May/June 2011 ● www.scripturelinks.net ● magazine@scripturelinks.net
Welcome
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elcome to this very first edition of ScriptureLinks Journal. It is my hope to publish this magazine every other month. In each issue, I hope to challenge you to grow in your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. Whether you received this magazine in your church, or online through the ScriptureLinks websites, welcome to the family. In this issue, you’ll read an article titled “Walk in the Spirit.” This article will challenge you to look at the way you are living your life, the path you are walking on. Are you walking with the Spirit today? You’ll also read “3 Tips to a Better Life.” This article was taken from my blog. It gives you three things that will make your life in this world better. Apart from Jesus, there really is nothing that will make your life better. But, I’m sure you already knew that. There is also a Bible reading plan on the back page. The daily readings take just 15 minutes to complete. Will you make 15 minutes of your day available to God. Use that time to get into His Word. -Gerry Snyder, Jr.
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ost people look at Christians through the lens of a magnifying glass. It’s like they are trying to find out why we live the way we do, why we think the way we think. Don’t get me wrong. As Christians, we have a long way to go to live up to what God expects of us. But the world looks at us differently. Maybe they are curious about our faith, or maybe they are waiting for us to prove we are human. Either way, the world looks to the followers of Jesus to show them who Jesus truly is. Are you showing those around you who Jesus truly is? If they don’t hear it or see it in you, then who will tell them? One thing that I believe we need to understand is how to walk in the way Jesus wants us to walk. All of us has heard people asking how they know the will of God for their lives. I’ve heard good Christian people argue about this topic. What I think is vitally important, even more important than the will of God for your life, is if you are walking in the Spirit. Next to salvation, I think the discipline of walking in the Spirit is the most important part of our life as a Christian. Everything else in our life hinges on the fact of walking in the Spirit. Paul wrote about this topic in
Galatians 5:16, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” What Paul is teaching this church at Galatia is this: If you walk in the Spirit, your old desires will pass away. I’ve came across many people on the Internet who have accepted Jesus as their Savior, who have come from a bad background. I’m talking things like drugs, homosexuality and the like. For them, it is a daily battle to keep from returning to those old sins. Paul This is the key to says, here, walking in the Spirit! that if You can only begin to we walk walk in the Spirit in the Spirit, when you realize you that your old self, will not the sin nature, has fall been crucified with into those Christ. old sins any longer. For many of us, though, we still live like we did before Christ. We still live like we are in bondage to the old life. Paul writes in Romans 6:14, “For sin shall not have dominion over WALK IN THE SPIRIT continued on page 3
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ScriptureLinks Journal is published bi-monthly six (6) times per calendar year. No part of this publication can be copied without the written permission of GerrySnyder, Jr. ScriptureLinks: Grow Together The Mission of ScriptureLinks: To seek and to save that which is lost. To produce mature Christians, acs I was praying and seeking God as to what to write about tonight, I looked tive in their relationship with Jesus, at my Bible sitting open on my desk. It was open to Romans 12. I started secure in the knowledge of their reading the chapter, and was floored when I got to verse 12. "Rejoicing in salvation, and committed to sharing hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer. (KJV)" These three their faith with all those they come tips for a better life, provided by the Apostle Paul, is exactly what our world in contact with. needs today. Let's explore.
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Rejoicing In Hope Rejoicing means to feel or show great joy. We need to be joyful in the things we hope for. Our hope should be in our eternal home with Jesus in Heaven. We need to be joyfully expectant of what Heaven will be like. Have you seen Heaven? Neither How often does someone come have I. But, I have read about it, and I can't wait to to you with a prayer request, get there. Are you joyful in what the future holds?
and you say that you’ll lift it Patient In Tribulation up in prayer, then forgot when Let's be honest here for a moment. None of us enjoys times of trial and tribulation. Just the thought of God you get home? testing my faith brings a sense of fear. Not because I am insecure in my faith. James tells us consider trials and the testing of our faith pure joy (James 1:2). Paul is teaching us to be patient in it. Why? Because, according to James, it brings about perseverance. Perseverance to continue when the going gets tough. In our society today, we need to develop perseverance if we are going to make it to the end.
