Category: Bible - River of Life Church

10 Reasons Why You Must Read Through the Bible This Year

12/31/2013

Happy New Year!
I want to challenge you to read through the Bible in this new year.
Why? Top 10 reasons:
1. It will give you clarity and direction during the year. The Bible will light your path.
2. It will give you power to overcome sin.
3. Reading the Bible will give you freedom from hurts, habits & hang-ups. The Truth sets us free!
4. It will lead you to success. Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”
5. It will lead you to salvation.
6. It will show you how to live God's way.
7. You will read every verse in the Bible at least once.
8. You get a clearer sense of God's big story - the way He chose to record it for history.
9. Regular Bible reading is a good spiritual habit.
10. Having a "read through the Bible plan" gives structure to your Bible reading.

Web sites with read through the Bible plans:
http://www.biblegateway.com/reading-plans
http://www.ewordtoday.com/year/
http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/
Each site gives you options of Bible versions, reading chronologically, mobile version, and audio options.

I will read through the Bible again this year for the 31st time!
Here is what helps me:
>A consistent time and place to read each day.
>The readings grouped together so I am reading page to page instead of searching through the Bible.
>Just skipping and getting current if I get too far behind.
>The Holy Spirit.

Join me reading the Bible this year and see what happens to you because of God's Word!

Habakkuk - When God Seems Unfair

12/18/2013

The book of Habakkuk is read so little by me that I check my spelling when I write the name. Habakkuk was a prophet to the southern kingdom during the time of Jeremiah. The book in the Bible bearing Habakkuk’s name contains the conversation between God and Habakkuk.

Habakkuk asks God why the evil in Judah goes unpunished. God tells Habakkuk that He will use the Babylonian bad guys to punish Judah. Habakkuk asks how God, who is so holy that He cannot look on evil, use a wicked nation to punish Judah; even though Judah was doing evil, they were not as wicked as Babylon. God tells Habakkuk that Babylonia will also be punished and faithfulness will be rewarded. God’s answer causes Habakkuk to write a prayer expressing trust and joy in God.

My favorite verse in the three chapters of this book is Habakkuk 3:2.
Lord, I have heard of your fame;
    I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord.
Repeat them in our day,
    in our time make them known;
    in wrath remember mercy.

This prayer of Habakkuk is also my prayer for my family, my church, and our nation. I hope you have heard that the LORD is famous. I hope you have experienced God’s love in action in your life and are amazed. Let them be repeated today so more can know God. There is deserved judgment in our communities and countries, but LORD, remember Your mercy.

Memorize this verse and use it as a starting point of your prayers to the LORD this week.

Wondering

8/20/2012

I wonder. Adam was created by God and placed in the Garden of Eden. The world was perfect. No pollution, no bills, no wars, no relational conflicts, no telemarketers calling during mealtime. The garden of Eden was pristine and perfect. God did not have a whole lot of rules for Adam. God put him in charge of everything - to rule and take care of the earth. He could eat from every tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:8-9,15-17
8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

God made Eve as a companion and partner for Adam. Together they were caretakers of the earth. A serpent, the devil, tempted Adam and Eve to eat from the one tree God told them not to eat and they ate.

I wonder. How long was it before they disobeyed God? Was it years later, months later, weeks later or days later? Did they pass by the tree often and look at it wondering what its’ fruit tastes like?

We do not have any answers given in the biblical narrative. We know the devil looks for opportune times and takes advantage of situations that may make us more prone to disobeying God. We know that all of us are just like Adam and Eve because at some point in our lives we disobey God.

Their disobedience broke the face to face personal relationship they had with God. Because God is perfect and holy, Adam and Eve could no longer walk hand in hand with God in the garden. Their sin separated them from God.

There is no need to wonder about God’s reaction to the broken relationship. Blood from the best animal of the flock or herd was the temporary solution that removed the son and made a person right with God. But the next sin required another sacrifice.

