Daily Bible Study for September 28,
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
1 Corinthians 2:14
But the natural man does not
receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor
can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned.
Psalm
100:4
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
and into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless
His name.
Song: “Take A Little Time” & “He Will Make a Way”
By: Andre Crouch & Jackson Southernaires
Psalm 66
Make God’s Praise Glorious
How many of you can testify to
the goodness of God? How many would invite others to gather around to hear
about the great things He has done for you? I believe most if not all of you who
read this have plenty to shout about when it comes to the wonderful things He has
done – hallelujah! Today, let’s gather together to make His praise glorious –
amen! Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father:
You are worthy of all our
praise! Thank You Sir for all You have done for us! You have shown us great and
tender mercy that we have not deserved. Though You have allowed us to walk
through the fiery trials and deep waters of affliction because of our
rebellion, You have not utterly cast us away! You are so good and many need to
hear about the great things You do for those who call upon Your name in all
sincerity and truth! Father, I ask You to continue to bring more people from
all over the world to hear Your anointed word. Open the eyes of our hearts to
hear and receive Your good word on good ground – soil that will produce a
fruitful harvest. Lord I ask You to give me the utterance and the anointing to
speak the word that You want released in this message today without any interference
from outside forces or my flesh. As we meditate on You and Your holy, precious
word, Lord may You cause us to change our thinking and our ways. Thank You for
always watching over Your word to perform it in our lives when we obey it.
Father, we purpose to be doers of Your word and not hearers only. We thank You in
advance for hearing and answering our prayers in Jesus name. Amen.
The first four verses start
off with an invitation to praise the Lord. What does it mean to “make His
praise glorious?” When we have experienced the goodness of God, telling others
will glorify Him. Telling people about how good God has been to us makes His praise
glorious in all the earth. In our chapter today, we see a few key components…
How God rules
What we experienced
God hears our prayers
Praising God for making a way when there seemed to be no way
Our response to the Lord for all He has done for us
Inviting others to hear our testimony
Let’s explore this chapter one
point at a time and see what the Lord reveals. First we know that He is God and
He rules in great and awesome power. His works are so great we cannot possibly
understand them – yet we praise Him even though we cannot physically see Him.
We can sure see the things He does though. Some of the things I have been experiencing
with the Lord of late are so powerful and awesome that I want to stand on the
highest rooftop and shout it out to everyone who will listen!
If only people would see the
things He has done in the past and believe that He wants to do the same for
them right now! If God can take a raging Red Sea and split it apart like unwrapping
a gift so His people could stroll through on dry ground, why do we as His born
again children continue to doubt that He can part the raging waters in our
lives today? After all – He is God! Nothing is too hard for Him…
Jeremiah 32:27
“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?
We have 66 books called the Bible – God’s holy, anointed, powerful word.
It is all inspired by Holy Spirit to help us to learn, grow and understand who
God is – His Son Jesus and the purpose of His Holy Spirit in the earth for
these days and times. The Bible contains only events that actually happened or
will happen in the future. Of all the things God could tell us, He hand-picked certain
times and events to give us what He knew we would need to live a godly, faith
filled life in Him and in the power of His might through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Many Christians will not even
open their Bibles. Others take a glance now and then. Still others will read
but not drink it in after asking God to enlighten their hearts, so they walk
away dry and unfulfilled. But it doesn’t have to be this way. We can get into
His word and drink it in – eat them all and taste His sweetness…
Jeremiah 15:16
Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my
heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.
Some denominations even tell their congregants not to read their Bibles
at all! It is an atrocity! It is evil! God intended for everyone to read the
Bible and to grow thereby in Him into a mature Christian. Let’s examine the points
covered today.
How God Rules…
Psalm 99:1-3
99 The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble!
He dwells between the cherubim; let the earth be moved!
2 The Lord is great in Zion, and He is high above all the peoples.
3 Let them praise Your great and awesome name—He is holy.
He dwells between the cherubim; let the earth be moved!
2 The Lord is great in Zion, and He is high above all the peoples.
3 Let them praise Your great and awesome name—He is holy.
Psalm 147:5
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.
There is no power on the earth
or in the heavens or even under the earth that can even come close to the power
of God. His enemies will not have a chance before Him. He can eliminate and annihilate
any enemy in the flash of a lightning bolt! God is awesome indeed and with all
that power, He bows down to the earth in great love toward the sons of men –
that is worth shouting about. We have been wickedly rebellious toward God –
every one of us; yet He has shown us tremendous, overflowing mercy! Hallelujah!
