Opened Scriptures Bible Studies

Good evening Dear Readers! We enjoyed a wonderful weekend together with family and friends and then were blessed with a great Lord's day at our church. I am thankful for times like this that refresh our soul. Every day our hearts need to be oriented toward heaven right as soon as we wake up, so that we can express our thanksgiving to God.  It is good to develop a pattern of reading the Bible and spending time in prayer each morning before doing anything else. It is like our quiet time with the Lord of Glory. Our thoughts turn to heavenly things that will keep us on track as we navigate through life here and now. Obadiah is the shortest book of the Bible. I would like to begin a study with you of the Book of Obadiah. He is one of the so called "minor" prophets of the Old Testament. The term "minor" simply means that it is a shorter book of prophecy.  In fact, the book of Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament. It is only 21 verses in length....

Good morning to all of you... We have a lovely sunny morning. Our Hibiscus is getting ready to bloom and we have various planters filled with perennials that display dazzling color and differing textures. The lawn looks full of lush, deep green grass.  Our front yard has a massive Pin Oak tree. The circumference must be about 14 feet or so. That tree looked like a forgott en twig stuck into the ground when we moved in 35 years ago! We actually thought about pulling it up and planting something new. Somewhere we have a photo of that scrawny tree. Now, it has matured, majestic and provides habitat for wildlife and shade for us. It has taken time, lots of natural food, sunshine and rain, but if you could see this tree now, I think you would agree it was worth it to keep it.  In some ways, this letter of Paul to Titus is like our Pin Oak. The churches in Crete were newly established and full of new believers. They were in a culture that promoted a lot of sinful behavi...

Good morning to everyone..... It seems we have flipped the switch and jumped right into summer weather. The mornings are the best time to get outside and water gardens and plants. This keeps them vigorous and fresh. This next section of the book of Titus is also filled with truth that that will keep our spirit revived, reinvigorated and filled with fresh zeal for our God. Now, we are going to get into a part of this book that fills me with joy, encouragement and satisfaction. Chapter 3 of Titus is a wonderful, powerful and grace filled conclusion to Paul's letter. we will need 2 posts to finish this tremendous text of scripture.  Yes, there is some duty to go with the doctrine that Paul has given us, but it is joyful to see God's will clearly marked out for us to follow. Titus 3:1-2     Remember these things. Bring them into your minds again.  In the first 2 verses of the closing chapter of this letter, Paul begins with the word "put." This...

Good morning to each of you..... Now we come to the end of Titus chapter 2. Paul ends this section with another paragraph loaded with strong theology. We must work our way through this so that we can study it and apply it. The power and blessing of the grace of God. First, Paul brings the beautiful grace of God and our great salvation to the forefront. The grace of God reminds us of the extreme measures  God undertook in order to save sinners. He sacrificed His own Son in order to redeem us.  Through the power of the gospel, God calls sinners by grace. The Spirit of God works to convict sinners to lead them to repentant faith in Jesus Christ because of grace. The Spirit of God regenerates the heart that turns from sin and embraces Christ alone. This is all of God and all of grace. The grace of God sends the Spirit of God to reside in the heart of every new believer. He is the earnest or down payment of the future inheritance in Christ that is waiting for each bo...

Good morning to you! After some overnight showers, this day is filled with fresh air, blue skies and brilliant sunshine. Summer in Ohio is more tolerable than in the Southern part of America. Of course, both of us worked in hot production settings for a good number of years, so we find heat and humidity really takes the proverbial wind out of our sails! I think it is time to push deeper into our overview of Titus Chapter 2. We will need 2 posts to complete our study of chapter 2. My primary concern is that we do not move too hastily and miss what the Lord may have for us. Titus 2:7-8 Paul seems to turn here to offer some personal encouragement to Titus. He wants Titus to be able to sincerely present himself in Crete as a man who has some specific qualities of Christian leadership and a Godly maturity.  Paul tells us what this would look like. This is good because it also shows us what we should strive for in our walk with the Lord. The single most important thing that ...

Good morning to all of our faithful Readers.... Today, heavy storms are supposed to develop. I often will sit on a chair under the shelter of our garage and enjoy God's power on display as a storm rolls through. Lightning flashes are amazing, even during the day. I like the soft rolling thunder sounds as opposed to the window shaking booming that means the lightning is close by.  I used to work in a building that had a 300 foot tall communications tower behind it. When storms came, you could sometimes hear a loud "zzzzzztttt" sound of a nearby lightning strike followed by an immediate loud clap of thunder.  Spiritual storms like false teaching, heresy or apostasy often strike the churches of Jesus Christ. Someone invents a new or novel interpretation that undermines the clear truth of Scripture and people seem to be quickly led astray.  Spiritual storms have devastating results as history records. Many denominations used to be strong in sound doctrine, evang...

Good morning everyone! What a wonderful and beautiful day our loving Heavenly Father has given us. We laid the groundwork in the last post to help us begin to study this beautiful letter of Paul to his beloved coworker, Titus. Chapter 1 overview Titus 1:1-4 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;        But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;        To Titus, mine own son after the  common faith : Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.   Titus 1:1 Verse 1, we find the word "acknowledging" used. This word refers to having precise and correct knowledge about something. ...