Wednesday, July 20, 2011

1 Corinthians 7:25-40 "Now concerning virgins I have no..." KJV - Online Bible Study

Daily Bible Reading fromBibleStudyTools.com

July 20, 2011 - King James Version

²⁵ Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. ²⁶ I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be . ²⁷ Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed . Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. ²⁸ But and if thou marry , thou hast not sinned ; and if a virgin marry , she hath not sinned . Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you. ²⁹ But this I say , brethren, the time is short : it remaineth , that both they that have wives be as though they had none; ³⁰ And they that weep , as though they wept not; and they that rejoice , as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy , as though they possessed not; ³¹ And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away . ³² But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: ³³ But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. ³⁴ There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. ³⁵ And this I speak for your own profit ; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction. ³⁶ But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age , and need so require , let him do what he will , he sinneth not: let them marry . ³⁷ Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, doeth well. ³⁸ So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better. ³⁹ The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth ; but if her husband be dead , she is at liberty to be married to whom she will ; only in the Lord. ⁴⁰ But she is happier if she so abide , after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.

1 Kings 21:1-29

¹ And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. ² And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying , Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. ³ And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. ⁴ And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said , I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. ⁵ But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread? ⁶ And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered , I will not give thee my vineyard. ⁷ And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise , and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry : I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. ⁸ So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. ⁹ And she wrote in the letters, saying , Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: ¹⁰ And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying , Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out , and stone him, that he may die . ¹¹ And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. ¹² They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. ¹³ And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying , Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died . ¹⁴ Then they sent to Jezebel, saying , Naboth is stoned , and is dead . ¹⁵ And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned , and was dead , that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise , take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead . ¹⁶ And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead , that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. ¹⁷ And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying , ¹⁸ Arise , go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. ¹⁹ And thou shalt speak unto him, saying , Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed , and also taken possession ? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying , Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. ²⁰ And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy ? And he answered , I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD. ²¹ Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, ²² And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger , and made Israel to sin . ²³ And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying , The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. ²⁴ Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat ; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat . ²⁵ But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up . ²⁶ And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. ²⁷ And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted , and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. ²⁸ And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying , ²⁹ Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.

Amos 5:1-27

¹ Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel. ² The virgin of Israel is fallen ; she shall no more rise : she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up . ³ For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel. ⁴ For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live : ⁵ But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity , and Bethel shall come to nought. ⁶ Seek the LORD, and ye shall live ; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel. ⁷ Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, ⁸ Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name: ⁹ That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress. ¹⁰ They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. ¹¹ Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. ¹² For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. ¹³ Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time. ¹⁴ Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live : and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken . ¹⁵ Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. ¹⁶ Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing. ¹⁷ And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD. ¹⁸ Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. ¹⁹ As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. ²⁰ Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it? ²¹ I hate , I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. ²² Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. ²³ Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. ²⁴ But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. ²⁵ Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? ²⁶ But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. ²⁷ Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Goodness to All - Online Bible Study Tools

Goodness to All

Stephen Davey

Matthew 5:43-44

"You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

God's goodness is experienced by all creation, and everyone who has ever lived has personally benefited from the grace of God in numerous ways. In Psalm 33:5b the psalmist wrote, "The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord."

Matthew 5:45b tells us that God "causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." Theologians refer to this as God's common grace. One author described it this way: "He gives both the righteous and the unrighteous food to eat, a fire to keep warm, water to quench thirst. He gives us all blue sky, a warm sun, green grass, and beautiful mountains."

If you were God, things would be very different, wouldn't they? If your neighbor ridiculed you for going to church, you would cause rain to fall on every lawn except his. In fact, you might even strike his yard with lightning and destroy his lawn altogether! But God doesn't do that. Your neighbor's lawn might look better than yours, or his kids seem healthier than yours, or his promotions come faster than yours, and his appliances last longer than yours!

God allows unbelievers to experience relationships that bring love and happiness. He gives them the thrill of excitement over the birth of a child, or the accomplishment of a life-long project. He gives them a sense of personal worth and an intuitive knowledge of right and wrong. Unbelievers can paint, sing, create, innovate; write symphonies, build skyscrapers, invent medical cures, design computer programs.

Sadly, David lamented in Psalm 107:8, "Oh, that men would praise the LORD for His lovingkindness." But they don't do that, do they?

They ignore His goodness and take it for granted. As Romans 1:21 says, "For even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened." Yet God continues to pour out his lovingkindness even on those who will not acknowledge Him, nor give thanks to Him.

Did you know that we are to do the same? As Christ's ambassadors in this world, we are to show the same love and goodness to our enemies as God shows to us. Romans 5:7-8 declares, "For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for a good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." In other words, we are not to wish for the destruction of unbelievers, but rather to pray for their salvation. We are not to think hateful thoughts of them and condemn them in our minds, but rather forgive them for any grievance against us, and show them the love of Christ.

Loving our enemies is not an easy task, but it is what God did for us. If we are to be Christ's representatives in the world, we must learn to show "common grace" as He does . . . to all men.

Prayer Point: Pray that God will give you a merciful and gracious spirit toward unbelievers, rather than a prideful and domineering spirit which constantly says, "Look, I'm better than you." Thank God for loving you while you were still an enemy and a sinner, giving you an example of how you are to love others.

Extra Refreshment: Read Luke 10:25-37.

The Creator Provides (3/21/2010)

The Creator Provides

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Videos/V8241-30#ooid=I3ZWtmMjq4Mn2Ys_XMnrAce2pd_YLJ5l

How to Attract Abundance Into Your Life by Wayne Dyer - Beliefnet.com

Let Go - DeWayne Woods

Daily Word

Home | Daily Word: "LET GO, LET GOD
I trust in the activity of Spirit, and my faith grows.
Letting go brings me peace and freedom. As I trust in the activity of Spirit, I am free to release the weight of resentment or unforgiveness. As I let go of worry about a job, the economy, my health or a loved one, I allow Spirit to work in these situations. When I let go of self-doubt and unworthiness, I let divine inner wisdom be my guide.

My life is uplifted and sustained by the spirit of God active in me. My faith grows as I surrender any doubts and trust in Spirit. Letting go does not mean I do nothing. It simply means I am less willful and more willing. I let go of the need to control or solve every problem and marvel at the way life is forever moving in the direction of my highest good.

But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, 'You are my God.' --Psalm 31:14"

The Joy of Jesus (Church Online)