Category: Verses of Instruction

John 1:1

“AND THE WORD WAS GOD”

Now we look at the final statement in John 1:1 – “AND THE WORD WAS GOD”. Let’s put this verse together: “IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD” – “AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD” – “AND THE WORD WAS GOD”. Today I want us to dwell on the progression of the statements in John 1:1:

“IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD” – It always was, it always is, and always will be.

“AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD” – The co-existence we studied yesterday.

“AND THE WORD WAS GOD” – The oneness of the spirit.

I’m excited to have our new members join our journey with us! As I said last night, if you will take time each day to meditate on the portion of the verse we study each day, you will place the verse on your heart and you will have committed a new verse of God’s Word to memory. Use these words to replace any negative thoughts or worries during the day.   We have about sixteen weeks left in 2016, so we should learn sixteen verses by January 1st.

Along the way, if God speaks to you about a particular verse, use the comment option below to share it with us. As I have said before, I sure haven’t figured it all out yet, and I’m learning along the way with you.

John 1:1

“AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD”

Today we look at the next part of the verse – “AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD”. We have a conjunctive word “AND” at the beginning, tying the previous part of the verse – “IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD”. The word “and” may not be particularly riveting, but in this sentence I get excited!  The “and” clearly implies that the Word or the spirit of Jesus was always with God, even at the “beginning” (Genesis 1:1). It foundationally lays out the Father and the Son were there together in the creation of the heavens and the earth.

As we learned in Romans 12:2 – “BUT BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND”, our daily focus, even if only for a few minutes, on these words is transforming us. God reveals Himself through these words and we glean a deeper understanding of His perfection, His perfect love for us, and a greater sense of our purpose in serving Him. If these words speak to you, as they have to me, I encourage you to embrace what you hear God speaking to you and begin to walk it out in your daily life. You are a bright light to me and a blessing to me. Share that light with the people in your life and be a blessing. If this Bible verse study has been a positive part of your day, do you know others who would also benefit from learning God’s word? If so, share the link to this site. I hope we can begin adopting a new mindset -“We will leave no one behind.”

John 1:1 and 1:14 – “The Word Became Flesh”

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word,  and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

We are staying in the Gospel of John for our next verses; John 1:1 and John 1:14. The opening of the Book of John is nothing short of magnificent! I would love for us to commit the first 18 verses to memory, but I want us to keep moving through the Bible. So I encourage you to read the first 18 verses of John to appreciate the power of God’s word in the verses we are going to focus on over the next few days.

The Bible is an incredible tapestry of stories and individual verses that allow us to explore the individual weaves of the fabric that take us deeper and deeper into the wonder of God. We are now going down a strand of the fabric from Jesus’s declaration in John 14:6 to a deeper understanding of the essence of Christ.

Let’s begin our study and memorization with the opening of John 1:1 – “In the beginning was the Word”. Pray over these words today. Any coincidence to the words “In the beginning”? I know you are way ahead of me here, but take time to let those words soak into your soul.

Romans 12:2 (Final Post)

Today we wrap up Romans 12:2 with the final statement – “HIS GOOD, PLEASING AND PERFECT WILL.”

As we return to school, to work, and back to our normal routines, please reflect on what God’s good, pleasing and perfect will means in your life. Have you seen and experienced God’s will in your life? Do you believe God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:11? -“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Do you hear from the Lord? Are you allowing yourself to “BE STILL” so that you can hear from Him?

Pray over these words today and over the entire verse of Romans 12:2. These words from God are foundational instruction for your spiritual walk.

Romans 12:2

Now we will look at the next sentence of Romans 12:2 – “THEN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO TEST AND APPROVE WHAT GOD’S WILL IS-HIS GOOD, PLEASING, PERFECT WILL.”

There is a lot of depth in this second sentence which I think is important for us to evaluate before we break it down into parts. Paul’s message in the first sentence of Romans 12:2  is that we will be transformed by the renewing of our mind, then by doing so, we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is.

Pastor and Christian author John Piper has written a commentary on this verse: “The term ‘the will of God’ has at least two or possibly three biblical meanings. First, there is the sovereign will of God, that always comes to pass without fail. Second, there is the revealed will of God in the Bible – do not steal, do not lie, do not kill, do not covet – and this will of God often does not come to pass. And third, there is [ ] wisdom where we consciously apply the  word of God with our renewed minds to complex moral circumstances…” Piper continues, “We are perfectly useless as Christ-exalting Christians if all we do is conform to the world around us. And the key to not wasting our lives with this kind of [worldly] success and prosperity, Paul says, is being transformed.”

