The Bible Basics by Tisa Holloway

The Bible Basics

Chapter 1 The Full Surrender What is the next step in my new walk with the Lord? If there is one theme that you will see repeated over and over again in many of our bible basics is the extreme importance that each and every Christian turn their entire lives over to God the Father for Him to fully handle. You have now just made Jesus your Savior. However, there is now one more big thing you must do. You must now make Jesus Lord over your life. Jesus must now become both your Lord and Savior, not just your Savior. You must now make the second biggest decision that you will ever make in this life. The first biggest decision is whether or not you will accept Jesus as your personal Savior through His death on the cross. Now that you have done that, you have truly become saved and born again. You are now faced with the second biggest decision that you will ever make in this life. And that decision is, who is going to run the rest of your life, you or God? The Bible makes it very clear as to who should be guiding your steps in this life, and that Person is God the Father through the Holy Spirit! This decision as to who will be running your life from here on in will determine the course your life will now take. If you decide to run your own life and call all of your own shots, then your life is going to take a completely different course as versus the one you would take if you would turn your entire life over to God the Father for Him to fully handle. The Bible specifically tells us that if we choose to follow our own path in this life, then that path will eventually lead to death. You will have forever wasted the one and only opportunity that you had to live this life for God to accomplish whatever He wanted you to accomplish in this life. And this will be an eternal regret that you will

The Bible Basics carry with you once it has been shown to you how much more you could have accomplished in this life had you chosen God's path and will for your life as versus choosing your own path and calling all of your own shots. Good works will not get us into heaven. We can only be saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross. Once we are saved, God the Father expects you to do something with what time you still have left down here on this earth. He now wants you to come and "work" for Him. God and Jesus will be "rewarding" us for good works that we do for Them while living down here on this earth. These good works cannot get us saved, but they can get us the bigger and better rewards once we enter into heaven. God and Jesus will be rewarding us "according to our labors" for Them in this life. Good works for God and Jesus will be highly rewarded once we cross over and enter into heaven. If we choose to run our own lives instead of turning the reigns of our life over to God the Father, then we will not be embarking on the real path that God would like us to travel on, and any works that we end up doing while traveling on our own path will in no way be as highly rewarded as the works that are done operating in God's perfect will for our lives. This life is but for a moment, a blink of an eye, compared to the eternal time frame that is operating up in heaven. We will spend the rest of eternity with God and Jesus once we enter into heaven. So ask yourself, do you want to work for yourself and the small rewards that you can get down here that will all perish the minute you die and cross over, or do you want to work for God the Father, do His perfect will for your life, accomplish what He wants you to accomplish in this life, and then receive His full and final just rewards that will last forever once you enter into heaven? The rewards that God will bestow upon you for faithfully working for Him down here on this earth will be heavenly rewards that will last for all of eternity. All of the things that you try and accomplish on your own, out of your own flesh, will in no way be rewarded anywhere near to what they would have been had you been operating under God's perfect will for your life and followed the path that He had set up for you to follow in this life.

The Bible Basics So what does your natural common sense and intelligence tell you would be the wisest decision as to who should be running your life? You, with your limited powers, limited intelligence and limited strength, or God the Father, who is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-perfect? Since God is all-powerful and all-knowing, this means He knows much better than you do what you should be doing with your life, what mountains you should be seeking to climb and what goals and aspirations you should be striving after in this life. Since God's knowledge is absolutely perfect on all matters, this means He knows you better than you could ever know yourself. He knows what your real strengths and weaknesses are better than you could ever know for yourself since your knowledge is limited and imperfect, including what you think you know about yourself. Only God knows what you were really created to be in this life. Only God knows what you would really be best at. Only God knows what your true calling should be in this life. Only God knows who you should marry and what jobs you should be taking in this life. And since God is all-powerful and there is nothing that He cannot do or accomplish, then this means He can also anoint you with His power for whatever He will be calling you to do for Him. So not only do you get God's perfect knowledge and perfect wisdom guiding you in this life as to exactly what you should be striving for, but you will also have His power and His anointing flowing through you so that you can be very good at the jobs and tasks that He will be calling you to do for Him. But if you decide to choose your own way and call all of your own shots, then God will not be anointing you with His power or guiding you every step of your way, and you will thus be forced to try and find your own way, all without any of God's help, power or guidance. When it is all finally said and done, you will have become a "failure in God," since you will have chosen to travel down your own path rather than the path God already had set out for you long before you were even born through your mother's womb! You have to look at the real "big picture." The real big picture is not

The Bible Basics only what happens in this life, but also what happens in the next life. The next life in heaven is nothing but a continuation of this life that we are living down here on this earth. But there is one main difference. This life on earth is but for a very short period of time. The life we will be living up in heaven will be forever, with no more crossovers into any other realms. We should thus be living this life for what will be recorded up in heaven, not for what will be recorded down here. Any trophies, medals, money or material possessions that we might be able to acquire down here will not be crossing over with us when we enter into heaven. There are only three things that will be crossing over with us when we enter into heaven:

â&#x2014;? Ourselves â&#x2014;? Our saved friends and loved ones â&#x2014;? And all of the accomplishments that we achieve for God Nothing else will be crossing over! That is why you have to look at the complete big picture, not just a small part of it, which is our earthly existence. You have to become both saved and surrendered if you really want to enter into the real walk with the Lord. Christians are obviously saved, but many of them are not operating under this full surrender with the Lord. They have married the wrong people and are thus living in miserable marriages or have gone through multiple divorces. They have chased after the wrong jobs or calls in their life, and thus have no real sense of fulfillment or accomplishment in their lives. The only way that you can find what your true calling is in this life, who your true soul mate should be, what you true destiny is, and what you were really born to be in this life is by entering into God the Father's perfect will for your life. There is absolutely no other way! The center of God's perfect will for your life is the safest and most fulfilling realm that you will ever enter into in this life! Stepping out into God's perfect will for your life where He is now guiding and leading your life in the direction that He will want it to go in

The Bible Basics is like stepping from the dugout out onto the real baseball field where the real action of life is really at. Too many of God's people are trying to play the game of life from the stands, and this is all because they are refusing to turn the reigns of their life over to Him for Him to fully handle. These verses are giving you major, and we mean major revelation from God the Father on the second most important decision that you will ever make in this life. Who you will be choosing to run your life, you or God, will make or break what time you still have left down here on this earth. You only have one shot, one opportunity, one window in which to leave your mark. Let God the Father, through the Holy Spirit, guide you into the most incredible realm you can imagine this side of heaven, the realm of God's perfect will for your life! We'll break the Scripture verses down then we will show you how to enter into this full surrender with the Lord and how to maintain it for the rest of your earthly life. 1. Choose This Day Who You Will Serve The very first verse from Joshua is one of the most classic statements ever made on the full surrender that God is looking for from each one of us. Joshua is a perfect example of someone who lived his entire life right in the Lord. He fully followed God all the days of his life and was completely successful in accomplishing all of the missions that God had him set out on. Joshua is a powerful role model for all Christians to follow by the way that he lived his life for God. His story is a perfect example for all Christians on how to properly follow God and the call that He can place on your life. As a final testament to this man's story, God saw fit to name one of the books of the Bible after him, "The Book of Joshua." Joshua says to choose this day who you will serve. He says as far as he and his household are concerned, they will be serving the Lord. Joshua knew that he had to make a choice on how to live his life, either by serving himself and his own wants and desires, or to fully serve God the Father. As a result of making the correct decision as to who should be guiding his life, he became one of the most successful men in the Bible

The Bible Basics with everything that he accomplished for God. He was the first one to lead the Israelites from the desert into the Promised Land to begin to conquer and gain possession of the specific lands that God wanted them to have. Joshua ended his life making the statement that God had not failed to give him every ounce of land that his foot had stepped on. God was able to do this for him because he was willing to fully follow God every step of his way. Each person has to make this choice for themselves as to who they are going to serve and follow, themselves and their own agendas for their life, or God and His agenda and purpose for their life. You cannot serve two masters, that you cannot try and serve both God and "mammon", which means wealth and riches. Jesus Himself also makes some very radical and intense statements on this issue. He says that those who are not with Him are against Him, and that He has not come to bring peace, but division! He specifically states that He has come with a sword to set a man against his own father and a daughter against her own mother. Jesus is drawing a powerful battle line in the sand. What He means by setting a son against his father or a daughter against her own mother is that each person must choose to serve and follow Him and Him alone, not yourself, not your parents and not your friends. And if you choose to serve and follow anyone else in this life, then you are going directly against Him. God has to be #1 in your life. He will not accept a second or third position next to your parents or your close friends. Here are 10 very powerful verses all showing us that we have to serve and follow God and Jesus in this life and not ourselves or anyone else. 1. "And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve ... But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15) 2. "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon." (Matthew 6:24) 3. "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor." (John 12:26)

The Bible Basics 4. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:29) 5. "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass ... Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." (Psalm 37:4-7) 6. "But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, "You are my God." My times are in Your hand ..." (Psalm 31:14) 7. "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad." (Matthew 12:30) 8. "I came to send fire on the earth ... Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division." (Luke 12:49) 9. "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.' And 'a man's foes will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 10:34) 10. "whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:33) Jesus says that unless you are willing to take up your cross and follow Him, that you will not be worthy of Him! What does Jesus mean when He says to take up your cross? What does the cross represent? What happened when Jesus went to the cross? He died a maximum death. The cross thus represents a maximum death for all of us. When you enter into this full surrender with God the Father, you are putting everything in your life to a maximum death in reference to yourself since God will now be the One to control the direction your life will now be taking. You are putting to death all of your wants, all of your desires, and what you think you should be doing with your life since you

The Bible Basics have now turned the reigns of your life over to God the Father for Him to fully handle. What did Jesus really do when He went to the cross that day to die for all of our sins? He fully surrendered His body, His soul, His spirit and His entire life over to God the Father in order to complete God's perfect will for His life down here on this earth. It was God's perfect will that He go to the cross to die for all of us, and Jesus was willing to fully surrender every part of His earthly life to God the Father to complete that call. This is why Jesus says in one of the above verses that unless you are willing to "forsake all", you cannot truly become one of His disciples. Forsaking all means that you are willing to fully surrender every aspect of your life over to God the Father and go with God's call and will for your life rather than your own. Notice the specific wording in some of the above verses all showing that the only way to live this life is under a full surrender with God the Father:

● We will serve the Lord ● Commit your way to the Lord ● My times are in Your Hand ● No one can serve two masters ● If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me ● We ought to obey God rather than men ● He who is not with Me is against Me All of the above verses are definitely showing us that the only way to truly "find" our life in this life is to fully commit to serving the Lord and going with His perfect will for what He wants to do with our life. There is no other way in this life to find true fulfillment, true happiness and a true sense of approval and accomplishment other than living and operating in the center of God's perfect will for your life. And the only way this can be done is by completely surrendering every aspect of your being and every aspect of your life over to God the Father.

The Bible Basics 2. Doing The Will of God Once you fully surrender every aspect of your life over to God the Father for Him to fully handle, then the next thing God will do is to let you know exactly what it is He wants you to do for Him in this life. Your job now, after entering into this full surrender with Him, is to seek to do His specific will for your life. When you really cut into this part of your walk with the Lord, what God is basically looking for from each one of us is that we take our lives one day at a time, and in each one of these days that we accomplish, to the best of our abilities, what He wants us to accomplish for that specific day. Do what God wants you to do on a daily basis. Do the best and be the best that you can at the jobs and tasks that God will be calling you to do for Him on a daily basis. We must seek to do the will of God the Father and not our own will, and that we are to seek to finish the work that He has laid out before us. 1. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." (Matthew 7:21) 2. Jesus said to them; "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." (John 4:34) 3. "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me." (John 5:30) 4. "Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, the great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight..." (Hebrews 13:20) 5. "Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began." (2 Timothy 1:8) 6. "'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart,

The Bible Basics who will do all My will." (Acts 13:22) 7. 'Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever.' (1 Samuel 2:35) We are all to seek to do the will of God for our lives, and that we are to follow God and God alone as to what it is we should be striving for in this life. The verse above from Acts 13:22 is God the Father talking about King David. King David was the greatest king that Israel has ever had. God saw that David would be a man that would follow after "all" of His will, not just some or part of it. This was one of the main keys as to why David became the greatest king that Israel has ever had. The one verse from 2 Timothy 1:8 states that we have a "holy calling" from the Lord, but that this holy calling is for God's purpose for our lives, not for our own purpose. 3. God Has A Specific Plan and Purpose For Your Life Once you are willing to completely surrender your entire life over to the God the Father for Him to fully handle, then what will happen next is that God will be setting you up to follow the specific path that He will want you to follow in Him, and in that path will be your call, your purpose, your duties and your tasks that you will now be seeking to accomplish for Him. God now has a set plan and a set future for your life. One of the verses listed below states that "where there is no vision," the people will perish. What this verse is trying to tell us is that unless you know what your purpose is in this life, what you created for and what it is you should be striving after, then you will aimlessly wander throughout your entire life never accomplishing anything of any real worth and never fulfilling the divine destiny to which God has called you. Your life will "perish" right before your very eyes because you have never sought to do God's will for your life. You will thus have forever lost and wasted the one and only chance you had to do something of any consequence in this life with what little time you had to do it in.

The Bible Basics Here are 6 very good verses all showing us that we have a holy calling from the Lord and that our days have been "determined and fashioned" to do something specific for the Lord. 1. "Where there is no vision, the people perish." (Proverbs 29:18) 2. "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11) 3. "Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them." (Psalm 139:16) 4. "Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass." (Job 14:5) 5. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) 6. "For many are called, but few are chosen." (Matthew 22:14) The verse from Psalm 139:16 is literally telling us that God knows what He wants to do with our lives before we have even been formed in our mother's womb! It says that before we have even been born, God has our days "fashioned" out for us. The next verse from Job 14:5 says that all of our days are "determined" by the Lord. These two words, "determined and fashioned", are both telling us that God has our entire lives perfectly planned out for us if we are willing to enter into His perfect will for our life. But the last verse, where it is stating that many are called but few are chosen, is sadly telling us that most people will not enter into God's perfect will for their lives. This verse is not talking about our salvation, but about our calls in God. This verse is showing us that God is "calling" many to come and work for Him, but most are turning Him down for various reasons. Most people would rather control their own destinies, call their own shots, decide who they should marry, what jobs they should be taking and what mountains they should be climbing in this life, not really realizing that they are going down dead ends when all is finally said and done.

The Bible Basics 4. God Will Guide Your Steps in This Life After coming into this full surrender with the Lord where He is now in full control of your life, two things will now start to occur. God will immediately place you on the path that He will want you to follow in Him. And on that path will be your call or calls, your jobs and exactly what He will want you to do for Him for the rest of your earthly life. The second thing that will occur is that God will now start to guide your steps so that you can get to where you need to go to accomplish everything that He wants you to accomplish for Him. If God is going to call you to be a great musician, a great Bible teacher, a great evangelist, a great doctor, or a great policeman, then He is also going to have to guide your steps so that you can make it to the tops of these types of mountains. These calls will not fruit out overnight. You'll have to work and sweat to make it into these calls or whatever it is God is calling you to do for Him. This is where the real adventure is really at, in the climbing to the tops of these types of mountains. So not only do you get God's best for your life as to what your destiny is going to be in Him, but you will also be getting God's guidance on a daily basis so that you can reach those specific goals. If God is going to call you to be a great evangelist, but doesn't guide your steps on a daily basis on how to get there, you will never make it on your own. You can only get to the top of your personal mountain in your call with God only if God is anointing and leading you to be able to climb that mountain. Otherwise you will never make it on your own. Jesus specifically says that without Him we can do nothing. Many people have decided, without consulting God first, what mountains and goals they should be striving after in this life. They then might make it halfway up their mountain, but then all of a sudden it happens, everything breaks down and they fall completely back down to the bottom of the mountain, literally losing everything they had built up in climbing halfway up that mountain. Unless God builds the "house" of our lives, we will labor in vain trying to do it all on our own. There are many Christians who are now living

The Bible Basics defeated and broken lives as a result of broken dreams, all because they were trying to do it all on their own without any of God's help, guidance or power to get them there. It is the job of the Holy Spirit Himself to guide your steps in this life. The steps of a good man are "ordered" by the Lord and that it is not in man to try and direct his own steps in this life, and that if he does try to direct his own steps in this life, that its way will eventually lead to death! Get it settled once and for all in your minds and in your spirits that God will lead and direct your steps in this life. This job belongs to Him, and Him alone. This job does not belong to you, your best friends or your parents! 1. "For as many are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God." (Romans 8:14) 2. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord ..." (Psalm 37:23) 3. "O Lord, I know the way of a man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps." (Jeremiah 10:23) 4. "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." (Proverbs 14:12) 5. "A man's steps are of the Lord. How then can a man understand his own way?" (Proverbs 20:24) 6. "A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." (Proverbs 16:9) 7. "Direct my steps by Your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me." (Psalm 119:133) 8. "Therefore be followers of God as dear children." (Ephesians 5:1) 9. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." (John 10:27) 10. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5) 11. "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He

The Bible Basics restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." (Psalm 23:1) 12. Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go." (Isaiah 48:17) 13. "Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation ..." (Psalm 25:4) 14. "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye." (Psalm 32:8) 15. "Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies." (Psalm 27:11) 16. "The Lord will guide you continually" (Isaiah 58:11) 17. "For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death." (Psalm 48:14) 18. "Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar, and by night with a pillar of fire, to give them light on the road which they should travel." (Nehemiah 9:12) 19. "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6) 20. "Therefore you shall be careful to do as the Lord Your God has commanded you; You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left." (Deuteronomy 5:32) Once we embark on the path that God now has us set up on, that we are not to change course by attempting to turn to the right or to the left. The road God will now place us on is a "straight" and narrow road. There is no turning back once you enter in on the path of God's perfect will for your lives. If we seek to go after our own way and our own path in this life, that we are looked upon by God as sheep that have gone astray. Notice the specific words that we will now bullet point for you, once again to highlight and hammer home the point that it is God's job to fully guide your steps in this life.

The Bible Basics

● Led by the Spirit of God ● The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord ● It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps ● A way which seems right to a man its end is the way of death ● A man's steps are of the Lord ● The Lord directs his steps ● Direct my steps by Your Word ● Be followers of God as dear children ● My sheep hear My voice and they follow Me ● He shall direct your paths ● He leads me by still waters ● He leads me in the paths of righteousness ● Leads you by the way you should go ● Lead me in your truth ● I will guide you with My eye ● Lead me in a smooth path ● The Lord will guide you continually ● He will be our guide even to death ● Led them by day to give them light on the road which they should travel There is no question that the only way for each and every Christian to live this earthly life is under a complete and full surrender with God the Father, with God and Jesus leading your life every step of the way on a daily basis through the Holy Spirit. There is no other way in which to live this life. God the Father could not have made it any more clearer than by the way that He has worded all

The Bible Basics of the above Scripture verses. 5. The Consequences of Not Fully Following God One of the most dramatic examples of one group of people who followed God "fully" and another group who did not were the Israelites who were tested by God the Father in the desert after being rescued from the Egyptians in the story of Moses. Near the beginning of the 40 year wilderness experience, they were all getting ready to go into the Promised Land to reap their big reward in God. However, before they went in, they sent in twelve spies to see what their enemies looked like and what they would encounter once they crossed over to possess the land from some of these evil people. When the spies came back, ten of them came back with a bad report. They said the enemies were too big and that their kingdoms were too well fortified. Mind you, the Israelites had just seen one of the greatest displays of God's power that the world has ever seen when He threw 10 whopper plagues at the Pharaoh to set them free. Yet just as they were getting ready to cross over into their Promised Land, they started questioning and doubting that God could take these enemies out for them, even though God just got done delivering them from an entire Egyptian nation several years earlier! When God sees their lack of faith and belief in Him that He could conquer these lands for them, He threw up His hands and said that was going to be it. He pronounced judgment on them telling them that all of the men 20 years of age and older would not enter into the Promised Land due to their lack of faith and belief in Him to be able to accomplish this mission for them and because they had not "wholly followed God." However, God then states that He will allow Joshua, Caleb and all the men under 20 years of age to go in there to conquer and possess the land, all because they had a "different spirit" in them and because they would be willing to "follow God fully." This story is a poster story for one group of people who were willing to follow God fully and another group of people who were not. The one group that was willing to follow God fully got to go into their Promised Land, while the other group did not! Those are the consequences of not

The Bible Basics having enough faith and belief in God the Father and not being willing to fully follow Him in this life. How many Christians have missed out on entering into their Promised Land this side of heaven, all because they failed to fully follow God and take the path that He wanted them to take in this life! Here are two very powerful Scripture verses describing the above scenario. 1. "Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, 'except Caleb ... and Joshua ... for they have wholly followed the Lord.' "So the Lord's anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone." (Numbers 32:11) 2. Then the Lord said: "I have pardoned, according to your word ... because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it." (Numbers 14:20) These two verses are giving all Christians major revelation on what God is looking for from each one of us. He is looking for those who will "follow Him fully." Being willing to follow God fully means that you are willing to enter into this full surrender with Him where He will now be the One to guide your steps in this life, not you or anyone else. Here are two more good verses showing the negative consequences of not being willing to fully follow God in this life. 1. "Woe to the rebellious children," says the Lord, "Who take counsel, but not of Me, and who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; who walk to go down to Egypt, and have not asked My advice, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore the

The Bible Basics strength of Pharaoh shall be your shame, and trust in the shadow of Egypt shall be your humiliation." (Isaiah 30:1) 2. "If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword;" for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 1:19) Choose God and His path for your life, and you will find true happiness and fulfillment. Choose your way or anyone else's way, and you will reap absolutely nothing in this life as far as God is concerned when it is all finally said and done. 6. God Will Be Rewarding Those Who Are Willing to Follow Him Fully For those who are willing to follow God fully in this life and operate in this full surrender with Him, there are some incredible blessings and rewards that God can bestow upon you, not only in this life, but also in the next life as well. Here are 6 very good verses all stating that Jesus will be rewarding us for the works that we are willing to do for Him down here on this earth. These works will not get us into heaven, as the Bible is very clear that it is only by grace through faith in Jesus that we can receive eternal salvation. God and Jesus will be rewarding us to some degree for the works that we are willing to do for Them down here. The Bible does not tell us exactly what these rewards will be, but if we are dealing with a God of maximum intensity, then you can bet your bottom dollar that these rewards are going to be something very special and will definitely surpass any rewards we can receive down here on this earth. Notice in 5 out of the 6 verses that it says that God and Jesus will be specifically rewarding us for our "works and labor" that we are willing to do for Them. 1. "For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? For the Son of Man ... will reward each according to his works." (Matthew 16:26) 2. "and each one will receive his own reward according to his own

The Bible Basics labor." (1 Corinthians 3:8) 3. "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work." (Revelation 22:12) 4. "I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one according to your works." (Revelation 2:23) 5. "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works." (Matthew 16:27) 6. "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit everlasting life." (Matthew 19:29) Depending on what God may call you to do in this life, some may be forced to leave family, friends, cities, states or possibly even their countries. If they receive this kind of heavy call from the Lord. The last verse says that God will be rewarding those who are willing to take on these types of extra-heavy calls with a hundredfold type reward and blessing. The Bible does not tell us what this hundredfold reward and blessing may be. But our guess is that it will be one big whopper intense reward due to the extreme sacrifices these people will be making in order to accomplish the mission that God has set them out on. Any earthly wealth by way of money, possessions and fame that is acquired by doing our own thing and calling all of our own shots in this life will all completely disappear and dissipate the second we physically die and cross over into the next life. We will take absolutely nothing that we earn, make or acquire into the next life. Jesus Himself could not have said it any better when He says in one of the above verses what good will it do a man if he gains the whole world in the area of material wealth and possessions, but loses his own soul in the process of acquiring all of that wealth. It will have all been for naught when that person comes to the end of his life and he is forced to face up to his own mortality and comes to the full realization that all of the earthly wealth that he was able to acquire and accumulate will all die and perish right along with his physical body when

The Bible Basics he finally dies. None of that earthly wealth will be passing over with him into the next life. Many wealthy people do not come to this revelation until they are literally on their deathbeds. They then all of a sudden "see" that they had their priorities all wrong in this life and they had chased after all the wrong things in this life. If we choose to do our own thing and follow our own way in this life, that our way will eventually lead to death. For those who are not Christians, it will mean the death of their souls by not making it into heaven. For those who are Christians, it will mean the loss of being able to receive some really big intense rewards from God once we enter into heaven to be with Him for all of eternity. 7. Everyone Will Face God For A Personal Judgment Each and everyone of us will have to face God and Jesus for a personal judgment when we die and cross over to meet Them face to face. Everything that we have done in this life, all the good with all of the bad, will come before Them for judgment and scrutiny. There will not be one thing that will be hidden from Them, no matter how secret we may think it is this side of heaven. The verse from Ecclesiastes states that "every work" that we have done will be brought before God for judgment. There are only two types of work that God will be judging, those that are done in the will of God for our lives and those that are done out of own wills. Which works do you think will be the more highly rewarded and the more approved of by our Lord once we cross over to meet Him face to face, the works that were done in His name, for His sake and in His perfect will for our lives, or the works that were done solely for ourselves and for our own self-gratification? These next 3 verses are a very sobering reminder of what is going to happen to each and everyone of us when we die and cross over. This is why you must get your priorities straight and live your life for what will be recorded in heaven, not for what will perish down here the minute we die and cross over. 1. "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and

The Bible Basics keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13) 2. "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:13) 3. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:10) Who do you want to live your life for? Yourself and your own goals and aspirations, knowing full well that none of your fleshly accomplishments will be highly rewarded by God once you enter into heaven. Or do you want to live for God and His call for your life, knowing that everything that you do for Him operating under His perfect will for your life will be very highly rewarded once you enter into heaven? Each Christian must make their own personal choice on this matter. You must choose this day whom you will serve, yourself or God. There is no middle area or neutral grounds on this issue. This is an all-or-nothing proclamation being made by the Lord to each and every born-again believer. After you get saved, this will now become the biggest and most important decision that you will ever make in this life. 8. How to Enter Into a Full Surrender With the Lord Before you really enter into this full surrender with the Lord, you really need to think about this and really chew on the ramifications that making this full surrender will entail. This will be the most life-altering decision you will ever make in this life. If you turn your life over to the Lord for Him to completely handle, your life will take a completely different course as versus the one your life would take if you would decide to control your own destiny and call all of your own shots. Once you make this full surrender with the Lord, there is no turning back, no matter what hell or the devil may try and throw your way. You can obviously always bail out on God anytime you want to as He will

The Bible Basics never force you to stay loyal to Him and fully serve Him. You are free to go anytime you want. Once you have the knowledge of what this full surrender is really all about, and then you decide to embark on this adventure with God, and then you bail out on Him 10-20 years down the road, God is going to judge you much more severely when you die and cross over to face Him for your own personal judgment as versus another Christian who really doesn't have full knowledge of this aspect of his walk with Him. To whom much is given, much more will be expected! Jesus Himself has stated that you are better off never having known the truth than having known the truth, and then turning back to your old ways. Once you receive knowledge from God as to what He wants you to do with your life and how to handle it, then He will expect you to do something with that knowledge and implement it into your life. The Bible says that faith without any works will be dead. Even though God will always let you bail out on Him anytime you want to in your walk with Him, you must make this decision for yourself as to who you will choose to follow and serve in this life, yourself or God. If you decide to serve God and fully surrender and commit your life to Him, then you must set your face like flint, draw your battle line in the sand and march forward determined that you will stay true, loyal and faithful to God and Jesus for the rest of your earthly life, no matter what the cost, and no matter what life, hell or the devil tries to throw your way to try and knock you off course. This is a full surrender to the death! That is why we say there is no turning back once you decide to make this decision to fully surrender your entire life to the Lord and follow His perfect will for your life. You will be held accountable for the knowledge that you now have about this part of your walk with God the Father. If after really thinking and meditating on all of this, you decide that there is no other way to live your life, and that you truly want to enter into this full surrender with the Lord, it now becomes very easy to do. You do not have to get all worked up into any type of major prevailing or travailing. This is simply a conscience decision that you will make with your own intellect operating out of your own free will with the Lord.

The Bible Basics Here are two short, simple prayers getting straight to the point with God on this decision. The first prayer will be the one that you will do to make the initial full surrender. The second prayer will be the one that you should do at least once or twice a year for the rest of your life letting God know that you mean serious business with Him as to who should be running your life, and that you will continue to let Him have the reigns of your life to the day you die. When we say making a full surrender to God, we mean making a complete and total full surrender. You can hold nothing back. Some Christians only surrender certain parts of their life to God, but not other parts. If you do not make a full and complete surrender of everything in your life to God the Father, then you will partially handcuff Him in being able to work full force in your life. With the "measure" you use, will be the measure that will be measured back to you. If you only give God 50% of your life and your efforts, then He will only give you back His 50%. But if you are willing to give God 100% of your life and your efforts, then He will in turn give you back His 100% in the way that He will work your life. It's "your all for His all." To make sure that you fully surrender everything over to the Lord, you must surrender 4 specific things over to Him. The apostle Paul says we have 3 parts to our beings, body, soul and spirit. He then says we are to have all three parts of our being "completely sanctified" in the Lord. The only way that can happen is if you are willing to completely surrender all three parts of your being to the Lord for Him to sanctify. Here is the verse from Paul that is specifically telling us to do this:

â&#x2014;? "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23) In addition to these three parts of your being, God now wants one more thing, and that is your "entire life." And when we say entire life, we mean everything in your life, past, present and future. Some Christians may surrender their job lives over to God, but not the choice as to who they should marry. They then marry the wrong person as a result of making this decision all on their own, and they end up throwing

The Bible Basics a monkey wrench into the course that their life had been taking in the Lord and sometimes they are completely knocked off the course that God had initially set them up for. God has to be the One to build the house that you are attempting to build in this life. One wrong move, one wrong choice on your part could cause the whole house to completely unravel and fall apart. A chain is only as strong as each of the individual links are. One weak or broken link can cause the whole chain to become completely unraveled! Marrying the wrong person or taking the wrong job could cause you to lose valuable years on the mountain you are attempting to climb in God due to having to deal with the serious consequences of making that wrong choice. This is why God has to be in total control and in total charge over every area of your life, not just some or part of it. In these two prayers, you will see we have you surrendering your body, your soul, your spirit and your "entire life" over to God the Father. When you tell God you are willing to surrender your entire life over to Him, He will take you very serious and assume that you literally mean everything and anything in your life, no holds barred! Here are the two specific prayers. Obviously feel free to add any of your own personal words when making this commitment to Him. But the specific wording in these two prayers, if truly done from your heart, will break you into a realm with God that will completely change the course your life has been taking. 1. Making the Initial Full Surrender "Father, In the name of Jesus, I am now willing to place my body, my soul, my spirit and my entire life into Your hands. I now ask that You place me into Your perfect will for my life. From this moment on, I will choose to stay fully surrendered to You all the days of my life and will allow You to lead and direct my life in the direction that You will want it to go in. Thank You Father. Thank You Jesus. Thank You Holy Spirit.â&#x20AC;?

The Bible Basics 2. To Stay in the Full Surrender "Father, In the name of Jesus, I continue to place my body, my soul, my spirit and my entire life into Your hands. I am choosing to stay fully surrendered to You all the days of my life and I ask that You continue to keep me in Your perfect will for my life. Thank You Father. Thank You Jesus. Thank You Holy Spirit." If you are willing to make this full commitment and full surrender to the Lord, then you will now have forever changed the course your life has been taking, and God will now start to take control of your life and steer it in the direction that He will now want it to go in. You have now just stepped from the dugout out onto the real playing field of life, where God can now use you to complete His purpose for your life.

The Bible Basics

Chapter 2 The Basics of the Christian Walk Now that I am saved, what do I do next? This is a very common question for people who have just recently been saved. We read that 50% of people who get saved drop out of their walks with the Lord within the first year or two. The number one reason why so many new Christians drop out is because they do not know what to really do next. They either do not get the proper teaching and coaching from other Christians they are associated with, or the Church they have joined does not have any type of progressive teaching system in place to lead them on their new journey. The apostle Paul says you have to "work out" your salvation with fear and trembling. Salvation is just the beginning. God has a purpose and a plan for each person’s life. Once you get saved and become born again, God will now set out an incredible adventure for you to embark on. You are now being given a brand new life with a brand new start. All old things have now passed away and all things have now been made truly brand new. These are the areas that each new Christian has to be gradually led into if he or she is really going to enter into the real walk with the Lord. Here is what we call the bible basics.

• Full Surrender • Become Spirit-Filled • Establish Faith and Trust in God • Walk in all of God's Ways • Obey all of God's Commandments 26

The Bible Basics

• Develop a Personal Relationship with God • Seek after the Knowledge of God • Establish relationships with other Christians • Join a Good Spirit-Filled Church Here are our thoughts on each of the above. 1. Full Surrender The first thing each Christian has to do after they get saved is to completely surrender their entire life over to God the Father. Jesus has to become LORD over your life, not just your Savior. If you want to find what God’s call and plan is going to be for your life, and exactly what He wants to do with your life, then you are going to have to be willing to completely surrender every aspect of your life over to Him. It's your all for His all. And when we say to fully surrender your entire life over to God the Father, we mean to fully surrender everything. You can hold absolutely nothing back. If you do not fully surrender everything over to God, then you will handcuff God and prevent Him from working full force in your life. You have to become both saved and surrendered. All Christians are obviously saved, but many are not fully surrendered to the Lord, and that is why very little happens after they initially get saved. 2. Become Spirit-Filled The second step after a person makes a full surrender to God the Father is they need to become Spirit-filled. They need to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. You cannot walk this walk without the power of the Holy Spirit operating in your life. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to guide you into all truth and to teach you all things. He cannot properly do all of this unless He is released from your spirit to come up into your soul.

The Bible Basics 3. Establish Faith and Trust in God Once you completely surrender your entire life over to God the Father and receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, the next step is to establish faith and trust in God. The only thing that will bring you into God’s realm is faith and belief. Nothing else will! And the beautiful thing about this is God is only looking for a small amount of faith to get started. Faith the size of a mustard seed will move a mountain. Your faith can grow, but God does not expect it to grow overnight. All God asks is that you give Him just a little bit to work with, and He will more than prove Himself to you so that you can learn to completely trust Him to guide you on your new journey. 4. Walk in All of God's Ways We now have to learn how to walk in all the ways of the Lord. The Bible is the number one source where you will learn all of the ways of our Lord. These are the rules of the game. If you want to play baseball, the first thing you are going to have to learn are the actual rules of the game. You cannot step out onto the playing field unless you know exactly what those rules are. It is the exact same thing with God’s playing field. If you do not learn what His rules and ways are going to be for you in this life, then the devil and his demons will come in on you for major attacks and try to take you out. God says in the Bible that His people will perish for having lack of knowledge. It is a matter of life and death to learn what God’s ways are if you want to live out the allotted amount of time that you still have left down here on this earth. People’s lives are shortened on this earth due to stupidity and not knowing the ways of God. 5. Obey All of God's Commandments God also lays out for us what He does not want us doing. God lays out before each one of us a choice on how to live this life. You can either choose God and live this life the way He wants you to live it, or you can choose to live this life your way or the world's way, and then end up

The Bible Basics reaping eventual death. There is only one way to live your life and that is God's way, not your way! God specifically lays out certain sins and transgressions that He will want you to stay out of. We have to develop a good healthy fear of the Lord. This means developing a reverent and healthy respect for God, His ways and His commandments. This healthy fear of the Lord will help keep you out of serious sins that could end up ruining your life. 6. Develop a Personal Relationship With God The number one reason God created the human race was for intimate fellowship. God wants to establish a deep, personal and intimate love relationship with each person He has created. God actually longs for this. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not that God needs us humans to exist, but for some strange reason, and even to the amazement of the angels in heaven, God seems to have some type of special love and longing for the human race and wants more than anything to establish this personal love relationship with each one of us. 7. Seek After the Knowledge of God God places an extremely high value on the pursuit of knowledge. Once you get saved and become born again, God will expect you to grow in the knowledge of Him, His Son, His Holy Spirit and all of His ways. The main sources of God-knowledge in this life are the following: A. The Bible, This is absolutely the number one source of spiritual knowledge available to man down here on this earth. Each Christian thus has to spend some type of regular, quality time in the Bible in order to learn more about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and all of Their ways. B. Other Books, God has anointed many of His teachers to be able to teach from His Word. There are many good quality books in the Christian bookstores that Christians can feed off of in addition to the Bible. C. Tapes and CD's, There are also many good teaching cassette tapes and CDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s from anointed teachers that Christians can also

The Bible Basics feed from. D. TV/Radio, Many of God's anointed teachers also have TV and/or radio ministries where you can either watch or hear them teach from God's Word. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll notice on the above 4 sources of knowledge, God does give you a wide variety of options to choose from in order to grow from the knowledge that He wants you to have about Him. 8. Establish Relationships With Other Christians Once you enter in on this real walk with the Lord, you will need to develop good, healthy relationships with other Christians. God will start to do some real incredible things in your life and you will need others to share your walk with. God will lead you to the people that He will want you to connect with. You will have to have other Christians to feed with and to share your walk with. 9. Join a Good Spirit-Filled Church We personally recommend that each new born again Christian ask God which church He would like for them to join. There are different levels of the anointing in all of the different churches, and God knows best which one would be best suited for your own spiritual development and growth in Him. God will make sure that He gets through to each person as to which church He would really like for them to join.

The Bible Basics

Chapter 3 The Power of the Word of God The first thing each and every Christian must fully realize is that the Holy Bible is truly the inspired and infallible Word of God. There are many liberal Christians who are starting to question the validity and authenticity of the Bible. After studying the Bible in its complete entirety, there is absolutely no doubt in our mind that all of the Bible is God-breathed, and that all of it has come directly to us from God the Father through the Holy Spirit. For those of you who believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible and that all of it has truly come from God the Father. Not only did all of the Bible come direct from God the Father through the Holy Spirit to all of the authors who wrote all 66 books of the Bible, but we will also give you some powerful verses from the Bible showing you how powerful the actual words of the Bible really are, and how they can dramatically help to change and transform you into the kind of person that God really wants you to become in Him. The actual words of the Bible are anointed by the Holy Spirit Himself, and they have the full ability to completely change and transform you if you are willing to work with the truths that are contained in the actual words. Jesus says in the Bible that you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. However you first have to know what the truth is before the truth can start to work to set you free. This is why Kind David said we must meditate on the words of the Bible, so we can find out what their true meaning is and how these truths can apply to our daily lives. Meditating on the Bible means to think about,

The Bible Basics to chew on, to try and figure out what the meaning of the words and the different passages of the Bible are all about. Though the Book is long, God has made it as simple and easy as He possibly could. Think about this. There is only one Bible. In one Book, God has given us everything we need to know about Himself, His Son Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the basics of our salvation through the death of His Son, how He wants us to live this life, the things He wants us doing and the things that He does not want us doing. In this one Book are all the ways and commandments of our Lord, and all the information we are ever going to need on what is awaiting all of us on the other side when we die and cross over, heaven for the saved and hell for the unsaved. The number one reason God created the human race was for intimate fellowship. Even to the amazement of the angels in heaven, God seems to have some type of special longing and love for the human race. The fact that God would send His one and only Son down to our earth in the flesh to go through the worst form of physical death at the time He came, all just to bring us back to Himself, really does show us how much God really does love all of us. The love that God has for all of us is like a "consuming fire." These two words are showing us a love that is of maximum intensity. With this kind of intense love for us, God is trying to tell all of us one main thing, and that one main thing is that He is looking to enter into a one-on-one personal love relationship with each one of us. Think about this, that the one and only all-powerful God of the entire universe is looking to make a direct personal connection with you on an individual and unique basis. If you really step back and look at the big picture and all the things that we see in this life, what is the one thing that most of us long for in this life? What is the one thing that will make you cry when you see this portrayed on the movie screens? It is the longing for a true soul mate. It is the longing for a pure, true and unconditional love from a person of the opposite sex. There is nothing that can satisfy the deeper longings of your soul the way that true love can. However, there is just one small catch with this scenario. Even though some of us may have found their true soul mates in

The Bible Basics this life, there is one more small thing that has not been met. No matter how perfect you think your mate may be, your mate is still not perfect since the Bible tells us that all men and all women have sinned and have fallen way short of the glory of our God. No matter how good of a love relationship you may have with your mate, that person is still not capable of giving you perfect love because that person is not perfect in his or her very nature. Thus every single one of us still has that little hole in our soul that just can't seem to be filled with anything else in our lives. No matter how much money we have, no matter how many material possessions we have, no matter how many loving children we have, there is still something missing and none of these things can completely fill that little hole that is in all of our souls. God has purposely left a vacuum, a hole and a void in each one of our souls when He created us. And the only thing that can fill this hole and void is God the Father Himself, His Son Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. There is absolutely nothing else on this earth that can fill that void. People are literally chase the wind trying to find anything and everything to fill that void, and no matter how many lovers they have, no matter how many marriages they enter into, no matter how many toys they buy with the money they have, nothing they chase after in this life will fill that hole in their souls. The only thing that will fill that void and hole in your soul is finding and then entering into a personal love relationship with God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. There is nothing else that will fill that void! Since God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are perfect in Their actual natures and have no dark side to Their personalities, then They, and only They, are the only Ones who are capable of giving you a perfect, pure and unconditional love that no one else can give you on this earth. We will find a peace that will pass all human understanding once we have accepted Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior and have become truly born again. That peace we will find is the result of finding the one true Person who can fill that empty void that is on the inside of each and

The Bible Basics everyone of us, and that one Person is God Almighty Himself. Once you have found God through accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, there is now something you must do. You must now grow in the knowledge of God and grow in the personal relationship that He wants to establish with you. And how do you start to grow in the personal relationship He wants to establish with you and grow in the knowledge that He wants you to have about Him? By diving head first into the Bible! When two lovers first meet and fall in love with one another, the first thing they naturally and instinctively want to do is to learn as much as they can about one another. How can you truly fall in love with another person unless you first seek to know everything you can about your lover, his or her past, where they have been, what they have been through, who are all of their friends and family, etc. Once you really fall into true love with someone, you will have a hunger to find out as much as you can about them and their past. It's the exact same way in our relationship with God. God obviously knows everything about each one of us, but we do not know everything about Him, His Son or His Spirit. So the only possible way that we can learn all about God is to read and study from the Bible, since the Bible is the only Book that we have down here on this earth that will give us detailed information as to who the Three of Them really are. If a true born-again, Spirit-filled Christian is really in love with God and really wants to deepen the personal relationship that they have now established with God, then the first thing that person will really want to do is to get into the Bible so that they can find out everything they possibly can about this awesome God of ours. The more knowledge you gain about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit from studying the Bible, the stronger and deeper your personal relationship will become with the Three of Them. There are several other incredible things that will start to occur in your life if you really seek to study the Bible with the intentions on wanting to learn more about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in order to deepen the personal relationship that you have now established with the Three of Them.

The Bible Basics We will break these Scripture verses down under appropriate captions so you can see how powerful the Word of God really is and how it can dramatically transform and change the quality of your life if you are willing to study, learn and seek to apply the truths that are in this incredible Book. These verses are showing you how powerful the Bible really is. Since all of the Bible comes direct to us from God the Father, you can completely trust and rely on that what you will read from the Bible will be 100% pure solid God-truth. 1. All of Scripture is Given to Us By Inspiration From God the Father These first two verses will specifically tell us, without any other possible interpretation, that all of the Bible has been given to us by "inspiration of God" through holy men who were "moved by the Holy Spirit" to write what they wrote! All of the words in the Bible have come direct to us from God the Father through the Holy Spirit. The specific authors of the Bible then wrote under the guidance, inspiration and illumination of the Holy Spirit. This is why you can completely trust that what you will read from the Bible will be 100% pure solid God-truth! There is no other book on our earth that contains direct words from God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ other than the Holy Bible. God Himself has personally arranged that all of the revelation that He wants us to have in this life about Him and His Son would all be contained in this one incredible Book. Here are the two specific verses telling us this:

â&#x2014;? "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16)

â&#x2014;? "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:20)

The Bible Basics All of Scripture, not just some or part of it, comes direct to us by inspiration from God the Father. The holy men of God who wrote the Bible all wrote under the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit Himself. It also says that no part of Scripture was of any private interpretation of these authors. The first verse also lays out the groundwork as to what the Bible is going to be used for, for establishing solid Christian doctrine in the real truths of God, and for instruction in the knowledge and ways of God, so that we may all be made complete and thoroughly equipped to go to work for God in the calling that He has set up for each and every one of us in this life. These two specific verses are powerful foundational verses in which our study of Scripture has to be based on. If you do not believe that all of the Bible is truly the inspired and infallible Word of God, then the Holy Spirit is not going to move on you to start to really work the truths that are contained in the Bible to change, mold and transform you into the kind of person that God wants you to become in Him. If you want the truths that are contained in the Bible to really be able to change and transform you, then you have to believe that all of the Bible comes direct to us from God the Father through the Holy Spirit. If you do not, then the Bible will have little or no transforming effect on you and your life. 2. The Word of God is Living and Powerful The words that are contained in the Bible are living, powerful and sharper than any two edge sword we can make on this earth. The words in the Bible have God's supernatural life in them. They are literally anointed by the power of the Holy Spirit Himself. This is why the words and the truths contained in the Bible have the supernatural ability to change and transform you into the kind of person that God wants you to become in Him. That is why Jesus told the apostles to "feed" His sheep. When you read and study the Bible for increased learning, you are feeding yourself with the direct and anointed words from God Almighty Himself.

