Daily Bible Study for Monday November
21, 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 trust this is helpful to you. If you are studying in another
version, that is fine. I am studying from the KJV.
***Please
note a change! We will look at everything for our basic study from the King
James Version going forward. It is helpful to stay with one solid version as we
study so as not to cause confusion. I may add other translations for specific
scriptures as the Lord directs.
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 4-5
I thank my God always
concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus,
that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge,
Psalm 104
The Abundance of God’s Provisions
How did you feel when you read
through this chapter? Did it make you stop and look at God in awesome wonder?
How very great He is! He is so beautiful – perfect and complete in every way.
He wraps Himself in light, honor and majesty. He is the beginning of
everything, and the end. If He starts within Himself being perfect, how perfect
then are His abundant provisions for all inhabitants of the earth as well? Let’s
pray…
Heavenly Father:
Thank You for who You are and
all that You have provided for the earth You created and the inhabitants
thereof, man and beast, and fish of the seas, both great and small. Father, I
ask You for the anointing and utterance to bring Your word with boldness, clarity
and excellence today. We ask for eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to
receive what You have for us. We ask that this message go out unhindered and
unchecked by any outside force or my flesh. Father, we give You great thanks
for all You do for us every moment of the day and night. As we enter the week
of Thanksgiving, may Your children continue to return to You daily to give You
the thanks and praise that You alone deserve. Thank You for changing us as we
meditate on Your word. Thank You for watching over it to perform it in our
lives when we obey what You say. Thank You for the changes You will surely make
in our hearts and minds as we are renewed in Your word today in the mighty name
of Jesus. Amen.
I have to start with a testimony
of what the Lord did for me this weekend! He is so good! And He is our Healer –
hallelujah! After hurting my back at the gym on Saturday, I ended up in severe
pain by Saturday night. I asked for His healing, and I spoke to the pain in Jesus
name. After that I thanked Jesus for healing me, saying, “By His stripes I was
healed.” He used a friend of mine to tell me to soak in Epsom salt on Saturday.
As I did, Holy Spirit spoke to me and told me to do it again two more times on
Sunday.
By the time I got up on
Sunday, I was already experiencing some relief, though I was still in a lot of
pain. Even through the tears I continued to thank Jesus for healing me. My
neighbor came over and prayed for me. I watched our church service online and
we prayed for each other so that people could get healed. I wanted to pray for
others to be healed, and my friend had already reminded me of what James 5:16
says. Suddenly, I got a new revelation. Let’s look at the verse first…
James 5:16
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man availeth much.
Before my friend prayed for me as she reminded me of this verse, it hit
me like a bolt of lightning. As we pray for others to be healed, we get healed.
I had never seen it before! Glory to God – thank You Holy Spirit. You see, with
God, it is all about the giving. We don’t do things to receive, however, receiving
is a good thing.
We give because we are more blessed in the giving than the receiving.
Yesterday, I reached my hands out to pray for others in my church who needed
healing, and I had received mine. It was glorious. By the time church services
were over, I was able to bend down and feed my puppy and take him for a walk
around the lake. Even though I felt so much better, I remembered that Holy
Spirit had instructed me to take two Epsom salt baths. So, last evening, I took
another, even though I felt 100% better.
How many know that whatever He says to us, when we do it, the miracle
occurs, just like the water that was turned into wine when the disciples did
what Jesus told them. His own mother had instructed them wisely…
John 2:5
His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he
saith unto you, do it.
What if I had not taken the second bath? I could have lost my healing.
But I did what He said and today, I am healed, fully and completely. Glory to
God. I went out to walk our puppy this morning and I was thanking the Lord for healing
me. Then out of my mouth came these words, “Lord, I don’t want to be like the 9
lepers who got healed and went on their way. I want to be like the one who came
back to thank You.” Then I took off running with Jesse, not walking. I came
across the friend who had prayed for me as she was walking her dog. She saw me
walk, then run, as if nothing had ever happened. She joined me in giving glory
to God.
And you must hear this. At home in my bedroom this morning, I had
flipped open my Bible, and did not look at what I had opened to. I was saving
it until I would have time to sit down for this study and really meditate on
it. This is what I “randomly” opened to…
Luke 17:11-19
11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem,
that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
12 And as he entered into a certain village, there
met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
13 And they lifted up their voices, and said,
Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew
yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were
cleansed.
15 And one of them, when he saw that he
was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
16 And fell down on his face at his feet,
giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
17 And Jesus answering said, Were
there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
18 There are not found that returned to give glory to
God, save this stranger.
19 And he said unto him, Arise,
go thy way: thy faith hath
made thee whole.
Praise God! Can you see it
saints? Jesus gave the lepers a command. Go show yourselves to the priests.
