Tag Archives: Study

Are we a people of the WORD?

Okay, so let’s get real here.  Any Bible believing, church going Christian will tell you that WE stand on the Word of God.  I read an alarming, well-documented statistic the other day that literally broke my heart and made me angry at the same time!! 

Bible believing churches/denominations across this country recently polled members of their congregations with one simple question.  Each person received a small post-it size piece of paper; then asked to answer the following question with a number.  That was all — no name required.  Complete anonymity.  I can imagine some of the respondents smiled while others squirmed– inside their hearts that it.  The question and it’s findings:

How many times a week do you read your Bible, outside of during a church service or Bible study group?

The results —  Only 45% of these Christians read the Word at least once a week.  The other 55% — ZERO!

That means over half of church attending Christians in today’s society NEVER even pick up the Word, except to carry it along to church as an accessory to their wardrobe.  Does that stir the Spirit within you?  It should, especially if you’re in 55 percentile!  Now if you’re in the 45th percentile group, you’re still not doing too great if the number is less that 17 (my opinion only).  Where’s I come up with that number you ask?  Well morning and evening (as David wrote in the Psalms)= 14, Sunday morn 1, Sunday evening 1, midweek service 1.

I would like to share with you a short quiz I read sometime back.  The responses are strictly between you and  our Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  The numbers 1-10 for each question are self-explanatory.

1.)  I am consistent each day, and all day long, in reading, meditating on, and thinking about the Bible and what God is teaching me through His Word.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10
Not at all                                  All the time

2.)  I read the Bible in order to discover what it has to say about every area of life

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10
Not at all                                   All the time

3) Whenever I do read the Bible, I’m looking for ways that I might grow, or that I might help others grow in the Lord, or come to know Him.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10
Not at all                                  All the time

4) I can hardly wait to get time in the Bible each day; I eagerly look forward to every moment of reading, studying, meditating on—drinking in!—the Word of God.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10
Not at all                                  All the time

5) I read through all of the Scripture regularly, and I’m always looking for new ways that the Bible can speak to my life, my society, my culture, and the world in which I live.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10
Not at all                                  All the time

6) The Bible is changing my life; I can see it and my friends comment on it. And I’m eager to see it change the lives of others as well.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10
Not at all                                  All the time

 Can you describe yourself as a person of the Book?  Or do you just have a kind of loose adherence to Scripture as somehow a part of your life, although not in any consistent or transforming way? What have you learned about your own commitment to the Bible, and what, if anything has this quiz suggested to you about any changes you need to make?

As the followers of Christ we have been given His Word as a sacred trust as written in Psalm 147:19-20 “He shews His word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.”  Remember, we as adopted children through the blood of Christ these verses pertain to Christians as well .

God gave us the Bible, and He sent His Spirit to lead us into all truth and teach us the things we need to know, as we compare one section of Scripture with another and listen for His Voice to instruct, convict, and transform us  “Now we have received , not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak , not in the words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches; comparing spiritual things with spiritual”  1 Corinthians 2:12-13.

Finally, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in His parting words to His disciples before ascending the Father tells us simply He appointed to us the ministry of the Word for the purpose of making all the nations disciples And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying , All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo,  I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.  Matthew 28:18-20

But He said , “Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it”  Luke 11:28

And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the Word of God with boldness.  Acts 4:31

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:  Ephesians 6:17

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.  Psalm 119:11

As for God, His way is perfect: the Word of the LORD is tried : He is a buckler to all those that trust in him. Psalm 18:20

The grass withers, the flower fades: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.  Isaiah 40:8

If you’re not being transformed by the Word; you’re being deformed by the world ©Streim

Follow The Leader or Follow The Lord?

The past 2 weeks my study in the Gospel of John has focused on chapters 12-21, obviously because of the significance of the Crucifixion and blessed Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  These nine chapters are so beautiful… there are no words to express what the Holy Spirit inspired within me, with the exception of JOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Abundant, fiery, overflowing, empowering JOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I learned some very important truths ( 2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”) and I profited much spiritually, for which I thank my Father.  There is so much I could share, but when I am impressed to explore a certain issue, I must!

The hatred of the Jewish people towards Jesus, even though all things pertaining to His life on earth and His horrible death on the cross were firmly set in Old Testament Biblical prophecy, and yet many hated Him!   I asked myself over and over as I read, how could they?  Did they not know?  Weren’t they instructed in the Temple by the Pharisees, Scribes and Chief priests?

