Daily Bible Study for Wednesday December
14, 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
Luke 1:26-28
And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent
from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man
whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured,
the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
Jesus’ Love Lifted Me?
It always takes a few moments of quiet meditation when
looking at the word of God. After we go over it a few times, Holy Spirit begins
to shed light on what He wants us to glean from our study time. The more this
little power packed Psalm came to light for me, the more I could see myself in
it. Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father:
Thank You for hearing us when we cry out to You for help!
There is no problem too big and no request too tall for You to help when we
place our trust in You. Father, I ask You to give me the anointing and the
utterance to bring out what You want us to see in this as it applies to our own
lives. Show us what we could not previously see. Help us to know in our hearts
and understand what these precious words can do to lift us higher than where we
are at right now. Bring those whom You want to receive it. Enlighten the eyes of
our hearts as we meditate on the powerful sharp sword of Your word. Thank You
for always watching over Your word to perform it when we obey You. Father, I
ask You to cause this message to go out unhindered and unchecked by any outside
force or my flesh. Help us by Your Spirit to be doers of Your word and not
hearers only. Thank You in advance for the answers to this prayer. We believe
we have received them and thank You for it in Jesus mighty name. Amen.
One of the ways that the Lord helps me to see what He wants to
talk about is by opening several Bibles. I usually have a few different Bibles located
throughout the house closed and ready for a new day. As I begin my day, I start
to flip them open at random not knowing where the Lord will take me. Many times,
I landed on the exact same verse in more than one Bible! He amazes me – amen!
Or, in other cases, I will flip open the Bible and then, when I go to another,
it will be a passage that lines up perfectly with the lesson for the day. It
perfeclty compliments what I turned to elsewhere. I stand in awe of how He does
what He does. Yes, miracles are happening in this house every day and I live to
give Him praise.
When I was reading this Psalm, it is as if I have never seen
it before. Then I could hear Him speak to my heart and remind me of a time that
I had been in a horrible pit for far too long. It was what I call the worst
time (crisis) in my entire life. That alone is a strong statement because I
have seen my share of troubles in this life. Some were so painful that I barely
made it out alive. Through many heartbreaks and failures, I came to a place
where life seemed to be going along quite smoothly – or was it? While raising
two beautiful, intelligent and very gifted daughters, and married for almost 22
years, I was doing the best I knew how to survive in this life. While I spent
many years in church as an adult, I did not know the One to whom I was singing
praises – not really.
By the time my daughters were getting close to graduating
high school, I began to really take a “nose dive” emotionally. The thought of
losing them to growing up was hitting me harder than I had ever imagined it
would. The thought of an empty nest was more than I could bear at the time. It
was a very long story, but I ended up in a pit so deep I thought I would never come
out. I had voluntarily stepped into it. I certainly could not blame anyone for
my being there. And once I stepped in, I lived there for far too long.
The people I was living with and around were engaging in all
kinds of evil, and I was going along with them. The devil was having a field
day with all of us. Why? Because we had invited him into our lives through
ungodly behavior. Things got so bad that I came to a place where I truly wanted
to die and just go to heaven to be with the Lord. I made plans to commit
suicide, and when I finally made the attempt, I made sure that I took enough
pills to kill me. But God had other plans. Glory to His name forever.
While I survived the suicide attempt, coming within seconds
of taking my last breath on this earth, I still had a lot of work to do if I
ever hoped to get out of the pit I was in. My life was full of sin and guilt
and shame. Once I realized that death was obviously not an option, though I had
sincerely longed for it, I knew I had to pick myself up and start doing something.
The people I lived among were not the problem, per se. We have to remember that
we wrestle not against flesh and blood. I do not hold them responsible for my
poor decisions. I have forgiven them and moved on with my life.
The entire point that I believe the Lord wants us to see today
is that we can live in a pit for far too long, when He never wanted us to be
there in the first place. I had made several attempts to break free of the
relationship I was in that was really pulling me down, but somehow, I kept
going back to it. I was so full of fear at the time, I didn’t know what to do.
One day, I was very angry at the person I was with and sat on my bed just boiling
mad. All of a sudden, I could hear the voice of Holy Spirit in my head so loud
it seemed like it could have been an audible voice, though I knew it wasn’t.
All I heard were these words, “Enough!” And that word came
with a great big exclamation mark. Keep in mind that just a few months prior to
this experience I had fallen to the floor beside my bed one night after church and
asked the Lord to “fix me.” After that I began to read my Bible with a passion like
I never had before. I was going to church and diligently seeking God while was
I was still tangled up in a relationship the Lord never would bless.
