BIBLE VERSE ARCHIVE

Don't be afraid. And now here's what I want you to do: Tell the truth, the whole truth, when you speak. Do the right thing by one another, both personally and in your courts. Don't cook up plans to take unfair advantage of others. Don't do or say what isn't so. I hate all that stuff. Keep your lives simple and honest." Decree of God.

Zech. 8:16-17 [Msg]

Simple and honest. How unnecessarily complicated is your life? Do you tell the whole truth, no matter what the cost? Is this what you teach your children and demonstrate as an example? Do you ever tell anyone on the phone, "Tell them I'm not here right now"?

I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

Ezekiel 11:19-20 [Msg]
 

This promise of God foretells the Christian era when He would offer the Holy Spirit to all who would accept Jesus and replace ceremonial law with a personal relationship with God. "Rules" would not come from men or ceremonial law, but from the Word of God and heartfelt obedience as a friend of God.

"When you come looking for me, you'll find me. "Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed." God's Decree. "I'll turn things around for you." Jeremiah 29:13-14a [Msg]

Men sometimes say they don't see God and therefore, they don't believe. But God promises that we will find Him if we diligently seek Him - through confession, repentance (changing our minds and turning our backs about our bad habits), study of God's Word (not just a cursory reading) and fervent prayer, along with accountability to other men.

Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ. Acts 18:24-28

Isn’t this guy interesting?? He’s called “eloquent," “mighty in the Scriptures," “instructed in the way of the Lord," “fervent in spirit," “taught accurately," spoke “boldly," “greatly helped those who had believed through grace," “vigorously refuted the Jews publicly.”
Though our bodies, like the flowers, soon wither away and return to dust, this passage shows how the life of one man can make a difference for all of eternity, much like a stone in a body of water causes ripples to go far. In 1872, Henry Varley said this, almost casually: "The world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to Him." One who heard those words later wrote this about it: "A man! Varley meant any man. Varley didn't say he had to be educated or brilliant, or anything else. Just a man. Well, by the Holy Spirit in me, I'll be that man." That man turned out to be D.L. Moody, one of the great revival preachers, the Billy Graham of a previous generation. How will you use the spiritual gifts God has given you?

Read the patriotic thoughts of David and think about your own patriotic feelings and actions: Click here

David loved his homeland as an example for us. If you've ever visited a foreign land, you can understand the appreciation and longing for your homeland.

This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?" God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what's coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we're certainly going to go through the good times with him!   (Romans 8:15-17 [MSG])

Talk to God just like He is your daddy. He is! And if your earthly daddy was less than perfect, rest assured that God is the daddy you always wanted!

God holds the high center, he sees and sets the world's mess right.
He decides what is right for us earthlings, gives people their just desserts.   (Psalm 9:7-8 [MSG])

It's this, plain and simple: When we see the world out of balance and goofy, just hide and watch! Trust God that He will ultimately have the upper hand.

I've told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I've conquered the world.   (John 16:33 [MSG])

What assurance! No matter what happens to us, nothing can truly hurt us because we're in God's care. No matter what we're facing, let's just turn it over to the Lord! My son had a poster in his room: "Work like everything depends on me; pray like everything depends on God!"
--Dave Harris

I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. (Jude 1:3a-4 [NIV])

Some evangelical Christians I know debate whether to share their faith by scaring people (pointing out sin and the consequences of God's judgment) or emphasizing the love of God and that Jesus loves them and wants a relationship with them. If we lean one way or the other, it is possible to get out of balance. Cults get off balance by finding an obscure verse in the Bible and building a doctrine on it. We need to know what the entire bible says in context and "contend for the faith" in a loving way - the faith set down by God's Word centuries ago and not some new-fangled doctrine that tickles our ears. Our God is a God of love and justice. Remember that balance. If someone hobby-horses too far in one direction and ignores the rest, or defines sin as men's rules instead of God's Word, we need to do a course correction and get back to the truthful balance.

Servants, respectfully obey your earthly masters but always with an eye to obeying the real master, Christ. Don't just do what you have to do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ's servants doing what God wants you to do. And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you're really serving God. Good work will get you good pay from the Master, regardless of whether you are slave or free.

