Bible Thoughts by Terry Hedderman

Tuesday, 10/18/16  Neh 9:31, Nevertheless for thy great mercies’ sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them: for thou art a gracious and merciful God. Notice, in spite of their sin, He did not forsake (leave them behind). Do those who’ve sinned against you and tried to apologize feel forsaken (no longer worth your time and effort)? Confirm your love.                 Jacob needed to get things square with God. Gen 32:24b, And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the  breaking of day. 1You need to meet God alone, and take ownership of your sin.  2It’ll not be a pleasant experience (wrestling is strenuous.)

Stop Dividing Yourselves ​​

1 Corinthians 1:10
“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

One of the major components to a happy marriage is for both husband and wife to work together as one flesh. Ephesians 5:31 says, “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.” This verse makes it very clear that God intended for the husband and wife to work together. 

The Thinking of a Renewed Mind ​​

Romans 12:2
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

We are commanded in the verse above to renew our mind. This means that the old mind thinks contrary to the way God wants us to think. You will find that the way to having a renewed mind is to be transformed by living the “good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” The thinking of the renewed mind will be evidenced in four ways.

It’s Not Just Your Actions that Count​​​​​​​

Romans 1:4
“And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:”

Often in Christianity, we focus much on the sins of the flesh. No doubt, most of what we hear about are actions that our flesh commits, but the Scriptures go further than just cleaning up the outside. God is just as concerned with your spirit as He is with your flesh.

The Fallacy for the Cry of Unity ​​

Acts 21:21
“And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.”

We often fall prey to the critics who say that those who stand firmly on the old paths are so divisive. They often say that if we would stop being so divisive that we could all get along. Sadly, their cry for unity is simply a ploy to destroy us.

Perverting Right Ways ​​

Acts 13:10
“And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?”

Have you ever heard of someone accused of bending the rules? To bend the rules would be to twist what they say for the sake of not being guilty of breaking them. The only reason a person would bend the rules is for personal gain.

Building a Powerful Team​​​​​​​ ​​

Psalm 147:5
“Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.”

If any church is going to be influential and make a powerful impact on their community, they are going to have to do it as a team. A great church has never been built on one personality. Great churches have all been built by a group of people who banded together to do the LORD’s work in reaching the lost for Him. This will never be done if you are solely relying on the pastor; rather, it takes everyone’s involvement to make this happen.

Disappointed? What Now?

John 21:3
“Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.”

Have you ever had something not turn out in your Christian life the way you thought it would? The disciples certainly faced disappointment when Jesus didn't set up His kingdom as they thought He would. They were consumed with the fact that Jesus had come to set up His kingdom on Earth, but they were highly disappointed when He was crucified because it didn't work into their design of what they thought should be done. What did they do when they were disappointed? The verse above shows us when it says, “Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing…” At the first sign of disappointment, they went back to the old life.