biblereading.com

Can I read the Bible by myself?

Now that you’re acquainted with the Bible’s organization and its main message, you can proceed to reading the Bible itself and developing a relationship with God.

It is necessary for all believers to have a private, intimate, direct, sweet, and fresh fellowship with God, which can only be accomplished through prayer and reading the Word in the morning hours. A good example of this is the manna that nourished the children of Israel in wilderness. The only time they had access to the manna was in the morning. As soon as the sun became hot, the manna melted.

In the same way, Christians must strive to “gather the manna” in the morning by reading the Word and praying. Much like the children of Israel, each Christian must gather the manna for themselves. Arising early every morning to read the word and pray is vital for every Christian’s relationship with God. Allowing the day’s business to impinge upon this morning time will only interfere with your fellowship with God.

Devoting yourself to reading a chapter, or even a few verses, every morning is the best move for every Christian’s spiritual life. As the Apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:23, the Word regenerates. “Having been regenerated not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, through the living and abiding word of God.” The Word is also crucial to spiritual growth, as Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2:2. “As newborn babes, long for the guileless milk of the word in order that by it you may grow unto salvation.

Why are there four gospels?

And to kick off this Christ-centered part of the Bible, the New Testament begins with four gospels, each of which presents Jesus Christ from a different angle, and each portraying a different side of Him.

The Gospel of Matthew testifies that He is the King, the Christ of God prophesied in the Old Testament, who brings the kingdom of the heavens to the earth. The Gospel of Mark tells us that He is the Servant of God, laboring for God faithfully. Mark’s account is most simple, for a servant does not warrant a detailed record. The Gospel of Luke presents a full picture of Him as the only proper and normal man who ever lived on this earth; as such a man, He is the Savior of mankind. The Gospel of John unveils Him as the Son of God, the very God Himself, who is life to God’s people.
–“Recovery Version of the New Testament,?pages 5-6, footnote 1:1¹ (Living Stream Ministry)

The genealogy in Matthew shows that Jesus is the King, as prophesied in the Old Testament. By giving an account of all Christ’s ancestors, the genealogy proves that He is the proper successor to the throne of King David. The genealogy in Luke shows that Jesus is a proper and normal man, proving his qualification to be to be the Savior of mankind. The gospel of Mark does not include a genealogy because the book details Christ’s life as a servant. The same is true for the gospel of John, which unveils that Jesus is God. (Recomposed from paragraph three of footnote 1:1¹ on page 6 of the Recovery Version of the New Testament.)

Bible Verses

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses…unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Words of Ministry

The Holy Spirit dwells within man to be his life, and He rests upon man to be his power. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit was promised by Christ in the New Testament before His death, and it was fulfilled at the time of the Lord’s resurrection. The Spirit’s indwelling in man is for the purpose of becoming life to the believers and also for the purpose of producing the fruit of the Spirit in the believer’s living, such as holiness, righteousness, endurance, and joy.

The outpouring of the Spirit upon man was promised by the Father in the Old Testament. This promise was confirmed by the Lord before His ascension. This aspect of the Spirit’s work is related to the Lord’s ascension, and it was fulfilled after the Lord ascended and was exalted. The Spirit’s outpouring upon man is for the purpose of clothing the believers with the Lord’s power for their testimony and also for the purpose of producing the gifts of the Spirit and empowering the believers to work for the Lord for the accomplishment of His will.

Once a man believes in the Lord, the Holy Spirit will surely dwell within him. At the same time, he can also experience the outpouring of the Spirit. If we make a clear distinction between these matters, we will see wonderful things happen to us.

ref: www.emanna.com

Listen to  LS Genesis #3 God’s Restoration and Further Creation (1) – Process

God’s original creation was damaged by Satan’s rebellion and then judged by God Himself. After God’s judgment, there remained nothing except darkness upon the surface of the deep water. This signifies a death condition. In the midst of this death condition, the Bible suddenly says, “And the Spirit of God was brooding upon the surface of the waters.” Isn’t this wonderful? The Spirit was brooding. Hallelujah! “The Spirit was brooding” as a hen broods over her eggs in order to produce little chickens. When the Bible first says something about the Spirit, it doesn’t say “the power of the Spirit,” “the might of the Spirit,” but it says that the “Spirit of God was brooding over the surface of the waters.” This means that He was preparing to generate life. We need to see that the record of Genesis 1 is something related to life, to God’s gospel, and to spiritual things. For this we have a strong proof in 2 Corinthians 4:6. Paul says, “God who said, Out of darkness light shall shine, is the One who shined in our hearts for the illumination of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” This certainly was a reference to chapter one of Genesis. By this one verse, we can realize that everything recorded in Genesis 1 must be related to life, to God’s shining, and to God’s gospel. Based upon this verse, we need to interpret everything according to life.

We need to recall our condition before we were saved. We were just waste and empty, our lives were meaningless, and we were covered with darkness. Within us was an abyss, a bottomless pit. And in this abyss was a swarm of demons, driving us to lose our temper, to gamble, to go to the movies, and to do many other evil things. We were waste and empty, yet full of darkness and death.

