Awesome online tool for Bible study!

Hey friends, you gotta check this out!  Online Bible Study

This online resource has the potential to help you in so many ways as you work to dig in to your Bible. Remember those helpful steps we talked about?
1. Observation
2. Interpretation
3. Application

If you get stuck working through these steps, if you have questions about certain verses, if you want to know more about the context, or whatever, this online tool can help you! If you need help figuring out how to use this online resource just let me know, we'll go to lunch and figure things out!

Please check it out, punch in a certain book of the Bible, along with a chapter and verse and check out all that you can do with your Bible study on the internet!

AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!! I need help understanding & applying the Bible to my life!!

Do you have trouble developing a good, consistent way to study the Bible for yourself? Here is a simple, yet effective approach to help you grow in this important area of your life. It has three basic steps. They are:

1. Observation
2. Interpretation
3. Application

Here is how it works: Pick a passage, begin with prayer, asking God to help you understand and apply His Word, and then work to answer these three questions:

1. Observation - What do these verses say?
2. Interpretation - What do these verses mean?
3. Application - Based upon what these verses say and mean, what do I need to do or stop doing?

A great book of the Bible to help you learn this method is Proverbs. Start out by picking small groups of verses...there is nothing wrong with starting small. Go ahead, give it a try next time you spend time in the Word. You can rock it! Go for it!

I am sick of falling to the same sinful choices, HELP!

Are you sick of trying to conquer that sinful habit in your life, only to be met once again by bitter defeat? I am. But here is a big part of the problem. Too many of us have been taught that all we need to do in order to overcome that sinful habit in our lives is regular church attendance, or self-discipline, or accountability, or devotions with breakfast, or strong desire, or cold showers, or...ah, never mind, you get the idea. All of those things may be helpful, and do indeed serve a purpose, but they all miss the mark. They all fall short. You know why? Because they all have to do with ME. When I am in trouble, when I am trying to overcome that sin that is just so powerful and pervasive in my life, the last thing I need is more of me. In fact, the Bible is clear, no man goes toe to toe with sin, in his own strength, and survives. We lose. Check out Joseph's example in Genesis 39. You know what he did? He ran. Yeah, so the last thing we need in those moments where we feel our defenses falling and that temptation rushing in like an unstoppable force is more of ME. We need less of me and more of God. That is the only way to experience victory over sin. Paul wrote in Galatians 5:16 - "So, I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." You can experience freedom from that sin. You don't have to be it's slave. Paul also wrote in Galatians 5..."It is for freedom that Christ has set us free!" So, how do should I seek to live with less of me and more of God every day and every moment?
1. Confess all known sin to God (1 John 1:9) We can't experience the power of God in our lives if we harbor unconfessed sin...God doesn't play second to anyone or anything.
2. Ask God to fill you  (Luke 11:11-13) He promises He will! Live life under His influence and power, not your own!
3. Believe that He has filled you (Mark 11:24) Live in confidence man! God's power is at work in you! If you ask for something that God is willing and please to give you, He will give it to you. And believe me, He wants you to have His power at work in your life, especially as you desire to overcome your sin!

Be Killing Sin or Sin Will Be Killing You

@desiringgod Desiring God

John Piper: "I don’t wait passively for the miracle of sin-killing to be worked on me, I act the miracle." (blog post) http://dsr.gd/ejgVWy - Follow this link to listen to the audio from this sermon.

 

When it comes to killing my sin I don’t wait for the miracle, I Act the Miracle.
Acting a miracle is different from working a miracle. If Jesus tells a paralyzed man to get up, and he gets up, Jesus works a miracle. But if I am the paralyzed man and Jesus tells me to get up, and I obey and get up, I act the miracle. If I am dead Lazarus and Jesus commands me to get up, and I obey, Jesus works the miracle, I act the miracle.
So when it comes to killing my sin, I don’t wait passively for the miracle of sin-killing to be worked on me, I act the miracle.
For example, Paul says, “If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13).

So he tells me to put my sin to death. I should not wait for God to kill it while I remain passive. But he tells me to kill it “by the Spirit." Sin-killing is a miracle of the Spirit. But I do not wait passively, I act the miracle.

Again Paul says, “I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

So Paul works hard to kill the sins of lethargy and distraction in his ministry. “I worked harder than any of them.” But the decisive animation of that work is the grace of God. It is a miracle. But Paul does not wait passively, he acts the miracle.

Or consider Philippians 2:12-13, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12–13).

Paul commands me to work out my salvation, because God is the one who works this in me. My willing and working is God’s willing and working. It is a miracle. But I do not wait passively, I act the miracle.

I spoke to the Bethlehem College and Seminary Chapel about this crucial act of miraculous sin-killing in my own life. These are lessons I learned afresh on my leave of absence. They feel very fresh, very important and very powerful in my life right now. It is a very personal message.

I invite you to listen or watch “I Act the Miracle.”

Braes 2011 - "Downpour"

"God wants to revive our relationship with Him. Revival is renewed interest after a period of indifference or decline. He wants to wake us up, to refresh our faith, to fire us up again." - James MacDonald

Do you need revival. I do. Does your faith need to be refreshed? Mine does. Do you need to be fired up again? I do. It's not too late to change your plans for this weekend. If you want to join us for this powerful weekend at the Braes, let me know by midnight tonight...we'll make it happen!