The Bible Basics Many Christians who do not regularly feed off of the Bible have no idea on what they are really missing out on. The Words that are in the Bible are pure solid spiritual food that have the supernatural ability to feed your mind, soul and spirit. Nothing else will feed your inner man like reading from the Bible will. Just like our human physical bodies need physical food to be able to survive, so does our mind, soul and spirit. The food that we feed our physical bodies will not nourish our mind, soul or spirits. The only thing that can spiritually feed and nourish us on the inside are true solid spiritual truths. And the only true solid spiritual truths that can feed us to cause any kind of true spiritual growth to occur in this life are truths that come direct from God the Father and Jesus Christ. There are no other spiritual truths from any other sources that we can feed off of that will cause any kind of real spiritual growth to occur in this life. Any other source is just dead meat. It has no supernatural life or ability to change you because it is not coming direct from God the Father and thus has no anointing on it. All other false religions and New Age type thinking have no supernatural ability to change and spiritually transform you in this life. Only the truths that are contained in the Bible have this ability. Now here are 9 major power verses showing you how much supernatural life and power there really is in the Word of God. 1. "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12) 2. "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11) 3. "Is not My word like a fire?" says the Lord, "And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?" (Jeremiah 23:29) 4. "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63) 5. "This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life." (Psalm 119:50)

The Bible Basics 6. "Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart ..." (Jeremiah 15:16) 7. "How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psalm 119:103) 8. But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' " (Matthew 4:4) 9. "As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious." (1 Peter 2:2) All of the food analogies that God is using to compare His Word with. What He is trying to tell us is that when you are studying the words that are contained in the Bible, you are spiritually feeding yourself with supernatural nutrition! All of the above Scripture verses are trying to tell us one thing, that the Word of God is living, powerful, and real spiritual food for the soul and spirit of every man and every woman who is willing to feed off of it. 3. The Word of God is Pure Solid Truth If the Bible is telling us that all of Scripture is coming direct to us from God the Father through the Holy Spirit, then all of the words that are coming direct to us from God in this Book are 100% pure solid truth. If God is all-perfect and all-powerful, then this means His intelligence and knowledge on all things is all-perfect. And if His knowledge on all things is all-perfect, then this means that all of the words that He is conveying to us in the Bible can be counted on as being perfect words, thereby giving us perfect knowledge. This means that all of the Bible can be counted on as being 100% pure solid God-truth with no errors and no mistakes. The Bible tells us that all humans will only know in part with what knowledge we are able to gain down here on this earth. Thus every book you read from human authors will never be totally perfect in the knowledge that the author is trying to transmit to you. However, since all of the Bible is coming directly to us from God

The Bible Basics Himself, then the Bible is the only Book that we have down here on this earth that is totally and completely perfect in the knowledge that it is trying to transmit to us. This is why the Bible has the ability to change your life. No other book on this earth has the amount and quality of wisdom and knowledge that this Book has, all because this knowledge and wisdom is coming direct from God the Father Himself. Now here are 4 very good verses from Scripture that are specifically telling us that every word that proceeds from the mouth of God is 100% pure solid truth. 1. "Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar." (Proverbs 30:5) 2. "The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." (Psalm 12:6) 3. "For the word of the Lord is right, and all His work is done in truth. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord." (Psalm 33:4) 4. "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." (John 17:17) The words that come from God are "pure" words. The last verse then says that all of God's words are "truth." Put those two verses together and you get that all of the words that come from God are "pure truth." Pure means 100% pure, which means that all of God's words are pure 100% solid truth with no errors or mistakes. This is why the Word of God is also called infallible and inerrant. If the Bible says that a thing is so, then it is so, end of discussion. You can literally bank your life on it! 4. The Word of God Can Sanctify You If all of the words of the Bible are pure 100% solid truth, then this means that all of the words in the Bible have the supernatural ability to sanctify you, especially since all of the Bible has the anointing of the Holy Spirit Himself on the entire Book. God's ultimate and highest aim for all of us after we become saved and born again is to sanctify us, to transform us, to mold and shape us into the

The Bible Basics express image of His Son Jesus. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to start this molding, transforming and sanctifying work in us after we get saved. However the Holy Spirit needs something to work with in order to get this transformation process kicked into full gear, and that something is knowledge. God wants you to have full knowledge on what it is He wants to change about you before He really starts to move you into this sanctification process. And where do you get the knowledge that will get God to start this sanctification process within you? From the Bible! There is no other book that we can learn and study from that will give us the direct knowledge that we will need from God the Father to get Him to start this sanctification process within us. It's the Word and the Spirit working together in a believer's life that will get God to start working full force in your life to change you into the kind of person He really wants you to become in Him. Here are 6 powerful verses from Scripture specifically telling us all of this. The first two verses will tell you that God can literally sanctify you by His Word. 1. "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." (John 17:17) 2. "That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish." (Ephesians 5:26) 3. "How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes." (Psalm 119:9-12) 4. "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you." (John 15:3) 5. "And receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." (James 1:21) 6. "For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you

The Bible Basics welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe." (1 Thessalonians 2:13) The last verse says that the Word of God can "effectively work in you." This means when you start reading and studying the Bible in order to gain more knowledge about God, it will start to effectively work in you to start to change you into becoming a better and more holy person. Just think of the power that this Book has to dramatically change and transform the quality of your entire life. True happiness and true inner fulfillment can only be found on the inside of your being, not on the outside with material things and possessions. Hollywood is living proof that money, fame and notoriety will not buy you true inner happiness. There are many in Hollywood who truly have what they think is "all", yet they are miserable, unhappy, depressed and go from one shrink to another, all in an effort to try and find what is still missing in their lives and why they can't seem to find true happiness with all of the earthly wealth they have accumulated. The only way to find true happiness in this life is to become saved and born again through the shed Blood of Jesus Christ, and then enter into a dynamic personal relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. From there, you are to start seeking after the knowledge about God and all of His ways by studying and reading the Bible on your own. The personal relationship you will establish with God, and the knowledge that you will gain about God from reading and studying from the Bible is what will dramatically transform the quality of your life down here on this earth. Nothing else on this earth will do that for you! 5. The Word of God Will Give You Knowledge and Wisdom We are to grow in the knowledge and ways of God. And the number one way in which we will grow in the knowledge of God is by studying and feeding off of the Bible. There is no other way! If you don't seek to learn more about God and Jesus by studying from the Bible, then your spiritual growth in the Lord will stagnate and you will stop growing in Him.

The Bible Basics There are no shortcuts to true spiritual growth in the Lord. You have to pay your dues, and those dues are that you have to gain and increase in knowledge about God before the Holy Spirit will really start to spiritually grow you in the Lord. And the only Book that will give you this secret knowledge in order to really be able to spiritually grow and mature in the Lord is the Bible. And not only has God given us everything that we will ever need in this one Book. He has also given us His Holy Spirit, whose main job is to "teach us all things" and to "guide us into all truth." The Holy Spirit Himself will be the One to personally open up the meaning of Scripture for you so that you can see the knowledge that God the Father is trying to transmit to you through this Book! This is a supernatural work that can be done for you by the Holy Spirit if you are willing to go into a seeking mode with Him when you study the Bible. Here are 8 good verses telling us that the Word of God can impart true knowledge and true wisdom to us, and that God does want us growing in the knowledge of Him, His Son and His Holy Spirit. 1. "but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 3:18) 2. "And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures." (Luke 24:45) 3. "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I have said to you." (John 14:26) 4. "However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13) 5. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31) 6. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another" (Colossians 3:16) 7. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path ... The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple ... Direct my steps by Your word, and let no iniquity have

The Bible Basics dominion over me." (Psalm 119:105, 130, 133) 8. "My son, give attention to My words; incline your ear to My sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh." (Proverbs 4:20) All of the above verses are showing us how powerful the words that are coming direct from God and Jesus really are. The Word of God can truly change your life, but only if you are willing to spend some quality time seeking to understand what is in this most incredible Book. 6. The Word of God Will Stand Forever The last thing you will really need to grasp on the power of the Word of God is that the Word of God will last and stand forever, both in this life and the next life to come when we all enter into heaven. Here are 3 good verses from Scripture telling us that the Word of God is not chained and that it will endure to all generations, both in this life and the next life to come, which means forever! 1. "For which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained." (2 Timothy 2:9) 2. "Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness endures to all generations" (Psalm 119:89) 3. "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God stands forever." (Isaiah 40:8) Not only will your study of Scripture profit you in this life, but it will also profit you in the next life to come, which will be heaven. Any one human can not truly master the Bible in this lifetime. There is simply way too much knowledge, wisdom and revelation that is contained in this one Book for any one human to be able to fully grasp all of it in this lifetime. The Bible is like a treasure chest that has no bottom to it. All of this knowledge is contained in just one Book! Only a true God of the entire universe could have put this much knowledge and revelation into one Book.

The Bible Basics

Chapter 4 Seeking After the Knowledge of God God the Father places an extremely high value on the pursuit of knowledge, especially spiritual knowledge. He says that gaining knowledge is greater than all the silver, gold and material things of this world. We have to grow in the knowledge of God. Once you get saved, that is just the beginning. From there, God expects you to grow in the knowledge of Him, His Son Jesus Christ, His Holy Spirit and all of Their ways. As we mentioned in our bible basic "The Power of the Word of God", the number one way that you will grow in spiritual knowledge on this earth is by reading and studying the Bible for yourself. There is simply no other way. God has arranged to have all of the spiritual knowledge that we will ever need about Him, His Son and His Spirit to all be contained in this one Book. You also grow in the knowledge of God through your own personal adventures that you have with Him in your own daily walk, along with learning from other Christians, especially those who are anointed and gifted to be able to teach from His Word. God is using some very intense language in these verses. You can really tell that He is trying to let all of us know the extreme importance of growing in this knowledge. The reason for this is that God's ultimate aim for us after we get saved is our sanctification and transformation. He wants us to become more holy like Himself. He wants to transform us into the express image of His Son Jesus. However, before God will allow this sanctification process to really kick into full gear through the Holy Spirit, He wants you to fully understand exactly what He is doing and why He is doing it. You have to have the knowledge as to what God is doing and exactly why He is doing it.

The Bible Basics Even small children will pick up on this principle very quickly. Tell a child that he is not to do something, and what is the first thing he will do? He will ask you why he can't do that particular thing. And then if the child is old enough to understand what that reason is, you then proceed to tell him why it is not in his best interest to do that particular thing. You are giving your child the specific knowledge that he needs to have so he knows exactly why he should or should not be doing that specific something. It's the exact same way with God the Father. God loves to transmit knowledge to His children across the board on anything that they may need His knowledge on in this life, but what prevents many of His children from receiving this knowledge directly from Him is that they have never been taught how to hear from Him when He does start to try and communicate with them or they do not press in and enter into a seeking mode with Him to try and get Him to release this knowledge to them. If there is one major secret we have learned from the Lord on getting Him to release more of His knowledge to you, is that you have to be willing to go into some type of seeking mode with Him to get it. God will not spoon-feed you forever. The Bible says to ask, and then you will receive. Seek, and then you will find. Knock, and then the door will be opened to you. Notice in all three of these conditions that you have to be the one to initiate it. You have to be the one to ask, to seek and to knock. If you do, then God will answer you, open doors for you and let you find the answers to your questions and problems. King David tells us that we have to meditate on the word of God. To meditate does not mean to blank your mind out waiting for God to talk to you. To meditate means to think about, to chew on, to try and figure out what the different Scripture verses mean and how they can specifically apply to your life. The Holy Spirit will literally guide your thoughts into the revelation that you are seeking after as you are trying to figure out what the answers are. You will find the knowledge you are needing as you are seeking after it. The Holy Spirit can either guide your thoughts into what the correct answers are by you just using some of your brain power to try and figure

The Bible Basics things out or He will guide you as to where those answers are located at. You can literally learn how to "pull" knowledge directly from the Lord by going into these seeking modes with Him! It is the job of the Holy Spirit to teach us all things in this life. The Holy Spirit is our personal Guide and personal Teacher in this life. The Holy Spirit can and will communicate to you if you are open to receiving this kind of direct supernatural communication from Him. God does want to transmit His knowledge to you across the board on anything that you will need His knowledge on in this life. Not only can God give you all the spiritual knowledge that you will seek after. He can also give you His knowledge across the board on anything else that you may need His knowledge on in this life. God can give you His knowledge on how to become better parents for your children, better spouses for your mates, and better at whatever specific job or jobs He will be calling you to do for Him. If God is calling you to be a policeman, an attorney, a doctor, a nurse, a stay-at-home mom, an architect, a laborer, a sports star, He can give you His knowledge in each of those specific areas so as to make you better at each of those jobs. There is absolutely nothing that God cannot give you His knowledge on if you are open to receiving it and are not afraid to start seeking and pressing in after it! Many, many Christians are missing out on this part in their walk with the Lord. God will supernaturally communicate His knowledge to you, but you first have to realize that He does want to communicate His knowledge to you, and then you have to learn how to pick it up and properly read it when He does start to try and communicate to you. God really does want to impart and transmit His knowledge to you. We are dealing with an incredible profound reality, in that God Almighty Himself, a Being with perfect knowledge on all things, is willing to communicate and transmit His knowledge to us through the Holy Spirit, who is literally living on the inside of us! Think about this, that you already have the knowledge of God residing on the inside of you in the Person of the Holy Spirit who is already living on the inside of you! The Scripture verses we will list below will show you the extreme

The Bible Basics importance that God is placing on each and everyone of us seek to obtain this kind of knowledge from Him. In some of these verses, God is making some very powerful and profound statements. He says:

• That we are to GROW in the grace and KNOWLEDGE of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

• That His people are literally destroyed and will go into captivity for having lack of knowledge.

• That gaining His knowledge and wisdom will help you walk safely in this life, help preserve you and help keep you on the right path that He has set up for you to follow in this life.

• That gaining knowledge, wisdom and understanding is better than all of the gold, silver and rubies of this world and that it does not even begin to compare to anything else that you may desire in this life! Gaining the knowledge of God in this life is bigger and better than any materialistic thing that you could ever buy, want or desire in this life! God Himself is making this kind of extreme, intense, radical statement in that acquiring His knowledge is more important than anything else that we can acquire in this life is as big and powerful of a statement that He can make about what is really most important in this life! Gaining His knowledge is more important than anything else we can seek after in this life is because we cannot spiritually grow in the Lord unless we first obtain His knowledge, and then seek to implement His truths into our lives and walk with Him. After you get saved, God then expects you to start to spiritually grow and mature in your walk with Him. You cannot become more holy, more transformed and more sanctified unless you are spiritually growing. And you cannot start to spiritually grow unless you are first seeking after the knowledge that will cause this spiritual growth to occur in the first place! If you really study the people who are most alive in this life, it is the seekers, it is the people who are constantly learning, constantly trying to improve their knowledge base on whatever it is they are seeking after.

The Bible Basics It is the knowledge-seekers that are making the great discoveries that are changing the course of our human history. And they could not have made those discoveries without first seeking after the knowledge that would eventually lead them to those specific discoveries. God will make you seek and search after knowledge, much in the same way that treasure hunters will seek and search for buried treasure. Talk to any true knowledge-seeker, and they will tell you that most of their joy comes from the journey of trying to find the knowledge that they are seeking after. Once the discovery has been made and they have found everything that they may need on a particular subject, then it's off to the next great adventure. Nothing will stimulate your mind and emotions and make you feel more alive than seeking after the knowledge on something that you may really be interested in and be very passionate about. However, many in our country have become "brain dead" and mentally lazy as a result of becoming couch potatoes by watching too much TV. God has incredible knowledge adventures set up for each and everyone of us if we would only be willing to get up out of our ruts, step out of our safe boats and start seeking after the things that He wants us to seek after. The knowledge of God is like a treasure chest that has no bottom to it! There is no limit to the amount of knowledge that God can release to you if you are willing to dive into this treasure chest and start seeking after it. Think about this long and hard, that the one and only all-powerful and all-knowing God of the entire universe is willing and able to transmit His knowledge to you on whatever it is you are wanting His knowledge and wisdom on. Every single Christian has this incredible treasure chest of knowledge and wisdom literally residing on the inside of them in the Person of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is only too anxious and just waiting for you to tap into Him to get this knowledge to start to be released to you! This incredible knowledge adventure is just waiting for each and every Christian who is willing to get off the couch and start using the brain power that the Lord has given to us to start to seek after this kind of

The Bible Basics knowledge. We'll go ahead and list these Scripture verses under their appropriate captions below so that you can fully grasp what the Lord is trying to tell in you these profound verses. These verses are major door openers for each and every Christian, as they are showing you that God can supernaturally impart and transmit His knowledge to you through the Holy Spirit if you are open to receiving it, and are willing to go into a seeking mode to pull it from Him. 1. Growing in the Knowledge of God This first verse will completely set the stage for you to be able to receive direct knowledge from the Lord. God is wanting us to grow in the knowledge of Him and His Son Jesus.

â&#x2014;? "But GROW in the grace and KNOWLEDGE of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 3:18) After we get saved, God expects us to start growing in the knowledge that He wants to transmit to us. And the only way we can spiritually grow is by seeking after the knowledge that will cause this growth to occur in the first place! This right here is why many Christians are not make much spiritual growth over the course of their lives after they initially get saved, because they are not seeking after the knowledge of God that will cause this spiritual growth to occur in the first place. 2. The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Receiving Knowledge and Wisdom Now that we know that God wants us to grow in the knowledge that He wants to give to us, these next two verses will tell us the first step that needs to be met before God will even begin to release His knowledge to us. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of being able to receive knowledge and wisdom direct from the Lord. Here are the two verses:

The Bible Basics 1. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Proverbs 1:7) 2. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." (Proverbs 9:10) In both of these verses it says that the fear of the Lord is the "beginning" of being able to receive knowledge and wisdom from God. If you don't have a healthy fear of the Lord, then chances are, God is not going to be working with you very closely in releasing His knowledge to you. This first condition right here is another reason why many of God's people are not getting more knowledge, revelation and wisdom being transmitted to them. What exactly is God meaning when He says that we must have a healthy "fear" of Him? He obviously does not want you to be so afraid of Him that you then become to afraid to approach Him for prayer and to enter into a healthy personal relationship with Him. What God means by the phrase "fear of the Lord" is that we are to have an extremely reverent respect for Him and all of His ways! Many Christians have a good healthy fear of God Himself, as they know that He is all-powerful and that He is God Almighty Himself. Where many Christians are getting into trouble off of these two verses is that they do not have a healthy fear of all of God's ways. And one of God's ways for us is that we try and stay out of sin, especially some of the heavier sins. If you are out committing adultery behind your spouse's back, literally breaking one of God's ten commandments, then chances are, God will not be imparting much of His revelation and knowledge to you since you are living in an obvious sin. If you are out committing this type of sin against God, then you are not showing much of a fear of Him, or else you would never have considered falling into this type of heavier sin to begin with. Your actions may be speaking louder than your words to Him. If you have a true, healthy fear of the Lord, then you will not want to tempt your fate and what He wants to do with your life by directly disobeying some of these obvious commandments such as adultery, cheating, scamming others, verbally and/or physically abusing your spouse or your children, holding extreme unforgiveness towards others, abusing alcohol or doing drugs.

The Bible Basics If you have a good healthy fear of the Lord, then you will make every effort to try and live your life right and stay out of the heavier sins that you know will get you in major trouble with Him. We are all sinners and none of us is perfect. There is a certain amount of "slack" with the Lord on our own imperfections and some of the stupid things that we will do in this life. Where some of us will get into trouble with the Lord on the above two verses is when we blatantly enter into what we call "unacceptable" sins and behavior. And some of the sins mentioned above are unacceptable sins and behaviors in God's eyes, and they thus could cause God to pull back on you with what He wants to do with your life. God will not be mocked! If you don't fear Him and His ways and the way He wants you to live this life, then He may just choose to withhold any knowledge and revelation that He may want to impart to you. This is why the above two verses are so important for those who would really like to start seeking after the knowledge of God for their lives. God will be more than willing to open up His storehouse of knowledge for you in this life, but only if you are willing to do your part, and your first step will be to make sure that you have a good, reverent, healthy fear and respect of Him and all of His ways. 3. God's People Are Destroyed For Lack of Knowledge God's people are literally, and we mean literally, being destroyed for lack of knowledge. God's people can literally go into captivity as a result of not having the right amount of knowledge about something. God the Father is giving all of us a major warning with the way that He has these two verses worded. A perfect example of these two verses in actual operation are the Muslim suicide bombers. Many of these suicide bombers are young kids. They have been brought up being brainwashed by the extremist element of Islam, and they really do think they are going straight to heaven if they are willing to blow themselves up and anyone else they can take with them. This is a perfect example of these young kids being led into "captivity" as a result of not having the appropriate knowledge to fully understand what they are getting into in the first place. And then when they actually

The Bible Basics do take their own lives in these suicide bombings, they are literally being "destroyed" as a result of this lack of knowledge. That is why seeking after the true knowledge of God in this life is so important with all the crazy and demonic things that are going on in this world. Having God's specific knowledge on a wide variety of matters is what can keep you from getting entangled into something that could end up turning deadly on you. These next two verses should be burned into your memory banks so that you never, ever forget what the Lord is trying to tell us. 1. "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6) 2. "Therefore My people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge" (Isaiah 5:13) Not having the knowledge of God operating in our lives could literally lead us into getting into some kind of captivity, not to mention the possibility of getting killed or thrown into the pits of hell when we die, then the reverse is also true, that having the knowledge of God operating in your life can help keep you out of serious trouble, help keep you free, and possibly help lengthen the number of days that you can live down here on this earth. 4. Knowledge and Wisdom Are Better Than All the Material Things of This World The knowledge and wisdom that we can receive direct from Him is better and more valuable than all the silver, gold and rubies of this world. The knowledge and wisdom that you can receive direct from God is better than all the material wealth that this world can offer! Knowledge and wisdom is better than anything else you can possibly desire in this life! Think about how radical and extreme this statement really is given the materialistic and money-hungry society we now live in. Grab a hold of these 7 verses, especially the first two. 1. "Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding; for her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, and her gain than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. Length of

The Bible Basics days is in her right hand, in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her." (Proverbs 3:13) 2. "How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver." (Proverbs 16:16) 3. "There is gold and a multitude of rubies, but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel." (Proverbs 20:15) 4. "but the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it." (Ecclesiastes 7:12) 5. "Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it." (Proverbs 16:22) 6. "Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches." (Proverbs 24:3) 7. "Wisdom strengthens the wise more than ten rulers of the city." (Ecclesiastes 7:19) God says that "happy" is the man who finds wisdom, and that having knowledge and wisdom will help lengthen the number of days that you might be able to live down here on this earth. He then says that knowledge will also bring you peace and be a tree of life to you and your life. This "tree of life" is what stimulates those who seek after knowledge. There is nothing more challenging, more rewarding and more thrilling than seeking after the knowledge of God on a particular subject or issue you may really be interested in. And to top all of this off, all of the knowledge and wisdom that you will be receiving from the Lord on the different parts of your life down here on this earth will all be going with you into the next life, which will be heaven. Not one ounce of all of the gold, rubies, silver and wealth of this world will be going with you when you die and cross over. All of that earthly material wealth will rot and perish as far as you are concerned, because not one ounce, not one penny will be going with you to the other side! This is why God is placing such an extremely high value on the pursuit

The Bible Basics of His knowledge and wisdom for us in this life. This is why God is telling us in the above verses that seeking after His knowledge and wisdom in this life will give you true life. 5. Knowledge, Understanding and Wisdom In many of these verses, you will see three key words that are constantly being repeated over and over again. These three key words are:

● Knowledge ● Understanding ● Wisdom God will first start off by conveying His knowledge to you about something specific. However, knowledge by itself will not get the job done. The next key word is "understanding." Understanding means that you understand the knowledge that is being given to you. If you don't understand the knowledge that has been given to you, then you won't be able to use it or apply it in a real life situation. The third key word is "wisdom." Once you understand the knowledge that has been given to you, then there is now one more step you will need to have in order to be able to properly use that knowledge, and that step is having the wisdom to be able to use that knowledge in a real life situation. Many college graduates understand the knowledge that they have learned through many of their college courses, but they lack the wisdom to be able to actually apply it in the real world. You have all heard the term that someone may be "book-smart", but lack the common sense and wisdom to be able to use this knowledge in the real working world. Here is an example. Say someone just gave you a perfect manual on how to rebuild a car engine. All of the knowledge that you will need on how to rebuild a car engine is all contained in this one book. However, the next step is that you have to be able to understand the knowledge that is contained in this book. If none of it makes any sense to you, then all of the perfect knowledge contained in this book will be of no real use to you.

The Bible Basics If you do have the ability to understand all of the knowledge contained in this book, then the next and final step is to be able to have the wisdom to be able to actually rebuild a car engine in a real life situation. All of that knowledge and all of the understanding of that knowledge will be of no use to you if you don't have the actual wisdom to be able to use it to actually rebuild a car engine. This is where the Holy Spirit will be coming in big time! The Holy Spirit will help you in being able to understand the knowledge that God may be giving to you on something. The Holy Spirit will help illuminate your mind so you can fully understand what is being given to you. The Holy Spirit will also help you with the last and final step, which is being able to have the wisdom to use or apply that knowledge to a real life working situation. Example, say God is calling you to be a great heart surgeon: 1. God will first arrange to make sure that you are given all of the working knowledge that you will need to become a great heart surgeon. 2. God will then make sure that you have the ability to fully understand all of the knowledge that He will give to you on how to be a great heart surgeon. 3. And then God will complete His work with you in making sure that you have the actual wisdom to be able to apply that knowledge so that you can then do real live heart surgeries in real life situations. The above three step process can be done by God with each and everyone of you on a wide variety of matters and issues in your life. It is just a matter of you being willing to seek after whatever it is God wants you to seek after. Knowledge, understanding and wisdom direct from God on a wide variety of matters and issues in your life is available to all of His children if they would only be willing to spend the time to seek after it! 6. All Knowledge and Wisdom Comes Direct From God All knowledge and all wisdom come direct from God and Jesus.

The Bible Basics All the "treasures" of wisdom and knowledge are "hidden" in God the Father and Jesus Christ. God is comparing knowledge and wisdom with "treasures," and that this treasure is hidden within Himself. God and Jesus are the source of all godly knowledge, and that we first have to seek after the source in order to get this knowledge to be released to us. Here are some of the most profound verses in all of Scripture showing us that not only is God the source of all godly knowledge and wisdom, but that He actually wants to release this knowledge to us! 1. "Both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Colossians 2:2) 2. "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen." (Romans 11:33,36) 3. "For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright" (Proverbs 2:6) 4. Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him." (Daniel 2:20) 5. "Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than heaven, what can you do? Deeper than Sheol, what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea." (Job 11:7) 6. 'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.' (Jeremiah 33:3) 7. "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given." (Matthew 13:11) 8. "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may

The Bible Basics give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe" (Ephesians 1:17) 9. "Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7) 10. "But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets" (Daniel 2:28) 11. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31) All things, including all knowledge and all wisdom, comes direct from God the Father. These verses are showing us that not only is God the source of all knowledge and wisdom, but that He wants to release this knowledge to us. He wants to show and reveal great and mighty things to us. He wants to tell us deep and secret things that the average person will not have access to. And not only will God give you His knowledge, but He will also make sure to give you the understanding of that knowledge and the wisdom to be able to actually use it! All of this can be given to you free of charge. All you have to do is be willing to seek after it, and then seek to fully understand it and how it can apply to the different parts of your life. If we will "abide in His word", then we will have the ability to know the truth, and then the truth will be able to make us free. If you are willing to abide in the Bible, which is His Word, and seek to understand what you are reading, then you will be fully loaded with an incredible amount of knowledge and truth covering a wide variety of matters and issues in your life. And once you have God's truth on many different matters in your life, then that truth will help set and make you free because you will no longer be bound up with wrong thinking! Jesus says that we have to "abide" in His Word in order to be able to get these truths worked into us. Abiding means that you are willing to spend some kind of regular quality time in reading the Bible for yourself and then seeking to understand and implement these truths in your everyday walk with Him.

The Bible Basics All of the above verses are giving us an incredible revelation in that God and Jesus are only too anxious to release Their storehouse of knowledge to us if we would only be willing to do our part by seeking after it. 7. The Holy Spirit is our Teacher Now that we know God and Jesus want to release Their knowledge direct to us from Their throne room in heaven, how is this knowledge actually transmitted to us? This knowledge is given to the Holy Spirit, and then the Holy Spirit, who is already living on the inside of us, will be the One to transmit all of this knowledge to us! The Holy Spirit will thus become your personal Guide and personal Teacher in this life. It will be His job to impart and transmit all of this knowledge direct to you once you start to seek after it. Here are 3 powerful verses from Scripture showing us that the Holy Spirit will now be the One to transmit the knowledge of God direct to us. 1. "But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God." (1 Corinthians 2:10) 2. "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, HE WILL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS, and bring to your remembrance all things that I have said to you." (John 14:26) 3. "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, HE WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH" (JOHN 16:13) No one knows the things of God except the Holy Spirit, and that the Holy Spirit has been given to each and every one of us in order to reveal the things that God wants to reveal to us. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to release the knowledge of God direct to us! The Holy Spirit will be our Teacher and that He will "teach us all things." Notice the word "all", that He will teach us "all things."

The Bible Basics This statement being made by God in that the Holy Spirit can teach us all things is a maximum intense statement being made by God. He is willing to go more than overboard in order to teach us things and to transmit His knowledge to us. Then the verse even goes one step further when it says that the Holy Spirit can literally bring back up to your remembrance, when you may need it, the knowledge that He has already given to you! A perfect example of this is for those who really study the Bible in order to get it really worked and assimilated into their minds and spirits. What you will find start to happen if you are willing to spend some quality time to get the Word worked into you, is that the Holy Spirit will bring back up to your memory the appropriate Scripture verses when you may need them on the spot when preaching or talking to others about God and Jesus. You'll literally see these verses float right up out of your spirit in front of your mind's eye right at the moment that you will need them. This is literally a supernatural transmission of knowledge direct to your mind by the Holy Spirit Himself! And not only can the Holy Spirit do this with Scripture verses. He can also do this with any other bits of knowledge that He may want to give to you. He can give you His words of knowledge and wisdom all day long on whatever else you may need His help on. This is why the Holy Spirit is called "the Helper". The Holy Spirit cannot help you unless He is able to transmit words of knowledge and wisdom to you as you will need them. The last verse says that not only will the Holy Spirit be our Helper and our Teacher in this life, but that He will also be our Guide in this life. Think about those three words, Helper, Teacher and Guide! This is a powerful three-fold ministry that the Holy Spirit has with each born-again believer. The last verse says that the Holy Spirit will guide us into "all" truth. Notice the word "all", all truth, not just some or part of the truth. If you can learn to be led by the Holy Spirit and pick up when He starts to try and communicate with you, you can literally start to receive the knowledge of God in every area of your life where you need God's knowledge and guidance to help get you safely through!

The Bible Basics 8. Seeking After the Knowledge of God So now that you know that God is more than willing to release His knowledge direct to you through the Holy Spirit, how do you go about getting God to start to release His knowledge to you? These verses will tell you exactly how. You can sum up on how to get God to release His knowledge to you in two simple words, asking and seeking! However, before you can really get God to start to release this knowledge to you, there is one more thing that you must really have, and that is desire. You must "desire truth" in your inward parts. Another verse says that God will give you His knowledge and wisdom if you are willing to "cry out" for it, if you are willing to "apply your heart" to understand it, if you will "seek her as silver" and "search for her as hidden treasures." All of these phrases are showing that you must have some level of intensity in your seeking of this knowledge. You have to show God that you mean serious business with Him when you start to seek after the knowledge and wisdom that He can give to you. One verse in particular says it best when it says you must seek after the knowledge of God like someone who is searching for buried treasure. Notice the intense way God is expressing Himself in the wording of some of these verses. You can really tell God is trying to drive home several major points that we need to fully grasp before He will be willing to release His knowledge to us. These 11 verses in particular are giving you major, we repeat, major secrets in being able to get God to release His incredible storehouse of knowledge and revelation into your life. 1. "Behold, You DESIRE TRUTH in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom." (Psalm 51:6) 2. "ASK, and it will be given to you; SEEK, and you will find; KNOCK, and it will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7) 3. "Yet you do not have because you do not ask." (James 4:2) 4. "If any of you lacks wisdom, LET HIM ASK OF GOD, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like

The Bible Basics a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind." (James 1:5) 5. "TO ASK that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may have a walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:9) 6. "My son, if you receive My words, and treasure My commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you CRY OUT for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you SEEK HER as silver, and SEARCH FOR HER as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God." (Proverbs 2:1) 7. "The heart of him who has understanding SEEKS KNOWLEDGE, but the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness." (Proverbs 15:14) 8. "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to SEARCH OUT A MATTER." (Proverbs 25:2) 9. "A wise man will hear and INCREASE LEARNING, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, to understand a proverb and an enigma, the words of the wise and their riddles." (Proverbs 1:5) 10. "The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and ADDS LEARNING to his lips." (Proverbs 16:23) 11. "Hear my children, the instruction of a father, and give attention to know understanding; for I give you good doctrine: Do not forsake my law" ... He also taught me, and said to me: "Let your heart retain my words; keep my commands, and live. GET WISDOM! GET UNDERSTANDING! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you: Love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; she will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory she will deliver to you." "Hear, my son. and receive my sayings, and the years of your life will be many. I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right

The Bible Basics paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, and when you run, you will not stumble. Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; keep her, for she is your life." (Proverbs 4:1-9) If any of us is lacking wisdom, that we are to ask God for His wisdom. The next sentence in that verse then makes one of the most powerful statements of all when it says that God will then give His wisdom to "all liberally" without reproach! God is not going to be playing favorites with anyone on this issue. He is telling all of us that He is more than willing to release His knowledge and wisdom to us if we are willing to ask and press in for it, and to also ask for it in faith without doubting. God is also using the word "liberally" after the word "all." This means that God is more than anxious to release His knowledge to us. The next verse after that says that we are to ask to "be filled with the knowledge" of His will in "all wisdom and spiritual understanding." The word "filled" with His knowledge is also showing us that God is willing to pour out His knowledge and wisdom to us in great abundance! It is the glory of God to "conceal a matter" and that it is the glory of kings to "search out" that matter. This is a very fascinating verse in that it is giving us a major secret, and that secret is that many of the times God will make you seek and search after His knowledge like those who search for buried treasure. A good example of this is the Bible itself. God has purposely scattered many of the different Scripture verses throughout the Bible in order to make you work for the knowledge that is contained in all of the pages. For instance, God has scattered all of the verses about the second coming of His Son back to our earth throughout the entire Bible. You literally have to start from the beginning of the Bible and search it all the way through to find all of the verses that are pertaining to just this one subject. Once you are able to find all of these verses and put them together like you would pieces to a jigsaw puzzle, then you will find the knowledge and revelation that God is trying to transmit to you on this subject. This is one of the main reasons that we have started up this bible basics to show you what the Bible has to say about many different topics once you group the appropriate Scripture verses together by subject matter.

The Bible Basics The very last verse stated above is where God is using some very intense language in order to drive home the point on how important it is for each one of us to seek after His knowledge in this life. Notice these specific words:

● Give attention to know understanding ● Get understanding! ● And in all your getting, get understanding ● Get wisdom! ● Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom ● Take firm hold of instruction, for she is your life Once you put all of these Scripture verses together, one right after the other, the message comes through loud and clear. God does want to transmit His knowledge and wisdom to us through the Holy Spirit, and He wants to do it in great abundance! What God did with King Solomon. If you want to see what God can be capable of in this area, wait until you see the one Scripture verse that will tell us how much knowledge and wisdom was given to just this one man, all because he simply pressed in and asked for it! 9. Knowledge and Wisdom Will Help Keep You Safe What about people literally going into captivity and being destroyed as a result of not having the appropriate knowledge about something. Here are three more good verses showing how knowledge and wisdom can help keep you safe in this life. 1. "My son keep sound wisdom and discretion; so they will be life to your soul and grace to your neck. Then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet." (Proverbs 3:21) 2. "When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep

The Bible Basics you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things, from those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness; who rejoice in doing evil" (Proverbs 2:10) 3. "Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of your life will be many. I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, and when you run, you will not stumble. Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; keep her, for she is your life." (Proverbs 4:10) Life is full of one tragedy after another when people don't use good common sense. People abusing drugs and alcohol, driving too fast on the highways and hanging out with the wrong crowd can all lead to an early departure from this life. In the last verse above, that it starts out that your years can be many if you are willing to follow the way of wisdom. The implication is also there that if you don't follow the way of wisdom, that you can have your life cut short and ended early. Many of the deaths that we see on a daily basis are the result of people making very poor choices. This is why God is really emphasizing in the above verses that the way of wisdom and knowledge will help keep you safe, help preserve you, help keep you from hanging out with the wrong kind of people and help keep you in one piece as you journey through this life. 10. In the Multitude of Counselors There is Safety Once you start to seek after the knowledge of God for your life, one of the ways that God will communicate His knowledge to you is through other people. Sometimes you will receive the knowledge that you are looking for direct from God Himself. Other times it may come from a particular Scripture verse you may be meditating on. God will communicate His knowledge to you through other people. A good example of this is when you receive words of knowledge and wisdom through an anointed teacher of His Word such as your pastor who is teaching the Word in Sunday service or hearing one of God's teachers on one of the Christian TV stations.

The Bible Basics What you will find start to happen to you is that words or revelations coming from others will "jump" at you. This is the Holy Spirit "quickening" these words to you in order to help give you His knowledge and wisdom on something that you may be dealing with or searching after. Once you start to enter into this kind of journey with the Lord on wanting Him to release more of His knowledge to you, you really have to keep your radars up each and every day as you never know when, where, how or through whom God will release His knowledge to you. This is why the knowledge game is so much fun to play with the Lord. God loves variety and spontaneity, and He will teach you His ways of knowledge and wisdom in many different ways and through many different sources. The Holy Bible will always be your main source of spiritual knowledge and wisdom. When God does want to communicate His knowledge to you through other people, one of the things that God will arrange for you to have is access to other good solid Christians who you can discuss things out with. Here are 4 very fascinating Scripture verses telling us that there is safety in the multitude of counselors, that without appropriate counsel with others our plans can go awry, and that we are to wage war by having wise counsel with others. 1. "A wise man is strong, yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; for by wise counsel you will wage your own war, and in a multitude of counselors there is safety." (Proverbs 24:5) 2. "Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established." (Proverbs 15:22) 3. "Every purpose is established by counsel; by wise counsel wage war." (Proverbs 20:18) 4. "Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety." (Proverbs 11:14) All men will only "know in part" with what knowledge we can get from the Lord down here on this earth. No one will have all of the answers to everything in this life. By having a group of other solid Christian friends you can chew

The Bible Basics things out with, you will each help keep each other up and sharp in the Lord, help keep one another humble and accountable in your walk with the Lord, along with being able to learn from one another. 11. Use the Knowledge That God Will Give You Once God starts to transmit His knowledge to you on a wide variety of matters and issues in your life, your job will then be to take that knowledge and use it and apply it in your everyday life. Though this principle sounds very simple, many Christians keep getting themselves into trouble either because they are choosing to directly disobey a direct order from the Lord or they are not stopping and thinking out very carefully what their next step should be. Here are 3 very good verses telling us that the wise and prudent man will "consider well his steps" and that the "plans of the diligent" will lead to plenty. However, the reverse is also true, that everyone who is "hasty" in their decision making will be lead into poverty. God is wanting you to stop, think and evaluate very carefully what choices you have to make when you are faced with having to make a decision on something. In our fast-paced society, many people are living their lives in too much of the fast lane. They are so mentally wired, they are constantly making too quick and too hasty of decisions without thinking things all the way through. They keep falling into one jam after another, and they are then forced to have to spend extra time to dig themselves out of the jams they have fallen into. These next 3 verses are a true word to the wise from the Lord. 1. "The simple believes every word, but the prudent man considers well his steps." (Proverbs 14:15) 2. "The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty." (Proverbs 21:5) 3. "A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished." (Proverbs 22:3) God will at times make you seek and search after His knowledge and wisdom on a particular matter. This means that at times you will have to

The Bible Basics take your time and think things out and think things all the way through before you can "find" what God's answer may be on a particular issue. 12. Walk With Other Wise Men He who walks with other wise men will he himself become wise, but he who has fools as his friends and companions will be destroyed! The Bible makes it very clear that we are not to be yoked together with unbelievers, that we are to choose our friends carefully, and that evil company will corrupt good habits. Once you enter into a full surrender of your entire life with God the Father, one of the first things He will start to do is to prune out some of the bad and negative people that you may have in your life. These negative people will do nothing but try and hold you back if you start to try and grow in the Lord. God will not be putting up with their negative influences in your life, and He will thus be taking these types of negative people out of your life very early on in your walk with Him. Many Christians never make it into what God's true call was for them in this life because they did not want to give up their negative friends. These negative people kept these Christians bound up in their lower way of living in this life. These Christians never reach their full potential in the Lord in this lifetime. He who walks with other wise men will become wise himself. The reason for this is that you can learn from other wise people besides what you will get direct from God on your own. Learning from other wise people will really help in accelerating your knowledge in the Lord and whatever else God wants to give you His knowledge on. These 5 verses will also perfectly line up with the verses mentioned above about safety being found in the multitude of counselors. 1. "He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed." (Proverbs 13:20) 2. "Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words." (Proverbs 23:9)

The Bible Basics 3. "A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it, but knowledge is easy to him who understands. Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge." (Proverbs 14:6) 4. "A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims foolishness." (Proverbs 12:23) 5. "He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive." (Proverbs 17:27) Fools will be despising the knowledge and wisdom that you may have in Him. This lines up with the verse in that we are not to give what is holy to the dogs. The knowledge and wisdom that you will be receiving from the Lord will be very holy and you will be wasting your time trying to feed it to other people who have no desire for it. 13. A Wise Man Will Not Show Partiality in Judgment Once God starts to enlighten you and you are able to start to see real truth from real error, then God will hold you accountable for this higher degree of knowledge, especially if you are in a position of leadership. This principle really applies in today's world where everyone is trying to be politically correct. There are some issues that are not neutral in God's eyes, yet some of His own are trying not to step on anyone else's toes for fear of offending them. Many of the pastor's across our country are taking neutral stances on such issues as abortion and homosexuality. The issue of abortion is a perfect example. Many pastors are not wanting to say much about it due to many Christians still being pro-choice. They are afraid if they go fire and brimstone on these people, that they will lose them and the money they were contributing to the church. This issue is not open to any kind of debate or compromise with God. Abortion is first degree murder in the eyes of God, and many Christians who are actively supporting any of the pro-choice movements in this country are going to be in big trouble on their day of judgment with God and Jesus!

The Bible Basics The true wise man of God will not show partiality in judgment on topics such as these. Study the intense wording in these two verses very, very carefully, especially if you are in a position of any type of leadership within the Body of Christ. 1. "These things also belong to the wise: IT IS NOT GOOD TO SHOW PARTIALITY IN JUDGMENT. He who says to the wicked, "You are righteous," him the people will curse; nations will abhor him. But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and good blessing will come upon them. He who gives a right answer kisses the lips." (Proverbs 24:23) 2. "TO SHOW PARTIALITY IS NOT GOOD, because for a piece of bread a man will transgress ... He who rebukes a man will find more favor afterward than he who flatters with the tongue." (Proverbs 28:21,23) If you are willing to take a stand against something evil and call it out for what it really is, that you will then receive a "good blessing" for it! To those pastors who have been too afraid to call out issues such as abortion and homosexuality for what it really is for fear of offending too many people, consider the intense wording of these two verses. When God says that it is "not good" that you show partiality on issues such as this, He is giving you a major and solemn warning! You are working for God, not man! The only thing that matters as far are you are concerned is what God thinks of your performance as a leader within His body, not what the flock thinks or what other people outside of your church may think! You will be eventually judged by God for your performance, not by any other human being. Study the prophets of the Old Testament, not one of them minced any words when God had them call out the evil that His people were engaging in. Many, many Christians are looking for their pastors and leaders to take strong stands on these type of issues with no compromise. You may lose a few people at the outset for offending them, but that the word will then get out on you that you are a man that will not compromise the truth and word of God, and you will then end up drawing many more people into your church.

The Bible Basics People are really looking for God's opinion on a wide variety of issues and problems facing our world today. Now is not the time to try and be politically correct. Now is the time to stand up and tell the world what God's opinion really is on some of these hot topics. God's people are going into captivity and are being destroyed for lack of knowledge and guidance from their pastors and churches on these issues. The truth will set these people free, but you first have to tell them what the truth really is before it can start to work to set them free. God's Word and Truth is your sword, don't be afraid to use it to set these captives free! 14. Stay Humble When God Does Start to Release His Knowledge to You There are only two downsides to having God start to release His knowledge to you. The first downside is that for some, the increase in their knowledge base will cause them to start to get to full of themselves. Knowledge can "puff up." It can puff you up. Your ego starts to swell, and conceit and arrogance can start to set in. You start to think your smarter than anyone else. You start looking down on those who do not have your higher levels of knowledge. Pretty soon, you start to present a haughty, arrogant and know-it-all attitude to others, and you start to drive people away from God rather than to Him as a result of your bad attitudes and behaviors. Once God really starts to release His knowledge to you, you really have to keep a sharp eye on this and make sure that all of this new found knowledge does not start go to your head. You have to stay humble and thankful for it. It becomes very easy to start looking down on others who are not getting this higher level of knowledge. You start questioning their spiritual growth and why they are not getting what you are getting. You have to realize that every one is operating at different levels of spiritual development in this life. Some will go farther and progress at faster rates of speed in this realm than others will. You cannot compare your level of spiritual development and how fast you are progressing with anyone else. Some people will not go as far as you might go in this realm, but others will leave you in the dust and progress to a much higher level

The Bible Basics than you ever will in this life. You have to realize that God is working with each and every Christian at the level of spiritual development that they are currently operating at with Him. Granted, some people look like they should be making more and better progress, but there may be personal factors operating in their lives that may be slowing down their spiritual growth that you may not be aware of. This is why God is telling us in His Word that we are not to judge one another in some of these areas. Your job is to be the best you can be in whatever God is calling you to do in this life. Put the pedal to the metal in climbing the highest mountains you can. Seek to produce as much good fruit for God as you can. Do not compare your walk and your fruit in the Lord with anyone else's. Stay humble in your walk with the Lord, and do not let all the fruit and accomplishments that you might achieve in Him go to your head and puff you up. Here are two very interesting Scripture verses telling us that knowledge can puff you up and that all men will only "know in part" in this life. No matter how smart and intelligent you think you may be getting, you will never have all of the answers to everything in this life. This fact alone should help keep you humble and real as you start to grow in the knowledge and wisdom of God for your life.

â&#x2014;? "We know that we all have knowledge. KNOWLEDGE PUFFS UP, but love edifies." (1 Corinthians 8:1)

â&#x2014;? "For we KNOW IN PART and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away with For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known." (1 Corinthians 13:9,12) 15. Knowledge Will Increase Sorrow and Grief The second downside to receiving the knowledge of God in your life is that it will start to increase your sorrow and grief over different things. This incredible piece of revelation is coming from King Solomon. Here is what he says:

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â&#x2014;? "For

in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow." (Ecclesiastes 1:18)

Once you start to receive Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s knowledge not only on the personal things in your life, but on the "big picture" with the way that He has things set up, your eyes will be opened and you will start to "see" things from God's perspective and viewpoint. And once you are able to start to see things from God's point of view, then sorrow and grief will start to set in. Why? Because you will have developed a good understanding of the big picture and why things are the way they are. You will see that there really is a God and a devil, that there really is a heaven and a hell, that there really is good and evil, and that everyone is being tested in this life. You will see that we all have to be born into an imperfect, cursed and fallen world as a result of what happened in the story of Adam and Eve. You will see that God has given each of one of us a free will, and a certain amount of people are going to choose to live this life on the dark side. A certain amount of people are going to get murdered, robbed, raped, killed, abducted, cheated, scammed and hurt in this life. Bad things are going to happen to even good people. As a result of the curse of Adam and Eve still operating on this earth, we also have to put up with all kinds of different sicknesses, illnesses, diseases, accidents and eventually the physical death of our bodies. People will suffer, and in some cases, there will be extreme suffering. You will see that not everyone is going to make it into heaven, that the Spirit of God will not strive with a man forever in trying to get him or her saved. A certain percentage of humanity is going to end up in the worst and most horrible place imaginable. You will start to grieve and cry out for the lost, especially for the ones who will refuse to accept what Jesus has done for them with His death on the cross. Once you sit back and see the big picture for what it really is, you won't be able to stop the sadness and sorrow that you will feel at times on all the bad and terrible things that can happen to anyone of us at anytime. This is why King Solomon was able to come to this kind of revelation after he had received the knowledge and wisdom of God for his life. He was able to see the big picture for what it really is.

