IBS 1 Corinthians 13:3b-4 (6-25-14)

Inductive Bible Study for 1 Corinthians 13:3b-4

"But have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, and is not puffed up,"

This is the chapter on love and I always think of the song called Love Never Fails by Brandon Heath when I read it. My favorite part about this song is the line that says "Love is alive - Love is the Way, the Truth, the Life". Jesus is Love, Love is Jesus. The only One's Name Who has/will ever be put in place of love is God. For example - change "love endures all things. Love never fails." to "Jesus endures all things. Jesus never fails." None of us can ever fulfill those requirements, nor (by God's grace) do we have to. However, as a result of God's love towards us, we should want to ask the Spirit for these attributes.

All these adjectives of love are fruits of the Spirit and virtues. Galatians 5:22-23 lists the fruit of the Spirit - notice how there are 9 words but the word fruit is singular. It appears to me that all the other words are a byproduct of love. Joy, peace, long suffering (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control come as a result of loving God and others. You can't be joyful or have peace without loving first. You can't be kind or patient if you don't have love. Back in 1 Corinthians at the beginning of the chapter, there are several things that Paul says are worthless without love - speaking in tongues, gift of prophesy, all knowledge, having all faith to move mountains, giving everything to the poor and having his body burned.

Life is empty and worthless without love. Paul says anything he says without love just sounds like a clanging cymbal. You can be right about something but be wrong because you said it without love. You can be the nicest person ever, but it doesn't matter if you didn't do it with love. Everyone has a hole inside them that can't be filled with anyone or anything except God. Human beings were made to worship God and are missing the point of life if they're living for themselves. Love is what we are filled with by God and love is what we pour out on others when we are overflowing with God's Spirit. There's a constant cycle and struggle inside of me to empty me of myself and let the Spirit fill me with Him - He is where I find my love, peace and strength.

Love suffers long. I hate suffering. Suffering is not fun or easy - it's scary, depressing and difficult. Yet Jesus suffered through torture and a slow, agonizing death on the Cross for me. If I truly love someone, I will suffer for them. Love is kind. Being kind is a little easier than suffering, but in so far as I can be kind on the outside but not on the inside. Being kind is being considerate. I need to make sure my heart is right when I'm being kind. Love does not envy. Envy is coveting - this is also a matter of the heart. Am I content with what God has given me and where He has placed me? Do I wish I had what others have or am I happy for them and love them.

Love does not parade itself. I think parading is when we try to make others envy US. Do I show off what I have because I want people to want what I have or am I content with simply having what God has given me? Parading is not loving others - it is causing them to stumble. Love is not puffed up. Arrogance is not loving others - it's being important in your own eyes. It's thinking you're better than everyone else, but we are all created equal in God's eyes. As said before, love is the most important thing to have. I want to be loving in everything I do, so I'm going to write the word LOVE on my wrist as a reminder.

IBS John 15:5 (6-9-14)

Inductive Bible Study for John 15:5 (6-9-14)

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."

Earlier in this chapter, Jesus says that He is the TRUE vine. This shows that there are other "vines" that people seek fulfillment from. Jesus says that He is "the Way, the Truth and the Life". He not only knows exactly what we need, He IS exactly what we need. Also, He is not one of many things we need, He is the ONLY One we need. It's terrifying yet comforting at the same time to think that all I could ever long for is found in my Savior. But how often I try to replace Him with other people, things or desires. There can also be false "vines", or false teachers that people follow after. This is why God tells us to be wary and to test everything against what Scripture says. 

Something interesting I found is that Jesus did not say He was A vine, He said He was THE vine. He is not a way, a truth or a life - He is THE Way, THE Truth and THE Life. Jesus claims to be the only Way to the Father, and the Father agreed with this statement by blessing the works Jesus performed. There are usually two extreme views of the God of the Bible - that He is either the God of love or the God of judgement. You cannot be a good judge without loving justice and you cannot truly love without being fair and equal. God gives every person a choice - to let Him be The Lord of their lives or to continue to be their own lord of their lives. He's a Gentleman and He will not go where He is not welcomed. 

