Blessings of God for All

Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Genesis 12:1-4 KJV 

1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram [was] seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did the Lord tell Abram to do? (v.1)
2) What did the Lord promise Abram? (v.2-3)
3) What did Abram do and when did he do it? (v.4)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Who or what have you left for the sake of Christ?

LIFE LESSONS
5) The Lord will often ask His children to forsake (leave) people and/or places, that are most dear to us, for His purposes.

Promises of God for All

Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Genesis 9:8-17 KJV 

8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, 9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; 10 And with every living creature that [is] with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. 11 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. 12 And God said, This [is] the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that [is] with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. 14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 15 And I will remember my covenant, which [is] between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that [is] upon the earth. 17 And God said unto Noah, This [is] the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that [is] upon the earth.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Who did God speak to after the earth was flooded and what did He tell the survivors of the flood? (v.8-17)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
2) How important is covenant to you?
3) Do you keep your promises? If not, why not?

LIFE LESSONS
4) God honors covenant (His promises) above His name.
5) If the Lord God has made a promise to you, no matter how dire your present circumstances seem, believe that He will do what He promised you!

Remembering God's Commands

Monday, September 21, 2015
Deuteronomy 7:1-11 KJV 

1 When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; 2 And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, [and] utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: 3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. 4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. 5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. 6 For thou [art] an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that [are] upon the face of the earth. 7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye [were] the fewest of all people: 8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he [is] God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; 10 And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face. 11 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did the Lord command His people to do, and to refrain from doing, after taking possession of the promised land? Why? (v.1-6)
2) Why did the Lord choose the people of Israel to be His people? (v.7-8)
3) Who is the Lord merciful to? Why? (v.9-11)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) How diligent are you to remember, and to do, whatever the Lord commands? 

LIFE LESSONS
5) When God's people remember and obey His commands, He faithfully keeps His promises to us.

God is our Shield

Saturday, November 29, 2014
Genesis 15:1-6 KJV 

1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I [am] thy shield, [and] thy exceeding great reward. 2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house [is] this Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4 And, behold, the word of the LORD [came] unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Why did the Lord tell Abram in a vision? (v.1)
2) What was Abram's response? (v.2-3)
3) What did the Lord promise Abram? (v.4-5)
4) How did Abram respond to the Lord's promises? (v.6)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) What troubles are you facing, at this present time?
6) What promises has the Lord made to you concerning that trouble?
7) What will you do while you are waiting on the Lord's promises to come to pass?

LIFE LESSONS
8) God wants us to believe His promises to us.
9) God's promises often manifest in unexpected ways.
10) God's promises to us are always on time: His time.

I Will Bring You to Zion

Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Jeremiah 3:11-15 

11 And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah. 
12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; [and] I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I [am] merciful, saith the LORD, [and] I will not keep [anger] for ever. 
13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. 
14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: 
15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What were the people of God guilty of? (v.11)
2) What did the Lord tell the prophet to say to His people? (v.12)
3) What did the Lord require from His people before they returned to Him? (v.13)
4) Why did the Lord say that he would bring His sinful people to Zion? (v.14)
5) What else did the Lord promise His wayward children? (v.15)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
6) Have you ever allowed your will to lead to disobedience against the Lord? If so, please describe one such instance.
7) If you responded positively to the above question, did you confess and repent of your sin? If not, why not?
8) Are you in a state of rebellion at the present time? What are you going to do to be in right relationship with the Lord again.

PRINCIPLES
9) God is married to the backslider.
10) God will not remain angry when we rebel against Him, if we confess and repent of our sins.
11) The Lord gives us pastors (leaders) who will teach us with the same heart that He has for us.

I Will Surely Gather Them

Thursday, September 18, 2014
Jeremiah 32:36-44 

36 And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; 
37 Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: 
38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: 
39 And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: 
40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. 
41 Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. 
42 For thus saith the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them. 
43 And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, [It is] desolate without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. 
44 Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal [them], and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the LORD.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What were the Lord's promises to His people concerning their captivity in Babylon? (v.36-41)
2) Who brought all of the evil upon the people of God and how would that evil be turned around for their good? (v.42) 
3) What did the Lord promise the people concerning their native land? (v.43-44)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Has the Lord ever blessed you following a season of correction? If so, what was your response to Him?
5) Have you ever felt forsaken by the Lord? If so, briefly describe the situation and how your relationship with God was restored.
6) Have people around you ever abandoned you because they believed that the Lord had forsaken you? If so, please describe one such time.

PRINCIPLES
7) Though the Lord has allowed Israel to suffer affliction many times, He has never given up on them.
8) Though the  Lord may chasten us numerous times, He keeps His promise to never leave us or forsake us.
9) The Lord always intends His best for His people, even when He allows hardships in our lives.

10) The Lord is a covenant keeping God!

A Better Covenant

Monday, September 8, 2014
Hebrews 8:1-7, 13  

1 Now of the things which we have spoken [this is] the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; 
2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. 
3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore [it is] of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. 
4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: 
5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, [that] thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. 
6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. 
7 For if that first [covenant] had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 
... 13 In that he saith, A new [covenant], he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old [is] ready to vanish away.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Where does our Lord minister? (v.1-2)
2) Why is Jesus authorized to act as our high priest? (v.3) 
3) Why is Jesus' ministry different from that of the earthly priests who ministered on behalf of the people of Israel? (v.4-6)
4) Why was the second covenant necessary? (v.7, 13)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Can people ever make a lasting covenant with, or an offering to, God on behalf of your sins? Why, or why not?
6) What does Jesus' sacrifice for your sins mean to you, personally?
7) What would become of you had your sins been atoned for according to the law?

PRINCIPLES
8) Because Jesus offered Himself, an atonement for our sins, we have eternal peace with God.
9) The old sacrificial system was merely a shadow of the better.
10) Because of Jesus, we need never rely upon another human being to absolve us of our sins.

Hear the Word of This Covenant

Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Jer 11:1-10 

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 
2 Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 
3 And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed [be] the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, 
4 Which I commanded your fathers in the day [that] I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God: 
5 That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as [it is] this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD. 
6 Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them. 
7 For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day [that] I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, [even] unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice. 
8 Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded [them] to do; but they did [them] not. 
9 And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 
10 They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did the Lord tell Jeremiah to say to the men of Judah and Jerusalem? (v.1-2)
2) What did the Lord say would happen to those who would, or would not, not obey Him? (v.3-5)
3) What was the Lord's plea to His people and how did they respond? (v.6-8)
4) What were the people of Judah and Jerusalem guilty of? (v.9-10)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Have you ever knowingly ignored, or rebelled, against a command of the Lord? If so, please explain what happened.
6) How has the Lord responded when you were obedient to His will? Please describe one such instance.

PRINCIPLES
7) It is the foolish person who chooses to rebel against the Lord.
8) The Lord always and only wants what is best for His people.
9) When we choose our own way, rather than the Lord's, we deprive ourselves of God's favor and blessing.