, which is what this day dawning as referring to in this verse, we are guided by His Spirit and predominantly through the way the Spirit enlightens our heart with the Word of God. You can name the subject and the Bible more than likely addresses. It will not give you specifics, but it will give you guiding principles. For example, the Bible will not tell you the name of the person you are to marry, but it will give you the character traits found in a good spouse. The Bible will not tell you the stock to pick for your next investment, but it will give you guiding principles as to how to handle your money. The Bible will not tell you your kids will turn out fine, but it will give you guiding principles on how to raise them up in the best way possible. The problem for many “Believers” is they do not actually read the Bible and they are confused in this world. They do not know what their next life step ought to be because God has not illumined their path with His Word. As a result, they look for signs and circumstances to confirm what they believe is the right step instead of letting God’s Word be the standard. Beloved, let me encourage you to read the Bible and let God illumine your path with His grace and wisdom.

Questions:

1. Are you facing some decision in which you are uncertain as to what you ought to do?

2. Have you sought God’s guidance through His Word to make your decision?

Prayer: Father, thank You for giving me Your Word, the Bible. I cherish my time in reading Your love letter to me. I relish the wisdom You provide me in It’s pages. My life is much clearer now to because of Your involvement through Your Word. Amen.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

The Scriptures are Most Reliable

Photo by Fernando Rodríguez

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:19a

So we have the prophetic word made more sure

Insights: To understand this first portion of verse nineteen we need to back up to the few verses before this one. Peter has just told them he was a reliable witness to the person of Jesus Christ. His testimony dealt with the transfiguration he saw of Jesus on the mountain years earlier. When we get to verse nineteen Peter is telling his reading audience that if his testimony is not good enough, then this reading audience ought to at least trust the words of the prophets. The greek phrase translated in the New American Standard Bible as “made more sure” would be better translated as “most reliable.” Part of the reason “most reliable” is a better descriptor of the verse is because Peter is not saying the prophetic word is more important or carries a heavier weight of testimony than his very own eye witness account. In stead, what Peter is saying is his testimony, which later became part of the Bible, is of the same weight as the Old Testament Scriptures. Both of these witnesses point to the truthfulness of Jesus and His claim to be the Savior of the world. There is another aspect of the Bible being made most reliable and that is the usefulness of it. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we are told, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness,so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Notice the Bible is profitable. It teaches us the way to live. You have a question about being a good employee, go to the Word and let It speak truth into your life. You have a question about being a good parent, go to the Word and let It speak truth into your life. The Scriptures also rebuke us of our sin and tell us the correct way to rectify this sinful behavior. After we have repented and corrected the situation, we are then instructed in the way to pursue righteousness. Once we are living life this way, we are complete and equipped for every good work God has for us. God’s Word is most reliable to do all of these things and to point us into a proper relationship with Jesus.

Questions:

1. With what kind of confidence do you place your faith in the Bible?

2. Have you worked out by faith the reliability and trustworthiness of the Scriptures?

Prayer: Father, thank You for giving me Your Word. Your Word gives me the words of life and point me to Your Son, Jesus. I am able to have a life of meaning and significance because of Your Word. Amen.

If you have found this blog to be helpful, please forward it in Facebook or retweet it in Twitter. I would also appreciate if you would tell your friends to read this blog. As always, if you have a comment you would like to make regarding this Thoughts by Scott, please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section. Thank you.

Friday, February 3, 2017

God’s Salvation seals Us in the Holy Spirit

Photo by unknown photographer

Scripture: Ephesians 1:13-14

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

Insights: Today concludes this weeks study on I BELIEVE in Salvation. The final truth we glean from this passage from Ephesians chapter one is the eternal security of the believer. In theological terms we call this the Perseverance of the Saints. When we have received Jesus as Lord and Savior God gave us a down payment. He gave earnest credit to the transaction. He made a good faith pledge. Now I have used these three economic terms and in today’s world the most familiar illustration is that of purchasing a home. We often do these things to in order to get a home mortgage. With God, however, His pledge is perfect and it is secure. We can over extend ourselves and later file bankruptcy and have our debt expunged. This option is not on the table with the Father. When He gave His deposit of the Holy Spirit it was the equivalent of payment in full. He does not just use this economic term to express the doctrinal truth of once saved always saved either. He also uses the language of lords and emperors. He declares we are sealed in Jesus with the Holy Spirit. A seal was when a king would drop melted wax on a scroll and then would take his signet ring, which carried the weight of his authority, and he would stamp his emblem into the wax. This emblem or seal carried the weight of the king and the only person who could open the document was the intended recipient. If someone else tried to open it, they would be put to death. God the Father is the only One who can open us up. His Son sealed us in His Spirit and we now have eternal life and we cannot lose it. This gives believers an assurance and a confidence to face all the challenges and difficulties of this world. Beloved, let us rejoice in the Lord God our Savior for securing us for all eternity.

Questions:

1. Have you entered into a relationship with Jesus and subsequently been sealed by His Holy Spirit?

2. Does the fact you are sealed give you more courage as you walk in this world?

Prayer: Father, thank You for sealing me with the Holy Spirit. I can face any circumstance in this world with full confidence because I know You are with me. You never leave me and Your Spirit gives me assurance of my security in You. Amen.

Thursday, February 2, 2017

God's Salvation provides Us an Inheritance

Photo by Kate Russell

Scripture: Ephesians 1:11-12

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.