The Bible Basics The knowledge that you will receive from God is like being given a two sided coin. On the one side is the "dark picture", with all of the above things hitting you straight in the face. There is no getting around it. This is the way things are, and this death that we see on a daily basis will not stop until Jesus comes back to us in His second coming to set up His 1000 year Millennium Kingdom. Until that event happens, we are all going to have to put up with demons and bad and evil people who will choose to live this life out on the dark side. There is also the other side of that same coin, the "good picture." This life of death will not last forever. God the Father has made a way of escape for all of us from the fires of hell in the death and person of His Son Jesus Christ. All can get saved and completely born again by accepting Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. We will all get to go straight to heaven when we die. We will all end up with new spiritual glorified bodies that will never age, corrupt or deteriorate ever again. We will never know disease, sickness or death in any way, shape or form ever again! When Jesus comes back to set up His 1000 year Millennium Kingdom, God will be taking out Satan, all of his demonic spirits, and all the bad and unsaved people who have ever lived on this earth. All the bad apples, angelic and human, will be forever banished from the eternal scheme of things, and we will all be able to live happily ever after with God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, all of God's good angels and all the rest of saved humanity that has ever lived in a new heaven and a new earth. There will be no more war, no more terror, no more crime and no more disorder. We will all live forever in the way and in the environment that God had initially intended for us to live in. Once the knowledge of God starts to get released in your life, you have to stay on top of this game and make sure that you see what is real truth. God will give you His eyes in which to see things from His perspective. His truth will start to set you free, but realize that this is a two sided coin, and that you will see both the good and dark side of this life and why things are they way they are. There will be times that you will experience sadness, grief and sorrow in this life that will cut right through you like a knife.

The Bible Basics 16. The Wisdom of This World is Foolishness With God Once you start to receive the knowledge and wisdom of God flowing into your life, you will find something very interesting that will start to happen. You'll start to see the difference between the knowledge and wisdom of God versus the knowledge and wisdom of this world. God is always right and man is always wrong when the two are on opposites sides of the fence. A perfect example is the abortion issue, where you have the people who are pro-choice and their arguments versus the people who are pro-life with their arguments. From God's point of view, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see who is on the wrong side of the fence on this issue. The wisdom of this world is "foolishness with God." Since God is allperfect in His being and in His knowledge, then this obviously means that God is always right and that man and the world is always wrong when they are not on the same page. So the first thing you will need to get worked into your mindset and way of thinking is that God and all of His ways and all of His knowledge is always right. You will really need to ground on this because the wisdom of the world can be very enticing at times. You will be tempted at times into believing what the world has to say instead of believing what God is trying to tell you is right. Our young teenagers are constantly battling this reality. They are constantly being tempted and enticed to get into drugs, heavy drinking and pre-marital sex. If they have not been grounded in the Word and in their faith from a good solid Christian upbringing by their parents, they can be very easily swayed to enter into some of this dark side activity. You will start to see the difference between God's knowledge and how He likes to operate versus the business world in general. Many in corporate America are constantly pushing the envelope trying to get as far as they can, get as much as they can and not caring who they run over and hurt in the process. The almighty dollar is their god and they will do anything and everything they can to try and make more of it. Many Christians end up getting sucked into some of their unscrupulous business practices and they thus end up going against God Himself by some of the shady things they end up doing.

The Bible Basics Each Christian has to stay true, loyal and faithful to His God and to His ways when they are faced with these kinds of temptations. Study these next 2 verses very carefully as they really do set the stage as to what is going on in the spiritual realm when you compare the knowledge of our God versus the knowledge of this world.

â&#x2014;? Let no one deceive you. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. FOR THE WISDOM OF THIS WORLD IS FOOLISHNESS WITH GOD. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their own craftiness," and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile." Therefore let no one glory in men." (1 Corinthians 3:18)

â&#x2014;? "But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and selfseeking exist, confusion and every evil thing will be there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy." (James 3:14) Many are self-seeking, jealous and envious of one another, with everyone trying to run over everyone else to move higher up on the food chain. God calls this kind of wisdom earthy, sensual and demonic, and that it is not from Him. This is why God says in the first verse that the wisdom of this world is foolishness in His eyes. It is a joke! All of these people who are choosing to live their lives in this kind of dog-eat-dog environment are heading down the wrong road. Once God starts to really work with you and starts transmitting His knowledge to you on many different areas of your life, you will really be able to start to see the truth on a lot of different things, not only in your own personal life, but also with the world in general. Once this knowledge has been released to you and you have full understanding of it, God will expect you to believe in it and act on it when you are faced with the temptation to go with the wisdom of the world rather than with the wisdom of God. Always remember who you are serving. You are serving and following God and His ways for your life, not the ways and wisdom of this world.

The Bible Basics 17. Do Not Ever Cease Listening to Instruction Once you start to journey on this path of knowledge that God will set you up on, don't ever get to big for your britches further on down the road and think that you have "arrived," and that you don't need to listen to God or anyone else that He may want to use to transmit His knowledge to you. This knowledge journey will never end with Him! You will always be learning new, different and exciting things from the Lord as long as you are open to being taught by Him. Here are three very good verses emphasizing the point that we are not to cease listening to instruction and straying from the words of knowledge if we want to be wise in our latter days. 1. "Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days." (Proverbs 19:20) 2. "Cease listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge." (Proverbs 19:27) 3. "He who is often reproved, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." (Proverbs 29:1) Destruction can come upon someone very suddenly if they keep resisting someone who may be trying to help get them straightened out. The Holy Spirit will not strive with a man forever. There is a limit even to God's patience. Once God starts to transmit His knowledge to you, you better receive it and properly act on it or the consequences could be fatal. To whom much is given, much more is expected. God will hold you personally accountable for the knowledge and wisdom that He will give to you. There is no turning back on this road of knowledge once God starts to enlighten you and show you His ways of living in this life. 18. The Story of King Solomon Without question, the greatest story in the Bible of someone who sought after the knowledge and wisdom of God and actually received it was King Solomon in the Old Testament. What happened to this man was just about beyond belief.

The Bible Basics When Solomon became King of Israel, he knew he did not have the knowledge and wisdom to properly rule his people. So what did he do? He went direct to God the Father and asked Him for His knowledge and His wisdom to rule the people. He admitted his weakness in this area and was not afraid to press in and start asking God for His knowledge. So what did God do when he asked Him for His knowledge to help rule his people? God did not meet him halfway, He met him all the way! God tells Solomon because he did not ask for long life, riches or the death of his enemies for himself, but just asked for an "understanding heart" to judge his people and help with discerning between good and evil, God tells him that He will give him a "wise and understanding heart." God takes it one more incredible step further. He tells Solomon that the knowledge and wisdom that will be given to him will be like what no man has ever had before him and what no man will ever have after him! God will make this man the smartest man in Him that has ever lived, and that there would never be another man in the course of human history that would ever be his equal in this realm! Just stop and ponder on what an incredible thing this was, to have been given so much knowledge and wisdom direct from God Himself, that no man would ever be his equal in this gift! Then God goes one more extra step in order to put the icing on this man's cake. He then tells Solomon that since he did not ask for riches for himself, but just for the knowledge of God to rule his people, that he will now be given incredible riches and honor to go along with the knowledge and wisdom to rule his people. Then God adds the final touch on the riches and honor he will be given, telling Solomon that there shall never be another king like him all the days of his life and that he will surpass all the kings of the earth in "riches and wisdom." God ends up making this man the smartest and richest man in all of the earth at the time that he was living! If Solomon was really not asking God for wealth and riches, but just for the knowledge and wisdom to rule his people, why would God go so overboard in blessing this man with this kind of wealth, especially if he was not really asking for it and possibly not even desiring it? The main reason God rewarded Solomon with this kind of maximum wealth was not only to show him, but the rest of His people that would

The Bible Basics come later on, the extreme importance that each and every person seek after the knowledge of God for their own lives. By blessing Solomon with this kind of extreme wealth, God is telling all of us the extreme importance that we seek after Him and His knowledge for our lives. Seeking after the knowledge of God has to be a major priority in a believer's life. We cannot spiritually grow and develop in the Lord unless we first have His knowledge worked into us that will cause this spiritual growth to occur in the first place. And you can't get this knowledge worked into you unless you are first seeking after it! Seek, and then you will find. The reverse is also true, don't seek, and you will not find. And if you don't find the knowledge of God for your life, then the Holy Spirit will not have anything to work with to start the transformation and sanctification process within you. Really grab a hold of these two verses and the statements that God is making to Solomon, all because he got this ball rolling by simply asking God for His knowledge to help rule his people. 1. "Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?" And the speech pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked for this thing. Then God said to him: "Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days." (1 Kings 3:9-14) 2. "So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to

The Bible Basics hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart." (1 Kings 10:23) If King Solomon was able to receive this kind of knowledge and wisdom from God simply because he asked and really pressed in for it, then what can God personally do for you in this realm if you are willing to expend the time and energy to seek after it?

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Chapter 5 Bible Verses on Faith In this bible basic, we are giving you all of the main verses from the Bible on faith so you can fully understand what faith is all about, and what a very important part it will play in your own personal relationship with the Lord. We cannot emphasize enough the extreme power that are on these verses. Faith is your lifeline to the Lord. Lose your faith in the Lord, and you will lose all contact with Him. The very last verse listed at the bottom of this bible basic is one of the most bone-chilling verses in all of the Bible. This verse gives us the analogy of the branch and tree, and we as the branch of the tree can be cut off from the tree, which is Jesus, if we ever lose our faith in Him. This is a perfect description as to what can happen to someone in the spiritual realm if they should ever lose their faith in the Lord. Throw all of the temper tantrums you want, wrestle with God over certain issues you are really struggling with, but do not ever lose your faith in the Lord and then quit and walk off His playing field. Many of these verses are extreme, and we mean extreme. As we go through all of them under the appropriate captions below, we will highlight and point out certain key words and phrases so you can really grasp what the Lord is trying to tell you with some of these very intense verses. This is one of the most important topics you will ever study on in your own personal walk with the Lord. Really meditate on the knowledge and revelation that are in these verses, and make sure that you always keep your faith fully intact with the Lord, and do not ever be tempted to want to lose your faith in Him and with what He is doing with your life. These verses, and the knowledge and revelation that is in each one of them, are major foundational verses that have to become an actual part of your own personal walk with the Lord. Burn many of these verses into your memory banks, as these kinds of

The Bible Basics powerful verses is what will get you through some of the tougher types of storm clouds that could come your way in this life. 1. What is Faith? The very first thing you will need to know is exactly what faith is, and one major verse alone will give you that perfect definition. Here is the very first foundational verse you must have underneath your belt on the topic of faith. It would also be our strong recommendation that you commit this verse to full memorization.

● “Now

faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) The first word to key in on is the word “substance”, that “faith is the substance” of things hoped for. Some believe that the word “substance” should be interpreted literally. If that assumption is correct, then this means that faith is a “spiritual substance” that is literally on the inside of each one of us. However, other Bible scholars do not agree with this interpretation. Their reasoning is based off the Greek word for “substance.” The Greek word for “substance” is the word “hypostasis,” and this word means the following: “A setting under or support (foundation), assurance, confidence, confident expectation, an assured impression and a mental realizing.” Some other good definitions on what faith is from some of the different Bible Dictionaries and Commentaries are the following: 1. The assurance of things hoped for 2. A belief or confident attitude toward God 3. Conviction, trust, belief, reliance, and a trustworthiness towards God Whether faith is a spiritual substance on the inside of you, or more of a mental quality that operates more in your mind and heart, it has the ability to grow on the inside of you. 2. How Faith Comes To Us These next 3 verses should also be committed to full memorization, as they will all set the stage as to exactly how God has the faith game set up with all of us. Even though these verses are very short one-liners, do not let that fool you. When you put these three verses together like pieces to a jigsaw puzzle, the revelation will come through loud and clear.

The Bible Basics Here they are: 1.“As God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3) 2.“Because your faith grows exceedingly.” (2 Thessalonians 1:3) 3.“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) a) God Himself will give each person a certain “measure of faith.” Why would God want to give each person a certain measure of faith? The main reason being is that you cannot get saved in the Lord without a certain measure of faith operating in you, as the Bible tells us that we are saved by grace through our “faith” in Jesus. So God has no other alternative but to give each person a certain measure of faith, otherwise we would never be able to get saved through His Son Jesus. b) Not only do we all get a certain measure of faith to start off with from the Lord, but this faith is now capable of actually growing on the inside of us. The very first analogy that came to our mind was the scale of 1-10, with 1 being the least amount of faith you could have in the Lord, and 10 being the most amount of faith you could have in the Lord. How our faith could not only grow over the years in the Lord, but also how it could dip or decrease if you ever got hit with a real nasty storm cloud, as you would then start to question God as to whether or not He can actually help you handle this type of heavier storm cloud. It is very easy to have high levels of faith in the Lord when everything is going good and great, but let someone face a heavier type of storm cloud, and all of a sudden their high levels of faith in the Lord could take a major nosedive, as they then start yelling at God as to how He could have allowed this kind of heavy storm cloud to come into their life in the first place. This is why the apostle Paul says we have to fight the good fight of faith. Sometimes we have to “fight” to keep our faith levels up in the Lord, especially when we are going through some very trying circumstances in our own personal life. c) We have all been given a certain measure of faith by the Lord, and that this faith is now actually capable of growing on the inside of us, this next verse will now tell us exactly how we can get that faith to start growing on the inside of us. Faith “comes’ by hearing the Word of God. And what does the Bible mean by “hearing” the Word of God? “Hearing” the Word of God means

The Bible Basics that you are reading the Bible for yourself, trying to understand and assimilate it all as best as you can. If you will be willing to spend some good, regular, quality time in reading the Bible and trying to understand it as best as you can with the help of the Holy Spirit, then your faith levels will start to grow and increase on the inside of you. Why? Because you are now starting to “believe” what you are reading about the Lord from His Word. You are now finding out who God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit really are. And not only are you getting to know more about Them as far as Their actual personality qualities, but you are also getting to see how They have interacted with the human race and how much They really do love and care for all of us. Once you start to see how much God really does love and care for all of the people He has dealt with in the past in the Bible, then you will see and realize that He will care just as much for you, since the Bible tells us that He is no respecter of persons. As a result of this new kind of spiritual knowledge entering into your mind and spirit, your faith in the Lord will start to increase, especially when you start reading many of the powerful miracles that God did for people back in both the OT and NT. And if God can supernaturally help people back then, then He can still do the exact same thing for all of us in this day and age, since the Bible tells us that God cannot and will not change, and that He is the same today as He was yesterday. This means that the God of the Bible is the same God in this day and age, and what you have read about Him from the past in the Bible will also apply to all of us in this current day and age. If you do not continue to stay in the Bible to increase your knowledge levels about the Lord, then your faith can actually stop growing in Him. It can stagnate, like someone turning off a light switch. It is the Holy Spirit Himself who will cause your faith levels to increase with God over time. All of a sudden your faith has just gone from a 3 to a 4. And then further on down the road, your faith has just gone from a 4 to a 5. We can go from “faith to faith” and from “strength to strength,” which are two more good verses showing us that our faith levels in the Lord can actually increase over time. The Holy Spirit will not cause your faith levels to increase over time with the Lord unless you first do your part, and your first part is to get into the Word on some kind of regular basis and try to acquire as much knowledge as you possibly can about the

The Bible Basics Lord. The key is knowledge. God wants us to “grow” in His “knowledge” and grace. And if you will be willing to grow in the knowledge of God through the study of Scripture, then the Holy Spirit Himself will start to supernaturally move to increase your faith levels in the Lord over time. But He first needs something to work with and that something is knowledge. The Holy Spirit will not do this kind of work for you free of charge. You have to be willing to show God that you mean serious business with Him, and that you want to learn all you can about Him and all of His ways by studying the Bible. Do your part by trying to learn as much about God as you possibly can by studying the Bible, and then the Holy Spirit will do His part, and He will then start to gradually increase your faith levels in the Lord over time. And then once your faith levels start to increase over time with the Lord, then God will be able to do greater and mightier things either for you or through you to help other people out. You can sum all of this up in one simple little statement, as you grow in the knowledge of God through your study of the Bible, then your faith will start to grow right along with it. Stop growing in the knowledge of God and your faith will stop growing right along with it. There is a direct correlation between these two. Greater increase in knowledge will lead to a greater increase in faith in the Lord. 3. We Are Saved by Grace Through Faith The number one reason God has to give each person a certain measure of faith is so they can get saved through the blood of His Son Jesus. Here are 2 very good verses showing us that we are saved by grace through our “faith” in Jesus. 1.“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) 2.“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2) Notice three key phrases, that we are “saved through FAITH,” that we have been “justified by FAITH,” and that we “have access by FAITH into this grace.”

The Bible Basics This is why God has to give each person a certain measure of faith, for without it, none of us would be able to get saved in the Lord. 4. Faith Without Works is Dead Though we can only be saved by grace through our faith in Jesus, and works has absolutely nothing to do with us being able to receive our eternal salvation in Jesus, this still does not take works out of our walk with the Lord. In no uncertain terms, our faith in the Lord has to be backed up with good works. If it is not, then our faith will be considered “dead” in the eyes of God. Faith without works is dead. Here is the verse: ● “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead, Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?, You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only, For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:17-26) We can have high levels of faith in the Lord, but if we do not back up that strong faith with some type of good works for Him, then our faith will be considered dead in His eyes. Look what it says about Abraham. Abraham obviously had great faith in the Lord, but he still had to back up that great faith with good works. When Abraham was willing to put his one and only son Isaac on altar to sacrifice him because God was asking him to do this for Him, Abraham had to show God that he was now willing to put his faith into major action with Him. If Abraham would not have done this, his faith would have been considered dead in the eyes of God, since he would not have been willing to back up his faith in the Lord with a specific type of action and work. Faith all by itself with the Lord will not get the job done. You have to be willing to put your faith into major action with the Lord, and the only way you can do this is by being willing to do specific types of works for the Lord down here in this life. The last line of the above verse really sums all of this up very nicely. It says that just as the body would be dead without the spirit, so our faith without any type of works to back it up will also be considered dead in the eyes of the Lord.

The Bible Basics Once you get saved through your faith in Jesus, God will now expect you to come and “work” for Him. He now has a perfect plan and destiny set up for your life. And in that perfect plan and destiny for your life will be all of the “good works” you will be doing for the Lord. And if you are willing to do these types of good works for the Lord, then your faith will not be considered dead in His eyes, but fully alive, and He will then appropriately reward you for those good works once you enter into heaven to be with Him for all of eternity. 5. Faith the Size of a Mustard Seed Will Move Mountains The next thing you will need to grab a hold of with the Lord is that you do not have to have great or large amounts of faith to get the show going with Him. On a scale of 1-10, you do not need your faith up in the 8-10 levels to get Him to move in your life. As these next two powerful verses will tell you, all you need is faith the size of a mustard seed to get God to become very active in your life. And everyone has at least a mustard seed size of faith, since God has to give each person a certain measure of faith to get the ball rolling with Him. The mustard seed is supposed to be one of the smallest, if not the smallest of all of the seeds, and yet Jesus is telling us in the following verses that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, then we will be able to move mountains in Him when we have too. This is an extremely powerful revelation being given to us by the Lord. What God is trying to tell us is that though He will give each person a certain measure of faith to start out with, for most of us, that certain measure will be probably be on the lower end of the scale. It might only be faith in the 1-3 category. Over time, that faith can start to increase on the inside of you as you read and study the Bible for yourself. Even though you might have low levels of faith in the Lord to start out with, do not let that discourage you or set you back, as all you need is a very small amount of faith in Him to get the show going with Him. God will take whatever small amount of faith you may have in Him, and from there, He will then start to work in your life to build it up in the specific directions that He will want it to go in. All God needs is your full consent and a little bit of faith mixed in with it to get it all going with Him. And these next two verses will spell all of that out for you. Here are 2 extremely powerful verses giving us this revelation from the

The Bible Basics Lord. 1. So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (Luke 17:6) 2. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast him out?” So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:19-20) So the next time you feel that your faith is not strong enough or high enough in the Lord, remember what these two verses are telling you. If you have been hit by a very nasty storm cloud and you feel that your faith levels might have been knocked down from a “6″ to a “4″, do not let that bother you. God will still continue to work with that “4″ level of faith. And then once you see God start to move to actually deliver you from this bad storm cloud, then your faith levels will start to raise back up to that “6″ level again. 6. Faith to Faith, Strength to Strength We can go from “faith to faith” and from “strength to strength” in our walk with the Lord. You can go to “faith to faith,” We can go from one level of faith to the next level of faith. We go back to the scale of 1-10 to try and understand this principle. We can actually go from one level of strength to the next level of strength with the Lord, which means we can actually get stronger in our both our faith levels and our strength levels in the Lord. This little one-liner came out of the blue one day. He said to us, “You’re only as strong as your faith.” And when He said “faith,” He was talking about our faith in Him, not our faith in our faith. We knew then what He was trying to tell us, that the stronger and higher our faith levels would become in Him, the stronger person we would then become in Him. And the reason for that is because once you know that God has you fully covered and fully taken care of, you will then become much more confident and much more relaxed in your walk with the Lord. And once your confidence levels to start to increase in the Lord, then your strength levels will follow right along with it. If nothing is impossible with God, then nothing is impossible for you in your walk with God, since you now have higher levels of faith in God to

The Bible Basics believe in Him for the impossible. Here are these 2 powerful verses giving us this specific revelation: 1.“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “the just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17) 2.“Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage, They go from strength to strength.” (Psalm 84:5-7) So not only does God give each person a certain measure of faith to start out with, but this faith is actually capable of growing and increasing in Him, where you can then start to get to the point of where you are starting to go from faith to faith and strength to strength in your own personal walk with Him. 7. We Walk By Faith, Not By Sight These next five verses are now going to add some more meat to all of the above revelation. We walk in this life by our faith in the Lord, not by our sight or by our other natural senses. Here they are: 1.“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) 2.“But the just shall live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4) 3.“Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” (Hebrews 10:38) 4.“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) 5.“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) a) We walk by faith and not by sight. We walk by our faith in the Lord and we then do what He tells us to do in this life. We do not walk by our sight, by our wisdom, or by what the world is trying to tell us is the right thing to do. Example, say you have just lost your job. The economy is in a bad recession. Almost 20% of people are now unemployed. This is where you will now have to put this verse into major action. If you depend on what you are “seeing” with how bad the economy is right now, you will then start to get very upset and discouraged, and from there, you will then start

The Bible Basics to doubt that even God Himself will be able to overcome this hurdle for you and lead you to the next new job He will want you to have. What you are now doing is depending on what you are seeing with your natural eyes. What you are seeing with your own natural eye is a 20% unemployment rate, and the chances being very poor on you getting any type of new job. This is where you have to back off with what you are seeing with your natural eyes and then start to try and see all of this through the eyes of God. If nothing is impossible with God, then this means that God can obviously bring your next new job to you very quickly. You now have to put all of your faith and trust in God, not putting your faith in what you are seeing with your own natural eyes and your own natural mind. b) The next two verses will now drive this point further home, as it tells us that the just shall live by their faith in God, once more emphasizing the point that our faith has to be directly in God, not with what we are seeing in the natural realm with our natural eyes. If a person starts to pull back from Him, that His soul will have no pleasure in him. And if God is no longer going to have any more pleasure with you, then you are now going to be in big trouble with Him. Once you enter into a true faith walk with the Lord, you can never pull back or bail out on Him. If you do, the consequences could be extreme and severe. Once you have fully surrendered your entire being and your entire life into the Lordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hands for His full direction and handling, from this point on you have to live this life as a life of faith directly in the Lord, not a life of faith in yourself, your parents, your best friends, or any part of this world. God is now your Lord and Master, and all of your faith now has to be directly in Him. And the sooner you can learn this principle and get it worked into your own personal walk with the Lord, the better your life is going to be in the Lord. 8. Do Not Doubt or Waver in Your Faith These next 6 verses are now going to really turn up the heat on this topic. Now that you know that God wants you to totally walk this life out with a very strong faith in Him, these next 6 verses are going to add one more very intense warning to all of this. Here they are:

The Bible Basics 1.“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8) 2.“My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.” (James 2:1) 3.“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23) 4.“So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And all things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:21-22) 5.“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast in to the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:23-24) 6. And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught Him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:28-31) a) Once you enter into a true faith walk with the Lord, the next thing you will want to concentrate on is to not let your faith ever start to waver, or let any kind of doubt start to creep in on you. It is very easy to have high levels of faith in the Lord when everything is going good and great, but let any kind of nasty storm cloud come knocking on your door, and all of a sudden your high levels of faith in the Lord can actually start to waver and drop on you. If this should ever happen to you, that you will then become like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind, and from there, you will become a double-minded man who will become unstable in all of his ways. The reason you will become unstable in all of your ways is because you will

The Bible Basics have lost direct contact with the one Person who could get you through this nasty storm cloud in the first place, and that one Person is the Lord Himself. That is why you can never lose your faith in the Lord, or let it start to waver and drop on you. If you do, you will then become like a ping-pong ball, constantly going back and forth between your faith in God, and faith in yourself and with what you are seeing with your own natural eyes. This is why you always have to keep your eyes on Jesus, especially when you are having to face a heavier type of storm cloud. If you jump to the very last verse, this is exactly what happened with Peter when he started to walk on water with Jesus. As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he was just fine and he had no problems in being able to walk on that water. But as soon as he takes his eyes off of Jesus and puts them on the boisterous winds all around him, this is when he starts to sink. And from there, Jesus tells him that he is of little faith and why did he start to doubt to begin with. b) We should not hold our faith in the Lord with any kind of partiality. The word “partiality” means “favoritism, tendency to favor unfairly, bias.” God wants all of our faith to be totally in Him and then once we do that, not to let our faith start to waver or let any kind of doubt start to creep in. We have learned over the years that it is much easier to keep our faith up in the Lord and let Him work out any personal problems we may encounter instead of getting all worried, anxious, and bent out of shape. c) We can remove mountains if we have enough faith in Him and do not doubt. We can move mountains if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, He is now adding one other factor into all of this, and that one other factor is to have a type of faith in Him that will not waver. And once you start to let any type of doubt creep in, then your faith will start to waver and drop on you. Not only does God want all of us to have a very strong type of faith in Him, but He wants this faith to be the type that will not waver or drop on Him. 9. All Things Are Possible to Him Who Believes These next 6 verses are going to be the ones you will really have to ground on and believe on once you start to face any kind of serious

The Bible Basics adversity in this life. No matter how hopeless things may start to appear to you in the natural, you have to believe what these next set of verses are trying to tell you. If you can do that, then God will move to solve your dilemma and get you through the trial with a victory. These next 4 verses will tell you the following: 1. All things are possible to him who believes 2. With God all things are possible 3. For with God nothing will be impossible 4. The things which are impossible with men are possible with God God says that “all things” are possible to those who will believe in Him. And if all things are possible with God, then that will also include Him being able to handle any type of storm cloud that may have just come into your life. The above 4 phrases should be committed to full memorization so you do not ever forget how powerful our God really is. If our God is allpowerful, then there will be absolutely nothing that He cannot do on our behalf. And these next 6 verses are going tell us exactly that! Here are these additional 6 verses showing us how powerful our God really is: 1. Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23) 2. As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” (Mark 5:36) 3.“With God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26) 4.“For with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) 5. But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” (Luke 18:27) 6.“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.” (1 John 5:4) Once you fully understand that God is all-powerful and that there is absolutely nothing that He cannot do for you, then you will be able to put all of your faith and trust in Him because you will realize that there is no one else in your life who can do what He can do for you. Only God is allperfect and all-powerful, and He thus is the only One you can put all of your true faith and trust in. 10. God Will Test Your Faith Levels From Time to Time From time to time, God will arrange for circumstances to occur in your

The Bible Basics personal life where He will purposely test your faith levels in Him. And when He does start to do this with you, it is very important that you take these faith tests very seriously and do your best to pass them so you can be kept on the divine path and destiny that He has already set up for you and your life. Here are 2 of these key verses that will show you that from time to time God will personally test your faith levels in Him. 1.“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuiness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:69) 2.“But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10) 11. Acts of Strong Faith From the Bible So you can see how big of a thing it is that you try to get your faith operating at these higher levels with the Lord, Here are 11 major verses from the Bible giving you specific examples of different people who did have these higher levels of faith in the Lord and what happened to them. God will be able to do greater and mightier things either for you or through you to help other people out if you will just believe that He can do these types of heavier miracles for you. Really study and meditate on these next set of verses, as they are all showing you what can happen to a person if they will just fully believe on the Lord with no doubting or no wavering on their end. Here they are: 1. Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” (Numbers 13:30) 2.“And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people, And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.” (Acts 6:8-10) 3.“And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” (Acts 3:16)

The Bible Basics 4. And when He came into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” And their eyes were opened. (Matthew 9:2830) 5. Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.” (Matthew 15:28) 6. And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment; for she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” But Jesus turned around and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” (Matthew 9:21-22) 7. Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done to you.” And his servant was healed that same hour. (Matthew 8:13) 8. And Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way, your faith has made you well.” And immediately He received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. (Mark 10:51-52) 9.“My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God.” (Daniel 6:22-23) 10.“By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would afterward receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going, By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son” (Hebrews 11:7-17) 11.“And the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” (Hebrews 11:32-34) Notice how many times Jesus would ask someone if they had enough

The Bible Basics faith to believe that He could heal them. And then once they said they had enough faith in Him to do this, then Jesus would immediately heal them. Jesus then goes as far as to tell them that what got them healed was their faith, even though it was the Holy Spirit Himself who really healed them. But it was the person’s faith and belief in Jesus that got the Holy Spirit to move in on them to do the actual healing. Your faith is your lifeline to the Lord, and in that lifeline God can manifest His healing power to you if you would ever need it in this life. The last 2 verses show you how many of these great men of God did what they did because they had these higher levels of faith in the Lord. The last verse is another major power verse in that it starts out with the wording, “who through faith,” and from there, it spells out exactly what many of these great men of God ended up doing for Him, and it was all done as a result of their strong faith in the Lord. This is why it is extremely important for each Christian to try and increase their faith levels in the Lord over time. If you do, then God will be able to use you in mightier and stronger ways just like He did with many of the great men and women of the Bible. 12. Be Faithful Until Death Once you enter in on a true faith walk with the Lord, then there will be no bailing out on Him, ever! This has be a faith walk to your last dying breath. It has to be a faith to the death. As one of the verses below will tell you, you have to be willing to be “faithful until death.” Notice these 4 key phrases as you are studying these next set of verses: 1. Be faithful until death 2. Fight the good fight of faith 3. Continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast 4. Stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong These 4 key phrases should be committed to full memorization so you never, ever forget that you stay fully faithful to the Lord until your last dying breath, and that once you start it up with Him, that you continue in it, always remaining grounded and steadfast in it. Here are 12 very powerful verses showing us the extreme importance that once we start up this faith walk with the Lord, that we continue in it to the day we die. And also notice some of the incredible benefits and blessings we can receive from the Lord if we can stay true, loyal, and

The Bible Basics faithful to Him for the long run. 1.“Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer, Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10) 2.“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2) 3.“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called” (1 Timothy 6:12) 4.“If indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast” (Colossians 1:23) 5.“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.” (1 Corinthians 16:13) 6.“For the Lord preserves the faithful” (Psalm 31:23) 7.“Therefore do not cast away your confidence which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.” (Hebrews 10:35) 8.“But Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.” (Hebrews 3:6) 9.“And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations.” (Revelation 2:26) 10.“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (Revelation 3:21) 11.“He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” (Revelation 3:5) 12.“For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Hebrews 6:10-12) God will be rewarding us up in heaven according to all of the good works we have done for Him down here on this earth. And if you can keep your personal faith levels up in the Lord during your entire lifetime, then you will fully complete all of your divine assignments for Him, and from there, you will then be appropriately and highly rewarded once you enter

The Bible Basics into heaven. 13. Do Not Ever Lose Your Faith in the Lord We never, ever lose our faith in the Lord and bail out on Him with what He wants to do with our lives. As the last set of verses have showed you, this has to be a faith walk to the death with the Lord. The very last verse below has some very specific wording in it that is just bone-chilling to read. This last verse is using the vine and the branch analogy, with us being the branches and Jesus being the vine. This last verse tells us that if we ever lose our faith in the Lord, that we can then be cut off from the Lord just like a branch can be cut off from the vine. And you know what happens to a branch once it gets cut off from the tree. It will then fall straight to the ground, and from there, it will wither and die. The branch of a tree cannot live if it is not connected to the trunk of that tree. And in the same way, we cannot fully live in the Lord unless we stay fully connected to Him. And what keeps us fully connected to Jesus like the branch is with the vine? It is our faith in Him. This is why we call our faith in the Lord our “lifeline” to Him, for without it, we will never be able to connect to Him. Because of their “unbelief,” they were broken off, just like the branch of a tree can be totally broken off from the tree itself. The second last verse then adds more bone-chilling revelation to all of this when it tells us that God will be calling any type of unbelief in Him and any kind of departing from Him an “evil heart.” If you ever lose your faith and belief in the Lord, and from there, start to depart from Him, God will see this as an evil type of heart and from there, He will cut you completely off from Him, just like a branch can be totally cut off from the tree. You cannot get any more of a serious warning than what is in these last two verses. This is why each Christian has to get it settled in their minds and their hearts, that once they start on this true faith walk with the Lord, that they never, ever change their minds and attempt to pull away from Him. If they do, we would not even want to try and fathom what the consequences would be with the way these last two verses are being worded by the Lord. Here are these last 5 verses: 1.“And He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” (Matthew 13:58)

The Bible Basics 2.“So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:19) 3.“But the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:2-3) 4.“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.” (Hebrews 3:12-14) 5. You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you will also be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.” (Romans 11:19-23) Jesus Himself could not do many miracles in His own home town as a result of their “unbelief.” If you want the Lord to do any type of supernatural miracles for you in this life, then you have to start believing and having faith that He can actually do these types of heavier miracles for you. You saw how many times in one of the above captions how often Jesus would ask those who needed a healing from Him if they had enough faith and belief in Him that He could actually heal them. You have to be willing to mix your faith in with the Word. If you do not, then the Word will have no transforming effect on you and your life. You have to believe what the Bible is telling you before anything will start to actually happen in your life with the Lord. The Word of God will give you the knowledge that you will need in this life, but if you do not mix in some level of faith with that knowledge, then nothing is ever going to happen in your life with the Lord.

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Chapter 6 Obedience to the Lord The absolute number 1 key in being able to find exactly what your true divine destiny is going to be in the Lord is to be willing to come into a full and complete surrender of your entire life with Him. Once you are willing to commit to making a full and complete surrender of your body, your soul, your spirit and your entire life into the hands of God the Father, then God will take immediate control of your life and He will then start to lead you and your life into the specific direction that He will want it to go in. He will perfectly lead you into what your true calling is going to be in Him. He will lead you to the person that He will want you to marry if it is His perfect will that you get married in this life. He will supernaturally open up doors for you so that you can advance from one level of service to the next level of service. And not only will God be perfectly guiding you every step of the way as you advance up your own personal ladder of success in Him, but He will also be divinely protecting you along the way so that you can make it into each of these levels of service in one piece. And as long as you are willing to stay in this full surrender with Him, He will take you all the way to your own personal finish line, which will be the end of your life, so that you can fully complete all of your divine assignments and missions for Him in this life. All of this is fully explained to you in our bible basic "The Full Surrender". In that bible basic, we give you all of the appropriate verses from Scripture that will show you that this is what God is really wanting from each one of us and exactly how to enter into this full surrender with the Lord if you have never done this before. God will actually guide our steps in this life through the Holy Spirit. It is now the job of each Christian to be fully led by the Holy Spirit in this

The Bible Basics life. We are no longer in control of our life. God will now be the Captain of our ship and the Commander-in-Chief in our lives. God will now be the One to run the entire show of our lives. We are no longer even our own, as Jesus Himself has now bought us back at the price of His death on the cross. We now belong to God and Jesus and no one else in this life, including ourselves. As perfect and rosy as this scenario appears to be, there is just one small little problem with all of this. This one small little problem is our flesh and ego. Our flesh will not want to take orders from anyone, including the Lord Himself. Our flesh and ego will still want to try and run our own lives, decide what jobs and vocations we will strive after in this life, decide who we will marry, and choose who our friends will be in this life. We want to be in total and complete control of our lives, and we want to sink or swim all on our own efforts so that we can have all of the glory and fame for ourselves if all of our efforts turn out to be successful. Though we know God is all-powerful and all-perfect and that He knows much better than we do what we should really be doing with our lives, there still seems to be something inside of most of us that still wants to try and do all of this on our own, operating out of our own strength, wisdom and intelligence. You will end up laboring in vain if you try and build the house of your life operating all on your own efforts and wisdom. The Lord has to be the One to build the house of our lives. Anything that we build, earn, achieve or accomplish operating out of own flesh in this life will in no way be as highly rewarded once we enter into heaven as the works that are done operating in God's perfect will and plan for our lives. Each and every Christian has to make one, big whopper personal decision in this life, and that one decision is who is going to run your life from here on in, you or God? This is an all-or-nothing decision. Either you are going to let God have full, complete and total control of every aspect of your life or you are not. You cannot straddle the fence post with either yourself or the Lord on this decision. If you do, you will end up paralyzing yourself and you will never accomplish anything of any real worth in this lifetime. If you decide that you do want to make this full and complete surrender with the Lord and let Him guide your steps in this life into His perfect

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The Bible Basics plan and destiny for your life, you will now have to make one more big decision. You will now have to make sure that you will be willing to be perfectly obedient to the Lord with whatever He will be asking you to do for Him in this life. It is one thing to be able to start out making this full surrender with the Lord, but it is going to be quite another thing to be able to stay in perfect obedience to the Lord as you proceed along in your life's journey with Him. There will come times when God will tell you to do one thing and you will want to do another thing. At times, it may literally become a battle of wills, your will against God's will, over certain issues or certain situations that will occur in your life. You will simply have to make an all-or-nothing decision that you will be perfectly obedient to the Lord to your last dying breath. Once you enter into this full-surrendered power walk with the Lord, you will always have to agree to do things His way. It's either God's way or the highway. There are no middle grounds or neutral areas in this part of our walk with the Lord. Jesus is the Shepherd, we are the sheep. He leads, we follow. It is the job of the sheep to always follow and obey the Shepherd. Though God will sometimes be willing to consider your personal arguments and contentions over certain issues or matters in your life, what you will have to really ground on is that God will always be knowing what is going to be best for each situation that you will be personally encountering in this life. You are going to have to be willing to accept whatever God's final decisions are going to be on certain issues in your life. And this is where it can get really tough and trying. Though you know God will always know what is going to be best for each major decision that you will have to make in this life, your flesh will still try to act up and try to get its own way, especially if it is something that you are really wanting. We simply cannot stress enough the importance that you fully realize that your personal obedience to the Lord in this life will be the major deciding factor as to whether or not you fully accomplish all of your divine destiny for Him. You will never complete and fulfill your divine destiny, receive the

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The Bible Basics blessings that God would have had in store for you in this life, find your true soul mate, and find what you were really created to be in this life unless you are willing to perfectly obey all of God's specific instructions and directions on how to actually get you there. If God is going to be willing to enter you into His perfect plan and destiny for your life, be willing to perfectly guide you every step of the way so that you can reach and fulfill that divine destiny, and be willing to anoint you with His power, grace and ability so that you can be very good and very successful at whatever He will be calling you to do for Him, but you are not going to be willing to obey all of His specific commands, directions and instructions on how to actually get there, then you will never make it out of the dugout, much less ever make it to the top of your own personal mountain in the Lord. You will spend your whole life in the dugout watching all of God's perfect plan and destiny for your life pass you by and once it passes you by, it will be gone for all of eternity. You will never get another chance to get it all back again. You will never be able to turn back the hands of time and try and start all over again once your divine destiny in the Lord has fully passed you by. You only have one shot, one window and one opportunity to fulfill your divine destiny in the Lord. And the only two things that will enable you to fulfill your true divine destiny in the Lord is you being willing to enter into this full surrender with Him, and then being willing to be perfectly obedient to the Lord with whatever instructions, commands or directions that He will be giving you along the way through His Holy Spirit. It really is that simple, but yet so many Christians completely miss out on what their true callings and divine destinies would have been in this life, all because they did not want to be perfectly obedient to the Lord with what He was calling and asking them to do for Him in this life. Two of the most glaring examples of this obedience factor coming into major play in the Bible has to be the story of Abraham and Moses. God first tested Abraham's obedience. He asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac on an altar. God obviously had no real intentions on having

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The Bible Basics Abraham literally kill his son. All God wanted to see was if Abraham would really obey His specific command. And once Abraham showed God that he would perfectly obey this order and would be willing to go all the way through with it, God commanded him to stop and then pronounced one of the most incredible blessings and rewards that would ever befall anyone in the Old Testament. He told Abraham that from his seed all the nations of the world would be blessed and that from his bloodline His Son Jesus would be born into this world. Abraham thus started the generational blood line that would eventually lead up to Jesus being born into this world through the virgin Mary. And all of this incredible domino action started as a result of Abraham being perfectly obedient to the Lord on that one special order. Abraham was thus highly rewarded because of his perfect obedience to God the Father. Moses managed to do just the opposite. Moses was not allowed to go into the Promised Land because he directly disobeyed a specific command given to him by the Lord. What happened in this incident is that God told Moses to speak out to a rock in the presence of the Israelites and that the rock would then bring forth water for the people and their animals. For some strange reason, Moses strikes the rock twice with his rod instead of just speaking out to the rock as God had specifically told him to do. He was thus in direct violation of a direct command by the Lord. The Bible really doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t say why Moses did this. He obviously should have known better. Though Moses ended up being one of the greatest men in all of the Bible with everything that He had accomplished in the Lord, his story ends on a rather sad and tragic note, all because he did not perfectly obey God the Father on this one specific command. These two men's dramatic stories in the Lord should be a major lesson to each and everyone of us on the extreme importance that we get it through our sometimes thick skulls that we have to walk this walk in perfect obedience to the Lord. If we don't, the results could end up being very sad, if not possibly tragic and fatal.

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The Scripture Verses Here are 9 powerful verses from the Bible all having the word "obey" or some form of that word in each one of them. God is not mincing any words. You can tell by the tone and the straight forward language being used by the Lord that He is letting all of us know, loud and clear, that He is the One who has to call all of the shots in our lives, and it is up to each and everyone of us to perfectly obey Him every step of the way as we journey through this life. 1. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:29) 2. "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live, that you may love the Lord your God, that you may OBEY HIS VOICE, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days" (Deuteronomy 30:19) 3. "If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures." (Job 36:11) 4. "And the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith." (Acts 6:7) 5. "You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?" (Galatians 5:7) 6. "and having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him" (Acts 5:9) 7. "But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered." (Romans 6:17) 8. "Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart" (1 Peter 1:22) 9. "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the

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The Bible Basics Lord, He also has rejected you from being king." Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice." (1 Samuel 15:22-24) The first verse has a major key phrase that should be memorized by all Christians. Peter says that we should "obey God rather than men." This powerful command really has major relevance in this day and age, especially with our young children who are constantly having to battle the temptation to follow after other people who are not living their life the way God would like them to live it. Every minute of every day someone is getting burned, hurt or possibly killed as a result of following after the wrong people or the wrong crowd. What they are doing is "obeying" and "following" after other people in this life rather than obeying and following directly after the Lord God has the big picture all set up. Either we choose to fully "obey" God's voice and follow directly after Him and all of His ways for our life and receive His "life" and "blessings" for our life, or we can choose to follow other people or the ways of this corrupt world and then end up bringing down "death" and "cursing" upon us and our families. There are no middle grounds or neutral areas with the way this verse is being specifically worded. In addition to obeying the Lord direct, that we have to obey His "truth" and His "doctrine", which means that we have to obey all of the direct words and truth of the Bible, since all of the Bible comes to us direct from God the Father through the Holy Spirit and is thus perfectly inspired, infallible and inerrant. The last verse is talking about King Saul and how he got into major trouble with the Lord because he was not being obedient to the Lord with some of the decisions he made in his life. Saul actually tells Samuel that he directly transgressed and sinned against the Lord as result of obeying the people's voice instead of directly obeying God's voice. He apparently obeyed the people rather than God because he "feared the people." How many Christians are following after the wrong people or the wrong crowd in this life because they are fearing what other people may think about them if they do not do what everyone else is

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The Bible Basics doing? The fear of man seduces and entraps many people, including many Christians, and many lives are totally ruined if not cut completely short with an early death as a result of the consequences of following after the wrong people in this life. Christians as well as unbelievers are sheep being led right into some of these slaughterhouses because they are following after the wrong shepherds in this life. The Lord is our Shepherd and we as His sheep are to follow directly after Him in this life, not the world or any of the other people in this world. The last verse really sums up the extreme importance of being perfectly obedient to the Lord to the best of our abilities when God is telling us that "rebellion" is as the sin of "witchcraft" and "stubbornness" is the same thing as "iniquity" and "idolatry." Every time you directly disobey the Lord, you are committing a direct sin against Him, you are committing idolatry before Him since you are placing your wants and your desires over Him and what He wants to do with your life, and you are no better off than a witch or a warlock if you seek to follow after your own way or the ways of this world rather than the Lord Himself and His ways for your life. These extremely harsh and strong words being spoken by the Lord through the prophet Samuel to King Saul really apply to each and everyone of us if we try and buck the Lord and directly disobey Him like Saul managed to do so many times. There can only be one true captain of your ship, one true commanderin-chief and one true shepherd in your life. You can either choose to make yourself the captain of your ship, some of the other people in your life, or God Almighty Himself. All of the above verses are as clear as day as to who should be the Captain of your ship and the Shepherd of your soul, and that one Person is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His heavenly Father, who will then lead us in this life through His Holy Spirit.

