February 2024
Happy Valentines! The Holy Bible is God's love story. The Scriptures contain the knowledge that God has provided forgiveness of sin and eternal life as a free gift to whoever receives Jesus Christ, but due to spiritual blindness and lack of faith in God's promises, people remain captive to their fallen nature, caused by sin and spiritual death.
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV).
God's Love Story: The Holy Bible . . .
You may want to use the Bible Gateway app until you get a physical, paper Bible to read and study.
I want to give you a kickstart into God's Word, which has been hidden from most people by the enemy of their souls. You should choose a modern text, such as the "New Living Translation" (NLT) or the "New King James Version" (NKJV) for simpler understanding. Maybe you would rather just listen to it.
In the Bible, there are 66 books. The 39 Old Testament books contain the Creation, the Garden of Eden, the Fall of man, the Flood, the promise to Abraham and his sons, Moses and the Law, the sacrifices, priests and feasts, the judges, the history of the kings and prophets, and poetry. The 27 New Testament books contain the four Gospels by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles, John wrote four other books and the Apostle Paul wrote 14 letters, Peter wrote two, and James and Jude each wrote one. Jesus Christ is the common denominator in ALL the books of the Bible.
The Christian Life New Testament Study Bible notes, "For 35 authors, with such varied backgrounds, to write on so many subjects over a period of approximately 1500 years in absolute harmony, is a mathematical impossibility. It could not happen! Then how do we account for the Bible? The only adequate explanation is: "Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21, NKJV).
The Old & New Testament . . .
The Old Testament begins with Genesis which tells of Adam and Eve's fall into temptation by the serpent, and their sensual desires, causing separation from God for all mankind. God promised He would destroy the serpent by the promised seed - Jesus. Because of evil thoughts continually, God destroyed all but Noah and his family in the Flood. He made a covenant with Noah and an everlasting covenant with Abraham and to his offspring. Genesis concludes with one nation, Israel, descended from Abraham through whom the Savior, Jesus, would come. In the book of Exodus, God called Moses as Israel's deliverer through the blood of the lamb and as their covenant Lawgiver to reveal their sin and need for the prophesied Savior.
The Old Testament continues with the nation of Israel being established forever by God making a covenant with King David that the promised Savior [Jesus] will be one of David's descendants thereby establishing a Kingdom which never ends (2 Samuel 7:12-17). Lastly, the LORD made a New Covenant with Israel, saying, "I will forgive their iniquity, and their sins I will remember no more" (Jeremiah 31:31-34, NKJV). "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you . . ." (Ezekiel 36:26a, NKJV). These covenant promises are types and shadows fulfilled by faith in Jesus' death, burial, resurrection and outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Galatians, chapter 3; Hebrews, chapters 8 & 9).
The New Testament tells how Jesus is the fulfillment of Abraham's Seed and the true Lamb of God, fulfilling the law and the prophets, Who was promised from the foundation of the world to forgive our sins; past, present and future. It begins with the four Gospels written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John the Beloved, proclaiming the Good News and ends with The Revelation of Jesus Christ. The Gospels share the birth, baptism, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Who opened the Old Testament Scriptures to the disciples and sent them forth as witnesses, ". . .endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:44-49). Luke continued the Good News by writing the Acts of the Apostles (28 chapters), recording the birth of the church through the Holy Spirit to the Jews first, using the apostle Peter (chapters 1-10). Then, the Apostle Paul was saved as an Israelite (Acts, chapter 9), and called to minister to the Gentiles (chapters 13-28). He wrote:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
The Apostles Peter & Paul . . .
Peter was the apostle to the Jews, preaching his first sermon in Acts, chapter 2, where 3000 were born again. The apostles continued to share Jesus in Judea and Samaria when Peter was summoned to preach the Gospel to the first Gentiles in Acts, chapter 10, though he resisted because he felt they were unclean. But when he ". . . perceived that God is no respecter of persons" (10:34, KJV), he relented and led the household of Cornelius to Christ.
He said, "In every nation he [God] accepts those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message of the Good News for the people of Israel -- that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ. You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism. And you know how that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him" (Acts 10:35-38, NLT).
After Paul got saved in Acts, chapter 9, he went on three (3) missionary journeys starting in Acts, chapter 13. Luke shares how Paul established Gentile churches in places such as modern-day Turkey, Greece and Rome. He preached first in the Jewish synagogues the forgiveness of sins and justification by faith in Jesus, which the Law of Moses could not do, but they rejected the message, so Paul turned to the Gentiles in Antioch (Acts 13:38,39,46). He was stoned and left for dead in Lystra (14:19), put in jail in Philippi (16:16-34) and chased out of Thessalonica all because of preaching the gospel (17:1-9). He went on to set up churches in Berea, Corinth, Ephesus, Greece and other towns, until he was imprisoned in Jerusalem and sent to Rome for turning the world upside down. He wrote his four prison epistles [Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon], while awaiting execution by Nero.
The Apostles Paul's Letters . . .
As a result of the Apostle Paul's church plantings, he left the newly founded Gentile churches with Elders, such as Timothy and Titus, and wrote them personal letters containing Godly counsel. He wrote letters back to the churches at Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Colosse and Rome. His 14 books of the New Testament are named after those towns, men and people.
As an Israelite, his heart cried out to the Hebrews: "For God's will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Christ, once for all time. Under the old covenant, the priests stand and minister before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God's right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy" (Hebrews 10:10-14, NLT).
Again, he wrote: "If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved . . . For 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved' . . . But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, 'LORD, who has believed our message?' So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ" (Romans 10:9-17, NLT).
Finally, my sole purpose and heart's desire is for you to know that you have eternal life through faith in God's grace found in His promises. Jesus said, "If you abide in My word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31,32, NKJV).
Paul's Prayer For You . . .
"Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God's people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in the knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called -- his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe him. His is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the heavenly realms. Now he is above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else -- not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself" (Ephesians 1:15-23, NLT).
"And may the Lord make you to increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints" (1 Thessalonians 3:12,13, NKJV).
Pray: Heavenly Father, I ask that you create in my heart a desire to know the truth through faith in Your Word. I pray that the knowledge of Your love for me in Christ Jesus will increase in my heart to overflowing. Amen!