African American Viewers: Saw it as a powerful assertion of Black identity, with imagery like the divided American flag in HUMBLE symbolizing systemic struggles.

General Public: Some celebrated Lamar’s artistry, while others felt the performance was too politically charged or overshadowed by his rap feud.

Conservative News Channels and Viewers: Criticized the show as divisive, framing it as part of the NFL’s broader shift toward diversity and inclusion.

Online Reactions: Many praised Lamar’s ability to balance entertainment with deeper messages, while others saw the inclusion of Not Like Us as a direct challenge to Drake.

Serena Williams, a Compton native like Lamar, joined him during Not Like Us, performing the Crip Walk, a move she famously did after her Olympic win. Given her past rumored relationship with Drake, her presence was widely interpreted as symbolic support for Lamar in their feud.

Sports analysts noted that Lamar’s performance signified the NFL’s evolution since Colin Kaepernick’s 2016 firing after his silent protest against police brutality. What was once controversial—protesting systemic injustice—was now center stage at the league’s biggest event. The show reflected how much the NFL has changed in eight years, embracing artists willing to engage with social issues.

Lamar’s halftime show was a defining moment in hip-hop and sports culture, mixing artistic mastery with social critique. Whether seen as a celebration of progress or a polarizing statement, it cemented his status as a cultural force. However, unless Lamar himself provides insight into his intentions, the performance remains open to interpretation. Each perspective likely holds some truth, but without his explanation, the deeper layers of his choreography, symbolism, and choices remain speculative.

Similarly, interpretations of the Bible, God’s infallible Word, have led to various denominations, writings, and worship styles worldwide. So how do we determine biblical truth? Is it shaped by culture? Are we influenced by historical biases? Is Scripture poetic, historical, or metaphorical? Just as Lamar’s performance sparked diverse interpretations, so too does the Bible—depending on one’s background, perspective, and openness to understanding through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Some conservative viewers struggled to grasp Lamar’s message because they lacked familiarity with him and had no interest in his cultural background, which shaped his performance. Likewise, if we approach Scripture without historical, cultural, and spiritual understanding, we may miss what God is truly saying. Proverbs 4:7 reminds us, “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.”

The Pharisees had immense knowledge of God’s law but lacked true understanding. Jesus rebuked them because they read Scripture but did not see Him in it. You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me (John 5:39). Likewise, if we rely solely on human reasoning or personal bias, we risk misinterpreting God’s Word. Without a relationship with the Author and Creator, we will go astray. The key to biblical interpretation is loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). Every interpretation should lead us to Jesus and His truth.

Scripture itself is not fluid—it stands unchangeable throughout time and culture. Jesus affirms this in Matthew 5:18, For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. The New Testament is also historically validated, with more manuscript evidence than any other ancient text.

However, while Scripture remains unchanged, our understanding of it can deepen as we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us. We must also be clear that in the essentials of the gospel, we must be firm and united (One Lord, one faith, one baptism – Ephesians 4:5). The Nicene Creed succinctly outlines these essentials. In all else, we must interpret with humility and charity.

Every biblical interpretation should lead us to humbly love and serve our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:31). We must be careful not to weaponize our interpretations against others, as that can cause spiritual harm. Instead, we should listen, learn, and remain open to God’s sanctifying work in us. Philippians 2:3 reminds us, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. Maturity in faith often requires reevaluating our perspectives as we grow in understanding.

If Lamar’s performance teaches us anything, it is that people will always interpret things differently. The more we know and understand the Author of the Bible, the more accurately we will interpret His Word. Thankfully, in faith matters, we have an advantage: the Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth (John 16:13). Without Him at the center of our understanding, we risk missing the very heart of God—just as the Pharisees did.

We should be open to learning and willing to allow God to shape our understanding, recognizing that My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord (Isaiah 55:8). Our goal in interpreting the Bible is not to win theological arguments but to know and glorify God and to humbly make His love known to a lost world through our actions.

This morning, as I was reading the Bible, I came across the following verse: “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him” (2 Chron 16:9). It is a great verse. Wouldn’t it be amazing if as this verse says, I could have the confidence that God was intimately aware of our lives and circumstances, and that He was providing strong support behind the scenes for us? However, when I read this, my instant reaction was not a sense of hope but a feeling of despair. And when I shared this verse with Vanita, she later told me that she had also felt a similar sense of despair. This despair came from the realization that we know all too well that our hearts are not perfectly in tune with God, so this promise could not possibly apply to us. Since this is where both of our thoughts went immediately, I wonder if you also feel this way when you read such promises from God in Scripture. If so, I pray that this article will encourage you.

The reason I felt this this sense of despair, was because I interpreted the phrase “those whose heart is blameless toward Him” to mean “those whose heart is perfectly in tune with, and in total submission to God”. Living on this side of eternity, I fall far short of this bar. Although this may seem to be a valid way of reading this verse, the Bible tells us that this is not the whole story. If you think about it, this is not what the verse is actually saying. It was not for those who are perfect, but for those whom God does not find cause to blame for anything, thus making them “blameless”. Normally both the words “perfect” and “blameless” would mean the same thing. However, the word “perfect” literally describes someone’s behavior and character. The word “blameless” describes how God views that person. And thankfully, God does not make “blameless” synonymous with “perfect”. God has done something remarkable, so that we can be blameless although we are not close to being perfect. He has done this for all those who have put their trust in Jesus. Several verses come to mind “For our sake He (God) made Him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him (Jesus) we might become the righteousness of God” (1 Cor 5:21). “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). “He (God) has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has covered me with the robe of righteousness” (Isa 61:10).

This is why Jesus came. He came in order to die the death that I deserved, and face the wrath of God that I deserved, and in turn to give me His own righteous perfection. When God looks at me, He does not see my sins but He sees the perfection of His Son. I am reminded of a song I learned as a youth:

I am covered over with the robe of righteousness that Jesus gives to me;
I am cleansed forever by the precious blood of Jesus and He lives in me,
What a thrill it is to know my Heavenly Father loves me so, and gives to me, my Jesus,
When He looks at me He sees not what I used to be, but He sees Jesus.

