What Does The Bible Say About Mary Martha Lazarus
John 12:2 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Luke 10:38-42 38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the LORDs feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, LORD, dont you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me! 41 Martha, Martha, the LORD answered, you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed-or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. John 11:32 32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, LORD, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. John 11:2 2
Death As Enemy & Friend In 1 Corinthians
If mortality is part of the original, good creation, how could the Apostle Paul call death the last enemy in 1 Corinthians 15? First, death is not the only enemy that Paul says God will judge. In this same passage, he also names rulers and authorities, though these are part of Gods good creation . Paul elsewhere names all humanity as enemies of God . Paul names death an enemy, but death remains part of Gods good creation.
Second, death is pictured as a friend in 1 Corinthians 15. Resurrection life comes through deathChrists and our own. Paul describes how Adams body was perishable precisely because it was made of the dust of the ground. The imperishable body of the world to come is not of the same kind as the very good body of Genesis 1-2. Jesus teaches that in the resurrection we will neither be able to die nor to marry and bear children.3 Jesus own resurrection body does appear quite different, though still recognizable .
Taking A Leap Of Faith
Often referring to finding it or a passion or some other calling, the leap of faith is a crucial aspect of Bible teachings. Finding your leap of faith is the first step in making that change in your life. The leap of faith could be about committing to God, committing to religious teachings, something as simple as asking someone out on a date, applying for a job, or any manner of everyday social cues. These leaps of faith arent uncommon, but they present themselves in any size and scope. Finding your passion in life could start with something as small as taking that leap of faith in a less important, but still meaningful way.
You May Like: Where In The Bible Does It Say Pray Without Ceasing
Sin Wont Always Reign
When we view our world, with all the anger, hatred, political upheaval, and wars, it can feel as if evil is winning and always will. But Scripture promises this isnt true. One day Jesus will return, sin will be banished from His presence for good, and He will make all things right.
Revelation 21:4 promises, He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, no mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” May this truth give us hope and peace as we endure all the chaos in our broken world.
Talking To Others About Jehovah
15, 16. How do you view the preaching work?
15 If we want to remain close to Jehovah, we also need to talk to others about our faith. Talking to others about Jehovah is a wonderful privilege. And its a responsibility that Jesus gave to all true Christians. Each of us should preach the good news of Gods Kingdom. Have you already done this?Matthew 24:14 28:19, 20.
16 The apostle Paul felt that the preaching work was very precious he called it a treasure. Telling others about Jehovah and his purpose is the most important work that you can do. Its a way for you to serve Jehovah, and he values what you do for him. Preaching can also benefit both you and those who listen to you because you help others and yourself to draw close to Jehovah and to get everlasting life. Is there any other work that could give you more satisfaction?
17. Why is the preaching work urgent?
17 The preaching work is very urgent. We should preach the word, and we should be at it urgently. People need to hear about Gods Kingdom. The Bible says: The great day of Jehovah is near! It is near and it is approaching very quickly! The end will not be late! Yes, very soon, Jehovah will destroy Satans wicked world. Before that happens, people need to be warned so that they can choose to serve Jehovah.
18. Why should we worship Jehovah along with other true Christians?
19. What can help us to love our Christian brothers and sisters?
You May Like: What Does The Bible Say About Mental Abuse
How Will We Know If We Have Truly Forgiven
Lewis B. Smedes wrote in his book, Forgive and Forget: “When you release the wrongdoer from the wrong, you cut a malignant tumor out of your inner life. You set a prisoner free, but you discover that the real prisoner was yourself.”
We will know the work of forgiveness is complete when we experience the freedom that comes as a result. We are the ones who suffer most when we choose not to forgive. When we do forgive, the Lord sets our hearts free from the anger, bitterness, resentment, and hurt that previously imprisoned us.
Most of the time forgiveness is a slow process:
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
Jesus’ answer to Peter makes it clear that forgiveness is not easy for us. It’s not a one-time choice, and then we automatically live in a state of forgiveness. Essentially, Jesus was saying, keep on forgiving until you experience the freedom of forgiveness. Forgiveness may require a lifetime of forgiving, but it is important to the Lord. We must continue forgiving until the matter has been settled in our heart.