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Specific Areas of Obedience With the Lord Even though this appears at first glance to be a very easy principle to abide by with the Lord, there are times that it will really be tough to do, especially with our flesh and spirits constantly warring against one another. Here are several specific areas that you could find yourself engaging in a major tug of war on with the Lord. 1. Your Divine Call in the Lord Either one of two things will happen in this first area. Either you will be in full and complete agreement with the Lord with what He will be calling you to do for Him in this life, or you will have initial problems with the call, and you will then start to try and wrestle with the Lord over the specific call. Here are several examples of where you could possibly find yourself in a major wrestling match with the Lord: a) Perhaps God has given you an incredible singing voice. Your initial desire is to want to become a famous pop singing star. However, in God's perfect plan and destiny for your life, your singing talent is only going to be secondary to what His main purpose is going to be for you. He may be calling you to be a pastor of a large church and your singing talent will only be used as secondary gift next to your primary gift of being a great pastor to a large church. You will have to be willing to give up a major career in Hollywood in order to step into God's true calling on your life. And for some, this will be very hard to do because the flesh will want all of the glory and fame of becoming that famous pop singing star. b) Perhaps God is calling you to be a stay-at-home mom for the first 20 years of your marriage, but then you are also given an incredible opportunity to work yourself up in the higher levels of management at the company you used to work for. The temptation of all of that extra money, power and possible fame will be very tempting. God's perfect will for the first 20 years of your marriage is that you be the best stay-at-home mom that you can be for your

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The Bible Basics children. As tempting as this golden opportunity may at first appear to you, you will have to rely on God's final decision on this and if He tells you that He wants you to be a stay-at-home mom with your children, then you will have to go with His final decision on the matter. You will be rewarded up in heaven for the works that you will do directly for God operating under His perfect will for your life, not for the works that you will choose to do for yourself operating out of your own will for your life. c) For some others, God may call them to become doctors, attorneys, missionaries, evangelists, policeman, or business executives. But they may want to be something else entirely different. They may want to become musicians, politicians or high school or college teachers. God has a specific plan for your life and a specific direction that He will want to take your life in. Once you find out exactly what God wants to do with your life and the direction that He will want to take it in, you can either choose to come into full agreement with His perfect plan for your life or you can choose to walk out on Him and make your own decisions as to what jobs and vocations you will be seeking after in this life. We have to obey God in this life rather than ourselves or the other people in our lives. And the very first order of business with the Lord is that we perfectly obey the call and the direction that He will want to take our lives in. If we do, then we will be led on the path of our true divine destiny in Him and will thus be highly rewarded once we enter into heaven after we have completed and fulfilled that divine destiny for Him. 2. Who You Will Marry in This Life The next major order of business after making sure that you will perfectly obey the call that God will want to place on your life, is to make sure that you let God choose who you will be marrying in this life if it is in His perfect will that you get married in this life. We literally cannot even begin to count the number of Christian men and women we have met in our life who have never asked God who they should be marrying in this life. Many of them have either gone through multiple divorces or they are now living in lifeless, dead and miserable

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The Bible Basics marriages. Many people, when they are still dating at a young age, may fall madly in love with their current steady boyfriend or girlfriend. They think this person has to be their true soul mate. Then when they go to God to ask His opinion as to whether or not they should be marrying this person, and then God comes back and tells them that they have the wrong person, they end up in major wrestling matches with the Lord because they do not want to wait any longer and they are so sure that they have found the right person. Not fully realizing that God can perfectly see into their futures and that He can see who is going to change for the better and who is going to change for the worse over time, they decide to make their own decision and completely ignore what God is trying to tell them to do. They then end up marrying that wrong person and further on down the road they end up going through very painful, messy and traumatic divorces, not to mention the possibility of becoming the victims of verbal, physical or sexual abuse from someone who may have become completely psychotic over the years. Only God knows who would be best suited for you. Only God knows who will change for the better or who will change for the worse over the years of your marriage. Only God knows who will stay true, loyal and faithful to you. And only God knows where this person is located and exactly how to lead you to meet this person. And the only way to be able to get God to match you up with the man or woman of your dreams is to perfectly obey Him every step of the way as He leads you on your journey to eventually meet this person at the prescribed time that He has it set up to occur and manifest in your life. But if you disobey God and marry someone that He doesn't want you to marry, then you will never meet the true soul mate of His choice for your life and you will either end up living in a second or third best marriage if even that, or you will end up going through multiple partners trying to find that right person for you. Obey God every step of the way in your personal walk with Him, and He will then eventually lead you to the mate of His choice for your life if it is in His perfect will that you get married in this life. If God tells you to stay away from a certain person or to sever the dating relationship that you may already have with someone, then you

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The Bible Basics have to do exactly what He is telling you to do, no matter how good looking or how pretty that person may appear to you, and no matter how much you are in love with that person. 3. Choosing Who Your Friends Will Be in This Life Another major area where you can really get into some major wrestling matches with the Lord is in the area of choosing who your personal friends are going to be in this life. This is one major area that you really have to be led by the Lord on as you could get yourself into serious trouble if you choose to hang out and associate with the wrong type of people or the wrong crowd. We have to choose our friends very carefully in this life and that if we don't, bad and negative type friends can corrupt us and completely sever our personal walk and divine destiny that we will have with the Lord. Many Christians never enter on the road of their divine destiny in the Lord because they could never give up some of their negative friends. Their negative friends keep them bound up in their lower way of living in this life and they never break free from the chains of their dysfunctional destructive influences. If God is telling you that He wants some of your negative friends pruned out of your life, then you will have to go with His orders or you could possibly end up keeping yourself in the dugout for the rest of your earthly life, never accomplishing God's perfect will and plan for your life. Due to the very important influences that friends will have in our lives, we have to let God run this part of our life and let Him make the calls and the decisions as to who will become our good personal friends in this life. God knows much better than we do who we should be hooking up with in this life and who we should be staying away from since His knowledge and wisdom on all matters is absolutely perfect and ours is not. 4. Giving Up Different Vices and Addictions Once you enter into a true full surrender with the Lord where He is now going to fully guide you into your divine destiny for Him, one of the first things He is going to do is to make an attempt to clean up any bad vices and addictions you may have in your life.

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The Bible Basics We all have certain weaknesses and character flaws in our personalities due to the sin nature that we have all been born into this world with, but there are certain things that there will be no slack on with the Lord. Two specific things that He will definitely come after are the abuse of alcohol and any type of drug use, including pot! Once you step out into God's perfect plan and destiny for your life, you cannot give demons any kind of legal right to be able to start coming after you. And two of the biggest legal rights you can give demons is the abuse of alcohol and doing any type of drugs. Drugs especially are major door openers to the dark side since they directly affect your mind and mental abilities. The mind is the battlefield between God and the devil, and anything that you do to your mind to weaken its ability to properly function will cause demons to come after you. We have met numerous Christians who tried to make a full surrender with the Lord, but they were not willing to give up their pot smoking. In each one of these cases God came after them with a very heavy hand and He made it known very quickly and in no uncertain terms that they would not even get out of the dugout unless they were willing to totally and completely give up their pot smoking. Some people think that since pot is the lesser evil of all of the bad drugs that are out there, that maybe God will cut them some slack on it. But we can tell you from first-hand experience as a result of working with newborns that there is no slack with the Lord on this issue and if you continue to try and buck Him on this issue, then sooner or later He will come after you with a very heavy hand. He will only give you a certain amount of time to see the errors of your way on this issue, and if you are not willing to give it up, then you will be benched in His dugout, or should we say the doghouse! The same thing goes for the abuse of alcohol. There is some slack with those who can drink in proper moderation and do not abuse alcohol, but once you step past that slack line and start to abuse it, you will enter into major two-by-four territory with the Lord. If you can't control your use of alcohol, then sooner or later the alcohol will start to control you and when it does, you will not be able to properly function in your call with the Lord. That is why God will try and nip this abuse very early on in your walk with Him once you enter into this full surrender with Him.

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The Bible Basics You will have to make a decision on the areas that God will want to get properly cleaned up. You can either choose to obey the Lord and work with the power of the Holy Spirit to break these bad vices and addictions off of you, or you can choose to directly disobey the Lord and keep doing things your way. If you choose to keep disobeying the Lord on these kinds of issues, then you will get benched and your divine walk with Him will get completely shut down until you can agree to see and do things God's way. There will be no negotiating or trying to compromise your way out of some of these heavier sin areas with the Lord. Many Christians never enter into their true divine destines with the Lord, much less ever fully fulfill them, because they would not be obedient to the Lord with some of the areas that He was wanting to get cleaned up. If you are really serious about entering into a true full surrender with the Lord so that He can guide you into His perfect plan and destiny for your life, be very sensitive to the Holy Spirit with anything that He will want to bring up that will need to be taken out of your life. Obey the Lord in this area of your sanctification with Him, and He will then cut you free to fly into His perfect plan for your life. Choose to disobey and ignore God's orders, and you will stay stuck and grounded right where you are at until you can agree to do things His way. 5. Being Willing to Forgive Others Who Have Wronged You Another area in your sanctification with the Lord that He will make a very strong attempt to get cleaned up to some type of reasonable degree is in the area of being willing to fully forgive all of the people in your past who have hurt or trespassed against you in some way. With all of the dysfunctional abuse that has gone on and keeps going on in many marriages and families throughout the world, many people have been seriously hurt and wounded, and in many cases, quite severely. Physical and sexual abuse is rampant across this world and the victims are left with trying to get their lives back in order once they have broken free from their abusers, if they ever do. Once God has broken you free from any abusive situation you may have

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The Bible Basics been caught in, one of the first things He is going to ask you to do is to try and fully forgive the people who have abused you, no matter how bad or how severe that abuse may have been. God will ask you, sooner or later, to make an attempt to forgive all of those who have hurt and trespassed against you. The reason for this is contained in the following verse:

â&#x2014;? "AND

WHENEVER YOU STAND PRAYING, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that you Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." (Mark 11:25)

God will not forgive you of your sins unless you are first willing to forgive all of those who have trespassed against you. Second, God may not even be willing to hear any of your prayers until you are willing to do so since this verse is specifically starting out with the words "And whenever you stand praying." If you can't get any of your personal sins properly forgiven with the Lord or get any of your personal prayers answered with Him, then you will never make it out the dugout since your prayer life is the lifeblood of your engine with the Lord. This is why the Lord will make a very strong attempt to have you fully forgive all of the people who have ever wronged you in this life. Obey the Lord on this issue, and through the power of the Holy Spirit operating on the inside of you, He will give you the supernatural power and ability to be able to forgive all of these people, no matter how bad or how severe they may have hurt or wronged you, whether it be from verbal, physical or any type of sexual abuse. 6. Waiting For God's Timing Another major area where you can really get yourself into trouble with the Lord is in the area of properly waiting on God's timing to bring something your way. One of the first rules of a true surrendered walk with the Lord is that not only will God be guiding your steps in this life, but He will also be

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The Bible Basics guiding them according to the timetable that He has set up to make these chess moves in your life. For instance, if God has it set up that He will want you to marry in this life, then not only will God lead you to the person that He will want you to marry, but He will lead you to this person at the exact prescribed time that He has it set up to occur on His timetable, not your personal timetable! And not only does God have the exact date and time set up for you to meet this person, but He also has the rest of your earthly divine destiny set up on this same timetable. Everything that will be occurring and manifesting in your walk and life with the Lord will be manifesting at the exact time that God has it set up to manifest, not one minute sooner and not one minute later! You are going to have to be willing to obey the Lord on these timing issues and not try to buck Him or get ahead of the game and try to force things to happen before they are ready to happen on His set timetable. If you ever get out of and off of God's timetable to any serious degree, you could seriously jeopardize the rest of your divine destiny with Him. Marrying the wrong person because you got impatient and could not wait for God's timing to bring you His choice for your life could cause you to lose valuable years on the mountain you are attempting to climb for Him as a result of having to deal with either living in a bad marriage or having to deal with a messy, painful and expensive divorce. Taking the next new wrong job because you could not wait for God to promote you into the next new job that He has set up for you to take could cause you to get completely knocked off the course that He has set up for you to follow. In the very fast-paced world in which we now live in, your flesh will really try to act up and try to force things to happen before they are ready to happen with the Lord. This is where you are going to have to really exert self-control and override any frustrations or impatience you may be experiencing. What we have found from personal experience with the Lord is that He has a much slower time frame to work things out than we do. And unless you learn how to adjust to the slower way that God has in working things out and making things happen in your life,

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The Bible Basics you could easily get yourself knocked right out of your call in Him if you try to do something before it has been set up to properly occur in your life. Some of the chess moves God will be making in your life will be coming through on very short windows of opportunity. You have to wait for that window to open up before you attempt to go through it, but once it does, you also have to make sure that you barrel through that window when it does open, as it will not stay open forever. Your life is thus like a chessboard to the Lord. This is why you have to be guided by the Holy Spirit as to not only what moves to make on that chessboard, but exactly when to make those chess moves. Since only God's knowledge is absolutely perfect on all matters, then only God Himself will know exactly what chess moves you will have to make and exactly when those chess moves will have to be made. Try to make any of these chess moves yourself without consulting God first, especially on the bigger actions and decisions, and you could either end up having valuable years lost in building the house of your life in the Lord or the house you are attempting to build could come completely crashing down on you, all as a result of not being willing to be guided by the Holy Spirit as to exactly what chess moves to make and exactly when to make those chess moves. Life is a battlefield, and God as your Commander-in-Chief is the only One who can safely guide you through all of the land mines that are out there and safely guide you to the finish line of your life with all of your divine assignments and tasks fully completed for Him. 7. Obeying All of God's Ways and Commandments In the Bible are all the ways and commandments of our Lord. God lays out exactly what we can and cannot do in this life. It is then up to each and everyone of us as to whether or not we will choose to obey all of God's ways and commandments for our lives. When God says we are to obey all 10 of His commandments, that we are not to engage with anything having to do with the occult or homosexuality, and that we are not to take vengeance on our enemies,

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The Bible Basics then it is up to us to obey all of these specific commands and not tempt our hand or fate with the Lord with what He is wanting to do with our lives. How many anointed vessels have lost their calls, their anointings, and possibly their lives as a result of directly disobeying the Lord in some of these forbidden areas? These ways and commandments of our Lord are all for our own good and for our own protection. But yet so many of His own have completely lost all of their calls in Him and have failed to fulfill all of their divine destinies because they had treaded into some of these dangerous and forbidden areas. This is why it is so vital and so important that each Christian spend as much time as they can in studying and reading from the Word so that we know exactly where our boundary lines are set at with the Lord and exactly what we can and cannot do in this life. The Bible tells us that God's people will perish for having lack of knowledge and that knowledge can only be received by reading directly from the Bible. There is no other book that will give us this direct knowledge. The wages of sin will always be some kind of death, and unless you are willing to obey the Lord by staying out of and away from some of these forbidden areas, you could have your walk or possibly your life cut completely short as a result of the consequences that could occur from entering into some of these different sin areas. God expects all of us to obey and keep all of His commandments as best we can. And when we do find ourselves falling short, we have the power of the Holy Spirit Himself literally residing on the inside of us to help us to combat and overcome any temptation to fall into some of these sin areas or to help us pull out of any of these sin areas if we have already fallen into it.

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Chapter 7 The Fear of the Lord If there is one special revelation that we have received from the Lord that can help keep us out of major trouble with Him, it has to be the revelation of being able to develop a good and healthy fear of Him and all of His ways. Having the right kind of a fear in the Lord have scared some Christians almost half to death. As a result of not learning how to develop the right kind of healthy fear in the Lord, they have become neurotic and paranoid in their own personal relationship with Him. As a result of this abnormal type of fear and paranoia, they no longer have the courage to draw close to the Lord in their own personal relationship with Him. They have become too afraid to draw close to Him, or to try and establish any type of intimate communication with Him. Then you have other Christians who are operating at the other extreme end of this revelation. They no longer have any fear of the Lord and the judgment they will face at the end of their lives, and they are thus out doing anything and everything they want, not caring who they hurt, wound, or run over in the process. Many churches do not like to teach and preach about this revelation that we are receiving from the Lord. Try preaching this revelation at one of your Sunday services and watch how many people will start to squirm and grimace right there in their seats. As a result of the discomfort that this kind of revelation will bring to many in the flock, many pastors and churches have decided not to talk or preach about it, and many in their flocks have become complacent and lukewarm in their own personal relationship with the Lord and how they live their lives once they are outside the four walls of the church. God the Father is giving us this major revelation for our own good and for our own protection. For some Christians, the only thing that will keep

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The Bible Basics them from crossing over into some of these heavier sin areas is to have a good, healthy fear of the Lord and all of His ways. Having a proper fear of the Lord will help one to depart from evil. From time to time, the flock needs to hear a good fire-andbrimstone type message. The hammer needs to come down every so often to remind people that God the Father has two sides to His personality. To preach and teach only on the one side of God the Fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personality is doing a great disservice to the flock. They need to hear the full scope and the full message of the gospel, not just watered down portions of it just so you can make everyone feel good and comfortable in their seats. Many Christians have had their lives totally ruined and destroyed as a result of not having a healthy sense of a fear of the Lord properly instilled and ingrained in their mindsets during their earlier growing years in the Church. As a result of leaving out this very important revelation from their lives, a very weak spiritual foundation ends up getting laid, and many of these Christians end up being easily led right off the end of some very serious cliffs as a result of not having enough of a fear in the Lord properly instilled in them in that they should not be attempting to cross over into some of these forbidden areas to begin with. For many in the flock, this one major revelation alone will mean the difference as to how long they will end up living on this earth, and whether or not they will end up accomplishing everything that God would have had in store for them in this life. The wages of sin will be death, and for some, it will mean an early departure from this life as a result of crossing over into some of these heavier sin areas. How many Christians have departed from this life before their time was really up in the Lord as a result of getting addicted to alcohol or to some of the heavier drugs? How many Christians have been killed or murdered as a result of choosing to hang out with the wrong type of people as we see in a lot of the gang activity that is still prevalent in many of our major cities today? How many Christians have completely lost their good marriages as a

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The Bible Basics result of not being able to stay true, loyal, and faithful to their spouses? How many children have had to suffer the extreme pain of a painful, messy, and bloody divorce, all because one of their parents could not stay loyal and faithful to the other? We could go on and on with all of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;deathâ&#x20AC;? that has occurred to some Christians as a result of crossing over into some of these heavier sin areas. And in many of these cases, one of the main reasons that some of these Christians were willing to cross over into some of these heavier sin areas to begin with was due to having little or no fear of the Lord. Many people only live this life for what they can get out of it right now. They want immediate gratification of their impulses and desires, and they will usually stop at nothing to try and satisfy those desires. They do not stop to think of the consequences of their actions. They do not stop to think what will happen if they get caught and how many other people they will end up hurting and wounding. They do not stop to think what God Himself may be thinking about their actions and behaviors. God the Father has drawn a major battle line in the sand for each and everyone of us. God is asking each and everyone of us to stay on our side of the fence in our walk with Him. He is letting all of us know, loud and clear, what we can and cannot do in this life. He is letting all of us know what areas we can walk into, and what areas we are to avoid like the plague. In most of these sinful and forbidden areas, it does not take a rocket scientist to know that these areas are wrong and sinful in the eyes of God to begin with. We all know basic right from wrong. But yet, we still have so many people in this life, including some Christians, who will still tempt their fate and their hand with the Lord anyway and still cross over into some of these forbidden areas. This is why this particular revelation is so important and so needed in every Christian household. We have all been born into this world with a fallen and sinful nature. Every single one of us still has to battle this sin nature and make sure that we do not give into the desires of it. We have a flesh side to our personalities and that we have to do everything we can not to fulfill the desires of that flesh.

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The Bible Basics And one of the ways that you can battle the desires of your flesh is to have a full understanding and a full appreciation of this revelation of being able to have an appropriate kind of fear of the Lord. Once you have a full understanding and realization of what this kind of healthy fear is really all about, this will go a long way in being able to help you stay on the righteous side of the fence in your walk with the Lord. This revelation from the Lord has two sides to it. It is like looking at a two sided coin. This two sided coin are the two sides to the personality of God the Father. On the one side of the coin is the loving, merciful, gracious, and tender side to God’s personality. On the other side of the coin is the righteous judgment, wrath, and anger side of the Lord. Many Churches are afraid to preach and teach about the judgment and wrath side of God the Father’s personality. We have heard some of them say that you will catch many more people with honey and sugar than you will with fire and brimstone. This saying may be true for some, but for some others, this will not work. Some people need to have a healthy fear of the Lord properly instilled in them, as this may be the only thing that will help keep them from crossing over into some of these forbidden areas to begin with. If we spare the rod, we may end up spoiling the child. The rod represents the judgment, discipline, and chastening of the Lord. Some of God’s people never really spiritually grow up and mature in their walks with Him. They end up becoming very carnal Christians whose only desire is to live this life for all of the carnal and fleshly pleasures they can get out of it while they still can. For the other Christians who have developed and matured in their walk with the Lord, they have to watch themselves so that they do not go to the other extreme end of this revelation. On the one end of the extreme, you have Christians who have little or no fear of the Lord, and they are out breaking any law and any commandment they see fit so they can satisfy their lustful desires. This other extreme end is where some Christians get so scared and so paranoid that they are not walking just right with the Lord, that they start to get too scared of God, and they then start to pull away from Him in their own personal relationship with Him. They are so scared and so afraid that they are not doing everything just right in the Lord, they no longer

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The Bible Basics think He finds them pleasing in His sight. The only way to properly look at this revelation is to realize that we are dealing with a two sided coin. God the Father has two different sides to His personality. On the one side is that loving, caring, nurturing, merciful, tender and gentle side. On the other side is the righteous judgment, wrath and anger side that can and will manifest if we try and push the envelope too far with Him. This is no different than what we would see in a normal and healthy type of family and household. Children need to know that their parents will draw major battle lines in the sand as to what they can and cannot do, and that they will then get called out on it if they try to break any of those rules and regulations that their parents have set up for them. Many children have been prevented from falling into drugs, premarital sex, and gang and criminal activity as a result of the enforcement of these good rules and regulations by their good parents. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the exact same way with God the Father. God is our Father, and as such, He is laying down all of the rules and regulations that we are to abide by in this life, with all of it being for our own good and protection. So when you look at God the Father, make sure that you see both sides of His personality. If you are walking right with the Lord, expect Him to deal with you in a very loving, caring, and nurturing manner. But if you decide to push the envelope with Him and cross over into some of these heavier sin areas, do not expect Him to turn a blind eye and not make some kind of attempt to convict you and call you out on the transgression. God will only give you a certain amount of time and a certain amount of rope to run with before He will make an attempt to pull you back in. If you are not willing to see the errors of your ways and thinking, then sooner or later God will come after you. And for some, this will mean that some type of judgment will be rendered against them. Sin has consequences, not only with the other people in your life, but also with God Almighty Himself. Every single one of us will have to face a personal judgment with the Lord when we die and cross over. The Christian will face a personal judgment for everything they have ever said or done in this life at the Judgment Seat of Christ. The unsaved will face their personal judgment at

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The Bible Basics the end of the millennium in what is called the Great White Throne Judgment. Many of the churches are not talking about these judgments and the importance that each and every Christian develop a good and healthy type of fear of the Lord in this lifetime. We have heard many people say they do not want to always be hearing judgment and fire-and-brimstone type messages. This is obviously not something that you want to talk about and harp on at every single service. But from time to time, these kinds of messages must be delivered to the flock so that they never, ever, forget what kind of God we are dealing with and that there will always be consequences to our actions, especially the kinds of actions that will lead us into crossing over into some of these heavier sin areas. If more pastors, teachers, and churches would include these kinds of messages in their sermons from time to time. Many more Christians could be kept from crossing over into some of these heavier sin areas. The fear of the Lord should be a major, basic, fundamental revelation that should be taught to every single Christian as they are growing in the Lord. Many Christians have become too lax and lukewarm in their own personal relationships with the Lord, and they are thinking that He will either not really care, or that He will turn a blind eye if they decide they want to try and cross over into some of these heavier sin areas. Now here are some very good verses on the importance that each and everyone of us learn how to develop a good, healthy type of fear of the Lord.

The Scripture Verses We first want to give you some good, basic definitions of what the fear of the Lord is really all about. Some of the different Bible Dictionaries describe the fear of the Lord as follows:

â&#x2014;? Reverential awe â&#x2014;? An awe-inspiring reverence 122

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● Personal

awareness of the awesome and majestic sovereignty of

God

● True reverence for God ● Reverential fear ● Holy fear ● Feeling of reverence, awe and respect toward the Almighty Here are the 20 verses: 1. “And by fear of the Lord one departs from evil.” (Proverbs 16:6) 2. “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.” (Proverbs 8:13) 3. “Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure with trouble.” (Proverbs 15:16) 4. “The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; he will not be visited with evil.” (Proverbs 19:23) 5. “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” (Psalm 2:11) 6. “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” (Hebrews 12:28) 7. “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but in the fear of the Lord continue all day long; for surely there is a hereafter, and your hope will not be cut off.” (Proverbs 23:17) 8. “Says the Lord, “But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.” (Isaiah 66:2) 9. “The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him” (Psalm 147:11)

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The Bible Basics 10. Then Peter opened is mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.” (Acts 10:34) 11. “In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to avoid the snares of death.” (Proverbs 14:26) 12. “The fear of the Lord prolongs days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened.” (Proverbs 10:27) 13. “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.” (Proverbs 22:4) 14. “Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth. The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him” (Psalm 25:12) 15. “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches will be in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness” (Psalm 112:1) 16. “Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways. When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants all around your table. Behold, thus shall be the man blessed who fears the Lord.” (Psalm 128:1) 17. “Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.” (Acts 9:31) 18. “Then they will call on Me, but I will not answer; they will seek Me diligently, but they will not find Me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord,

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The Bible Basics they would have none of My counsel and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies. For the turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to Me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.” (Proverbs 1:28) 19. “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!” (Luke 12:4) 20. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13) It is by the fear of the Lord that we will be able to depart from evil. Many Christians are falling into some of the heavier sin areas as a result of not having enough of a fear of the Lord properly instilled in them. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. Notice some of the incredible blessings a believer can receive from the Lord if they can learn how to have a reverent and godly fear of Him and all of His ways. A proper fear of the Lord can lead to the following blessings:

● Life ● Happiness ● Satisfaction ● Strong confidence ● Prolong your days on this earth ● Your children will have a place of refuge ● Wealth, riches, honor and prosperity 125

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● Dwell in safety ● Will not be visited with evil ● Will be able to avoid the snares of death The last verse is coming from King Solomon. God gave this man one of the most incredible gifts that anyone can be given in this life, and that gift was to have the knowledge of God flowing through him in such a way that no man would ever be his equal in this gift. So when this man makes a statement starting out with the words “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter,” and then goes on to state that the two most important things are that we learn how to fear God and keep His commandments, you know we are talking about a major, profound revelation from the Lord! Not only can you feel the power on this revelation, but you can also see how vital and important it is that this revelation get burned into every believer’s mindset and way of thinking in this life. For many, it will be a matter of their own life and death if they are ever tempted to cross over into forbidden territory.

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Chapter 8 Trusting in the Lord In a world where most of us get beat up to one degree or another, many people come out of these beatings with a problem in not being able to trust anyone else, ever again! All you have to do is watch the daily news and it is one tragic story after another. Our neighborhoods are no longer as safe as they used to be. Bizarre, random, and senseless type crimes seem to be on the increase with all of the shootings that have occurred at our high schools, and now in our churches and in the courthouses themselves with the latest round of senseless tragedies that have just occurred. All of us, to one degree or another, have been wronged in some way throughout the course of our lives. And for some, these wrongs have been vicious, nasty, and sometimes extremely traumatic, especially those who have been victims of crimes such as rapes, assaults, robberies, and actual murders of close friends or family. The Bible has already predicted that the love of many will grow cold as we enter into end times. The Bible says that many will become lovers of self, unholy, proud, unloving, without self-control, brutal and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God and His ways. Paul talks about these traits in 2 Timothy 3:1, and says that all of this will occur in the last days. Being brutal and without self-control may help explain some of the really bizarre crimes that we are starting to see more of with the random type shootings that are occurring in our schools and other public places. Even our own government has to keep reminding us of the dangers of possible further terrorist activity anywhere and at anytime, and that we have to keep a sharp lookout just within our own natural surroundings as you never know when the next land-mine may go off. All of this kind of heightened activity can really start to erode a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to be able to trust anyone.

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The Bible Basics For many others, they have a hard time in being able to trust anyone as a result of some degree of physical and/or verbal abuse they have suffered from either their parents or their spouses. Spousal abuse in this country is still out of control with the number of women who are being severely beaten by either their husbands or boyfriends. Many people have been so badly beaten and abused during the course of their lives, that they no longer have any ability to trust anyone, including God Himself! A dog can only take so much of a beating. After a certain amount of time, the dog will no longer trust anyone, including his own master. As a result of the curse of Adam and Eve that is still in full operation on this earth, there is always going to be a certain amount of wrongs that we will all have to put up with, no exceptions! Nobody comes out of this life unscathed with all the people who have chosen with their own free wills to live this life on the dark side. However, for Christians, no matter how badly you have been beaten up in your past, the one thing that you cannot have affected is your ability to trust in your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and our heavenly Father. As a result of the beatings that some of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s people have taken over the years, some of these people have literally lost their ability to even trust in God Himself. It is one thing to have faith in God, to know that God exists, and that He is all-powerful and that there is nothing that He cannot do or accomplish, but it is quite another thing to be able to fully trust God with your life, and to fully trust Him to properly handle it for you, especially if everyone in your past has let you down in one way or another. For those of you who are have having problems in being able to fully trust the Lord with your entire life, we will give you 15 very powerful and profound verses from the Bible showing you that not only does God want you to fully trust Him with your life, but that it is a vital necessity that you learn how to do so. Faith and trust go hand in hand. They are like a one-two punch. First you must have faith that God exists, that He is who the Bible says He is, and that you are truly saved under the shed Blood of His Son Jesus Christ. However, there is now one more big step you must take after you have this kind of faith in God.

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The Bible Basics Once you are saved, then you must be willing to fully surrender your entire life over to God the Father so that He can then enter you into His perfect plan and destiny for your life. You must become both saved and surrendered, not just saved. God has a specific purpose and plan for each person’s life. Your life is no longer your own. You have been bought at a price and God now wants to do something very specific with your life. Many Christians already know this, but they are still having a very hard time in actually trusting God to handle their lives for them. Even though they know God is totally perfect and that He can perfectly handle and direct their lives much better than they can do, they are still having a hard time in making that leap, in clearing that final hurdle to completely turn the reigns of their entire life over to God the Father for Him to fully handle. To any Christian who is having a hard time in clearing this final hurdle with God, you must make a final decision sooner or later as to who is going to run your life, you or God. And the longer you wait, and the longer you keep from making this final decision, the more years you are going to lose in this life in being able to produce any real lasting fruit in the Lord. For those of you whose final hurdle is this trust factor, you simply have to do what Peter did when he stepped out of the boat to start walking on water. You must take a big leap of faith and dive off that cliff, and decide that you will now fully trust in God and that you will now follow His Holy Spirit in the direction that He will want to take your life in. No matter how bad you have been hurt in your past, and no matter how many people have hurt you in your past, you must now learn to fully trust God with both yourself and with your entire life. Not only can you not trust anyone else with your life, but you can’t even trust yourself with your life because of your own imperfections and character flaws. Only God is “perfect,” and thus only God can “perfectly handle” your entire life for you. You have to completely “let go and let God” if you want any peace, happiness, joy, and fulfillment in this life. To really be able to enter into this full surrender with the Lord will require you to be able to completely

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The Bible Basics trust the Lord with both yourself and your entire life. If you do not learn how to fully trust the Lord with your entire life, then what you will find start to happen is that you will start to hold and pull back on certain areas of your life with Him. And once you start to hold or pull back in these certain areas of your life, you will then handcuff God in being able to work any further in those specific areas of your life. This is why you have to be willing to completely trust the Lord with every single area of your life with no exceptions! Learning to really trust God in the way that He wants you to fully trust Him is an all-or-nothing principle. You are either going to fully trust Him with every area of your life or you are not. The minute you start waffling and trying to straddle the fence post with Him on this issue, you will then become what the Bible says is a wavering and double-minded man who will become unstable in all of his ways. All men and women have sinned and have fallen way short of the glory of God. All men and women are thus flawed and imperfect to one degree or another. You are always going to be running into people who will hurt you and who will continue to hurt you in this life. There is simply no getting away from this cold hard fact in this life. But just because imperfect people have hurt you and will continue to hurt you in this life does not mean that you have to hold this against God Himself. God the Father and Jesus Christ are totally perfect in Their actual natures and personalities. There is no darkness in Their personalities. This means they have no evil in Them like all humans have. They are thus incapable of hurting you in any way, shape, or form. This means that you can completely trust the both of Them to perfectly handle you and everything else in your life. They are both totally perfectly dependable because They are both totally perfect in Their actual personalities. This is why Jesus says that He has to be the Rock that you are to build your life on. If you try and build your life on what you want or what you think other people want from you, you will be building nothing but sandcastles that will perish the minute any serious storm clouds come against it. Now here are some very profound and powerful verses from the Bible showing us the extreme importance that each and everyone of us learn

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The Bible Basics how to fully trust the Lord with every single area of our life. We simply cannot stress enough the importance and the power that is on these specific verses. These are all major foundational verses that your walk with the Lord has to be grounded on.

The Scripture Verses Notice some of the incredible blessings and promises God is making to you if you can get to the point of being able to fully trust Him with your life. We will summarize these key words for you, at the end of these 15 verses so you can see the incredible benefits and blessings you can have if you are willing to fully trust this awesome God of ours. 1. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5) 2. “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass, Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:4-7) 3. “Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon His God.” (Isaiah 50:10) 4. “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever.” (Psalm 125:1) 5. “He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, The Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went.” (2 Kings 18:5-7) 6. “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength.” (Isaiah 26:3) 7. “A good man, will not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is

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The Bible Basics steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established; he will not be afraid, until he sees his desire upon his enemies.” (Psalm 112:5-8) 8. “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him, But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” (Psalm 34:8-10) 9. “He who heeds the word wisely will find good, and whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he.” (Proverbs 16:20) 10. “The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.” (Proverbs 29:25) 11. “But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land, and shall inherit My holy mountain.” (Isaiah 57:13) 12. Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but her leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:5) 13. “Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help, Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God, Who keeps truth forever, who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry.” (Psalm 146:3-7) 14. “He who trusts in his riches will fall” (Proverbs 11:28) 15. “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good

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The Bible Basics foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19) If you really chew and meditate on all of the above verses, you will really be able to feel the power on the revelation that God is trying to impart to you on the importance of completely trusting Him with every area of your life. Notice some of the incredible blessings that are attached to being able to fully trust in God:

● You will be happy ● You will not walk in darkness, but in the light of God ● God will direct your paths in the life ● You will be like Mount Zion, you will not be able to moved ● You will prosper wherever you go ● You will always be yielding fruit for the Lord ● Your mind will be at perfect peace, you will not be afraid of evil tidings

● Your heart will remain steadfast in the Lord ● You will have no want, you shall not lack any good thing ● You shall be safe in your surroundings ● You shall possess the land and inherit the holy mountain of God Put all of these blessings together one right after the other, and you can then start to grasp how powerful of a thing it really is to learn how to fully trust in the Lord with all of your heart and with all of your mind in this life. In this crazy day and age, more and more people are finding out that material wealth and riches are not buying them true happiness. What they are really looking for are some of the above blessings. But these types of blessings can only be found by true, born-again believers who are operating in a full surrender with the Lord where they are fully trusting Him to handle both themselves and their entire lives.

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The Bible Basics Notice the very intense language God is using in the last three verses. He is telling us that we are not to put our trust in:

● Princes ● In man in general ● In our own natural strength ● In uncertain riches and wealth God is calling riches “uncertain.” All the material wealth and riches of this world are all uncertain because they are all perishable items and none of it will be going with you when you die and cross over. God says we should be concentrating more on being rich in good works, and that good works are something that is actually stored up for us in the next life to come, which will be heaven! We will thus be rewarded in heaven for the good works that we do for the Lord down here, not for the amount of money that we can make. Works cannot get us saved as the Bible tells us that we can only be saved by grace through our faith in Jesus Christ. However, doing good works for the Lord will get you the bigger and better rewards once you enter into heaven. God specifically says that those who trust in men or in the riches of this world will have no help when they are going to need it in a real time of trouble. Only God is our real help in this life. He says that our faith and hope should be in Him, not in the wealth and riches of this world! God literally says that “cursed” is the man who trusts in other men, or in himself and his own natural strength! He says this kind of man will be like a “shrub in the desert” where there is no real life. Many rich people have what many consider to be the “all” of this life, yet they are just like shrubs in the desert since they have no real life, joy, and happiness operating in their lives.

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Chapter 9 Holding Fast to the Lord Once you have entered into a true, full surrender with the Lord where He will now be the One to guide you into His perfect plan for your life, you can never, ever turn back, bail out, quit, or throw in the towel on Him. Wrestle with God all you want, throw as many temper tantrums as you want, but do not ever get to the point with God where you are going to tell Him that you are going to bail out on Him and walk off His playing field. All of the major power verses we will list in this bible basic are telling us to do the following with the Lord: 1. Hold fast to the Lord 2. Hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering 3. Hold fast our confidence in the Lord 4. Hold fast to the Word of Life 5. Do not cast away your confidence in the Lord 6. Do not depart from following Him 7. Keep your heart steadfast 8. Be faithful until death 9. Stand fast in the faith 10. Continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast 11. Fight the good fight of faith 12. Run the race with endurance 13. Do not become sluggish 14. Be an overcomer 15. Finish the race

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The Bible Basics Once we have entered into a true, full surrender with the Lord where He will now be the One to guide and direct our lives in the direction that He will want it to go in, we can never, ever change course or bail out on Him. God is now the Captain of our ship. God is now the Shepherd of our souls. God will now be leading us every step of the way in our new walk and journey with Him. We now belong to God, work for God, and live for God, literally to the day we die and depart from this life. As we all know, this life can really be rough at times, and no one gets by in this life without having to face a certain amount of trouble, adversity, and conflict. We all have to go through various types of storm clouds from time to time, no exceptions! Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very easy to have high levels of faith in God when everything is going good and great and you do not have a care or trouble in the world. But let that first heavy storm cloud come knocking on your door, and many Christians will start to get weak at the knees, start to panic, and then start to question God and His wisdom. All of a sudden their high levels of faith in the Lord start to waver and they start doubting that God can handle the adversity that has now just struck them. As Christians, we have to realize that there is always going to be a certain amount of trouble, tribulation, and persecution in this world, and this type of trouble will be hitting believers as well as nonbelievers. No one gets out of this life without having to face a certain amount of trouble and adversity, and for some, this adversity will end up being extreme and traumatic. Our local daily news shows us everyday what some people are being forced to take and endure. As a result of the fallen and cursed world we have all been born into as a result of what happened in the story of Adam and Eve, not only are we all stuck with having to do battle with demonic spirits and bad and evil people from time to time, but we are also stuck with having to face all of the different types of natural accidents and catastrophes that can occur at a momentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s notice. Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, auto accidents, natural mishaps and accidents around the home and workplace, and different types of illnesses and diseases can all hit anyone of us at anytime. All of these different types of natural accidents, disasters, and illnesses are the

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The Bible Basics byproduct of this fallen and cursed world. This now leaves all Christians with one of two choices when they personally get hit by one of these types of storm clouds. You can either get mad at God, lose your faith in Him and how He is handling your life, and then throw in the towel and quit on Him, or you can hold your ground and tell God that you are not going to bail out on Him no matter what life, hell, or the devil tries to throw your way. When you read the verses we will list below, especially some of the key phrases in these verses as we have highlighted in the above bullet points, there is no question what God the Father is wanting all of us to do. He is wanting all of us to stay true, loyal, and faithful to Him to our last dying breath. He is wanting all of us to hold fast to Him without doubting and wavering. This life is going to be rough at times. We have to run the race that God has now set out before us with the intentions on trying to win it and trying to finish it. We have to run this race with endurance, certainty, and purpose. We have to run this race to do the best and be the best we can be at whatever God will be calling us to do for Him in this life. When we get knocked to the ground with any type of vicious torpedo shot, we have to pick ourselves back up, wipe off the dust and blood on our pants, tell God that we are not going to bail out on Him, that we will stay the course with Him, and then get back into the game of life and keep on the path that God has set up for us to follow in Him. God has already told us in His Word that if we faint in the day of any type of adversity, that our strength will be considered to be small in His eyes. God is wanting all of us to learn how to become good soldiers of Jesus Christ, to learn how to become true victors and overcomers in this life, and the only way that you can learn how to become a true victor and a true overcomer in this life is by being willing to take on any type of storm cloud that may come your way. You cannot become an overcomer and a victor in this life unless you have already overcome some type of trial and tribulation. Some of the trials and tribulations that may come your way in this life are actually being allowed by the Lord to come your way for

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The Bible Basics your own benefit, training, and sanctification. As part of your sanctification process in the Lord, this revelation on learning how to hold fast to the Lord should be at the top of your list. This is one, major, fundamental principle that you will want to get worked, ingrained, and instilled into your mindset with how you look and think about things in this life. Get it settled once and for all in your mind and your heart that you will stay fully committed to the Lord for the rest of your earthly life, and that you will never, ever bail out on Him. Get it settled once and for all that you will stay the course with the Lord no matter what life, hell, or the devil tries to throw your way, and that you will have full faith, belief, and trust in God to help get you through any type of storm cloud that may come your way, no matter how dark and vicious that storm cloud may look to you in the natural. You must set your face like flint, draw out your battle sword, which is the Word of God, and take your storm cloud head on operating under God’s anointing, power, and direction. God’s power, knowledge, and wisdom is all there for you to help you handle any type of storm cloud that may come your way as long as you are willing to hold fast to Him, and then be willing to be guided by the Holy Spirit on exactly how to handle it. 1. Holding Fast to the Lord These first 7 verses will all be using the specific words of holding fast to the Lord, holding fast to our initial confession to Him, holding fast to our confidence in Him, and holding fast to His Word of life. Hold fast to the Lord, and never, ever let Him go, no matter how bad things may get from time to time, and no matter how severe the storm cloud may be that is attempting to come against you. 1. “He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, The Lord was with Him; he prospered wherever he went.” (2 Kings 18:5-7)

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The Bible Basics 2. “A good man will not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established; he will not be afraid, until he sees his desire upon his enemies.” (Psalm 112:5-8) 3. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23) 4. “but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope to the end.” (Hebrews 3:6) 5. “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.” (Hebrews 3:12-14) 6. “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.” (Hebrews 10:35-36) 7. “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His own good pleasure. Do all things without murmuring and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.” (Philippians 2:12-16) The first verse is talking about King Hezekiah. It says that he held fast to the Lord and that he did not depart from following Him. This verse then goes on to tell us that “the Lord was with him” and that “he prospered wherever he went.” The sixth verse from Hebrews 10:35 tells us that if we do not cast our confidence away from the Lord and hold out to the end with endurance in doing God’s will for our lives, that we will “receive the promise.”

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The Bible Basics Also note in the fifth verse from Hebrews 3:12, that it says that it is an evil thing to have any kind of a heart of unbelief in the Lord. Any kind of unbelief in the Lord and wanting to depart from Him is considered to be an evil type of heart by the Lord. These are very strong words being given to us by our Lord. God has made all of us for Himself and He will not be denied. This revelation being given to us by the Lord is showing all of us that we have to learn how to fully trust Him, fully follow Him, and be willing to hold fast to Him without any type of wavering or doubting on our end. 2. Be Faithful Until Death Not only are we to hold fast to the Lord, but we are to hold fast to Him until the day we literally die. The first verse we will list below states that we are to “be faithful until death.” We are to “stand fast in the faith,” that we are to “continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast,” and that we are to “fight the good fight of faith.” God does not want anyone of us, for whatever reason, to ever consider departing or bailing out from Him in this life. We are to stay true, loyal, and faithful to Him to our last dying breath. 1. “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer, Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10) 2. “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.” (1 Corinthians 16:13) 3. “if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard” (Colossians 1:23) 4. “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12) 5. “For the Lord preserves the faithful” (Psalm 31:23)

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The Bible Basics The Lord will be preserving those who will remain faithful to Him in this life. Not only will God obviously be preserving you for the next life to come, which will be heaven, but He will also help keep you properly preserved in this life with all of the different types of adversities that could possibly come your way. God can help keep you physically, mentally, and spiritually in one piece as you journey through this earthly life. 3. Be An Overcomer in the Lord We have to learn how to be an overcomer in this life, and that if we do, then some incredible rewards will be given to us once we enter into heaven. Not only must we become a good overcomer in this life, but we must also keep God’s works until the very end. We have to complete whatever works God is calling us to do for Him in this life. And if we do, then Jesus will be giving us some type of power over the nations in the coming Millennium Kingdom and then eventually in the New Heaven and New Earth. If we learn how to become a good overcomer in this life, that our names will not be blotted out from His Book of Life, and that He will confess our names before His Father and His angels in heaven. 1. “And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations.” (Revelation 2:26) 2. “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (Revelation 3:21) 3. “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” (Revelation 3:5) 4. “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” (Philippians 3:12) 5. “I have fought the good fight of faith, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me

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The Bible Basics the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7) 6. “For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Hebrews 6:10-12) Not only must we fight the good fight of faith, but we must also continue to press on so that we can finish the race that God has set out before us. Not only must we hold fast to the Lord, but we must also hold fast to the Lord with the intention on wanting to completely fulfill the works that He is calling us to do for Him in this life. God Himself will not be forgetting whatever works we are willing to do for Him in this life. He tells us that if we are willing hold fast to Him to the very end, and do not become sluggish in the works that we will do for Him, that we will be receiving some very special rewards once we enter into heaven. 4. Jesus is the Author and Finisher of Our Faith This life can be a real roller coaster ride at times. You will have good days and you will have bad days. You will have seasons that will be good and fruitful, and you will have seasons that will be dry and lean. When you enter into seasons that will get a bit dry and lean, do not get discouraged or disappointed. As long as you know you are in God’s perfect will for your life, nothing else will matter. Jesus is the “author and finisher of our faith.” When Jesus has begun this good work in us, that He will make sure that it gets properly “completed,” and that He will also make sure to properly keep it until the end. So not only do we get Jesus letting us know exactly what it is we should be doing for Him in this life, but He will also be making sure that we fully accomplish and complete everything that He is calling us to do for Him in this life.

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The Bible Basics Since Jesus will now be the One to lead us into His Father’s perfect plan for our lives, this now makes Jesus the official author of our faith. Jesus will now be the One to to write the story and script of our life. This right does not belong to us or to anyone else in our life. For those of you who may be frustrated and disappointed with how your life in the Lord has been going at this time, really chew on the revelation that is in these last three verses. No matter where you are at right now in your walk with the Lord, realize that God will fully complete everything that He has in store for you in this life. God, as the author and finisher of your faith, has started the story of your life, and He will make sure that He gets everything properly completed with you before it is your time to depart from this life. Not only will God personally keep you and the works that you will do for Him in this life, but He will also make sure that you get everything done that needs to get done before your day in the sun is finally over. Since God is perfect, this means He will perfectly start and perfectly finish the story of your life in Him down here on this earth. 1. “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.” (Hebrews 12:1) 2. “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6) 3. “For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” (2 Timothy 1:12) God is laying out a “race” before us. This race is our call in Him. This race is the path, the road, and the direction that we will be taking in Him once we fully surrender our lives over to Him for His direction and

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The Bible Basics handling. Once you enter into this full surrender with the Lord, Jesus will now become the author and finisher of your faith and of your own personal story in God. As the author and finisher of your faith, God knows exactly where He wants to take you to and exactly how to get you there. All you have to be willing to do is follow the leadings of the Holy Spirit on a daily basis, and God will then personally make sure that you fully accomplish everything that He would like for you to get done for Him in this life.

