Daily Bible Study for Thursday June
30, 2016
By: Hanny Lynn Stearns
Fish N Loaves Ministries, Inc.
“Multiplying God’s Word Around The
Globe”
Chapter Reading
for Today: Please read in
your Bible before proceeding. Note that most translations are considered
paraphrases. The Young’s Literal Translation provides a more accurate
translation since he is the one who authored a concordance. Others are helpful
for seeing a different perspective, but we cannot always depend on their
wording. I hope this is helpful to you. If you are studying in another version,
that is fine. I am studying from the KJV, but for the purpose of this study, I
will keep it with the New King James Version.
One final note: I will put the scripture in italics to differentiate from my
own writing. I am adding red to the letters when
it is Jesus talking – just like the Bible. Thank you.
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Zechariah 14:9
And the Lord shall
be King over all the earth.
In that day it shall be—
“The Lord is one,”
And His name one.
In that day it shall be—
“The Lord is one,”
And His name one.
Psalm 100:4
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
and into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless
His name.
Song: I Will Bless The Lord By: Eddie
James
We Are His Inheritance
Today we are reading about the vanity of the heathen – lost people
- even leaders who are making useless schemes against the Lord and His Son
Jesus. Anyone who thinks they can get away with such nonsense is only fooling
themselves. Today let’s see what God’s wants to show us in this second Psalm.
Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father;
Thank You for being the Lord of all creation. Thank You for being
the good God You are. You know all things – yes, even the minds of those who do
not honor You. And the plans of the foolish who speak and plot against You
shall surely come to nothing. Father, I ask You to think through my mind today.
Use my heart and my hands to bring out the truth in Your word that Your
children need to see for today in this particular lesson. Be our guide through
Your Holy Spirit to teach us new and unsearchable things we do not know. I ask
You Lord to open the hearts of every reader Sir, including myself, to receive
fully what You have for each one of us. Lord I ask that this will go out to
more and more people and spread Your truth further into the nations of the
earth for Your glory and their greater good. May Your purpose go forth now
unhindered and unchecked by any outside force or my flesh. We thank You Father
that You always watch over Your word to perform it in Jesus mighty name. Amen!
There’s a lot of people and rulers of nations in the world
today who do not know the Lord, right? We can see it everywhere. Violence, oppression,
and every form of evil is happening from the highest office in the lands to the
lowliest poor beggar on the street. Leaders are looking for ways, it seems, to
get God out of the government. They have removed the Bible from schools and
allowed the murder of unborn children. They have ceased to take their decisions
for this nation to the Lord in prayer like our forefathers once did. Now they
have allowed same sex marriage to infiltrate our society – though it is an
abomination to the Lord, our leaders are saying “It’s perfectly fine – do what
you want.” It’s not OK saints! We live in an evil day. But then it has been
this way all along. Going all the way back to the very beginning after Adam
fell, we have had a host of wickedness in heavenly places swarming in to try
and steal people away from God.
Oh, but looks down on the sons of men from His throne and He
sees it all. There is nothing that escapes His sight or understanding. Here is
what the Bible says about the evil people…
Romans 3:10-12
As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is
none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned
aside; they have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no,
not one.”
This has been going on since Adam and it will
not stop until Jesus returns and brings His judgment with Him. His winnowing
fork is in His hands. In our chapter today we see that the Father God is
showing us that He has indeed set His King, Jesus, in the holy place – Zion;
the homeland of God’s people where His glory dwells. In this chapter the Bible
is making it quite clear to everyone that He (the Father God) has begotten (procreated,
or generated) His Son Jesus. Anyone who wants to deny that Jesus is Lord is
making God out to be a liar. The Bible makes it clear in many places that Jesus
is the Messiah – the Lord of all creation. He is the only begotten Son of the
Father God in heaven and He was created to bring salvation to the heathen.
Before anyone could call on Jesus, they were considered the heathen. In other
words, a lost person headed for an eternal damnation in hell.
But God placed His Son on the earth and then He
gave Jesus a promise. He said to His precious Son that He would give the
heathen – the lost, to Jesus as an inheritance. Hallelujah! You might say, “Well
that doesn’t sound like much of an inheritance Hanny. Who would want to inherit
a bunch of lost people who hate you?” The answer to that is that though God is
giving them to Jesus as heathen, Jesus will inherit them as blessed and saved people
of God. It’s all in the acceptance of His free gift that He offers. In essence,
Jesus is saying, “Come into My family and get out of the devil’s family. I will
make you a blessing.” Look at this…
Genesis 12:1-3
Now the Lord had
said to Abram:
“Get
out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land
that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Let’s tear this apart a bit. Instead of God the
Father talking to Abraham here, picture this as a foreshadow of what He would
say to Jesus before He left heaven to come to the earth. I never saw this
before now – glory to God. Most of the things we see in the Old Testament are a
type and foreshadowing of the things that would come in the New Testament. So
look at this. When Jesus, who always existed with the Father, was in heaven, we
can hear God saying to Jesus in essence the very same thing.