Because Jesus bore all the penalty for my sins, there is nothing left to make me guilty. I stand tall in the presence of God as a person whose heart is blameless toward God. I can personally apply the promise of 2 Chron 16:9 as a truth in my own life. God is giving strong support to me and my family right now even if I cannot see it, and I can trust Him and take comfort in that.

The apostle Peter says that Gods “precious and exceedingly great promises” have been given to us, to give us the divine power to live godly lives that are pleasing to Him (2 pet 1:3-4). As I read the Bible, I discover that the Bible is flooded with such promises. In fact this verse in 2 Chronicles 16:9 is just another way of saying that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28). Do I “love Him“? Yes I do, although imperfectly. Have I been “called according to His purpose“? Yes. And that was not my doing but His! He called me by revealing Himself to me and showing me that He had died for my sake, and invited me to have a reconciled relationship with Him. So by this promise, I can be assured that in every single situation my family and I are in, God is working all things out individually for our good. I do not have to live in defeat and despair. The assertion here is that all my life experiences will actually be used by God to draw me closer to Him in a way I do not fully understand, and one day I will find that it was ultimately good for me. As J I Packer says in his book Knowing God, regarding an extension of this promise in Romans 8:32: The meaning of “He will give us all things” can be put thus: one day we will see that nothing – literally nothing – which could have increased our eternal happiness has been denied us, and that nothing – literally nothing – that could have reduced that happiness has been left with us. This is so amazing, it is hard to completely grasp or believe. But if God is who He says He is, this is true!

So I now take great comfort in the knowledge that the promises of God apply to those who belong to God. Those who have fallen at the mercy of God, and who have received that mercy because of what Jesus did on the cross for them.

The Whole Bible Comes Alive

When we start reading the Bible with the lens of the gospel in this way, it comes alive. We find that God is a strong warrior who works on behalf of those who put their trust in Him. We see this time and time again in the Old Testament, as we read about His dealings with people in various circumstances and from various stations in life. As we read, our hearts are warmed with the realization that God has not changed. Our God today is the same God (Heb 13:8). Then when we continue reading into the New Testament, we get to understand the how and the why of all this – centered around the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus. In fact, these are insights the Old Testament believers never fully had! It all coalesces together into a beautiful whole – God’s Word to us – which has given us every thing we need to live our lives trusting Him, especially through “His precious and exceedingly great promises” (2 Pet 1:3,4)

Let us look the story of Job from this perspective.

A Fresh Look at the Story of Job

The story of Job, starts this way: “There was a man … whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright” (Job 1:1). The story of Job is about a man who was “blameless and upright“. God uses these exact same words in describing Job to Satan in Job 1:8 and Job 2:3 – blameless and upright. The Bible makes it clear that this is how God viewed Job.

But this immediately begs the question. Was Job some kind of holy superman who was very different from the rest of us? How could God possibly say that Job was “blameless and upright” if he was anything like we are? Well, it turns out that Job himself was aware that he fell short of God’s absolute standards. He said: “How can a man be right before God? If one wished to contend with Him one could not answer Him once in a thousand times” (Job 9:2-3). Like Job, if we were to stand before God as Judge on the merit of our lives, we would be found guilty, a thousand times. But Job does not stop there. He goes on to say “I must appeal for mercy to my accuser” (Job 9:15b). And we are also in exactly the same situation. Without mercy we, like Job, have no hope. But Job knew His God well enough to know that God indeed was merciful. A lot of Job’s struggle is not that he thought he was perfect and did not deserve to suffer, but that he could not reconcile his circumstances to the nature of the God that he had come to know and worship. (This was also partly because Job did not have the knowledge that this life is not all there is, as we do now. But we also sometimes feel this way).

However, Job did have hope in His God. He later said: “Even now, behold my witness is in heaven. And He who testifies for me is on high. … He would argue the case of a man with God as a son of man does with his neighbor” (Job 16:19,21). Although he knew that he himself would not be able to stand and argue in the court of God’s justice, he also knew with the eyes of faith that there is One in heaven who could! And Job was right. Looking at it in the light of New Testament revelation, we know that Jesus was that witness Job was talking about. “If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). Thus, even though Job did not fully understand it, he was able to say to his friends in the course of his conversation: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth and after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:25-26). The word “redeem” means “to buy something for a price, or a ransom“. That is what Jesus did for Job, and for every one of us who have put our trust in Him. He gave His life as the ransom price to save our souls, and bring us to God. “you were ransomed … not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19). Job was spot-on, and spoke the truth – and now we understand why.

So when we read about Job, we should not think: “Job was such a righteous man. I can never live up to that standard. This story does not have any relevance to me”. Or worse: “I need to step up my game so that God will favor me like He did Job”. That is the opposite of what God really wants us to learn. The story of Job is ultimately about the God of Job. He is a God whose wisdom and knowledge infinitely surpasses ours and who is in control of all things, and yet He is also a God who is merciful and gracious and who abounds in steadfast love. As we read this story, we should realize that Job needed redemption and salvation just as much as we do today (and his friends did too, as we get to learn later). Although he did not know about Jesus, he had put His trust in God with the limited revelation he was given. God in turn considered Job righteous, just as He did with every other Old Testament saint (e.g. see Gen 15:6), on the basis of the at-that-time-future work of Jesus on the cross. This is why God could  call him a “blameless” man, just like you and I are blameless before Him (see Heb 9:15). Job’s story is a foreshadowing of our own stories. It tells us that although in Christ we are blameless in God’s sight, God may have reasons why  He wants us to go through extremely trying situations, just like He did for Job. Our final restoration and vindication may not happen in this life, but God guarantees that it is coming, and that it will extend to all of eternity!

