Daily Bible Study for Thursday November
3, 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.
***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
Romans 13:1
Let every soul be subject unto
the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are
ordained of God.
Psalm 92
Are You a Flourishing Tree?
God’s word can be fun and educational in addition to all the
other things we get from it, like instruction on how to live. As we study, we
can learn facts about the world around us and the Lord can use it all to apply
to His word and us! We can all be instruments of praise for His never-ending
faithfulness and lovingkindness, morning, noon and night, can’t we? Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father:
Thank You for the joy that you bring to our lives! Father,
seeking You causes us to continually have a reason to praise You! You are there
with Your lovingkindness every morning, and there with Your faithfulness every
night. We ask You to make us Your instruments of praise as we study, learn and
grow with the seed of Your word. Lord, we ask You to water it today. Cause it
to flourish within our hearts. Father, I ask You for the anointing and the
utterance to bring Your message to Your children far and wide. Open the eyes of
our hearts that we may see You more clearly. Give us a spiritual vision such as
we have never seen before. Soften our hearts to receive it. Father, I also ask
that You help me to speak with boldness, clarity and accuracy. Make this
message reach Your intended audience as it goes out unhindered and unchecked by
any outside force or my flesh. Father, thank You for watching over Your word to
perform it in our lives when we do what You say. May there be a flourishing
crop of fruit born in our lives for such a time as this – like a tree planted
by living waters that causes us to grow strong and prosper in all that we do.
Thank You for the answers to this prayer. We believe we have received them and
thank You for it in Jesus name. Amen.
There are not many verses in today’s chapter, but there are many
things that the Lord wants to show us. It is so exciting to unwrap these
messages every day, one step at a time by faith. What joy it is to follow the
wonderful path that out loving and kind heavenly Father has for us each day.
Just a few moments ago, as I was eating lunch, He asked me a question. He said,
“Isn’t living like this so much better?” To that I replied, “Oh yes! I would
not want to go back to my old ways of doing things.” There is so much joy and peace
when we do things the Lord’s way, rather than the misery we get when we keep
trying to do it the “flesh way.”
Today when I read the verse that talked about how the Lord
had made the writer glad, I think of how glad I am in these days of my life.
And why? Because the Lord has caused me to triumph by the great things He has
done. The miracles and power that He has dropped down on my life so that I
could triumph over sin, addiction, and all kinds of chaos leave me rejoicing
and praising Him with all my heart – as an instrument of praise. Does that
describe you? If so, then you can share in the joy of this lesson today –
hallelujah! And if it doesn’t describe how you are living right now, let me
encourage you. Stay with Him. He will get you there.
Let’s look at the base text that the Father has started me off
with. This is not where the Psalm begins, but it is where we will end. Keep
these verses in mind as you study…
2 Peter 3:11-18
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be
dissolved, what manner of persons
ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the
day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look
for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such
things, be diligent
that ye may be found of
him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord
is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom
given unto him hath written unto you;
16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of
these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that
are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto
their own destruction.
17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these
things before, beware
lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own
stedfastness.
18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
This text is showing us how we as Christians should be living
as we see the day of the end and the Lord’s return approaching. Some key things
here are that we need to be diligent. That was a word both my husband and I
received separately in our prayer time this morning. He wants us to do
everything with excellence. He wants us to be diligent at it. Diligence in the
dictionary is described as…
Steady in application to business;
constant in effort or exertion to accomplish what is undertaken; assiduous;
attentive; industrious; not idle or negligent; applied to persons.
Steadily applied; prosecuted with care and
constant effort; careful; assiduous; as, make diligent search.
Friend, these characteristics are a description of how every
Christian needs to be about our walk with Jesus. We need to stay at it. We must
be careful and watchful. Look at this…
Matthew 26:41
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is weak.
Did you notice that the scripture in 2 Peter mentioned how we
talk? Yes, that is extremely important. We have to watch what we say for all
kinds of good reasons. Look at this…
Job 15:2-6
2 Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill
his belly with the east wind?
3 Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches
wherewith he can do no good?
4 Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest
prayer before God.
5 For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue
of the crafty.
6 Thine own
mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee.
The Bible has much to say about the power of the tongue. It
also shows us that by our mouths we can sin – a lot. So many times, we spend a
lot of unnecessary time talking about things that not only do not matter, but
are causing us to sin. How so? We can easily get into boasting, being anxious,
and list could go on. So much of human conversation is completely useless. It
is producing nothing good. Casual conversation should not be the goal of our
hearts friend. We must put away an evil mouth. Many of us do not realize what
we are saying and doing because we are not paying attention. And a lot of talk
is pride - wanting to be heard and draw attention to oneself. This is evil
church!
