"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT BEING FAITHFUL TO GOD'S CALLING"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT BEING FAITHFUL TO GOD'S CALLING"

Ezekiel 3:10 “Moreover He said to me: “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears.”

Ezekiel 3:11 “And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.”

Taken from today's reading in The One Year Bible 11/2/14.

Some background, application, questions and a prayer:

Ezekiel was a prophet sent by God to a rebellious people, the children of Israel. 

He was being sent to people who did not want to hear the Word and actually tried to kill him.

God encouraged him to not be afraid but to go and tell the people what God had to say to them.

Ezekiel was a faithful man, may we be like him in our day.

Ezekiel 3:10 “Then he added, “Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself.”

Ezekiel 3:11 “Then go to your people in exile and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says!’ Do this whether they listen to you or not.”

1. God wants us to receive His Word into our hearts.

Ezekiel 3:10 “Moreover He said to me: “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears.”

God speaks to us.

God wants us to receive His Word into our hearts.

We can choose to receive His Word.

Or we can choose not to receive His Word.

May we be people who are receptive.

The idea here is that we would be receptive to His Word, and let His Word sink deep into our hearts first, before we share it with others.

2. God wants us to hear His Word with our ears.

Ezekiel 3:10 “Moreover He said to me: “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears.”

Along with letting God's Word sink into our hearts, He wants us to listen to His Word carefully.

And, to see how it applies to our own lives before we share it with others.

God's own messengers need God's own Word as much as anyone the messengers are being sent to.

May we let His Word be applied to our own hearts first.

Ezekiel 3:10 “Then he added, “Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself.”

Ezekiel 3:11 “Then go to your people in exile and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says!’ Do this whether they listen to you or not.”

3. God wants us to share His Word with those who are held captive.

Ezekiel 3:11 “And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.”

Many people are held captive today by sin and unbelief.

They do not want to hear God.

They would rather listen to the devil.

They do not even realize that they are bound by satan.

God knows they are held captive and wants to free them.

He sets people free by, and through, His Word. 

Let's be those who go to the captives and tell them what God has said.

4. God wants us to be faithful to share His Word whether the people hear or they refuse.

Ezekiel 3:11 “And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.”

Some people will listen, praise God for that.

Some people will refuse to listen, let's pray to God for them.

We are not to worry about people being open or not.

We are to faithfully and lovingly tell them the truth.

God will bless His servants who faithfully proclaim His Word.

May we be those faithful servants who faithfully declare His Word.

Some Questions:

1. Do you see the truth of many today who do not want to hear God's Word?

2. Will you pray right along with me that we let God's Word be applied first to our own lives?

3. Do you ever get discouraged by those who refuse to listen to God?

4. Will you pray to be faithful to share His Word whether people listen or refuse it?

A Prayer:

Father, what a blessing to know You and be in Your family, and to have the honor of serving You in these last days.

So many are mocking the truth of the Bible in these days. We pray for them, Lord, that You would send a great outpouring of Your Spirit upon them, and open their eyes and hearts to Your life saving, soul freeing truth. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier

Calvary Chapel Visalia

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT THE MERCY AND FORGIVENESS OF OUR GREAT GOD AND SAVIOR"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT THE MERCY AND FORGIVENESS OF OUR GREAT GOD AND SAVIOR"

Psalm 103:10 “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities.”

Psalm 103:11 ”For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;”

Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Psalm 103:13 “As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him.”

Taken from today's reading in The One Year Bible 10/31/14.

Some background, application, questions and a prayer:

David expresses so much about God in this particular Psalm. In these four verses David talks in detail about the mercy of God and how He is do forgiving. May the Lord speak to us and open our eyes and hearts to the wonders of our great Savior.

1. God has not dealt with us according to our sins.

Psalm 103:10 “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities.”

God does deal with people.

God has not dealt with us according to our sins.

If God did deal with us according to our iniquities, He would have had to punish us for them.

Iniquities comes from a word meaning perverse, amiss, crooked, to bend, twist and distort, to do wrong. 

And, it came to mean faults, mischief, depravity.

Our Lord has not punished us for all our sins, nor does he deal with us as we deserve. That's the idea here, taken from the NLT.

2. God has great great mercy towards those who fear Him.

Psalm 103:11 “For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;”

It's interesting and very helpful to see this word picture about God's mercy.