Insights: I love the comfort it brings to me to know I have an inheritance because of my adoption. There is a lot verse eleven and twelve communicate to us, but the central part with which I focused in my sermon was the inheritance. We are heirs to God and co-heirs with Christ Jesus. This fact gives us hope for our future. We do not belong here. It is no wonder we feel stretched and out of sorts in this world. It is not our home. Our citizenship and our inheritance to that citizenship is in eternity with the Lord God. Beloved, this hope provides us with a great deal of peace and comfort in the midst of difficult times. It also gives us continued joy in our security during the times of great pleasure in this world. No matter how good or bad life situations become, we know that we know, we will be with Jesus because of our inheritance.

Questions:

1. Do you long for your eternal inheritance with Christ Jesus in glory?

2. Do you ever ponder the pure security of being in Christ and resting in His ability to take you to your eternal home?

Prayer: Father, thank You for providing me with an inheritance which brings me into Your majestic presence. I long for that day, but until then, help me to rest assured in the eternal grace You have given me. Amen.

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

God's Salvation gives Us Wisdom

Photo by Gerald Matthews

Scripture: Ephesians 1:9-10

He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.

Insights: I titled this blog post, “God’s Salvation gives Us Wisdom.” Now, no where in these two verses do we find the word wisdom. Yet, what we do find is this concept of mystery being revealed. God is the One who makes known to us His will and His will is a mystery to us. Paul goes into a great deal more discussing the fulness of time and why Jesus came at the appointed time in which He did. These facts are interested and even worth delving into, but that was not my focus when I preached this passage. I was finding out what kinds of things we received as a result of our new birth in Jesus and in these verses I do not think it is too large a jump to deduce that in order for us to know God’s mystery, wisdom must first have been given to us. This sentence really is the concluding point regarding this thought. God gives us wisdom when we receive His salvation in order for us to understand what actually has happened to us. Beloved, let me encourage you to open up God’s Word, the Bible, and study it. You will glean a lot more wisdom than just about your new birth from those pages. Your life will be richly enhanced as a result of seeking the Lord and His wisdom on a daily basis, and just like with the mystery, God will give you more wisdom.

Questions:

1. Are you wise?

2. Do you study the Scriptures daily to become wise?

Prayer: Father, thank You for Your Word and for giving us grace to understand You and how to live in this world. Amen.

God's Salvation joins Us with a New Family and forgives Our Sins

Photo by Rumolay

This blog ought to have been January 31, 2017

Scripture: Ephesians 1:5-8

He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight

Insights: Today we look at two more aspects regarding our salvation which Jesus purchased for us. Firstly, we notice we join a new family. Look at verses five and six. We learn we are adopted into the family of God. This adoption language is absolutely powerful. One of the reasons is because of the time period in which this passage was written. Paul’s audience would have understood adoption from a Roman perspective. It was legally possible for a biological child to be disinherited from a family, but it was legally impossible to disinherit an adopted child. In other words, once we were adopted by God into His family, we became eternally connected to His family. Secondly, we notice our sins are forgiven. Look at verses seven and eight. Jesus’ blood gives us redemption and forgiveness of our trespasses (sins). I want you to notice the manner in which the Lord Jesus gives us this redemption and forgiveness. He lavishes it on us. He is not sparingly covering each spot and blemish. He is literally taking the whole bottle and dumping it on us. Every nook and cranny of our being is covered by His grace and mercy. Beloved, you need to understand that because every part of us is covered, we do not have to fear our future. Just as with the picture of adoption, so is the picture of covering. There is not a part of us that is not made new. We, who have been adopted, redeemed and forgiven have eternal life. We can never lose it or leave it. If we are truly born again, we are His and He is ours. We are one and perfectly united. Let us live life from this vantage point of life transformation.

Questions:

1. Do you enjoy your new family?

2. Have you recently expressed gratitude for God’s forgiveness of your sins?

Prayer: Father, thank You for forgiving me of my sins and for adopting me into Your family. It is a pleasure being Your child. Amen.

God's Salvation brings Us Blessings and makes Us Holy and Blameless

Photo by Iqbal Osman

This blog ought to have been January 30, 2017

Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.

Insights: As we continue our study through the Believe material we come to the aspect of our belief system that centers on our life in the Lord. In other words, what makes it possible for us to have life in Christ is the salvation we have because of His work. When we are saved we learn we have received every spiritual blessing from the Lord. We receive His peace. We receive His joy. We receive His love. We receive every spiritual blessing. All too often I believe we forget all we receive from Jesus. He enables and equips us to live in this world completely and purposefully for Him with these blessings He provides. There is a second aspect in today’s verses we see regarding our salvation. God’s salvation also makes us holy and blameless. Notice the key preposition used in this fourth verse. The preposition is the word in. In Him (Jesus) we become holy and blameless. He imputes His holiness and blamelessness into our lives. We are not holy and blameless based on our good deeds and abilities, but rather because of the transformational life change found in Jesus. Ted Dekker in his book The Forgotten Way illustrates this life change through the example of Superman and Clark Kent. When we become born again, we are Superman. Unfortunately, we put on the business suit of Clark Kent and forget we can actually fly. Jesus has made us holy and blameless and we can fly in Him. Until someone taps us on the shoulder and says, “Um, you know you are Superman, don’t you,” we become trapped in our old self of Clark Kent. Once we are tapped, however, we must then make a mental jump to agree with that statement or not. If we do, then we run into the phone booth and change into our real outfit and we fly. Beloved, in Christ, you are holy and blameless. Live life from this victorious perspective.

Questions:

1. What are some of the blessings you can identify as having received Jesus gift of salvation?

2. Do you actually think of yourselves as being holy and blameless before God?

Prayer: Father, thank You for saving me and imputing into my life holiness and blamelessness. I am grateful to be Your child and to experience Your love found in my salvation. Amen.