Many think wrongly that because God is so powerful that He controls everything
going on in the earth. We must reiterate this time and again because people
need to hear this. God does not control everything that is going on.
He is good and there is a lot
of bad things happening. People are confused about why this is so. God gave
mankind a choice and they have chosen to do evil. They have allowed satan – the
devil to be their “god” and rule them in wickedness. In the end, will God have
His way with how this whole thing wraps up? Absolutely! The Lord uses people
and the earth’s resources to do His work. If someone will not do what He asked,
He will move on to someone else – but He has His way when people submit to His
will (willingly!) and do what He asks. In the end, the Lord will have His way…
Nahum 1:3
The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and
will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord has His way In the whirlwind and in the storm, and
the clouds are the dust of His feet.
We must always remember that the Lord is very powerful. But, there is a
choice for you and me every single minute of our lives. We can choose to submit
to His will and ways (always the best choice!) or we can resist and rebel which
will bring destruction and God’s plan for us will be missed. Our lives will be
nothing more than the culmination of our response to God’s word. Period.
What We Experienced…
I really like this part, don’t
you? This is where we can think about the amazing things the Lord has already
done for us – the things we have experienced! Praise His name forever! It is
not pleasant to think about the terrible things that we have experienced in the
past. God wants us to focus on Him and the bright shining future that He has
for us. But when we think about the Lord, “how He raised me, how He healed me,
how He turned me around and placed my feet on solid ground,” as the song so accurately
says – it makes us want to shout! Hallelujah – thank You Jesus! Look up that
song on You Tube sometime. It will bless you!
I will testify here that I have
walked through some very fiery trials. I believe most if not all of you can
relate to this well. When I consider how low I went in my life, and especially
at such an unexpected time, I marvel at the mercy of God. I was saved at 9
years old when I accepted Jesus as my Savior at my grandmother’s church in
Winter Haven, Florida. But after that, I did not go to church or learn anything
about Jesus until I was in my mid-twenties. All those years in between were
filled with sin, despair, and many trials and troubles – from without and
within. Trouble was all around me, like the Psalmist has said on more than one
occasion.
My childhood was not good.
After mom and dad’s divorce when I was 9 years old, it just kept getting worse.
I certainly had no control over the situation. I was an innocent child at that
point. Neglect and abandonment would be my only friend for years as far as I
knew. As a teenager, I wandered into the arms of trouble and eventually ended
up on the street at 15 years of age, and pregnant. After giving my daughter up
for adoption at the age of 8 months old, I went into hard core drug use. I
needed something to numb the pain in my heart. Too much had happened to me in
my short 17 years on earth, and I had to find a way to survive on my own. Many
things happened in those years. I was in countless dangerous situations all
over the country.
I was a wanderer without a
home. A young lady with no family. Mom had given me the “boot” and I was
penniless and on my own. Drugs took me places I cannot bear to think about now.
But the mercy of God was there. He placed an opportunity before me to get a job
at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas at the age of 20. At that time my brain
was so “fried” from shooting up drugs that I could barely utter a sentence. I
could no longer think clearly or make any kind of sensible decision. But the
mercy and grace of God was moving on my behalf.
I stepped into that job and
everything changed for me. I still was not going to church but the Lord healed
my brain and I was learning computer codes and doing an office job for the
first time in my life. Then I was eventually promoted to a sales rep with a
company car at 22 years old. It was nothing short of miraculous. Over time I
got homesick for Michigan and my family even though they were going on without
me. I went back and landed a job with the Michigan Blue Cross and Blue Shield
company. I was there for 6 years before leaving to have a baby. I had gotten
married (to the wrong person!) and when we had our two daughters I became a
stay at home mother. That part was wonderful.
There were lots of problems
with the marriage, but his family led me to their church where I became a
member and remained there for almost 24 years. Raising the girls was the
greatest blessing I had ever known. We had many wonderful times. There was a lot
of joy that I found in having them around. But they became everything to me,
and that was out of balance. Eventually, through more drugs and drinking, the
Lord made another way out of the drug scene for us so we wouldn’t lose our
girls! I went back to work when they were 10 ½ and 12 years old. Over time I
had developed a terrible sugar addiction and eventually an overall food
addiction. I could not get loose of it. Try though I might, my eating was way
out of control. Inside I was not happy.
By the time the girls were
almost done with high school I met someone who was the devil himself. It wasn’t
the person, but the devil was using him mightily to try to kill me. And he
almost succeeded. I left my husband of 22 years and stepped into a black
nightmare that was far worse than anything I could have ever imagined. In my loneliness
and pain, my desire for love took me down a very dark path. I lost everything.