The book of Hosea for example shows God’s people asking the
Lord to forgive them for their sins, but not with sincerity. What the Lord is
looking for with us is to pray if we have sinned, but not because we are in
trouble because of sin. He wants to hear sincere words, (not vain, liturgical repetition
of prayers) that are crying out to Him to cleanse our hearts from all
unrighteousness. Here is verse He showed me this morning…
Psalm 119:10-11
10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me
not wander from thy commandments.
11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might
not sin against thee.
This kind of prayer is pleasing to the Lord. He has promised
to receive us ever so graciously. He has also promised to heal our backsliding.
I am a witness to this – hallelujah! Let’s look at what has become an all too
familiar verse in my life…
Hosea 14:4
I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is
turned away from him.
Unfortunately, I have had to
be told this multiple times by the Lord. I am not pleased to say it, but it is
true. I would try to straighten up, but on my own I couldn’t get myself there.
I needed His help. No man, woman or child can “fix” themselves or get to a
place where they are not sinning without the Lord’s help. It is impossible…
Mark 10:27
And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is
impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are
possible.
Jesus
was talking about a specific situation in this passage, but the principal
applies across the pages of our lives, regardless of what we are dealing with.
We simply cannot get it right without His help. This does not mean that we do
not have any responsibility in the matters we face. Certainly not! We all have
to do our part. If we just take the opinion of, “Oh well, I can’t do it on my
own, so what’s the use?” - then we are in trouble. God won’t stop us from doing
anything. In all things, He gave us a free will and a choice. In the end, how
our life ends up depends 100% on the choices we make and how we respond to God’s
word of instruction. Anyone not willing to do the work is just looking for an
excuse to sit by and do nothing.
The
good news is, if we will do what He requires of us, we have a wonderful
assurance that He gives us in this scripture…
Jeremiah
31:2-3
2 Thus saith the Lord, The people which were left of the sword found grace in
the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.
3 The Lord hath
appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
Now
that’s reassuring, isn’t it? In today’s chapter, we see praise to the Lord for
His wonderful lovingkindness. Glory to His name forever. As much as we may have
blown it in the past, we can come and ask Him to help us straighten up and do
the right thing, and He is more than happy to help. Then He takes us up in His
everlasting arms and loves us freely, as if we have never sinned at all.
Friend, that is what forgiveness is. Our sins are wiped off the record as if
they never happened, and we get all the love that our Abba (Daddy) in heaven
wants to pour out on us. Hallelujah! That is good news, isn’t it?
Moving
on, our chapter reminds us today that God is still on the throne and He will
deal with the enemy, make no mistake. In the end, the devil will be tossed away
into the lake of fire for eternity in everlasting torment. For now, He will use
what we face in this life to strengthen us. He has given us the victory over
satan and all the powers of darkness. We just have to use it. No key is any
good unless it inserted into the lock. We can look at people all around us who
seem like they are flourishing when they do not care one bit about the things
of God.
These
are people who are spiritually blinded. They have given place to the devil to
work in their lives. They cannot see the things of God clearly. Let’s look at a
passage that describes this very situation…
John
9:35-41
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when
he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the
Son of God?
36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I
might believe on him?
37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou
hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped
him.
39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come
into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see
might be made blind.
40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him
heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
41 Jesus said unto them, If ye
were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin
remaineth.
The
wicked are the ones out there living as if there was no God. They are working
and doing their own thing, depending solely on their own efforts. Many have
great wealth and think, “I have everything I want. Why would I want to leave it
all to be poor and follow Jesus?” They think they can see things clearly, but
in reality, they are spiritually blinded because of the hardness of their
hearts. One is not ever called to be poor as they follow Jesus by the way. He
wants us all to prosper in every way, including financially. But those who
remain blind have a short lease on life. Their time of destruction draws ever
nearer, day by day.
Conversely,
those who think they are blind but want to see their Lord and salvation, like
the blind man that Jesus just healed in this chapter will be given their sight.
Again, this is speaking more about spiritual sight rather than physical sight.
This entire event was to bring about the revelation of the Savior in a blind
man’s life, and the Lord had compassion on Him. He wants to with everyone. Jesus
healed the problem this man had dealt with throughout his entire life where his
physical eyes were concerned in addition to showing him salvation.
The
Psalmist wrote that God would give him the victory over his enemies, and today,
in the New Testament life we now live, we can say with honesty that He has done
it – hallelujah! The enemy has been defeated. The question here is this: do you
know this? Just like we studied yesterday, we will see the reward the enemy
will get. Let’s look again at a verse from our study in Psalm 91 yesterday…
Psalm
91:8
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
The Lord will exalt our horn (strength) over that of the
enemy. Using His word in faith is how we achieve this. Jesus used the word to
fight – so must we. Where does our power come from to live this life the way we
should? The Holy Spirit of God, that’s where. Every day any born again believer
is anointed to live in victory and take authority over the enemy. They can do
mighty sings, wonders and miracles by the Holy Spirit power at work in us.