It is important to understanding this verse, but even more important to understanding as it relates to your own walk, that transformation is more than just switching from a “worldly to-do list” to a “to-do list of good behavior”. Simply changing our behavior is not the kind of transformation God is looking for from us. True transformation is a Holy Spirit transformation through our faith in Jesus Christ. When we make this transformation of the spirit, we find freedom; freedom from the limitations of living for self and the limitations of focusing our lives on the pattern of this world. This transformation occurs through a daily “RENEWING OF THE MIND”  as we learn more about God, understand the depth of His love for us, and that He has a purpose for our lives beyond what we see in the world. The evidence of this transformation is by living our daily lives in the fruit of the Spirit. The fruits of the Spirit; love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (we will study this verse from Galatians later). If we embrace the fruit of the Spirit, our spiritual character is transformed, and we “WILL BE ABLE TO TEST AND APPROVE WHAT GOD’S WILL IS” for our lives.

I hope you are still tracking with me. I know this is a deep summary, but it is fundamentally important to our understanding of how God is revealing His perfect will in our lives. Today, let’s spend time on the first part of the verse – “THEN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO TEST AND APPROVE WHAT GOD’S WILL IS”.

I hope you will take time today and prayerfully reflect on these words. Let the Spirit of the Lord speak to you about your own transformation and the revelation of God’s will in your life. Here’s a youtube link to listen to while you pray over these words: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFmQEqDLP2k

 

Romans 12:2

The suspense is over. Today we add the last part of the instruction from Paul in this verse – “BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND”.

So let’s tie the pieces together:

DO NOT CONFORM – TO THE PATTERN OF THIS WORLD – BUT BE TRANSFORMED – BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND.

Paul says we will be transformed (again, a dramatic change!). Now he tells us how – BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND. Let’s focus on “RENEWAL”.

Renewal – the replacing or repair of something that is worn-out, run-down, or broken. This would imply that our minds need repair or even replacing. Why would that be? What would cause us to need restoration of our mind and our thoughts?

Again, Paul is saying in this verse that if we will renew our minds, we will be transformed! I want transformation, and I recognize I need the renewal of my mind. The renewing of the mind happens through the study of God’s Word, through prayer, through worship. We need to flush out all of the negatives that the world pours, like a fire hose, at us every day. I encourage you to take these verses, and each day, replace the negative thoughts with these words. I promise it will transform you!

 

Romans 12:2

Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

“BUT BE TRANSFORMED” I get excited when I say those words – “BUT BE TRANSFORMED”. Okay, I know it’s Saturday, but we need to do a brief English lesson to appreciate these three words -“BUT BE TRANSFORMED”:

BUT – The word “but” is a conjunction. It is used to link ideas that contrast.  Paul* uses “BUT” to contrast what he tells us not to do – “DO NOT CONFORM TO THE PATTERN OF THIS WORLD” – with what we should do.

BE – You English majors know that the word “be” is a verb, a word to describe an action. “To be or not to be…”

TRANSFORMED – a dramatic change in character, or appearance.  We’re not talking subtle here, we are talking dramatic.

So today, as we enjoy our Saturday, our college football, our barbecue, or hamburgers, just take a moment, one or maybe two, to reflect on being transformed – “BUT BE TRANSFORMED”.

 

* Paul didn’t actually use the word “but” as the English language didn’t exist. Paul probably wrote the Letter to the Romans in Greek, although he probably spoke daily in Aramaic and in Hebrew.

 

Romans 12:2

Continuing our meditation on Romans 12:2. Yesterday we focused on “DO NOT CONFORM”. What does it mean to be a “non-conformist”? We got a great response from Jordan that I hope he will post here as well.

Today we add the next section of the verse – “TO THE PATTERN OF THIS WORLD”. Our prayer focus today is on these words. Why do you think Paul chose the word ‘PATTERN’? What is the pattern of our world today? Are there things we can all identify with that form the pattern of our lives today? Is there a pattern you need to stop conforming to?

Remember, learning God’s word is a marathon, not a 100-yard dash. Take time today to let these words sink into your heart and reflect on what they mean to you and how you can apply them to your daily life.

Happy Friday!! I hope you have a great Labor Day weekend!