Being in the fear of GOD all the day long will bring fabulous future rewards. In the meantime, do not envy those who refuse to walk with GOD....

"Word Pictures" for Our Imagination

Free Printable Devotional Sheets Thursday, July 31st

Today's Daily Verse is found in Proverbs 23.17-18

"Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off."

This is a follow up from yesterday's Today's Bible Study... If you did not spend time on Proverbs 1.7 - you may want to study it first. Click here to do that...after you have finished yesterday's study, hit the "back" button to get back here.

To highlight a few things...

When Mom and Dad are in the room...they only can see what we are "doing" - they have no access to what we are "thinking"

But GOD - gets into the inside of our head...

GOD sees every thought...

The movies we run in our personal, private, secret imagination's movie theater become the basis for our success or failure in life.

The "fear of the LORD is when an individual realizes that GOD sees everything that is going on - and that nothing is - nor can be hidden from the eyes of GOD

Let's probe a little further.

The wrong list...from Romans chapter 1

We looked yesterday at the wrong list enumerated in Romans 1. Today, I want to show you something that should bring hope to all of us...

Let's look at 1 Corinthians 6.9-11

Three powerful verses...

" Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."

What is this list -

• the unrighteous
• fornicators
• idolaters
• adulterers
• effeminate
• abusers
• thieves
• covetous
• drunkards
• revilers
• extortioners

Now look carefully at the beginning words of verse 11

1. and such were some of you
2. but you are washed
3. you are sanctified
4. you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus
   

Who was Paul the apostle speaking to?

He was talking to the church. To disciples. To followers of Christ

And what did Paul say?

See that list of disqualifying behavior... SOME of "you" did these things. Now you do not.

Paul says, "But you are washed"...

Remember the detergent and the washing of clothes word-pictures?

The Word of GOD is like detergent...

• it washes the stains and dirt out of our thought-life - just like washing clothes
  

Jeremiah 4.14

"Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem, That you may be saved. How long will your wicked thoughts Lodge within you?"

Ephesians 5.26

"to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word"

Take heart! That's what happened to these disciples in 1 Corinthians 6

What is "conversion"?

excepts from my book "Wisdom Power"

"I do not believe the word "conversion" is used correctly when it is used to refer to a person's "born-again experience".

Before you throw me out - let's look at Luke 22.31-32

31 "And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren."

• Peter was a believer already
• conversion was a future stage of Peter's spiritual relationship
• Peter was a disciple

What was the message to Peter from Jesus

• Peter, your thinking needs to change
• And when your thinking is transformed, Peter, you will teach others to do so
  

The real story of Peter...

Matthew 16.13-23 "When Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who are the people saying I am?”

14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist; some, Elijah; some, Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”

15 Then he asked them, “Who do you think I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “The Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17 “God has blessed you, Simon, son of Jonah,” Jesus said, “for my Father in heaven has personally revealed this to you—this is not from any human source.

What happened here? Peter a disciple was asked the question... He responded, "Thou art the Christ, The Son of the Living GOD"

Look at verse 17 - Peter, My Father revealed "this information" to you

How?

GOD sent a thought directly into Peter's head.

It was a divinely inspired thought-picture.

Peter saw the words in his mind and spoke them to Jesus, "Thou art the Christ"...

This was a great moment in history.

This one event was the "turning point" for all believers...

In fact, it was "the garden in Eden Tree of Life" all over again - GOD spoke. Peter heard it in his head, and spoke it out!

Amazing!!!

Peter had received one GOD-thought.

Note:

"If GOD does not want us to have His thoughts, where are the thoughts to come from that He wants us to have?"

The process had begun!

And this was to be the process for building the church - GOD thoughts!

Peter, this is the rock, the foundation - disciples will once again have access to GOD thoughts - just as Adam did in the garden in Eden...

NOTE: This was a beginning. Peter tried another word in verse 23...

18 You are Peter, a stone; and upon this rock I will build my church; and all the powers of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven; whatever doors you lock on earth shall be locked in heaven; and whatever doors you open on earth shall be open in heaven!”

20 Then he warned the disciples against telling others that he was the Messiah.

21 From then on Jesus began to speak plainly to his disciples about going to Jerusalem, and what would happen to him there—that he would suffer at the hands of the Jewish leaders, that he would be killed, and that three days later he would be raised to life again.

22 But Peter took him aside to remonstrate with him. “Heaven forbid, sir,” he said. “This is not going to happen to you!”

23 Jesus turned on Peter and said, “Get away from me, you Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are thinking merely from a human point of view, and not from God’s.”

This thought came from Satan, not GOD. Peter was inexperienced in knowing which was which...

See that last part of verse 23? It all depends on where our thinking is receiving information from -  the choice is clear -

1. Human point of view
2. GOD's point of view

Hebrews 5.14 "But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law.

In "conversion"...

We learn how to "bring every thought into captivity"

2 Corinthians 10.5 "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"

If GOD does not want us to have His thoughts, where are the thoughts to come from that He wants us to have?

Our Assignment is Clear -

Search the scriptures for GOD thoughts, and plant each one of them in our thought life just as David did, with similar results - "Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee."

The GOD thoughts, like the Mustard Seeds will wash, and cleanse our thoughts, our imagination, and those GOD-thoughts will empower us to be what God wants us to be and to do what GOD wants us to do...

And we will diligently study to show ourselves approved of GOD, a workman, that needs not to be ashamed." - And that, my friend, is the purpose of this website!

Let get started!

See you tomorrow...

In the meantime:

Give someone you know a call today and invite them to this Daily Bible Study. You have no idea of how many people are waiting for this kind of information...

E-mail a friend. It would be great if you did that today! Thanks.