Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Kenneth Lee 7/21/23 Kenneth Lee 7/21/23

Psalm 111 - 7.21.2023

Scripture - Pick one verse that stood out to you.

Psalm 111:10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;

all those who practice it have a good understanding.

His praise endures forever!

Observation - What about this verse stands out to you?

When I first read this verse I immediately thought of Proverbs. And how dad did such a good job with Solomon, his son! This sure seemed to be a principle that was embedded into King Solomon’s thought life!

Application - How will you apply this to your life?

How could fear of the Lord possibly resemble some sort of healthy respect?

I respect people at work. I respect people in my community. I respect God fearing men and women.

And then there is my mom. (Deborah read a statistic that measured a child was 800 times more unruly around their mother as opposed to their father. Yea, that wasn’t my childhood.) I respect my mom. As a child I can honestly say that for many many many years she terrified me. I can still remember the look in her eyes, and the cocksure stance she took right before I got wacked for doing something I shouldn’t have been doing.

Perhaps remembering the fear of my Mom, might get me on the right track to understanding fear of the Lord.

Prayer - Write out a prayer.

Thank you Lord, for allowing me to be raised by a god-fearing woman. I am grateful that you have shown me a glimpse of a glimpse into what true fear and respect for You might look like. Help me to lean into this verse today. Lord, I pray for some of Your wisdom today. May I be filled with proper fear of You. And may I continue to build on this foundation of knowledge and wisdom that is centered around Almighty, You. In the name of Jesus do I pray, amen.

-kenneth lee

2 John 1 - 7.20.23

Scripture

2 John‬ ‭1‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT

“If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.”

‬‬

Observation

In this epistle, John is more than likely writing a letter to the early church. He is reminding them the importance of the commandment that Jesus has given them, which is to love one another, and to remain living in the truth, (which is living in the way Jesus has called them to live). One of the ways the early church showed love to one another was by displaying their warm hospitality. They would invite people into their homes, share a meal, conversation, but most importantly share the gospel of Christ with them. But this love and hospitality had to come with some boundaries. John warns the church that there are people out there who don’t teach the truth about Jesus. They may twist the message of the gospel, try to dilute the power of its meaning, and deny who Jesus really is. John instructs the church to not invite these kind of people into their homes or even associate with them. These people are deceivers and will try to cause a division amongst them, and try to break them apart in their beliefs. This cannot happen!

Application

Stand strong in your faith, your convictions, and your trust that Jesus Christ is Lord!

Believe it or not, these deceivers are still out there to this day denying who Jesus Christ is. They come knocking at your doors. They even have booths set up at malls and stores giving you flyers and reading materials that may seem very familiar to our own beliefs. But beware! Look closely at it. They may mention God and helping others, but if you look closely or look deeper into their religious organization, they will deny who Jesus Christ is. And that is what John was warning us about in this chapter.

So stay on your guard! Truly study your Bible and know God’s Word so you will not be deceived. Don’t allow anyone to confuse you from God’s truth and gospel message. And like we learned these past couple of weeks, put on the full armor of God. Be sure we are prepared from any attacks that the enemy will throw our way.

“Be careful that you do not believe any false teachers. The ideas that they teach may seem clever. But they really want to deceive you. They are ideas that have come from the human minds of our ancestors. Or ideas that come from spirits that belong to this world. They are not the true message about Christ.” -Colossians‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬ ‬‬

Prayer

Father God I pray for Your protection over not only my mind and heart from the deceivers in this world, but I also pray for the protection over my brothers and sisters in Christ. May we stand strong in our faith and not be deceived. Lord, You even tell us to love our enemies. And so I want to pray for those people out there trying to deceive Your people and others out there. I pray that You may open their eyes and their hearts to their wrongdoings. May You reveal the truth about Jesus in their lives so that it can bring them to repentance. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 🙏🏽

-Moses Gaddi

1 John 5 - 7.19.23

Scripture

I John 5:3-4 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

Observation

In his death on the cross, Jesus entered into mortal combat with the powers of darkness and overcame them in his death. When by faith we appropriate the benefits of his atoning work, we enter into the power by which he gained this victory and thus in him we have (and do) overcome the world. (Asbury Bible Commentary)

Application

In multiple places in the bible, it says that if we love God, we will keep His commands. But how can we do that when we are all sinners? We can try as hard as we can, and we are still destined to fail. Following God’s commands all the time seems impossible. But that is when we are trying in our own strength.

Through faith, we believe that Jesus conquered sin. By faith, we must believe that Jesus, living in us, empowers us with that same victory over sin. We don’t have to fight and strive – we have to believe. There is power in the name of Jesus – sin you have no hold on me!