The problem with the average, everyday Jew in Jesus time  (as I see it and Isaiah prophesied) is they listened to the leaders and NOT to the Savior Himself!

“But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:  That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled , which he spake , Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed ?  Therefore they could not believe , because that Esaias said again,  He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted , and I should heal them.  These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.  Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:  For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”  John 12:37-41

Where are you in your relationship with our Savior Jesus Christ who obediently died for our sins–yet He was without sin?  What do you believe about our Heavenly Father who raised Jesus from the dead to conquer sin and death for us?  Are you following church leaders, book authors, tele-evangelists, speakers, and on and on OR are you following the Word (John 1:1-5)?  If you’re hanging your salvation on a pastor or a church for fullness… you’re going down a very dangerous path!

  • GET INTO THE WORD DAILY and I am not talking about a “quickie” 5 minute devotional!
  • PRAY WITH JOY AND THANKSGIVING ACCORDING TO GOD’S WILL all day long!
  • DESIRE TO BE MORE LIKE OUR LORD… get hungry for His Word and needful of personal fellowship!
  • GET OUT INTO YOUR WORLD  and let you light shine… speak the Gospel… and walk the walk!
There may be some of you who may “blast” me on this post and you know what, I do not care!  If anything I’ve written is Biblically unsound then post a comment.  I am writing this because I see the same thing happening in the church today as I studied about with the Jewish people in John’s Gospel.  I care where you spend eternity.  
 Extra references… words from the mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself — John 5:19-34; 6:44-51; chapter 17, Jesus prayer for His disciples and for us; and John’s final comments in chapter 21:25 “And there are also many other things which Jesus did , the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written . Amen.”   ♥Streim

~~Prayer Warriors Needed~~

I know we have a very strong prayer community within this “blogging” space– so my dear brothers and sisters within the True Body of Christ, I’m reaching out today on behalf of two very special people in my life.   Tomorrow morning (Tuesday 7:30 CDT) my second youngest daughter Mandilyn (27) is having a very serious surgery, while 100 miles away, at the same exact time my youngest granddaughter Joeie (2) is having hand surgery.

I’ve requested prayer for Mandilyn before that the trial birth control would shrink the mass on her right ovary.  (for a little history Mandi had a mass removed from the left ovary July 2011)  The previous mass was created by a ruptured egg , however this one is completely different.  And… it hasn’t shrunk at all, it is the size of a golf ball.  Her doctor has no real idea what the mass is but it’s not the same as before and we know that the doctor may have to remove the entire ovary.  Mandi understands state and has accepted that God is in control of the situation (she knows Him as Savior— but is not walking with Him). 

Little Joeie has a strange condition for an infant.  Both of her thumbs has extra tendons; causing the thumbs to always be bent.  It looks like arthritis would.  A hand specialist is going to snip the extra tendons to release the thumbs.  Her mother, my youngest daughter Missy knows the Lord and trusts all will work well.

I am asking 1) prayer for Mandi that the doctor may have true wisdom; for Mandi to be impressed by God’s love for her through this; and finally that it is not ovarian cancer!

For little Joeie 1) that there won’t be any difficulties with the surgery and that recovery be minimal, as you can imagine a 2-year-old with bandaged hands; also prayer for my daughter Missy and daddy Justin. 

*** As I been doing my study through the Gospel of John I am finding the most beautiful, blessed truths about the love of the Father in heaven and how He loved us so much to send His ONLY begotten to live as we, die a horrible death without any sin of His own (of course Jesus was God in the flash) for the sole purpose of reconciling man to the Himself– The LORD God Almighty.  This past week I’ve been reading and studying the words Jesus spoke to His disciples just previous to His death.  I found none of these recorded in the other 3 gospels.  There is so much there— I’m craving the Word!  This I’d like to share, as it concerns me asking you for prayer support.***

John 16: 20-24  “Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament , but the world shall rejoice : and ye shall be sorrowful , but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.  A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come : but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.  And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice , and your joy no man taketh from you.  And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you , Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.  Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask , and ye shall receive , that your joy may be full .

Oh how I love you my Savior Jesus and my Forever Father in heaven.  Bless all those who will believe your words… and crave them!  Thank you all for considering, as the Holy Spirit leads to pray.  ♥ Streim