You Can Trust Bible Prophecy
The Bible writer Isaiah foretold that Babylon would be defeated
13. What did Isaiah say would happen to the city of Babylon?
13 Many Bible prophecies have already come true. For example, Isaiah prophesied that Babylon would be destroyed. He described exactly how the city would be defeated. The city was protected by large gates and a river. But Isaiah foretold that the river would be dried up and the gates left open. The attackers would take the city without a battle. Isaiah even prophesied that a man named Cyrus would defeat Babylon.Read Isaiah 44:2745:2 see Endnote 4.
14, 15. How did Isaiahs prophecy come true?
14 Two hundred years after the prophecy was written, an army arrived ready to attack Babylon. Who was leading the army? Just as the prophecy said, it was Cyrus, the king of Persia. Everything was set for the rest of the prophecy to come true.
15 On the night of the attack, the Babylonians were having a feast. They felt safe because they were protected by massive walls and a river. Outside the city, Cyrus and his army dug a channel to lower the level of the river water. The water level went down enough for the Persian soldiers to walk through it. But how would the army get past Babylons walls? Just as the prophecy said, the city gates were left open, so the soldiers took the city without a battle.
16. What did Isaiah prophesy about the future of Babylon? How do we know that Isaiahs prophecy came true?
The ruins of Babylon
Read Also: Is Maryland Bible College And Seminary Accredited
Christian Quotes About Learning
Is life not full of opportunities for learning love? Every man and woman every day has a thousand of them. The world is not a playground it is a schoolroom. Life is not a holiday, but an education. And the one eternal lesson for us all is how better we can love. Henry Drummond
The capacity to learn is a gift The ability to learn is a skill The willingness to learn is a choice.
Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.
The best learning I had came from teaching. Corrie Ten Boom
When people fail, we are inclined to find fault with them, but if you look more closely, you will find that God had some particular truth for them to learn, which the trouble they are in is to teach them. G.V. Wigram
The expert in anything was once a beginner.
Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets.
Leadership always has to be learning. Jack Hyles
An humble knowledge of thyself is a surer way to God than a deep search after learning. Thomas a Kempis
To memorize Scripture effectively, you must have a plan. The plan should include a selection of well-chosen verses, a practical system for learning those verses, a systematic means of reviewing them to keep them fresh in your memory, and simple rules for continuing Scripture memory on your own. Jerry Bridges
What Does The Bible Say About Love Godly Love
If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother. 1 John 4:20-21.
Our love for God is not greater than our love for our fellow men. Godly love does not change according to circumstances. It is rooted and grounded.
The tendency is to want the others to change. We feel that it is difficult to love someone as they are and would prefer that they were different. But this is not what the Bible says about love! This is proof that we are more concerned with our own happiness and comfort than with love for the others we are seeking our own.
But what is love? The truth is that instead of hoping for the others to change, we need to find the sin in ourselves and cleanse that out. The self-interest, know-it-all attitude, conceit, stubbornness, etc., the sin that I find when I deal with others in the course of life. If we cleanse ourselves from these things then we can bear, believe, hope, and endure all things from the others. We love them as they are, and we can pray for them out of a sincere Godly love and concern for them.
Don’t Miss: Is The Bible Infallible
Forego Power And Seek Purpose
Theres a lot of discussion about the pursuit of wealth, and thereby, the power that the Bible makes mention of. These discussions on power are important for the foundation of living a meaningful life. In todays world of excess and personal pleasure, the pursuit of wealth and power is an enticing allure, but the Bible teaches us to live with purpose. This purpose is to help others, and not just ourselves, and enlightenment will come. Like loving those around you and making the idea of love integral to your understanding of life, so, too, is the idea that you should serve a purpose to people around you and your community. Helping others in small ways like holding doors open leads to bigger purposes like charity and volunteer work, but the point is that it should be a lifelong pursuit to treat your fellow men and women with respect in service of a better world.
We Can Pray To God And He Will Answer Our Prayers
God promised to answer our prayers and give us everything we need and more ” rel=”nofollow”> Mark 11:24, ). But prayer is not a magical trick to get anything we want or a “quick fix” for problems that we should be solving ourselves. God answers prayer requests in His own way in His own time ” rel=”nofollow”> Psalms 40:1-3), and will not grant requests that are against His holy and wise purposes ” rel=”nofollow”> 1 John 5:14-15), are selfish in nature, are not in our best long-term interest, or those made with impure motives ” rel=”nofollow”> Psalms 66:18, , , , , ). Often, we must be persistent in prayer ” rel=”nofollow”> Luke 11:5-13, ).