Hope for the Future

Thus we get comfort from Scripture. The entire Bible is ultimately a story of God. We read about Him and learn about His character. Every single Bible story (Old and New Testament) is about how people lived. But we also get the additional divine revelation about how God responded to them. We read stories there which serve as warnings to us (see 1 Cor 10:6) or as encouragements to us (see the entire chapter of Hebrews 11). We learn how God thinks. We read about His awesome holiness that would burn any of us to a crisp if we were to go anywhere close. Yet we read about the great mercy and compassion He has towards us even though we do not deserve any of it. We read about His Beloved Son whom He sent, who at great cost opened the way to God by His death on the cross, shielding us from the lethal rays of God’s righteous holiness by His own blood (John 3:16). And we also read the countless promises that assure us that God is faithful. “For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him” (2 Cor 1:20). As we read, we learn to trust in Him more and more, to fall in love with Him, and to turn aside and worship.

This is what enables us to press on and live by faith and hope, through the most trying of circumstances.

https://www.biblegateway.com/blog/2016/05/praying-with-authority-an-interview-with-john-eldredge/

Explain the concept of praying Scripture and give examples from the Bible.

John Eldredge: Let’s start with a promise the Bible gives us: That if we ask anything according to the will of God, those prayers will be answered (1 John 5:14-15). This is so encouraging! How then do we know what the will of God is? Well—we have the Scriptures. Praying the word of God and the promises of God is a very powerful way to pray. There is a beautiful prayer in Ephesians 3 where Paul demonstrates for us, asking that God would fill us with his Spirit in our inmost being, that we would be rooted deep in love, that we would have his help in knowing the magnificent love of Jesus. The end of that prayer is the promise that we will be filled to all the fullness of God. I want to be filled to all the fullness of God! I think everyone does. Well then—pray that prayer! (Eph. 3:16-19)

https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/scripture-engagement/praying-scripture/home

What do we mean when we say to “pray Scripture”? Evan Howard in his book Praying the Scriptures writes, “To pray the Scriptures is to order one’s time of prayer around a particular text in the Bible.” This can mean either praying the prayers of the Bible word-for-word as your own prayers, personalizing portions of the Scriptures in prayer, or praying through various topics of the Bible.

The Bible is full of prayers! From Genesis to Revelation there are biblical prayers you can pray to strengthen your spiritual life. These prayers express every kind of emotion and experience. The whole book of Psalms is a prayer book! By praying the prayers of the Bible, you identify with the biblical authors and are encouraged to allow God’s Spirit to shape you into the person he wants us to be. The prayers of the Bible, especially the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:1-4), become your tutors to learn how to communicate with God. They are part of your conversation with God.

Not only can the prayers of the Bible be prayed, any part of the Bible can be used to communicate with God. As you read the Bible (stories, history, poems, parables, etc.) in the presence of God and pay attention to the Spirit, you will identify with passages that relate to your life, the world, and people you know. Over time, it will become natural to immediately turn these thoughts into prayer. Out of the thoughts you have as you read, you turn to God in worship, confession, thanksgiving, and petition for yourself and others. Your Bible reading becomes a conversation with God, a cycle of reading and prayer.

Another way of praying the Bible is to pray along the lines of a specific biblical or theological topic. You may feel like the Spirit is convicting you in a specific area of your life on which you need to focus your prayers. Areas could include worship, holiness, love, a life anxiety, a besetting sin, a need to grow in thankfulness, a desire to pray for someone who needs to deepen his or her spiritual life, a need to lament a deep loss. The topics, and the Bible’s ability to touch on those topics, seems almost endless. By looking up passages in the Bible on your specific concern and then praying through those passages over a given amount of time, you will find God’s Word working in and through you.

How Can We Pray the Bible (John Piper)?

https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/how-do-i-pray-the-bible

Praying the Scriptures is so important in the Christian life. If we don’t form the habit of praying the Scriptures, our prayers will almost certainly degenerate into vain repetitions that eventually revolve entirely around our immediate private concerns, rather than God’s larger purposes

First, we should notice that the early church prayed the Scriptures in Acts 4:24 and following. In fact, they explicitly quote Scriptures. Threats had been made against them and it says, “They lifted their voices together to God and said, ‘Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them.’” They are exulting in what they know from God in Scripture.

Here is a second thing. Don’t forget the obvious; namely, that many parts of the Scripture are prayers. So, simply to read them is to pray, if we are awake — if you are thinking about what you are doing. Paul has got numerous prayers that he prays for the people that he is writing his letters to. And every time we read that, we should pray with Paul. And a great portion of the Psalms are prayers, and Jesus gave us some prayers. I have used the acronym IOUS from the Psalms to guide how I pray the Scriptures:

I: Incline my heart to your testimonies (Psalm 119:36).
O: Open my eyes to see wonderful things (Psalm 119:18).
U: Unite my heart to fear your name (Psalm 86:11).
S: Satisfy me in the morning with your steadfast love (Psalm 90:14).

So, the Scripture models for us how to pray about reading the Scriptures and turning them into prayers.

The Scriptures either tell us something about God and Christ when we are reading so that we can praise him. Or, they tell us something about what God and Christ and the Holy Spirit have done so that we can thank him and express faith in it. Or, they tell us what God expects from us so that we can cry out for his help. Or, they tell us about something we failed to do so that we can confess our sins. So, it seems to me that virtually all the Bible is doing one or more of those four things: something about God, something about what he has done, something about what he expects, something about how we have failed, so that they naturally lead into praise to God, thanks to God, crying for help to God, and confession of sin to God.

https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/ephesians-1/

Ephesians 1:15-23

Paul prays that they would know God.

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,

• May give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation: Paul prayed that the Father would grant the Ephesians the spirit of wisdom and that He would give them revelation. But these are not so they may see into the lives of others, have the ability to predict events, or do what we commonly think of as “prophet stuff.” He wanted them to have the spirit of wisdom and revelation simply so that they would have a better knowledge of Him (God).
• In the knowledge of Him: Our Christian life must be centered around this purpose – to know God as He is in truth, as revealed by His Word, and to correct our false, idolatrous ideas of who God is.
• The knowledge of Him: It is important for us to have an accurate knowledge and understanding of who we are. Yet it is far more important (and beneficial) for us to know and understand who God is.

Paul prays that they would understand everything God gave them in Jesus Christ.

The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, The eyes of your understanding being enlightened: If the Ephesians will know all God has given them in Jesus, it will take a supernatural work. It will require that the eyes of your understanding be enlightened by God.