Let’s imagine the conversation went something
like this, “Ok Son, it is time for You to leave heaven and all that You know
here and go to a land I will show You – Zion, the home of My chosen people. You
must leave My house and go. I will show You every step of the way. I will make
You a great nation Son – the people of God.
I will make Your name so great that it will be The
name above every name in heaven and on earth and under the earth. In fact, at
Your name Son, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is
Lord. You will be a blessing to everyone who calls on Your name to be saved. I
will bless those who bless You Jesus. Yes, those who honor You as Lord and
Savior I will bless. And Son, I will curse all those who curse You. When people
from all the nations of the earth come to You, they will be blessed with
salvation and a glorious inheritance.”
Pretty profound, isn’t it? Praise God! But as we
look at today’s chapter we can see that from eternity past, the time eventually
came, in the fullness of
time, for Jesus to leave His heavenly home and lay down all His weight
and glory to come to a strange land – to Him that is. A sin filled, curse
tainted world would be very strange to the One who was without any sin, or spot
or blemish…
Ephesians 1:1-14
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, 4 just as He chose us in Him
before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame
before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to
adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of
His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His
grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which
He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having
made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which
He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation
of the fullness of the
times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which
are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an
inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works
all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that
we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is
the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession, to the praise of His glory.
Can you see it saints? God was sending Jesus at
just the right time to be our Savior and Lord. He was sending Him to earth to
get His inheritance – us! Isn’t it great to know that You are a part of Jesus inheritance
if you are born again? What a deal – praise His name forever. There has never
been anything like it in all the world. Before Christ became our Savior, we
were all considered the heathen. But God promised to give Him – Jesus – us, the
lost as His precious possession. In our chapter today the Father promised His
Son Jesus that He was giving Him the people of the earth as His inheritance and
the earth itself as His possession. Let’s keep looking at what the Lord said to
Abraham…
Genesis 17:8
Also I give to you
and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the
land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
Glory to God! The Father was telling Abraham (remember to
think of God talking to His Son Jesus here) that He was going to give the land
of Canaan, (the promised land) that He was currently a stranger to, as an
everlasting possession. Now that's an inheritance and quite an expensive
possession. Who ever said that God doesn’t want to give His children good
gifts? If they said it, they have not read their Bible. He is a rich and
generous God – hallelujah! The Father was giving the earth to His Son as His
own possession. What the devil had stolen in the fall of man was promised right
back to Jesus. Everything in the earth was the Lord’s to begin with. He is the
one who made it, and He is the One who owns it…
Psalm 24:1
The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world
and those who dwell therein.
But because man gave himself over to the devil, the Lord had
to buy back His own people. What was originally His had been stolen. We all
became heathen from the fall until Jesus provided the perfect one-time
sacrifice for all mankind for all time. In our chapter today, we get an inside
look at a conversation between the Father and the Son. Jesus would become the
King of all creation, the Ruler and the Judge of all mankind. Jesus would crush
the heathen under His feet like a pile of potters dust…
1 Peter 2:4-10
Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by
God and precious, you
also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,
“Behold,
I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
Therefore, to you who
believe, He is precious;
but to those who are disobedient,
“The
stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,” and
“A
stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.”
They stumble, being
disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
But you are a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people,
that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into
His marvelous light; who once were not
a people but are now
the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Also see this…
Matthew 21:42-44
Jesus said to them, “Have
you never read in the Scriptures:
‘The
stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will
be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And
whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will
grind him to powder.”
Jesus would crush the wicked to powder – those evil kings and
rulers and people who plot useless plans against Him. They will pay the ultimate
price of judgment on that day. But that’s not us saints – right? We are His
chosen people – His own precious inheritance. And not only did we become His
inheritance but He gives us a great inheritance for being in the family. What a
glorious deal – praise the Lord! While we live in this life the Lord wants us
to have an abundant life and to prosper in every good work. He wants us to have
more than enough so that we have plenty to give. He wants us to rule and reign
as kings right here and right now.
Many Christians don’t really think of themselves as a
precious inheritance, do they? The problem is that they are still looking at
the ‘old person’ they used to be before they became born again. The devil takes
pleasure in reminding Christians of who they used to be before they were born
anew. And too often, they choose to listen to what the enemy is saying about
them, and they continue to walk in condemnation, rather than walking in the newness
of life that Jesus came to give them. Too many Christians come to the cross – a
place of death, and they stay there. But Jesus didn’t stay at the cross. He is
at the throne! Hallelujah!