The marriage, the kids, the houses, the cars, etc. I ended up homeless once
again like I had been as a young girl. I started drinking and smoking again and
my life looked like it was just over. I knew that I had made a terrible
mistake. In my mind, it looked like there was no way out.
Just before all this had
happened, I had been attending the church where we raised the girls regularly.
I was loving Jesus as far as I understood Him. We listened to Christian music
and I was very careful about what movies we watched. I wanted to raise the
girls to be Christians. I had cleaned up the drinking and partying and worked
hard to be a good mother to my daughters. But the pain inside of me was welling
up like a bubbling volcano. That volcano erupted when the oldest daughter was a
Senior in High School – just three months’ shy of graduating. I walked away
expecting to take them with me – but they would have no part of me. My world
came crashing down around me. Then I resorted to the same behavior I had been
doing as a 19-20-year-old with cigarettes, alcohol and drugs at 47-48 years
old. It was the only method I knew for coping with all the pain.
In church I had learned “religion”
not relationship with the Lord. Reading my Bible which I had done just about
every day for a long time just was not doing anything for me. Why? Because I
was not being led by the Holy Spirit. I did not know much about the Lord in
those days. I did not know that I could call on Him in trouble and that He
would come in and heal my wounded heart and clean me up so I would live a godly
life. I thought suicide was my only solution. I made a very serious attempt to
take my life. I asked the Lord to forgive me and said to Him that I was coming
to be with Him because I messed everything up down here so badly. After taking
several very strong pain killers and a bunch of Tylenol PM, I passed out. Death
was right there. I could hear the devil whispering in my ear – “just go ahead –
do it!”
So I did. Eighteen hours later
I woke up in the critical care unit of the hospital choking on the ventilator.
I was angry that I was still on earth and alive here. I asked God “why” since I
had messed everything up so bad. Even my couple of close longtime friends had
turned their backs on me. The people I had worked with at the best job I had
ever thought I was insane. They looked at me with shock. I gave up the job, and everything that went
along with it. There really was nothing left but me and that man and the
clothes on my back. Everything I now owned could fit in the backseat and trunk
of the 2002 Pontiac Grand Am that I had.
Now here’s the good part.
After leaving the hospital I had some hard roads to continue to walk down. The raging
waters had not yet subsided for me. There was a real mess to deal with – like the
aftermath of a tornado. But the Lord directed my path to a church where I heard
a sermon about the Ten Commandments. It was the first time in my life I ever
heard about how I had personally sinned against God. By the time He got to the
Second Commandment the second week in the series, I went home after church and
through myself down on my knees by the bed. I just cried out to the Lord this
one short sentence, “Oh God, I’m a mess. Will You fix me?” It was the first
time I had ever gone to Him like that after being in a church for 24 years!
Things began to get better, just
a little at a time. I still had a lot of consequences to face and messes to
clean up. But I learned about who God is and a lot more about who Jesus is. As
I began to fall in love with Him, my heart began to change. I started
confessing sin and turning my back on wrong things. A year and a half later, in
May of 2007 the Lord led me to come to Florida. I came, homeless and penniless
once again. But this time, I was taking a step of faith even though I didn’t
know where the next steps would lead me. I knew this though. God was with me. I
knew He loved me. I was going to go where He led me no matter how hard it was.
I cried all the way to Florida. Leaving my girls was hard. But things with them
were not good anyway. Only God would be able to work in that situation to get
it turned around. And He did!
Coming to where He led me has
opened the door to blessings I never imagined possible. After all the
affliction - pain, grief, distress and
loss, the windows of heaven opened up to me in Florida and it was like opening a
grand Christmas present every single day. The Lord gave me a church to attend
and He gave me new friends. He gave me my career back in employee benefits - insurance.
He gave me my own place to live. My car got paid off. Over time all my debts
were eliminated and my credit score which had been ruined through a bankruptcy
was restored to good standing.
Next, my family relationships
began to be restored. It was miraculous. Then the one daughter came back to me.
The next thing I knew the Lord brought me a godly man! It turns out that this
was the man the Lord wanted me to marry when I was young. But because I was not
following Him at the time I had no way of getting lined up for the connection.