• Paul used a great expression when he speaks of the eyes of your heart (heart is more literal than understanding). Too many Christian hearts have no eyes (places where they gain real knowledge and understanding), and too many Christian eyes have no heart – God wants both to be combined in us.
• “The word ‘heart’ in Scripture signifies the very core and center of life, where the intelligence has its post of observation, where the stores of experience are laid up, and the thoughts have their fountain.”

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-17-2/commentary-on-ephesians-314-21-2

Ephesians 3:14-21

The content of the prayer being offered is conveyed in Ephesians 3:16-19. Essentially there are four matters for which the author prays for the sake of his readers that they may have:

• inner spiritual strength
• the indwelling of Christ in their hearts
• the ability to comprehend all the dimensions of spiritual realities
• knowledge of the love of Christ

The third and fourth of these petitions beg for special comment. Ephesians 3:18 reads, “I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth.” Most likely, the author is using a metaphor to speak of the wonders of a multi-dimensional God, who is a God of power (Ephesians 1:19), rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4), lavish in his grace (Ephesians 2:7; 3:7), and rich in wisdom (Ephesians3:10). The NIV takes liberty to interpret the verse by adding words to it: “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”
In 3:19, the author speaks of knowing “the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.” The expression “the love of Christ” by itself is ambiguous, for it could mean either Christ’s love for us or our love for him. The phrase probably means Christ’s love for us. To know his love is greater than knowledge itself. The Greek word used here for “knowledge” is gnōsis, and it is likely that the writer is referring to the kind of (spiritual) “knowledge” that, Paul says, can sometimes become puffed up (1 Corinthians 8:1).

https://dailyverse.knowing-jesus.com/philippians-1-9

Philippians 1:9-11

Paul’s great desire for the saints at Philippi was that they become rooted and grounded in the Word of truth, so that their love for God and their love for one another would continue to grow and multiply. His prayer for these brothers and sisters in Christ was that they would increase in knowledge and all discernment, as they became increasingly conformed into the image and likeness of the Lord Jesus. “And this I pray,” he wrote in the opening section of his epistle, “I pray that your love may abound still more and more, in real knowledge and in all discernment.”

The love of God is as unfathomable as it is eternal, and yet the Lord Jesus commanded us to love as He loved, and Paul prayed that love would overflow in our hearts. His difficult trials and the chains of tribulation that constrained him did not cause Paul to become bitter in his attitude towards God. Rather, he recognized that in all things, God, in His gracious-love and tender-mercy, was using them for good.

And so Paul was enabled to pen godly insights and instructions as to the true meaning of abounding love. Paul knew that godly wisdom and spiritual understanding have their root in the love of God and his prayer is as much for us today as it was for the Christians at Philippi. Indeed, this should also be our continuous prayer for our brothers and sisters in Christ – that our love increases and abounds, as we worship our heavenly King, grow in grace, and develop a more intimate knowledge of God.

https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-3-what-spiritual-growth-looks-colossians-19-12

Colossians 1:9-12

Paul’s prayer that the Colossians would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will does not mean that he wants them to know whether they should take a different job offer or marry a particular person. Rather, he’s asking that they might know God’s moral will as revealed in His Word. “Being filled” with this knowledge is a prayer that they would be controlled by this knowledge so that it would govern every thought, word, and deed. Since God’s moral will is a reflection of His holy character, Paul’s prayer is that these new believers would grow to know God Himself as He has revealed Himself in His Word.

The knowledge of God’s will leads to a walk that is worthy of the Lord. The result of all biblical knowledge should be godly conduct. And the primary motive for godly conduct is not that we can live a happier and better life (although that always is the result), but rather that we please and glorify the Lord.

How can you tell if you’re growing spiritually? There are many different ways. But here Paul shows that you’re growing if you’re learning more and more through God’s Word how He wants you to live. And you’re growing if, as His child, you’re seeking to live as He wants you to live in order to please Him.

https://www.insight.org/resources/bible/the-pauline-epistles/ephesians

Paul spent the first three chapters of the letter discussing God’s creation of a holy community by His gift of grace in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The members of this community have been chosen by God through the work of Christ, adopted as sons and daughters of God, and brought near to the Father through faith in His Son.

While Paul was not responding to a particular theological or moral problem, he wanted to protect against future problems by encouraging the Ephesians to mature in their faith.

Maturity yields benefits in believers’ moral lives, but it extends far beyond that as well. Increased maturity benefits the community at large, leading us as Christians to present a more consistent witness to the working of God in our lives as well as protecting us from the harmful divisions and quarrels that have plagued so many communities throughout history.

Chapter 14 Questions

If praying scripture is part of your daily devotional time, share scripture that you have used when praying scripture . Share your experiences.  Do not assume everyone in study is already doing this when they have their quiet time . There may be some women who are new believers that are looking for guidance on how to do a quiet time  !!

Read the following passages

• Ephesians 1:15-23
• Ephesians 3:14-21
• Philippians 1:9-11
• Colossians 1:9-12

After each scripture discuss the passage….what are Paul’s main points in each of the passages. How are we to apply these scriptures to our daily lives.

Share any insights/ thoughts from this chapter or the notes.

“Meditation is Simply talking to God about the Word with a desire that your life and those you pray for come into agreement with it” (Bill Thrasher, Page 90)

https://unlockingthebible.org/2017/09/what-is-biblical-meditation/

The concept has been corrupted in modern thought. In the minds of many Christians, meditation is associated with eastern religions, like Hinduism and Buddhism – belief systems that don’t acknowledge God as Father or Jesus as Savior and Lord. This association leads many to believe that meditation in any form opens the mind to evil spirits or untrue teaching.

There are several words in the Bible that translate as a form of meditate, depending on their context, including speak, utter, study, imagine, and muse. (There is even one instance of it being translated as sing, my personal favorite.) The Bible uses meditation as deep contemplation, a turning over and around in the mind to gain greater understanding and be changed by God’s truth.

