Opened Scriptures Bible Studies

Psalm 119:25,26  DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.  26)  I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes.  We speak about that which we know well.  Psalm 119:27  Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.  We will now look at the second part of this text as we have explored the benefits of seeking God's help to understand His pure precepts. The Psalmist is so filled with wonder and joy and amazement from what he learned from the scriptures. He was moved to tell other people about the wonderful things of God. As we more fully learn God's truth we will talk about it to other people.  What is in our heart is what we will speak about.  Matthew 12:34  O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Though the words of Christ are spoken in a negative sense beca...

Colossians 1:12-14  Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:  13)  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:  14)  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:  We are moving on in our study but I wanted to bring these three verses back, because they connect to the next section where Paul explores the preeminence of Jesus Christ.  Colossians 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:   Jesus Christ is mentioned in verses 13,14, so when Paul begins this text with the word "Who" he is specifically speaking of Jesus Christ. In doing this, Paul took on the Gnostics and philosophers who promoted spiritual deviation, rather than promoting Jesus Christ. Satan's attacks are subtle and he enticed people to search for some secret knowledge that c...

Psalm 119:25,26  DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.  26)  I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes.  We learned how God will teach us valuable lessons when the storms of life assail us. He will use trials and troubles to prove, purify and strengthen our faith. Our response is to look to Jesus Christ our risen Lord and High Priest when we are down in the dust.  Jehovah promises to send aid and relief to us when we cry out to Him for help. His Spirit and His Word will revive our humbled hearts and renew our contrite spirits.  When God brings us through a trial we are then equipped to live transparently before Him by confessing, forsaking sin, telling our Father what our dreams and hopes are, and seeking His will for our lives in all things. Understanding and applying God's Word brings comfort.  Psalm 119:27  Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy w...

I hope that you remember one of the heresies Paul addressed in his letter to the church at Colosse is Gnosticism. I gave you a detailed explanation of this heresy in Part 2 of this study, published on May 14.   Don't allow Satan to divide us over foolish issues.  Colossians 1:10,11  That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;  11)  Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;   We spent time looking at Paul's prayer for the Colossian Christians. I have a couple of thoughts to add to this section. One of the great mysteries in scripture is that God uses the gospel of Christ to break down barriers between people (See for examples, Ephesians 2:11-22; Galatians 3:26-29). Typical markers of societal status do not matter in the body of Christ. Slaves and masters were the same in the church.  Gender does...

Psalm 119:25,26  DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.  26)  I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes. Light from God's Word Illuminates the Things of God for us.    Psalm 119:27  Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.  In our last post, we began to explore the implications of what happens to a believer when we allow God's knowledge to move from our "heads" into our "hearts", so that our thoughts, words and deeds are transformed.  God's knowledge will transform us and help us have discerning judgment and feelings guided by truth instead of reacting with emotion. It brings us comfort and power in the Word of God.  How wonderful it is each morning to wake up and see golden sunlight washing over all the created things in our view. It reminds us that we have another day to live for the glory of God and that each morning is a ne...

Here is another missionary couple supported by our church who are home on furlough after serving in Antofagasta, Chile for the last 4 1/2 years. They will be visiting their supporting churches, seeing their families and then returning in September to Chile.  They have some praises and prayer requests.  Please remember, that those who go to the mission field often give up everything at home and travel to places that are much less advantaged than America. Yet, those dear people they seek to minister to are in great need of hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ.  There was essentially no church established in Antofagasta but now after years of hard work, there is a very strong, growing church.                                                  ...