~ Did You Get It Right? ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~ bible
answer ~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
question: How many proverbs did Solomon give?
answer: About 3,000.
“He spoke three
thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five” (1 Kings 4:32).
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.
~~~~~~~~~~~
~ A Human God? ~
This
Series ~ This
series of posts looks at some of the many attributes of God. Generally, we move in alphabetical order.
Introduction ~ The
incarnation of God is a bedrock truth of Christianity. God assumed a human nature and became a man in the form
of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the second person of the Trinity. Christ was truly God and truly man.
Scripture ~ “The Word
[Jesus Christ] became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as
of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John
1:14).
“Jesus
said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me,
Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say,
‘Show us the Father?’ Do you not believe
that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to
you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does
the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or
else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves” (John 14:9-11).
“Seeing
then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not
have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all
points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come
boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help
in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16).
~ Robert
Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT
LIFE NOW blog.
~~~~~~~~~~~
~ Test Your Bible Knowledge ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~ bible
question ~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
question: How many proverbs did Solomon give?
Please
provide your answer in the comments below!
The answer
will be provided in a future blog.
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.
~~~~~~~~~~~
~ Early Christians Martyred: 3rd Step ~
Introduction ~ In the
early chapters of the Book of Acts we see a typical pattern leading to
martyrdom of an Apostles: 1-Jailed, 2-Commanded, 3-Threatened, 4-Imprisioned,
5-Beatings, and finally 6-Death – promoted to paradise!
Jailed (Step 1) ~ First
they were seized followed by jailing.
Commanded (Step 2) ~ Secondly,
they were commanded to stop telling people about Jesus.
Threatened (Step 3) ~
They were threatened, but let go.
“So they called them and commanded them not to speak
at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to
them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to
God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and
heard.’ So when they had further threatened them, they let them go,
finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all
glorified God for what had been done. For the man was over forty years old on
whom this miracle of healing had been performed” (Acts 4:18-22).
Comment ~ “Indeed,
that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell
in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.” Ultimately truth cannot be denied.
That is why atheists and agnostics exist—they fight against Truth. Are their
groups fighting against the tooth fairy? Of course not, you don’t fight against
something which is not real!
~ Robert
Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT
LIFE NOW blog.
~~~~~~~~~~~
~ In Jesus We Have Mercy ~
Introduction ~ In this
series we look at a few of the verses which state what we have when we are “in
Christ.” Consider our series theme
verse:
“God,
who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even
when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by
grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He
might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in
Christ Jesus. For by grace you have
been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
not of works, lest anyone should boast.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians
2:4-10).
Scripture ~ “To Titus,
a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 1:1-4).
Comment
~
Distinguish three terms:
Mercy is not
getting something bad that you deserve.
Grace is getting
something good that you don’t deserve.
Justice is getting
what you do deserve.
~ Robert
Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT
LIFE NOW blog.
~~~~~~~~~~~
~ God Is My Refuge ~
This
Series
~ God has made many promises to His people. This series of posts looks at some
(100) of the many attributes of God. It
is not an exhaustive list.
Key
Factor
~ God not only makes promises to His people but He also keeps all of His
promises.
Scripture ~ “The Lord also will
be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And
those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Lord, have not
forsaken those who seek You” (Psalm 9:9-10).
~ Robert
Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT
LIFE NOW blog.
~~~~~~~~~~~
~ Fools Are Foolish ~
Series
Note ~ In the
first 47 posts in this series we looked at some passages in the Book of
Proverbs – wise sayings that are generally true – that describe a “fool”
(singular) from God’s perspective. Now
we continue by looking at verses Proverbs which talk about ”fools”
(plural). Some may surprise you.
Scripture ~ “The crown of the wise is their
riches, but the foolishness of fools is folly” (Proverbs 14:24).
Important
Truth ~ “The
fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God’” (Psalm 53:1a).
~ Robert
Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT
LIFE NOW blog.
~~~~~~~~~~~
~ Decision Making Basics: Supreme Test ~
Series
Note
~ This series looks at eight words that begin with the letter “S” which can
significantly help in Christian decision-making. So far, we have looked at 1)
The Scripture Test, 2) The Secrecy Test, 3) The Survey Test, 4) The Spiritual
Test, 5) The Stumbling Test, 6) The Serenity Test, 7) The Sanctification Test,
and finally 8) The Supreme Test.
Scripture ~ “Therefore,
whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God”
(1 Corinthians 10:31).
Key
Question ~
Will
taking this path bring glory to God?
“You were once darkness, but now you
are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the
Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is
acceptable to the Lord… Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what
the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:8-10, 14).
~ Robert
Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT
LIFE NOW blog.
~~~~~~~~~~~
~ God Is Hope ~
This
Series ~ This
series of posts looks at some of the many attributes of God. Generally, we move in alphabetical order.
“This hope
we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters
the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even
Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek”
(Hebrews 6:19-20).
Comment ~ “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and
whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the
waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat
comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of
drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8).
~ Robert
Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT
LIFE NOW blog.
~~~~~~~~~~~
~ God’s Wisdom Is Far Above Human Wisdom ~
Introduction
~ “Abundant Life Now” previously provided
a list of Biblical of examples of fearing / reverencing God (217 posts). In this current series we look at Biblical
accounts that demonstrate that we can fully trust God. Initially we posted seven general reasons for
trusting God. We are currently looking
at passages from all 66 books of Scripture which demonstrate a reason for
trusting our Creator.
Scripture
~ “And again He entered Capernaum
after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that
there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic
who was carried by four men. And when
they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof
where He was. So when they had broken
through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
“When Jesus
saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven
you.’ And some of the scribes were
sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ‘Why does this Man speak
blasphemies like this? Who can forgive
sins but God alone?’
“But
immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within
themselves, He said to them, ‘Why do you reason about these things in your
hearts? Which is easier, to say to the
paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven you,” or to say, “Arise, take up your bed
and walk”? But that you may know that
the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins’ — He said to the paralytic,
‘I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.’ Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and
went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified
God, saying, ‘We never saw anything like this!’ (Mark 2:1-12).
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.
~~~~~~~~~~~