Biblical meditation is not:

• Sitting with an empty mind
• Mindlessly repeating a single word or phrase to gain some sort of altered state
• Burning candles, or sitting calmly on a rug, or listening to sonorous music
• Practicing yoga

Biblical meditation isn’t even primarily for relaxation, although you may find it calming and comforting. It’s not about controlling your breathing, although there may be times when deep breaths are helpful. It’s never mindless; instead meditation means that your mind is focused on God and his Word.

Not only is biblical meditation about focusing on God through contemplation on his Word, it’s about quieting our hearts with Scripture and a deeper intimacy with Jesus.

• If you’ve ever sat with a Scripture and gone over it repeatedly, trying to understand each word, you’ve meditated.
• If you’ve ever been compelled by a sermon or passage of Scripture to sit and think over a single attribute or testimony of God, you’ve meditated.
• If you’ve ever felt tempted and brought a Scripture to mind, going over it repeatedly to gain God’s strength and rest, you’ve meditated.

When we do our daily Bible reading, we’re acknowledging and strengthening our communion with God. In that regard, our daily reading and Scripture meditation are the same. Bible meditation also shares a similarity with Bible study; like Bible study, it’s meant to take a lingering look into specific aspects and contexts of Scripture.

Where daily reading is our regular nourishment in God’s Word, and Bible study is meant to deepen our understanding of that nourishment, Bible meditation is learning to savor every morsel of God’s rich, vibrant, life-giving Scripture:

https://bible.org/article/biblical-meditation

For My thoughts are not your thoughts,  Neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,  So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:8-9).

We are also told to “be of the same mind toward one another” which means essentially that we must develop and maintain the mind of Christ or God’s thoughts. We are to “stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Rom. 12:16; Phil. 2:5; Phil 1:27). But if my thoughts are contrary to God’s, then I must exchange my thinking with God’s and for that process, He has given us His inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word. So what is our need? We are to study the Scripture, but for that to be effective, we also need to develop the art of biblical meditation.

Biblical meditation involves becoming detached from the controlling and hindering influences of the world and attached to the living God through Christ that we might, through faith and transformed values, experience the sufficiency of the Savior and reach out to a hurting world in need of the living Christ.

Biblical meditation is object oriented. It begins with reflective reading and rereading of the Word and is followed by reflection on what has been read and committed to memory. In Scripture, the word meditate is generally found with an object (God, His Word, or works, etc.) or in a context where the object of meditation is understood.

The Objectives of Meditation

(1) Worship—It is designed to focus on the Lord and His works (Psa 27:4; Psa 77:12). It is a place and space in our lives for communion with God. It is a means of elevating the spiritual over the material world and the world of activity: the world of hustle and bustle and coming and going.

(2) Instruction—It is designed to improve our understanding of the Word and God’s ways as it applies to our lives (Psa 49:3 [i.e., understanding comes from the meditations of his heart]; Psa 119:27, 97f). In meditation we exchange our thoughts with God’s.

(3) Motivation or Encouragement—It is designed to motivate and inspire us in service and courage for the works God has called us to do (Josh. 1:7-8)

(4) Transformation—It is designed to transform and change our lives. This would apply to all the above (Psa 4:4; Psa 19:14;  Psa 119:15; Rom. 12:2; Col. 3:1f).

https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/Biblical_Meditation

The focus of meditation is on God, His glory and majesty, His ways and works in the world. Its intended effect is to shape one’s inner life and outward behavior.

Meditation is a devotional practice that we engage in with God’s help to know Him better, love Him more, experience closer communion with Him, and live for His glory

Eastern meditation, whether Transcendental Meditation or various forms of New Age meditation, is to be avoided. But biblical meditation should not be feared. On the contrary, it should be fully embraced as a valuable means of knowing God, growing in grace, being transformed into Christ-likeness, and fulfilling God’s purposes for our lives.

 Let’s briefly look at a few Bible verses about meditation and its importance in the believer’s life. When God commissioned Joshua to lead the Israelites into the promised land, He said, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Josh. 1:8).3 For Joshua to be successful in what God had called him to do, he needed to immerse himself in God’s Word and faithfully put it into practice, thereby growing in the knowledge of God and experiencing divine enablement. This ancient truth is as applicable today as it was then.

The theme of meditation recurs in the Psalter, which begins with Psalm 1 declaring the blessedness of the one

“…who walks not in the counsel of the wicked… but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. (1:1–3)

  This is a picture of one who is devoted to God and delights in saturating oneself in God’s Word and applying it in daily life. The result is a life of fruitfulness in which this person prospers in whatever God appoints for him or her to do.

 A careful study of how Jesus and Paul used Scripture reveals that they had not simply read a lot of Bible verses or even memorized them; rather, they had gone on to meditate deeply and understand their meaning. That treasury of truth enabled them to use God’s Word in an accurate way in whatever situations they encountered. This solid grasp of God’s Word, empowered by His Spirit, is what we need today if we are to successfully navigate life in a fallen world in which we are challenged daily by our own flesh and the schemes and temptations of the devil. Meditation provides essential resources for a wise and godly life and enables us to “above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Prov. 4:23 NIV). Failure to meditate on God’s Word, to be taught by Him and commune with Him, leaves our hearts unguarded and spiritually impoverished, and that affects “everything you do.”

https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/what-does-meditation-mean-in-the-bible-how-can-i-practice-biblical-meditation.html

All of us meditate on something throughout the day; we just may or may not do it with intention. When we are tempted to let our thoughts rule us, we can practice biblical meditation by being deliberate with our thoughts and direct them on the things of the Lord. Instead of getting lost in pain, we can set our minds on the promises of God.

The New Testament gives numerous instructions on how to direct our thoughts, but the word meditate is not often used.

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Col 3:2-4)

“The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.” (Rom 6:6-8)

1. Start and end your day with the Word.

If we read the Word in the morning, it’s easy for it to slip out of our thoughts over the course of the day. Schedules and demands squeeze those Bible verses from us. If this is an issue you face, as you crawl into bed at the end of the day, ask yourself what you read in the Bible that morning.

