Daily Bible Study for Tuesday July 26 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
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Psalm 100:4
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
and into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless
His name.
Song: Great and
Mighty Is He By: Potter’s House Mass Choir Praise
Team
Psalm
20
There’s
Power In The Name!
This Psalm is wonderful – like
all of them! Imagine someone speaking a blessing over you. Think about an anointed
man or woman of God speaking a blessing that God would send you help and
strengthen you. Think of him/her as they proclaim that the Lord will remember
your sacrifices that you made to Him, and the offerings that you had brought to
Him. Now imagine this anointed person proclaiming over you that God would give
you the desire of your heart and completely complete or fulfill His purpose in
you. What a great blessing that would be, wouldn’t it? Today, let’s dig in and
see what the Lord – our great and mighty God and King, will speak over us.
Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father;
You alone are the one true God
– the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, You alone know what You have
called us to do, to be, and to accomplish while in this life. Father, thank You
for Your word today to bring us deeper into an understanding of Your name and
Your power to make things happen. Father, I ask You to use me. May You think
through my mind, my heart and these hands as You bring us a message of wisdom,
understanding and new revelation. Cause Your children to have hearts ready to
receive the anointing of Your word. Father, I ask You to bring this message to
us unhindered and unchecked by any outside force or my flesh. Cause Your word
to make the changes only You can make in us. Thank You Sir for always watching
over Your word to perform it in our lives when we obey You. Lord, we will make
it our goal to please You by being doers of Your word and not just forgetful
hearers. In Jesus name. Amen.
David recites the power in the
strength of the Name of the Lord our God not once, not twice, but three times
in this short set of verses. He is calling out for the hearers to receive help
from the name of the Lord. He is asking for strength and salvation in the Name
of the Lord. The truth is, there is only one name given under heaven by which
can be saved…
Acts 4:12
Nor is there
salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by
which we must be saved.”
In our world today, people are
calling on a whole list of names that are NOT the one true God. Names like,
Allah, Buddha, Mohammed. People are crying out to Mary, the mother of Jesus,
and they call on the saints that have long since passed away. They call on many
“unknown gods” that do not even exist. People are desperate and want to know
that someone is hearing their cry. But there is only One who can both hear
their cries and actually do something about it. There is only one God and
Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s examine what the Bible says about that…
1 Timothy 2:5-6
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ
Jesus, who gave Himself a
ransom for all, to be testified in due time,
God is one. In Him there are
three all wrapped up in one – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God has
many names because He fulfills every purpose that mankind will ever need –
hence, a name for every purpose or function. Many find the “trinity” to be very
confusing and difficult to comprehend. Well, in one sense, that’s true. How can
a mere mortal man understand fully the things about God? He is so big and so
complex. But I once heard someone simplify it for me and it has been a blessing
to others I have shared it with.
Think about yourself. You are
only one person, right? If you are a man, then you are somebody’s son, correct?
And maybe you are a cousin to someone. And maybe you are somebody’s uncle, or
brother. Maybe you are a dad yourself. Can you see all the roles that you have
in life – even though you are only one person? A son, a cousin, a brother, a
dad, etc. It’s like that with God. He is one, but in Him there are three
primary persons that make up the trinity. God the Father, Jesus, (who is also
God) the Son, and Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of the living God who dwells
in the hearts of saved people. Hallelujah! He is a great and awesome God.
In God there is a line of
authority. The Father is the One in authority over Jesus and everything. Jesus
is the head of the church. Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God sent to help us. Then
men on the earth are the head of the family, and woman are subject to the men.
No matter how we look at it, there is only one God. His name is not Allah, or Buddha,
or Mohammed. Mary is not God and the saints are not God. The Lord made it clear
in His word that we should not worship any other God. Look at this…
Exodus 20:1-6
And God spoke all these words, saying:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out
of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 “You shall have no other
gods before Me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved
image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or
that is in the earth
beneath, or that is in
the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down
to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your
God, am a jealous God,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and
fourth generations of
those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to
thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
The Lord made it clear that He
will not share His glory with any other person, place or thing. So why don’t
all the people of the earth believe this? What is stopping some from
understanding this while others seem to be wide open to the truth? The answer
is plain – it is hardness of heart. Every so called ‘religion’ that has been
established, other than Christianity was born out of a spirit of rebellion.
People do not want to be held accountable for their actions.