God the Father sent His one and only, perfect Son Jesus to be the once for all sacrifice. The relationship with God is restored by repenting and turning away from our sin and turning to Jesus Christ.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son……

Is Everybody A Winner?

8/6/2012

The culture in the United States has a strong movement towards tolerance and acceptance in particular areas. Declaring somebody a winner means somebody is a loser and we are not real comfortable with that outcome. A more acceptable approach is that everybody is a winner. Our local rodeo days has moved from having one princess winning and reigning as rodeo ambassador for the year to having four princess ambassadors reigning. More young ladies are winners and fewer are losers.

In the religious world there is a pluralistic pull that declares every belief, no matter what religion, is a winner. As long as you believe in something sincerely, you will get to heaven. It does not matter if you put your faith in Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Mormonism, or Islam; you will get to heaven when you die because everybody is a winner.

The challenge with that belief is that each religion has a different cure for wrong doing. Christian Science, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Positive Thinking beliefs view sin and evil as illusions to be overcome by right perception. Eastern religions consider sin as a necessary struggle between forces or gods of good and evil; it is solved by one side winning or it is necessary for balance in the world (yin/yang). Atheists consider sin a random chance of a godless cosmos. Some eastern mysticism view sin and evil as the result of a finite god who is morally evolving. Wrong will be solved when god matures and grows up. Christianity views sin as the result of disobeying God. Adam and Eve brought the stain of sin into the human race and all have sinned from that time forward. The only way our sin is removed is through faith in Jesus Christ.

Each one of these religions views sin and the cure for sin vastly different from one another. No matter how much nicer it seems to declare all religions as winners, it is simply illogical to make that declaration.

The burning question is to discover which religion is true. Each one has a book describing the tenets of its faith. Each one has a central figure. Each main figure has died. Only one main figure died and rose from the dead, Jesus Christ.

When Jesus Christ told the world that He was the way, the truth and the light, He declared that He was the only way to a relationship with God. Jesus offered proof through profound miracles. He invited people to follow Him and see if He is everything He said He is. If you follow Him, you will find that Jesus Christ is the only One worth pursuing.

Psalms 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.

Shining in the Dark

6/29/2012

Our community has an area church youth group meeting each Wednesday night called ROC for high school students. ROC is led by Jeff Rud and meets at 8:30pm when most church youth groups are done. Cell phones are dropped off voluntarily in a basket as an intentional step to focus on Jesus Christ. There is a time of worship led by young people and leaders. A message from the Bible is shared by a variety of pastors, leaders and students. Students pray for one another at the close of the mtg which is just before 10pm. I attend when I have the evening free because I am encouraged seeing what God is doing among the young people in our community.

This past Wednesday, the youth surrounded Matt with prayer. Matt has attended ROC, graduated from high school and is heading out to basic training in Georgia. Prayer was lifted up for God’s protection and watch over the Cambridge-Isanti wrestlers attending a wrestling camp in Wisconsin. Students surrounded Eric and offered prayers tinged with tears for him, his sister and his father. Andrea “Annie”, his mother, died at the young age of 47 from pancreatic cancer on Monday. Her funeral will be held Sunday and many of the students praying had Mrs. Maltrud as a second grade teacher at Cambridge Elementary.

I held my breath, hoping no one would pray a bad prayer. A bad prayer goes against who God is or what He does. Often people do not know what to say during times of great loss and intense emotion. People have prayed that God needed help in heaven so, this person died. They pray that it was God’s will that a person was racked with an illness and suffered in pain.

Annie’s death and every death is a reminder of two things. One, we still live in a world corrupted by the stain of sin. Before sin, there was no illness, no pain, no sorrow, and no death. Although, Jesus broke this curse on the cross all of us will die until Jesus returns.

The second reminder is that death has lost its sting for Eric and his family, for you and I. We have a hope that looks forward to a reunion of those who have passed before us when the dead in Christ are raised, given a new body and live forever with Jesus Christ. The decision you and I make now affects where our forever will be spent.