In relation to Jesus being the vine, He says that we are the branches. Branches on a tree die when they're cut off from their life source. We would have no life at all if it weren't for us being connected to Christ. We are all branches connected to Christ - we are all one in Him. We are individuals but united by our faith. I love how we are all so different - backgrounds, places we live and ways we relate - yet we function as one Body under Christ, Who is the Head. We are all important and have different roles - the eye cannot say to the hand "I don't need you". We are to assemble together like a toy you put together, not just gather together like throwing the parts of a toy in a pile. 

Abide. What does this mean? Abiding in God and God abiding in us. To abide is to exist with. Everyone's existence is only possible because of God, but that doesn't mean everyone abides in Him. Abiding in Jesus is a personal choice that each person gets to make. There's a world of difference between believing that Jesus is God and abiding in Him. Even the demons believe and tremble. God desires or us to accept what He says about us, die to ourselves and live - not only for, but also IN Him. He says that if we abide in Him we will bear much fruit. It's awesome to know that I'm not required to MAKE the fruit - that is God's job - I'm just asked to bear it. He prepared good works that we should walk in them. 

To finish this verse, Jesus says that without Him, we can do nothing. People don't sit around and do nothing all the time, so what is He talking about? I look at humanity as a mirror - broken into billions of pieces by sin. Everyone reflects God - some a little and some a lot. People can do good things but we're still broken without God. When we see that there's no hope for us to escape our sin and we ask Jesus to save us, we become whole again and can then truly do good things for God and others. So without Jesus, we can do nothing of eternal value. We can do selfish things to benefit us or even other people, but eventually it will fade away. Jesus says that the good works we do for Him will be as treasure stored up on heaven. 

Every day I have been reading in the Word and I've been discovering the magnitude of my need for God. Whenever I try to get through the day in my own strength, I end up depressed, angry, sad and/or empty. I will have a lot of weight on my shoulders if I don't give my burdens to Jesus. I get worried and anxious about my family, the future and everything else. God has been constantly reminding me that I am right where I need to be, that He is faithful and that He will take care of me. He is my comfort when I am terrified, He is my love when I have hate raging inside of me and He is my peace when I am confused and hurting. I am going to write "without Me, you can do nothing" on my hand to remind me throughout the day how much I need my Savior.

IBS Romans 8:1-2 (6-3-14)

Inductive Bible Study for Romans 8:1-2 (6-3-14)

"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death."

Everyone is a sinner and is thereby condemned to die in their sins. God does not send anyone to hell - He gives us the choice to ask His forgiveness and be cleansed by the blood Jesus shed for us on the cross. So after someone repents and asks Jesus to be their Savior, this verse says the condemnation is gone. All the sins they've ever done and ever will do are paid for by Jesus. What does it mean to be IN Christ Jesus? Walking in the Spirit is contrasted with walking in the flesh. When we die to ourself, take up our cross and follow Christ, we are putting the "old man" to death. We say that it is no longer we who live, but it is now Christ who lives in us.

By asking God to be The Lord of your life, you are calling Him your Master. Galatians talks about the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Love is the first fruit and all the rest are a result of loving. For example, if you love someone, you're going to be kind, joyful and gentle. Walking in the flesh does not give us any fruit of the Spirit - we are not loving, joyful or full of peace because we are thinking only of ourselves and how we can benefit from life. There is not condemnation for even those who walk according to the flesh - however, you can't be in fellowship with the Holy Spirit when you're shoving Him out of your life.

What do you do when you feel condemned for sins after you're saved from them? If you're living in habitual sin, then you SHOULD be feeling convicted! After you've repented and been forgiven by God and those you've sinned against, it's over and done with. Our sin is as far as the east is from the west. Jesus already went through all the punishment we deserve and we are justified by His blood - just as if we'd never sinned. Should we then sin just because we know we'll be forgiven of it? Paul asks this question, and of course the answer is no! We should never sin just because grace will abound much more. God hates sin. He hates what separates us from Him. He wants us to follow Him and live a life pleasing to Him. When we fall, we need to repent, get back up and follow hard after Jesus again.

