Christ was always there from the beginning and look at what He’s done for us!

Genesis 1 New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…
 

Genesis 11 New King James Version (NKJV)

⁵ But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.

⁶ And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. ⁷ Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

Isaiah 7 New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.⁽ Literally God-With-Us)

Isaiah 9 New King James Version (NKJV)

6 For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

John 1 New King James Version (NKJV)

The Eternal Word

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God

The Word Becomes Flesh

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 17 New King James Version (NKJV)

Jesus Prays for Himself

1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, ² as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should^[a] give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. ³ And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. ⁴ I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. ⁵ And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

 

Romans 1 New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. ¹⁷ This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight

Romans 3 New Living Translation (NLT)

Christ Took Our Punishment

²¹ But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. ²² We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

²³ For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ²⁴ Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. ²⁵ For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.
 

Romans 8:28  King James Version (KJV)
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
³¹ What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
³² He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Romans 10 New Living Translation (NLT)

Salvation Is for Everyone

⁵ For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands.

⁹ If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.
 

Ephesians 1 New Living Translation (NLT)

³ All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. ⁴ Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. ⁵ God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. ⁶ So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.^{[b] 7} He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.

¹⁹ I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power ²⁰ that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

 

 Ephesians 2 New International Version (NIV)

Made Alive in Christ

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.

Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ

¹¹ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— ¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,

Philippians 2 King James Version

  ⁵Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
   ⁶Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
   ⁷But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
   ⁸And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
   ⁹Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
   ¹⁰That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
   ¹¹And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Colossians 1 New International Version (NIV)

²¹ Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. ²² But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—

2 Timothy 1

⁹ He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,

The People Will See

The People Will See

We always hear people going on about how our decision to follow Christ is such a personal decision and how the blessings that come with our salvation are spiritual blessings that no one will know about but us. Yes, it's a personal decision to ask Jesus into our hearts and yes the spiritual blessings: the promise of heaven, the infilling of the Holy Spirit, the deliverance from secret sins, etc are all monumental in our lives, but the bible indicates that we will experience public blessings and that people will see these very tangible blessings that our Heavenly Father will provide for us.

Exodus 34:10
The LORD replied, “Listen, I am making a covenant with you in the presence of all your people. I will perform miracles that have never been performed anywhere in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people around you will see the power of the LORD—the awesome power I will display for you.

Deuteronomy 28:10
Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the LORD, and they will stand in awe of you.

Psalm 23

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.

Psalms 40

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
² He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
³ He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the Lord.

Psalm 86

¹⁷ Show me a sign for good,

That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,
Because You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Psalm 126

1 When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
² Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”³ The Lord has done great things for us,
And we are glad.

Isaiah 61

⁶ But you shall be named the priests of the Lord,

They shall call you the servants of our God.
You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles,
And in their glory you shall boast.
⁷ Instead of your shame you shall have double honor,
And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.
Therefore in their land they shall possess double;
Everlasting joy shall be theirs.

Jeremiah 33:9
Then this city will bring me joy, glory, and honor before all the nations of the earth! The people of the world will see all the good I do for my people, and they will tremble with awe at the peace and prosperity I provide for them.

1 Timothy 4

¹⁵ Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.

Praise God that our progress, our healing, our prosperity our wholeness, our protection and our favor is not performed in secret, but will be evident to all. When Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. He specifically said: (verse 14) "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden," and (verse 16) "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

Let the people see so that our God will be glorified!

Seek the Lord

How does one go about seeking the Lord? Is it by praying, is it through worship or through reading the bible? Is it simply by acknowledging Him? Can we honestly say that we are "seeking" the Lord when we are praying for healing or for a financial blessing? Is this "seeking?" or is this simply "asking" for  favor? There are many passages of scripture that deal with seeking the Lord. After warning the children of Israel that they would be scattered to other nations and end up as slaves to those nations if they disobeyed God's Laws, Deuteronomy 4:29 says:

But from there, ("there," meaning a foreign nation) you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

The above instance implies that by "seeking" God, freedom and deliverance would follow.

Psalms 105:3-4 says, "Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face evermore."

The above passage in Psalms hints that the rejoicing comes through the seeking. It's not so much the answered prayer or the manifestation of favor or healing, but the seeking of the Lord is the goal that brings rejoicing in and of itself.

Isaiah 55:6 "Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near." This verse gives a sense of urgency. Don't waste too much time wondering if you should seek Him. Start seeking Him now. The phrase "while he is near" seems to indicate that there will be a time when it's too late.

Jeremiah 29:13 "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."
We know that God Himself can't lie. so the above passage is basically a guarantee that if we search for Him with all our hearts, we will find Him!

Lamentations 3:25 "The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him."
People who seek God and are willing to patiently wait for Him will receive good things from Him.

Matthew 6:33 and Luke 12:31 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." In the passage leading up to this verse recorded in both Matthew and Luke, Jesus is talking to them about tangible things: food, clothing, shelter. So we know that "all these things" are material provisions from God the Father. We are instructed to seek the things of the kingdom and God's righteousness (not our righteousness) and our material needs will be met. Jesus said "shall," this is not a "maybe."

Matthew 7:7-8 and Luke 11:9-10 "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

My pastor preached from the above scriptures on Fathers' Day, June 17, 2012. His message was titled,
"Having the Right Combination." The combination is Ask, Seek, Knock, or ASK. In his message, the pastor pointed out that we are to seek God for who he is, not just for giving us things. To sum up his Fathers' Day message, the pastor pointed out that we buy gifts for our fathers that have a price tag. While we say "price tags," our savior says, "I paid it all!"

Hebrews 11:6 "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.

The above scripture in Hebrews tells us that before we can begin to seek, we must first believe. The phrase, "He is a rewarder" tells us that our spiritual, physical, emotional, mental, financial needs "shall" be met by our Heavenly Father. Not only will receive these "rewards" for seeking Him, but we get to rejoice in seeking Him.

Marriage and the Bible

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I've visited these Bible Notes. I've been reading and reading, and trying my best to not only understand and remember what I've read but to apply God's word to my life and let the word enter not just my mind, but my spirit. I didn't feel qualified to write about marriage, since I don't believe I have a perfect marriage myself, but a good friend of mine asked me to write down what I've read in the word about marriage. So even though I may not be qualified, God himself is qualified and we know that his word is true. Marriage is discussed in the bible throughout both the old testament and the new testament. We have to take the bible as a whole.

Genesis 224Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.


Malachi 2
14 You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.
15 Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his.[g] And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. 16 “For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,[h]” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”


These are Jesus' words in Matthew 5
31It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
32But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.


1 Corinthians 7 (these are the words of Paul, from the New Living Translation)
1 ...each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.
3 The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. 4 The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife.

Ephesians 5 (also in a letter from Paul, taken from the New Living Translation)
22 For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. 24 As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.
25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.[b] 27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. 28 In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. 29 No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. 30 And we are members of his body.
31 As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”[c] 32 This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. 33 So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. (The footnote [c] refers to Genesis 2:24.)


1 Peter 3
1 In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over 2 by observing your pure and reverent lives.
7 In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.