They do not want to deny their
flesh and follow after the Lord, submitting to Him and His ways of doing
things. So the devil, who is known as the god of this world, blinds their eyes
and brings thoughts and ideas to them to turn them away from the one true God
to false (nonexistent) gods who can do nothing for them…
2 Corinthians 4:3-4
But even if
our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose
minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of
the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on
them.
A hard and unwilling heart
makes a dull ear. When people are insistent on doing things their own way in
any measure, they will not see the light. Jesus is known as the Light of this
world…
John 8:12
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not
walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
People who are wrapped up in
all these other religions are trapped in a world of darkness. They do not want
to see the truth – yet they cry out to gods that do not even exist. They know
they need help. In their hearts they have needs that are crying out to be met.
But their help is not coming. Why? Because they are seeking the wrong people or
things. People were created by God and He made us all in such a way that only
He could fill the needs in our hearts. Nothing else would satisfy us. He knew
the weaknesses of humanity, but He also knows what He can do to help. He is
eager to help. He is eager to love and heal and make prosperous. But people
seem to want sickness, poverty and despair more. It doesn’t seem to make any
sense.
If I was in need of food, I
would not be going to a clothing store, now would I? I can’t get my needs met
at the clothing store any more than we can get water from a rock. (Unless God
is there, LOL!) Why are so many people looking for strength, help and salvation
in so many false things that do not exist? Because they do not want to know the
truth – really. But here is what Jesus said about the truth…
John 14:6
Jesus said to him,
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through Me.
Jesus is the truth. He is the
way to approach God the Father and get our prayers answered. Deep down in many,
many hearts, many people like what they are worshiping because those false
gods do not hold them accountable. When they sin, there is nothing inside their
heart to cause them to feel bad. That’s what the Holy Spirit does for the
believer. No man can lead a sinless life without the help of the Holy Spirit of
God.
So why do these people
continue to call on things that do not produce results? It seems so ignorant to
those of us who know Jesus and understand the power in His name when we call on
Him for salvation. The majority of the people on the planet are only willing to
live in the lie. Many think that in time their help will come.
Some spend hours bent over
praying to a name that does not exist. They cry out and cry out day after day
after day – but no answer comes. Jesus is the only name by which men can be
saved. It’s in His name only that we can approach the Father God in the first
place. Without the name of Jesus, we might just as well be talking to the wall.
There is no other name given under heaven as the scriptures say. People know
that something is off because the Lord has placed eternity in the hearts of
men…
Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made
everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their
hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning
to end.
A man’s conscience bears
witness…
Romans 2:12-16
12 For as many as
have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have
sinned in the law will be judged by the law 13 (for not
the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the
law will be justified; 14 for when Gentiles,
who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although
not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show
the work of the law
written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between
themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) 16 in the day when
God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.
How else would people know
they are doing something wrong without their conscience? For example, there is
a reason that every living breathing soul on the planet knows it is wrong to
kill somebody. There is a reason that we know it is wrong to lie. On and on I
could go, but you get the point. God has made all men aware of Him in their
hearts. But if their hearts are stubborn and their ears are dull of hearing
truth, then their conscience becomes “seared” …
1 Timothy 4:1-2
Now the
Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith,
giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking
lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,
When we do something wrong, it
will bother us – the first time, and maybe the second and third. But after a
while, if a person continues to commit the wrong and try to push away the voice
of their conscience – where the Holy Spirit speaks to us, then people will grow
dull. Eventually they won’t hear or feel anything. It’s like a mobster who
kills people for a living. After he has done it enough times, it becomes easy
for him to turn the other cheek, as they say.
It is heartbreaking when I go
out and talk to people about Jesus in my daily affairs. It is so sad to see the
way so many are struggling. Sometimes they will cry out to me for help, but I
cannot help them. They need Jesus. But the minute I start asking them some
questions, the truth starts to come out about why they won’t believe, or can’t
– all the excuses begin to surface. I have to politely walk away and ask the
Lord to open their eyes.
In today’s Psalm, it is as if
David is crying out to the people to receive the Lord’s help – to be saved and
strengthened by Him. David knew where His help came from. He knew that there
were many who trusted in man made things and earthly strength, but he boldly
and firmly stated that they (we) will trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Here is a verse we can all remember quite well…
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean
not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall
direct your paths.
Many of us know this verse in
our heads, but when trouble comes, we still hear this, “What am I gonna do?, what
am I gonna do?, oh what am I gonna do?” And instead of trusting in the name of
the Lord our God for help, they are turning to every imaginable thing they can
think up in their own intellect to try to solve the problem. Just today I was
speaking with a friend. She has had some concerns. She said that several strong
Christians told her that she should give her problems to God because He is in
control. Part of that statement is true, while the other part is a lie.