Here it is… As the heavens are high above the earth.

When you think of how high the heavens are above the earth, what is the picture that comes to your mind?

But that high distance is used to describe how great His mercy is.

And David adds that it's mercy towards those who fear Him.

3. Two last truths about God's forgiveness and pity.

Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Psalm 103:13 “As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him.”

David paints another word picture for us.

Here it is: ”As far as the east is from the west”.

How far is that? What comes to your mind in trying to put a measurement on it?

Anyways, that's how far God has removed our transgressions from us. 

That's a long way, don't you think?

In other words they are gone.

We can measure north and south using the two poles of the earth.

But we cannot measure the east from the west. There are no poles only an infinite distance if you will.

A distance that has no end. 

That's where He has removed our sins to.

And, one last thing.

God pities us like a father pities His children. God pities those who fear Him. 

What does this mean?

It means this, taken from the NLT: ”The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him."

Our God is like a father to His children.

He is tender and He is compassionate towards those who fear Him.

Some Questions:

1. Would you take just a moment with me to let these truths soak into your soul, or soak your soul in these truths?

2. If God had dealt with us according to our sins what would He have had to do to us since He is a just God?

3. God has purposefully used imagery that forces our minds to stand in awe of the greatness of His mercy.

4. Do you think all people fear God, or do we sometimes just say we do?

5. Fearing God is important, don't You think?

6. In these days you are living in, would You say you are living in and with the fear of God?

A Prayer:

Oh Lord, how great is Your mercy and how vast is Your forgiveness towards those who fear You. May we be in that number, Lord, may we be in that number. You tell us in Proverbs 1, that the fear of the Lord is the starting point for wisdom. Help us, Lord, to pay proper reverence to You, to be respectful and to be obedient to You. Keep us, Lord, from being those who draw near to You with our mouths but our hearts are far from You. May our mouths and our hearts line up together. You deserve it, Lord, look at who You are, and how You have not dealt with us, and how You have dealt with us. You have been merciful, forgiving, and compassionate. Thank You.

Pastor Bob Grenier

Calvary Chapel Visalia.

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT RECALLING TO OUR MINDS AND HAVING HOPE"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT RECALLING TO OUR MINDS AND HAVING HOPE"

Lamentations 3:21 “This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.”

Lamentations 3:22 “Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.”

Lamentations 3:23 “They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!”

Lamentations 3:25 “The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.”

Lamentations 3:26 “It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the LORD.”

Taken from todays reading in The One Year Bible 10/30/14.

Some background, application, questions and a prayer:

Jeremiah wrote this book. It was his expression of sorrow for the destruction of Jerusalem because of their disobedience to God. 

The nation of Judah had been taken captive by the Babylonians. Jeremiah wept and wept for them. 

But, he also had moments of hope and encouragement such as is stated in the verses above.

If you are weeping today, may these be an encouragement to You.

1. We can recall to our minds the things of the Lord and have hope.

Lamentations 3:21 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.

We can know truths about God.

But we can forget truths about God.

Thus it's good for us to be reminded of the truths.

When we do remember these things, it brings hope into our lives.

2. Our God is merciful, and it’s because of His mercy that we are not consumed, and His compassions do not fail.

Lamentations 3:22 “Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.”

Lamentations 3:23 “They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”

Here are some truths about our God.

He is merciful. He does not give us what we deserve.

It's because of His mercy that we are not consumed.

And, the compassions, or mercies of the Lord do not fail 

One other thing, God's mercies are new every morning.

God's Faithfulness or dependability is great.

3. God is our portion, He is good to us, and it's good for us to hope in Him and wait quietly for His salvation.

Lamentations 3:24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!”

Lamentations 3:25 “The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.”

Lamentations 3:26 “It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the LORD.”

Here are a few last truths and thoughts to be encouraged by.

God is our portion.

God is good to us.

It's good for us to have hope in Him.

And it's good for us to wait quietly for Him.

The Lord is good to those who wait for Him.

The Lord is good to the soul that seeks Him.

Finally, it is good that we should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Questions:

1. Will you take just a few moments to re-read the verses above?

2. Guess what You will find as you do? You will find hope.

3. God is our hope, and do you know that He wants You to rejoice in Him and in the hope you have in Him.

4. Waiting on God, being patient is good for us, because God is faithful. He will not let you down,

A Prayer:

Father, what a beautiful few verses that came through a heart that was so troubled by what he saw happening all around him.