Were they healed before they started to walk away to go to the priests? No,
they were not. But, as they obeyed what he said and turned to go, they received
their healing. Then, one of them, not even a Jewish man by birth realized that
he had been healed and came back glorifying and thanking God for what He had
done for him.
After that we see what
happened. Jesus Himself said it – the man’s faith made him well. Is it God’s
will to heal people? Yes, every time. Do all people believe it? No, sadly, they
do not. But Jesus is a faith preacher. Without faith, we cannot please God. He
saw this man’s faith, and it had made him well. They all got healed, but only
one came back to thank and praise Him. That is what I was doing as I was
walking around the lake this morning. Out of my mouth came the very words that
I would open my Bible to today. This happens all the time around here.
Also, as I was first sitting
at my desk to study, I could feel the symptoms trying to come back. That was
the devil. He will try to get us to think we were not really healed by bringing
back the symptoms. But I refused them. I said out loud that I was healed by
Jesus and that I am seated in heavenly places, far above pain and I refuse to accept
those symptoms. Guess what friend – the symptoms left. Glory to God!
As we review this wonderful
chapter on the abundant provisions of God, I believe I was supposed to share
this testimony with you. I am supposed to show you that God has not only
provided what we need materially in the earth, but He has provided what we need
spiritually too. He has seated us with Christ in heavenly places…
Ephesians 2:6
And hath raised us up
together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
In addition to our spiritual
place of authority in Christ, He has given us every spiritual blessing that we
need to live victoriously in the earth He gave us…
Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
In addition to giving us the
earth with an abundant supply of water and food, the seasons, the sun and moon
for day and night, along with work for man and beast to perform each day at the
proper time, He has blessed us spiritually in Christ Jesus with every spiritual
blessing we need. We have authority over the devil and we have all the riches
in glory provided through Christ Jesus our Lord as His born again, regenerated
children. You notice in the chapter that the Lord replenishes the earth. People
and animals come and go. But it is the Lord who created them all. By His
Spirit, He sent us to this earth for such a time as this. He gave everything a
time and a purpose under the sun. Let’s start with this from Ecclesiastes…
Ecclesiastes 1:1-15
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David,
king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity
of vanities; all is vanity.
3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which
he taketh under the sun?
4 One generation passeth away, and another
generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down,
and hasteth to his place where he arose.
6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth
about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth
again according to his circuits.
7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is
not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return
again.
8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter
it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall
be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new
thing under the sun.
10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See,
this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things;
neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those
that shall come after.
12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in
Jerusalem.
13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by
wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath
God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.
14 I have seen all the works that are done under
the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight:
and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
Can you see how beautifully
this ties in to the Psalm today? Now let’s go further in the same book…
Ecclesiastes 3 (The Entire
Chapter)
3 To every thing there is a season, and a time to
every purpose under the heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to
plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to
break down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to
mourn, and a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather
stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to
keep, and a time to cast away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to
keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of
war, and a time of peace.
9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein
he laboureth?
10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to
the sons of men to be exercised in it.
11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time:
also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work
that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a
man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
13 And also that every man should eat and drink,
and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be
for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth
it, that men should fear before him.
15 That which hath been is now; and that which is
to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.
16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of
judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that
iniquity was there.
17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the
righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for
every work.
18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of
the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that
they themselves are beasts.
19 For that which befalleth the sons of men
befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the
other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a
beast: for all is vanity.
20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and
all turn to dust again.
21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward,
and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing
better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his
portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
In rightly dividing the word
of God, we see it all come together like the lyrics of a perfect melody. Oh
glory to God! These two chapters come together with the Psalm today like a
finely tuned instrument singing praise to God! Hallelujah! Did you notice in
there where it says a “time to heal?” This weekend was my time to heal.
This is
the second major injury I have experienced in the past few months - both occurring
at the gym. Both times, the Lord healed me without any medical intervention
whatsoever. This does not mean we never go to a Dr. Sometimes He will tell us
to do that and choose to work through a Dr. We have to seek His will – hear what
He says, and then do it.
In a chapter filled with God’s
review of His abundant provision, He wants His people to see that He really has
provided every possible thing that we will ever need for life and godliness in
this earth…
2 Peter 1:3
According as his divine power
hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us
to glory and virtue:
When God made the earth and
everything in it, He looked down and saw that it was good…
Genesis 1 (The Entire Chapter)
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the
earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and
darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the
face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was
light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God
divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness
he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the
midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the
waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the
firmament: and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the
evening and the morning were the second day.
9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be
gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the
gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass,
the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose
seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb
yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in
itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
13 And the evening and the morning were the third
day.
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the
firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for
signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of
the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light
to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars
also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven
to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and
to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth
day.
20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth
abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the
earth in the open firmament of heaven.