2. Do something with the Word.

But if we do something with what we read, it helps keep God’s word at the forefront of our thoughts. Essentially, whether you do correlative study with a Bible passage, make a craft with verses, or make a song from a verse, doing something with the words helps you hold on to them. And if you can remember them, then you can meditate on them.

3. Talk about God’s word.

If we are regularly talking about God’s word, we will meditate on God’s word. And if we are talking and thinking about God’s word, we will be more able to obey God’s word. And if we are obeying God’s word, our lives are more positioned for His blessings!

Whether you start diligently studying Scripture using word tools, stick post-it notes with Bible verses all over your house, or memorize whole chapters, get your mind soaked with Scripture! You will be blessed when you do!

“ The healthy Christian has a sense of God’s presence stamped deep on his soul….trembles at God’s Word….lets it dwell in him richly by constant meditation upon it, and tests and reforms his life daily in response to it. “ – J. I Packer

Chapter 12 Questions

1. Pages 89-90, Bill Thrasher tells a story that occurred between himself and a student. Bill stated that his memory of Ephesians 1:15-23 was “ the basis of my intercession for him “ Has there been a time when the Lord triggered your memory of Scripture to intercede for someone ?
2. Page 90 , Bill Thrasher gives his definition on meditation. For Christians what is meditation to look like…..and what is it not ?
3. The author gave this chapter the title “  Experiencing True Prosperity “. Why did he call it that ? What is “true prosperity according to the writer  ?
4. Pages 92-93, Bill Thrasher writes “ For the last 30 plus years I have found it helpful to begin my day by systematically reading the Bible and giving God the opportunity to direct my attentions to certain truths. These truths become the springboard to begin speaking to the Lord. “  Share if you have done this or is this something new that might become a pattern for you ?
5. Share a statement or paragraph that gave you a new thought or insight from the chapter 12 or from the notes.

His father was an unbeliever and George grew up a liar and a thief, by his own testimony. His mother died when he was 14, and he records no impact that this loss had on him except that while she was dying he was roving the streets with his friends “half intoxicated.” He went on living a bawdy life, and then found himself in prison for stealing when he was 16 years old. His father paid to get him out, beat him, and took him to live in another town (Schoenbeck). Mueller used his academic skills to make money by tutoring in Latin, French, and mathematics. Finally his father sent him to the University of Halle to study divinity and prepare for the ministry because that would be a good living. Neither he nor George had any spiritual aspirations.

Then on a Saturday afternoon in the middle of November, 1825, when Mueller was 20 years old, he was invited to a Bible study and, by the grace of God, felt the desire to go. “I have not the least doubt, that on that evening, [God] began a work of grace in me. . . . That evening was the turning point in my life.” 

Mueller became sick (thank God for providential sickness!) and in the summer of 1829 he went for recovery to a town called Teignmouth. There in a little chapel called Ebenezer at least two crucial discoveries were made: the preciousness of reading and meditating on the word of God, and the truth of the doctrines of grace. For ten days Mueller lived with a nameless man who change his life forever: “Through the instrumentality of this brother the Lord bestowed a great blessing upon me, for which I shall have cause to thank Him throughout eternity.”

https://www.azquotes.com/author/10538-George_Muller

“In order to enjoy the Word, we ought to continue to read it, and the way to obtain a spirit of prayer, is, to continue praying; for the less we read the Word of God, the less we desire to read it, and the less we pray, the less we desire to pray.”

“I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk about, when I lie down and when I rise up. And the answers are always coming.”

“I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man may be nourished…I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditation on it.”

https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.cloversites.com/87/8759bcc4-8a64-4fd5-89a9-80d17e816988/documents/Soul_Nourishment_First.pdf

Soul Nourishment First from The Autobiography of George Muller

 It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, the benefit of which I have not lost for more than fourteen years. The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord, but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God—not prayer, but the Word of God. And here again, not the simple reading of the Word of God so that it only passes through my mind just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what I read, pondering over it, and applying it to my heart. To meditate on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed. And that thus, by means of the Word of God, whilst meditating on it, my heart be brought into experimental communion with the Lord. I began therefore to meditate on the New Testament from the beginning early in the morning. The first thing I did, after having asked in a few words the Lord’s blessing upon His precious Word, was to begin to meditate on the Word of God, searching as it were into every verse to get blessing out of it. When we pray, we speak to God. Now, prayer, in order to be continued for any length of time in any other than a formal manner, requires, generally speaking, a measure of strength or godly desire; and the season, therefore, when this exercise of the soul can be most effectively performed is after the inner man has been nourished by meditation on the Word of God, where we find our Father speaking to us, to encourage us, to comfort us, to instruct us, to humble us, to reprove us. By the blessing of God, I ascribe to this mode the help and strength which I have had from God to pass in peace through deeper trails, in various ways, than I had ever had before. How different, when the soul is refreshed and made happy early in the morning, from what it is when, without spiritual preparation, the service, the trials, and the temptations of the day come upon me!                                           May 9th, 1841

https://www.compellingtruth.org/childlike-faith.html

Childlike faith looks outside itself for salvation. Salvation is a gift; man does not pay for or contribute to his salvation—it is entirely of God (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 8:1; Romans 5:1). Just as a child has to use his father’s money to pay for a Christmas gift he plans to give his father, we depend on God’s provision for everything, even the good works we do in His name (Ephesians 2:10). The world sometimes misunderstands the idea of childlike faith, thinking that Christians are childlike because they believe in myths and fairy tales. But this is not the Bible’s meaning when it compares us to children. Instead, childlike faith is a metaphor for trust, dependence and love, and an encouragement to ask for what we need (Matthew 7:11).

https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/what-does-the-verse-faith-comes-from-hearing-mean.html

So then, faith comes by hearing, and hearing from the Word of God (Rom 10:17)

Faith in God means believing in and trusting in the greatest hope—that God became man, lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death for your sins, and rose again to glory so that you could have eternal life by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. 

The ESV Study Bible explains verse 17, “Paul now sums up the argument thus far. One can come to faith only through hearing the gospel, and the specific message that must be heard is the word of Christ, that is, the good news about Jesus Christ as the crucified and risen Savior.”