It took me a while to “get it” but I finally realized that
the Lord was telling me to leave that man and get out of town. He was ready to
help me but the first thing that had to go was that relationship. The Lord made
a way for me to go to Florida and work for a family member. My situation had
become so desperate that I had no job, no money and I was two months late on my
car payments. It was truly a living hell on earth. I would never want anyone to
experience anything like I had gone through.
I had begun to trust the Lord, crying out to Him daily and
reading His word along with other excellent books about Him and filled with His
word. I knew He heard my prayers. I began to see Him do miraculous things that
could only be God. He had heard my cry, just like our Psalm says today. He had
a plan to get me straightened out, but first, He had to help me see that I had
to break any connection with this group of people and leave my home state of
Michigan. So I did just that.
I drove straight through to Florida, normally about a 24-hour
drive to get to my family’s house and start helping them in their family owned
business. It was a blessing form the Lord. At least I could eat and have a
place to sleep and do my laundry. I had never imagined myself in such a
horrible place in this life. I had stayed in bondage for far too long. Let’s
look at another situation where someone had been in bondage for too long…
Mark 9:17-21
17 And one of the multitude answered and said,
Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him:
and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to
thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
19 He answereth him, and saith, O
faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer
you? bring him unto me.
20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw
him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed
foaming.
21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto
him? And he said, Of a child.
Here we can see a person who was so bound up by the devil
that he was suffering with a dumb spirit; unable to speak. This had gone on for
his entire life, since childhood - though we don’t know at exactly what age.
The fact is, that poor man had been robbed of many years of his life by the
evil one. He needed help. His father had faith that Jesus’ disciples could
help, but after taking his son to them, nothing happened to make him any
better. The next thing we see is that the man brought his son right to Jesus
and asked Him for help. Let’s look at how the rest of the scene played out…
Mark 9:22-29
22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and
into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have
compassion on us, and help us.
23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are
possible to him that believeth.
24 And straightway the father of the child cried
out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
25 When Jesus saw that the people came running
together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou
dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into
him.
26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and
came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and
lifted him up; and he arose.
28 And when he was come into the house, his
disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
29 And he said unto them, This
kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
There’s a lot going on in this passage. First, the disciples
did not handle the situation correctly. Jesus had told them the right way that
it should have been handled, by fasting and prayer. Because they did not seek
the Lord on how to handle this through separating themselves to the Lord for a
time of prayer, they failed at doing what the Lord had given them the authority
to do in His name. We must hear from the Lord on how exactly He wants us to
minister to people before we can go out and try to actually do it. If we go out
on our own without a word from the Lord, then we are going to likely cause more
harm than good in the situation, because “trying” to lay hands on a person in
unbelief or on our own will yield no results and cause great discouragement
among the folks involved, let alone any onlookers in the crowd.
The disciples were dealing with a lack of faith. Therefore,
they failed. But, glory to God, Jesus was there and He corrected the situation.
He commanded the evil spirit to leave him and he did. The man was healed. Jesus
had called the disciples a “faithless generation.” We cannot please God without
faith, and faith in His word and His Holy Spirit gets things done, not doubt
and unbelief. Jesus Himself had said to have faith in God. Prayer is very
important in these situations. There are countless people on the planet who are
living in a pit of despair. They have been there for far too long and they are
desperate for help. They need people to pray for them and seek the Lord and
then be able to minister to them according to the Fathers direction. There is
power in the name of Jesus to heal every sickness and cast out every demon.
Here is what the Bible says about praying for people…
James 5:16
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.
This is a powerful statement. Going to God in faith through
prayer (talking and fellowshipping with Him) can help us to help others. It is
what we are called to do. But we must back up those prayers with our faith,
otherwise we will fail miserably.
I think for me, the thing that stood out the most in this
passage in Mark 9 was the place where Jesus took the man by the hand…
Mark 9:27
But Jesus took him
by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
This reminded me of what the Lord did for me. We notice in
the Psalm today that there is a question raised…
Psalm 120:3
What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou
false tongue?
The writer is showing us how these people he had lived with
for far too long would be dealt with for their evil deeds. The answer follows
right behind it…
Psalm 120:4
Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
What do we know the word of God to be? It is shaper than a double-edged
sword…
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any
twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and
of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart.
Jesus IS the word of God who became flesh and lived among us.
When Jesus said something to the evil spirit, it had to leave. That wicked
thing had to respond to Jesus. Every evil spirit that exists knows who Jesus is
and they all have to obey what He says, or what we say in His name. If only
more believers understood the power they are carrying around within themselves
if they are truly born again. There would be a lot of victorious living
testimonies going around and the devil would be put in his place!