Yet even in his troubles he did not lose sight of You and of who You are, and of the blessings You give, and of how it is that we receive those blessings. May we learn from these verses what You intend for us to learn. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus name.

Pastor Bob Grenier

Calvary Chapel Visalia.

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT HOW TO STOP TALEBEARING"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT HOW TO STOP TALEBEARING"

Proverbs 26:20 “Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.”

Taken from Today's reading in The One Year Bible 10/29/14.

A little background, application, questions and a prayer:

This subject of talebearing, or gossip is spoken of widely in the Bible.

God actually tells us about how this causes division.

And, God tells us that He hates division. 

There is a good lesson here.

1. We can stop talebearing from continuing.

Proverbs 26:20 “Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.”

This verse tells us how to stop talebearing. 

Just don't put the wood, the fuel, of gossip on the fire.

Soon the fiery gossip will stop.

Just consider how a fire burns.

It must have wood to continue.

If you don't put any wood on the fire what will happen?

The fire goes out.

The wood here is gossip.

2. We can also stop the strife.

Proverbs 26:20 “Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.”

Talebearing, gossip etc, cause strife.

Strife will cease if there are no logs put on the fire.

Talebearers are people who spread gossip.

If they are not around to spread their gossip the strife will cease.

3. Here's how it's put in the NLT:

Proverbs 26:20 “Fire goes out for lack of fuel, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops.”

Helpful, don't you think?

Fires will go out for lack of fuel. 

No fuel means no fire.

Also, quarrels disappear (they vanish) when gossip stops.

If a gossiper stops gossiping, strife will stop.

Gossiping keeps the strife going.

4. Some definitions might help.

Quarrels comes from a root word meaning to roll in pieces.

It means a whisper, to murmur, to backbite, slander.

Gossip comes from a word meaning to judge, to contend. to act as judge and to strive.

And it means to be contentious, to sow discord, and to variant.

Some Questions:

1. Have you ever been the object of someones talebearing?

2. How did it make you feel?

3. Do you think any one of us should gossip or cause trouble for others?

4. Of course not.

5. Can we thank God together for this simple, but powerful, verse?

A Prayer:

Father, Your Word never ceases to not help us. It always goes deep into our beings and does it's work of teaching, correcting, rebuking, instructing etc, making us more complete and equipped to serve You. Which, by the way, Lord, is what we want to do. 

Would You be so kind as to continue to speak loud and clear to us. We want to listen with all of our hearts. And, we want to do all that You show us to do. In Jesus’ name, amen

Pastor Bob Grenier

“SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT SOME THINGS TO REMEMBER AND WHY”

“SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT SOME THINGS TO REMEMBER AND WHY”

Titus 3:1 “Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work,”

Titus 3:2 “to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.”

Titus 3:3 “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.”

(Taken from today's reading in The One Year Bible 10/28/14)

Some background, application, questions and a prayer:

Titus was a pastor in Crete. Paul was writing Titus to help him set some things in order there in the church.

This letter is almost like Proverbs. It's very practical, and deals with many areas of life.

The Cretans where Titus lived were not very nice or productive people.

In fact you might say they were wicked, evil and lazy.

Paul wanted to help Titus help his flock to be Godly, and not ill affected by the society they lived in.

1. We need to be reminded regularly.

Titus 3:1 “Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work,”

To be reminded, means to be put in remembrance. To put in mind.

We are helped by remembering. 

God's Word is so good at reminding us of what we need to have in our minds.

That's what Paul was instructing Titus to do. 

Remind the people, bring these truths to their minds.

2. Here are some very good things to be reminded of.

Titus 3:1 “Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work,”

Titus 3:2 “to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.”

We are to be subject, or obedient to those who in authority over us. 

Be that in the city, state, nation, business area, and in the church.

We are to obey.

Apparently this means we are to obey those whom we are in subjection to.

The two would go hand in hand. 

Submit and obey.

We are to be ready for every good work.

Or always ready to do what is good.

Have a readiness of mind to do what is good, and not what is bad or evil.

We are to speak evil of no one. 

We are to be peaceable.

We are to be gentle.

We are to show all humility to all men.