I admit it has taken me awhile to get under the right
teaching of the word of God and to finally begin to see myself the way God sees
me. I started learning that even if I blew it, He still loves me as much as
ever. Once that began to sink in I had a different attitude toward Him and
about myself. I thought about how much I love my daughters, even when they are
not very lovable in their actions. I know that there is nothing that could ever
cause me to stop loving my children – not one thing. Well, if I can feel that
way toward my kids, how much more does the perfect Father of love feel that way
toward all of His children in Christ? He is love. That’s what God is.
When He looks at us, because He can see into our future – He knows
the end from the beginning, He sees the perfected you and me. Isn’t that
glorious? The cool thing is this friends. Once we grab a hold of this, we can
start to see ourselves as the precious inheritance we are. We can see past our
circumstances and mistakes even from yesterday or ten minutes ago and walk free
of guilt and shame.
Then we start to see ourselves as a perfected child of God.
And the more we see ourselves that way, the more we start to step up to the
plate and act that way. It is no longer a vicious cycle. Now it becomes a cycle
that takes us up and up and up until finally one day we look and act just like
the Master.
If you can look back over the past 5 years and see any progress
in your walk with the Lord, and you start to grasp some of these truths, can
you imagine for a moment how glorious your next five years can look if the Lord
tarries His coming? Hallelujah! Let’s look at a well-known section of
scripture. You all know him. He is John the Baptist. He came ahead of Jesus to
get people ready for His arrival. It must have been a very exciting time for
those who loved God. Just like the days we are living in now as we await the
second return of the Master, the Lord is getting us ready. He is sending out
His children to be the voice one crying in the dry places of lost people’s
lives…
Luke 3:4-6
as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
saying:
“The
voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight
and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight
and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
In this scripture, there is a promise. When
Jesus would come, He will fill those deep, unfulfilled valleys in our lives.
And everything that looks like a giant mountain to us can become the same as
level ground in Him. The things that aren’t on the right path in our lives will
be straightened out and those rough things will be made as smooth as glass before
Him. Jesus came to pick up His inheritance – that’s us saints. Hallelujah! And
He came to give us the abundance of the earth too, praise His name forever. The
only thing we need to do while we wait for His glorious return for us is to do
what the final verses in our chapter today tell us to do. Act wisely, be
instructed (in His word, His ways and His presence) and serve Him with a joyful
reverential awe.
When we “kiss the Son” we show Him respect and
call on Him as Lord and Savior. In that we avoid His judgment and then we become
blessed – just like we talked about yesterday. We are the blessed of the Lord.
And if we truly put our trust in Him, we will be blessed in all we do and stay
blessed – hallelujah!
Questions:
What does the Bible mean when it talks about “the heathen”?
What will God do to those who speak against Him?
What inheritance did the Father promise Jesus?
In what ways are we instructed to serve the Lord in verses 10
& 11?
Do you see yourself as a precious inheritance for Jesus? Why
or why not? Take this to the Lord in prayer.
Ephesians 1:15-23
Therefore
I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the
saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my
prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may
give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the
eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the
hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the
saints, and what is the
exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the
working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ
when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all
principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
And He put all things under
His feet, and gave Him to be head
over all things to
the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
There are three main points to consider from today’s study…
The “heathen” make their plans against the
Lord in vain
God has given Jesus (and us) the heathen
as an inheritance
We must serve the Lord with reverence and awe
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for sending Your precious holy Son to
this earth to take back what had once been yours – us, Your precious children.
Father, thank You for making us Your inheritance and for giving us the rich
promised land as our possession. Lord, many do not see themselves as Your
inheritance and do not realize all that You have given them to enjoy while living
here on the earth. Father I pray for the church today and as often as possible
that each member of the body of Christ would know what is the glorious hope of
Your calling for us and what is the exceeding greatness of Your power at work
in us who choose to believe in it. May Your church rise up like never before
and lay claim to what rightfully belongs to us as Your children in Christ Jesus
our Lord. Help us to see what the devil has been trying to do in our lives and
wake up to our right standing with You. Help us Lord to live out the rest of our
days seeing ourselves as You see us. Lord, as You expose the schemes of the
enemy in our lives, give us the wisdom to rise above them. Thank You for Your
power at work in us – the hope of glory yet to be revealed in Jesus name! Amen!
Are
you a precious inheritance of Jesus? If so, say it out loud right now – “Yes I
am! Hallelujah!
Psalm
100:4
Enter into
His gates with thanksgiving, and into
His courts with praise.
Be thankful
to Him, and bless
His name.
