Bible Message for you - January 24, 2014, Friday - The Holy Bible

 God's Word For Our Life

Has God ever spoken directly with people?
Hebrews 1:1 NIrV - “In the past, God spoke to our people through the prophets. He spoke at many times. He spoke in different ways.”

Note: Before man sinned, God spoke directly to Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening. God may speak directly to us through our conscience or even a dream. But, God usually uses special people called Prophets’. God asks the prophets to write His messages for us.

How can we know that it was God who really spoke through the prophets or Bible writers?

2 Peter 1:19 CEV- “All of this makes us even more certain that what the prophets said is true. So you should pay close attention to their message, as you would to a lamp shining in some dark place. ...

2 Peter 1:20, 21 NIrV- “Above all, here is what you must understand. No prophecy in Scripture ever came from a prophet’s own understanding. It never came simply because they wanted it to. Instead, the Holy Spirit guided the prophets as they spoke. So prophecy comes from God.”

Note: God gave His messages to the prophets. God talked to the prophets with dreams, visions, clear thought impressions, or sent an angel to explain things. Sometimes God directly spoke out loud to them. When a true prophet tells us what is going to happen, it must come true. A later prophet’s messages must agree with an earlier prophets (Isaiah 8:20). We must test the messages because there are both true and false prophets. We believe all the prophets in the Bible are true.

Is everything written in the Bible from God?
2 Timothy 3:16 TEV- “All Scripture is inspired by God”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIrV- “God has breathed life into all of Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right. By using Scripture, God people can be completely prepared to do every good thing.”

Note: The Bible is the Word of God for us. God helped ( inspired) the writers with their thoughts. The Holy Spirit helped the writers choose the right words from their own vocabulary. Each prophet wrote in his own way (style). John (a former fisherman) uses easier words than Paul (a former Jewish leader). The Bible gives us clear and true messages from God.

Why did God speak to us through the Bible?
Romans 15:4 NIrV - “Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. The Scriptures give us strength to go on. They cheer us up and give us hope.”

Note: The Bible is the story of how God has worked for about 6,000 years to save people. We see how God worked with people and with nations. Most of the Bible tells us how God worked with His special people, Israel. God wanted them to be His missionaries.

Why did God give so many stories about real people and their experiences?
1 Cor. 10:11 ICV - “The things that happened to those people are examples. And they were written down to be warnings for us. For we live in a time when all these things of the past have reached their goal.”

Note: We need to learn lessons from the good and bad experiences of the people in the Bible. We see behind what ‘seemed to just happen’ that was really part of the great war between God and Satan. We see how a loving God is trying to do everything He can to save sinful man!

Do we need any special help in understanding what God is trying to tell us in His Word?
1 Cor. 2:14 NIrV - “Some people don’t have the Holy Spirit. They don’t accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. Things like that are foolish to them. They can’t understand them. In fact, such things can’t be understood without the Spirit’s help.”

Note: It was the Holy Spirit that inspired the prophets and helped them write. We need the same Holy Spirit to help us understand what the Spirit is really trying to tell us in the Bible. It is very easy to misunderstand or twist words to make things read the way we want to believe. [2 Peter 3:16]

Is it important to take time to really study the Bible?
John 5:39 ICV- “You carefully study the Scriptures because you think that they give you eternal life. Those are the same Scriptures that tell about me.”
Acts 17:11 NirV- “The Bereans were very glad to receive Paul’s message. They studied the Scriptures carefully every day. They wanted to see if what Paul said was true...”

Note: The Bible is the most important book in the world. We should study it carefully and with prayer. We need to try and understand: (1) Who first received the message? (2) Why it was given? (3) What did the message mean to the people who first heard it?. We need to try and understand the meaning of each verse in its context (what goes before and after). When we want to understand a topic, we should put all the texts on the same subject together from all the Bible. It is wrong to take just one verse, and build a teaching on it without the many other verses that talk of the same thing.

Did Jesus encourage others to use the Bible to better understand His life and work?
John 5:39 ICV - “You carefully study the Scriptures because you think that they give you eternal life. Those are the same Scriptures that tell about me!”
Luke 23:27 ICV - “Then Jesus began to explain everything that had been written about himself in the Scriptures. He started with Moses, and then he talked about what all the prophets had said about him.”

Note: Jesus made it very clear that it was important to study and know what was in the Bible. If God wrote us His messages, we need to understand what God is trying to tell us. In the judgment, we are responsible for what God has been telling us in His word. Saying, “I was too busy” won’t be a good excuse. Jesus said: The words I have spoken will be their judge on the last day! (John 12:48 GNB)

What is the right attitude to the study of the Bible so we can have the Holy Spirit to help us understand?
John 7:17 ICV - “If anyone chooses to do what God wants, then he will know that my teaching comes from God. He will know that this teaching is not my own.”

Note: People often choose to believe only what they want to believe. (Paul warns against this in 2 Timothy 4:3) So, if we really want to know God’s truth, we must have the right attitude. We must really want to know God’s will. This is why it is so important to pray before we read the Bible. God’s Spirit needs to prepare our hearts to be ready to accept God’s will for our lives - even if it is not what we like!

What is the final goal of the Scriptures for your life?
John 20:31 NirV- “But these are written down so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. If you believe this, you will have life because you belong to him.”

Note: The goal of the Bible is to help us be saved and prepare for Heaven. Jesus is the only way to Heaven. We need to concentrate on coming to know, love and follow Jesus fully!


From the EASY READING BIBLE STUDIES.

If these things are clear to you, happy are you if you do them. - John 13:17

Jesus said to her, Did I not say to you that if you had faith you would see the glory of

God? - John 11:40 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the harmony of the Holy Spirit, be with you. - 2 Corithians 13:14

Be in peace and until next time. 

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By João Caboclo da Silva Filho - Contact me at johncaboclo@gmail.com