Daily Bible Study for Wednesday November
16, 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
Psalm 119:18
Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous
things out of thy law.
Psalm 101
As for Me & My House – We Will Serve the Lord
Joshua 24:15
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether
the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or
the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
How many Christians today are allowing evil things to be in
their homes? We are talking about evil people, television shows that are
ungodly, worldly magazines, bad language, etc.? Any place where the children of
the Lord are living should be a holy, sanctified place that brings glory to God
in every aspect of it. Not one “nook or cranny” should have anything ungodly in
it! It looks like the man Joshua had his priorities right, doesn’t it? Let’s
pray…
Heavenly Father:
Thank You for Your word to illuminate our hearts about how we
should live and move and have our being. Father, You have set the boundary
lines in pleasant places for Your children. You make our dwelling places secure
and give us quiet resting places. The place where Your glory dwells is a place
that is called to be holy – far different from the way the wicked live. Father,
I ask You for the utterance and the anointing to stand in Your courts and speak
to Your church all the words that You want me to say, diminishing not a single
word. Give glory to Yourself as You teach us from Your powerful, holy, anointed
word in this chapter today. I ask that You help get clarity, receive correction
and new insight into the proper ways that Your godly, born again children should
live and work. Show us how our homes should look to bring You honor and glory.
Help us see anything that is evil in our midst and get rid of it. Give me
clarity, so this message will go out with excellence, unhindered and unchecked
by any outside force or my flesh. Anoint my head with Your oil and use my mind
to think Your thoughts and convey the message to Your family today. Father,
thank You for always watching over Your word to perform it in our lives when we
trust in You and obey it. Transform us by the renewing of our minds as we place
our faith in Your powerful word to change us and bring us higher in our walk
with You - a blameless walk. Clean our house Lord and clean out our hearts so
that we are willing to live and associate with the right people and do the
right things that are pleasing in Your sight at all times. We thank You in
advance for the answers to this prayer in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
This Psalm is very specifically addressing how the godly
should live in their homes, who they should associate with, and what they
should do with anything or anyone who is evil in their midst – get rid of it! I
remember last year after Christmas, as I was taking down the decorations from
the beautiful season where we celebrate the birth of Jesus, I was led by the
Lord to clean out old pictures. I don’t look through my photo albums very much
at all – who has the time for that, anyway? LOL! I didn’t have any filthy
pictures or anything of the sort, mind you, but there were things in there that
brought back old, not so happy memories.
There were pictures of people whom my parents, very ungodly
people at the time, had associated with in Africa where I was born. Holy Spirit
was prompting me to sort through all of it and get rid of any picture of people
I do not know. There were pictures of belly dancers in there, and He wanted
those to go too! I tossed a lot out that day. And, after I did that, I felt new
on the inside. It was a new year, and my home felt new because anything that
did not properly honor the Lord was thrown away – period!
Today, we have millions of Christians who still look and act
like the world. They talk like the ungodly, they dress like the ungodly, they
watch the same kind of movies and even listen to ungodly music, all the while
calling themselves a Christian. But the love of Christ is not evident in such a
one when their homes are full of worldly things, television shows, music or
magazines to name only a few items. Holy Spirit, speaking through David in our
Psalm today gives us a very clear picture of the stance a Christian man, woman
or child should take when it comes to their home, their work and their
friendships.
He said in essence, “I will live God’s way. I won’t have
anything to do with evil. I will not have fellowship with evil people. Only
godly people will live in my house, and only godly people will work for me. If
there is anyone who is ungodly in my midst, I will get them out and quick! In
fact, anyone who is in my town, I will deal with them if they are not lovers of
the Lord.” David was a man after God’s own heart. He didn’t want anything
corrupt to be set before his eyes in his home, his courts or his city – the city
of David; the city of our God.
Unfortunately, in these days and times, not only have the
Christians allowed evil to penetrate the walls of their homes and fill the air
with the wicked things coming in from the television and radio, but they have
stopped voting and allowed the ungodly to move into our country and towns to
take over. Have you noticed how just a few people in a small group who screams
loudly enough is allowed to bring their ungodly ways into the very core of our
society? A few bad apples indeed spoils the whole bunch!
Why is this happening? Because the Christians have basically
rolled over and played dead. We have allowed a few wicked people who do
abominable things in the sight of the Lord tell the majority of the people in
this nation how to live. This nation was built by God. It is supposed to be one
nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. But folks have
taken things out of context, and wicked folk have perverted the laws of justice
as if to make a mockery of our God and King. And we have just sat back and allowed
it happen.
We allowed these wicked people to take the Bible out of
schools and the government. We have abandoned prayer in these public assemblies
and turned to the advice of evil people on how to run this country and solve
our troubles. We have allowed some the writings of worldly psychologists to completely
stop parents from disciplining their children and raising them according to God’s
standards. Now we have a wicked, disrespectful, perverse generation of kids and
young adults on our hands. They have no respect for authority and everyone is
suffering for it. They have been cheated out of the abundant life that the Lord
has for them as future leaders of a potentially great country.