But God was able to take a man from Iowa and a woman from Detroit, Michigan and
bring us together in a church in Ft. Myers Florida! Talk about God’s mighty power
– hallelujah! I had lost my great insurance job for standing up for Jesus after
4 ½ years working there. The Lord had me stay home and write a book for 6
months while ministering to a couple of women I knew. Then He gave me a new job
working at a Doctor’s office and brings along this amazing man of God to be my
new husband! Glory to His name!
During the crisis, I not only
lost the kids and material things, but I lost my cat and dog. They were both
put to sleep – against my knowledge and will! But now, God hand delivered a one-year-old
puppy to my apartment after I was dating my husband to be. We knew that angels
were used to bring him to us. The whole thing was supernatural – glory to God.
Life became a whirlwind of blessings. I still had a long way to go to
understand how to get completely free of the food addiction, but now, by His
amazing grace, through His Spirit, I have the victory like never before.
My husband and I have been
called by the Lord to start this ministry – Fish N Loaves Ministries, Inc. Its
purpose is to spread the word of God around the world and to build and equip
churches and ministries. Now I work full time doing the Lord’s work. I no
longer punch a man’s clock. I am on God time only! We are so excited about all
that the Lord has done for us. Friends, I live to tell as many as will listen
about the goodness of God. Why? Because I have experienced it. He is the God
who raises the dead and sets the captives free. He is the Healer and Savior who
can take the lost sheep and bring them home to Him where He wants to hold them
close.
During the past 11 years,
since I have surrendered to the Lord, I have seen Him perform many signs,
wonders and miracles in my life – and we are only getting started! I will never
be homeless again. My family relationship with my sister and her family has
been restored. My daughters and I have had wonderful times together and there
are many more to come. I have so many friends in the body of Christ who I call
family, because we are in God’s family. I am overwhelmed with God’s love. I stand
in awe of Him every day as I watch Him do things around my house that only He
could do. I always say to Him, “Lord, I don’t know how You do what You do but I
am in awe of You!”
Now I know that I am deeply
loved by my daddy in heaven and because of that I now have some love to hand
out to others – praise His name forever. I still have to be willing and
obedient in order to continue to see His blessings manifest in my life. But I
can depend on His Spirit to help me to stay on track so I can step into
everything He has created me to do since before the foundation of the world.
My friends, I have been proven
in the fire like silver and so far, by His grace, I am getting better and
better! Glory to glory! And here’s the thing. What He has done for me He wants
to do for you! Through all the terrible things I faced and dangerous situations
I placed myself into, He did not let my foot be moved out of His kingdom into
hell! Glory to His name forever! He will do the same for you or anyone that you
may share this with. The results of surrendering my like to the lordship of
Jesus have been sweeter than honey to my taste. Good bye sugar! Hello Jesus! If
you have not yet truly surrendered your life to Jesus, you can do it now. If
you have backslidden, if you were once walking close to Him but have slipped
away, you can come back right now. He will forgive you and wrap His wonderful
arms of grace and mercy around you. He will pick you up and turn you around and
place your feet on solid ground! He will never let you down! People will, but
Jesus will not! This leads us to the next point.
God Hears Our Prayers…
When we confess our sins and
get right with the Lord, He will hear from heaven and heal us…
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Sin will block our prayers
from producing results. We have to acknowledge our sins and then we have to
forgive anyone against whom we are bitter or holding a grudge. Without doing
that we cannot expect a holy, perfect God to act on our behalf. But like the Psalmist
said today, if he had kept iniquity in his heart (sin) the Lord wouldn’t hear.
But he didn’t. God heard him and he helped him and set him in a wealthy place.
He restored his life too – just like mine. I am now in a wealthy place in life.
He is restoring everything the devil had tried to take away from me…
Zechariah 9:12
Return to the
stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you.
It’s no wonder David was
always praising God. He had a great relationship with the Lord and he depended
heavily on Him. And God always came through for him. He did for me and He will
for you. Glory to His name! This is what David, (and me) do…
Praising God for Making a Way Where There Seemed to Be No way…
It is why David was used so
greatly by the Lord to pen so much in the Bible. He praised the Lord
consistently. He knew God would always make a way where there seemed to be no
way. I have seen Him do it for me time and time again. In my family, with my
daughters, in my workplace, in my marriage, you name it – God has done things I
never could have come up with! That’s why I sit here day in and day out to
write these Bible studies. My heart’s greatest desire for all people everywhere
on this earth is that they will fall so deeply in love with Jesus that they
will be living out their purpose He has called each one to with the fullness of
joy that only comes from His presence.