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See THREE TIPS continued on page 4
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WALK IN THE SPIRIT continued from page 1
you; for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Paul is teaching us that sin no longer has power over the person who belongs to Christ. Our past sins are forgiven, as well as our future ones. Because of the grace of God, sin is powerless in the life of a Christian. Why, oh why, do we still live like we did before Christ. Sin no longer has power over the Christian, it’s time we start living that way. Paul also says in Romans 6:12, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” We need to make sure that we are not obeying sin. We need to make sure that we yield ourselves to God, not onto sin (Romans 6:13). Are you still living like sin has power over you? Are you still living in obedience to sin, instead of obedience to God? If so, then you are not walking in the Spirit. Perhaps the greatest example of walking in the Spirit is found in Galatians 2:20. Paul writes, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and game himself for me.” What an example of a life that is walking in the Spirit. Paul says the he has crucified his old life with Christ. He crucified the lusts and desires of the sin nature. They no longer had power over Paul, and they no longer have power over you. But we live on, through the faith we have in Jesus. Jesus lives in you and me. The life that you are living as a Christian is now lived through Jesus. Do you get this?!? This is the key to walking in the Spirit! You can only begin to walk in the Spirit when you realize that your old self, the sin nature, has been crucified with Christ. Then Jesus takes up residence in you, through the Holy Spirit. You now live your life through the faith that you have in Jesus. Are you ready to take a bold step? Are you ready to live like Jesus? The world is looking to the followers of Jesus to show them who Jesus is. It’s time that Christians stopped living after their own desires, and start yielding their lives to Christ. Make Jesus the Lord of your life. That is the way to live. The world needs to see the followers of Jesus living like Jesus lived.
From The Bookshelf Crazy Love Francis Chan
This was the very first book I’ve ever read by Francis Chan. Wow! How could I have missed his work? This is one book that every Christian should read. It’s that good. It is challenging-so be prepared to take a hard, honest look at your life and the way you are living it. The love that God has for you is radical, unconditional and sacrificing. Is that the way you love others? Chapter topics include “Profile of the Lukewarm.” A chapter that I literally wept over. How can so many of us, myself included, live like the world, yet call ourselves Christians? God doesn’t want it that way. Check out this book, and its companion website. http://www.crazylovebook.com and take a journey that will change your life.
-Gerry Snyder, Jr. gerry@scripturelinks.net
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THREE TIPS continued from page 2
Instant In Prayer How often does someone come to you with a prayer request, and you say that you'll lift it up in prayer, and then you forget when you get home? I've done that. Paul teaches us here that we need to be instant in prayer. We should always be praying. Praying doesn't always involve a bowed head and knees. You can talk to God at any time. I talk to Him while I'm driving to work and at other times. Is your prayer life something you build your faith upon, or does prayer seem more like a chore. In all things, we should be in prayer. I've only looked briefly at these three tips for a better life. Use these tips that Paul gives us, and the others found in Romans 12 to shape your conduct. I've been writing alot about your attitude towards things this week. I think that if we apply the principles and tips that Paul provides in this chapter, we'll find our faith growing in God. Think about it. -Gerry Snyder, Jr. Originally published on the ScriptureLinks Blog, January 20, 2011
May 2011 Sun
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Matthew 1-4
Matthew 5-7
Matthew 8-10
Matthew 11-13
Matthew 14-16
Matthew 17-19
Matthew 20-22
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Matthew 23-25
Matthew 26-28
Mark 1-3
Mark 4-6
Mark 7-9
Mark 10-12
Mark 13-16
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Luke 1-3
Luke 4-6
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Luke 10-12
Luke 13-15
Luke 16-18
Luke 19-21
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Luke 22-24
John 1-3
John 4-6
John 7-9
John 10-12
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John 19-21
Acts 1-3
Acts 4-6
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1 Acts 7-9
2 Acts 10-12
3 Acts 13-15
4 Acts 16-18
Our daily readings this month focus on the Gospels. Use these daily readings to study the life and teachings of Jesus. Use them to draw closer to the One who paid for your sins.
June 2011 Sun
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5 Acts 19-22
6 Acts 23-25
7 Acts 26-28
8 Romans 1-3
9 Romans 4-6
10 Romans 7-8
11 Romans 9-11
12 Romans 12-13
13 Romans 14-16
14 1 Cor. 1-4
15 1 Cor. 5-7
16 1 Cor. 8-11
17 1 Cor. 12-14
18 1 Cor. 15-16
19 2 Cor. 1-3
20 2 Cor. 4-6
21 2 Cor. 7-9
22 2 Cor. 11-13
23 Galatians 1-2
24 Galatians 3-4
25 Galatians 5-6
26 Ephesians 1-3
27 Ephesians 4-6
28 Philippians 1-2
29 Philippians 3-4
30 Colossians 1-2
We move this month into the epistles of Paul. Much of the doctrines of the church are found in these books. Use these daily readings to understand the foundations of our faith.
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