The Lord told us in the
scriptures to cast all our cares on the Lord because He cares for us…
1 Peter 5:6-7
Therefore
humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting
all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
If we give the Lord our troubles and walk away,
fully trusting that He will help us to work it out and bring the answers and
solutions we need, even working in the situation in ways we couldn’t imagine,
then we are in good shape. But if we continue to carry our burdens on our own
shoulders by worrying about them and trying to figure out the solutions on or
own, then we disable the Lord from helping us. Why? Because He will not “take”
it from our hands. We have to give it to Him. And He knows our hearts – He
knows if we are really trusting in Him to help or not.
Now the second part – her friends told her that
God is in control. Millions of Christians – even people who have been
Christians a very long time still believe this. We know how it got started. It
was the enemy. And it has spread like wildfire throughout Christianity. As a
result, people are walking around under the false assumption that they can’t do
anything anyway about this or that because “God is in control.” Saints – this
is a lie from the pit, from the enemy of our souls who wants us to feel
helpless and useless. But God gave mankind a choice. Nowhere in the Bible does
it say that God controls man or his affairs. God is a giver and He made us to
be givers.
When it comes to troubles, we can give them to
God and ask for His help and watch Him do the impossible – but He is not
controlling us. The only one who wants to control us is the devil. Jesus never
forced Himself or His solutions to life’s problems on anyone. Let’s look at an
Old Testament passage that shows us how God gave us a choice…
Deuteronomy 30:1-20
“Now it shall come to pass, when all these
things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the
nations where the Lord your
God drives you, 2 and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice,
according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your
heart and with all your soul, 3 that the Lord your God will bring you back
from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the
nations where the Lord your
God has scattered you. 4 If any of you are driven out to the
farthest parts under
heaven, from there the Lord your
God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. 5 Then
the Lord your God will
bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it.
He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. 6 And
the Lord your God will
circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul, that you may live.
7 “Also the Lord your
God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who
persecuted you. 8 And you will again obey the voice
of the Lord and do all
His commandments which I command you today. 9 The Lord your God will make you abound
in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of
your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the Lord will again rejoice over you
for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, 10 if
you obey the voice of the Lord your
God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book
of the Law, and if
you turn to the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul.
The Choice of Life or Death
11 “For this commandment which I command you
today is not too mysterious for you,
nor is it far
off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend
into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you
should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may
hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth
and in your heart, that you may do it.
15 “See, I have set before you today life and good,
death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to
love the Lord your God,
to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His
judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to
possess. 17 But if your heart turns away so that
you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve
them, 18 I announce to you today that you shall
surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go
in and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth as
witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and
death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and
your descendants may live; 20 that you may love
the Lord your God, that
you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of
your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
We could do an entire study on
this discussion about “our choice”, but for the purpose of this study today, we
will suffice it to say that God always, from the very beginning gave us a
choice. He did not make us robots. He said this about crying out for help…
Psalm 50:15
Call upon
Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
Can you see how He is inviting
us to call on Him? He isn’t forcing us. I have seen Him step in and help me so
many times – like many of you I’m sure. And how did that happen? Because we
called on Him and trusted Him to bring the help. How did my kids get restored
to me after so many years of estrangement? By me calling on Him and trusting in
Him, no matter how long the answer took to come.
But just like I got help from
Him in that situation, I can show you an example where I did not get help. When
I was struggling with my eating, in a big way, I was not really trusting in
Him, and so it got worse and worse. I packed on more weight. Why? Because He
would not force me to stop eating. He doesn’t’ control me, my thoughts or my
actions. He tells us what to do (see His wording in the passage above) and then
He waits for us to do it - willingly, on our own. If we do, praise God! We will
get His help. If we don’t, we will suffer loss, death and destruction.
As long as I was trusting in
my own chariots (food) and horses (my strength) I was getting nowhere but
heavier. But when I threw my hands up in the air and asked God to help me, and
admitted to Him that I just couldn’t do it on my own, I could see His power at
work in me. I became sensitive to the leading and promptings of the Holy
Spirit, and things began to change. The weight came off and I got the victory.
Does that mean He controlled me or did it for me? Absolutely not. But what it
does mean is that when I called on Him and REALLY placed my trust in Him to get
me there, then His power became perfect in my weakness…
2 Corinthians 12:9
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in
weakness.” Therefore most
gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest
upon me.