If I can point anyone to the love and
goodness of our Father God/Jesus His Son, then I count it a great day. I no
longer have valley days. Born again and changing more into His likeness and
image, I shall live out the rest of this life on earth on the mountain top with
Him as He leads me to touch all of you – hallelujah!
Isaiah 42:16
I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them
in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do
for them, and not forsake them.
Our Response to The Lord for All He Has Done for Us…
OK saints – now it is time to
show the Lord just how much we appreciate all that He has done for us.
Personally I would have long since been dead. I would not be here writing this
today were it not for His amazing grace and mercy. So what is my part now?
Well, now I pay my vows to Him. That means that I am to keep the promises I
made to Him. If I said I would do something for the Lord, He expects me to do
it. We all have a part to play - just like any relationship. God is no
different that way. He made in His likeness and image. He has feelings. He has
holy expectations for His children.
If we really appreciate all
that the Lord has done for us, the best thing we can do is keep our promises to
Him and serve Him cheerfully and completely. That shows Him that we mean
business and that we want to respect and honor Him.
Job 22:27
You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, and
you will pay your vows.
It’s one thing to make
promises when our backs are against the wall. But it shows the intentions of
our hearts when we actually fulfill our promises. That’s what means a lot to
the Lord. We must say what we mean and do what we say we will do. Actions speak
a lot louder than mere words. God had done great things for us – He is worthy
of all our praise! Part of the act of praise is keeping our promises to Him.
Inviting
Others to Hear Our Testimony…
Second to the word of God is a
powerful testimony of what God has done in a person’s life. When people see and
hear about the signs, wonders and miracles that are happening in people’s
lives, they can’t help but see that there is a good God and Savior right there
waiting to help them too. We should always be ready to give an account for the
reason that we have hope…
1 Peter 3:15
But sanctify the Lord God in
your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a
reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
God knows exactly who will be touched by your testimony. He can line up
divine appointments so that you are placed in front of the right person at the
right time to tell them what God did for you. Then we stand back while Holy
Spirit continues to work on their hearts. After encountering Jesus on the road
to Damascus, Paul spent the rest of his life telling people about what happened
to him, just like I did here with you today. I will tell it a million times and
more if it will bring a lost soul into the kingdom through Holy Spirit power at
work through me. Look at what Paul prayed in the book of Acts…
Acts 4:29-31
29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to
Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by
stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done
through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they
were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy
Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
When God’s people speak as
they are led by Holy Spirit, powerful things can happen – hallelujah! So the
next time you see an opportunity to talk to someone on the street, in the
grocery store, at the bank or the laundry mat, be sure to open wide your mouth
and let the Lord give you the right words to say for that moment. He can even
give us a word of knowledge. This is something about the person’s past that we
would have no way of knowing. When they hear it, they will know it is a miracle
because they do not know you from Adam!
Or God can give a word of
wisdom for the person to whom we are speaking. This is something revealed about
their future – many times it has to do with their calling. If we open ourselves
up to the prompting of God’s Spirit, we can be used to touch many souls for the
kingdom. That is why we are still here – to make a difference in someone else’s
life. We are not here for our own selfish pleasures. I have wasted so many
years on myself and what I wanted to do. I was terribly selfish. But now, by
His grace, I live to tell the world about how much God has done for me. They
have been deceived by the devil. Many do not know how good God is. But I do.
And I am going to tell them. How about you?
Questions:
What can you list from each of the bullet points as it
pertains to your life?
In what ways are you showing the Lord your gratitude for all
He has done for you?
What will you do differently as a result of this study?
Who can you spread the good news to and share this study with?
There are three main points to
consider from today’s study…
We make God’s praise glorious by
telling others what He has done for us
Nobody is hopeless on this earth
God will always make a way where
there seems to be no way
Let’s
pray…
Heavenly Father:
Thank You for all You have done for me! Lord, I desire to
keep my promises to You as a measure of glorious praise for the goodness You
have shown me. Father, I ask You to use me to tell others about Your amazing grace
and love. Bring people across my path who will listen to me and receive from me
– just the right ones. Use me as Your “fishing net” to catch men! I am willing
and ready in this season of my life to go forward to share the good news about
all that Jesus has done for me. Bring glory to Yourself in me Lord and cause me
to bear much fruit for the kingdom in Jesus mighty and precious name! Amen.
When
was the last time you told someone about Jesus?
And God Said… You fill in the blanks.
Mark 4:14-20
14 The
sower sows the word. 15 And
these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan
comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 These
likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word,
immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and
they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when
tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 18 Now
these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who
hear the word, 19 and
the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other
things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But
these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:
some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
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