The House You're Building

Prepare your heart:   Read Deuteronomy 4:1-8.   Meditate on the verses the Spirit draws your attention to.   Pray in preparation for the study that you will see that there is no “statues and judgments as righteous” as His wisdom and be drawn to learn and walk in them. As I introduced the study to you, I mentioned that Proverbs was mainly written and assembled by King Solomon.   Let us look into how he became wise as an example for us. 1.        Read 1 Kings 3:5-14 and 2 Chronicles 1:7-12.   ·          How does Solomon see himself before God?   ·          What qualities does he acknowledge please God? ·          Why does he ask for wisdom? ·          What is God’s response to his request?   What reasons does He give for responding the way He does? ·...

The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom… Psalm 37:30 The times we are living in have often been described as the “information age.”   There are countless resources at our fingertips.   From blogs (I know you follow them too if you’re reading this) to podcasts, e-readers that give you a new book within seconds- even TV on demand.       Our information is plentiful and available at our convenience. With such a variety of information it is easy to miss truth in the melee of choices.    It is human nature to listen to the things that we want to hear, that align themselves with our selfish desires.   2 Timothy 4:3 says: For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires.   So how do you know what is true?   What will be firmly rooted as the theories and philosophies of men shift with the times? ...

If you’ve been through my other study on the Holy Spirit that was written beginning March 2011, you’ll know that it is my practice at the end of a study to review what I’ve learned and see where I have grown in my faith.   I call this process "gleanings," after the practice described in Leviticus 19:10 and Ruth 2.   Though we have gathered our spiritual fruit, there may be some left that you don’t want to leave behind.   In the introduction to this study, I mentioned that my questions about verse 18 from 2 Corinthians lead me to further investigate what the ministry of reconciliation is.   Hopefully by now through your study you have your own answers about this ministry and have determined if you are administering it the way God desires you to.   During this time I have been given opportunities to witness my faith to my friends and I’m glad to have considered these things in this season.   Get out your notes, your bible, and walk back through the l...

Prepare Your Heart: Read Psalm 133.   Pray about your experiences with other believers past and present.   Ask God to show you any correction needed in your relationships with other believers through our study today. In my journey as a disciple of Christ, nothing has encouraged my faith more than knowing God’s word.   Second only to that is fellowship I’ve had through time spent with other believers.   Life is hard and we aren’t meant to go it alone.   Landing here in our relationship with other believers brings us full circle in our journey of the purpose of this study: developing our ministry of reconciliation.   Review 2 Corinthians 5 one more time but this time carefully read verses 11-16.   They may not seem like big verses at first reading, but they are at the heart of this study as they are pertain to how we are motivated to view and interact with others.   Note a few things you observe about relationships among believers from these vers...