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Chapter 10 The Importance of Waiting on Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Timing Without question, one of the hardest things for many Christians to do with the Lord is to wait on His timing to make certain things happen in their lives. In the very fast-paced world in which we all now live in, things are set up for maximum speed and efficiency. Fast food restaurants are a favorite for many people because they like to be able to go through a fast drivethru and receive their order in just a matter of minutes. Computers are now moving faster than ever before and they are allowing news events to hit the screen just right after the news event has actually occurred. We are so used to everything moving at break-neck speed, that we then have a very hard time in adjusting to the slower ways that God will work things out in our life. One of the things we have found out in our own personal walk with the Lord is that many of the times, He will have a much slower way of working things than we ever thought He would. It is very nice that we can have fast-food restaurants, computers, and the rest of the technological inventions that we now have in place so we can make our lives that much better and that much easier to navigate through. We can now get much more done in a dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time than we ever could in the past due to all of the new technological gadgets and devices we now have at our disposal. But where you can get into major trouble with the Lord in your own personal walk with Him is to take all of that break-neck speed in being able to get things done and accomplished, and then try to throw that in the middle of our walk with the Lord with how He will want to work things out in our lives. God usually has a much slower time frame and a much slower way of working things out in our life than we do. And if we do not learn how to adjust to His slower time frame and the slower way

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The Bible Basics He likes to work things out in our life, we could easily get ourselves knocked right out of our calls and our divine destinies that He has set up for each one of our lives. We have personally found in both our walk and those who we share our walk with, that timing is an absolute crucial factor with the Lord. Try to move ahead of God’s timing with what He wants to do in a particular area of your life, and you will find very quickly that everything will fall apart and completely unravel. Here are some examples of where you can get yourself into major trouble with the Lord as a result of not properly relying on His perfect timing: Marry the wrong person you are dating because you could not wait for God’s perfect timing to bring you the mate He has chosen for your life, and you could end up finding yourself in a miserable and unfulfilled marriage, not to mention the possibility of your marriage ending up in a divorce, which the Lord hates Take the next, new, wrong job because you could not wait for God to promote you into the next, new job He will want you to have, and you could end up losing valuable years in reaching the call that God has set up for your life, if not lose the entire call all together Attempt to do a deliverance on someone with demons before the Lord tells you to do so, and you could get yourself opened up to an unnecessary demonic attack Timing is absolutely everything with the Lord. Move ahead and out of God’s timing and you will throw a big, fat monkey-wrench in the middle of what God is trying to do with your life. We like to use the chess board analogy with how God will run our lives, except the chess board of our life belongs to the Lord, not to us. This means that not only will God be the One who will make all of these big chess moves in our life, but He will also make those chess moves at the prescribed times that He has all of them set up to occur in our lives. If it is in God’s perfect will that you get married in this life, then not only will He bring you the person He has picked out for you to marry in this life, but there will also be a timing element with it, which means He will bring this person to you at the exact time that He has it set up to

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The Bible Basics occur in your life. If God is calling you to be a pastor of a church, then He has the exact time set up as to when that will actually occur. And if you try to make it happen before God is ready, then you will cause major delays and disruptions to occur, along with possibly adding extra time as to when it will occur since you will now have messed with God’s timing with how He was wanting to work out this call in your life. When God gives you what your divine call is going to be in Him, He will expect you to properly obey Him all the way up the ladder as you are progressing towards that call. This means you will take the different jobs He will want you to take, along with staying with His perfect timing as to when you are to move into each one of these new different jobs. If you stay with God’s leadings on which new jobs to take and when to move into those next new jobs, then the time will come where you will then be promoted into the true, divine destiny that God has set up for your life. But disobey God anywhere along the line with the steps He will be asking you to take for Him, and you could either cause a major delay to occur as to when you will be reaching that call, or you could literally lose the entire call all together if the consequences end up being too severe with what you have disobeyed the Lord with. God will not have His authority and His ways tampered with by what we think is right for us. Since God is perfect and we are not, we always have to realize that God will always know best as to what specific chess moves that will need to be made in our lives, along with when those chess moves will need to be made. This is one area that we cannot try and do things our way. If we do, it could cause God to pull back on us and from there, we could find everything starting to fall apart because God is no longer in control of our life.

The Scripture Verses So you can see how important the timing factor is with the Lord. Here are 25 very good verses from the Bible all emphasizing waiting on God’s timing as to when He will want to make something specific happen.

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The Bible Basics 1. “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” (Galatians 6:9) 2. “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5: 6-7) 3. “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:2526) 4. “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning” (Psalm 130:5-6) 5. “The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in due season.” (Psalm 145:15) 6. “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14) 7. “My times are in Your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me.” (Psalm 31:15) 8. “Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved, My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved.” (Psalm 62:1-2, 5-6) 9. “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. Deliver me from all my transgressions” (Psalm 39:7-8) 10. “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.” (Psalm 40:1-2) 11. “Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land” (Psalm 37:34)

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The Bible Basics 12. “For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more” (Psalm 37:7) 13. “Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.” (Psalm 25:5) 14. “Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You.” (Psalm 25:21) 15. Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it, because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” ( Habakkuk 2:2-3) 16. “He has made everything beautiful in its time, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, for there shall be a time there for every purpose and for every work.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11,17) 17. “And I will wait on the Lord, who hides His face from the house of Jacob; and I will hope in Him.” (Isaiah 8:17) 18. “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40: 31) 19. “Whoever keeps the fig tree will eat its fruit; so he who waits on his master will be honored.” (Proverbs 27:18) 20. ”In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, but has in due time manifested His word through preaching” (Titus 1: 2-3) 21. Then Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.” (John 7: 6) 22. Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1: 14-15)

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The Bible Basics 23. And He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” (Acts 1:7) 24. ”That you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:14-15) 25. “And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed” (2 Thessalonians 2: 6-8) God does like to work on a specific set timetable, and even Jesus Himself had to wait for God’s timing on some of the things He ended up doing. And not only did Jesus, the apostles, and many in the Old Testament have to abide by God’s specific timing on when He wanted them to do something, but there are verses showing that God will still continue to run things according to His own set timetable in the years ahead, including how He will work your life and when He will want to make certain things happen in your life. So the sooner you can understand this is one of God’s ways, the easier it will become for you to adjust to His set timetable as to when He will make things happen in your life. Here are some specific examples from the Bible showing you how God made many of them wait for what He was wanting to do in their lives: 1. Jesus Himself had to wait until He was 30 years old before God baptized Him with the Holy Spirit and anointed Him with His power to go on His three and half year miracle ministry before He went to the cross to get all of us saved 2. Jesus had to wait again for 40 days before He ascended to the Father after His resurrection from the grave 3. Moses was in the backside of a desert for 40 years before he was sent in by God to rescue the children of Israel from the Egyptians

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The Bible Basics 4. The Israelites had to wait for 430 years before God delivered them from the Egyptians 5. David had to wait for 13 years before he became king of Israel 6. Abraham had to wait 25 years for the birth of his son Isaac 7. Noah had to wait for 120 years from the time God told him to build the ark until the time of the flood actually occurring 8. The apostles had to wait 10 days after Jesus had ascended before they had received the Holy Spirit in the upper room God likes to make us wait for some of the major chess moves He will be making in our lives. The reason God likes to make us wait from time to time is to not only test our faith in Him and to properly prepare us for what He is making us wait for, but to also develop the fruit of patience and determination in us. The fruit of patience is one of the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit, and it is one fruit that He loves to try and develop in all of us, especially in the fastpaced world in which we all now live in. Since the fast pace of our world is probably reducing a lot of our own natural patience, God will try and work this quality back into our personalities so we do not lose this very valuable quality in our personalities, especially since it lines up with Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own character and how He likes to work things out.

Specific Areas Where You Will Have to Wait on the Lord For those of you who are newborns in the Lord and at a fairly young age, expect God over the course of your life to try and work the quality of patience into your personality by making you wait for certain things to happen in your life. God will sooner or later make a move to work patience into your personality, and one of the ways He will do it is by making you literally wait for Him to make something happen in your life. There will be times that you will feel your patience and faith in Him get literally stretched to a point where you feel you can no longer hold on, and then He will come in

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The Bible Basics with the big breakthrough you have been waiting for. Just realize that God’s time frame is much different than our time frame, and your patience will sometimes be tested, especially if you have been spoiled by the fast pace in which things now get done in our world today. To those of you who have been walking with the Lord for years, we are sure you know exactly what we are talking about, as we have yet to meet a mature and seasoned Christian who has not had their patience tested sometime in their walk with the Lord. Here are a few good examples in your life where God could ask you to wait on Him so He can work the quality of patience into your personality. 1. Waiting For Your Soulmate If it is in God’s perfect will that you get married in this life, then you will have to wait for His timing as to when He will want to bring this person into your life. Do not try and rush this. God knows best as to who you should be marrying in this life, and He also knows best as to when this person should be brought into your life. You and this other person may need some preparation for marriage before God will want the marriage to occur, so you have to let God do what He wants with each one of you in the time frame that He wants to work all of this out. Not waiting for God’s perfect timing to bring this person in your life could cause you to marry the wrong person you may be dating, all because you did not have the patience to wait for the person God has in mind for you. We have seen this happen to several people in the past, and they were divorced within a year after marrying the wrong person. And this was all due to the fact that they got too impatient while waiting for God to bring them the right person He had in mind for them. 2. Waiting for God to Release You Into Your True Calling If God is telling you exactly what your call is going to be in your life before you actually reach that call, then you will have to wait for God’s timing as to when that call will be brought into your life. Many of these calls will take a certain amount of time before they are

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The Bible Basics actually released into your life. The reason being is that God has to properly prepare you for the call He will have on your life, and that preparation usually takes years, not months. So be patient while God slowly and methodically raises you up in the calling that He has set up for your life. If you do, then you will be fully ready to move into that call once the door opens up for you. 3. Waiting for God to Promote You Into Your Next New Job As you are waiting for that big call to come into your life, God will have you take different jobs along the way before you actually reach that call. Once you step into those different jobs, you will have to wait for Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s timing as to when you will move into the next new job. And not only will God guide you as to what different jobs He will want you to take, but He will also be guiding you as to when to take those specific new jobs. These different jobs will be very important for your growth in Him, as they will all be used by God to train you and build you up into what your true calling is going to be in Him down the road. This is why you have to make sure that you stay in each job long enough so God can work into you what He wants too, as each one of these different jobs will be actual stepping stones and building blocks that will help lead you into your true calling with Him. God knows exactly how long you will have to stay in each job so He can work into you what He needs to. If you stay in each one of these jobs long enough so God can properly complete your preparation, then you will be fully ready to go when your true calling is given to you by the Lord. 4. In the Area of Spiritual Warfare If God wants to raise you up in the area of spiritual warfare, you will need to choose your battles very wisely and very carefully, and be guided by God as to which deliverance cases to take on and exactly when to move into combat to deliver someone from demons. God is our Commander-inChief and we now have to follow His orders and directions as to how to handle each one of these types of cases, along with staying with His perfect timing on when to move into action.

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The Bible Basics Not waiting for God’s perfect timing could get you into serious trouble with Him. God may want you to wait for a certain period of time before sending you in to deliver someone from demons. There may be something He will have to prepare the person for before He is ready to deliver them. If you move ahead of God’s timing, that person may not be properly prepared to receive their deliverance from Him. 5. In the Area of Sanctification God’s highest and ultimate aim for all of us is to make us into a better and more holy people. He wants to transform us into the express image of His Son Jesus. He wants to set us apart and consecrate us to Himself so He can make us into more holy instruments of righteousness for His use. However, what you have to realize is that this sanctification and transformation in the Lord will not occur overnight. God will sanctify you slowly and progressively over the course of your entire life. It is not something that will be done overnight. As such, we have to have patience with the way God will want to work out this part of our walk with Him. You have to let God build you up in the way and in the time frame He will want to use. If a teenager grows to fast during puberty, they will get stretch marks on their skin. In the same way, true spiritual growth in the Lord is a slow and progressive process. As such, we have to learn how to have patience with the Lord in this area and not get too frustrated when we are not changing and transforming as fast as we would like in Him. 6. In the Area of Divine Healing Another major area in our walk with the Lord where we have to learn how to have more patience is in the area of divine healing. Many of the times when God will want to heal someone, He will want to do it progressively over a certain period of time. People call this a progressive type healing when they see this occur with the Lord. There are times when God will move to heal immediately and instantaneous, and these types of miracles are always very dramatic when they occur. But sometimes God will choose to heal someone more slowly over a certain period of time. And if He chooses this kind of route with any of us, we have to have patience to stay the course, along with keeping

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The Bible Basics our faith and trust fully intact with Him so we do not lose the healing with Him. Just realize that God will heal in many different ways, and in each one of these different ways, there again will be a timing factor as to when He will want to actually do it. The Holy Spirit will help guide you through this so you do not get too impatient while waiting for the actual healing to manifest for either you or the other person you may be praying for. Many people have walked out on their healings with the Lord before they would have actually occurred, all due to impatience and frustration at not getting the healing fast enough. 7. In the Area of Specific Prayers As we all know in the arena of prayer with the Lord, sometimes we will get our prayers answered very quickly with the Lord, other times we will not. And when God does not answer some of our prayers as fast as we think He should, we once more tend to get very impatient. This is another major area where you have to completely rely on Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perfect timing as to when He will want to answer some of your prayers. God can see perfectly into the future, we cannot. As such, God will always know best as to when to answer your prayers. Some of our prayers may be very specific chess moves God will want to make with our lives, so we have to wait on Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perfect timing as to when He will want to actually answer some of our specific prayers. 8. Specific Chess Moves to be Made on Your Job Whether you are actually in your calling, or in one of the jobs that will eventually lead into your true calling, one of the things you will find occurring is that the Holy Spirit will lead you as you go through your normal every day activities on the job. You will sense Him leading you in various tasks and duties on the job, as the Bible calls Him the Helper. The Holy Spirit will actually help you do your job and be very good at it if you can learn how to recognize His leadings and what He is guiding you to do. What you will find in this area is that God will sometimes have you

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The Bible Basics wait on certain tasks He will want you to do on the job. If you can learn how to wait on Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s timing on when to move and when not to move, you will end up being very good and successful in each one of the jobs that God will have you work at in this life. 9. Waiting for God to Bring Children in Your Marriage Another area where we have seen God make people wait for a certain period of time before He actually makes it happens is in the area of when a married couple will get pregnant and bring children into the world. You saw how long God made Abraham wait for his son Isaac to be born, a good 25 years. If you have fully surrendered your entire life into Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hands, along with your entire marriage, then God will make the pregnancy or pregnancies occur on His set timetable just like He did with Abraham and Isaac. This again is another area where you will have to fully trust the Lord, especially if you have been trying to get pregnant and nothing has happened yet. Let God bring the number of children He will want you to have in this life in the time frame that He will want to do all of this in. There are always reasons for the things God will want to do, and we always have to be guided by His wisdom on when these types of heavier prayer requests will be answered by Him. 10. Waiting for God to Deliver You From a Trial There will be times that God will allow a certain amount of trials to occur in your life. We give you in this bible basic some of those reasons, and the major verses from Scripture as to why we all have to go through a certain amount of trials and tribulations in this life. But one of the things that will occur on some of the trials that God will allow into our lives is that some of these trials will have a certain amount of length to them. God is not going to quickly deliver you from some of these trials. They will have a date and time stamped on them as to when God will finally deliver you from the trial. And if God wants a particular trial to last for a little season in our lives so He can work in us what He needs to for our own spiritual growth in

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The Bible Basics Him, then we will need to have the patience to wait on His timing as to when He will deliver us from the trial. Try to pull out of these trials before God is ready to release you, and you could end up stunting your spiritual growth in Him in the sanctification realm, along with possibly disrupting His well laid out plans for your life and the call that He has set up for your life. Some of these trials will be used by God to train you and toughen you up for what your call is going to be in Him. Pull out of these trials before God is ready to release you, and you could end up causing a major delay to occur as to when His call will be finally given to you, as you did not allow Him to properly complete what He was wanting to get done with you in the trial. 11. Many Different Miscellaneous Matters in Your Life There are a number of major areas in your walk with the Lord where you will have no other alternative but to wait on His perfect timing as to when He will want to make certain things happen in your life. In addition to some of the above examples, there will also be many other smaller to medium type matters that will occur in your life where you again will have to wait on God’s perfect timing to get something done, or wait for Him to bring you something that you will need to solve the problem you may be dealing with. You will need to rely on God’s timing on many things that will occur in your marriage with your spouse and children, along with all of the interaction that will occur with the good friends you have in this life. Just learn how to be led by the Holy Spirit as to not only what to do in certain situations, but when to move with what He is guiding you to do. God’s wisdom and timing will always be perfect in every single situation that you will ever face in this life, so learn how to rely on it, as it will help keep you safe and out of harm’s way, along with keeping you on His divine path for your life, and making your life that much more productive in Him.

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Chapter 11 Choose Your Friends Carefully For those of you who have really entered into a true Spirit-filled, fullysurrendered walk with the Lord where He is now leading your life in the direction that He will want it to go in, one of the first things that you will find happening is that God will start to prune out the people that He does not want in your life and start to bring in the people that He does want in your life. He who walks with wise people will become wise himself, but that he who keeps company with fools will be destroyed. We are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, that we are to stay away from people who cause divisions and offenses, and to withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly. This does not mean that we cannot work with the lost, the downtrodden, and the people who need to find God and His message of eternal salvation. When Jesus came to our earth in the flesh, He always went after the sinners and the outcasts. But when Jesus went after these sinners, it was always for the express purpose of getting them saved and cleaned up. Jesus did not chase after everyone. He ripped on the Pharisees and many of the high-ranking Jewish leaders. Some people are open to be helped, others are not. The Bible tells us to stay away from people who are considered to be “dogs,” and to beware of people who are “evil workers.” One of the first things that God will do with your life once you come into a full surrender with Him is to start to set some boundary lines. He will now decide the path that you will follow in Him. He will now be leading you into the specific jobs that He will want you to have in this life. If you are single and have not married yet, He will lead you to the mate that He will want you to marry if it is in His perfect will that you get married in this life.

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The Bible Basics And once those boundary lines start to go up, one of the first things that God will do is to decide who is going to be coming into those boundary lines and who will be going out. God will be deciding who your true friends are going to be in this life and who will not. The main reason God will be helping you to choose who your true friends are going to be in this life is because His ultimate and highest aim for you is to transform and sanctify you. He wants you to spiritually grow and mature in your walk with Him. We are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ultimate aim for us is our sanctification, where He starts to begin to mold and transform us into the express image of His Son Jesus Christ. The main reason that God will start to take out the friends in your life that He does not want you to have is because some of these people may be negative influences in your life. They may not be open to growing and maturing in the Lord like you will be, and all they will do is try and hold you back when you start your own spiritual journey and growth in the Lord. They will start criticizing and making fun of you and all they will end up doing is stunting your growth in the Lord. God will not be putting up with this, and He will thus be taking all of these bad and negative influences out of your life very early on once you enter into this full surrender with Him. For those of you who are married and have children, it is the same thing when you do not want your children hanging out with other children who you know would be a bad and negative influence on your child. You know that if your children start hanging out with the wrong type of crowd, they can become very easily corrupted in a very short period of time. You will become very protective with your children, and you will watch them very closely when they are old enough to start choosing who their friends are going to be. It is the exact same way with God the Father! This is why God will be moving very early on to take out these negative influences in your life. Once this starts to happen, you have to go with the program or you could cause God to start pulling back on you. And once that starts to happen, you could then start to backslide and everything could then start to shut down.

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The Bible Basics If you will allow God to prune out the people that He does not want you to have in your life, then what He will start to do is to bring in the people that He will want to have in your life. We call these types of friends “God-friends.” These people will be other good, godly, Spirit-filled Christians who are truly walking in good stead with the Lord and they will now be the people that He will want you to share your walk with! You will need other good, solid, Christian friends in your life to help you grow in the Lord. We can only “know in part.” No one has all of the answers to everything. By sharing your walk with other good, solid, Christian friends, you can each help each other out in your pursuit of the knowledge and ways of God. You will know some things about God they may not know, and they will know some things that you may not know. You thus are able to help contribute to each other’s storehouse of knowledge in the Lord. Two friends can help sharpen each other up like “iron sharpens iron.” Just like one piece of iron can make the other piece of iron extremely sharp by rubbing up against it, two solid Christian friends can also have the same type of positive effect on one another by sharing their own personal walks in the Lord with one another. By having other good, solid, Christian friends to share your journey with, you will literally accelerate your spiritual growth and development in the Lord because you will have more than one source in which to feed and learn from. You will be learning about God from all of your own personal adventures and experiences with Him, but you will also be learning more about God from all of your other friend’s personal journey and experiences with Him. How many of these types of God-friends can you expect God to bring into your life? Only God will be able to answer that for each and every one of you. Some may only get one or two to start off with, others may get 5 or 10. Let God make the decision as to how many and when they will be brought into your life. What we have learned is that it is not the quantity or amount that comes in, it is the quality. You are much better off having just one or two good, solid, quality friends as versus 10 or 15 that are not as good quality friends as the one or two may be.

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The Bible Basics Every Christian is operating at different levels of spiritual development with the Lord. God knows best as to who would be best suited for you at the level of spiritual development that you are currently operating at with Him. When God does bring in these types of special God-friends to share your journey with, they will be real treasures! These God-friendships will be anointed by God Himself due to the quality feedings and interaction that will occur in them. Sadly, what you will find out very early on, is just because someone may be a saved and born again Christian does not mean this person has their act together in the Lord. Some people have become too judgmental and too critical in their walks with the Lord. Some have become too arrogant and pompous, thinking they have all the answers to everything. They will tend to look down on anyone else who is not operating at the knowledge levels they are operating at. Some have become so flaky in their walks with the Lord, that they have lost touch with reality and you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be able to connect with any of them. God knows best as to who will be best suited for you at your current level of spiritual development with Him, so let Him guide you to the ones that He will want you to connect with. We have seen God do this so many times for others, that we literally consider it a miraculous piece of work, especially as to how He gets you to meet some of these people in the first place. Some of these chess moves are quite incredible, as most of these people will be total strangers to you until God moves in to match the two of you up. The other thing that could occur besides God matching you up with total strangers is that He may move on someone else you may know, but that you are not particular good friends with. That person then gets saved and plugged in, and then they find out that you too are saved and plugged in, and now a good God-friendship can start to build up as you now have something in common with one another to start to build a good solid friendship with. This could be another member in your family, someone that you may work with, a friend who you may have known from your past, or someone you may see at church from time to time but never really talked with. The possibilities are endless as to where these people may come from. These God-friends can come from anywhere and at anytime, so keep your radars

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The Bible Basics up, as you never know when God may move to bring one of them into your life. Now we will go to the actual Scripture verses confirming all of the above for you. 1. Choose Your Friends Carefully This first verse is the one that will tell us to choose our friends very carefully in this life. This verse should literally be burned into your memory banks so that you never, ever forget this basic fundamental command from the Lord! Here it is:

● “The righteous should CHOOSE HIS FRIENDS CAREFULLY, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.” (Proverbs 12:26) If we do not choose our friends very carefully in this life, that we could end up choosing the wrong type of people to become friends with, and they can then end up leading us astray from God and with what He wants to do with our lives. Many of God’s people have lost their calls in Him because they chose to hang out with the wrong type of people. Benefits of Choosing Good God-Friends Here are 6 very interesting verses showing you why God does want you to have other good, solid, Christian friends to share your walk with. These 6 verses will show you that there is safety in the multitude of counselors, that plans can go awry without having other people to hash things out with, that war is waged by having wise counsel with others, that learning is increased by listening to wise counsel, and that if you cease to listen to wise counsel, that you will start to stray from being able to acquire more knowledge in God. 1. “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” (Proverbs 11:14) 2. “A wise man is strong, yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; for by wise counsel you will wage your own war,

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The Bible Basics and in a multitude of counselors there is safety.” (Proverbs 24:5) 3. “Every purpose is established by counsel; by wise counsel wage war.” (Proverbs 20:18) 4. “Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established.” (Proverbs 15:22) 5. “Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days.” (Proverbs 19:20) 6. “Cease listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.” (Proverbs 19:27) Once you turn the reigns of your life over to God for Him to fully handle, He will now make sure that you get matched up with the right kind of people that you can become true God-friends with. 3. As Iron Sharpens Iron Two friends can help sharpen each other up as iron sharpens iron. A true God-friend can help keep you sharp in the Spirit, let you know when you are getting too far off track, help you get through and make sense of some of the downswings that can occur in your walk, confirm and help bear witness when you are on the right track, give you pep talks when needed, and help keep you in the game when you start to get too mad and frustrated when things do not go your way. You each serve to help keep each other up in the Lord so that you both can continue to stay on the straight and narrow road that God now has you set up on. You can also help each other out if one starts to be tempted to do something they should not be engaging in.

● “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” (Proverbs 27:17) A true God-friend will always be honest and straight forward with you. You cannot help keep each other up and sharp in the Lord unless you are both willing to be totally honest with one another.

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The Bible Basics 4. Do Not Be Unequally Yoked With Unbelievers These next 7 verses will tell us not to be yoked together with unbelievers, foolish men, dogs, evil workers, those who are disorderly, reckless, contentious and always causing trouble and strife. There is one verse in particular that tells us that “evil company corrupts good habits.” This verse perfectly shows us what can happen to any of your children if they start hanging out with the wrong type of people. Here are 7 good verses telling us to stay on our side of the fence, and to stay away from all of the bad apples who have no desire for God or anything that He stands for. 1. “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God.” (2 Corinthians 6:14) 2. “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.” (Proverbs 13:20) 3. “A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it, but knowledge is easy to him who understands. Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.” (Proverbs 14:6) 4. “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers” (Philippians 3:2) 5. “But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.” (2 Thessalonians 3:6) 6. “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of

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The Bible Basics the simple.” (Romans 16:17) 7. “Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God.” (1 Corinthians 15:33) We are to stay away from all of the bad apples in this life who will do nothing but try and bring us down to their lower way of living in this life. Many Christians have had their lives totally ruined and destroyed as a result of marrying the wrong people or choosing the wrong kinds of friends to hang out with.

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Chapter 12 God Will Guide Your Steps Now that you have received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and have made a complete and full surrender of your entire life over to God the Father, He is now in complete and total charge of your life! When you make this full surrender with God, it is now His job to take full and complete care of you in every detail of your life, including finding the next new job that He will want you to move into. There is not an area or detail in your life that God will not be willing to help you out with, no matter how small or trivial you think it may be. The Holy Spirit is called “the Helper” in the Bible. It is now His job to help you in every single area of your life where you will need His help. Here is what you will really need to ground on in your own personal walk with the Lord. Now that you are walking in God’s perfect will for your life, God will now be the One to fully guide you into whatever jobs He will want you to have from here on in. The choice is no longer yours! God now has a perfect divine plan and destiny set up for your life, and He will now be the One to guide you every step of the way into the fulfillment of that divine plan! What specific jobs you will now be taking will be very important in your own spiritual growth and development with the Lord. The jobs you will now be taking will be building blocks that will lead you into whatever His specific plan and destiny is going to be for your life. This now takes the burden off you in trying to find the next right job. You obviously will still have to seek after the next job, but God will now be guiding your steps as you continue to seek after this new job, making sure that you always land in the specific jobs that He will want you to have at the exact time He will want you to have them. You are now operating on a different playing field where the rules have

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The Bible Basics changed a bit for you. If you go on a job interview and do not get the job, this means that God did not want you to have this job in the first place, and He was the One who closed the door on you getting that job so as to make sure that you did not go down the wrong path. So when you keep getting rejected after several interviews, do not look at these rejections like you are a failure. Look at it that these were jobs that God did not want you to have in the first place, and that He was the One who was running interference so as to make sure that you did not end up taking those wrong jobs. God already has your next new job all set up and planned out for you. All you have to do is simply wait for His timing to bring it to you! We know the waiting can really get to you, but this is how God develops the fruit of patience and faith in your personality. You simply have to have full faith, trust, and belief that God now has your life completely in His hands and that He will now bring you the right job at the right time. And not only does God have a set plan and a set future for your life, but He also has a set timetable in which all of these plans will manifest in your life. You simply have to learn how to have patience during these waiting periods. God will make sure and arrange that you have enough money and support coming in to help keep you afloat until this next job comes through. This is where you have to learn how to have complete faith in the Lord to do all of this for you.

The Scripture Verses It is now Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s job to fully guide you every step of the way as you now embark on this new journey with Him. This is where many Christians really miss the boat with God. Too many Christians are running there own lives and making their own choices instead of turning the reigns of their life over to God the Father for Him to fully handle. Only God knows what your true potentials are in this life, and He is the only One who can arrange to have those full potentials maximized and realized in this life!

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The Bible Basics 1. God now has a definite PLAN and FUTURE set up for your life. This is from the prophet Jeremiah and it is a very popular verse.

● “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) Notice the words “to give you.” God is going to give you, to bring to you His specific plans and future that He now has in store for your life. 2. Memorize this next verse. This one liner is extremely powerful.

● “The

steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, ”(Psalm 37:23)

Another way to look at this is that a step is one day in your life. God now has each day of your life perfectly planned out for you to the day that you depart from this life. You are now on the yellow brick road with the yellow color now being the light of God Himself. Your job is to now live each day to its fullest, always trying to do the best at whatever God will be calling you to do for Him on that particular day. If you can learn how to keep this kind of mindset, you will be less likely to throw pity parties when things do not go the way you think they should. 3. Study this next verse very carefully.

● ”A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9) What this verse means is that at times you will have to plan things out, try to figure things out, start testing things out. As you are doing all of this, God will then direct your steps as you are walking them out, and before you know it, you will then end up at the place where God will want you to be at. This verse perfectly fits into what you are dealing with right now on your job situation. You now have to seek after this next new job, but as you are in the process of seeking after this next new job, God will then make sure that He perfectly guides your steps all the way so that you can then land in the next job that He will want you to have. You will thus find it as you are seeking after it.

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The Bible Basics 4. God will provide us with His divine protection if we are willing to listen to Him and follow His ways.

● “But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.” (Proverbs 1:33) Notice the words “listen to me.” God leads, you follow. If you do, then God will give you safe and secure dwelling in this life and protection from evil things! This is a very powerful promise for all believers. Many Christians find themselves in one dire circumstance after another as a result of not listening to God and doing what He wants them to be doing with their lives. 5. The next 5 verses will tell you that God will now be fully guiding your steps in this life. 1. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5) 2. Thus says the Lord, Your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go.” (Isaiah 48:17) 3. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.” (Psalm 32:8) 4. “For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death.” (Psalm 48:14) 5. “The Lord will guide you continually” (Isaiah 58:11) God will “guide you continually, be our guide even to death, guide you with His eye, leads you by the way you should go, teaches you to profit, instructs you and directs your paths.” These are extremely powerful words. It is God’s job to fully guide and direct your steps in this life. And all of this is given to you free of charge. This is why you can let go and let God. This is why the Bible tells us that we can now cast all of our burdens and cares upon the Lord, because it is now His job to take full and complete care of all of us from the moment we fully surrender everything over to Him.

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The Bible Basics 6. It is not our responsibility to direct our own steps in this life, that this responsibility now belongs to God and God alone!

● “O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23) It becomes quite clear that it is God’s job to direct our steps in this life, not ours! 7. Notice the last sentence where it tells you to trust in God, to wait patiently for Him, and that He will bring it to pass!

● “Delight

yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass, Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.” (Psalm 37:4,7)

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Chapter 13 God Will Fully Support You Not only must you have a full understanding of this major revelation from the Lord, but this revelation has to be believed on, grounded on, and acted on if you want to be able to make it through this life in one piece and fully accomplish all of God’s perfect destiny for your life. To really get this incredible revelation burned into your memory banks so that you never forget it, especially when you find yourself going through some of the trials and tribulations that can occur at a moment’s notice in this life, we are going to give you a very good analogy the Lord gave us several years ago that will perfectly describe what we will get in this revelation that we have received from Him through His Word. This analogy is what we call the “Car Analogy.” When you buy a brand new car, you will get 4 things with the car that will enable you to properly use the car for what it was originally designed for. Visualize these 4 components as we describe them to you and lock them into your memory banks, as we will then show you how these 4 factors will perfectly line up with how God will fully support you as you journey through this life. Here are the 4 key components that you will get with every car that you buy in this day and age. 1. Protection Every car that you buy will have body panels that will surround the entire car. These body panels will serve to protect you if you are ever struck by another car. We all know how fatal motorcycles accidents can be as compared to accidents involving cars. Motorcycles do not have the outside physical protection surrounding them as cars do. Motorcycles are thus subject to

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The Bible Basics being involved in many more serious accidents as a result of not having the kind of physical protection that a normal car has on it. 2. Support The second thing that a car will give you is support, and that support is in the 4 tires that will come with every car. If a car does not have the 4 tires on it to properly support itself, you will never be able to move and get out of the driveway, much less ever be able to get it to move forward so that you can get to where you want to go with it. And not only must these 4 tires be supporting you so that you can drive the car forward, but these four tires must also be kept properly inflated. If they are not kept properly inflated and you end up getting a flat tire as you are driving the roadway, your whole vehicle will be completely shut down until you are able to fix that flat tire. 3. Power The third thing that you will need to be able to properly drive and operate the car is power. You can have all 4 tires properly supporting you, and all of the body panels properly protecting you, but if the car does not have the power to be able to propel itself forward, then you will never be able to start the car, much less ever be able to get it to move forward to move out of the driveway. The power of the car is obviously in the engine and all of its components. If some of those engine parts will not work or if any of them ever break down, the whole engine will completely shut down, thus making the car totally inoperable. 4. Guidance The last and final thing that you will need to be able to properly operate the car is a guidance system, and that guidance system is given to you in the steering wheel and its column. You can have all of the protection of the body panels, all of the support of the 4 tires, and all of the power in the engine to take you wherever you want to go, but if you do not have the steering wheel to safely guide you so that you can either turn right or left, the car will be totally useless to

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The Bible Basics you, as all you will be able to do with it is to drive forward and hit the first thing that will come directly in your path. We have all four of these components in the divine support system that we can receive from the Lord. Here are the four components of this car analogy in a bullet point format. Visualize these 4 components and lock them into your memory banks, as this picture and revelation will help keep your chin and faith levels up if you are ever forced to take on any type of heavier storm cloud in this life.

● Protection ● Power ● Support ● Guidance You will have to have all four of these things in full operation with the Lord in order for this piece of revelation to be able to work in your own personal life and walk with Him. If God will protect you, but He does not properly support you, you will never make it out of the driveway, as your walk with the Lord will completely crumble and shut down in the same way a ship will completely sink if it gets a major leak in its support structures. In that divine support you will be receiving from the Lord will be all of the money, supplies, favor, friends, and windows of opportunities that you will need in order to be able to make it into the next levels of service for Him. No support, no promotions! If God will protect you and support you, but He does not give you His power and anointing to be very good at whatever He will be calling you to do for Him, then you will not be able to properly function and max out for Him in that call, and you will thus never be able to fully accomplish everything that He will want you to accomplish for Him in that call. If God will support you, protect you, and anoint you with His power, but He does not properly guide you, then you will never be able to get to where you are supposed to be going for Him, and you will thus never be able to fully accomplish everything that He will want you to accomplish for Him in this life. You will thus end up going down one dead end road

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The Bible Basics after another, with no positive fruit and results ever occurring in your life. As you can see with this car analogy, you have to have all 4 of these factors in full play and operation with the Lord if you want to have any kind of chance of being able to complete His perfect plan and destiny for your life.

Scripture Verses Though some of these verses have already been talked about in some of our other bible basics, we are going to go ahead and re-state some of them once again under these 4 factors so that you can have all of them right at your fingertips as you are reading this . You will only be able to receive all four of these factors in your divine support from the Lord only if you are walking in a full surrender with Him. This full surrender has been fully discussed in our bible basic “The Full Surrender”. If by chance you have come across this bible basic before reading that one, it would be our strong recommendation that you also read that bible basic, as you will not be able to receive this kind of divine support from the Lord unless you are walking in this full surrender with Him. 1. Protection As stated in the above car analogy, the first order of business that you will have to have going with the Lord in this divine support that you can receive from Him is to have His full divine protection operating in your life. As a result of many of God’s people not walking in this full surrender with Him, they are not receiving His full divine protection. And as a result of not having His full divine protection operating in their lives, they are getting hammered with one trial after another and are getting absolutely nowhere with their lives. Attacks from the dark side, and just some of the normal cause and effect things that can occur at a moment’s notice in this life, all serve to keep them grounded and broken down, thus causing them to never be able to fully accomplish what God originally had in store for them before they were even born through their mother’s womb.

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The Bible Basics If you enter into this full surrender with the Lord, and He then enters you into His perfect plan and destiny for your life, but He does not divinely protect you along the way, then you will never make it to the finish line in one piece, much less ever fully accomplish everything that He will want you to accomplish for Him in that divine destiny. If you commit to buying a new car, then you will get the full protection of the body panels surrounding that car. In the same way, if you commit to making a full surrender with the Lord, and are willing to submit to His perfect plan and destiny for your life, then you will get His full divine protection operating in your life as you start on this new journey with Him. This is one of the major perks and blessings that you can receive from the Lord as a result of entering into this full surrender with Him, His full divine protection operating on both you and your entire life! Here are 23 of the better verses from the Bible showing how God can supernaturally protect you as you journey through this life. 1. “Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side?” (Job 1:10) 2. “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; the God of my strength, in Him I will trust, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my Savior, You save me from violence.” (2 Samuel 22:2) 3. “Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.” (Psalm 62:1) 4. But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.” (2 Thessalonians 3:3) 5. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He guards all of his bones; not one of them is broken.” (Psalm 34:19) 6. “And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom.” (2 Timothy 4:18)

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The Bible Basics 7. “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.” (Psalm 18:2) 8. “But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him.” (Psalm 37:39) 9. “I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.” (Psalm 121:1) 10. “Deliver me speedily; be my rock of refuge, a fortress of defense to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name’s sake, lead me and guide me. Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, for You are my strength. Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.” (Psalm 31:2) 11. “Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men! You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.” (Psalm 31:19) 12. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my

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The Bible Basics flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this I will be confident.” (Psalm 27:1) 13. “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is for me among those who help me; therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. All nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.” (Psalm 118:6) 14. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) 15. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.” (Psalm 46:1,5) 16. “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?, In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 56: 3,11) 17. “When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people, He permitted no one to do them wrong; Yes, He reproved kings for their sakes, saying “Do not touch my anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.” (Psalm 105:13) 18. “Give us help from trouble, for vain is the help of man. Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies.” (Psalm 60:11) 19. “For the Lord God will help me; therefore I will not be disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed. He is near who justifies me; who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near me. Surely the Lord God will help me; who is he who will condemn me? Indeed

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The Bible Basics they will all grow old like a garment; the moth will eat them up.” (Isaiah 50:7) 20. “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever.” (Psalm 125:1) 21. “Oh, bless our God, you peoples! And make the voice of His praise to be heard, who keeps your soul among the living, and does not allow our feet to be moved.” (Psalm 66:8) 22. “Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.” (Isaiah 46:4) 23. “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust. Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feather, and under His wings you shall take refugee; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your habitation, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample. Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor

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The Bible Basics him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” (Psalm 91:1-16) 2. Support The next thing that you will need in God’s divine support system for your life is His actual support itself. Just as a ship needs the support of its bottom planks to ride the sea, and a car needs the support of the 4 tires to be able to drive on the roadways, in the same way you will need God’s full supernatural support to be able to make it into the directions that He will want to take your life in. Here are some of the specific things that God can give you that will serve as good support structures for your life with the perfect plan that He will want to set you up with:

● All of the money you will need to be able to survive and function in this life

● All of the friends you will need to share the walk with ● Marriage and/or children if it is God’s perfect will

that you get

married in this life

● All of the shelter, supplies, equipment and materials you will need ● Doors supernaturally opening up for you when the time is right for your next promotion

● All of the favor you will need with others in order to be promoted to the next levels of service All of this can be given to you free of charge if you are willing to enter into this full surrender with the Lord and are willing to fully submit to His perfect plan for your life. Here are 7 very powerful verses all showing you how God can supernaturally support you in this life. 1. “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” (Ephesians 3:20) 2. “And my God shall supply all your need according to His

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The Bible Basics riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19) 3. “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, have an abundance for every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8-11) 4. “But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” (Psalm 34:11) 5. “The Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11) 6. “These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” (Deuteronomy 2:7) 7. “Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your feet swell these forty years.” (Deuteronomy 8:4) He will supply all of your needs, not just some or part of your needs, and that you will have an actual abundance and not lack any good thing for every good work that He will set up for you to do for Him in this life. These are very powerful promises being given to us by the Lord through His Word. The last two verses had to do when God was testing the Israelites in the wilderness for forty years in the story of Moses. During those trying times that they had “lacked nothing,” that their garments “did not wear out” on them, nor did their feet ever swell on them during the course of the entire ordeal. God had kept them properly supported during those trying times. And if God properly supported them, then He will also support you since He is no respecter of persons. This dramatic story shows you that God can keep you properly supported through thick and thin, and during the most trying of times if you are willing to hold fast to Him and not bail out on Him with what He wants to do with your life. These verses are telling us one thing, and that one thing is that major divine support is available for all of us from the Lord on whatever He will be calling us to do for Him in this life if we are willing to fully surrender to it!

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The Bible Basics 3. Power Just as a car needs the power of the engine in order to be able to move itself forward, in the same way you will need God’s anointing and power flowing through you in order to become very good at whatever He will be calling you to do for Him. If God calls you to be an evangelist, doctor, policeman, or an attorney, but does not anoint you with His supernatural power to be very good in those calls, then you will end up being only second best, if even that, and you will end up abnormally straining yourself trying to be very good in those positions and trying to make things work out properly. When God’s anointing is properly flowing through you, it will become very easy to do what He wants you to do in these calls. But if you are not flowing in His anointing and you are only trying to make things work out from your own flesh, it will only be a matter of time before you start reaching dead ends in your own personal pursuits and everything ends up falling apart. Whatever God calls you to do for Him in this life, He will make sure to anoint you with His power so that you can become very good at the position that He will be calling you to play on His team. God’s anointing can be given to you free of charge if you are willing to enter into this full surrender with Him. Here are 25 very good verses all showing us that we have the power of the Holy Spirit Himself ready to flow through us so that we can fully accomplish all of the missions that God has in store for us in this life. 1. “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19) 2. “Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.” (Luke 9:1) 3. “And He called the twelve to Him, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits, And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.” (Mark 6:7,13)

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The Bible Basics 4. “And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.” (Matthew 10:1) 5. “But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:6) 6. “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from me,” says the Lord. (Isaiah 54:17) 7. “Through You we will push down our enemies; through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, nor shall my sword save me. But You have saved us from our enemies, and have put to shame those who hated us. In God we boast all day long, and praise Your name forever.” (Psalm 44:5) 8. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9) 9. “But the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” (Daniel 11:32) 10. “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6) 11. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) 12. “For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 1:5)

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The Bible Basics 13. “For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” (1 Corinthians 4:20) 14. “In mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God” (Romans 15:19) 15. “Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.” (2 Corinthians 12:12) 16. “God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit” (Hebrews 2:4) 17. “And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.” (Mark 16:20) 18. “And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.” (Acts 4:33) 19. “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you” (1 John 2:27) 20. “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.” (1 John 2:20) 21. “Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.” (Acts 2:43) 22. “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage” (Joshua 1:5) 23. “Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle, my loving kindness and my fortress, my high tower and my deliverer, my shield and the One in whom I take refuge, who subdues my people under me.” (Psalm 144:1) 24. “For You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord shall enlighten my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop; by my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect;

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The Bible Basics the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” (2 Samuel 22:29) 25. “It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on high places. He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze, I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them; neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed. I have wounded them, so that they were not able to rise; they have fallen under my feet. For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.” (Psalm 18:32,37) If God highly anointed the first set of apostles so they could embark on the dangerous missions they were called to undertake for Him, then God can do the exact same thing for you since He is no respecter of persons. These verses are showing you the incredible supernatural power God can flow through you if you are willing to enter into this full surrendered walk with Him. 4. Guidance God’s guidance system for our lives, and that guidance system is the Holy Spirit Himself. Just as you will never be able to get to where you want to go with a car without being able to properly steer the car in the right directions, in the same way, you will never be able to make it into the divine calls and opportunities that God has in store for your life if you are not willing to be led by the Holy Spirit on exactly how to get there. If there is one major thing that gets fully surrendered, Spirit-filled Christians into major trouble with the Lord and the direction that He wants to take their lives in, it has to be their refusal to be led by the Holy Spirit in their daily lives. We recently had a very solid Christian man, who does very heavy full time ministry work for the Lord, tell us that he has met very few Christians in his life who are truly following the leadings of the Holy Spirit on any kind of regular basis. Most of the Christians he has met and

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The Bible Basics worked with in his field are still walking and working in the flesh rather than trying to walk in the Spirit and follow His specific leadings on a regular-daily basis. We have to be led by the Holy Spirit in this life. If you do not, or you are not willing to do so out of direct disobedience to the Lord, then you will never accomplish whatever God’s perfect will would have been for your life, and your life will then end up being all for naught and a total waste of time as far as the Lord is concerned when you come to the final end of it. If God is willing to enter you into His perfect plan for your life, anoint you with His divine power in order that you can become very successful in that call, and protect you and support you as you embark on that call, but then you refuse to follow the leadings of His Holy Spirit on a daily basis, then sooner or later God will pull back His anointing, His support, and His divine protection on your life, and you will then end up falling all the way down to the bottom of the mountain, possibly never getting another chance to climb to the top of that mountain ever again. Just as a car needs all four of the above factors in operation in order to be able to safely drive you and get you to where you want to go with it, in the same way we have to have all of God’s guidance, protection, support, and power flowing through our lives if we are ever going to be able to leave any kind of personal mark in this world in the divine assignments that He will be calling us to do for Him in this life. Here are 20 very powerful verses showing us the extreme importance that we all learn how to be led by the Lord through the Holy Spirit on a regular, daily basis. 1. “For as many are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” (Romans 8:14) 2. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord” (Psalm 37:23) 3. “O Lord, I know the way of a man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23)

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The Bible Basics 4. “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12) 5. “A man’s steps are of the Lord. How then can a man understand his own way?” (Proverbs 20:24) 6. “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9) 7. “Direct my steps by Your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me.” (Psalm 119:133) 8. “Therefore be followers of God as dear children.” (Ephesians 5:1) 9. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27) 10. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5) 11. “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:1) 12. Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go.” (Isaiah 48:17) 13. “Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation” (Psalm 25:4) 14. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.” (Psalm 32:8) 15. “Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.” (Psalm 27:11) 16. “The Lord will guide you continually” (Isaiah 58:11) 17. “For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death.” (Psalm 48:14)

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The Bible Basics 18. “Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar, and by night with a pillar of fire, to give them light on the road which they should travel.” (Nehemiah 9:12) 19. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6) 20. “Therefore you shall be careful to do as the Lord Your God has commanded you; You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” (Deuteronomy 5:32) In every single one of these verses that we are to follow directly after the Lord and His desires for our life. We are not to follow after our own wills, our own desires, or the wills or desires of anyone else in this life. God, and God alone, is the Captain of our ship and the Shepherd of our souls. We are to follow Him and Him alone, no matter how much someone else may try and persuade you otherwise. Follow God and the divine path that He has set up for you to follow in this life, and you will enter into true abundant life on this earth. Follow your own path or the paths that others will want you to take, and your life will eventually end in corruption and death.