3. And here's the reason for our being reminded of the things above.

Titus 3:3 “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.”

We used to be different than we are now.

We used to be foolish.

We used to be disobedient.

We used to be deceived

We used to serve various, or many, lusts and pleasures.

We used to live in malice and envy.

That's what we used to be.

It's good to be reminded of what we used to be.

And it's good to see ourselves with compassion for those who are now like we used to be.

Some Questions:

1. Can you remember what you used to be like before you were saved?

2. Can you remember when God changed you and saved You?

3. Can you see the people around you are like you used to be?

4. Will you pray for compassion for those around you?

5. Will you pray for open doors to share Christ with those around you who are like you used to be?

A Prayer:

Father, You are the great changer of lives, the forgiver of sins, the giver of life, and the great Lord who wants to reach the lost through the found. You found us when we were lost, and now that we are found, You want to use us to help find others who are currently lost.

You want to add to Your family by using Your very children to accomplish the work of harvesting souls.

Wow. Thank You, Father. Use us, we pray. Like Isaiah said, "Here am I, send me”. We are here, Lord, and want to be useful to accomplish Your purposes. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier

Calvary Chapel Visalia.

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT NOT BEING MEDDLERS"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT NOT BEING MEDDLERS"

Proverbs 26:17 “He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own Is like one who takes a dog by the ears.”

(Taken from today's reading in The One Year Bible, 10/27/14)

Some background, application, questions and a prayer:

Proverbs is the Book in the Bible that has 31 chapters. It's God's instruction manual for us of how live day by day with His wisdom.

He has given us the right amount of chapters, basically one chapter for each day of every month. We need His wisdom every day.

And He gives it to us right here in Proverbs. This book teaches us how avoid danger and find the blessings of God in our lives, and how to be a blessing to others. Just like Jesus Christ is the greatest blessing a human being could have in their lives.

1. We pass by, or are made aware of, many things in our lives day by day.

Proverbs 26:17 “He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own Is like one who takes a dog by the ears.”

God may allow us to see something of someone else's circumstance.

Perhaps He allows it so we can pray for it.

That would be a good use of our lives.

2. We can make a huge mistake when we pass by someone else's situation.

Proverbs 26:17 “He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own Is like one who takes a dog by the ears.”

The mistake is called "meddling”.

Notice how the Lord put it:

Proverbs 26:17 “He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own Is like one who takes a dog by the ears.”

What is the mistake?

Well for one, the quarrel is not our own.

It's not our business.

It's someone else's issue.

And, it's a mistake to stick our nose into it.

3. If we make the mistake of meddling we are in for a surprise and trouble.

Proverbs 26:17 “He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own Is like one who takes a dog by the ears.”

Look how God describes it, and what will happen.

You have to use your imagination here.

But, imagine what happens when you pick up a dog by it's ears.

First of all it's going to bring pain to the dog.

Secondly, the dog will probably try and bite you.

And most likely will succeed in hurting you.

4. Here's how the NLT gives this verse:

Proverbs 26:17 “Yanking a dog’s ears is as foolish as interfering in someone else’s argument.”

It's foolish to mind someone else's business.

Other people may have arguments and issues that belong to them.

It's not a wise thing to jump into what is going on in their lives.

It will not help, it will only hurt.

5. Today the world of social media provides a trap for this foolishness.

Blogs and bloggers can be edifying or they can be hurtful and foolish.

God has allowed social media to be part of our culture today.

Let's try to use it for His glory and His honor and the good of others.

Questions:

1. If you are like me, I'll bet you have made this mistake.

2. Have you found this verse to be true?

3. Clearly, all of what is in the Bible is true, but this truth is only known by those who have not heeded it.

4. Do you think that God may allow you to know of someone else's situation, so you can pray for them, or learn from it?

5. Let's resolve right now to try the best we can to heed God's wise counsel in this matter.

A Prayer:

Father, You have many many children, and many many who are not yet Your children. And the world is full of tribulation, governed on one level by the devil and his demons. Trouble and sin are everywhere we look. People are fighting and arguing all the time. Lord, help us to be wise as we travel through this world day by day. We have enough of our own troubles and need wisdom to find our own way and Your will. Keep us from foolishness, and make us intercessors for the needs of others. We love You, Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Pastor Bob Grenier

Calvary Chapel Visalia