The other thing mentioned is the coals of Juniper. When we
think of a coal, we think of something that is red hot. We would not want to
get near it because it would consume our flesh in an instant. Our God is a
consuming fire and sin cannot stand in His presence. God will take vengeance on
the enemy. One day he will be thrown into the pit for a thousand years. Then he
will be released for a short time and finally, be sent to the burning lake of
fire in hell for all eternity, never to bother us again, hallelujah!
As I thought of the terrible pit I was in, I could think
about how the Lord has taken me by the hand and helped me to walk out of that
pit to a brand-new life. Because I was willing to surrender my life to Him –
finally, He was able to take my hand and show me the way to freedom – praise His
name forever. Because of what He has done for me, I will forever praise His
name and tell as many people as I can how wonderful and loving He really is. I
am here to tell you my friend that no matter what you may be going through in
your life right now, Jesus can bring you up and out of it. All you have to do
is place your full trust in Him – His word. If you will let Him guide and
direct your path, He can lead you to an abundant and victorious life, even in
the midst of facing the usual attacks that will surely come from the devil.
I have experienced so many kinds of trials that I can easily
relate to a lot of people and a lot of their problems. I didn’t earn the
ability to make that statement easily, but it is true. It is only by the grace
of God that I am alive today to tell others what the Lord has done for me.
Today, I turned 61 years of age. I had an appointment to meet our new CPA for
the ministry. It was an exciting day indeed – praise the Lord! The CPA is a man
of God and loves the Lord. We hit it off immediately and I knew my husband and
I could do business with him. I gave him some of my testimonies as we discussed
things. When we were just about done with things, this is what he said, “You
should never stop talking.” To that I replied, “I won’t.”
My life is so rich and full and blessed now that I cannot do
anything but tell the world how awesome and good God really is. I have a
burning passion to share with you and everyone who will listen that we have a
very patient and loving heavenly Father. He gave us the greatest gift we could
ever get through His one and only Son Jesus Christ. His shed blood paid the
price for all of our sins, and gives us entrance into the presence of the Father.
It gives us eternal life and not death. This is what I consider the best birthday
I have ever had. I am stepping more and more into what the Lord had called me
to do before the foundation of the world.
Just this afternoon, after meeting with the CPA, I had a haircut
appointment. While I was there, two young men entered and sat waiting to get
their hair cut when I finished. Holy Spirit led me to ask them what they were
excited about for Christmas and what they thought the perfect gift would be.
Neither of them were excited about Christmas. It was obvious that they were
from poor and perhaps broken families. They said they knew of Jesus but neither
one was living for Him.
After I explained things to them, they said they wanted to
think about whether or not they would surrender their young lives to the Lord.
It made me sad. One is only 16 years old, and the other is age 20. I let them
know that they did not know how much longer they had to live and I asked them
to think about this seriously because anything could happen. That’s how I had
to leave it.
Unfortunately, some will not accept Jesus as their Savior.
But for those who will, they can walk out of any despair they are in and live a
joy filled life of love in the Lord that would keep them shouting His praise
all the way to eternity. Glory to God. May you be encouraged today. Whatever
you are going through, there is no time like right now to take it to the Lord
in prayer – just like we studied yesterday. He will hear and He will help if
you really want it. He is waiting for you to ask. Will you?
There are three main points to
consider from today’s study…
When we cry out to God sincerely, He
will hear and help us
The people of God don’t belong in
the pit – they belong in the palace
No matter how long you have been
down, Jesus wants to take you by the hand and help you up
Questions:
What meant the most to you in this lesson?
In what way might you be living in a “pit” in your life right
now?
What will you do to get free?
When will you begin to take action?
Who can you share this study with?
Do you
want to get out of the pit you are in?
Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father:
Thank You for reaching so far down to lift me out
of the pit I was in. Lord, I ask You to use me to tell others how gracious You
are and how much You long to help them. Help the readers of this message to
really understand Your unfailing, never ending love more today than they did
before they read this. Show them Your mighty outstretched arm and help them up
Lord. May the power of Your love and Your word penetrate their hearts and minds
as they absorb the eternal truth of Your love. Thank You in advance for the people
You will help through this study. Father, I ask You to show the readers whom
they can share this with who may be facing a terrible situation in their lives
right now. We know that Jesus is the truth that can set them free. Thank You in
advance for the answer to this prayer in Jesus mighty and powerful name. Amen.
And God Said… You fill in the blanks.
Psalm 40:1-3
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.
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