21 And God created great whales, and every living
creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their
kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth
day.
24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the
living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the
earth after his kind: and it was so.
25 And God made the beast of the earth after his
kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth
after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and
over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over
every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the
image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every
living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every
herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in
the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every
fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there
is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and,
behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Friend, is this how you see
God’s creation? In looking at verse 13 of today’s chapter, are you satisfied
with the fruit of God’s wonderful works? He made it all for you and me to
enjoy, you know. He left nothing out. There was not one thing lacking in what
the Lord provided for the people and creatures He would create to dwell on the
earth. All of this pleased Him. God is so good that He would not/could not even
consider creating all of this without making sure that every single provision
was given so there would be nothing lacking. God is light and He is wrapped in
light. There is nothing lacking in Him, no darkness at all…
1 John 1:5
This then is the message which we have heard of
him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Look at this. It tells us in
another way of His provisions…
Psalm 84:11
For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold
from them that walk uprightly.
There is a heavenly
requirement to the humans of the earth in this. God gave us a free will and He
requires that we do the right things according to His commandments. If we do,
we will not lack a single good thing. How many of God’s precious people really
believe this? Let me share with you another amazing thing that happened on my
walk this morning with our little puppy, Jesse.
After I spoke out and thanked
the Lord for healing me, we continued around the curve. There, standing within
10 feet or so from us was a large sandhill crane. These are very large and
beautiful birds that we see a lot here in Florida. They have long legs and a
large wingspan. They are grey in color and their bodies are quite large.
We stopped for a moment and
looked at him. He just stood there – unafraid of our presence. I marveled at
the Lord as I looked at him. Out of my mouth I spoke these words to my puppy (I
talk to him a lot, and as a result he understands a lot), saying, “Look at how
big and plump his little body is. The Lord certainly provides well for him. He
is beautiful!”
This was all before I ever opened the Bible to look at our
chapter for the day. When I began reading this chapter, I marveled out loud and
praised God. Look at the things I said on my walk this morning. Then think
about what He is trying to show us today. If the Lord feeds a bird like him so
well, how much more will He provide for you…
Matthew 6:25-34
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your
life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye
shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not,
neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth
them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit
unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the
lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all
his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the
field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much
more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we
eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:)
for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the
morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is
the evil thereof.
We matter a lot more than
these precious birds to the Lord! Personally, I am in awe of God! I have never
studied the Psalms before like we are now, and I am daily discovering more and
more about the Lord and His ways that bring me great encouragement and comfort.
How about you? We know that He supplies all our needs now in Christ Jesus…
Philippians 4:19
But my God shall supply all
your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
By studying God’s word in more
depth, I believe He can help us to realize more than we ever have just how much
He has done for us. Maybe we can begin to really realize how much He loves us
and how deeply He wants us to receive all that He has given. God is a giver.
That is His nature. Look at this…
Romans 11:33-36
33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding
out!
34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who
hath been his counsellor?
35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be
recompensed unto him again?
36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all
things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
How can we not be in awe and
praise of Him? As we come to the closing verses in this chapter, we can see
that we have great reason to bless the Lord from the depth of our soul, don’t
we saints? We have many reasons to praise Him. What has God done for you but to
bring you up from the slimy pit of sin and set your feet on the solid Rock –
Jesus? How does your heart rejoice in God your Savior as you mediate on all His
goodness while you study His words? Perhaps you are like me in claiming the
following verses as your verses for life…
Psalm 40:1-3
40 I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard
my cry.
2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit,
out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even
praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.
Today’s Psalm says the Lord
established the earth. And for the Christian, He has established our goings
through His Son Jesus – praise His name forever. We certainly do have a lot of
reasons to bless the Lord – amen!
There are three main points to
consider from today’s study…
God is light – there is no darkness
in Him
God’s provisions are 100% complete
for every person and beast
God saw all that He made and said “It
was good!”
Questions:
What did you see in this lesson that you have never seen
before with regard to the Lord’s provisions?
How will this change your thinking about what God has done
for you?
In what ways will this lesson change the way you do things in
your daily life?
What are some of the things you can thank the Lord for providing
in your life right now?
Who can you share this study with?
Do you
really believe that God has already provided everything you need?
Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father:
Thank You for giving us everything we could ever
need to have a wonderful, successful life while we are here on the earth. Lord,
I ask You to show me who I can share this with. Many are out there not
realizing all that You have given to us for a good life and godliness. Bring
people across my path whom I can encourage by pointing them to Your word, Your
promises therein and Your sweet love. Thank You in advance for the answers. I believe
I receive them in Jesus name. Amen.
And God Said… You fill in the blanks.
Psalm 121
121 I will lift up mine eyes
unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy
foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth
Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right
hand.
6 The sun shall not smite
thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all
evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out
and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
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