    Masters, it's the same with you. No abuse, please, and no threats. You and your servants are both under the same Master in heaven. He makes no distinction between you and them.

   (Ephesians 6:5-9 [Msg])
 

Let's ask God to keep these verses firmly etched in our hearts and minds (or pasted into our planner or discreetly displayed in our workplace), whether we're working for someone or supervising others. We need to look beyond the person with whom we work and do everything as serving the Lord. Workers can pray for their bosses and ask God to help them be an exemplary employee. Bosses can be a a servant-leader. And remember, the company isn't paying for you to "preach" on company time. Ask the Lord for off-duty opportunities to share your faith with others.

There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life--fear of death, fear of judgment--is one not yet fully formed in love.  

(1 John 4:18 [Msg])

Men, we've all experienced fear in our lives. Some fear, such as fear of being burned on a hot stove, is good. But how often has our potential been paralyzed by fear - fear of disapproval, fear of not having enough money to make ends meet, fear of losing our wife or family...the list goes on and on. The solution is to access the power of God's love. As we learn and practice more and more of God's love (through reading God's Word, talking with Him and meditating on what He has to say to us, and then putting what we learn into practice) the less fear we experience. As our opening quote says, "Love is serving others to bring about God's will in their lives." What would your life be like if right now you decided to go "whole hog" in accepting the security of God's love and "jump into the deep end," serving Him 100 percent instead of just enough to get by? I remember a true story about a man who experienced heart flutters. He was gripped with fear that such flutters would kill him. His Christian doctor found nothing out of the ordinary and suggested this to the man: "Next time you feel that flutter and fear, verbalize this: 'OK! Bring it on! If this is what's going to end my life, let's get on with it! I'm ready, Lord! Flutter way, heart. Let this be the big one, if that's what God has in mind!'" Wow! He tried it! Abandoning his fear, he let it fly! And guess what. After he verbalized that during his next flutter...the flutter never came back! No fear!!!! Let's abandon our fears and wholly place our dependence on Elder Brother Jesus - hey, that's not such a bad idea. He's promised us that if we do, we have only this to look forward to: life to the full, life more abundant! It's an offer too good to refuse!

My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God's Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion.  (1 John 5:13 [Msg])

If you talk to other faiths--some even who profess to believe in Christ--some may tell you that "we just have to do the best we can and hope that me make it to heaven." Balderdash! According to this week's verse, we can know that we know that we know absolutely - beyond a shadow of a doubt - that we are saved and have started already to experience eternal life! That, my brother, is the ultimate in assurance!

And it's trouble ahead if you're satisfied with yourself. Your self will not satisfy you for long. And it's trouble ahead if you think life's all fun and games. There's suffering to be met, and you're going to meet it. (Luke 6:25 [Msg])

After followers of Christ have been sawn in two and tortured, we don't have any assurance that our lives will be noted for comfort. Just when we think we've shaped our lives to fully enjoy our families, friends and leisure, God may see the need to allow discipline or pruning in our lives. Yet, Jesus offers the abundant life. So, by engrafting ourselves in Christ by praying constantly and worshiping Him any time of the day or night, we can endure suffering by the grace and joy that our Lord provides in the midst of it. Hope is always within reach!

Don't go along with the crowd in doing evil and don't fudge your testimony in a case just to please the crowd.  
(Exodus 23:2 [Msg])

We've talked before about how going along with the crowd is wrong more often than not. Remember how the crowd flip-flopped when Paul found himself attached to a deadly snake, and then flipped it off into the fire? Think about it. Don't you shudder when the media survey Americans to ask their opinion about moral issues? Morality isn't determined by a vote. Speaking of morality, we often think of sexual sin as moral failure. But it can be something as simple as "fudging" our testimony to go along with the crowd. God is looking for a few good men to stand up for the right.  In the 19th century, a young Christian heard a Bible teacher say, "The world has yet to see what God can do with a man who is totally surrendered to Him." The young Christian said to himself, "I want to be that man." That young man was Dwight L. Moody, who became one of the greatest evangelists of all time. Here's one of the great questions of your life: What about you? Will you be that man?

It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. 
(Galatians 5:13 [Msg])

Jesus Christ offers true freedom - freedom from addictions and lusts that trap and enslave us. But we are not to use our freedom in Christ to indulge our wants. We are to use this freedom to serve others.