God is
with us all the time. Being filled and refilled with Holy Spirit as we go along
is vital to our lives. Being filled with Holy Spirit is one thing, but being “refilled”
is another. We have to keep going back to our power source every single day to
get a fresh anointing – a new measure of His Spirit. As the day goes on, we can
begin to run low if we do not stay closely connected to the Lord all day long.
The last 4 verses of this chapter are so exciting for the Christian!
The Bible says that those who are righteous shall flourish. Let’s look at the
definition of this word according to the Webster 1828 Dictionary …
To thrive;
to grow
luxuriantly; to increase
and enlarge, as a healthy growing plant. The beech and the maple flourish best
in a deep, rich and moist loam.
To be prosperous;
to increase in wealth or
honor.
Bad men as frequently prosper and flourish and
that by the means of their wickedness.
When all the workers of iniquity do flourish Psalms 92:7.
To grow
in grace and in good works; to abound in the consolations of religion.
This
version of the dictionary is wonderful because it is full of the word of God. I
use it as my primary dictionary for general definitions. Let’s look again at
our base text in the book of 2 Peter, using just verse 18 right now…
2
Peter 3:18
But grow in
grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be
glory both now and for ever. Amen.
Those of us who are in the house of the Lord are expected to
grow and flourish – continually, just like the verses in 2 Peter remind us.
Those of us in this category are likened to a tree that will grow like a cedar
in Lebanon. There is a lot to be said about trees according to the Bible. The
trees, by the way are really the people, and the mountains are really the
leaders in many cases, but not all. I did some research about trees and my
findings were quite fascinating.
First of all, a tree cannot grow by itself. We all know that
it has to be planted somewhere. Those who are planted in the Lord’s house will
grow by His grace, His word and His Spirit. They will receive all the “sap” and
power that they will need to keep them alive and make them fruitful. Trees are
said to grow faster as they age. Also, trees never stop growing, at least in
part. While they may reach their maximum height, their trunk gets wider and
they add new rings year after year. The jujube tree for example, is known to
bear fruit for 75 years.
So if we took a Christian, fresh out of college and going on to
do what the Lord had called them to do, and we added 75 years to say a 25 year
old, we are looking at 100 years of being on the planet with 75 years of
productivity. Praise God. Moses lived to be 120 and he was fresh and
flourishing. His eyesight had not grown dim. He didn’t even start his ministry
until he was 80. By the way, this is no excuse to delay walking into the
calling God has for you! Laugh out loud.
Knowing this gives me a great deal of encouragement since I
am almost 61 and we are just beginning the ministry work the Lord has called my
husband and I to do. We must never give up hope or lose our patience. Back to
Peter. We are instructed to be diligent. Diligent about what? Basically,
working out our salvation, just like this says…
Philippians 2:12
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye 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.
As we age, we can experience more fruit coming from “our
tree.” All along the way, a Christian can be flourishing – old or not. I looked
at Matthew Henry’s commentary (brief quotations are permissible for this study)
today because I wanted to see more about the cedars of Lebanon and what makes
them so significant. The more I read the more excited I became. I rarely depend
on the commentary to do this study as we want this to be Holy Spirit led all
the way. How many know that He can even lead us to do some research in
dictionaries and commentaries? Look at what I found…
(2.) To all the saints. They are here represented
as trees of righteousness, Isa. 61:3; Ps. 1:3. Observe, [1.] The good
place they are fixed in; they are planted in the house of the Lord, Ps. 92:13.
The trees of righteousness do not grow of themselves; they are planted,
not in common soil, but in paradise, in the house of the Lord. Trees are
not usually planted in a house; but God’s trees are said to be planted in his
house because it is from his grace, by his word and Spirit, that they receive
all the sap and virtue that keep them alive and make them fruitful.
They fix themselves to holy ordinances, take root in them,
abide by them, put themselves under the divine protection, and bring forth all
their fruits to God’s honour and glory. [2.] The good plight they shall be kept
in. It is here promised, First, That they shall grow, Ps. 92:12.
Where God gives true grace he will give more grace. God’s trees shall grow
higher, like the cedars, the tall cedars in Lebanon; they shall grow nearer
heaven, and with a holy ambition shall aspire towards the upper world; they
shall grow stronger, like the cedars, and fitter for use.
He that has clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.
Secondly, That they shall flourish, both in the credit of their profession and
in the comfort and joy of their own souls. They shall be cheerful themselves
and respected by all about them. They shall flourish like the palm-tree,
which has a stately body (Song 7:7),
and large boughs, Lev. 23:40; Jdg. 4:5. Dates, the fruit of
it, are very pleasant, but it is especially alluded to here as being ever
green.