My heart was filled with a mixture of sadness and hope hearing and joining the prayers of the students. Their tears expressed more than words. The loss of a mother, teacher and friend is painful. They prayed that Eric and his family would be surrounded by the love of God. They thanked God for the life Annie lived that made a difference because she reflected Jesus into their lives and the lives of many others. They stood in love and support; letting Eric know he was not alone. They prayed God’s destiny and purpose over Eric’s life. Good prayers.

God is doing wonderful things among our young people that came to shine during the dark times of grief.

What things are you seeing God do among young people?

Is God in a Good Mood?

6/19/2012

I am in the middle of a book titled, “The Ultimate Treasure Hunt” written by Kevin Dedmon. Dedmon’s premise for the book is based on three parables in the Bible of lost things: a lost coin, a lost sheep and two lost sons. Jesus tells these parables back to back to show the high value God has for lost people to be found. Dedmon invites people to go on treasure hunts looking for lost treasure – people.

When going on treasure hunts, the author often tells people that God is in a good mood. Dedmon claims that the way we view God will determine the way we perceive His will. If we view God as a condemning and judging Father, we will tend to focus on the sin and short-comings of people. If we view God as a loving God who is always in a good mood towards us, we will believe that He always works towards redemptive solutions.

A friend of mine shared that his brother is angry at God. His brother’s wife left him and he believes God has a stick in His hand punishing him for mistakes he has made. The Bible tells us that God is slow to anger and that all of us have sinned and come short of living pure lives.
Psalm 145:8
The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
We also read of God’s wrath against those who disobey Him.
Psalm 7:11
God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day.

God is not moody like a person whose emotions take a roller-coaster ride each day and is unpredictable. God does have emotions, so Dedmon is helping us understand God by challenging us to think of Him using understandable terminology.

So, is God in a good mood today?

God’s attributes – His permanent qualities, His DNA – is that He is Great and He is Good. His Greatness is wrapped in God’s character of spirituality, personality, life, infinity, and constancy. God’s Goodness is wrapped in God’s character of purity, integrity and love. God is infinitely pure, infinitely genuine and truthful, infinitely loving.

When God’s judgment is upon a nation or individual, it is with a broken heart and not because God is in a bad mood. I agree with Kevin Dedmon that God is in a good mood. You are his highest treasure and He has a wonderful destiny for you to live out today.

Do you believe God is in a good mood?
Why or why not? Comment here:

A Proverbs A Day........

6/1/2012

Do you have habits or a way of living that you used to do, but for some reason or another you no longer have that as part of your pattern of life?

Have you picked up new habits for your life that you never had before?

Different seasons of your life bring changes to how you do life. Beginning college, marriage, starting a family, career change, military service, an illness or injury can be events and seasons of life that bring changes.

June may be a great month to begin or return to a habit of wisdom. The book of Proverbs in the Bible is a book of wise sayings.

Proverbs 3:5-6 is often memorized because it contains a timeless truth.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and He will make your paths straight.

There are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs and 30 days in the month of June. The habit of wisdom is to read a chapter of Proverbs each day and choose one day to read two chapters. Most chapters can be read in 5-10 minutes. This can be in addition to your regular Bible reading.

You may choose to read your chapter in the morning and see how you can apply God’s wisdom during your day. You may choose to pause at noon and find it helps keep a constant contact with the Lord. Your Proverbs a day may work better for you in the evening, providing an unrushed time to ponder God’s wisdom.

This was a habit I had for perhaps more than a decade of reading through Proverbs twelve times every year. I had let go of that habit and am returning to today. I am convinced that this habit brings God’s wisdom in our decisions, way of living and choices.

What time of the day works for you to read a Proverbs a Day?
Comment here:

Remember

5/25/2012

Memorial Day, traditionally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembering those who have fallen in our nation’s service. During my high school years, I would play taps at local cemeteries on Memorial Day where special services included a color guard and a 21 gun salute to honor the fallen.