Friends, I can’t trust myself
when it comes to eating right any further than I could physically pick myself
up and throw myself one inch! I hope you don’t get tired of me telling you
about the food struggle and how the Lord helped me out with it. That was a
mountain I had to face that looked way too high. But God was (and is) the
strength of my life…
Psalm 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom
shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
I have to face food every day. It’s not like drugs and
alcohol. That is something we can walk away from and never have to face again.
But food – well, obviously we need it to survive. It has taken the Lord a while
to get me (by the leading of His Spirit and my response to that leading) to
look at Him and look at food differently. I had to really stop letting my flesh
control me and start allowing myself to really believe God would give me the
strength one day at a time. It was not easy. My flesh did a lot of screaming.
But over time, as I stayed tender, repentant and teachable with the Lord, it
wasn’t long before I started getting the victory. I know now that I can’t call on any chariot or horse to bring
my help and strength and answers. I can only call on the name of the Lord who
is worthy to be praised…
Psalm 18:3
I will call upon
the Lord, who
is worthy to be praised; so
shall I be saved from my enemies.
People who trust in their own
power will fail. Folks all over the planet – including a majority of
proclaiming Christians, are failing in their lives in one area or many because
of trusting in things other than the Lord. Only God can help us. Only God can
and will answer prayers. No statue, or name other than the name of Jesus can
save us or help us. With God in us, He alone can give us our hearts desire and
complete in us the purpose which He had established for us since before the
foundation of the world was even created.
It was the desire of my heart
to stop the sugar addiction and be healthy and able to eat normally. When our
desires line up with God’s will, His desires, He is happy to grant them to us.
Because of Holy Spirit living in me, I have the desire for the things that God
wants – so now He gives them to me – hallelujah! That’s worth shoutin about
saints! And what He has done for me He can and wants to do for you too. Praise
His name forever!
He will perfect that which
concerns us…
Psalm 138:8
The Lord will
perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; do
not forsake the works of Your hands.
He will (do you notice the
wording in the following scripture?)…
Philippians 1:6
being confident of
this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
He will do it. We can’t, but
He can. We have to stay tender to the leading of Holy Spirit – if we don’t we
can miss the boat. We have the responsibility of working out our own salvation…
Philippians 2:12
Therefore, my
beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much
more in my absence, work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling;
We have a big part to play in working out our salvation, but
God carries the biggest part to help us. And we must endure all the way to the
end…
Mark 13:13
And you will be
hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to
the end shall be saved.
Jesus is the King of kings and
the Lord of lords. When we call on Him, we will be saved. He is the name above
every name…
Philippians 2:5-11
5 Let this mind be
in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the
form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself
of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in
the likeness of men. 8 And being
found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and
given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of
those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
There is no other God and no
other Helper like our God! When people call us “close minded” and “intolerant”
we have to turn the other cheek. Why? Because we do not have to honor anyone’s
false God. We do not have to “accept” their false god or respect what they
worship. We worship the one true God – the Lord God Jehovah, the God and Father
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. If we try to agree with others on some other god.,
then we are on dangerous ground. In the meantime, while others are calling on
false gods, we can continue to call on our faithful and wonderful God and
Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We can know without any doubt that
He is mighty to save and mighty to help us in our time of need – praise His
name forever. We are the ones who will be getting the results – hallelujah! Yes,
there really is power in the name of Jesus! Praise God!
Questions:
Who do
you call on in the day of trouble?
What
does the Bible say about the name of Jesus?
Where can
we get strength and help from in each situation according to the Bible?
What
two things are listed in verse 4 that can encourage you?
Who is
the one that can help us to fulfill our calling in this life? Do you really
believe this for yourself? If not, why?
What
do some people call on for help?
What
has encouraged you the most in this lesson?
Habakkuk
3:19
The Lord God is
my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills
There are three main points to
consider from today’s study…
There is only one true God – the Father
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
The Lord is our Helper, our Defender
and the One who strengthens us
The Lord will give us the desires of
our hearts when we delight ourselves in Him
Let’s
pray…
Heavenly Father,
Thank
You for always being there to help me – day by day and moment by moment.
Father, I ask You to forgive me for the times I have trusted in anything but
You for my help and strength. Show me what You want me to see in this lesson.
You are strong and mighty and I know I can trust in You more than anything
else. You are my very present help in time of need and I praise You in Jesus
name – the name above every other name. Amen.
Have you been
trusting in the Lord God more than anything else?
And God Said… You fill in the blanks.
Psalm
24:8
Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in
battle.
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