The wicked flourish as the grass (Ps. 92:7),
which is soon withered, but the righteous as the palm-tree, which is long-lived
and which the winter does not change. It has been said of the palm-tree, —The
more it is pressed down the more it grows; so the righteous flourish under
their burdens; the more they are afflicted the more they multiply. Being
planted in the house of the Lord (there their root is), they
flourish in the courts of our God—there their branches spread.
Their life is hid with Christ in God. But their light also
shines before men. It is desirable that those who have a place should have a
name in God’s house, and within his walls, Isa. 56:5.
Let good Christians aim to excel, that they may be eminent and may flourish,
and so may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour, as flourishing trees adorn
the courts of a house. And let those who flourish in God’s courts give him the
glory of it; it is by virtue of this promise, They shall be fat and
flourishing. Their flourishing without is from a fatness within, from the root
and fatness of the good olive, Rom. 11:17.
Without a living principle of grace in the heart the
profession will not be long flourishing; but where that is the leaf also
shall not wither, Ps. 1:3. The
trees of the Lord are full of sap, Ps. 104:16.
See Hos. 14:5, 6. Thirdly, That they
shall be fruitful. Were there nothing but leaves upon them, they would not be
trees of any value; but they shall still bring forth fruit. The products
of sanctification, all the instances of a lively devotion and a useful
conversation, good works, by which God is glorified and others are edified,
these are the fruits of righteousness, in which it is the privilege, as well as
the duty, of the righteous to abound; and their abounding in them is the matter
of a promise as well as of a command.
It is promised that they shall bring forth fruit in old age.
Other trees, when they are old, leave off bearing, but in God’s trees the
strength of grace does not fail with the strength of nature. The last days of
the saints are sometimes their best days, and their last work is their best
work. This indeed shows that they are upright; perseverance is the surest
evidence of sincerity. But it is here said to show that the Lord is
upright (Ps. 92:15), that he is true to his promises and faithful to
every word that he has spoken, and that he is constant to the work which he has
begun.
As it is by the promises that believers first partake of a
divine nature, so it is by the promises that that divine nature is preserved
and kept up; and therefore the power it exerts is an evidence that the Lord
is upright, and so he will show himself with an upright man, Ps. 18:25.
This the psalmist triumphs in: “He is my rock and there is no unrighteousness
in him. I have chosen him for my rock on which to build, in the clefts of which
to take shelter, on the top of which to set my feet. I have found him a rock,
strong and stedfast, and his word as firm as a rock. I have found” (and let
every one speak as he finds) “that there is no unrighteousness in him.” He is
as able, and will be as kind, as his word makes him to be. All that ever
trusted in God found him faithful and all-sufficient, and none were ever made
ashamed of their hope in him.”
Isn’t that marvelous? Praise His name forever! After reading
all of that, I trust your heart rejoiced in being enlightened as much as mine
did about flourishing trees, aka, flourishing Christians. Isn’t that why you
are studying this? Do you desire to be flourishing in the work the Lord has for
you regardless of your age? If you answered yes, then you are in the right
place. Pressing in to the Lord will get each of us where we need to go. For
Him, time is not an issue like it is for us.
Many of us get so frustrated
because we are not making the progress we think we should be. The answer to
that is simple. Whatever the Lord says to you, do it. Once that takes place,
the miracles will begin to snowball in your life and mine such as we never
imagined. I’m a witness! Then we will be able to do what the final verse in the
Psalm today says. The Lord is upright in all He does. He is the Rock that we are
built on to show forth His glory and praise throughout the earth – hallelujah.
There are three main points to
consider from today’s study…
God has already given us all the
victory we need to take care of the devil
Being planted in God’s house will
cause us to grow strong in our Christian walk
Even in old age, we can be fresh and
flourishing
Questions:
What spoke to you the most in this study?
What about the trees helped you to understand your life in
Christ better?
What have you been doing to work out your salvation and obey
the commands given in the 2 Peter verses?
What will you do differently as a result of this lesson?
Who can you share this study with?
Are
you a fresh and flourishing fruit tree?
Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father:
Thank You for Your grace to allow me to be
planted in Your house. What an honor and privilege it truly is to be called a
child of the Most High God! Father, I am asking You to show me anything that we
heard in this lesson that I may not have been doing lately. Show me the things
I need to do so that I can be a flourishing fruit tree for Your kingdom and
glory. Forgive me for the things I have not done in obedience to Your commands.
Help me by cleansing my heart of the desire to do the wrong thing. Set my heart
to passion for You and the work You have for me. I want to be a blessing to You
and then to others. Thank You Lord in advance for the answer to this prayer. I
give You all the glory in Jesus mighty name. Amen.
And God Said… You fill in the blanks.
Matthew 12:33
Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make
the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
