One of my favorite stories in the bible is how Aaron came to help Moses during Moses’ time of insecurity and doubt. The Lord was sending Moses to rescue the Israelites, but Moses did not feel up to the task. Instead of allowing Aaron to complete the task by himself, God allowed Aaron to help Moses for a season. (Click here to read the rest)
Tag Archives: bible study
God’s Truth Revealed by Kathy Howard
God’s Truth Revealed by Kathy Howard is a 12-session Bible study on the basics of Christianity. Kathy Howard has become one of my favorite teachers and I greatly enjoyed her past study Before His Throne. To explore her new book God’s Truth Revealed, you can find session one here.
God’s Truth Revealed takes participants on a straightforward journey through the Bible to understand the importance of knowing God, not just knowing about Him. Author Kathy Howard also provides biblical, historical, and scientific evidence to support creation; the reliability of the Bible; and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. “God’s Truth Revealed” is also full of faith stories – stories about men and women who found faith in Jesus Christ and how their lives were changed. Do you know someone who wants to know more about Jesus? Does your church need resources for spiritual seekers and new Christians? Please take a look at “God’s Truth Revealed”. It could be just what you need.
One thing this bible study answers is “Does Truth Exist?”
The desire to be our own boss and decide truth for ourselves comes from our flawed human nature. But, we can’t wish away absolute truth simply because we may not like it. If an all-powerful, Creator God exists – and there is plenty of evidence, including scientific evidence to support His existence – then He has the absolute right to decide absolute truth. The wonderful thing is we can know this truth and we can know God. God has revealed His truth about life, faith, and eternity to us in the Bible.
If you are looking for a wonderful new bible study, I encourage you to check out Kathy Howard’s God’s Truth Revealed. Later this month I will have a review of it on my book review site, but I can already tell you it is a great study.
Read more about the study on God’s Truth Revealed website.
Friday Revelation: Parable of the Forest and the Sword Ezekiel 20:45-49
I know you probably thought I had totally forgot about my study of Ezekiel but I have not. I needed to finish up the bible study I was teaching at church, because I found I could not do both at the same time.
So if you want to catch up on my past Ezekiel posts they are listed at the end of this post. We left off at Ezekiel 20:33-44. In that passage we were given a glimpse into Israel’s future judgment and restoration. Now in this passage God returns to dealing with the destruction of Israel. This will lead us into the study of chapter 21.
God instructs Ezekiel to face south and preach against the “forest to the south.” If you are in Babylon, Israel is to the south.
In Jeremiah 21:14 we see another passage where people are compared to a “forest.” Ezekiel informs the people that this destruction will be caused by an invading army. This is a fire that was set by God and “will not be quenched.” Once this war begins everyone will understand that this was God’s doing. (II Chronicles 7:20-22)
How do you think you would react if Ezekiel was speaking to you? If it were me I would want to make sure my heart was right before God, unfortunately the elders that Ezekiel is speaking to did not believe him. Complained that what he said was incomprehensible, grumbled he only spoke in parables, so why even bother listening. The truth was they did NOT WANT to understand Ezekiel.
Sometimes I shake my head at God’s patience, but I also am very thankful for the patience he has shown in my life. When the Parable of the Forest did not sink in to the thick skulls of these Elders God responds to the complaint about the parable of the forest with another parable told in simplified terms.
This parable is against Jerusalem, the holy places, and the land of Israel. Ezekiel warned: God was coming with a sword that would cut off both the righteous and the wicked.
Here God is not talking about a literal slaying but a judgment from north to south. Jeremiah 23:20 tells us the sword (God’s judgment) would not return until it has accomplished God’s will.
God gives Ezekiel a piece of instruction that I would have NO problem following, he tells Ezekiel to deliver this message with tears (aka – express great dismay).
As I study this passage I find it easy to point fingers and wonder “what were they thinking?” But look at our society are we any different? God does everything he can to make things simple for us to turn to him. It is our free choice if we believe or not, but once we turn towards God he does the rest.
My biggest fear is arriving before God and have him shake his head saying, “you thick-skulled person.” I would rather hear “well done good and faithful servant.” We will get further into the SWORD during our next study.
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.
Past Posts on Ezekiel
Ezekiel 1-3
Ezekiel 4-7
Ezekiel 8-10
Ezekiel 11
Ezekiel 12-13
Ezekiel 14-15
Ezekiel 16
Ezekiel 17
Ezekiel 18
Ezekiel 19
Ezekiel 20:1-32
Ezekiel 20:33-44