But, hallelujah! One day, some living One began to hover over us, to work within our heart, to brood upon the death and the deep within us. This was not something psychological or ethical, but the living One working within us, working so gently, lovingly, like a big hen brooding over the eggs in her nest. This is the brooding and the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

The Lord Jesus said (John 16:8-11) that when the Holy Spirit is come, He will reprove, He will convince the world (meaning humanity) of sin (related to Adam), of righteousness (related to Christ), and of judgment (related to Satan). He will rebuke in a brooding way, in a very kind way, not in a violent way. In the whole universe, there are only three persons—Adam, Christ, and Satan. The Holy Spirit works within us, convincing us that we were born in Adam and have nothing but sin, that we have no way to escape sin and Adam’s influence without believing in Christ. The Holy Spirit will brood within us and speak to us, saying, “Look, Jesus died on the cross for you and He has accomplished everything that is required by God. Now the real righteousness is with Him. If you turn to Him and believe in Him, you will receive Him as your righteousness. He has passed through incarnation, He has passed through life on this earth, He has passed through crucifixion and resurrection. Now He is accepted by God at His right hand. He is there as the proof that if you believe on Him, you will be free of sin and obtain righteousness. If you don’t do this, you will go with Satan into God’s judgment.” By this brooding of the Holy Spirit, you will be fully convinced and will say, “Lord Jesus, I have nothing to say, but I thank You.” By this, you are regenerated, you are born again of the Spirit (John 3:6-7). Hallelujah!

The Spirit of God came. This coming of the Holy Spirit is the first requirement for generating life. The Spirit came to brood over the waters of death which submerged the earth, brooding that life might be generated.

Further Listening:  Life-Study of Genesis

Bible Verses

Luke 24:49 And behold, I send forth the promise of My Father upon you; but as for you, stay in the city until you put on power from on high.

Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses…unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Words of Ministry

Forty days after the Lord’s resurrection, He promised the disciples again that they would receive the power of the Holy Spirit. This promise of the Lord was fulfilled at Pentecost. In the Old Testament, the outpouring of the Spirit was the special privilege of a few, such as the priests, prophets, or judges. There might have been only one person in the whole nation of Israel who had this privilege. We find this kind of man appearing only once every few decades or centuries. Such events were rare. But in the New Testament, everyone can and should have this experience.

This promise is very unique; it is something that we can all receive. It is a special blessing from the Lord. What a joy that we can all have the Spirit upon us. Before His ascension, the Lord charged the disciples to remain in Jerusalem and wait for the promise. By that time the disciples already had the indwelling life. They heard the Lord’s word and were praying and waiting. Ten days later at Pentecost [fiftieth day] , they were all filled with the Holy Sprit. Everyone who reads Acts 2 knows that this speaks of the Holy Spirit’s outward work upon man. It does not refer to the inward working of the Spirit. From John, Luke, and Acts, we see that there are two lines to the work of the Holy Spirit. One line is within man, and the other is outside of man.

ref: www.emanna.com

# Immerse in Thy love;
Fresher than morning dew;
Here I’m kept away from every earthly care.
Such tender feeling;
Caressed by my Beloved;
You’re the loveliest, much fairer than the fair.

* Moments with You,
How affectionate!
Now I seize this opportunity to say
That I love You.
I will be with You
All my days, come what may.

# I cannot help it;
I’m so in love with You
For I’ve tasted Your divine heavenly wine.
I’m soaked with Thy love,
I pour my all on You.
What my future holds for me, my Lord are Thine.

What’s the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament?

When approaching the Bible, it is helpful to understand the roles the Old and New Testaments play and how they complement each other.

The Lord defined the Old and New Testaments in Luke 24:27, 44-45 when He said, “And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, He explained to them clearly in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself ?And He said to them, these are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all the things written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and Psalms concerning Me must be fulfilled. Then He opened their mind to understand the Scriptures.

Theologian Augustine once said that the New Testament is contained in the Old and that the Old Testament is explained in the New. We may put the matter this way: The New Testament is in the Old contained, and the Old Testament is in the New explained. This means that the New Testament is in the Old Testament and that the Old Testament is explained by the New Testament.
–“The Conclusion of the New Testament, page 1 (Living Stream Ministry)

The Old Testament gives a portrait, in types and prophecies, of this wonderful person as the Coming One. Now, in the New Testament, this wonderful person has come. The first page of the New Testament, in recommending this wonderful person to us, gives us His genealogy. This genealogy can be considered an abstract of the Old Testament, which in itself is the detailed genealogy of Christ. To understand the genealogy in Matthew, we need to trace the origin and history of every incident.
–“Recovery Version of the New Testament, page 5, footnote 1:11 (Living Stream Ministry).

While these excerpts show the importance of the Old Testament, the New Testament stands alone in that its sole subject is Jesus Christ.

The first name (Matt. 1:1) and the last name (Rev. 22:21) in the New Testament is Jesus, proving that Jesus Christ is the subject and content of the New Testament. The Bible is a book of life, and this life is a living person, the wonderful and all-inclusive Christ
–Recovery Version of the New Testament, page 5, footnote 1:11 (Living Stream Ministry).