What is the difference between the law of the Spirit and the law of sin and death? The law of the Spirit is being saved by grace because of justification, whereas the law of the flesh is working to be good and never meeting those standards. The purpose of the law is to show human beings how much they fall short of the perfection of God. We would see no beauty in the cross if we didn't know our need for Christ's forgiveness. To those who feel they are righteous, they see no need for forgiveness from God. The cross is offensive because they don't believe they've done anything wrong. To those who feel they are too wicked to be forgiven, they are belittling the power of God's sacrifice to save them.

God knew before He laid the foundations of the earth that we all would be sinners and separated from Him. It is never a surprise to Him when we sin. He sent His Son so that we could have a relationship with Him. He knows that we are weak - He knows we can't do things on our own. His desire is that all should come to be saved, that He would have a personal relationship with all the people He created. I have surrendered my life to Jesus and am in the process of being sanctified - little by little He is revealing myself to me and I am allowing Him to conform me more to Him. I desire to please Him and learn from Him more each day. I read in the Bible every day, but I am going to write a few words summing up what I learned on my wrist so I can meditate on it throughout the day.

Book Report - We Would See Jesus by Roy and Revel Hession (6-2-14)

We Would See Jesus by Roy and Revel Hession (6-2-14)

God used this book to further open my eyes to see how deep His love is and how simple walking with Him can be. I used to think there was some sort of formula for how to have the best relationship with Christ. More and more though, I'm seeing that it's so easy in concept yet difficult to live out. The whole point of asking Jesus to be your Lord and Savior is to have HIM be in control of your life - not YOU. He works on all of is differently, and for the longest time, I refused to let Him work on me. I felt that my sin was more pleasurable than letting Him be my everything.

Pg 35 in this book says "The acknowledgement of need and the confession of sin, therefore, is always the first step in seeing Jesus. Then, where there is acknowledged need, the Holy Spirit delights to show to the heart The Lord Jesus as the supply of just that need." He desires to supply all our needs, and our first and greatest need is to be forgiven of our sins. Before we see this need though, we see no reason to ask Jesus for help. Everyone has a void in them that they're trying to fill - Jesus is the only One Who can fill it. Why does it seem I continually try to fill that void with everything except Him?

Pg 69 says "Even when a Christian identifies the sins that have separated him from God, he often occupies himself with the problem of how not to sin again rather than with getting back to God and to peace." This perfectly summarizes the believer's problem of trying to work for forgiveness and grace. Once we repent of sin, we should get up and humbly continue to follow the path Christ has set before us. The problem arises when we strive in our own strength to stay away from sin - we will inevitably be tempted again and fail if we're not relying on Christ. That famous verse says we can do all things - but ONLY through Christ Who strengthens us. 

I really love that all we need is Jesus. So often though, we try to add more to Him. It is supposed to be Jesus + nothing. Pg 106 says "We do not need a way to the Way. It is that little way to the Way that defeats us, and makes the real way of none effect to us because we cannot get there." We complicate things so much! All we need to do is to be submitting to God and to His view of us. When sin comes up, we repent and continue on walking with The Lord. I used to think I needed to clean myself up before I could come to Jesus, but I see now that He wants me to come to Him just as I am. I am dirty and Jesus can make me clean, but He can't clean me until I open up to Him and admit my need for Him. 

Pg 81 says "We come down from our unrepentant strivings to those dear pierced feet of His, and in a matter of moments we have entered by faith into a peace and rest of heart that has eluded us for so long. Truly, to see Jesus is to lose our burdens and to enter into satisfaction." There is nothing we can do to earn grace and we are not required to create good works. Ephesians 2:8-10 says that our works have nothing to do with our salvation and we just need to walk in the works He already prepared. This takes the burden off of us to boast in ourselves and eliminates striving. 

Pg 138 says "There never comes a time when grace ends and self has to begin again." We never have to do this on our own. Ever. I find so much comfort in this. My flesh wants to work at things myself and be able to accomplish everything. I am learning that nothing good can come from me, so why do I try to do it myself? God has His ear inclined to my mouth - waiting for me to cry out to Him for help. God's grace will never run out so my flesh never has to kick in. No matter what's going on and no matter how much I want my plans to work out - God always has a better way. He is the only One I want, and the only One I need. Everything and everyone else will fall into place when I put Jesus first. What do I want to see in my life? I want to see Jesus.