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Chapter 14 Memorizing Verses From the Bible One thing that many Christians will try and do is to memorize certain key verses from the Bible. The reason they are doing this is so they can have the knowledge that is being given in each of these Scripture verses solidly implanted into their minds and thought process. We are actually transformed by the renewing of our minds, and there is no greater way to help this process along with the Lord than to try and memorize certain key verses from the Bible that we know will directly help us in our own personal walk with Him. For those of you who have never tried to do this with the Lord, let us use this bible basic to show you the incredible benefits that can be given to you by the Lord if you will make an attempt to try and take this kind of extra step with Him. The first step is to fully realize what we are actually dealing with. God the Father has given all of us only one Holy Book that has everything we will need to know about Him, His Son Jesus, and His Holy Spirit down here on this earth. The Bible is literally a treasure chest of knowledge and revelation direct from the Lord Himself, and it is all contained in this one Holy Book. When the one and only God of this entire universe starts to speak to all of us direct through this one and only powerful Holy Book, then you know it is something that every single Christian should take very, very seriously. This is why we have started up this kind of bible basic, to give people many of the different Bible verses we have from the Lord covering many of the main areas of our walk with Him. Once you start to group these Bible verses together by specific subject matter, you will then see the real power that is in the Bible and how it can really work to change all of our lives for the better.

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The Bible Basics We give you some of the specific verses from the Bible to show you how powerful and life-changing the Bible really is. Here are some of the specific things that we have in place with our Holy Bible: 1. The Bible itself tells us that all of Scripture, not just some or part of it, all comes direct to us from God the Father. The Bible is the only Book that we have down here on this earth that will give us knowledge and revelation direct from the Lord Himself. No other book that we have down here on this earth can do that for us. 2. The Bible also tells us that the Word of God is living, powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword we could possibly make down here on this earth. This is not dead meat, this is real, live meat that can supernaturally feed and nourish our mind, soul, and spirit. No other earthly book can do that for us. 3. Since all of the Bible is direct revelation from God Himself, this means that all of the words and revelations contained in it will be 100% PURE SOLID TRUTH. This thus makes the Bible totally infallible and inerrant. No other earthly book can make this kind of claim. 4. The Bible also tells us that it can sanctify and cleanse us. And the reason it can do this is because the Holy Spirit, who is the One who will actually sanctify and cleanse us, will move very heavily on any Christian who will spend a reasonable amount of time in this Book trying to learn as much as they can about the Lord and all of His ways. When you add it all up, there is simply no other book on our earth that is like the Bible. And with all of it coming direct to us from God the Father through the Holy Spirit, every single Christian should try and spend as much reasonable time as they possibly can so they can properly grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior. It is one thing to read the Bible as it is, but it is quite another thing to try and meditate on some of the specific passages, and then try to get some of these powerful, spiritual truths worked into our lives and mindsets.

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The Bible Basics King David tells us that we must learn to meditate on God’s Word. God told Joshua that we must meditate on His Word day and night. Here is the direct word spoken to Joshua by God Himself on the importance that we all meditate on His Word, and that we try to get His Word worked into our lives and mindsets.

● “This Book of Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall MEDITATE in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8) If we seek to meditate on His Word, and then seek to do everything He is telling us to do in this Holy Book, then our way will be made “prosperous” and we will have “good success.” This one verse simply says it all.

● If

you really want to get to know the Lord better so you can establish a strong, intimate, personal relationship with Him

● If you really want to learn how to live this life God’s way so you can stay out of trouble and out of harm’s way

● And if you really want to learn how the Lord can truly sanctify you and make you into a better and more holy person

● Then

you will have to be willing to spend a certain amount of reasonable time reading and meditating from the Bible. There is simply no other way. There are no shortcuts you can take to reach these kinds of goals with the Lord.

Knowledge about God and all of His ways will only come direct to us if we read and study from His Word. If you do not seek to get to know God better by reading and studying from His one and only Word, then you will never spiritually grow in this life. When the Bible tells us to “meditate” on the Word of God, the word “meditate” means the following from some of the different Bible Dictionaries:

● Contemplation of spiritual truths 190

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● The practice of reflection or contemplation ● The act of calling to mind some supposition, pondering upon it, and correlating it to one’s life Notice the keys words of “contemplation” and “reflection” in the above definitions. Christian meditation is an active process, not a passive one. The Holy Spirit works best with an active mind, not a passive mind. To truly meditate does not mean to blank your mind out like many of the far-eastern religions will try and get you to do. It means to think about, to chew on, to try and figure out what many of the different verses mean and how they can apply to your daily life. And as you are doing this, the Holy Spirit Himself will help guide your thoughts and give you illumination as to what some of these different verses will mean and how they can be applied to the different areas of your life. But you first have to be willing to meditate and think about these verses before the Holy Spirit will sometimes do this for you. Seek, and then you will find. And when you start to seriously meditate on the Word of God, then you are going into a major seeking mode with the Lord, and that is when He will then allow you to start finding the knowledge that He will want you to have from some of these different verses. This is why God made sure to use the word “meditate” in the above verse with Joshua, so as to give all of us a big, major clue as how to get Him to release more of His knowledge and wisdom to us in this life. If you really start meditating on the Word of God with the goal in mind of trying to learn as much as you possibly can about the Lord, and then you add to it the element of memorizing certain key Scripture verses, you will spiritually grow in this life beyond anything that you ever thought was possible in this fallen and cursed world we all now live in. Here are 9 incredible things that could happen to you if you will be willing to truly meditate on the Word of God, along with trying to memorize certain key Scripture verses from time to time: 1. Will Help You Grow Closer in Your Own Personal Relationship With the Lord

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The Bible Basics 2. Will Help Increase Your Faith in the Lord 3. Will Help Strengthen Your Prayer Life With the Lord 4. Will Help in Being Able to Properly Witness to Nonbelievers 5. Will Help in Counseling and Discipling 6. Will Help in the Area of Spiritual Warfare 7. Will Help in Being Able to Properly Defend Your Faith in the Lord 8. Will Help in the Renewing of Your Mind and Being Sanctified By the Lord 9. Will Help in Improving Your Intelligence and Memory Abilities Here is a brief breakdown on each one of these so you can see how powerful of a thing it really is if you can start to truly meditate on the Word of God, and then be willing to commit certain key Scripture verses to memorization. 1. Will Help You Grow Closer in Your Own Personal Relationship With the Lord The number one thing God is looking for is to establish a strong, intimate, personal relationship with each person He has created. God created all of us for close intimate fellowship. Not only does God want to be our God and our Father, but He also wants to be our best Friend. He wants to be number one in our life and He will not settle for a second or third position next to any of our friends or family. As such, when you start to really meditate on His Word, and then you start taking the extra step in trying to memorize certain key Scripture verses, this will show God that you really mean serious business with Him, that you really do love Him, and that you really want to learn more about Him. Sometimes our actions will speak louder than our words to God. And when you start really meditating on the Bible, and then you start to memorize certain key Scripture verses so you can get to know our God that much better, these kinds of extra actions will show Him that you are

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The Bible Basics really serious about Him and that you are doing everything you can to draw that much closer to Him. And when God sees this kind of extra effort being put in on your part, this will create an incredible desire in Him to also want to draw closer to you. And when this starts to happen, your personal relationship with the Lord will then get stronger, deeper, and much more intimate. And this is all due to you seeking after the Lord with the original goal in mind of wanting to draw that much closer to Him. It is one thing to say we love God, but it is quite another thing to actually prove it to Him by our actions. And nothing will prove our love to God more than us diving head first into His Word so we can learn more about Him and all of His awesome ways. 2. Will Help Increase Your Faith in the Lord Not only will your personal relationship with God get better and stronger if you learn to really meditate on His Word, but your faith will also increase in Him. Why? Because the Bible tells us that our faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Here is the verse that will prove this to you:

● “So then

faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

When you hear the Word of God, you are either reading the Bible for yourself or you are listening to someone teach it. Either way, you are loading up your mind with the words from the Bible. And when you do that, not only will faith come to you, but it will also increase over time with the Lord. Here is a very good verse that will show you that your faith levels in the Lord are capable of increasing over time:

● “Because

your FAITH Thessalonians 1:3)

GROWS

EXCEEDINGLY.”

When you start to read and meditate from the Word of God, and then you start to commit certain key Scripture verses to memorization, your faith levels are going to really start to grow and increase in the Lord as a result of this type of heavier seeking!

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The Bible Basics And the stronger your faith becomes in the Lord, the stronger and deeper your personal relationship will become with Him. And the stronger your personal relationship becomes with the Lord, the more He is going to show Himself to you and interact back with you. 3. Will Help Strengthen Your Prayer Life With the Lord Your prayer life with the Lord is like the oil to the engine. Get your prayer life with the Lord shut down for whatever reason, and your whole walk and call in Him will also get shut down right along with it. Your prayer life with the Lord is what will continue to fuel your personal relationship with Him, so anything you can do on your end to make it better and stronger will just help draw you that much closer to the Lord. And by meditating on His Word so you can learn as much as you can about having a good, strong prayer life with Him is going to be exactly what will give you that stronger prayer life with Him, and then going the extra step in memorizing certain key verses on this subject is again going to make your prayer life with Him just that much stronger and better. We give you many of the main healing verses from the Bible. If you can commit a few of them to actual memory, you will then be fully loaded to quote some of these verses back to God in your own personal prayers to Him when you are needing a healing either for yourself or someone else you may be praying for. God loves it when you quote His own Word back to Him, and you then ask Him to move off the wording of some of these verses. By committing some of these verses to actual memory, you are showing God that you mean serious business with Him. And when you show God that you are willing to take this kind of extra step with Him, this may be just enough to get Him to answer your prayer, whether it be for your own self or someone else you may be praying for. 4. Will Help in Being Able to Properly Witness to Nonbelievers Another major area where Scripture memorization will really help you is when you are attempting to witness to a nonbeliever. We give you some of the main Bible verses on what it means to get saved and receive eternal

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The Bible Basics salvation from the Lord. Jesus Christ is the only way to be able to receive eternal salvation from God the Father. These verses are as clear and as plain as they can be, and you are going to need some of these basic power verses when witnessing to a nonbeliever. And if you can have some of these powerful verses fully memorized, it will just make your witnessing that much more stronger and effective. Also, the Lord will really anoint you with His power if you will seek to load your mind and spirit up with some of these major power verses. Most of these verses are only one and two sentences long, so they are all very easy to memorize. If you will take this extra step to memorize some of these kinds of verses on Jesus being the only way to eternal salvation, God will then be able to use you to witness to others. And if God can use you in this realm, how many people will you end up getting saved in this life? As we have said before, nothing will ever top leading a lost soul to the Lord, thereby giving them eternal life and eternal salvation. 5. Will Help in Counseling and Discipling Part of the Great Commission Command given to us by the Lord before He left us is to make disciples. Once you get someone saved, that is just the beginning. All newborns will need some kind of mentoring and discipling to help get them up and running with the Lord. And if God wants to use you to help mentor and disciple someone, it will really help if you have some of these basic Bible verses memorized so you can shoot them out very quickly in any conversations you will be having with the ones you will be mentoring and discipling. Scripture memorization will also help in the area of counseling, when people are coming direct to you to try and get Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s point of view on a matter they may be wrestling with. Having some basic Bible verses memorized and right at your fingertips will again help many of these people, as so many of lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s problems can really be solved with revelation and knowledge direct from the Word of God itself.

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The Bible Basics 6. Will Help in the Area of Spiritual Warfare This bible basic will give you many of the main battle verses you will need to not only be able to directly engage with demonic spirits, but to also be able to use against any other type of battle situation you may find yourself involved in. Having some of these basic battle verses memorized will give you real live ammunition right at your fingertips that you will be able to use at a moment’s notice. If you are attempting to cast demons out of someone, it will really help to have some of these basic battle verses loaded up in your mind so you can quote these specific verses directly at the demons as you are directly engaging with them. Demons hate all Scripture, and the Holy Spirit will really move on your behalf if you start using Scripture verses to battle against them. The Word of God is the Sword of the Holy Spirit. Quoting Scripture verses directly against the demons will be you wielding and using your Sword directly against them. Demons are cast out of someone by the Word of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit. You speak out the appropriate command words against the demons, and then the Holy Spirit will move in to blow them out of the person they are inhabiting. Having some of these basic battle verses fully memorized so you can call them up at a moment’s notice will just make you that much more of an anointed soldier for the Lord, as the Bible is telling all of us to become good soldiers of Jesus Christ. 7. Will Help in Being Able to Properly Defend Your Faith in the Lord In the times we are living in, with there being so many attacks against Christianity, we really need to be able to properly defend our faith when called upon by the Lord. And having some of these basic Bible verses fully memorized will again help you that much more if you are ever called upon by the Lord to defend your faith in Him. We have all been “appointed” by the Lord to defend His Gospel, and that we should always be “ready” to do so for anyone who will want to know the reason that we have such a good hope in us.

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The Bible Basics 1. “Knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.” (Philippians 1:17) 2. “Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15) Being appointed by the Lord to be able to defend our faith in Him is something that He would like all of us to be able to do for Him. This is not just for the pastors, teachers, and evangelists in the Body. This is a command for all believers, as God can use each and everyone of us to witness, teach, and disciple others if we have spent enough reasonable time in learning the basics of our salvation in Him. Having some of these basic Bible verses fully understood and fully memorized will just make us that much more effective in being able to defend our faith for the Lord. 8. Will Help in the Renewing of Your Mind and Being Sanctified by the Lord We are actually transformed by the renewing of our minds. And what better way to help this process along with the Lord than to really meditate on the truths of the Bible, and then be willing to commit some of these very powerful, spiritual truths to actual memory. We need to have a good understanding of some of these kinds of verses, as they will all give us direct knowledge and revelation on exactly what God will be wanting to do with us in this realm. This is why we have created a separate Sanctification, so you can really study and meditate on some of the verses that will help God sanctify and transform you in this life. 9. Will Help in Improving Your Intelligence and Memory Abilities One major blessing you will get if you start to meditate on the Bible, and then try to commit certain verses to memorization, is that this kind of intense mental activity will start to increase your intelligence levels, along with increasing your ability to remember and retain information. Not only will you get better at memorizing certain Scripture verses, but it will also help you out in your everyday life, as many people start to

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The Bible Basics develop short term memory loss as they get past their mid 40â&#x20AC;˛s. The brain is like a muscle, and the more you use it and exercise it, the stronger and more efficient it will become. Athletes have a common slogan, use it or lose it. This also applies to our brains. And memorizing certain key Scripture verses is a very good activity you can do for your brain to help keep it healthy and properly functioning, especially as you start to get older in life.

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Chapter 15 Bearing Good Fruit for the Lord Without question, one of the most important analogies God has given to us in His Word on the new, restored relationship we now have with Him as a result of Jesus dying on the cross for all of us is the vine and branch analogy, where Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. And not only does this analogy give us a very good visual of what we now have with the Lord, but it also gives us one more important piece of revelation, and this second piece of revelation being given to us by the Lord is what He will be expecting from each one of us once we are fully grafted back into Him. God will now be expecting all of us to produce good fruit for Him. Once you get saved and born again through the blood that Jesus has already shed for you, God will now expect you to do something with this new reality and new life that He has now given to you. God will now want you to come and “work” for Him. God will be rewarding us according to those good works. When you put those kinds of verses next to this one, special, intense verse, you can tell that God is not pulling any punches. Here is one of the most important verses in all of Scripture that each and every Christian needs to have a full and complete understanding on:

● “I

am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

● You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

● I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If

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The Bible Basics anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

● If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” (John 15:1-8) Notice 2 things: 1. The first thing Jesus is trying to show us is now that we have been saved through His shed blood, we are now to Him like branches are to a tree. In the third paragraph in this verse, Jesus is now telling us that He is the vine and we are the branches. And once you really grab a hold of that visual and compare it to the trees that are in our natural surroundings, the first thing you will see is that the branch of the tree cannot live apart from the tree. That branch has to stay completely hooked into and grafted into that tree for it to continue to remain fully alive. If for whatever reason the branch of the tree ever gets fully disconnected from the tree and falls to the ground, it will wither and die. And once that branch gets fully disconnected from the tree, it can never repair itself again. That branch cannot get grafted back into the tree. The branch is now permanently cut off from that tree, and from there, it will wither and die. Jesus tells us the exact same thing will occur to all of us if we do not abide in Him. Jesus says that if a person does not abide in Him, that this person “is cast out as a branch and is withered.” And from there, that branch is gathered up and thrown into the fire. The word “fire” being used in this verse is talking about hell fire. If we are not truly abiding in Jesus like the branch is with the vine, we are going to be cast off from Him like a branch can be cut off from a tree, and from there, we will be thrown into hell. God is giving all of us a very strong visual of what we now have in place with Him once we are born again through His Son Jesus. Jesus is now the vine, we are the branches, and God the Father is the vinedresser, and from there, God will expect all of us to continue to abide in Him and His Son Jesus.

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The Bible Basics Not only is this verse giving us a very strong visual of what we now have with God and Jesus as a result of being born again, but it is now giving us a very dire warning if we should ever want to pull away and disconnect from the Lord. God has made all of us for Himself and He will not be denied. We either graft back into Him and abide in Him, or we will become like a branch that has been cut off from a tree and from there, we will wither and die. This is an all-or-nothing proclamation being made by the Lord. 2. The second thing to pick up from this verse, and this is the part we want to key in on for the rest of this bible basic, is what Jesus says in the second verse above. Here are the exact words in this second verse: “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” Here is another very extreme verse saying the exact same thing:

● “And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matthew 3:10) There is not any other way to interpret these two verses other than once we are saved and born again, God is now going to expect something more from all of us with the brand new life He has now given to us, and that something more is that we start producing good fruit for Him. What exactly is God meaning when He tells us that He wants all of us to start producing good fruit for Him? The word fruit is meaning that God will want us to do good works for Him, with those good works then producing good results and good fruit for Him. Example, if you are witnessing to another person and you end up getting them saved, then not only did you do a good work with that person by being willing to witness to them in the first place, but you also ended up producing good fruit as a result of getting them saved. If you are discipling another newborn and they start to really grow in the grace and knowledge of God as a result of your good mentoring efforts, you have just produced good fruit for the Lord.

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The Bible Basics Here is a list of 16 things God is looking for when He is talking about us producing good fruit for Him in this life. This good fruit God is looking for is going to cover many different areas of our walk with Him. 1. Be willing to read and study from your Bible so you can grow in the grace and knowledge of God. 2. Be willing to establish a strong, intimate, personal relationship with God, as this is the number one thing God is looking for from all of us. 3. Be willing to establish a strong, prayer life with God so He can then start to answer your prayers for any specific needs you may have, along with being able to pray for others for any specific needs they may have with the Lord. 4. Be willing to enter into a full surrender with the Lord so He can then enter you into His perfect plan and destiny for your life. And when you start doing good works in that perfect plan and destiny for your life, then you will start producing good fruit for the Lord. 5. Be willing to give God a good, solid, green light to enter you into a true sanctification process so He can then begin the process of molding and shaping you into the express image of His Son Jesus. This is also where the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit will be worked and meshed into the core of your personality so you can then start to become the true sanctified saint God is calling you to become in Him. 6. Be willing to witness to other people so you can get them saved and born again, especially if the Holy Spirit is leading you to do so. 7. Be willing to disciple other believers so they too can grow in the grace and knowledge of God. 8. Be willing to be a good, godly spouse for your mate if you are married, and a good, godly parent for your children if you have children. These two endeavors alone will be very good works and very good fruit that you will be producing for the Lord. 9. Be willing to help family, friends, and strangers with

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The Bible Basics whatever they will need help on. 10. Be willing to give money to your home church and any other causes God may lead you to give to. 11. Be willing to be perfectly obedient to the Holy Spirit with whatever He will lead you to do on a daily basis for the Lord. 12. Be willing to be a part of the Great Commission Command, which is to save, heal, deliver, and disciple. 13. Be willing to walk with any of the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit if God should ever want to manifest any of these 9 gifts to you. Do not be afraid of these gifts if God would like to manifest some of them to you from time to time, especially if they are being given to you to help someone else out. 14. Be willing to continue to pray for the salvation of all your close loved ones who have yet to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Be willing to pray for them to the day they either get saved, or to the day they literally die and leave this life for good. 15. Be willing to take a strong stand for Jesus in our public arenas on hot topics such as abortion, homosexuality, same sex marriages, trying to take Jesus out of Christmas, dark side material like the Harry Potter books and videos, defending the state of Israel and the Jewish people since they are still Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chosen people, and every major area of our public life where they are trying to take out the basics of our faith such as our schools, judicial systems, and many of our public offices. 16. Be willing to provide for your own, especially those of your own household, as the Bible says in 1Timothy 5:8 that if you do not do so, that you have denied the faith and that you are worse than an unbeliever. We could go on and on, but all of the above are some of the things that God will be looking for once we have been grafted back into Him through the shed blood of His Son Jesus. Once God has fully restored us back to Himself, you can tell by the way

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The Bible Basics the above verse is being worded, that He does not want us sitting around and doing absolutely nothing for Him. We gave you one big whopper verse showing us that our faith in God will be considered dead in His eyes if we do not back up that faith with some type of good works. Here is this verse:

● “Thus

also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead, Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?, You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only, For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:17-26)

This verse is straight-in-your-face and it is all literal language being used by the Lord. He is letting all of us all know in no uncertain terms, that He wants all of us coming to work for Him once we are born again. Our faith in Him now has to be backed up with good works. And if we are willing to do good works and produce good fruit for Him with what time we still have left down here, then we will be appropriately rewarded once we enter into heaven. Here are 5 good verses on the importance that we all do good works for the Lord and seek to produce good fruit for Him in this life. He will be rewarding us according to any good works we do for Him while down here on this earth. 1. “Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before unknown men.” (Proverbs 22:29) 2. This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.” (Titus 3:8) 3. “And each one will receive His own reward ACCORDING TO HIS OWN LABOR.” (1 Corinthians 3:8) 4. “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone ACCORDING TO HIS WORK.” (Revelation 22:12)

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The Bible Basics 5. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you ACCORDING TO YOUR WORKS.â&#x20AC;? (Revelation 2:23) These verses are really pointing to the extreme importance that we all do something in this life for the Lord, and that something is that we do good works for Him, and from those good works will come good fruit. Do good works for the Lord, produce good fruit for the Lord, and can then leave this life with absolutely no regrets and that you lived life to its fullest for the Lord. And from there, God will highly appropriately reward you for those good works and good fruit once enter into heaven to be with Him for all of eternity.

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you this and you

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Chapter 16 Bible Verses on Marriage and Family With half of all marriages in our country still ending up in divorce, now more than ever, people need to realize how important marriage and family is not only to God Himself, but also to every single country across this world, as the family unit is the absolute basic, foundation that a society has to be built on. God had it all set up in the Garden of Eden that Adam would have a mate, and from there, they would be able to have a one-flesh, marital union with one another. And from this one incredible marriage union God was going to set up for them, they would then be able to bring children into this world. As we all know, Adam and Eve ended up blowing this perfect paradise by directly disobeying the Lord on one, simple, little command. However, though Adam and Eve blew it for the rest of us as well, God still kept His original plan of marriage and family for the human race fully intact. Now looking at how God has the big picture set up down here on this earth, you can really see all of it in three, simple, basic things:

â&#x2014;? God â&#x2014;? Family â&#x2014;? Friends And in that specific order. God always has to be number one in our lives. No one or no thing can ever replace Him in our lives. We were made solely for the Lord and He will not be denied. Only Jesus is the true vine in our lives, not any of our family members or good friends. God is the only One who we spiritually need in this life to find true inner happiness and fulfillment, God still saw that He had to make a helper for the first man He had created.

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The Bible Basics When God initially created Adam, He saw after a certain length of time that it was not good that Adam be “alone.” From there, God then created Eve from one of his ribs so he could then have a helper that would be comparable to him. Adam obviously had it all in the Garden of Eden. He had God, himself, and all of the animals God had created for him. But yet, the way Scripture is wording this event, God decided to add a woman into the big picture by what was apparently happening to Adam in this Garden. The Bible does not give us the specifics on what was occurring with Adam, but we have to surmise that Adam was a bit lonely to some degree, even though he fully had God, himself, and all of the other animals God had created for him. God saw that there was something extra that Adam was needing in his life and He then created the woman Eve for him. When God goes to the additional length to create an entirely different creature from the man Adam just so Adam could enjoy this special one-flesh, marriage union with her, you know this has to be a very big thing in the eyes of God, otherwise He would have never created a woman and marriage for Adam in the first place. This now tells us that marriage and family are the second greatest thing that God can give us in this life next to Himself, His Son Jesus, and His Holy Spirit. As such, we all need to fully appreciate this incredible gift that God has given to the human race and not take it for granted, or want to throw it away once we hit a few minor speed bumps in the marriage. When you really stop and look at the real big picture and how God has everything set up, there are only three things that will be crossing over with us when we die and go to heaven. Those three things are:

● Ourselves ● All of our saved family members ● All of our saved friends All of the money we have made and saved up down here on earth, and all of the material possessions we have acquired will not be crossing over with us.

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The Bible Basics With only ourselves, our saved family members, and our saved friends crossing over into heaven with us, what this now tells us is that the personal friendships we have established down here with each one of our family members and good friends is now very important, because when we enter into heaven, we will be able to continue each of those personal relationships in heaven for all of eternity! As such, we always need to keep our priorities straight down here on this earth as we continue to walk in the divine plan that God has set up for our lives. Sometimes we get so busy and so distracted with our work for the Lord, that we sometimes forget how important our family and friends really are. If we do not keep our priorities set straight, we could easily lose some of the good tight relationships we have established down here with our spouses, children, and friends. How many good marriages are now ending up in divorce because one or both of the spouses had started to take their marriage too much for granted? Marriage, like anything else, takes a lot of hard work to keep up and running. We always need to stay on top of our game with the Lord with the blessed spouse and children He has brought into our lives, and do everything we can on our end to make it happy and fulfilling. If people did not need any kind of marriage union in this life to help make them happy and fulfilled, then God would have never created this marriage union in the Garden of Eden in the first place. The fact that God created this special marriage union with the first two people He had created tells us that this is a real big thing with Him, and that it is a gift of the highest order when He does match us up with the person He will want us to marry in this life, and from there, be able to have an incredible sexual union that will be able to bring children into this world. As such, we should never forget how special our spouses, children, and good friends really are. The good personal relationships we will establish down here on this earth with each one of them is what will be carrying over into the next life. This is why you always have to keep God, family, and friends at the top of your priority list, because your personal relationship with each one of them is the only thing that will be carrying over

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The Bible Basics into this next life. So you can see how important and how big of a thing marriage and family is both to the Lord, ourselves, and our world in general, we will give you some of the main verses from the Bible on this topic under 8 separate captions below. 1. God Wants Us To Be Married and Have a Family It is God Himself who instituted the sacrament of marriage for the human race. God Himself did not think it was good that man be alone, so He then created a woman for him that would be his helper and that would be someone that would be comparable to him. Adam needed one of his own kind to walk with and fellowship with, so God made sure that not only would Adam have this kind of helper, but so would the rest of the human race that would follow after him. God says this marital union will be a one-flesh union, bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh. This is why when people break up and divorce, the pain they feel is so excruciating. It feels like flesh is ripping from flesh once you start to pull apart and try to dissolve the marriage union. There is both a spiritual union and a physical union when two people marry for true love. That is why Jesus says in one of the verses below let no man try and separate what God has joined together in holy marriage. Here are 15 verses, all showing you that God Himself was the One who set up the sacrament and institution of marriage, and that it is a very good blessing to have from the Lord if it will be in His perfect will for you to have it in this life. 1. And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make a helper comparable to him.” (Genesis 2:18) 2. “But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called

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The Bible Basics Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2: 20-24) 3. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them; “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:27-28) 4. “So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:6) 5. “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters, that you may be increased there, and not diminished.” (Jeremiah 29:4-6) 6. “He who finds a wife finds a good thing. And obtains favor from the Lord.” (Proverbs 18:22) 7. “Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house. Your children like olive plants all around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.” (Psalms 128:3-4) 8. “Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life, She girds herself with strength, and strengthens her arms .. and her lamp does not go out by night, Yes, she reaches out her hand to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed in scarlet, She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness. She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of

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The Bible Basics idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her, Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” (Proverbs 31:10-30) 9. “Wives, submit to your husbands, as to the Lord. for the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.” (Ephesians 5:22-24) 10. “Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (Ephesians 5:33) 11. “So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.” (Ephesians 5:28) 12. “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.” (Colossians 3:18-21) 13. “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach” (1 Timothy 3:2) 14. “Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.” (1 Timothy 3:12) 15. “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8) The very last verse shows you how serious God really is about marriage and family. He says that if we do not provide for our own, especially those of our own household, that we are denying our faith in Him and that we are worse than an unbeliever. God has created marriage and family for our human race, and for those who find it in this life, they have been given a blessing of the highest order

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The Bible Basics next to the Lord Himself. To be given a true soulmate direct from the hand of God, and then from that true love, you are allowed to marry one another and bring children into this world, it just does not get any better than this. And then once we all cross over into heaven, we will then be able to keep those special godly relationships intact for all of eternity. This is the real kind of treasure that the Bible is talking about in storing up for heaven, not all of the material things in this life that will do nothing but perish right before your very eyes on your deathbed. 2. God Wants the Whole Family Saved and Working For Him Not only does God want us to marry and have families in this life, but He also wants all of our families saved and working direct for Him in this life. Joshua includes both himself and his entire household when he says that as far as he is concerned, both him and his house will “serve the Lord.” Here are 5 very good verses showing us that God wants all of our entire families saved and brought up in His ways and knowledge so they can fully serve Him in this life. 1. “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15) 2. “For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He had spoken to him.” (Genesis 18:19) 3. And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family

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The Bible Basics were baptized. (Acts 16:30-33) 4. “Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.” (Acts 18:8) 5. “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.” (Ephesians 3:14-15) For those of you who are in families where all of the members are not saved in the Lord, please keep these unsaved family members at the top of your personal prayer list and keep praying for their eternal salvation literally to the day they die if it will take that long to actually get them saved. You only have one shot, one short window in this lifetime to get these unsaved family members saved before they die and depart from this life. Once they die and cross over, it will then be too late. You have to get them saved this side of heaven, not the next. Do not ever forget this, as your direct personal prayers to the Lord may be the only thing that will end up getting some of them saved before they die and cross over. 3. Keep Yourself Pure Until Marriage In the very hedonistic type world we all now live in, asking people to hold off on having sex before they actually get married is a real tall order. We give you all of the main verses on this topic, along with the main reasons as to why God is asking all of us to stay away from sex before and outside of marriage. God is not mincing any words on this topic. He is saying exactly what He is meaning to say. These 10 very intense verses with the specific wording and tone being used in them. 1. “There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Yes, four which I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a virgin.” (Proverbs 30:18-19)

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The Bible Basics 2. “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.” (Matthew 15:19-20) 3. “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9) 4. “But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;, For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” (Ephesians 5: 3-5) 5. “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19) 6. “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “The two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6:15-20)

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The Bible Basics 7. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God, For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.” (1Thessalonians 4:3-7) 8. “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you also once walked when you lived in them.” (Colossians 3: 5-7) 9. “And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and licentiousness which they have practiced.” (2 Corinthians 12: 21) 10. “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, not even to eat with such a person.” (1 Corinthians 5: 9-11) When God tells us that He does not even want His own people hanging out and eating with fornicators, you know this is something that we should all take very seriously. If you can keep yourself pure and undefiled until after you marry, you will then create a very special moment in your marriage once the two of you sexually unite for the very first time. It will be something you will never, ever forget, because you will know that you ended up doing it God’s way, not the world’s way.

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The Bible Basics 4. Raise Your Children Up in the Lord These next set of verses are all going to apply to the children you will end up having if that is what you will desire in the marriage. The very first verse will really set the stage for you on being able to bring children into this world through a holy marriage. This first verse will tell you that “happy is the man who has his quiver full of them,” and that children are a true “heritage from the Lord.” Being able to bring children into this world, and then to be responsible for bringing them up in the Lord, is one of the greatest blessings you can have and experience this side of heaven. And in the upraising of your children in the Lord, you will establish and form out a very special, strong, love bond that will last not only for this lifetime, but for all of eternity. You will forever be that child’s earthly mother and father, and this will be a special bond and love relationship that both you and your children will have forever and ever. You only have one chance in the eternal scheme of things to bring children into this world. Once you enter into heaven, there will be no further marriages and no further procreation. Everyone who ends up in heaven first has to be born into this world as a result of the Adamic curse that is still in full operation. Each woman only has one short window to decide if they want to have any children in this life. If you decide that you do want to have children within your marriage, never forget this special blessing that you will be receiving from the Lord. Love and really cherish your children, and bring them up right in the Lord. If you do, then you will be rewarded with a very special love relationship that will last for all of eternity with all of your children. Now here are 10 of the main verses from the Bible on having children within a marriage and how to deal with them. 1. “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is His reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed” (Psalm 127:3) 2. “You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart,

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The Bible Basics with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart; you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the door-posts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:5-9) 3. “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) 4. “Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old.” (Proverbs 23:22) 5. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” (Ephesians 6:1-4) 6. “Chasten your son while there is hope, and do not set your heart on his destruction.” (Proverbs 19:18) 7. “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him.” (Proverbs 22:15) 8. “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother, Correct your son, and he will give you rest; yes, he will give delight to your soul.” (Proverbs 29:15,17) 9. “He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly.” (Proverbs 13:24) 10. “Do not withhold correction from a child, for if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod, and deliver his soul from hell.” (Proverbs 23:13) The last 5 verses have to do with properly disciplining your children as you are raising them up in the Lord. Now, more than ever, with all of the worldly temptations and vices that will be competing for your child’s attention as they are growing up, never forget to set the boundary lines as to what they can and cannot do in this life, with all of it being based upon

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The Bible Basics the Word of God. As we have pointed out to you in many of our other bible basics, God has done a very good job on laying out in His Word all of the things He wants us doing, as well as all of the things that He will not want us to be doing. Teach these ways and commandments of our Lord to your children so they will know exactly what the rules are going to be once they leave your home and enter into adulthood. You only have one chance to properly bring your children up in the ways and knowledge of God. Learn these ways by studying the Bible, and then seek to teach these ways to all of your children so they will be properly armed and well prepared to handle all of the adversity this life will eventually throw at them. Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s people will go into captivity and perish for having lack of knowledge. That is why as parents you have to make sure you teach your children all of the ways of the Lord, so they do not perish or go into any type of captivity. We do not have to tell you how many of our children have gone into some type of captivity by getting bound up with such things as drugs, alcohol, gang activity, premarital sex, the occult, New Age thinking, etc. There are just a ton of evil things out there that could get your child bound up, and in many of these cases, the one thing that will prevent them from getting bound up is the knowledge of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ways that you had earlier instilled in them during their growing years in the house. 5. Keep Your House in Order If you end up getting married in this life, the next thing you will need to do is to make sure you always keep your house in order. If you do not, and you end up having problems with your spouse or any of your children, it could seriously distract and weaken you as you try to work for God in the calling that He has set up for your life. How many times have you heard successful people state that what had helped them to reach the success they have obtained is having a good, strong, loyal spouse who stood by their side the entire time they were climbing their wall of success. Can you imagine trying to climb your own personal mountain in the

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The Bible Basics Lord with all that it will entail, and at the same time, trying to handle all of the problems and complications that will occur if you are having problems at home with your spouse or any of your children? These next 2 verses are going to spell all of this out for us. 1. “For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?” (1 Timothy 3:5) 2. “Likewise you husbands, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, THAT YOUR PRAYERS MAY NOT BE HINDERED.” (1 Peter 3:7) The first verse is flat out challenging all of us, especially men. If a man cannot keep some sense of decent order in his own household, then how is God going to trust him with any more tasks or duties, much less ever want to promote him any further up his ladder of success. With marriage and family being a real big thing with the Lord, He will expect all of us to do everything we can to keep our marriages and families running smoothly under His direction. If a man cannot keep his own house in order, then God may not want to promote him any further in his divine calling. Many people never reach and fulfill their divine destiny for the Lord because they did not do well with the spouse and children that were earlier given to them. This is why each person has to put their marriage and family at the top of their priority list, so they never start to take any of them for granted while they are working for the Lord in their divine callings. Our prayers to God will be hindered if we do not treat our spouses with godly love and respect. Start verbally abusing and mistreating your spouse, and you could end up with your prayer life getting completely shut down with the Lord. And once your prayer life with the Lord starts to shut down, everything else will start to fall apart as well, including your own actual calling in the Lord. You could thus end up losing both your marriage and your divine destiny for the Lord, all because you could not stay on top of your

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The Bible Basics marriage with how you had treated your spouse and children. 6. God Hates Divorce As Jesus has already told us in Matthew 19:6, let no man try and separate what God has put together in a marriage union. God the Father actually hates divorce. The rest of the verses will then go on and tell us that adultery is the only biblical grounds for divorce. Here are 6 of the main verses from the Bible so you can see what God’s opinion is on divorce. 1. “For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garments with violence” (Malachi 2:16) 2. “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.” (Luke 16:18) 3. “Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: a wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?” (1 Corinthians 7:10-16) 4. “A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom

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The Bible Basics she wishes, only in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 7:39) 5. “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate”, So He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” (Mark 10: 9-12) 6. “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ “But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.” (Matthew 5:31-32) When God unites two people in holy matrimony, He will expect each partner to do the best they can to keep this marriage fully intact until the death of one of the spouses. This is why when you enter into a marriage covenant with your spouse and the Lord, that you take this commitment very, very seriously, and that you do everything you can to keep it fully intact for the rest of your earthly life. 7. Do Not Commit Adultery If there is one sin that can bring down a marriage very quickly and totally destroy it, it has to be the sin of adultery. We give you all of the main verses on this topic and why it is so dangerous not only for your marriage, but also for your own personal relationship with the Lord. So you can have some of these verses right at your fingertips for this bible basic, we will go ahead and list some of them again under this caption. God is speaking to all of us in a very serious tone with the way He has worded all of these specific verses. Once you enter into a true marriage covenant with your spouse, do not ever tempt the fate of your marriage and your own personal relationship with the Lord by committing this sin. This sin has absolutely deadly consequences to it if you do not pull out of it within a reasonable length of time. Here are 8 very serious verses on adultery.

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The Bible Basics 1. And God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the Lord Your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me, You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:1-14) 2. “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but the fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” (Hebrews 13:4) 3. “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9) 4. “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19) 5. “For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life, to keep you from the evil woman, from the flattering tongue of a seductress, do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her allure you with her eyelids. For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread; and an adulteress will prey upon his precious life. Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be seared? So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; whoever touches her shall not be innocent, Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; he who does so destroys his own soul.” (Proverbs 6:23, 32) 6. “The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; he who is abhorred of the Lord will fall there.” (Proverbs 22:14)

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The Bible Basics 7. “My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe My ways. For a harlot is a deep pit, and a seductress is a narrow well. She also lies in wait as for a victim, and increases the unfaithful among men.” (Proverbs 23:26) 8. “Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, do not stray into her paths; for she has cast down many wounded, and all who were slain by her were strong men. Her house is the way to hell, descending to the chambers of death.” (Proverbs 7:25) The very first verse is coming from the 10 commandments. When God the Father goes to the length and trouble to meet with a man on top of a mountain, and then gives him 10 specific commandments in His own handwriting that He wants all of us to abide by in this life, then you know this is something we should all take very, very seriously. 8. God Still Has to be Number One in Your Life As we have said at the top of this bible basic, your priority list should be:

● God ● Family ● Friends And in that order. God always has to be number one in your life, even ahead of your own family members. As we pointed out to you in our bible basic, “The Full Surrender,” God has to be first and foremost in your life. He will not settle for a 2nd or 3rd position next to your family, friends, or any type of worldly pursuit. We are to live this life in a full and complete surrender with the Lord. We now want to add one more intense verse into this mix showing us that God even has to be placed ahead of our own personal relationships with the members of our own family. Here it is:

● “Do

not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not

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The Bible Basics come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.’ And ‘a man’s foes will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:34) When Jesus tells us that He is coming to bring a sword and not peace, and then He goes on to state that He has come to set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother, what He is trying to tell us is that He must be first and foremost in our lives, over with what we have with our own natural parents. If you are saved and your parents are not, then you must follow the Lord and His direction for your life, even if your parents try and dissuade you from doing it. Once you become a born-again Christian, your life no longer belongs to you or your parents. It now belongs to God, and God alone. As such, you will now have to set your face like flint and follow the Lord with whatever He will be calling you to do for Him in this life, even if it means that some of your own family members may end up getting mad at you. This is a very intense, radical verse being given to us by the Lord. If any of your family or friends cannot fully support you with what God will be calling you to do for Him in this life, then you will have to hold your ground with the Lord and keep pressing on in the calling that He has set up for your life. You cannot let any of your family or friends try to talk you out of your divine destiny for the Lord. If you do, you will then end up wasting and squandering your one and only opportunity down here on this earth to fulfill what you were created for by God Almighty Himself.

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Chapter 17 A Good Name is to Be Chosen Over Great Riches The number one thing that you will see repeated over and over again is for each and every Christian to come under a full surrender with God the Father. We give you all of the main verses from the Bible showing you this is what God really wants from each and everyone of us. Once you become saved and born again in the Lord, that is just the beginning. From there, God wants you to grow in His knowledge and grace, along with setting you up in what your divine destiny is going to be in Him. And when God sets you up in your divine destiny, then you will find exactly what you were created for and exactly what He will be wanting you to do for Him in this life. Once you come into this full surrender with the Lord, He will then let you know who you should be marrying in this life, along with which jobs you will be taking and exactly what your calling is going to be in Him. We cannot emphasize this theme strongly enough. If you want to find exactly what your true purpose and destiny is going to be in this life, then you have to be willing to fully surrender your entire life and your entire being into the hands of God the Father. Since God is all-knowing and allpowerful, only He will know exactly what you should be doing with your life, along with exactly how to get you to where you will need to go. We want to add one more profound verse into this mix. Here is this most profound verse

● “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold.” (Proverbs 22:1) 1. When you really think about the big picture, this earthly life is very, very short. Sooner or later we will all die and cross over to the other side, which will either be heaven for the saved or hell for the unsaved.

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The Bible Basics No suitcases will need to be packed on your deathbed. Absolutely nothing will be crossing over with you to the other side once you die and cross over. Naked you came into this world and naked you will go out of this world. Plain and simple. All of the money you have made and saved up in this life will not be crossing over with you. All of the material wealth you have acquired such as your house, car, and clothes will not be going with you. The only thing that will be going over to the other side is your soul and spirit once it pulls up out of your earthly body. From there, if you are a Christian, you will then enter into heaven and you will then come before Jesus at His Judgment Seat where He will then do a full review of your life. Jesus will then be rewarding us up in heaven according to the good works we had done for Him while down here on this earth. 2. So knowing this is how it will all end up for us as Christians, we all need to do an occasional review of our life from time to time so we can make sure that we are always staying on the right path with God and not straying off into areas that He would not want us to be going into in this life. We also need to make sure that we always keep all of our priorities straight so we can stay on top of our game with the Lord and not miss out on any of the good blessings He will want to pass our way in this life. We live in the United States. God has blessed our country with incredible wealth and riches over the years. However, with all of these kinds of material blessings from the Lord, it becomes very easy for many to get off center with the Lord and start focusing and chasing after all the wrong things in this life. And this is where the above verse is now going to come into major play. With our country having so much material wealth to play with and go after, many people end up spending the rest of their earthly lives chasing after all of this material wealth and trying to acquire as much of it as they can before they die and cross over. However, sooner or later all of these people will eventually die and absolutely nothing they have acquired and earned in this life will be going with them to the other side. And this will now bring us right into the real heart of the above verse.

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The Bible Basics 3. It is better to live for having a good name in this life rather than to chase after all of the material wealth of this world. Why? Because when someone dies and all of their friends and family are attending their funeral service paying their last respects, what is the number one thing most people will remember about the one who has just passed away? The number one thing they will remember and take away with them is what kind of person they were and how well they had treated other people in this life. They will not remember all of the riches and wealth they may have accumulated. If that person ends up dying with a good name, then people will have good, loving, and fond memories of that person and those memories will last forever. If that person was a mean, spiteful, and selfish person who cared about no one else but themselves, then people will walk away with negative memories and they will be glad this person will no longer be living among them. How many times have you seen this at a funeral service when friends and family would get up to speak about the one who has just passed away, how they will always talk about what kind of person they were. This is always the first thing most people will talk about when they are talking about someone who has just passed away. They will always talk about the quality of their loved oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personality, not how much money they had made or how many material blessings they had accumulated in this life. This is why the Lord worded the above verse the way He did. He is trying to show all of us what is most important in this life. And what is most important in this life is that we try and become the best person we can in Him through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. If we can let God mold and shape us into the true saints He wants us to become in Him in this life, then we will be able to leave this life having a good name, just like the above verse is telling us to do. And if we can leave this life having a good name and a good reputation, then all of our loved ones will end up having good, loving, and fond memories of us. This is how God wants us to leave this world, with us fully accomplishing all of His perfect will for our lives, and then with all of our loved ones really cherishing and loving us for the kind,

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The Bible Basics good, and righteous people we were in this life.

