Simply Bible Magazine
—Page 5
Here's another magazine page with snippets and short articles.
ISSUES AND ATTITUDE
ATTITUDE: Be friendly and respectful.
APPEAL: Make the Bible alone the standard of proof.
ADJUSTMENT: Be willing to change your view if you are found incorrect.
WINGS OF THE DAWN
“If I take the wings of the dawn, even there your hand will lead me” (Psalm 139:9-10).
LET GOD DEAL WITH YOUR ENEMIES
Your enemies are answerable to God.
Let God be Judge
"Judge not" (Matthew 7:1). Recognize and oppose evil, but don't take God's place.
Michael the archangel did not himself accuse the devil, but said, "The Lord rebuke you" (Jude 1:9).
"God will bring every act to judgment" (Ecclesiastes 12:14).
"They shall not escape" (1Thessalonians 5:3).
Leave Vengeance to God
The Corinthians failed to do this (1Corinthians 6:1-8).
"Never take your own revenge" (Romans 12:17-21).
"Love your enemies... do good to them" (Luke 6:27). The payback system increases and prolongs trouble.
Put Away Bitterness
"Let all bitterness... be put away from you" (Ephesians 4:31).
Know you've been wronged, but don't let it eat away at your heart. "Lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble" (Hebrews 12:15).
THE GLORY of Christ
"We beheld his glory --the glory of the unique one, who came from the Father full of grace and truth." (John 1:1,14)
G for God.
Jesus has POWER as the
GOD who created all things
and for whom all things exist
(John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:16)
L for Lamb.
Jesus has PERFECTION as the
LAMB of God unspotted, whose
blood can take all sins away
(John 1:29, 1Peter 1:18-21).
O for Only.
Jesus holds PLACE as the
ONLY begotten Son of God who
has first place in God’s family
(John 1:14, Colossians 1:15,18).
R for Revealer.
Jesus makes PROCLAMATION as the
REVEALER who manifested God
and proclaimed eternal life
(John 1:18, 1John 1:1-4).
Y for You.
Jesus has the PURPOSE to be
YOUR Saviour who can give
you fellowship with God
(John 1:12, 1Timothy 1:15).
BRAIN TEASER
Be seen doing good —yet do it in secret.
In Matthew 5:16 Jesus says that we should let people see our good works, yet in Matthew 6:1 he says not to practice our righteousness before people to be seen by them.Is this a contradiction?
answer
If our good works, seen by others, are going to cause them to glorify and praise the God of Heaven, then we should not hide our light under a bowl (Matthew 5:14-15).
However, if we are trying to draw attention to ourselves, and get praise for ourselves by doing good, then as Jesus says we have no reward from God (Matthew 6:1-4).
So there are times to do good out in the open so that people will glorify God, and there are times to do good in secret so people won't give glory to us. Wisdom is to know the difference.
BEATITUDES
Here’s a thought-provoker for you.
There are several blessings in Christ that Paul writes about in Ephesians chapter 1. Can you name some of them?
Through Christ’s blood we have R _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
In Christ we have obtained an I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
In Christ the beloved, we are made A _ _ _ _ _ _ _
In Christ, before the foundation of the world, we have been C _ _ _ _ _
We have been S _ _ _ _ _ with the Holy Spirit
In Christ, God will G _ _ _ _ _ all things in one
ALL THINGS NEW
We look for a new world,
All beautiful and bright.
We look for a new world,
Where never comes a night.
We long for a new world,
Where there's no pain or tears.
We long for a new world,
Where no one dies or fears.
We'll go to the city
That's built by Christ the King.
We'll kneel down before him,
While God’s good angels sing.
We'll live in the city,
And never shall we leave.
This the Lamb has promised
To all who will believe.
—Ron Graham
Paul, in his letter to the Romans does not teach that we are saved by faith alone, but rather he teaches six responses required by God’s grace.
EDITORIAL
"If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us ...we know that in whatever we ask, we have the requests which we have asked from him" (1John 5:14-15).
1. God's not Santa Claus
God doesn't immediately grant every and any request we make.
If he did, we could all ask God for a million dollars and immediately go and find it in our bank accounts.
Prayer and providence don't work like that. However we can sometimes be blown away by a "coincidence" that meets a genuine need.
2. God does God’s will
John assures us that God grants anything we ask that is "according to his will".
Of course, if our requests are not according to God’s will, then they won't be granted.
We know that it is God’s will to provide us with our genuine needs.
Therefore we pray, for example, "Give us this day our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11).
3. God does what's best
What if we are not sure about God’s will?
We can always make our request and say, "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will" (Matthew 26:39).
Of course we ourselves must always be willing to do God’s will in all things.
Whatever God does then, it will be for the best, because God cares for us.