Just yesterday I was in a store. After the customer before me
exited the building, the man behind the counter looked at me and said something
like this, “I may be old fashioned, but I would never let a kid run through the
store like that and just grab things off the shelves.” I looked at him and the next
thing I knew, Holy Spirit had seized the moment to let this man know why we
have such a godless generation of kids. I
knew it had to be God. I never could have come up with what came out of my
mouth on my own – we can be certain!
I explained to him that all of this is happening because this
nation has taken God and His good ways of life completely out of the schools
and government. God has the right way to live and raise kids, but all of this
has been abandoned in lieu of doing things our own way. He listened intently as
if it was a word in season for him. While he stands at his cash register day
after day and sees many people come and go, he probably wonders why people are
the way they are now days. That was evident in his comments to me.
The Lord, who has excellent timing, used the opportunity to
turn the man’s heart toward Him. I seriously doubt that the man is saved just
from the sense I get from him on the few occasions I have been in the store, however,
I really can’t be the one to judge that. Only God really knows. After I left,
the Lord actually thanked me for being willing to open my mouth. Because I did,
He was able to get a message to a man who may not have received his salvation
yet, and all of this while there was a moment to grab his attention and cause
him to think seriously about what he had just heard.
In another example, I have a very dear friend who loves the
Lord and is growing up in Him quite nicely in the later years of her life. It
has been amazing to watch such a powerful transformation in her thinking in
such a short time after she got up under some very powerful teaching on the
word of God. This woman has a neighbor who always wants her to come over and
eat with her. Her neighbor is lonely so she cooks my friend all this food and
is always asking her to come over. When my friend tries to talk about the
things of the Lord, even though she says she is a “Christian”, the woman backs
away from that type of conversation preferring to talk about shows on TV, what
the movie starts are doing, etc.
She can’t name much that happened in the Bible but she knows
what’s going on in the world like it is her job to keep track of it all. So,
what is wrong with this picture? A couple of things really. First of all, my
friend is having fellowship with someone who seems to be quite ungodly. How
many know that bad company corrupts good character? The longer we hang around
the ungodly, the more ungodly we get. Just ask me how I know this all too well!
I’ve been through it, and almost lost my life and salvation over it.
The second thing is that this woman she is fellowshipping
with is completely unwilling to grow in the things of God. Here is what the Bible
says about us when it comes to making sure we are saved…
2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith;
prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in
you, except ye be reprobates?
If we are fellowshipping with someone
who calls themselves a Christian but wants nothing to do with discussing the
things of God or getting into His word with us, we can see one thing very
clearly – a great big red flag! Friend, it is time to run in the other
direction. I have encountered this before, even in the church! Can you see how
David might have handled a situation like this if this were him, according to
our chapter today? He really loved the Lord and he would not even tolerate such
a one who did not also love Him. He would kick them out of his house and out of
the city! He meant business.
What has happened to us as
Christians these days that we don’t “mean business” like that? Why are we
tolerating evil things and evil people? Why do we cower back like some scared
little puppy when we are confronted with the ungodly people around us? Even
Jesus, who came to seek the lost house of Israel, would not associate with the
outsiders. He was there to help God’s chosen people – His very own kind, the
people of Israel. But look at what happened in this case…
Matthew 15:21-28 AMPC Version
21 And going away from there, Jesus withdrew to the
district of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And behold, a woman who was a Canaanite from
that district came out and, with a [loud, troublesomely urgent] cry, begged,
Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is miserably and distressingly and cruelly possessed by a
demon!
23 But He
did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him,
saying, Send her away, for she is crying out after us.
24 He answered, I was sent only to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25 But she came and, kneeling, worshiped Him and
kept praying, Lord, help me!
26 And He answered, It is not right (proper,
becoming, or fair) to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little
dogs.
27 She said, Yes, Lord, yet even the little pups (little
whelps) eat the crumbs that fall from their [young] masters’ table.
28 Then Jesus answered her, O
woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you wish. And
her daughter was cured from that moment.
Jesus knew that it was not right to give something holy and
precious to one who would not appreciate it. This woman was not an Israelite.
He was there to help them first. But do you see how she showed Him respect and
honor? Friend, that made all the difference. In the chapter today, David wrote
that he would not tolerate one with a haughty or prideful look. This woman came
to Jesus humbly.
How many know that this is the only way we can approach the
Lord – with humility? Because she did, the Lord turned and marveled at her
faith by granting her desire. Salvation had come to her house because she was
willing to consider the holy things of God. She was not prideful or self-consumed.