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Chapter 18 The Sin of Adultery Not only are there many unbelievers who are engaging in this sin and transgression against God, but there are many Christians themselves who are violating and breaking this one specific commandment from the Lord. With the sexual imagery that is now invading our lives from just about every media outlet, many people are battling serious problems with lust. And instead of getting their sexual needs properly met in their marriages, many people are looking outside the boundary lines of their marriages for sexual fulfillment. You have many Christians who are out cheating behind their spouseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back and are literally sinning and transgressing against God Almighty Himself. We cannot even begin to count the number of Christians we have personally met throughout the course of our life who have regularly cheated on their spouses. We have heard many of the men say that their lower half has no conscious, and if they find a pretty or willing woman, that there is no way they could ever say no or pass it up. Others are not getting their sexual needs met or fulfilled within their marriages. Communication has shut down for different reasons, and their love life starts to get shut down right along with everything else. As a result of not getting their sexual needs properly met, many of these men start to wander, and before they know it, they have fallen head first into a hot and torrid adulterous affair. For those of you who really want to know what God the Father thinks about this particular sin, we will give you some very interesting verses from the Bible letting you know exactly what He thinks about this transgression and why it is so deadly in His eyes. As with all of the rest of the commandments God has given to us through His Holy Word, these specific verses are being given to us for our own benefit and for our protection. Many Christians we have met who are

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The Bible Basics operating in this transgression on a regular and frequent basis have no real fear of the Lord or any respect for His specific commandments on this issue. This is a very serious offense against the Lord, and many of His own will becoming in for some very severe judgments on this issue once they depart from this life and cross over into the Judgment Seat of Christ for their own personal judgment with the Lord for everything they have ever done or said in this life, whether it be good or whether it be bad. Consider the following: 1. God has the sin of adultery listed as one of His special 10 commandments, “Thou shall not commit adultery.” 2. God says that the sin of adultery will be one of the main sins that will keep you out of heaven. I will give you two verses below that will show you that adulterers will not be entering into the kingdom of heaven. Does this edict include Christians? Can a Christian possibly lose their salvation over this one sin by the way these verses are worded if his transgressions in this area have been deemed to be severe enough by the Lord? 3. The Bible says that God hates divorce, but that He will allow one spouse to leave the other within a marriage union if one of the spouses has been unfaithful to the other. 4. Back in the Old Testament, the sin of adultery warranted receiving the death penalty by way of stoning if one got caught in it. 5. Back in the Old Testament when God’s chosen people, the Jews, were abandoning Him and chasing after other gods, God the Father would call them “harlots and adulterers” because they would not stay true, loyal, and faithful to Him. When God calls you an “adulterer” straight to your face in your own personal relationship with Him, you are being called one of the worse things that He can possibly call you. There is an “angle” on this particular sin that many Christians are not

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The Bible Basics seeing or realizing. Not only are you hurting yourself, your marriage, your spouse, and your children with this deadly sin and transgression, but you are also seriously hurting and damaging your own personal relationship with the Lord Himself. Here is the angle that many Christians who are regularly operating in this sin are not seeing: If you cannot stay true, loyal, and faithful to your spouse, to your marriage, and to your children, then maybe God will wonder whether or not you could ever stay true, loyal, and faithful to Him for the rest of your eternal existence once you enter into heaven. Satan and one third of the angels could not stay loyal and faithful to God for the long run, and look what happened to all of them, they all got cast out of heaven with no chance of ever being able to make it back in again. The Jewish people back in the Old Testament could not stay true, loyal, and faithful to the Lord in all of His dealings with them, and look what happened to all of them as a nation and as a people near the end of the Old Testament. God called them harlots and adulterers, pronounced judgment on them, and tells them that they will be dispersed to the four corners of the globe until the end of time where He would then bring them back to Israel and reestablish them as a nation. Marriage, and the vows and promises that go along with it, are taken very, very seriously by the Lord, and from there, He will personally watch you as to how you handle the sanctity of your marriage, how you treat your spouse and children, and if you will be tempted to stray and cheat behind your spouseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back. Too many people end up taking their marriages for granted after a certain period of time. Marriage, and the close personal relationships that should develop between husband and wife, and between parents and their children should only be second to their own personal relationships with the Lord. It should be God, family, and friends, and in that order! Family, with a beautiful wife or husband, and with one or more beautiful children, are the greatest blessings and treasure that God can bestow upon you in this earthly life next to Him, His Son Jesus, and His

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The Bible Basics Holy Spirit. And yet as great as this blessing and treasure really is, there are so many people who are willing to discard it, sever it, and cheat on it once they hit a few minor speed bumps in the marriage. To those of you who are married and are either thinking about committing adultery behind your spouse’s back, or if you are already doing it, study the wording, the tone, and the straight forward messages that are coming out the verses we will list below. Study these verses very, very carefully. Once you read these verses, you will have been properly warned by God Himself through His Word, and you will know, without any other possible interpretation, exactly what God the Father’s opinion really is on this issue. If you are having any problems in your marriage, commit your life and your marriage back into God the Father’s hand, and ask Him to help heal, restore, and straighten out any thing that needs repairing. Be guided by the Holy Spirit as to what steps you should be taking on your end to get the marriage back on solid ground with you, your spouse, and with God. Tackle your problems and issues head on, operating under God’s knowledge, guidance, and wisdom. Jumping into any kind of an adulterous affair will only make matters worse, and eventually could lead to the complete destruction and dissolution of your marriage if your spouse ever finds out about it. The pain you will cause your spouse and children will be extreme, traumatic, and possibly fatal and final if the transgression has been deemed to be severe enough by your spouse. If God has completely severed His personal connection to Satan and one third of the angels due to their infidelity and rebellion against Him, and if He will allow a full marriage union to be completely broken, severed, and dissolved if one of the spouses becomes guilty of committing adultery, do not tempt the fate of your married life for a few moments of fleshly and carnal pleasure. The gamble and the risk is simply not worth it, either for you, your spouse, or your children. Now on to some very interesting verses from Scripture as what God really thinks about this specific sin and transgression.

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The Bible Basics 1. Thou Shall Not Commit Adultery Without question, the very first verse to be considered has to be the command God the Father gave Moses when He was giving him the 10 commandments, where one of the specific commandments was: “Thou shall not commit adultery.” When God the Father goes to the length and intensity to meet with this one man on the top of a mountain to personally give him 10 specific commandments engraved on a tablet of stone, you know that each one of these specific commandments should be taken very, very seriously. These 10 commandments should not be trifled with or taken for granted in any way, shape, or form. And with God the Father Himself personally writing on a tablet of stone “thou shall not commit adultery,” you know we are dealing with a very serious warning from the Lord on this issue. Adultery is forbidden territory for any Christian to be crossing over into and should be avoided at all costs. If it is not, and you do not pull out of it within a reasonable length of time and get this sin confessed and forgiven under the Blood of Jesus, you will have to face the Lord for a personal judgment on this issue when you meet Him face to face at His Judgment Seat. Here is this powerful one-line command given direct to us from the mouth of the Lord Himself. This is coming from the verse where all 10 commandments are being given to Moses:

● And God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the Lord Your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me, You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:1-14) When God the Father tells us that we should not be committing adultery, this should be the end of the discussion. God says what He means and means what He says! 2. Adultery is a Sin Since God is commanding all of us in the above commandment not to

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The Bible Basics be committing adultery, what this now means is that if we do it, then we have now committed an actual sin and transgression directly against Him. So not only are we hurting ourselves, our spouse, and our own children with this kind of unfaithfulness, but we are also hurting, grieving, and sinning against God Almighty Himself. By not being willing to stay true, loyal, and faithful to our spouses, God Himself is hurt and wounded when He sees this kind of transgression occurring in a marriage, and we have to wonder if He is wondering if that adulterer will also forsake and abandon Him sometime in the future if they could not stay loyal and faithful to their original marriage vows and promises. The person who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it will be counted as an actual sin. If God is telling us as one of His 10 commandments that He does not want any of us to be committing adultery, and we know that, and then we go ahead and violate and break His command anyway, then this transgression will be counted as a sin against us. And then if we do not see the errors of our way on this issue, confess this sin out before God and receive His forgiveness for it, then we will be judged accordingly for this transgression at the Judgment Seat of Christ when we die and cross over. Here are 3 very good verses on sinning willfully against the Lord, and what the consequences could be if we do not get this sin and transgression dealt with very early on with both God and our spouse: 1. “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17) 2. “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:13) 3. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) God will never tempt us with anything that is evil and not right in His sight. If God is telling us not to be committing adultery, then this means He will never lead or authorize us to even consider committing any kind

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The Bible Basics of an adulterous act behind our spouseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back. We have come across some well meaning Christians who actually thought that God was leading them into the adulterous affair they had fallen into. Their marriages had severely deteriorated over the years, but instead of going direct to God and committing the marriage back into His hands and ask for His guidance, knowledge, and wisdom on how to heal and repair the broken marriage, they assume they now have the right to look for and find happiness in the arms of another lover. And then it happens as the last two verses are telling us, some kind of death will end up occurring as a result of this sin. Either the other spouse finds out about it and files for divorce because of the transgression, or the spouse will try and stay in the marriage to give it one more chance, but now their faith and trust in their spouse has been severely shaken, and sometimes it will then take years to get that same level of trust built back up into the marriage, if it ever does. This specific command from the Lord not to be committing adultery is being given to all of us for our own good. For those of you who have been on the receiving end of it, you know what kind of extreme pain and heartache this kind of sin will cause, and the damage that it will do to the love, faith, and trust of the marriage. 3. Abstain From Fleshly Lusts Which War Against the Soul When people commit adultery, they are usually doing it for one of two main reasons. They are either trying to find true love in another person and are out looking for an actual love affair, or they are doing it for just pure lust, sexual gratification, and pleasure. Many adulterous men we have met are out chasing other women behind their wifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back, and the only reason they are doing it is for the challenge and thrill of being able to get another woman to go to bed with them. They make no bones about it. They are not looking for any kind of true love. The only thing they are looking for is immediate gratification of their sexual and lustful desires. To many of these men, it is nothing but a game, and they do not care who they hurt or wound in the process, whether it be their wives if they ever find out about it, or the women they are seducing into their lustful,

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The Bible Basics carnal, and primal world. To any Christian man or woman who is out committing adultery for the pure lust and sex of all of it, study the wording in these next set of verses very carefully. We have to try and abstain from fleshly lusts that will war against our souls. And one of the fleshly lusts that it is definitely referring to is the temptation to want to chase after other partners for the pure sex and lust of all of it. Any man who attempts to join himself sexually with another woman considered to be any kind of a harlot before the Lord, that he will become as “one body” and “one flesh” with her. God is telling us in this very intense verse that our physical bodies have not been made for sexual immorality, but have been made specifically and solely for Him. This is why God will not condone any kind of sexual activity outside the bounds of holy marriage. Our bodies have only been made for the Lord and the one that He will want us to marry in this life, they were not meant for anyone else. God is wanting us to literally “flee” from any kind of sexual immorality. Run for the hills if you are ever faced with the temptation of it. Here are two very strong verses on this issue: 1. “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11) 2. “Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body, Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God

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The Bible Basics in your body and in your spirit, which are Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.â&#x20AC;? (1 Corinthians 6:13) With our physical bodies now being the temple of the Holy Spirit Himself as a result of our conversions to the Lord, God simply does not want any of us getting contaminated and tainted by sexually joining forces with any other people outside the bounds of holy marriage. We have now become members of Jesus Christ, and as such, God does not want us becoming members with any harlots! So not only are we sinning against ourselves and our own spouse when we commit adultery, but we are also sinning directly against God and the spiritual union that we now have with Him as a result of having the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us. If more Christians would consider this angle of an adulterous act, that our bodies now belong to the Lord, and that any kind of adulterous act with another person will be contaminating our spiritual union with the Lord. The way the Lord is wording some of these verses, that any kind of an adulterous act with another is also a form of defilement in His eyes, and that He is deeply grieved and hurt when He sees any of His own engaging in it. 4. The Mouth of an Immoral Woman is a Deep Pit These next verses are giving us major revelation from the Lord for those who like to chase after women who are considered immoral, women who have no qualms about sleeping with whoever they want and not caring if these men are married or not. Even though God is telling us in these verses what will happen to men if they fall into the beds and arms of these kinds of immoral women, we also believe this same principle applies to women falling for the wrong kind of immoral men, who have no qualms about sleeping with whoever they want too, with all of it being for their own sexual gratification and pleasure. These kinds of immoral men and women are your fatal attractions. Watch what the Lord has to say about these kinds of people, and what these kinds of people could end up doing to your life if you should ever

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The Bible Basics fall into their traps and snares: 1. “The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; he who is abhorred of the Lord will fall there.” (Proverbs 22:14) 2. “My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe My ways. For a harlot is a deep pit, and a seductress is a narrow well. She also lies in wait as for a victim, and increases the unfaithful among men.” (Proverbs 23:26) 3. “Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, do not stray into her paths; for she has cast down many wounded, and all who were slain by her were strong men. Her house is the way to hell, descending to the chambers of death.” (Proverbs 7:25) 4. “For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life, to keep you from the evil woman, from the flattering tongue of a seductress, do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her allure you with her eyelids. For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread; and an adulteress will prey upon his precious life. Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be seared? So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; whoever touches her shall not be innocent, Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; he who does so destroys his own soul.” (Proverbs 6:23, 32) An immoral harlot is a deep pit, and that many men have fallen into her pit and have had their lives totally ruined and destroyed. Many “strong men” have been “slain” by her and her ways. We all know what happened to Samson. God anointed this man with probably one of the greatest physical strength anointings that any man may have ever received from Him, and one woman by the name of Delilah was able to find the source of that strength and completely take it away from him in a matter of minutes. One woman accomplished what a whole Philistine army could not do. If that is not perfect proof of what a fatal attraction could do to your life, what is!

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The Bible Basics Notice some of the very strong and intense wording that the Lord is using to show what a fatal attraction like this could do to your life:

● For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread ● She lies in wait for her victim and increases unfaithfulness among men

● An adulteress will prey upon his precious life ● Whoever commits adultery, destroys his own soul ● Her house is the way to hell, descending to the chambers of death When God uses the words that this kind of fatal attraction “is the way to hell” and that anyone who crosses over with her “destroys his own soul”, He is giving all of us a maximum intense kind of warning! God even goes so far as to throw in a couple of very intense statements when He says can a man take this kind of fire to his bosom and not get his clothes burned, or can he try and walk on hot coals without getting his feet seared? We have met many men and women who have been horribly burned by other lovers who were just playing them for the sex they were able to give them. Once these types of players start to tire and bore of you, they will then trade you in for their next new conquest, and you will then be left with either broken hopes and dreams if you are not married, or your own marriage will be left in a state of total shambles if you were doing this as an act of adultery behind your spouse’s back. God has given all of us more than enough fair warning of the dangers that could lie just around the corner with this sin with the way that He has worded all of these verses. 5. God Will Be Judging All Adulterers Not only will adultery get you in trouble in this life with both the Lord and your mate if you start cheating on them, but you are also going to get into big-time trouble with the Lord after you die and cross over to meet Him face to face for your own personal judgment. Some men and women are so clever and so good at keeping their

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The Bible Basics adulterous behavior from their spouses, that they will literally go their entire lives never getting caught or even suspected of cheating by their spouses. However, our life down here on this earth is for just a very short period of time. Sooner or later, we will all depart from this life, and when we do, every single of us will come before the Judgment Seat of Christ for our own individual personal judgments. God the Father will be judging all fornicators and adulterers in this life, no exceptions. Adulterers will not be entering into the kingdom of heaven. Are these two verses talking about Christians as well as unbelievers? Is it possible for a Christian to lose their salvation if the adulterous behavior has been deemed to be severe enough by the Lord? With God listing the sin of adultery as one of His specific 10 commandments, with God stating that the house of a harlot will lead to hell and the destruction of one’s soul, and with God listing the sin of adultery as one of the sins that can keep you from entering into heaven, we would not want to be tempting our eternal fate with the Lord on this issue. Maybe God is wondering if you cannot stay true, loyal, and faithful to your spouse and to your marriage vows and promises, then maybe you will not be able to stay true, loyal, and faithful to Him for the rest of your eternal existence once you enter into heaven. Satan and one third of the fallen angels all lived up in heaven with God initially, but they could not stay true, loyal, and faithful to Him for the long run. They all got cast out, and they will never, ever get another chance to get back in again! We obviously will not know for certain whether or not the sin of adultery, if deemed to be severe enough by the Lord, can possibly cause someone to lose their salvation. But with the way all of the above verses have been worded, along with the tone and intensity of some of the wording in these verses, we would not want to roll the dice with the Lord on this issue, thinking that He will turn a blind eye and not really care about it if you decide you want to start playing the field behind your spouse’s back. Carefully consider the wording in these next three verses: 1. “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but the fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”

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The Bible Basics (Hebrews 13:4) 2. “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9) 3. “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19) Those “who practice such things” will not be getting into heaven. The words that those who “practice” such things, is that possibly referring to a Christian who engages in adulterous behavior on a regular and frequent basis, with no remorse, and no intentions on confessing this sin out before the Lord for His mercy and forgiveness? 6. Blessed is the Man Who Endures Temptation As a result of the sexual onslaught that we all have to face on an everyday basis with what is coming at us from just about every possible media outlet, many Christians are battling serious problems with lust. Blessed is the man who “endures temptation”, and if that man can endure any kind of temptation by staying out of it, he will then have been “proved” to the Lord and will thus receive a crown of life. When God is using the word “endures,” to endure temptation, He is letting all of us know that we will all have to face a certain amount of temptations in this life to want to try and cross over into forbidden areas. It is not the temptation that will cross our path that will cause us to sin and get us into trouble with the Lord, it is what we do with that temptation and how we act and respond to it that will cause us to fall and sin.

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The Bible Basics Many men will have very pretty and seductive women that will cross their path in this life. Adam and Eve had the one tree they were supposed to stay off in their perfect garden. But instead of “enduring” the temptation and not giving in to eating any of the fruit that was on it, they succumbed to the temptation with the help of Satan, and they fell and lost it all. Though Satan was the one to initially set the ball in motion by trying to convince and persuade them to eat off this forbidden tree, God still held Adam and Eve personally accountable and responsible for their treasonous act. None of us will be able to blame anyone else before God on our day of judgment with Him if someone else may have seduced us into having an adulterous affair with them. God will hold all of us personally accountable and responsible for succumbing to any of these kinds of heavier temptations, no matter how much someone else may have tempted and persuaded us to cross over with them. For those of you who are battling any kind of heavier temptation on issues such as these, grab a hold of the wording in this next verse:

● “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12) Life is rough with all of the temptations, trials, and tribulations that we all have to face from time to time. But God has made it very clear through His Word on how we are to handle these types of adversities and temptations. He expects all of us to become good soldiers and overcomers in Him, no matter what life, hell, or the devil may try and throw our way.

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Chapter 19 The Sin of Fornication Due to the laxness of our society, and no one wanting any kind of God or moral absolutes telling them what they can and cannot do in this life, we have many people, including many Christians, who are engaging in the sin of fornication. If there is one sin that many people do not want to give up in this day and age because of the extreme sexual and physical pleasure that it brings along with it, it has to be the sin of fornication. Many single Christians we have talked with over the years who were doing this with their steady partners all told us that since they were not married yet, they were hoping that God would cut them some â&#x20AC;&#x153;slackâ&#x20AC;? in this area, turn a blind eye to it, and allow them to at least have this one vice in their life since they had no idea how much longer it would be before they got married. Other Christians, especially men, were literally chasing after many women, not just one steady partner, and they were having sex with whoever they could find at the time. Many professional Christian business men we had worked with were doing this on a regular basis. Some were married and some were not. But in either case, they were not willing to give up this sin even though they knew what the Bible had to say about it. They said their sexual desires were just too strong and they just flat out did not want to give up this particular sin for the Lord. For every single Christian man and woman who is out there still committing this sin, the 50 million dollar question now becomes, will God cut you some slack on this sin and turn a blind eye to it due the laxness and permissiveness of our society, or does He mean exactly what He is saying in the Scripture verses we will give you below? Once you study the verses we will give you below, you will see

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The Bible Basics that God is meaning exactly what He is saying in His Word on this topic, and He will not be turning a blind eye to this sin or cutting anyone any slack for wanting to stay in it. God is using some very intense language to describe what He thinks of this sin and the consequences of this sin if one does not confess, repent, and pull out of it within a reasonable period of time.

The Scripture Verses Here are some basic definitions from some of the different Bible Dictionaries on exactly what this sin is in case you were not sure what the word “fornication” actually meant:

● Sex relations between the unmarried ● Sexual relationships outside the bonds of marriage ● Unchastity, sexual immorality, refers to every kind of illegal sexual intercourse, that is, any intercourse except that between a husband and wife

● Voluntary sexual intercourse of an unmarried person with someone of the opposite sex God has it set up that sexual intercourse can only be done between two married people in a heterosexual union. The act of sexual intercourse was never meant to be done outside the bonds of holy matrimony. As Christians, not only must we love God, serve God, and follow His perfect plan and destiny for our lives, but we must also follow all of His ways for our lives. And the Bible is fully loaded with all of the ways of God so we know exactly what we can and cannot do in this life. And no matter how you try to slice and dice the issue of fornication, it is simply outside the will of God for our lives. You will see there is no way to spin or re-interpret these verses. They are all very straight forward and they all mean exactly what they are saying. Here are 9 very good verses from the Bible on what God’s opinion really is on the subject of fornication:

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The Bible Basics 1. “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.” (Matthew 15:19-20) 2. “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9) 3. “But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;, For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” (Ephesians 5: 3-5) 4. “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19) 5. “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “The two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6:15-20)

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The Bible Basics 6. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God, For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7) 7. “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you also once walked when you lived in them.” (Colossians 3: 5-7) 8. “And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and licentiousness which they have practiced.” (2 Corinthians 12: 21) 9. “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, not even to eat with such a person.” (1 Corinthians 5: 9-11) Notice the following key statements being made in these verses: 1. Fornication will “defile” a man. What exactly does the Bible mean when it says that this sin will defile a man? Here is the definition of the word “defile” from some of the different Bible Dictionaries and Commentaries: 1. Making the pure impure 2. To make ritually or unethically unclean 3. To make common 4. To render unholy, unclean

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The Bible Basics 5. To make foul 6. To make filth or dirty, pollute 7. To corrupt, to violate the chastity of, deflower 8. The vices of the ungodly which contaminate a person in his intercourse with the world As you can see from some of these definitions, the word “defile” is a very strong and intense word being used by the Lord to tell us exactly what the sin of fornication will do to all of us if we engage in it. The act of fornication will actually defile us, we find it hard to believe that God will want to cut us any slack on this sin and agree to turn a blind eye to it due to the permissiveness of our society, or due to the fact that every one else is doing it. The word “defile” is simply too strong of a word being used by the Lord, and we thus do not think He will agree to turn a blind eye to it like so many single Christians think He will do. 2. God really turns up the heat where He lists the sin of fornication as one of the sins that will keep you from being able to enter into heaven. Are these three verses only talking about unbelievers, or is it also including Christians who are engaging in this sin on a regular basis and who do not pull out of it and get it forgiven under the blood of Jesus before they die and cross over? We obviously will find out once we get to the other side. But with the way these three verses are being worded, fornication is obviously a very serious sin and offense against God, and we would not want to be tempting our eternal fate with Him on this issue. 3. Not only are we sinning against God, but we are also sinning against our own bodies when we commit this sin. It then goes on to point out that are bodies are now the temple of the Holy Spirit and that when we do commit this sin, we are becoming one body and one flesh with the other person we are having sex with. God wants us to be sanctified in His site. He is calling all of us to holiness and He wants all of us to abstain from any kind of sexual immorality. He wants all of us to remain clean and pure. The act of fornication will do just the opposite, it will make us unclean, unholy, and impure in the eyes of God, and that is not a place you want to be in with the Lord if you truly love Him and want to serve and follow

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The Bible Basics Him in this life. 4. The apostle Paul is telling us to basically shun our brothers who are operating in this sin. We should not even eat with them. You can also tell that he is talking about our Christian brothers and sisters, not unbelievers, when he uses the word “brother.” This would be a very hard command to obey, as we all know and have some single Christian friends who are fornicating with their steady partners. If God is relaying this kind of intense message where He does not want us eating and associating with people who are fornicating, then you know this is a very serious sin and offense in His eyes, and that He does not want any of us engaging in it for any reason whatsoever. There can be no doubt in anyone’s rational mind what God’s opinion really is on fornication. Here are what the above verses are telling us in no uncertain terms. The sin of fornication: 1. Will defile us and cause us to become unholy and unclean in the eyes of God 2. Will cause us to sin against both God and our own bodies 3. Will cause us to become one body and one flesh with the person we are fornicating with 4. Will be one of the specific sins that will keep people from being able to enter into heaven 5. God will not want His own people associating with people who are engaging in this sin Many single Christians we have talked with about this sin are hoping that God will cut them some slack on this sin due to the fact that everyone else is doing it and our society has become so much more lax and permissive in its moral standards. But if you believe the Bible is God’s true Word to all of us, there is simply no way you can sugarcoat the above verses. Not only are these verses all very straight forward, but God is using some very intense and strong language in these verses. This intense and strong language being used by the Lord is His big “tell” to all of us as to what He really thinks of

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The Bible Basics this sin and how serious it really is in His eyes. Thus any Christian who truly loves God and wants to serve and follow Him in this life will be willing to give up this sin until they get married.

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Chapter 20 Sanctification Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ultimate and highest aim for all of us is our sanctification in Him. God wants to make us more holy like Himself. He wants to transform us into the express image of His Son Jesus Christ. He wants to consecrate and set us apart unto Himself. God wants to sanctify us completely in all three parts of our being, body, soul, and spirit. Jesus Himself tells us that He wants us to be perfect just like His Father in heaven is perfect. When you first look at these verses, you wonder how anyone could ever begin to achieve any real state of holiness in the cursed and fallen world we all now live in. With all of the lusts of our flesh, and with all of the different types of temptations of this world, many Christians never even attempt to give God half a chance to start this sanctification process in their life. They feel this bar is simply too high to even begin to strive for in this life. All men and women have sinned and have fallen way short of the glory of God. We are so far from the perfection that God is really wanting from each one of us, that we see no real way to be able to obtain it to any significant degree in this life. Many Christians never ask or seek after God to get this sanctification process started in their life, and there is very little, if any true spiritual growth over the course of most of their lives. God the Father is showing you very clearly how this sanctification process can start to occur in this life. You do not have to wait until you get to heaven to get this sanctification process started with Him. We get three specific things as a result of Jesus dying on the cross for all of our sins. We get redemption, righteousness, and sanctification. Most Christians know about the first two, redemption and righteousness, but they either forget, or do not pick up on the third thing that we all have available to us, and that is our sanctification in the Lord!

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The Bible Basics This sanctification is a progressive process. It is not something that occurs instantaneously at our conversions. It is a progressive work done by the Holy Spirit over the course of our entire life. The apostle Paul tells us that we have to “work out” our salvation with fear and trembling. He is telling us there are things that have to be worked out, and one of those things is our sanctification in the Lord, the process where God the Father begins to set us apart unto Himself and to transform us into becoming more holy instruments of righteousness for His use. The different Bible Dictionaries and Commentaries define the word “sanctification” as follows:

● The state of growing in divine grace ● To set apart for holy purposes ● The process of being made holy resulting in a changed lifestyle for the believer Noted Bible scholars defines sanctification as follows: “The work of God’s grace by which the believer is separated from sin and becomes dedicated to God’s righteousness. Accomplished by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, sanctification results in holiness, or purification from the guilt and power of sin. Sanctification is instantaneous before God through Christ and progressive before man through obedience to the Holy Spirit and the Word.” To those of you who have never really sought after the Lord to release this kind of supernatural work in your life, study these verses very, very carefully. God is giving you an incredible spiritual secret that can dramatically change the quality of your life down here on this earth. You do not have to wait until you get to heaven to have God start this sanctification-transformation process in your life. It can literally start right where you are at right now if you are willing to fully surrender your entire life over to the Lord and then ask Him to begin to start this sanctification process in your life. Even though this sanctification process appears to be a major leap to be able to make in the Lord, realize that God will start you off with small

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The Bible Basics baby steps to get this process worked into your life. Rome was not built overnight, and neither will your sanctification in the Lord. Many in our society have no drawing towards the spiritual things of God. Their only goal in this life is to get as much of the material things in this life as they possibly can, not really caring who they hurt and run over in the process. Many think that trying to become more holy in the Lord is “corny.” Many of these types of Christians have been labeled as being “not cool” and “goody two shoes” by their peers, by their classmates, or by some of their fellow workers in the workplace. Many of our teenagers are made fun of in their schools if they do not join the crowds in abusing alcohol, doing drugs, or engaging in premarital sex. The ways of our God are not the ways of this world! This is why God tells us that we will become His enemies if we ever become too friendly with the things and ways of this world. This is why God is calling us and separating us unto Himself in this sanctification process that He wants to start with each and everyone of us. To become more holy and more righteous in the Lord may not be cool with the rest of the world, but it is definitely cool with the Lord. And when everything is all finally said and done, and we have finally departed from this life and have to face God for our own personal judgments, the only thing that will really matter is what God thinks, not what the world thinks. We will all be judged by how God views things, not how the world or other people view things. We will leave you with one last thought before going into the actual Scripture verses on this topic: If you really watch and study people, what is the one thing that most people are really searching for and seeking after these days? Why is it that so many people are tempted to enter a life of drugs or alcohol abuse? Why are so many people committing adultery behind their spouse’s back? Why are so many business-minded people chasing after their one and only all-personal god, the almighty dollar? Why are so many people engaging with other alternative forms of spirituality, such as delving into the occult and the many facets of the New Age movement?

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The Bible Basics They are all looking for one thing, and that one thing is an incredible sense of well-being. They are all looking for that “high” that will make them “feel good.” To those who are seeking after the almighty dollar, they are looking for that high that will give them a sense of approval and a sense of accomplishment. They are looking for all the material things that this money can buy them, thinking that all of these material things will make them feel good on the inside and completely fill the emptiness and void that is on the inside of each one of them. To those chasing after drugs, alcohol, or illicit sexual encounters, they are looking for immediate gratification of physical, mental, or sexual pleasures. They want to feel good right now, and they will do anything they can to try and get that next high. However, as we all know, all of the free sex, drugs, and alcohol, and all of the money in this world, and all of the material things this money can buy us, will never buy us that true state of inner happiness, that true state of well-being that we are all really searching for. All of the material things that we can buy in this life will only keep us high for a very short period of time. Then once that high starts to wear off, we have to find something else we can buy, thinking that the next new purchase will make us feel good for a longer period of time. And then it happens again. That high starts to wane, and then we are once more looking for that next new material thing, that next new adventure that will make us feel good about ourselves. Many people are constantly chasing the wind, but never really being able to reach it or grab a hold of it, thus always continuing to fall short of being able to reach that elusive state of well-being that will give them the love, joy, and peace they are really searching for. Even many Christians are missing the mark on all of this. Too many Christians have become more attached to the things of this world rather than to God and the things that He wants us to get involved in. There are many Christians who are no more happy and no more fulfilled with their lives than many nonbelievers are. Once you become saved and born again by accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, this is just the beginning. Now God wants to start to build you up in Him and all of His ways for your life.

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The Bible Basics The first thing that God will want you to do is to be willing to enter into a full surrender with Him so He can then set you up on the divine path that He will want you to follow in this life. The next thing God will want from you is that you attempt to establish a close personal relationship with Him. Many Christians have already done both of these things, but they still feel there is something missing in their lives. They are following God’s perfect will and plan for their lives. They know how to be led by the Holy Spirit on a daily basis to accomplish what needs to be accomplished. They have established very good personal relationships with the Lord, but yet there still seems to be something missing in their lives and they cannot seem put their finger on it.

● Where is that feeling of well-being that I should be having more of? ● Where is that love, joy, and peace of mind I should be having more of?

● Why is it that at times I am no more happier and no more fulfilled than many nonbelievers are? The missing ingredient in many believer’s life is this sanctification process. This sanctification process is a deeper work in the Lord, and many have not entered into it either because they have never been shown how to properly enter into it, or they really do not want to go this far with the Lord. Once you enter into this sanctification process with the Lord, it can be a bit painful at times, since God will be working with you to fully expose and prune out all of the negative qualities that He will not want have operating in your personality. We will be giving you all of the main verses that will give you the specifics on what it is you should be seeking after in order to be able to work with the Lord in this sanctification process. It is the Holy Spirit who will really be the One to sanctify you and help you to become more holy in the eyes of the Lord. However, you will still have to do your part in all of this. You will have to be the one to attempt to “put on” the positive qualities that God will want to instill in your personality, and “put away” all of the negative qualities that He will not want operating in your personality.

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The Bible Basics You will have to really work with the Holy Spirit in order to be able to get God to move you into this deeper realm of making you to become more holy. But for those of you who are willing to let the Lord take this next extra step with you, you will find and obtain what everyone is really searching for and cannot find these days, an incredible sense of well-being that all of the money, material possessions, drugs, alcohol, and sex will never be able to bring you in this life. This incredible sense of well-being can only be found in the process of allowing God to work His very divine nature into your own personality, thereby making you to become more holy. A perfect example of this is the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit. These 9 fruits are His fruits, not ours, such as love, joy, peace, self-control, kindness, etc. God will start to transmit and impart His love, His peace, and His kindness into our personalities. And once this kind of sanctification process starts to occur, this is when you will really be able to feel and experience the sense of well-being that God initially created all of us to have in Him. It is only when the very life of God Himself, through the Holy Spirit, starts to enter into your mind, soul, and heart will you feel that high that everyone is really looking for these days. And the only way that you can get the very life of God to start to enter into your mind, soul, and heart is by entering into this sanctification process with the Lord. There is no other way. There are no shortcuts to this process. This is one of the main missing ingredients in many believer’s walks with the Lord. God really does want to start this sanctification process with each and everyone of us. We will be giving you a simple 4 step process to get God to move you into this sanctification process if you are not afraid of it and are willing to work with Him on it. 1. We Are Now Sanctified in Christ Jesus In the above definition on sanctification, you will note that sanctification is “instantaneous before God through Christ,” but that it is “progressive before man through obedience to the Holy Spirit and

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The Bible Basics the Word.” We are now “sanctified in Christ Jesus,” and that we now receive sanctification, along with redemption and righteousness, through the blood that Jesus has personally shed for all of us on the cross. This is what the first part of this definition means in that our sanctification is instantaneous before God through Christ. This sanctification is also progressive in nature as far as we are individually concerned. This means we have to go through a progressive process through the Holy Spirit and the Word in order to become more holy and sanctified in the Lord. We have already received His sanctification, like we have already received His redemption and righteousness as a result of being saved and born again. Here are the two verses: 1. “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:2) 2. “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30) God the Father has given us a full redemption and a full pardon for all of our sins, and then to add to this package the process of being able to be sanctified through the power of His Holy Spirit to become the saints that He wants us to become in Him, is enough to knock you right off the couch if you really stop and think what is in these three words: Redemption, Righteousness, and Sanctification! All of this is coming direct from the one and only Almighty God of the entire universe if we are willing to accept His free gift of eternal salvation through His Son Jesus and His sacrificial death on the cross. It really does not get any better than this, that God and Jesus would go to this type of extreme length to bring us back to Themselves, and then allow us to become partakers in this sanctification process where God the Father can then start to mold, shape, and transform us into the express image of His Son Jesus Christ.

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The Bible Basics 2. Sanctification is a Progressive Process Now here are the two main verses that will show us that becoming sanctified in the Lord is a progressive process. The two keys words in both of these verses are “being sanctified.” If we were all instantaneously sanctified at the moment of our conversions with Jesus, then the Bible would not be using these two words of “being sanctified.” The word “being” is telling us that this is a progressive and ongoing process. 1. “For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren” (Hebrews 2:11) 2. “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:14) With God the Father being willing to open up this sanctification process to each born-again believer, this is really an incredible privilege and the highest of all blessings that we can receive from the Lord. 3. God is Calling All of Us to Sanctification God is calling all of us to this sanctification in Him. These verses are all very direct and straight-to-the-point. God wants to sanctify us “completely” in all three parts of our being, body, soul, and spirit! When God uses the word “completely”, He is using a maximum intense kind of word. He wants to take us all the way in this realm if we are willing to yield to it and work with Him during the process. You can really feel the importance that God is placing on this sanctification process, and that this is something that He wants all of His children to become a part of, not just a few of His select saints. 1. “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23) 2. “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all

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The Bible Basics your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15) 3. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God, For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3,7) 4. “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1) 5. “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” (2 Timothy 2:20) 6. “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) 7. “I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness, What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.” (Romans 6:1922) When you first read the way these verses are worded, it is very easy to become dismayed and distraught. If you are really honest with yourself, you can really feel and sense how far of a gap there is between where you are at right now with the Lord in your present level of spiritual development and how far God would really like to take you in this realm.

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The Bible Basics Many Christians, when they first read these kinds of verses, realize they are simply too far away from this type of holiness in their present state of spiritual development and they thus throw in the towel, never even attempting to give God a chance to start this sanctification process through them in this life. These next set of verses will tell you exactly how God can get this sanctification process started in your life right in the middle of wherever your present level of spiritual development may be in Him, no matter how bad you think it may be. 4. Sanctification is Done By the Word and the Holy Spirit Study these next set of verses very, very carefully. Trying to achieve the state of holiness that God the Father would like to bring us up into is completely impossible if we try to do it through our own flesh and through our own efforts. Many Christians are trying to achieve this state of holiness without the presence and power of the Holy Spirit helping them out. You can easily spot those who are being properly sanctified through the Holy Spirit and those who are not. The ones who are trying to achieve this sanctification out of their own efforts and out of their own flesh do not appear to be genuine. Their acts of holiness do not appear to be coming from the heart. You get the sense they are just trying to put on a show. There just seems to be something fake and plastic about them and the way they operate. Even most nonbelievers can see right through them. There is a sense of false piety about them that does not seem to ring true. With the person who is being properly sanctified by the Holy Spirit, you can really tell there is something different about this type of person. This person does not flaunt his piety, goodness, or holiness. They are very humble about it. Everything they do comes from the heart and everything appears to be done very naturally. There is no pretentiousness or sense of false piety in their actions or attitudes. This sense of real holiness they are projecting through their personalities literally has a drawing power to it. You find yourself gravitating to these types of people. You can almost sense or see a radiance or glow about them. The love of God just radiates from their countenance. You are very comfortable in being in their presence and

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The Bible Basics talking with them. You can see that their holiness is genuine and that it really is coming from the heart of God Himself. This is why these next set of verses are so specific on how this sanctification process is done in the Lord. Sanctification in the Lord is done by the power of the Holy Spirit operating through the knowledge that the Word will give you. It is the Word and the Spirit working together that will cause this sanctification process to begin and occur in your life. It really is the Holy Spirit who will be the One to cause this type of transformation to occur in your personality. However, the Holy Spirit will not work without the Word. Why? Because the Word of God will give you the knowledge that you will need in order to be able to work with the Holy Spirit in this process. You have to know exactly what it is that God wants to change about you before the Holy Spirit will move to cause some of these changes to start to take place in your personality. You have to learn from the Bible what some of the specific qualities are that God will want to impart into your personality. A good example of this are the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit. The Bible will tell you exactly what these nine fruits are. Then once you know exactly what they are, then you can start to work with the Holy Spirit to get more of these fruits manifested and imparted into your personality. But if you do not learn exactly what these specific fruits are to begin with by reading about them from the Bible, then the Holy Spirit will have nothing to work with and He thus may not do much with you in this realm. All Christians have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of them. The Holy Spirit is only too anxious to get the ball rolling with you in every area of your life where you may need His help on, especially in the area of being sanctified in the Lord. However, many Christians have not spent much time in the Word and they are thus lacking the â&#x20AC;&#x153;working knowledgeâ&#x20AC;? they will need to work with the Holy Spirit in this deeper realm. There is very little, if any true spiritual growth over the course of most of their lives. This sanctification realm is for the real seekers. The real seekers will be diving into God and His Word to find out exactly what it is God wants to

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The Bible Basics do with them, and then will only be too anxious to work with the Holy Spirit during this process, having no fear of doing it, and being willing to fully submit to the Lord with how He wants to handle all of it. These 7 verses in particular are giving you the “key” that will open up this door of sanctification to come into your life and change it forever. 1. ”Because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, ” (2 Thessalonians 2:13) 2. “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11) 3. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18) 4. ”Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: grace to you and peace be multiplied.” (1 Peter 1:2) 5. “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:13) 6. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:25) 7. “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, ” (1 Peter 1:22)

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The Bible Basics Your soul can become purified by “obeying the truth through the Spirit.” You can only get God’s truth in you if you read His Word. Learn the truth by studying the Word of God, and then combine this with walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, and then your soul can become purified. Jesus can cleanse and sanctify His church, which are the individual body of believers, by the “washing of water by the word.” You can be washed clean by His Word if you are willing to soak into the Scripture verses like you would soak in a bath of water to clean off. The Word of God has that kind of power in it! The truth from God can set you free in many areas of your life, but you first have to learn what those truths are before they can start to work to set you free. And the only way to find the spiritual truths that will change the quality of your life and help set you free is by reading and studying from the Bible. There is no other way! It is by the Holy Spirit Himself that this sanctification process is done in your life. God the Father is telling you exactly how this sanctification process can be done in this life, and that is by the power of the Holy Spirit operating through the knowledge that the Word will give you. It’s the Word and the Holy Spirit working together in a believer, who is actively seeking after God and His Word, that will get God to release the Holy Spirit to start this sanctification process within their mind, body, soul, and spirit.

How to Enter Into the Sanctification Process with the Lord The Holy Spirit is powerful and He is God Almighty Himself. Once You see Him really get a hold of a believer, and then start this sanctifying work in them to make them to become more holy and Christ-like in their souls and personalities, it is truly an incredible sight to behold! In our opinion, this is even more miraculous than watching Him heal someone of a physical ailment or disease. To those of you who would like to tread into this type of deeper waters with the Lord, but are somewhat fearful of what He may do with you, the one thing that we can personally tell you is that you

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The Bible Basics can completely trust God the Father to begin this work in you. He knows you better than you can ever know yourself. Since God is totally and completely perfect in His very nature and personality, then this means He will know how to perfectly handle you with this sanctification process. We will end this bible basic with a very simple 4 step process that will lead you into this sanctification realm if you decide you want to give God a full and solid green light to start this process within you. However, what we cannot give you is exactly what God will be personally doing with each and everyone of you once this sanctification process starts up. Everyone is operating at different levels of spiritual development with the Lord. Some people have more baggage to clean up than others. Some people will be more resistant to the Holy Spirit wanting to remove certain negative qualities than others will. Some will progress at a faster rate of speed than others will because they will be more honest with the Lord and will be more open to receiving revelation on exactly what it is God wants to put in them and exactly what it is He wants to take out of them. This sanctification is a process. It is not something that will be done overnight. You can trust God to perfectly handle the time frame in which He wants to operate in. He will not overwhelm you. He will give you plenty of reasonable time to work with the Holy Spirit once the Holy Spirit starts to impart revelation and knowledge to you on exactly what it is He wants to come after. For those of you who would really like to get serious with the Lord on getting this sanctification process started in your life, here is a very simple 4 step process that will get you in if you decide you want to take the plunge. 1. Decide If You Really Want It The first thing you will need to do is to make a personal decision as to whether or not you really want to enter into this sanctification realm with the Lord. Many Christians really do not want God to do any type of sanctifying work in their lives. The reason for this is that they know He will be coming after some of their vices and character flaws, and they simply are not willing to give up some of these vices, or attempt to try and work with Him to change certain parts of their personalities.

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The Bible Basics So the first thing you will have to do is to make a personal decision as to whether or not you really want the Lord to begin this type of deeper work in your life. This is not something that you can go halfway with Him on. This is an all-or-nothing decision. You are either going to go all the way with the Lord once He begins to do it with you or you are not. You cannot straddle the fence post with Him on this process. If you do, then the Holy Spirit is not going to move with full force to help get you cleaned up and sanctified to the degree that God would really like to get you to in this life. Once the Lord starts to move into certain areas of your life and personality, then you are going to have to be willing to fully work with Him on it or nothing is going to get accomplished. He has to have your full consent on all of this. God really respects your free will and He will not run against it. If you decide you want to give the Lord a full and solid green light to begin this type of deeper work in your life after really thinking and chewing on the ramifications on what this type of deeper progressive work will entail, then you will now be ready for step 2. 2. Ask God the Father to Begin the Sanctification Process To get God to start to move you into this sanctification realm will only require one thing, and that one thing is that you go before the Lord in serious and heartfelt prayer, and ask Him to start this sanctification process in your life through the power of the Holy Spirit. It really is that simple. The Bible says to ask, and then you will receive. The Bible also says you have not because you ask not. All you simply have to do is ask God the Father in prayer to start this sanctification process and tell Him that you will now be willing to work with both Him and the Holy Spirit once it starts up. Once you put this initial request on His altar, we would keep reminding the Lord to keep this sanctification process going for the rest of your life at least once or twice a year for the rest of your life. By reminding God to keep this sanctification process going on for the rest of your life, you are showing Him that you mean serious business with Him, and that you want

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The Bible Basics the Holy Spirit to keep working with you in this realm as long as you are walking and breathing in this physical body. The show never stops with the Lord, and He will take you as far as you will want to go with Him in this realm. Here is a very good sample prayer you can use: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Father, In the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, I now approach Your throne with a very special request. Your Word tells me that You want to completely sanctify me through the special workings of the Holy Spirit. Your Word tells me that You want to shape, mold, and transform me into the express image of Your Son Jesus Christ. Father, I now want to work in cooperation and in partnership with both You and the Holy Spirit to begin this deeper sanctifying work in my life. Father, I now ask that You begin to completely sanctify me in both my body, my soul, and my spirit. I now give You a full and solid green light to begin this sanctification process in my life. Father, I now ask that You hold nothing back once You begin this sanctifying work in me and my life. We will now be willing to work with both You and the Holy Spirit in any area of my life and in any area of my personality that You feel needs to be cleaned up, sanctified, and made more holy. Father, I now have full faith and belief that You will honor this request and will begin this sanctification process in my life in the way and manner You deem most appropriate at the level of spiritual development that I am currently operating at with You. Thank You Father. Thank You Jesus. Thank You Holy Spirit.â&#x20AC;? This would be the basic gist of wording this type of prayer for those of you who may have a hard time in wording some of your specific prayers to the Lord. If you can truly approach God with this type of prayer, and you are really meaning it from your mind and your heart, then God will hear you loud and clear, and He will then begin to start this sanctification process in your life right where you are standing at the moment this request is put before Him.

