Category Archives: Bible Study

Topics and Themes from the Bible

Man Lives by the Word of God

In Matthew 4:4 Jesus says “Man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the Mouth of God”  The Bible is important for our spiritual food.  The Bible is necessary for us to grow in the Christian Life. Enjoy a short devotional video on “Man Lives by the Word of God”

What Makes Christianity Unique

What makes Christianity unique from any other religion on the earth.

Number one: God is the God of Love. In every other religion man must work hard and God may punish or get back at you.  Yes God disciplines and there is an unfortunate place called “Hell”, but God loves the World and makes a way for every man to come to God through His son Jesus Christ.  We have John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only- begotten Son, that whosoever believes on him may not perish, but have life eternal

Number two:  Jesus Christ is God.  So Jesus is not just a great prophet or teacher or a good person, He is God.  In John 1:1 we read, “…The Word was God”, and there are many other verses in the New Testament about Jesus being both God and man. Yes, its a mystery, but that’s what the Bible says.

There are also many other points such as:

  • We can pray to God through His son Jesus
  • God is for us
  • The unique requirement in the New Testament is to believe on Jesus

So remember God is the God of Love and Jesus Christ is God.

The Spirit and The Bride saying, “Come”

First and Last Mentions of “Spirit” in Bible

Let’s look at the first mention of the word, “Spirit” in the entire Bible, and then let’s look at the last mention. The first mention of the word, “Spirit” should be in the first book of the Bible, Genesis. Sure enough, in the first chapter of the first book of the Bible, in the second verse, we have the first mention of “spirit” in the Bible.  The first verse of Genesis talks about creation, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Verse 2 begins with the words, “And the earth was without form and void…” It seems like something was wrong on the earth or it was just ready for creation at that point. Then it says that the Spirit of God brooded or hovered over the face of the waters. Here you have the first mention of the Spirit in the Bible. This is a very unique passage.  Here was God with the Heavens and the earth.  God wanted to do something. The earth needed something.  Bible scholars look at Genesis one in different ways.  Many scholars say that Genesis 1:1ff is talking about the original creation. Others say, “No, the original creation was described in Genesis 1:1, and then what follows in Genesis 1:2ff is a restoration.”  I really don’t want to get into that point right now because Bible scholars who love the Lord and who handle the Bible properly come to two different conclusions about that point.  I don’t believe either viewpoint dishonors the Word of God.  Both viewpoints could be argued.

In Genesis 1:2, you have the Spirit of God coming on the scene. Here, in Genesis 1:2, God is about to do something. God is about to do the original creation or He is about to restore things. What happens first?  Verse 2 says the Spirit of God was hovering or brooding over the situation. In our experience as Christians, many times, when God is about to do something, the Spirit of God will come in and prepare our hearts for what God wants to do.  God was going to do some very dramatic things on earth by creating plant and animal life, as well as man. The Spirit of God comes on the scene.  This is the first mention in the entire Bible of the word, “Spirit”.  This Spirit, here, is referring to the divine Spirit, the Holy Spirit, or he Spirit of God.

The Spirit and The Bride saying, “Come”

Let’s go to the end of the Bible. The last book of the Bible is the book of Revelation. In the last chapter of that book, chapter 22, we have several mentions of the word, “Spirit”. I believe that the last verse that mentions the Spirit of God is verse 17 and it says, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” This is the last mention of the word, “Spirit” in the Bible. Here, actually, it is a call or a cry, or an invitation to come. It is not just the Spirit, but the Spirit and the Bride saying, “Come.”  Come to what? Come to the living waters.  This is the last mention of the term, “Spirit” in the Bible, and we find it in the last chapter of the last book, the book of Revelation.  In Genesis 1:2 we saw that the Spirit of God was brooding over the situation before God created.  We also looked at the last verse that mentions the Spirit in the Bible in the book of Revelation. There the Spirit and Bride say, “Come.”  So we have covered the first and the last.

Worship God in Spirit

Out of everything in the whole universe, our human spirit is the most important because it allow us to worship God who is Spirit.

God wants worship, the best (and only) way is to worship God is with our spirit, because God is Spirit. See John 4:24 where Jesus says “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth”.  Notice where there is a capital Spirit referring to God, and a lower case spirit related to our human spirit.

So watch this short devotional video on “Worship God in Spirit”

Then in the book of Zechariah, the writer in 12:1 talks about the heavens, the earth and the spirit of man.  Zechariah 12:1  “The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth,
and formeth the spirit of man within him”.

In the whole universe, our human spirit is the most important because it allow us to worship God who is Spirit.  Having a human spirit is like having a radio receiver tuned to the right frequency to connect with and listen to God who on the “Spirit” wavelength.

Worship God in Spirit

Worship God in Spirit

God is the God of Fellowship – Video

God wants fellowship between us and God. He is desperate for communion. It’s like two friends talking over coffee or tea. God wants an intimate relationship between us and God. When something like sin got in the way of this fellowship, God sent His son Jesus Christ to bridge the gap. So we can have a morning devotion with God because of Jesus His son.

Please watch this short devotional video on “God is the God of Fellowship”

The best Bible verse on this subject is: 1 John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Intimacy Between God and Man

God loves us. God is love. It is hard to find a religion where God loves man.
God wants an intimate loving relationship between God and man. When man sins, God loves to restore us. He does not give up on us. The Bible is about God and man.

We as sinful man need a mediator between us and a holy sinless God, and that mediator is Jesus Christ.

Please watch this short video on “Intimacy Between God and Man”

John 14:21
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Dead Sea, Israel

Dead Sea, Israel

Listen To Jesus

It’s so easy to get distracted with good religious things and miss Jesus. Jesus is the focus of the New Testament. Jesus is the main subject. Even the good disciples like Peter could get distracted with doing something “great” for God and miss the Son of God, Jesus, who was standing right there.

So watch this short video on “Listen to Jesus”

In Matthew 17,  Jesus takes His top three disciples up to a mountain, and there Jesus was transfigured or glorified. He probably looked like He might appear in heaven. His top three disciples were Peter, James and John. Peter had a great idea, but God did not agree with the idea and so God spoke from the heavens. God said “This is my beloved Son, Hear Him“. Too many times we have a “great idea” for God. But many times God does not agree and may speak to us and tell us to just “Listen to Jesus”. So how do we “listen to Jesus”, the easiest and best way is to just read the Bible.

Jesus as the Focus…

The whole New Testament from Matthew to Revelation, all 27 books has a focus and that focus is Jesus Christ.  So Jesus Christ is the focus of the last book of the Bible, the book called “Revelation”.
Everyone loves a happy ending to any story, and the last book of the Bible tells a happy engine where all evil and sickness is dealt with and God is on the throne ruling over the earth. God finishes the Bible in a happy way.

So watch this short video on “Jesus as the focus of Revelation”

It is called Revelation because the book is a revelation of Jesus Christ throughout the ages till the end of the world where He comes again.

The book of Revelation is a conclusion to the whole Bible. The focus of this book is Jesus Christ. The key verse is the first verse – Rev 1:1 “The revelation of Jesus Christ…”

At the end, all evil is conquered. All evil is thrown into the eternal trash can called the lake of fire. Those who follow evil also end up in the trash.

God is on the throne in a heavenly city, the New Jerusalem. God’s people, who believe in Jesus, will live with Him in this city for eternity and be a part of the eternal happy ending. Again this book’s focus is Jesus Christ. Revelation begins with Christ and ends with Jesus as the Lamb of God on the throne, a happy ending.