According to the Lutheran Study Bible English Standard Version (ESV), the meaning of hearing includes, “the act of hearing, the ear, or the message heard. The message is the meaning here.” (Romans 10:17 Commentary p 1930). The ear receives the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, faith begins in the hearer.

The cross of Christ fulfilled God’s plan of salvation for the world. Those who hear this message and receive it come to understand the meaning of faith. They know that faith is a gift from God and that salvation is God’s grace poured into the hearts of the hearer through the power of the Holy Spirit. We can say with certainty, “God gives us faith as a gift, through which Christ’s righteousness is credited to us (Ephesians 2:8-9) and our sins are forgiven (Romans 3:22-24)”

Chapter 11 Questions

1. From pg 84….what does childlike faith look like ?

• What hindered George’s devotion to Scripture in his early years as a Christian ?
• Who do you like to read ?
• What obstacles are in your life that keep you from the Word of God ?

2. Read and discuss Romans 10:17

3. What do the verses on page 87 say to you on how to approach the Word of God.

4. Discuss George Mueller’s “ Soul Nourishment First “ ( in notes and mentioned on pg 86 )

We are beginning a new study of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, and today we will focus on what we can look forward to learning from this study.

Here is the first sentence in Cole’s commentary of Galatians. “The epistle to the Galatians is spiritual dynamite, and it is almost impossible to handle it without spiritual explosions”. This reminds me of the time I was in High School and loved dabbling with chemicals. I was too dumb to think about safety measures and had several explosive accidents due to my handling of the chemicals. God says that the gospel “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith” (Rom 1:16). The word there is “dunamis”, from which we get the English word “dynamite”. Galatians brings the true gospel to sharp focus, so no wonder Cole would make such a comment!

Martin Luther’s great spiritual awakening came as he studied this letter. It cannot be read in a detached manner without personal involvement. It challenges our present-day superficial faith and provokes our opposition. It was a controversial letter. As we wrestle with the implications of this letter in this study, it will also challenge some of our assumptions and bring us face to face with what the true gospel is and give us the tools to discern many of the counterfeit gospels that are prevalent around us today.

My desire during this study, is not to get into such great detail that we “miss the woods for the trees”. Galatians is different to James, in that there is a line of thought and a sustained argument in this letter. My goal during this study is that we understand the thrust of Paul’s argument, and not so much each and every nuance.

If we are to ask, how we should summarize this entire letter, it would be this. It is a succinct statement and defense of Paul’s understanding of the gospel.

Occasion and Purpose

The answer to this question is very simple as we read this letter. This letter was written as a response to people who were troubling Gentile Christians in Galatia by insisting that to be a “good Christian” one had to already be or become a “good Jew”. Circumcision and keeping some of the ceremonial Jewish laws were also necessary for salvation. In other words, salvation was not by faith alone and in Christ alone. It was faith in Christ plus obedience to the law. Paul fought passionately against this, insisting that it was in fact a serious denial of the very heart of the gospel itself. The stakes were very high. By adding to the gospel, it was no longer just a variant of the gospel, but it had corrupted it to such an extent that it had become heresy.

As we study this book, and see the issues involved that caused Paul so much concern, we will learn how to think in a similar way, to discern the truth preached by different preachers and churches today. This was the main reason I chose Galatians for us to study at this time.

Someone has described this letter as a “sword flashing in a great swordsman’s hand”. Both Paul and the gospel were under attack. If that attack succeeded, Christianity might have become just another Jewish sect. So, Paul resists this attack vigorously.

It will be good for us, as we study this letter, to take this to heart, and to evaluate what it is that we believe at its very core. Is it the true gospel as will be explained here? Have we added to it? These are critical questions that we need to wrestle with as we work through this letter.

Date of Composition

Scholars have tried to synchronize Galatians with Acts, and the date of this letter depends on which visits to Jerusalem as described in Acts are referenced here. That would determine whether this letter was written before or after the Council in Jerusalem in AD 49. I will not get into a detailed discussion right now, because we will see it in more detail when we study the second chapter.

But there is another reason based on the contents of the letter itself, that helps us deduce its approximate date, namely, that the letter does not reference the Jerusalem Council or the decisions made there. That was the watershed meeting of the early church leaders described in Acts 15, which dealt with what was to be expected of new Gentile believers. Some commentators call the absence of Paul mentioning the Jerusalem Council, a “deafening silence”. It would have been enormously helpful to Paul’s argument if he could have mentioned the decision of the Council, that Gentiles should not be circumcised. This, after all, was a major point of contention between Paul and the false teachers influencing the Galatians. So, it seems likely that Galatians was written before the Jerusalem Council, which would place it around AD 48-49!

This would imply that this is the earliest letter that Paul wrote. At this time in the church’s history, the early church had not yet fully wrestled with the theological implications of Christianity in the context of Gentile inclusion into the church, and the church’s Judaism roots. Paul’s letter to the Galatians represents Paul’s systematic reasoning about what those implications were. We see the conclusions and assertions in Galatians were officially ratified in the Jerusalem Council meeting described in Acts 15.

Galatians 1:1-2

The Recipients

The letter is addressed: “To the churches of Galatia”. He calls them Galatians in Gal 3:1, and he refers to them as the “churches in Galatia” in 1 Cor 16:1. There is some debate about what region is envisaged (there is the “northern hypothesis” and the “southern hypothesis”). Considering it was relatively easy for the Judaizers to get to the churches in this letter, and because the southern part of Galatia which was more accessible, it is likely that the “southern hypothesis” is more correct. This is also consistent with our deductions regarding the approximate year this letter was written

In particular, this would mean the churches referenced are in four major cities, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. These were places Paul evangelized during his first missionary journey and is described in Acts 13 and Acts 14. In each city was now a church. These were not different denominations, but different local congregations. Clearly there was a large Gentile contingent, but there were also some Jews there.

The Author

Paul begins his letter with a claim: “Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father” (Gal 1:1).

Why would Paul start this way? Does this not make him a braggart? No! It was because the truth of the gospel was at stake. So, he defended his apostolic authority in order to defend the gospel.

