1 & 2 Chronicles (Program #5) – Being Fundamental in the Full and Walking According to the All-Inclusive Spirit

The children of Israel were already in degradation when ten of the twelve tribes separated following the leadership of Jeroboam.  This act of division was further compounded when they established an alternate place of worship, far from Jerusalem in the northern region of Dan.  The result was two kingdoms under two kings, fully breaking the principle of oneness that the Lord has established for them in Deuteronomy 12 when He declared time after time that His choice was Jerusalem and all the children of Israel must come uniquely to Jerusalem to present their offerings and worship Jehovah.  But two of the tribes under the kingship of Rehoboam, Solomon’s son remained faithful to God’s command and kept Jerusalem and the temple as their center.  Thou this pleased Jehovah and preserved a measure of blessing upon them, still the Lord was strict and willing to discipline both the kings and the people whenever their hearts strayed from Him and the law of Moses that He had commanded them to keep.

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2 Corinthians (Program #47) – Paul’s Vindication of His Apostolic Authority (2)

In the first epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, he was very bold and at times quite strong in dealing with the many problems that had risen in the church there.  Due to this, he was quite concerned about how the believers in Corinth received his word of loving discipline.  But upon hearing their open and repented heart, he began 2 Corinthians with nine very tender,intimate and pleasant chapters.  But following this, his tone once again become severe.  For in the final four chapters of the book, he is forced to make a defense, even a vindication of his apostleship.  Why did Paul, the clarion of the New Testament economy need to lower himself in such a way before this church which he himself established?   The answer may surprises but it will most definitely enlighten us.

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Romans (Program #29) – Transformation in Receiving the Believers (1)

Our eternal salvation is by faith through faith.  Once we have been born of God, we can never be unborn and lose our status as regenerated ones.  But there is a matter of reward and/or discipline.

The book of Romans has been called the fifth gospel or the gospel of God.  At its consummation, it beautifully depicts the tender and intimate church life that satisfy both God and man.

The book of Romans as we have been seeing, is divided into 5 basic sections of justification, sanctification, glorification plus selection and then one other.  If we look just casually, it may not seen to fit that this final section concludes with several non doctrinal chapters dealing with the church life.

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Hosea (Program #6) – On Hosea (7)—Jehovah’s Unchanging Love Versus Israel’s Stubborn Unchastity (2)

Ask any married man, and he will tell you that the single most important virtue of a wife is her chastity or her faithfulness. Once that is gone is very difficult to hold a marriage together. In the Old Testament book of Hosea, Jehovah liken the nation of Israel to an unchaste wife. Israel had been betrothed to God but soon after another and became caught up in spiritual harlotry. As a result Jehovah was left with no choice but to chasten her. His chastening or discipline was motivated not by His wrath but rather by His unchanging love. And Hosea Chapters 11 through 14 give the account of how this mighty and powerful unchanging love of God eventually subdued Israel and even transformed her.

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Jeremiah (Program #17) – Jehovah as the Potter and Israel as the Pottery

The prophet Jeremiah found himself in a difficult almost impossible situation. On one hand, he himself was part of the nation of Israel. A nation that had rebelled against the Lord and as a result was suffering under the hand of Jehovah’s discipline and chastisement. Therefore, Jeremiah was suffering along with all his countrymen. Yet Jeremiah was unique in that he had faithfully spoken Jehovah’s word to Israel pointing out their unfaithfulness and warning them to turn back to the God who had so marvelously brought them into the Good Land. But this faithful speaking by Jeremiah was rejected by Israel and caused them to hate him and even further persecute him.  So it’s not surprising to hear this man of God crying out in anguish to the one person who would surely sympathize with him – his own mother. In chapter 15, the prophet said “Woe is me, my mother, because you bore me, A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole land. I have not lent with interest, Nor have they lent to me; Yet everyone curses me.” But before his mother could speak a comforting word, Jehovah intervenes. And in the discourse that follows, we see that Jeremiah had a different view from Jehovah regarding the way that the Lord was dealing with His people, Israel.

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Isaiah (Program #10) – The Judgment of Jehovah Upon the Nations and Its Issue (1)

When God’s people give in to temptation, sin and corruption, God in His righteousness surely must judge and discipline.  Of course, as Christians He also has a way to forgive us and lead us back into His loving presence.  But ultimately the solution for our continuous failures lies not in renew commitment and more earnest and sincere effort.  Rather we need to be fired, terminated and eventually replaced.  We all desperately need to see that God’s solution for us is to be replaced.  Don’t miss this extraordinary life study of the Bible.

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Isaiah (Program #9) – The Salvation of Jehovah (7 & 8)

The Old Testament book of Isaiah seems to alternate between God’s judgment which issued from the degenerating and corrupted condition of His people and the glorious revelation of our Savior Christ.  This sequence also seems to parallel at times, our own experience.  After God’s chastisement and discipline we often enjoy the Lord in a deeper and more substantial way.  We will see this issue once again in two of Isaiah’s most marvelous chapters 11 and 12 on today’s life study of the Bible.

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1 Peter (Program #27) – The Mighty Hand of God and Its Goal (2)

1 Peter is a book written with a specific view to God’s governmental dealing with His people.  It also lays out very clearly as God’s people we should expect sufferings and persecution from time to time in our Christian life.

But Peter did not just leave us with a sober realization that God will measure to us sufferings and trying circumstances in order to discipline us.  Actually the book opens with and concludes with grace.  In fact all throughout the book Peter encourages the believers with grace, not a superficial religious expression but marvelous expressions that convey to us four divine acts of grace to be our supply, our strength and our empowering, to be kept in perfect peace regardless of the outward situation we are faced with.

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1 Peter (Program #22) -Christian Life and Its Sufferings (10)

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we have received as part of our full salvation, an escape from the eternal perdition that awaits the disobedient and rebellious.  But many believers mistakenly take this to mean that Christians face no manner of judgment at all from the righteous  and holy God.  Regardless of how popular such a thought might be, the Bible does just not support it.  Take for example Peter’s word in his first epistle in chapter 4.  In verse 12 he says “Beloved do not think that the fiery ordeal among you coming to you for a trial, is strange.”  Then in verse 17 he adds “For it is time for the judgment to begin from the house of God;”  These verses made very clear that our righteous and loving Father does judge, discipline and purify His children will never putting our eternal destiny in jeopardy.

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Hebrews (Program #51) – Discipline for Holiness

In today’s life study, we look at the Christian walk: A walk of holiness, righteousness, and peace as we enter into the Holy of Holies in our everyday Christian life.

The tabernacle of the old testament is a marvelous picture of our experience of Christ, and is a favorite theme in the book of Hebrews. At the center of the tabernacle is the Holy of Holies. Holy, because God’s very presence is there. But, we can also be there as we will see in today’s life study of the Bible.

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