Galatians (Program #26) - Getting Rid of the Leaven

Galatians 5:1 tells us that it was for freedom that Christ has set us free. Yet later, we see how this freedom can actually turn out to be a stumbling to both ourselves and others around us. How to safeguard the freedom we have received in Christ is our focus on today’s life study of the Bible.

Galatians 5 brings us to the daily walk of God’s children. And, it’s quite good to see that in chapter 5 verse 4, Paul’s letting them know, don’t be taken away from Christ; You should not be brought to nothing from Christ; and you should not fall away from grace. In our daily walk, God has jealously betrothed us to Himself in Christ. And, we should not be brought to nothing from Christ. Neither, should we fall from grace.

 

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Ruth (Program #1) - An Introductory Word

The book of Judges is one of the most difficult in the Bible, it’s difficult because it records the history of Israel during one of its’ most miserable periods. Israel has forsaken God as her king, as her husband and every man had gone away doing what was right in his own eyes. The account of the loses and their battles against their enemies and the deplorable degradation of the people of God is quite depressing.

But following Judges comes one of the most sweetest and most lovely book of the Bible, the short book of Ruth.  People had always love the story through the ages, but just as the deplorable account in Judges has an intrinsic message to us as God’s people today so does the book of Ruth. For in this book we see in type, the incarnation of the redeeming Christ and the sinners choosing to join herself to her redeemer and His people resulting in her receiving the full inheritance of God’s people and eventually becoming an important person in the accomplishment of God’s purpose.

 

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Galatians (Program #25) - Not Brought to Nought from Christ

To accept some kind of concept that we need to do something outward as a condition of experiencing and enjoying Christ is in a front, an insult to God. The New Testament book of Galatians reveals much about the Gospel of grace and the freedom that believers have in Christ, especially the first 4 chapters. But, chapter 5 brings us a well-known warning about falling from grace. Have you ever wondered what it is to fall away from grace? Is it to commit sins after you’re saved? Does it mean that you lose your salvation by grace? Stay with us as we look at Galatians 5 on today’s life study of the Bible.

 

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Judges (Program #7) - The Abominable Chaos in their Worship

The life study of the books of Joshua and judges reveals not just the history of Israel with its’ successes and failures possessing the good land of Canaan, but also even more importantly it teaches us how we can gain and possess the all inclusive Christ as our full portion, our enjoyment and our inheritance. Israel in the good land typifies us, the New Testament believers in Christ and just as Israel allowed their departure from a close and intimate fellowship with Jehovah to impede their progress gaining the land we too can see our spiritual progress and our enjoyment of Christ impeded if we don’t take care of our day by day, even moment by moment fellowship with Him.  Listen to this verse in 1 John 1:3 “That which we have seen and heard we report also to you that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”

A very marvelous portion related to this matter of fellowship typified of course by the picture in the Old Testament of Israel gaining, possessing the land. We enter into the fellowship the moment we receive Christ and this fellowship is a fellowship that is life long.

 

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Galatians (Program #24) - Two Covenants and Two Kinds of Children

When we get saved, Christ gets into us. Then as we learn to walk in Him, we experience Him living in us. But still, this is not the goal. In Galatians 4:19, Paul says, “My children, with whom I travail again in birth until Christ is formed in you”. It’s not until Christ is formed in us that we enter the full blessing of the Gospel. Don’t miss today’s life study of the Bible.

 

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Judges (Program #6) - The Miserable History of Israel’s Forsaking God (5)

In the varied history of the nation of Israel that is recorded in the book of Judges, we have of course the interesting and well known story of Samson.  Endued with the power of the Spirit, he was mighty and fierce in his struggle against Israel’s enemy the Philistines but he had a very specific failure that gave Satan, God’s real enemy the ground to tempt him and and ultimately defeated him. Of course the beautiful Philistines woman, Delilah  typifies this failure.  Samson indulgence of the lust of his flesh led to his down fall. The story of Samson and the warning that we as God’s people today must take from this case is our topic on this life study of the Bible.

 

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Galatians (Program #23) - The Need for Christ To Be Formed

In Galatians 1, the Apostle Paul points us to the Christ who is revealed in us. In chapter 2, we have the Christ who lives in us. But in chapter 4, the focus is on the Christ who is being formed in us. Yes. Christ has been revealed in us; even, He is living us. Yet the questions remains, has He been formed in us? This is the deep burden of the Apostle Paul in Galatians, and it’s our topic on today’s life study of the Bible.

 

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Judges (Program #5) - The Miserable History of Israel’s Forsaking God (4)

The Bible begins with the story of Adam and how he gained a wife, Eve. In the New Testament of course we find out that Adam is a type of Christ, the very God and Eve, a type of God’s people, the Church.  So, from the beginning the Bible becomes a book of the marriage of God Himself with His people.  Yet by chapter 3 of Genesis, God’s enemy comes in to seduce man, to forsake God as their husband.  The result of this separation or divorce is the story of the chaotic history of mankind. Whatever nation, whatever group, whatever person forsakes God to become involves in something else ends up in a chaotic situation.  Israel’s history has seen this story repeated again and again in a cycle after cycle and soberly as we consider the situation even in the church, we’ see the same thing today.

 

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Galatians (Program #22) - The Spirit of Sonship

Galatians 4 is a wonderful chapter, focusing on two divine sendings. God first sent forth His Son. But, not only so, He also sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts. The two sendings in Galatians 4 are our topic on today’s life study of the Bible.

It helps to see the two main points in chapter 3 are number 1, that the Spirit is the blessing of the Gospel, and number 2, that the law is a custodian leading us to Christ, conducting us to Christ, and keeping us for Christ. In this Chapter 4:1-7, we see a continuation. That is, the Spirit of Sonship replacing the custody of the law. So, we need to begin this program by asking, “Do you want the blessing or do you want a custodian?”

 

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Judges (Program #4) - The Miserable History of Israel’s Forsaking God (3)

During a very difficult time in Israel’s history the Lord raised up Gideon to be a judge and ruler. Initially great victories were afforded under Gideon’s leadership and the account of his successes stands as the most glorious of those recorded in the book of Judges. His success can be attributed to 4 glorious factors of his relationship with Jehovah. However shortly after these successes he succumbed to serious temptations.  These ultimately overtook him and all of Israel eventually suffered as a consequence. These factors remained as major stumbling blocks to many of God’s people and especially to many leading ones among God’s people today.  We will look at the factors of both Gideon success and his failures on our program.

 

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