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The Bible Basics 3. Study the Word For the Knowledge That You Will Need If you are willing to give God a full and solid green light in which to start this sanctification process in your life, then there are now two things you must be willing to do on your end to get this sanctification process moving into full gear. You will not be a passive robot in all of this, expecting God to do all of the work for you. He will need you to do your part in all of this. This will now lead us into the last two parts that will complete what you will need to know in order to be able to work in cooperation with the Lord on all of this. Your first part will be to study the Word on some type of regular and frequent basis. It is the combination of the Holy Spirit working with the Word and the knowledge that the Word will give you that will cause this sanctification process to move into high gear in your life. You have to have the actual knowledge on exactly what it is God wants to change about you. And the only way you can get this knowledge is by reading and studying from the Bible. Study and pull from the Bible exactly what it is that God wants to impart into your personality, and exactly what it is He wants to take out of your personality that is not pleasing to Him, and then the Holy Spirit will start to move into those specific areas to help get you cleaned up and sanctified. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the Word and the Spirit working in conjunction with one another that will take you on this road to holiness in the Lord. However, your part is to get into the Word. The Holy Spirit cannot do this part for you. Many Christians do not spend much time in the Bible and this is one of the main reasons why there is not much spiritual growth occurring in their lives. The Holy Spirit will personally guide you in this life as to how often and how frequently you will need to read from the Bible. You do not want to get into legalism and ritualism with how often and how much time you will spend in the Word. God Himself will personally guide you in all of this. Just realize that God will be wanting you to spend kind of regular quality time during the course of your life in reading from His Word, and trying to understand and assimilate what you are reading as best you can. The subsequent bible basics listed in the Sanctification will be giving

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The Bible Basics you many of the appropriate Scripture verses pertaining to your sanctification and exactly what it is God wants to impart into your personality and exactly what it is He wants to take out of your personality. 4. Work in Cooperation With the Holy Spirit During This Process The last and final part to really being able to get this sanctification process started in your life is your willingness and eagerness to work very closely with the Holy Spirit once He starts to move in on you and let you know exactly what it is He wants to do. The apostle Paul says that God wants to sanctify you completely, body, soul, and spirit. Do not be surprised if one of the things that the Holy Spirit will move in on is any particular vices you may have that could be harming your physical body. Good examples of this would be smoking cigarettes, smoking pot, abusing alcohol, and overeating on the wrong kinds of foods. Many Christians are addicted to smoking cigarettes. we have seen God move on quite a few of them on this particular vice. Some of them have been successful in kicking the habit, and others have not. The power of the Holy Spirit is there to help break this addiction off you, but you have to really want to have this vice removed before God will move in to break this addiction off you. Some people really do not want to give this up for the Lord. When that happens, God will respect your free will on the matter and back off. However, we have seen Him come back in waves on that person, and every so often He keeps coming back and knocking on their doors, letting them know once more that He would really like to have this addiction removed from their lifestyle. The same goes for those Christians who still like to smoke their pot. we have discovered there is some slack with the Lord on the cigarette thing, but there is much less slack with Him on the pot issue! Every Christian who we have known that has smoked pot, and then really came into a full surrender with the Lord, have all had the pot taken out of their lives very quickly. God will be letting you know very early on which of these vices He would like to have removed from your personality and lifestyle. His divine

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The Bible Basics power is there to help break these addictions off your back, but you will have to be the one to make this personal decision for yourself as to whether or not you will work in cooperation with the Holy Spirit to take these addictions out of your life for good. We have seen God break many of these types of addictions off people and they did not have to go through any type of physical withdrawal during the weaning off process. God, through the power of the Holy Spirit operating on the inside of you, has the full power to be able to set you completely free from any vices or addictions you may have. There is nothing that the power of God cannot totally defeat and overcome if you are willing to allow God to work with you in these areas. Other areas of your life that God may want to move in on are some of your attitudes. If you are holding any unforgiveness towards others for things they may have done to you in your past, expect God to move in very strongly to try and get you to forgive these people and to let all of the wrongs they may have ever done to you into His hands. Vengeance and payback in this life belong to the Lord, not to you or anyone else! God will be righting all the wrongs ever done to you in this life. Your job is to forgive all of those who have ever hurt or wronged you and get on with the rest of your life. If you are operating in any type of a judgmental, critical, controlling, or manipulating spirit, expect the Lord to deal very heavily with you on these issues. These kinds of attitudes and behaviors are poisonous and toxic to all of those who come in contact with them. They are all unacceptable in the eyes of God, and the Holy Spirit will be moving very strongly on you with conviction and insight to tackle these kinds of attitudes and behaviors. God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, will be letting you know very clearly what good, positive, and godly qualities He will want to try and “put on” into your personality, and what negative qualities and vices He will want to try and “put away.” Once all of this knowledge and information has been given to you by the Lord, then it will be up to you as to whether or not you will want to work in cooperation with the Holy Spirit to get all of this accomplished. If you are willing to work with the Lord in the specific areas that He will target, then the Holy Spirit will start to do the miraculous and supernatural work of removing all of the bad things that He will not want

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The Bible Basics operating in your personality and life, and then impart all of the positive and godly things that He will want have operating in your personality and life. And once this starts to happen, God the Father will then start to transmit and impart part of His divine nature and personality right up into your mind, soul, and spirit. Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love, joy, peace, patience, boldness, goodness, gentleness, and kindness will all start to move up and mesh into your personality, thereby increasing your ability to be able to walk, live, and operate in these saintly and godly qualities. When this starts to happen, you will have officially entered into a true, progressive, sanctified state, where the very life of God Himself will now be flowing through you and out of you so that you can reach others with His message of eternal salvation, and His message on how to properly live this life the way He wants His people to live it. God wants us to become fishers of men for Him. You can become a much better fisherman, representative, and ambassador for the Lord if you are willing to allow Him to lead you into this sanctification process. Nothing will draw others to the Lord more than a Spirit-filled, anointed, and truly sanctified saint who has the fruits and qualities of the Holy Spirit operating through their personality. This sanctification process is available to every single born-again believer. However, it is up to each and every Christian to make this personal decision for themselves. This is something that the Lord will not force on anyone due to the individual cooperation that is needed from each person to really get this process started.

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Chapter 21 Healing Verses of the Bible As a result of the curse of Adam and Eve that is still in full operation on this earth, disease, sickness, and illness are still part of the big picture that we all have to put up with. As we all know, anyone of us at anytime can get sick. We all know the different things that can happen to our bodies that can cause them to breakdown, and in some cases, seriously disable us. Just about any part of the human body can get hit with some type of cancer, and in some of these cases, these cancers can be terminal. However, as Christians, we have an all-powerful God who not only has the power to fully heal us from any specific ailment that may strike us, but that He actually does want to heal us many of the time if we properly approach Him in our prayers. God is trying to transmit to us on being able to receive a full divine healing from Him when we will really need one. We will give you 93 of the best verses from the Bible pertaining to being able to receive a divine healing from God the Father. Not only can God heal us, but many of the times He will actually want to heal us. 1. Our God is a Merciful God The very first thing you will really have to grasp is how good and merciful God and Jesus really are. Every time God decides to heal someone, He is showing incredible mercy, love, goodness, and compassion towards that person. So the first thing you will need to grasp from Scripture are the specific verses that will show us how merciful, kind, and compassionate God the Father really is. You have to realize that God the Father does have these attributes in His personality. If you do not believe that God the Father is a good,

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The Bible Basics merciful, loving, kind, and compassionate God, then you may not be able to receive a divine healing from Him because you will not have enough faith and belief in His ability to even want to heal you in the first place. Many people are scared to death of God the Father. They know that He does have a judgment and wrath side to His personality and they have become too scared to approach Him to enter into any kind of close personal relationship with Him. And then when they do get sick and need a divine healing from Him, they are too scared to try and approach Him for their healing. So the first thing each Christian must really grab a hold of if they want to try and press in for a divine healing is that God the Father really does have a very loving and tender side to His personality, and that many of the time He actually does want to heal us and help deliver us out of any adverse situation that we may have just fallen into. And any kind of disease, illness, or sickness is definitely an adverse situation. Study these 7 verses very, very carefully. When you read one verse after the other, you will really see how loving, kind, good, merciful, and compassionate God the Father really is, and as such, that He does have a natural desire in His personality to want to help His children out if they need any kind of help or deliverance from Him. 1. “But You are God, ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in kindness” (Nehemiah 9:17) 2. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” (Psalm 103:8) 3. “But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.” (Psalm 86:15) 4. “Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness” (Joel 2:13) 5. “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.” (Psalm 145:8) 6. “The Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting” (Psalm 100:5)

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The Bible Basics 7. “For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him, But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him.” (Psalm 103:11,17) The words “mercy or merciful“ are stated in every one of these Scripture verses. Every time God decides to heal someone, He is showing incredible mercy towards that person. Not only is God merciful, but that He is “abundant in mercy.“ He is full of mercy and goodness. For those of you who are too afraid to approach God for any type of meaningful personal relationship, notice several of these verses state that God the Father is “slow to anger.” God has a long fuse. God does not blow as easily and quickly as some of us will do. It really does take quite a bit to cause Him to lose His temper. You have absolutely nothing to fear in approaching God to enter into a close, loving, personal relationship with Him. God is your perfect loving Father and He has nothing but your best interests at heart. If you have been struck with any kind of illness or disease, do not be afraid to approach Him for a divine healing. You may be pleasantly surprised with what He might just do for you. 2. God the Father Does Have the Power to Heal You Sometimes when someone has been hit by an extreme sickness or disease, especially with one that may be considered terminal, our faith levels may be severely shaken, possibly to their core! You have been just diagnosed with terminal cancer and the doctors have now told you that you only have 6 more months to live. Though you know God is all-powerful, your situation looks so hopeless and bleak, that you now start doubting whether or not God can really deliver you out of such a dire, extreme, and hopeless situation. You are so overwhelmed by the hopelessness of the situation, that you start forgetting how powerful God really is and that He does have the full supernatural power to be able to fully heal you, no matter how grave the situation may appear to you in the natural. Nothing, we repeat nothing, is too impossible for God to be able to handle. These 3 verses should be burned into your memory banks so you

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The Bible Basics can have them fully loaded up into your mind and spirit if you are ever faced with what appears to be insurmountable odds. 1. “For with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) 2. But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” (Luke 18:27) 3. “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” (Ephesians 3:20) If you cannot get any kind of a healing from a doctor, then God Himself can come to your rescue and fully heal you, no matter how bad and hopeless the situation may appear to you in the natural. God the Father has the full power and full ability to accomplish anything that He will want to do. If He has the full, divine, supernatural power to create our entire world in 6 days, then He will not have any problems in being able to fully heal you with whatever sickness or disease may have just struck your body. 3. God the Father Does Want to Heal You Not only does God the Father have the personality attributes to want to heal us, but that He also has the full divine power to actually be able to heal us, no matter how severe the sickness or illness may be. However, will He actually do it if you properly approach Him in your prayers? Not only does God actually want to heal us, but He can and will heal us if certain conditions are met. Not only does the Bible give us knowledge and information on the personality attributes of God and Jesus, but it also shows us how many times in the past God and Jesus have actually healed other people. Once you read how many times God and Jesus were healing other people back in both the Old and New Testaments, then this will help build up your own faith and belief that just maybe God and Jesus can also do the exact same thing for you. God the Father is no respecter of persons, which means He loves each person He has ever created equally and unconditionally. If both God and Jesus were healing people back in both the OT and

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The Bible Basics NT, then there is no reason we cannot approach Him for our own personal healing when we may need one in this day and age. These specific verses are all showing how God the Father can heal His own if they are walking in good stead with Him. 1. God the Father does not change, ever! God the Father is the same today as He was yesterday, and that He will be the same for all of eternity. This is why God the Father is totally dependable. If God the Father is the same today as He was yesterday, and if He was healing people back in the past in the Old Testament days, then this means that He can and will continue to heal today. This is why divine healing is still for everyone in this day and age. The gift of healing did not stop after the first set of apostles left the scene. Here is the verse:

● “For I am the Lord, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6) 2. God the Father was healing His own chosen people back in the Old Testament. If God the Father has not changed, and if He was healing His own chosen people back in the Old Testament, then this means He can and will continue to heal His own chosen people in the New Testament, which are all saved and born-again Christians! If we belong to Jesus, then we are all part of “Abraham’s seed,” and we are thus all “heirs” to the same blessings that God the Father was giving the Jewish people back in the Old Testament. And one of those blessings was divine healing whenever they would need it. These 15 verses will show you how active God the Father really was in the area of divine healing when the Jewish people were walking right with Him. 1. “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:29) 2. “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.” (Exodus 15:26)

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The Bible Basics 3. “And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you.” (Deuteronomy 7:15) 4. “So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.” (Exodus 23:25) 5. “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” (Psalm 107:20) 6. “He also brought them out with silver and gold, and there was none feeble among His tribes.” (Psalm 105:37) 7. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases” (Psalm 103:2) 8. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken.” (Psalm 34:19) 9. “For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 30:17) 10. “O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You have healed me.” (Psalm 30:2) 11. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds, Great is our Lord, and mighty in power” (Psalm 147:3) 12. “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) 13. “But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” (Psalm 34:10) 14. “For the Lord is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11) 15. “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to

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The Bible Basics destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) All of the above verses are definitely showing us how active God the Father really was in taking care of the Jewish people back in the Old Testament. Notice some of the specific wording: 1. Put none of these diseases on you 2. Take away from you all sickness 3. Sent His word and healed them 4. There was none feeble among His tribes 5. Heals all your diseases 6. Guards all his bones, not one of them is broken 7. Restore health to you and heal you of your wounds 8. Heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds In three of these verses God is giving perfect health to all of them when He specifically says that “none“ of the diseases shall fall on them, that there was “none feeble among the tribes,” and that He would take away “all” sickness from within their midst! If God the Father did this for the Jewish people back in the Old Testament, and we have a new and better covenant through His Son Jesus Christ in the New Testament, then we all should have access to the same blessings that the Jewish people had, and one of the those blessings was having divine health and divine healing when it was really needed from Him! 4. Jesus Christ Does Want to Heal You If all of the above verses are showing us that it was the will of God the Father to want to heal His chosen people back in the Old Testament, then the next set of verses will be showing us that it was also the will of Jesus Christ to heal when He was walking in the New Testament. If God the Father was constantly healing His people back in the Old Testament when they were walking right with Him, then it should come as

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The Bible Basics no surprise that His Son Jesus will be wanting to do the exact same thing as He was walking among us in the New Testament. And that is exactly what you will find. Jesus was constantly healing people that came to Him, especially when they came to Him with enough faith and belief that He could actually heal them. Here are 11 key Scripture verses showing how active Jesus really was in the area of divine healing when He was walking with the full power of God for about three and half years. He is as same today as He was yesterday. If Jesus had a desire to heal when He was walking on our earth 2000 years ago, then He will still have that same desire to want to heal anyone in this day and age! 1. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) 2. Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:14,18) 3. “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38) 4. “But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there; and great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.” (Matthew 12:15) 5. “And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.” (Matthew 14:14) 6. “Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.” (Luke 5:17)

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The Bible Basics 7. “And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.” (Matthew 14:35) 8. “Who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.” (Luke 6:17) 9. “But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.” (Luke 9:11) 10. “When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick.” (Matthew 8:16) 11. “Now Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of diseases among the people.” (Matthew 4:23) If you study very closely what God the Father did with the Jewish people back in the Old Testament, and what Jesus did with all those around Him in the New Testament, there was a definite pattern to Their ministries. And one of the blessings that both God and Jesus would manifest on a very regular and frequent basis was the gift of healing! 5. God Will Also Anoint You With His Power to Heal Not only does God the Father want to heal you, not only does His Son Jesus Christ want to heal you, but now God wants to take it one step further. He now wants to anoint His believers with His supernatural power to be able to heal others. Do you get the big picture on all of this? If God is wanting to anoint His believers with His supernatural power to be able to heal others, then this is telling us that God is now placing the gift of healing as a major blessing

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The Bible Basics within His Body so we can have it available to us when we may need it. The reason for this is because God wants to anoint and empower His people to be able to go to work for Him in preaching the gospel to the rest of the world and doing what He wants them to be doing in their specific calls for Him. You cannot work for God full force in this life if you are constantly battling one ailment after another. You have to be operating in some kind of good physical health in order to be able to max out in your specific calls and duties for the Lord. Since we all live in a cursed and fallen world as a result of the curse of Adam and Eve, anyone of us can get sick at anytime. God has to have the gifts of healing operating within His Body so as to help get us back up and running if we do get hit with any kind of sickness or disease. Sometimes God will choose to heal you through the doctors and medical profession, but other times He will choose to heal you direct Himself or through the prayers of other anointed believers. Now here are 11 specific verses that will show you that God really does want to anoint His Body with His supernatural power to be able to heal others. 1. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:15) 2. “Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.” (Luke 9:1) 3. “And He called the twelve to Him, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits, And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.” (Mark 6:7,13) 4. “And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He

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The Bible Basics gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.” (Matthew 10:1) 5. “But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:6) 6. “Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.” (Acts 19:11) 7. “And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid hands on him and healed him.” (Acts 28:8) 8. “And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.” (Acts 8:6) 9. “Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.” (Acts 14:3) 10. “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19) 11. “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,

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The Bible Basics to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” (1 Corinthians 12:4) The last verse is the one telling us about the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit that are still available to the Church today. And one of those 9 gifts is the gift of healing! This means that the Holy Spirit Himself can manifest the power to heal someone through any believer at anytime He will want to do so. Not only can God heal, not only does He want to heal, but many of the times He actually will heal if He is properly approached. So how do you properly approach God for your healing? Through prayer. 6. The Power of Prayer It is quite obvious that God the Father has the full divine power to fully heal you of any disease or sickness that could strike your body. So how do you get God to release His healing power directly to you to either heal yourself or someone else you may be praying for? By direct prayer to God the Father. And sometimes that prayer has to be a prevailing type of prayer, which means that you keep praying to God until you get the healing to fully manifest onto the affected part of the body that will need the healing. There are many different types of prayer strategies that you can take with the Lord in your own personal prayers to Him. Sometimes we have to pray direct to God the Father for a full healing to manifest. The first 3 verses are specifically telling us to “pray” to God when we are sick and need a healing. 1. “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.” (James 5:13) 2. “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with

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The Bible Basics oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” (James 5:14) 3. And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him.” (Acts 28:8) 4. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16) 5. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) 6. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7) 7. “Yet you do not have because you do not ask.” (James 4:2) 8. “And there is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You” (Isaiah 64:7) 9. “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” (Ezekiel 22:30) 10. “He saw that there was no man, and wondered there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation for him” (Isaiah 59:16) 11. “Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach, to turn away His wrath, lest He destroy them.” (Psalm 106:23) God is actually looking for intercessors who are willing to stand in the gap for other people who are needing God’s help in some way! And in some of these situations, these people have become sick and are needing a physical healing from the Lord. As an intercessor, you can actually stand in the gap for these people and pray to God for their healing. We will be doing a much more detailed bible basic on the power of intercessory prayer and how powerful of a weapon it really is in the

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The Bible Basics hands of someone who knows how to do this with God the Father. Many major miracles can be brought down from heaven with this kind of prevailing intercessory prayer. 7. Having Faith and Belief That God Can Actually Heal You Sometimes God will move to heal someone who has very low levels of faith in Him, but there will be other times that He will want this person to have his faith levels built up a bit before He will move in with His healing power. There was many a time that Jesus would ask the person He was wanting to heal whether or not that person had enough faith and belief in Him that He could actually heal them. Once that person said he had enough faith in Jesus that He could actually heal him, then Jesus would move in to heal him. Jesus would then go as far as to tell this person that his faith was what got him healed! However, it was quite obvious that what got this person healed was the power of the Holy Spirit operating and manifesting through Jesus. However, what got the healing power from the Holy Spirit to manifest onto that person was the personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s faith and belief that Jesus could actually do this for him. This is how powerful of a thing it really is if you can get your faith operating at higher levels with the Lord. If your faith is operating at these higher levels with the Lord, then God can manifest bigger and greater miracles either to you or through you to help someone else out. If you are looking for Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s divine healing power to fully heal you or someone else you may know, the first thing you will need to try and do is to get your personal faith levels built up to a little bit of a higher range. And how do you do this? Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Hearing the Word of God means you are reading the Bible for yourself and believing what you are reading. If you are willing to do this, then the Holy Spirit will start to raise your faith to a higher level. And once your faith has been raised to that higher level, then God may move in to heal you or someone else you may be praying for. You will need to read all of the verses pertaining to divine healing in

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The Bible Basics the Bible. This bible basic is giving you many of these verses. Really meditate and chew on these verses. Let them sink and settle down into your mind and spirit. Believe what you are reading. Once these verses have really settled into your mind and spirit, and you are truly believing what they are telling you, then go into major prevailing prayer with the Lord to try and get Him to move in with His healing power. Quote these Scripture verses back to Him. Tell Him that you are standing on the full power and authority of these verses. Tell Him that you have full faith and belief in what these verses are telling you. Tell God that you are going to take a hold of Him and that you will not let Him go until He either heals you or someone else you may be praying for. Study these next 18 verses very carefully. You are being given a major prayer secret from the Lord on how to get Him to move in with His healing power, and that secret is being able to get your faith operating at a little bit of a higher level to believe that God can really heal you. 1. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) 2. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) 3. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) 4. “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.” (1 John 5:4) 5. “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:12) 6. “The blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” And their eyes were opened. (Matthew 9:28)

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The Bible Basics 7. “Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour. (Matthew 15:28) 8. “For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” (Matthew 9:21) 9. “Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour. (Matthew 8:13) 10. “And Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight, (Mark 10:51) 11. “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:24) 12. “And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.” (Acts 6:8) 13. “And the prophets; who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” (Hebrews 11:32) 14. “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouth, so that they have not hurt me, So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because He believed in his God.” (Daniel 6:22) 15. “And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” (Acts 3:16)

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The Bible Basics 16. “But the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:2) 17. “So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:19) 18. “And He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” (Matthew 13:58) God could not do any major miracles or any mighty works with certain peoples or in certain areas due to the low levels of faith and belief operating in those areas. The verse from Hebrews 4:2 tells us that we have to mix our faith with the Word. We have to believe what we are reading from the Bible and that all of it is true. You have to mix your faith with the knowledge that the Word is giving you! If you do not, then the knowledge that the Bible is trying to give you will not work when you will need it for a real life emergency. The verse from Hebrews 3:19 is talking about all of the Israelites 20 years and older who died out in the wilderness in the story of Moses. They were not able to enter into the Promised Land, all because they did not have enough faith and belief in God that He could actually defeat the enemies that were possessing the lands in which He was wanting to give to them. The last verse from Matthew 13:58 is talking about Jesus not being able to do many miracles in His own home town, and all due to the lack of faith and belief from the people that He actually grew up with! All of the above verses are showing us the extreme importance of being able to get our faith operating at higher levels with the Lord, so He can then do greater and mightier things either for you, or sometimes through you to help someone else out who may need His supernatural help and power to set them free! 8. Hindrances to Receiving a Healing Sometimes God will not move to heal someone due to some type of block or hindrance. Once this person finds out what that block or

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The Bible Basics hindrance is and gets it properly removed, then many of the time God will move back in to fully heal them. The following verses will give you some major insight into what some of these hindrances and blocks can be. Study these verses very carefully and make sure you do not have any of these possible hindrances before approaching God for your own personal healing. If you do have any of these blocks or hindrances operating in your life, then you will be wasting both your time and God’s time if you start praying for a healing before that block is properly removed. 1. The first block, and this is a major one, is the sin of unforgiveness. God the Father will not even begin to hear any of your own personal prayers if you are holding any kind of unforgiveness towards anyone. And if God will not hear any of your own personal prayers, then you will have little or no chance of getting any type of divine healing from Him. This particular sin is one that God really does not like. The fact that He specifically isolates this sin in reference to your personal prayer life in the following Scripture verse is showing you the extreme importance of it, and that He does not want you holding any type of unforgiveness towards anyone else, no matter how bad any anyone else may have ever hurt or wronged you in your past. We have read testimony after testimony from people who walk with God’s healing power as part of their anointing, that many of the times God will not heal someone who is holding any kind of unforgiveness towards anyone else. Once that unforgiveness has been properly taken care of and removed, then God will move in to heal that person. If you are operating in this specific sin and are holding any type of serious grudges or unforgiveness towards anyone else, then you will need to go before God the Father, confess this sin out, and then tell Him that you will now fully forgive all of the specific people who have ever wronged you in your past. Tell Him that even though you may not “feel” like you are forgiving these people within your own mind and emotions, tell Him that you are now taking a bold step of faith and that you will now make this confession with your mouth, out of your mind, and that you will do your best not to hold the past against these people.

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The Bible Basics If you are willing to take this kind of powerful stand with the Lord, then over the course of time God will start to take out the negative emotions of that unforgiveness, and pretty soon you will no longer even feel this unforgiveness towards that person like you had in the past. God will do inner spiritual surgery on the inside of you to remove all of those negative feelings. Here is the verse.

● “AND

WHENEVER YOU STAND PRAYING, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” (Mark 11:25)

If God will not forgive your own trespasses if you are operating in this sin when you are trying to pray to Him, then we also believe that He may not answer any of your prayers when you are trying to pray for something specific. The four key words in the above verse is “whenever you stand praying.” 2. These next 6 verses will follow-up very nicely to the above verse on unforgiveness. If you have any kind of “iniquities” that you may be operating in, then this will cause God the Father to hide His face from you and that He will then not “hear” you when you try and pray to Him. If you are out cheating on your spouse operating in the sin of adultery, then there is a very good chance that God may not hear any of your prayers. And if God is not hearing any of your personal prayers to Him, then you may not be able to receive a divine healing from Him when you will really need one. So if you are really serious about wanting to approach God the Father for a divine healing, the first thing you must do is make sure that you do not have any sins that may need to be forgiven and washed clean under the Blood of Jesus. You may want to ask the Holy Spirit to help you out. Ask Him to show you if there are any sins that you may not be aware of that will need to be confessed, forgiven, and washed clean under the blood of Jesus. If you are willing to go this far with the Lord, then you may have just removed any major blocks or hindrances in being able to receive a divine

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The Bible Basics healing from Him. You may have just dramatically increased your chances of now being able to receive a divine healing from God. Here are the verses. The specific wording in some of these verses, that God will “hear the prayer of the righteous” but that He is “far from the wicked”, that no good thing will He withhold from those who are walking “uprightly,“ that we will receive answers to our prayers if we “keep His commandments and do them,” and that He will put “none of these diseases on you” if you “do what is right in His sight and keep all His statutes.” Keep these 6 kinds of verses front and center in your walk with the Lord so that you do not do anything that will prevent Him from wanting to work full force in your own personal walk with Him. 1. “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2) 2. “The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.” (Proverbs 15:29) 3. “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11) 4. “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” (1 John 3:22) 5. “My son, do not forget My law, but let your heart keep My commands; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.” (Proverbs 3:1) 6. “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.” (Exodus 15:26) All of these verses are giving us major insight as to why sometimes we are not getting answers to some of our prayers, especially in the area of

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The Bible Basics divine healing. There is simply no sugarcoating what these verses are trying to tell us. Even though all of our past, present, and future sins will be fully forgiven under the blood of Jesus, we still have to make every concerted effort on our end to try and stay out of sin. And once we know that we have fallen into a specific sin, then we have to recognize it and admit it before the Lord, and then confess it out to Him as a sin so we can receive His full forgiveness for it. One of the main reasons why more people do not receive divine healings from the Lord may be due to sins that may not have yet been forgiven because they have not been recognized as actual sins, or that person is unwilling to have their sins be properly dealt with by God the Father. A person may be operating in the sin of adultery and he simply does not want to give it up. And until he does, there is a very good chance that God will not be hearing any of his prayers, especially in the area of divine healing. This is why we strongly recommend that anyone who is seeking after a major miracle from God in the area of divine healing, that you ask the Holy Spirit to help you out in discovering what those sins may be that will need to be confessed and forgiven with God the Father. This strategy right here may be the difference as to whether or not you receive a full divine healing from the Lord. 9. Psychological Factors There are sometimes psychological factors that will come into play when dealing with different types of sicknesses and illnesses. If someone is severely depressed, there is a good chance that there immune system may not be working as well as it should be, and they thus can be more subject and prone to getting certain types of sicknesses or diseases as compared to someone who is always upbeat, happy, cheerful, and doing something positive with their lives. The medical profession has already found this link, that sometimes good health can be directly related to having a good positive mindset. The Bible has several very interesting verses on this mind-body connection

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The Bible Basics and how it can relate to our physical health. Here they are: 1. “A sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones.” (Proverbs 14:30) 2. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12) 3. “A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” (Proverbs 15:13) 4. “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22) 5. “Anxiety in the heart of a man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad.” (Proverbs 12:25) 6. “There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health.” (Proverbs 12:18) 7. “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” (Proverbs 16:24) The first verse says that “envy is rottenness to the bones.” This is why the Bible tells us that we are transformed by the “renewing of our minds.” God wants to develop and put right thinking into our minds. Having a good positive mindset in the Lord may be one of the secrets in being able to have good physical health while we are living down here on this earth. 10. The Sin of Gluttony There are many in our society who are grossly overweight. For many of these people, there are certain malfunctions within their bodies causing this abnormal weight gain. However, for many others, this weight gain is the result of simply gluttony, overeating, and overeating of the wrong kinds of foods. With all of the good nutritional information that is now available, we all know what these bad foods are. There is also a ton of educational material that is out there showing us what the good foods are and how to structure our diets accordingly to take off a lot of this excess weight. However, for

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The Bible Basics whatever their personal reasons may be, many people who are overweight simply do not care they are overeating and that they are grossly overweight. God may have been striving with them, trying to get them to get their eating habits under better control. However, sooner or later, the human body can only take so much abuse, especially in the area of what we feed it, and then the breakdown comes. A cancer could set in or a major heart attack could occur. There are many different kinds of sicknesses and illnesses that can strike your body if you do not properly feed it and take proper care of it. Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit. God the Father wants us taking proper care of them. If we do not, and we steadfastly refuse to heed His warnings and promptings, then God may choose not to want to heal you if you end up coming down with a major sickness of deliberately overeating and abusing your body over all of those years. With none of us being perfect, there is a certain amount of slack with God the Father for some of our weaknesses and character flaws. Where we will get in major trouble with the Lord is when we start to push the envelope too far with Him and tread past those slack lines where we should not be going. There is a slack line that operates in how we take care of our bodies. God is all right with a certain amount of excess body weight due to our own natural imperfections. Where we will get into trouble is when we start to go past our own individual slack lines with Him. If that should happen, then God will start giving you major warning signs and signals that you are getting to far off base. If after a certain amount of time you do not heed those warnings and you keep going in the direction you are going, then God could pull back His hand of protection on you and you could then end up coming down with a major sickness or disease. If you do what is right in the sight of the Lord, then He will not put any of these diseases on you. Going against the Lord by overeating and abusing your body is not doing what is right in the Lord, and He thus could pull back His hand of protection on you and your life. We will leave you with one very interesting verse that tells us to only eat what we really need lest we be filled with it and vomit. You can get

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The Bible Basics physically sick by overeating.

● “Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, lest you be filled with it and vomit.” (Proverbs 25:16) 11. God is Still Sovereign in All of His Ways If you closely study all of the above verses from Scripture, the evidence is absolutely overwhelming that God the Father really does want to heal many of the times if He is properly approached in your prayers to Him. However, there is one more big debate going on in the Body of Christ right now on the subject of divine healing. Many are teaching that it is the will of God that you be healed every single time that you pray and ask for one, and that if you are not healed, then there is something wrong with you. Either your faith was not operating at a high enough level, or you have some kind of bad sin that you may be living in. Granted, there are times that God may want your faith operating at a higher level than where you may be at right now. If that is the case, then He may want you getting more into the Word to study all of the verses pertaining to divine healing before He will move in to heal you. You also could have some type of sin as discussed above that needs to be taken care of before He will move in to heal you. But what about the Christian who is already operating at a very high level of faith and they have a fairly clean slate with the Lord with no sins that really need to be confessed and forgiven? How do you explain it when they are doing everything right in the Lord, and then all of a sudden they need a physical healing for their own self and God does not heal them. How do you explain this kind of scenario with the way all of the above Scripture verses are worded? God is still sovereign in all of His ways, which will include when He will manifest the gift of healing on someone. We can only know in part while living down here on this earth. Sometimes God will tell us why He does what He does and other times He will not. If God makes a personal decision not to heal someone when they are properly approaching Him in prayer for their healing, then there is always a specific reason as to why He is choosing not to heal this person at that time. Sometimes He will tell you what that reason may be and other times

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The Bible Basics He will not. If He chooses not to tell you, then you have to have full faith and belief that He must have a very good reason for not wanting to heal you or the person you may be praying for and to let it go at that. There could be a multitude of reasons why God may choose not to heal someone. we have given this example in several of our other bible basic s and it is definitely worth repeating for this one. A woman had been praying for her son’s healing. He was only 10 years old and he came down with an incurable disease and was only given a short amount of time to live. God kept telling her that He did not want to heal him and that she was to let the matter go. The woman would not take no for an answer and kept pressing into God that He heal her son. Due to her continued persistence, God finally healed the woman’s son. However, her testimony ended stating that she lived just long enough to watch her son get hanged as a criminal for a murder he ended up committing when he was 41 years old. God obviously knew what his future held in store for him. He knew that he was going to end up committing this murder. God was actually showing incredible love and mercy by wanting to take him home early with the incurable disease instead of letting him live long enough to commit this horrible murder. His mother obviously could not see into his future or understand the big picture, and she thus should have never been questioning God’s knowledge and wisdom on this matter in the first place, since God knew exactly what was going to happen in this boy’s future and she did not. God always knows best! Let His perfect will be done in all matters, which will include who He will decide to heal and who He will not decide to heal. We know many people have had their mind’s really messed up when for whatever reason God has chosen not to heal them, and then another Christian comes along and starts trying to place a guilt trip on them, telling them that either their faith was not operating at a high enough level, or that there must be something in their personal life that is preventing God from wanting to heal them. Sometimes this may be true, but other times it may not be true. If there are no blocks or hindrances in that person’ s life, then God is choosing not to heal for another reason.

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The Bible Basics If you are not getting a healing for either yourself, or someone else you may be praying for, then We would press into God and ask Him why He is not moving in to heal either you or the other person you may be praying for. Ask Him to show you if there are any blocks or hindrances that have to be dealt with. If He comes back and tells you that there are no blocks or hindrances that have to be dealt with, but that He has chosen not to heal at this time, then trust that He has a very good reason for not wanting to move in with His healing power and let it go at that. It could be that it may be that person’s time to go home to be with Him, even if that person is still at a young age like the story described above. God will have mercy on whom He chooses to have mercy on. This is one of the verses from Scripture that is really emphasizing the sovereignty of God and that no one is going to tell Him how to run His universe.

● For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion”Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, But indeed, O’ man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” Does not the potter have power over the clay” (Romans 9:15-21)

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Chapter 22 Glossary A Adultery: also called philandery, is sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than the spouse. After: located farther aft Agreement: the thing arranged or agreed to, the verbal act of agreeing, harmony of people's opinions or actions or characters ("The two parties were in agreement") Anger: a strong emotion; a feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance Another: any of various alternatives; some other;"put it off to another (or some other) day" Anxious: eagerly desirous;"anxious to see the new show at the museum";"dying to hear who wonâ&#x20AC;? Ask: make a request or demand for something to somebody ("She asked him for a loan"), consider obligatory; request and expect ("Aren't we asking too much of these children?"), direct or put; seek an answer to ("Ask a question") Author: writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)

B Baptism: a christian sacrament signifying spiritual cleansing and rebirth;"most churches baptize infants but some insist on adult baptism" Basic: a popular programming language that is relatively easy to learn; an acronym for beginner's all-purpose symbolic instruction code; no longer in general use

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The Bible Basics Basics: a statement of fundamental facts or principles Battling: battle or contend against in or as if in a battle;"the kurds are combating iraqi troops in northern iraq";"we must combat the prejudices against other races";"they battled over the budget” Before: earlier in time; previously;"i had known her before";"as i said before";"he called me the day before but your call had come even earlier";"her parents had died four years earlier";"i mentioned that problem earlier” Between: in the interval;"dancing all the dances with little rest between" Bible: the sacred writings of the christian religions;"he went to carry the word to the heathen” Book: a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together);"i am reading a good book on economics”

C Caption: taking exception; especially an quibble based on a captious argument;"a mere caption unworthy of a reply" Carefully: taking care or paying attention;"they watched carefully" Case: the actual state of things ("That was not the case"), a statement of facts and reasons used to support an argument ("He stated his case clearly") Catholicism: the beliefs and practices of a Catholic Church Choose: pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives;"take any one of these cards";"choose a good husband for your daughter";"she selected a pair of shoes from among the dozen the salesgirl had shown her" Christ: a teacher and prophet born in bethlehem and active in nazareth; his life and sermons form the basis for christianity (circa 4 bc - ad 29) Christians: a religious person who believes jesus is the christ and who is a member of a christian denomination Churches: one of the groups of christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship Close: the temporal end; the concluding time;"the stopping point of each round was signaled by a bell";"the market was up at the finish";"they were playing better at the close of the season"

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The Bible Basics Content: everything that is included in a collection;"he emptied the contents of his pockets";"the two groups were similar in content” Contentment: happiness with one's situation in life Copyright: a document granting exclusive right to publish and sell literary or musical or artistic work Cover: a covering that serves to conceal or shelter something;"they crouched behind the screen";"under cover of darkness" Created: make or cause to be or to become;"make a mess in one's office";"create a furor” Crucifixion: the act of executing by a method widespread in the ancient world; the victim's hands and feet are bound or nailed to a cross

D Dead: people who are no longer living ("They buried the dead") Dealing: method or manner of conduct in relation to others;"honest dealing” Deaths: the event of dying or departure from life;"her death came as a terrible shock";"upon your decease the capital will pass to your grandchildren" Designs: the act of working out the form of something (as by making a sketch or outline or plan);"he contributed to the design of a new instrument” Develop: make something new, such as a product or a mental or artistic creation;"her company developed a new kind of building material that withstands all kinds of weather";"they developed a new technique” Differences: the quality of being unlike or dissimilar;"there are many differences between jazz and rock" Different: unlike in nature or quality or form or degree;"took different approaches to the problem";"came to a different conclusion";"different parts of the country";"on different sides of the issue";"this meeting was different from the earlier one” Doctrine: a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school Dying: the time when something ends;"it was the death of all his plans";"a dying of old hopes”

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The Bible Basics Each: (used of count nouns) every one considered individually;"each person is mortal";"each party is welcome” Else: other than what is under consideration or implied;"ask somebody else";"i don't know what else to do";"where else can we look?”

F Face: the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear;"he washed his face";"i wish i had seen the look on his face when he got the news” Faith: a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny;"he lost his faith but not his morality" Fall: the season when the leaves fall from the trees;"in the fall of 1973" Fast: abstaining from food Fear: an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight) Fears: an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight) Feelings: emotional or moral sensitivity (especially in relation to personal principles or dignity);"the remark hurt his feelings” Forgive: stop blaming or grant forgiveness;"i forgave him his infidelity";"she cannot forgive him for forgetting her birthday” Fornication: typically refers to consensual sexual intercourse between two people not married to each other. Friends: a person you know well and regard with affection and trust;"he was my best friend at the university" Fruits: the ripened reproductive body of a seed plant Full: the time when the moon is fully illuminated;"the moon is at the full” Fundamentals: principles from which other truths can be derived;"first you must learn the fundamentals";"let's get down to basics”

G Gain: a quantity that is added;"there was an addition to property taxes this year";"they recorded the cattle's gain in weight over a period of weeks" Give: the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length Glossary: an alphabetical list of technical terms in some specialized field

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The Bible Basics of knowledge; usually published as an appendix to a text on that field God: the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions Godliness: piety by virtue of being a godly person Grace: (christian theology) a state of sanctification by god; the state of one who under such divine influence;"the conception of grace developed alongside the conception of sin";"it was debated whether saving grace could be obtained outside the membership of the church";"the virgin lived in a state of grace" Graphic: an image that is generated by a computer Great: a person who has achieved distinction and honor in some field;"he is one of the greats of american musicâ&#x20AC;? Guide: someone employed to conduct others

H Handle: the appendage to an object that is designed to be held in order to use or move it;"he grabbed the hammer by the handle";"it was an old briefcase but it still had a good grip" Handling: manual (or mechanical) carrying or moving or delivering or working with something Healing: the natural process by which the body repairs itself Hear: receive a communication from someone ("We heard nothing from our son for five years"), listen and pay attention ("We must hear the expert before we make a decision"), get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally Heart: an inclination or tendency of a certain kind ("He had a change of heart"), the locus of feelings and intuitions ("In your heart you know it is true"), a positive feeling of liking ("The child won everyone's heart") Heaven: any place of complete bliss and delight and peace Highs: a lofty level or position or degree;"summer temperatures reached an all-time highâ&#x20AC;? Holding: the act of retaining something Holy: a sacred place of pilgrimage

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I Information: a message received and understood Intercessory: a prayer to God on behalf of another person, the act of intervening (as to mediate a dispute) Introduction: the first section of a communication Involves: connect closely and often incriminatingly;"this new ruling affects your business" Issues: an important question that is in dispute and must be settled;"the issue could be settled by requiring public education for everyone";"politicians never discuss the real issuesâ&#x20AC;?

J Jesus: a teacher and prophet born in bethlehem and active in nazareth; his life and sermons form the basis for christianity (circa 4 bc - ad 29)

K Kind: a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality;"sculpture is a form of art";"what kinds of desserts are there?â&#x20AC;? Knock: the act of hitting vigorously, rap with the knuckles ("Knock on the door") Knowledge: the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning

L Layout: a plan or design of something that is laid out Learning: the cognitive process of acquiring skill or knowledge;"the child's acquisition of language" Lessons: a unit of instruction;"he took driving lessons" Letting: property that is leased or rented out or let Life: a characteristic state or mode of living;"social life";"city life";"real lifeâ&#x20AC;?

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The Bible Basics Like: a similar kind;"dogs, foxes, and the like","we don't want the likes of you around here" Lord: terms referring to the judeo-christian god Lose: allow to go out of sight, miss from one's possessions; lose sight of, fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense Lost: people who are destined to die soon;"the agony of the doomed was in his voice” Love: a strong positive emotion of regard and affection;"his love for his work";"children need a lot of love" Loved: have a great affection or liking for;"i love french food";"she loves her boss and works hard for him" Lows: an air mass of lower pressure; often brings precipitation;"a low moved in over night bringing sleet and snow”

M Main: any very large body of (salt) water Many: a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by `as' or `too' or `so' or `that'; amounting to a large but indefinite number;"many temptations";"the temptations are many";"a good many";"a great many";"many directions";"take as many apples as you like";"too many clouds to see";"never saw so many people" Mary: the mother of jesus; christians refer to her as the virgin mary; she is especially honored by roman catholics Meaning: the message that is intended or expressed or signified;"what is the meaning of this sentence";"the significance of a red traffic light";"the signification of chinese characters";"the import of his announcement was ambiguous” Mental: involving the mind or an intellectual process;"mental images of happy times";"mental calculations";"in a terrible mental state";"mental suffering";"free from mental defects” Mind: that which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason;"his mind wandered";"i couldn't get his words out of my head" Minds: that which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason;"his mind wandered";"i couldn't get his words out of my head"

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The Bible Basics Mindset: a habitual or characteristic mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations Ministries: building where the business of a government ministry is transacted, religious ministers collectively (especially Presbyterian)

N Negative: a reply of denial;"he answered in the negative” New: not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered;"a new law";"new cars";"a new comet";"a new friend";"a new year";"the new world” None: a canonical hour that is the ninth hour of the day counting from sunrise Nothing: a quantity of no importance;"it looked like nothing i had ever seen before";"reduced to nil all the work we had done";"we racked up a pathetic goose egg";"it was all for naught";"i didn't hear zilch about it”

O Obedience: the act of obeying; dutiful or submissive behavior with respect to another person Ones: the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number;"he has the one but will need a two and three to go with it";"they had lunch at one”

P Past: the time that has elapsed;"forget the past” Pastors: a person authorized to conduct religious worship;"clergymen are usually called ministers in protestant churches" Person: a human being;"there was too much for one person to do" Personality: the complex of all the attributes--behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental--that characterize a unique individual;"their different reactions reflected their very different personalities";"it is his nature to help others" Persons: a human being;"there was too much for one person to do" Power: possession of controlling influence;"the deterrent power of

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The Bible Basics nuclear weapons";"the power of his love saved her";"his powerfulness was concealed by a gentle façade” Powerful: having great power or force or potency or effect;"the most powerful government in western europe";"his powerful arms";"a powerful bomb";"the horse's powerful kick";"powerful drugs";"a powerful argument” Prayer: The act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving);"the priest sank to his knees in prayer" Pride: a feeling of self-respect and personal worth Principle: a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct ("Their principles of composition characterized all their works"), a rule or standard especially of good behavior ("A man of principle") Printed: put into print;"the newspaper published the news of the royal couple's divorce";"these news should not be printed" Process: a particular course of action intended to achieve a result;"the procedure of obtaining a driver's license";"it was a process of trial and error" Promise: a verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing to do (or not to do) something in the future Psychological: mental or emotional as opposed to physical in nature;"give psychological support";"psychological warfare” Purpose: an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions;"his intent was to provide a new translation";"good intentions are not enough";"it was created with the conscious aim of answering immediate needs";"he made no secret of his designs”

R Reading: the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message;"he enjoys reading books" Real: any rational or irrational number Reaps: gather, as of natural products;"harvest the grapes" Regeneration: (biology) growth anew of lost tissue or destroyed parts or

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The Bible Basics organs Relationship: idea of origin or descent, but also that of personal relation, and is often used metaphorically of"that intimate and reciprocal relationship formed between the condition or fact of being related; connection or association. Religions: a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny;"he lost his faith but not his morality" Renewing: reestablish on a new, usually improved, basis or make new or like new;"we renewed our friendship after a hiatus of twenty years";"they renewed their membership” Repentance: remorse for your past conduct Reserved: hold back or set aside, especially for future use or contingency;"they held back their applause in anticipation" Respecter: a person who respects someone or something; usually used in the negative;"x is no respecter of y” Restoration: the reign of charles ii in england; 1660-1685 Reverence: a profound emotion inspired by a deity;"the fear of god” Rewards: a recompense for worthy acts or retribution for wrongdoing;"the wages of sin is death";"virtue is its own reward" Right: an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature;"they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights";"certain rights can never be granted to the government but must be kept in the hands of the people"- eleanor roosevelt;"a right is not something that somebody gives you; it is something that nobody can take away” Righteous: morally justified ("Righteous indignation"), characterized by or proceeding from accepted standards of morality or justice ("The...prayer of a righteous man availeth much- James 5:16") Rights: an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature;"they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights";"certain rights can never be granted to the government but must be kept in the hands of the people"- eleanor roosevelt;"a right is not something that somebody gives you; it is something that nobody can take away”

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The Bible Basics

S Saints: person of exceptional holiness, a person who has died and has been declared a saint by canonization, model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal, hold sacred, in the Catholic church; declare (a dead person) to be a saint Salvation: (christianity) the act of delivering from sin or saving from evil Sanctification: a religious ceremony in which something is made holy Sanctify: render holy by means of religious rites Scripture: the sacred writings of the christian religions;"he went to carry the word to the heathen” Sealed: close with or as if with a seal;"she sealed the letter with hot wax" Secrets: having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding ("The secret learning of the ancients") Section: a self-contained part of a larger composition (written or musical);"he always turns first to the business section";"the history of this work is discussed in the next section” Seek: try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of Seeking: the act of searching for something;"a quest for diamonds" Servant: a person working in the service of another (especially in the household) Sinner: a person who sins (without repenting) Sins: estrangement from god Slave: a person who is owned by someone Slow: lose velocity; move more slowly;"the car decelerated" Someone: a human being;"there was too much for one person to do” Son: a male human offspring;"their son became a famous judge";"his boy is taller than he is” Sows: an adult female hog Spirit: the vital principle or animating force within living things Stating: the way something is with respect to its main attributes ("The current state of knowledge") Steps: a flight of stairs or a flight of steps Strongholds: a strongly fortified defensive structure

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The Bible Basics Support: the activity of providing for or maintaining by supplying with money or necessities;"his support kept the family together";"they gave him emotional support during difficult times" Surrender: acceptance of despair

T Testament: a profession of belief;"he stated his political testament” Think: an instance of deliberate thinking;"i need to give it a good think" Thinking: the process of using your mind to consider something carefully;"thinking always made him frown";"she paused for thought" Thought: the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about;"it was not a good idea";"the thought never entered my mind" Tongue: a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity Topics: the subject matter of a conversation or discussion;"he didn't want to discuss that subject";"it was a very sensitive topic";"his letters were always on the theme of love" Transform: subject to a mathematical transformation Transformation: a qualitative change Trinity: the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one True: proper alignment; the property possessed by something that is in correct or proper alignment;"out of true” Trusting: have confidence or faith in;"we can trust in god";"rely on your friends";"bank on your good education";"i swear by my grandmother's recipes" Types: a subdivision of a particular kind of thing;"what type of sculpture do you prefer?”

V Verses: literature in metrical form

W Walk: the act of traveling by foot;"walking is a healthy form of exercise”

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The Bible Basics Wants: a state of extreme poverty Water: binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent Will: a fixed and persistent intent or purpose ("Where there's a will there's a way") Witnessing: be a witness to;"she witnessed the accident and had to testify in court" Word: a unit of language that native speakers can identify;"words are the blocks from which sentences are made";"he hardly said ten words all morningâ&#x20AC;? Worked: exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity;"i will work hard to improve my grades";"she worked hard for better living conditions for the poor" Working: a mine or quarry that is being or has been worked World: everything that exists anywhere;"they study the evolution of the universe";"the biggest tree in existence" Worshipping: love unquestioningly and uncritically or to excess; venerate as an idol;"many teenagers idolized the beatles" Wronged: treat unjustly; do wrong to

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