Ask, and it will be given you search, and you will find knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
There is more information in our article, “What Does the Bible Say About Prayer?“
You May Like: How Many Times Bible Says Fear Not
A Pattern For Prayer: Prayers Agenda
When one looks at the prayer which our Lord gives to His disciples as a pattern prayer, we immediately recognize that it is a short one. This prayer does not include all of the elements of prayer. For example, this prayer focuses on petitions for God to meet certain needs, but it does not deal to any great degree with mans praise.194 The prayer is a skeletal one, one which can be filled in with much greater detail, but it is also one that does outline the essential elements of our prayers. Let us briefly survey the three areas of need which this prayer underscores, as I presently understand it.
The prayer deals with the cosmic need of the coming of the Kingdom of God, at which time the character of God will be fully revealed. It is my understanding that the hallowing of Gods name is virtually synonymous with the coming of His Kingdom. The approach of the Kingdom of God is frequently mentioned in the gospels, but we know from the Book of Acts that it is not yet realized. The coming of our Lords kingdom will take place at His second coming, when the whole creation is restored and rid of sin, and when Gods holiness and splendour is revealed in its totality. Romans chapter 8 speaks of the cosmic need for His return, for the kingdom to come, and this prayer petitions God to bring it to pass. The first element of prayer has to do with the authority of the Father being fully established on the earth, and for His glory and splendour to be revealed at this time.
What Does The Bible Say About Life
To be given life is the single greatest gift every person and living creature received, or will receive, from Almighty God. Life is years of opportunity to develop a relationship with God, with others, and to serve the Lord and other people.
Though it is not yet fully known by people, God created this world with a purpose, and has a plan for the individuals to whom He endowed this special gift. Because of sin, people live behind a spiritual veil, and there are many mysteries about life that seem to go unanswered. While some of the questions will not be answered until God answers them directly, the Bible does provide a great deal of insight about the importance of life, how to live it, and how much He wants His creation to live life for Him in joy and gratitude.
Life is a special opportunity to experience grace, to serve, and to have an impact in eternity through a relationship with the Creator of all things.
You May Like: Is The Bible Inerrant And Infallible
Jesus Came To Set Us Free
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Chris Jesus our Lord.
I find it interesting that many parallels are made between salvation and financial terminology in the Bible. For example:
-
The wages of sin is death.
-
And because of Him, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
-
In Him, we haveredemptionthrough his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.
God came to set us free. To give us hope and a future. To take away our sins. And to give us a new and better life. Debt, in many cases, is a poor financial choice and keeps us from living out our God-given purpose.
He does not want us to be slaves to anything or anyone, including our poor financial choices.
Our freedom was bought at a price the sacrifice of a perfect, spotless, sinless God, clothed in flesh. Im preaching to myself too, but why would we ever pull out from under the blood of the Lamb what has already been covered? Why would we enslave ourselves to debt or to a lender?
Keep the faith, my friend. Keep walking with Him, digging yourself out of debt, staying out of debt, and continuing to honor God with your faith and finances.
Creation Vs New Creation
While the new creation of Revelation 21-22 is sometimes described as a return to Eden, a comparison of the opening and closing chapters of the Bible shows they are quite different.
The world of Genesis contains things that ancient readers would associate with chaos and evil, such as the sea, darkness, and the serpent. Gods very good creation in Genesis 1 restrains the darkness and waters, limiting them to night and sea and making room for life-enabling day and land. In contrast, the foreboding night and sea no longer even exist in Revelation 21-22. In Genesis 1-2, humanity is instructed not only to rule and work, but to subdue and guard. The command to guard implies there is something to guard against. Soon after, yet still prior to the first sin, a serpent appears who works against God and deceives the humans. When we turn to Revelation, though, the serpent is destroyed. There is no longer anything to guard against, and the gates of the city are always open. The tree of life makes its return in Revelation 22, but the tree of good and evil is missing. Clearly, the conditions in the end do not recreate those in the beginning.
Recommended Reading: What The Bible Says About Isolation