In 1915, inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields," Moina Michael replied with her own poem:
We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

On Memorial Day the flag is raised to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains until noon. It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day.

The half-staff position remembers the more than one million men and women who gave their lives in service of their country. At noon their memory is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain.

From http://www.militaryfactory.com/american_war_deaths.asp
“In its first 100 years of existence, over 683,000 Americans lost their lives, with the Civil War accounting for 623,026 of that total (91.2%). Comparatively, in the next 100 years, a further 626,000 Americans died through two World Wars and several more regional conflicts (World War 2 representing 65% of that total). “

The war among ourselves remains the most costly war America has ever fought.

The Bible records a stone that was placed as a war memorial, reminding the people that God had helped them defeat their enemies and to remain unified under His rule.

1 Samuel 17:12
Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far has the Lord helped us.”
( Ebenezer means “stone of help”.)

Conflicts within nations, businesses, organizations, churches, families and marriages continue to be the most costly. Our nation needs to have a stone of remembrance that God has helped us and will be our deliverer when we are unified under His rule.

Here On Earth

5/24/2012

Bill Johnson is the pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California. A significant theme in his church, ministry and his life is that God wants to release things here on earth the way they are in heaven. The peace of heaven, justice of heaven, purity of heaven, healing of heaven and every aspect of heaven is to be prayed for, hoped for and lived for today. Jesus instructed His followers to pray for this, “here on earth as it is in heaven” and to promote this kingdom living.

In an article titled, “You’ve Got The Power!” (March 2012 Charisma) Bill Johnson writes, “While Jesus is eternally God, He emptied Himself of His divinity and became a man (see Phil. 2:7). It’s vital to note that He did all His miracles as a man, not as God.”

Johnson continues, “ If He did them as God, I would still be impressed. But because He did them as a man yielded to God, I am now unsatisfied with my life, being compelled to follow the example He has given us. Jesus is the only model for us to follow.”

I understand Jesus on earth was 100% God and 100% man. I always considered that miracles were beyond human ability because we do not have the 100% God part. I thought that the miracles done by anyone other than Jesus were extraordinary people. But, then I read passages like James 5:17 which says, “Elijah was a man justlike us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.”

Jesus told His disciples and included future followers that they would do greater things than He has done. I have concluded that Jesus really expected His disciples to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons and proclaim the kingdom of God. Jesus really expects followers today to do the same.

Like Bill Johnson, I am compelled to follow Jesus’ example. It seems like a very high and difficult standard to follow. The strategy is simple.
Only do what the Father is doing.
How?
By being completed yielded to God.

What is your reaction to Bill Johnsons’ statements?
Comment here:

Bible Reading Success

1/17/2012

5 tips to reading through the Bible in a year
Many people begin to read the Bible in January with the goal of reading through the entire Bible in a year. Most never make it. The goal is worthy. One of the most effective ways of growing deeper in a relationship with Jesus Christ is through daily Bible reading and daily prayer.

Getting started is pretty easy. A One Year Bible has readings for each day and many other Bibles have a daily reading chart that has what passages to read each day. There are online helps and audio bibles.

Following these 5 tips have helped me read through the bible each year for more than two decades:
1.       Choose a version that works for you. Each year, I choose a different version that gives me a different perspective and keeps it fresh each year.

2.       Choose a time and place to read each day. A cup of coffee and a quiet chair, an audio bible in your car or ear buds can fill you with scripture in your home, office, while commuting or working out.

3.       Choose to ask the Holy Spirit to make your reading each day a lamp to your feet and light to your path – giving you clarity throughout your day.

4.       Choose a pen, pencil or highlighter to journal, underline, or make notes about insights the Holy Spirit is showing. Write down questions that arise so you can ask others about it and do some searching later.

5.       Choose to jump back in if life takes a turn and you miss a day, a week, or more. Do not try to make up lost ground; just jump back in and read the passages for that day.

Free online read through the Bible helps:
biblegateway.com
oneyearbibleonline.com
ewordtoday.com

Romans 15:4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.