Listen to Genesis LS#2: Satan’s Rebellion and Corruption

The Cause

Satan rebelled against God because of pride in his heart. Ezekiel 28:17 says that his heart was lifted up because of his beauty, that he corrupted his wisdom by reason of his brightness. He was “full of wisdom and perfect in beauty”; he “sealed up the sum,” (Ezek. 28:12) meaning that he had the full measure of completeness and was short of nothing. But he gazed on his beauty and was proud. He looked at his brightness and became corrupted. To look at what God has made us and forget God Himself always tempts us to be proud. Pride was the cause of Satan’s rebellion. So, the Apostle would never allow “a novice” to be an elder in the church, “lest being blinded with pride he fall into the judgment of the Devil” (1 Tim. 3:6). All the natural virtues and attributes, and all the spiritual gifts can be utilized by the Devil to make us proud. Even the Apostle Paul could be “exceedingly lifted up by the transcendence of the revelations” (2 Cor. 12:7). The proud Devil is still prowling about on the earth, seeking the proud ones whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8). The only way to “resist” him is to “humble” ourselves, to gird ourselves with humility because “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Pet. 5:9, 5-6). The Lord Jesus is a good example in this matter. Satan exalted himself, but the Lord Jesus “humbled Himself” (Phil. 2:8). Thus, the Lord overcame Satan, and Satan had nothing in Him (John 14:30).

The Purpose

The purpose of Satan’s rebellion was to exalt himself to be equal with God. In Isaiah 14:13-14 we find that five times Satan said “I will,” at the time of his rebellion. “I will ascend..I will exalt my throne..I will sit also upon the mount..I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Satan wanted to be equal with God. That was the purpose of his rebellion against God.

Ambition for position was the motivation of every rebellion recorded in the Bible. The rebellion at Babel (Gen. 11:4), the rebellion of Dathan, Abiram, and the two hundred and fifty princes of the Israelites (Num. 16:1-3), and the rebellion of Absalom (2 Sam. 15:10-12), were all because of the evil ambition for position. But the Lord Jesus “emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave…Wherefore also God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name” (Phil. 2:7, 9).

Future Reading: Life Study of the Bible

Bible Verses

John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever,

(17) Even the Spirit of reality… He abides with you and shall be in you.

Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses…

Words of Ministry

Before the Lord’s ascension He gave His disciples two great promises. The first was given before His death, and the second was given before His ascension. The first promise was that the Holy Spirit would abide in man, and the second promise was that the Holy Spirit would come upon man. This [first] promise is too wonderful-the Holy Spirit would abide within man. The Word becoming flesh was a wonderful event that occurred in the Lord Himself [when He was born], but the Spirit Himself living in the believers is an even more wonderful event.

When did the Spirit begin to abide in man? In John 14:17 the Lord said that the Spirit “shall be” in the disciples. This word was spoken prior to the Lord’s crucifixion. In John 20:22, He breathed a holy breath into the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This happened after the Lord’s resurrection. After His resurrection, the Holy Spirit came and the disciples received the Lord’s breathing. The Holy Spirit was the Lord’s breath of life. This is like God’s breathing of the breath of life into the nostrils of Adam after he was created out of the dust of the earth. The result was that he became a living soul. This is happening to us today. The Lord is breathing the Holy Spirit, the breath of life, into us. Without a breath from God, man is dead. Without a breath from the Lord to the church, the church is also dead.

ref:  www.emanna.com

How should I read the Bible?

The Bible is full of facts about God: He became our Savior (1 Tim. 2:3-4); He died on the cross to save sinners; and He resurrected to become the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). Reading and praying over these facts in the Word, readers develop faith (Gal. 3:2; Rom. 10:17) to believe into and receive God.

It is only through the Word that people can receive Jesus Christ into their hearts. Only the Bible contains the spiritual facts that make it possible for God to be revealed in readers, who then know and possess God. The more Christians read the Bible and pray accordingly, the more they come to know and possess Him.

For example, when Bible readers pray over the spiritual fact that God is love (1 John 4:8), God enters them to be their love. Without praying, human love is usually transient and temporary. Even if people put in their best efforts, their love for someone eventually fades. It’s impossible to love without the God who is love. The only way to have love is to receive God by praying with the Word.

This is why Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life?(John 6:63). Those who touch God’s word should receive spirit and life, not just knowledge. And the Spirit gives people the life that enables them to practice what the Word commands.

But how can Christians pray over the Word? Take John 6:63, for example. A possible prayer could be, “O God my Father, how I thank You that You are the Spirit who gives life. The flesh is good for nothing and can do nothing. I do not treasure my flesh but I desire Your Spirit. And, my dear Lord Jesus Christ, I also thank You that the words You spoke to me in the Bible are spirit and are life. Without Your words, I have no spirit and no life. Now, I come to You as I read Your words to receive the Spirit of God and the life of God from You. Today, I need You, Your Spirit, and Your life for my Christian walk. Thank You Jesus. Amen.?

Apply this principle to every part of the Bible. As you read through the Bible, chapter by chapter, you will come across many wonderful spiritual facts. When you pray according to what you have read, understood, and appreciate, the spiritual facts will become real to you as God fills you.