She wanted help and she worshiped the Lord. Because of that, she was invited in
to the house (family) of God.
Now let’s look back at my friend’s next door neighbor. What
if this woman had a soft and willing heart to talk about the things of God?
What if she asked my friend to help her understand more so she could live a
proper godly life? In that case, we would be talking about an entirely
different matter. Jesus never turned anyone away who wanted more of God – we can
be sure. But like the Psalm says today, if they are wicked, out with them, and
now! Friend, we are not pointing a finger at my friend or this lady. The Lord is
using this example so all of us can learn what we should be engaging in as Christians,
and what we should not.
Now let’s look at another example of someone who was
interested in what Jesus had to say and see what happened at his house that
day. His name is Zacchaeus. This was apparently a short little man with a great
big desire to see the Lord that day…
Luke 19:1-10
19 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus,
which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.
3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could
not for the press, because he was little of stature.
4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a
sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.
5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up,
and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I
must abide at thy house.
6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.
7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying,
That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.
8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord:
Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any
thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.
9 And Jesus said unto him, This
day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save
that which was lost.
What if my friend’s neighbor heard about the things of God
and said, “Tell me more, please, tell me more!” In that case, we would be
dealing with an entirely different matter, wouldn’t we? Yes, Zacchaeus was a
Jewish man and the syrophenician woman was a Canaanite, but with God, His mercy
extends across all socio-economic boundary lines. Jesus may have come to the
house of Israel first to get them going in order to build the church across
racial lines, but when He encountered that woman of faith, He did not turn her
away.
Let’s get back to my friend and her neighbor. Going over to have dinner
with her would now be a time of great, loving Christian fellowship. The main
topic of conversation would be the Lord, His word and all about the great
things He has done. Have you been around people who are not one bit interested
in talking about God? It is like being a fish out of water. Nothing about it
feels right, does it? We can feel like we are suffocating from all the worldliness
they are discussing; wanting only to politely escape at the earliest opportunity.
When we get around people who love the Lord, we can stop talking about Him and praising
Him! It is glorious.
My friend could mentor her neighbor and help her along by showing
her how to get closer to the Lord. That would be a very different scenario. God is rich in mercy and
judgment. That’s what the chapter starts out with today. Mercy forgives. But
judgment (proper wisdom, godly judgment, calls it like it is). That’s what we
need to do when faced with people in our very close quarters who will not honor
God. We need to stop acting like our nation has been lately by bending to the
ungodly way of doing things and start standing up for God, His principals and
His standards for life.
If someone does not choose to
cooperate, that’s OK. We just let them go – someplace else. We are not unkind
to them. We just disengage. They should not be infiltrating our homes. This is
called having an enemy in the camp. We will lose every time. Again, ask me how
I know. Experience speaks louder than words and I have certainly experienced
this, even recently. I mentioned this in a previous Bible study bearing the
same name, “Enemy in The Camp.” The results were not good. And guess who got
robbed? Me and my husband!
Friend, I believe the Lord is calling the church to rise up,
get cleaned up and take her rightful place in society. The Lord Jesus is coming
back very, very soon. He is coming for a spotless bride. Right now, there is a
lot of sin within the church walls and God is cleaning house. It may not always
be easy to hear a message like this, but we need to. The Lord is holy, holy,
holy. If we stand and say that to Him just a few times in a row, we begin to weep.
Why? Because God is a holy, consuming fire. Sin cannot be in His presence – the
person would get burned up instantly. That’s why we need the blood of Jesus to
cover our sin, otherwise we would be consumed in the presence of the Lord. Joshua
was another great example of a man who loved the Lord and was standing for Him –
no matter what. Is that the declaration of your household and business?
There are three main points to
consider from today’s study…
Living God’s way means keeping everything
in our lives and homes holy and pure
Only godly people should be living
with us or working in our businesses
When someone is in our midst who is
polluting us, we need to remove ourselves from their presence
Questions:
What house cleaning might you need to do after reading this
lesson?
Who have you been fellowshipping with – the godly or the
wicked?
What will you do differently after reading this study?
Do you know any other Christians who may appreciate this
message?
Have
you done any “godly” house cleaning lately?
Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father:
Thank You for showing me how to keep my dwelling
place holy and set apart for Your glory. Father, I ask You to show me of there is
anything in my house that needs to go. Show me if I have been having fellowship
with anyone that I may need to back away from. Help me hear instruction from
You and be wise like Your word says so that I can walk in my house with a blameless
heart. Thank You in advance for Your help in the wonderful name of Jesus. Amen.
And God Said… You fill in the blanks.
Luke 1:46-55
46 And
Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47 And
my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
48 For
he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth
all generations shall call me blessed.
49 For
he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
50 And
his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
51 He
hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the
imagination of their hearts.
52 He
hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
53 He
hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
54 He
hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
55 As he
spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
