MEM

From Christian Educational Ministry

In Matthew 5, Jesus likened Christians to salt. In verse 13, He said this: "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by Men."

Matt 4:23 And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom… (NAS unless indicated)

Luke 4:32 and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority.

John 7:16 Jesus therefore answered them, and said, "My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.

John 13:13 "You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.

Matt 23:8 "… for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.

Luke 20:21 … "Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth.

Matt 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

John 16:12 "I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

John 14:26 "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 that I said to you.

Luke 12:12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

Matt 4:4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'"

Matt 4:7 Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

Matt 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'"

Proverbs 18:2 ​​​​​​​​A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, ​​​​​​​but only in expressing his opinion. ​​​(NAS unless indicated)

Hebrews 5:12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

1 Corinthians 6:2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts?

2Tim 2:15 KJV Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Endeavour so to cultivate and improve thy heart and mind, that thou may not be a reproach to him from whom thou professes to receive thy commission.

2Tim 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD, and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.

Proverbs 2:6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Matthew 7:24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock.

2Pet 1:10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;

Acts 1:8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

Psalms 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.

John 14:15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

(* editing is done to shorten length - you are encouraged to read the full commentary where applicable)

Proverbs 1:1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, 3 To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice and equity; 4 To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion, 5 A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel, 6 To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles.

1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge…

YHVH, help us to be informed, to grow in Your knowledge and wisdom - for Your glory.

1Tim 4:14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you…

Heb 2:3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? …

Heb 13:16 And do not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

YHVH, keep us ever mindful of our need to continually seek Your will.

1. What was the only sign Jesus (Yeshua) would give those seeking a sign?
2. What is the shortest of the Pauline epistles?
3. Where did the woman live whose son Elisha raised from the dead?
4. In the full armor of God, what is represented by the shield?
5. What was the seventh plague that God placed on Egypt?
6. Who helped Saul (Paul) on his first missionary journey?
7. Who said, "The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not"?

(Lessons from humility and faith.)

We go to such lengths to believe but fail to seek the true path of humility. It is our failure to put down the self and seek the will of the Father; "Thy will be done…". Are we guilty of wanting to just feel loved, but not struggling to walk the rugged, straight and narrow path? Being exalted by God is being made in the likeness of His beloved Son - our Savior Yeshua.

Matt 23:12 "And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. (Made like Yeshua)

Isa 57:15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, "I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.

Yeshua, Savior, we need Your humility that we be like You.

YHVH’s answer to Solomon’s wise and comprehensive prayer at the dedication of the Temple.

2Chr 7:1 Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house. 2 And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD's house. 3 And all the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the LORD upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the LORD, saying, "Truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting."

2Chr 7:8 So Solomon observed the feast at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly… 10 Then on the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their tents, rejoicing and happy of heart because of the goodness that the LORD had shown to David and to Solomon and to His people Israel.

2Chr 7:12 Then the LORD appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, "I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, 14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 15 Now My eyes shall be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place. 16 For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that My name may be there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.

Our Father in heaven - forgive us our transgressions as we learn to forgive those that transgress against us.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Phil 4:8)

Material in this section is based on various prayer diaries.

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The tool of man’s choosing

Skill Saw:

A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.

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Have a good day!

by Greg Gordon - (founder of SermonIndex.net)

Rev 20:10 And the devil who deceived them …

1Cor 15:33 Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."

Gal 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.

The best time to reconcile is at once.

Giving is an exercise that makes a healthy heart.

Life is a bank - the more you put into it, the more it grows.

That which we do for ourselves dies with us; that which we do for others remains.

Success consists of getting up just one more time than you’ve fallen down.

Good deeds don’t get lost in space; they return sometime, someplace;

Prayer doesn’t need proof; it needs practice.

 
Whatever God has said is true. Why would we want to add or subtract to what he has revealed? Can we enhance his Word by adding to it? And what would we gain by taking anything away from it? Through the Scriptures God has given us all we need in order to know him and to know our place and purpose in his plan.
 
Some of the ways we add to God's Word is due to speculation. The Bible doesn't always give us the kind of detail we may prefer or expect. Not being satisfied with the information we do have, there is a tendency to elaborate.
 
Legends are stories or concepts that may or may not be historically accurate, but to which we may have sentimental attachment. Similarly, traditions are rarely questioned as to whether they are condoned by the Scriptures. Loyalty to legends and traditions may blind us from accepting that they are actually additions to God's Word.
 
We may also add to the Bible through how we interpret it. Interpretations may not look like additions, but when they become authoritative we have added our opinions of the Bible to the Bible.
 
Subtracting from the Bible is something we may do simply because we want to. When certain passages make us uncomfortable, we may choose to reject them. A more subtle way in which we reject portions of God's Word is to ignore them. We might do that by not allowing ourselves to be exposed to certain portions of Scripture or by not taking the time to understand them.
 
Theological preferences may limit how open we are to the whole Bible.
 
Another way we subtract from God's Word arises from how we answer the very important question, "What in the Bible applies to us today?" …there is a growing tendency among some to deny the relevancy of Bible passages based on the fact that our current culture is so very different from the cultures of Bible times. If culture becomes the basis of whether or not to follow a directive of God, then we have little basis to follow almost anything in the Bible.

There is an intimate connection between our relationship to the words of God and the protection we have in him. Neglecting his words places us in significant danger. To add to his words will result in God's confronting us and in some way showing that we have misrepresented him. It is when we receive, believe, and act upon his every word that the Master of the Universe will be our protection and refuge.

*(This document was edited for length)

Ps 18:1-3 "I Love Thee, O LORD, my strength." The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.

Ps 18:6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

Blessed be YHVH (Genesis 14:20 And blessed be God Most High…)

2Tim 3:16 ​Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness. 17 That the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.

7. Paul - Romans 14:3