Delighting in the Doctrines of God
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Have you ever picked up an entertainment magazine in the checkout line or watched an interview with someone who is rich and famous? Broken marriages, repeated rehab, estranged children, living without reference to God. No desire for him. No delight in him. Sin and self reign. With all the designer clothes, magnificent homes and extravagant vacations, there is still no lasting joy. It seems that the more of the world a person has, the more miserable he or she seems to be. One famous actor said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”
Continue reading “Fruit”
Observation questions are in plain type. Interpretation questions are in italics. Application questions are in bold. (For a further explanation of how to do this Bible study, see here.)
Pray for insight into the Scriptures and give God praise for “the free gift of God…eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Read Romans 6:1 – 7:6.
Romans 6:20-23
1. When Paul’s readers were slaves of sin, how were they free?
2. What does it mean to be “free in regard to righteousness”?
Continue reading “Last Installment! Summer in Romans 6”
Are you ready for a new year of ministry to women? Whether by Zoom or in person, your church is likely starting Bible studies again this fall. How can you spur on your women to delight in God’s word together? How can you encourage women you are discipling to love reading their Bibles and pass that love on to others?
Keri Folmar, Rebecca Stark, Natalie Brand and Jenny Manley, the authors of The Good Portion Series, collectively have over 50 years of experience in ministry to women. Join us for a Livestream on Tuesday where we’ll answer your questions about one-to-one Bible reading, group Bible studies and other women’s ministry in the local church.
If you have questions you’d like to hear answered, post them in the comments on The Good Portion Books Facebook page.
My dear friend Naomi Njoroge, from Kenya, wrote this on her 50th birthday:
Continue reading “Fit for Heaven”More than half of these 50 years were spent on a slippery road, on a hell-bound race which came naturally to me, just like the rest of mankind. For we are all by nature destined as fuel for hellfire (Eph. 2).
But God being rich in mercy halted this race. He yanked me from this slippery road and put my feet upon a rock. Yes, He did!
And if this is all the Father did, that would have been good—undeserved and glorious. But our Father does things very well. He not only stripped me of my hellish nature, which the Bible calls flesh, and in so doing made me unfit for hell. He also clothed me with his righteousness, making me fit for heaven. Yes, He did!
I am now on a heaven bound race. Yes, I am! And I know heaven will receive me, and hell will not—and it cannot. And this is not of my own doing. The blood of Jesus pleads for me.
If I see my 51st, I know my righteousness will not exceed that of the thief on the cross, but my labors may. That is my prayer.
Observation questions are in plain type. Interpretation questions are in italics. Application questions are in bold. (For a further explanation of how to do this Bible study, see here.)
Pray for a deeper understanding of what it means to no longer be a slave to sin but to instead be “obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching.”
Read Romans 6.
Romans 6:15-19
1. Paul asks “What then?” connecting his next question to the previous verse. What question does he then ask?
2. Why might Christians’ status as “not under law but under grace” cause them to think they are free to sin?
Continue reading “Summer in Romans 6 Part IV”
Frederick Douglass, the great abolitionist orator, spoke from experience. He had been born a slave. His first taste of freedom was after he refused to be beaten by an ultra-cruel “slave-breaker.” He writes of this incident in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave:
Continue reading “Freedom”“The gratification afforded by the triumph was a full compensation for whatever else might follow, even death itself… It was a glorious resurrection, from the tomb of slavery, to the heaven of freedom. My long-crushed spirit rose, cowardice departed, bold defiance took its place…” (p. 69).
Observation questions are in plain type. Interpretation questions are in italics. Application questions are in bold. (For a further explanation of how to do this Bible study, see here.)
Pray to present yourself to God and not obey the passions of sin.
Read Romans 6.
Romans 6:12-14
1. Notice the “therefore” in verse 12. If we are “dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (verse 11), what must we do about sin?
2. What does sin try to do?
Continue reading “Summer in Romans 6 Part III”
While being shut inside during this pandemic, I’m reading a few classics. I started with The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde. The story paints an arresting picture of sin’s corruption of the soul. It opens with an artist painting a portrait of Dorian Gray, a “beautiful” young man of “innocence.” The artist heaps flattery on Dorian while another acquaintance mockingly warns the young man that he will age and won’t always be worthy of such praise. When finished, the painting so magnificently portrays Dorian’s youth and beauty that the young man jealously utters the wish that the picture could change, “and I could always be what I am now!” Dorian’s horrible desire comes true: the portrait becomes a picture of his corrupted soul as he lives a hidden life of licentiousness driven in an attempt to satisfy every illicit desire, while he keeps his outward beauty and youthful vigor. Dorian’s portrait vividly displays the ugliness and horror of sin.
Continue reading “Portraits”