Paul was under attack. People were questioning whether he was a genuine apostle, so this is how he starts his letter. He is an apostle. Paul says that his calling was not a human calling but “through Jesus Christ and God the Father”.

“Apostle” means “one who is sent”. In Mark 3:14 says “he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach”. Apostles were specially called men.

The bible identifies them as the original 11 (other than Judas) who were disciples of Jesus. Matthias was added to complete the 12 as narrated in the Acts 1. Here the criteria for an apostle included being a witness of Jesus’s resurrection. Paul understands that by Jesus revealing Himself in the Damascus road, he had been commissioned to be an apostle.

He says in 1 Cor 15:8-10 – “Last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am …”.

The secret to Paul’s zeal was that he knew that he had been directly appointed by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. This is what enabled him to endure so much suffering in his life.

Now here is the stupendous implication of this truth. When we read Galatians, we are hearing Christ. An apostle speaks with the authority of the One who sent him. Galatians is the very word of the King of Kings. Isn’t it sad that we cry out to God for revelation and make almost no serious effort to understand the deep things of Scripture – the very Word of Christ.

We can now ask the question, “when was Paul called to be an apostle”. The answer is surprising. We find it in Galatians 1:15. In his own words, he says that God “set me apart before I was born” and called me by His grace and was pleased to reveal His Son to me in order that I may preach Him”.

I want you to digest this for a minute. God had set Paul apart before he was even born. Paul was born well before Jesus began his public ministry. This means the inclusion of Gentiles into the fold of Christianity, was not an after-thought in the mind of God, because the rejection by the Jews, but part of God’s eternal plan. Isn’t that a small mind-bender?

Here is another one! God allowed Paul to take an awful detour and persecute the church for years. He allowed Paul to participate in the murder of the first Christian, Stephen. What a detour that was! And then God called Him after all this! This shows how mysterious God’s ways are. He does not think the way we think. This gives us hope as we pray for loved ones and for those who are rebellious against God. God’s grace is more powerful than their resistance!

I would like to make a final comment in passing – maybe the first controversial application from our study! The Bible says that the church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets” (Eph 2:20). Thus, it is clear that there are no apostles today. The foundation has already been laid! There is a movement called the “New Apostolic Reformation”, which advocates for the lost offices of prophet and apostle. However, that is not biblical.

Application

Galatians is a dangerous book. It exposes what is a popular substitute for spiritual living that we have in our churches today – legalism or if I may call it “moralism”. Many Christians think they are spiritual because of what they do or what they do not do, or because of the leader they follow, or the denomination they belong to. Galatians will expose how wrong this is.

Wiersbe says that as he studied this book he was humbled as well as challenged. Humbled because he realized God is not too impressed with our ministries no longer how impressed they may appear from a human standpoint. He was also challenged because it confronts us to start living deeper. We need to let the Holy Spirit have His way.

We need to allow the Holy Spirit to take over our lives. This will give is freedom, not legalism. Cooperation with other Christians, not competition. Glory to God, and not praise to man. Then Revival”!

So, this is a dangerous book. It was dangerous for Paul to write it. It was dangerous for the Galatians to read it, and it may be a dangerous book for us to study. Perhaps we may lose some friends, as we wrestle with the truths we are confronted with in this letter. But it would be worth it. Paul’s battle cry is “It was for freedom that Christ has set you free” (Gal 5:1). This is the heart of the message of Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Freedom in Christ! Freedom in service. Freedom in love. Freedom in forgiveness. Freedom from any kind of bondage. Jesus came to set us free.

The Bible has two sections:

• The first section is called ‘The Old Testament’. 
• The second section is called ‘The New Testament’.

In the Old Testament, we read about how God created everything in the heavens and the earth.  It also tells how God prepared the Jewish people for Lord Jesus to be born among them. In the New Testament the first four books – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – Are called the Gospels. Gospel means the Good News of Jesus Christ. They tell us about the life and teachings of Lord Jesus. The rest of the books in the New Testament are about His followers and how they should live.  We learn that Lord Christ’s followers are called “Christians” and “Believers” because we believe He is our Saviour.

Take the Bible in your hand, close your eyes, pray, and ask the Lord Jesus to help you understand His words. Begin reading from the Gospels in the New Testament. Set aside time every day to read God’s word and pray.  As you read, you will find His light shining in your heart and make what you are reading clear to you. The Lord Jesus wants to lead you in the way you should go in your life – That is found in the Bible. He wants to give you promises in answer to your prayers – That is also in the Bible. The Bible is God’s Instructions Book to us for our life. As you read the Bible more and more you will find many treasures Lord Jesus is waiting to give you – His love, peace, joy, comfort, promise, guidance, security, …

Prayer: “Lord Jesus, please speak to me and teach me through Your word. I am listening, Lord.”      

Hatred is a feeling that can be both Godly and sinful depending on why it is there. The Bible speaks of loving God and hating evil, hating evildoers, and hating lies. The more we become like Jesus and understand the love of God, the more we will begin to hate lies, godlessness and the evil of the world. However, we are also warned constantly i the Bible of how hatred and bitterness can destroy us. God tells us in His Word that hate is a heart issue and that someone who hates a brother (anyone) is a murderer! We are encouraged to love one another, not hold one another’s wrongs against them, and forgive them, not building up bitterness or anger in our hearts.

Here are 20 Bible verses covering anger and hatred:

1 John 1:6
If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.

1 John 2:9-11
Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

Ephesians 4:31
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

Proverbs 8:13
To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.

Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.

Proverbs 10:18
Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool.

Psalm 5:5
The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong;

Psalm 31:6
I hate those who cling to worthless idols; as for me, I trust in the LORD.

Psalm 36:2
In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin.

Psalm 45:7
You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.

Psalm 97:10
Let those who love the LORD hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Psalm 119:163
I hate and detest falsehood but I love your law.

Romans 12:9
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

Leviticus 19:17-18
Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.”Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”

Luke 6:27-28
“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Matthew 5:23-24
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

Matthew 5:44

But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you

1 John 3:14-15
We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

1 John 4:19-20
We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.