"The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, "Move!' and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn't be able to tackle." (Matthew 17:20 [Msg])

Should we do our duty and show our faith by relocating Mount Rainier beside the Twin Brothers? We'd best not test God by exercising our faith as a magician might do to wow an audience. Rather, Jesus may be saying to us here to think big. Instead of putting out a fire here and there, shouldn't we ask Him how He would solve the problem?  If a brother is struggling, shall I think of the minimum way to get him through the day and out of my life...or try to catch God's enlarged solution and put my brother on a path that will impact the rest of his life? Think big. Think God.

I reached out day after day to a people who turned their backs on me, people who make wrong turns, who insist on doing things their own way. They get on my nerves, are rude to my face day after day, make up their own kitchen religion,  a potluck religious stew.
(Isaiah 65:2-3 [Msg])

How do we treat God? Do we tell jokes at His expense? Another dangerous way we talk about Him is how a friend described an acquaintance, who said, "I can't believe in a God who would allow someone to go to hell, or who would even create a hell...I believe God is a loving God, and doesn't judge people...I believe God wants us to live like a king and we lack faith if we are poor or sick...I don't think God says living with someone of the opposite sex is wrong..." This kind of person (and each of us may be guilty to some extent) picks and chooses which parts of God's Word he wants to believe, discarding the other parts of scripture. This is so very dangerous, because when we do this, we make ourselves a god who makes up his own creation, his own rules, and relies on his own wisdom, which he deems superior than God's.

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. (Romans 2:1)

Modern psychologists have discovered what the Bible taught all along - that when we are irritated at the behavior of others, sure as shootin', it's an indicator of our OWN weakness. Example: the group's witty comedian with a thousand one-liners get annoyed at the guy who keeps telling jokes. "Hey - there's room for only ONE comedian in this outfit." Think about it. What irritates you? Is it for a characteristic that could describe YOU?

Oh, don't worry; I wouldn't dare say that I am as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, and measuring themselves by themselves. What foolishness!  (2 Corinthians 10:12)

We are not to be in the business of comparing ourselves with others. God made you a unique individual, specially equipped and gifted to carry out His plan. No one else can fill the bill as He has enabled you. If you ignore God's grace and creative initiative, you start making comparisons, and you can always find someone who appears to be better off or worse off than you. This is wrong. Instead, thank God for His grace in rescuing you from what you deserve. For more on this, click here.

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.  (John 14:12)

Can you do greater works than walking on water or changing water to wine? For a discussion on what "greater works" means, click here.

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. (Matthew 11:12)

The Application Bible says this: "There are three common views about the meaning of this verse. (1) Jesus may have been referring to a vast movement toward God, the momentum that began with John's preaching. (2) He may have been reflecting the Jewish activists' expectation that God's kingdom would come through a violent overthrow of Rome. (3) Or he may have meant that entering God's kingdom takes courage, unwavering faith, determination and endurance because of the growing opposition leveled at Jesus' followers."

A fourth view is presented by a Messianic Jew, who writes what he thinks Jesus ("Yeshua") meant. Click here.

How does one understand the true meaning when godly men may disagree? This is an opportunity to tap in directly to what the Holy Spirit may be saying to you personally about the passage. Study various translations, meditate on the passage, and then ask the Lord to apply it to your life. Don't do all the talking. Pause to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you and show you how to use God's Word uniquely to guide or alter your ways, perhaps not in ways that would apply to anyone else.

Another thought is that the Word is so dynamic and living that two or more or all of the interpretations can apply to my life. For instance, I can marvel at how Christianity has grown from such a simple beginning and thank the Lord that He made me part of this forceful movement of God! I can also reflect on how godless forces are forcefully trying to destroy Christianity and its message. Furthermore, I can see that Christianity is not for sissies, and I need to blend boldness and compassion in my daily walk. Finally, I can thank Jesus that He forcefully tore a hole in the wall that separates God and man so that I may climb through and enjoy His fellowship now and forever!!!

Now, study for yourself and ask your Lord to demonstrate how to apply this passage to you and you alone!
--Dave Harris, Webmaster