WITNESS ~ INSTRUCT ~ NURTURE / Volume 1 Issue 17
Jun 15, 2005
Hi !
In this issue, you'll read:
THE BOOK OF COLOSSIANS - PART TWO
THE AMAZING SECRET
WORD FROM THE EDITOR WEEK SEVENTEEN We are moving on into part two of our study of Colossians this week. It is my prayer that each of you are gaining knowledge and wisdom leading to a closer walk with our Lord as you study these Bible lessons each week. Remember, you can only receive a harvest if you plant some seeds. In other words, you will only get back from the study according to the effort you put into it. May God bless each of you this week with His Grace, Mercy, Peace, and Strength! All editions of The W.I.N. E-Mail Newsletter are available on the Internet. To find them, navigate to www.fcgm.org and click on the "Newsletter" link. Feel free to copy as many as you want and pass them out to family and friends. If you would like to be added to our mailing list, send an e-mail containing your name and e-mail address to winsubscribe@fcgm.org. II. Bible Study Last week we read through Paul's letter to the Colossians. This week we take a closer look. We will look at the first section - Colossians 1:1-23 - which can also be divided into three subsections. Read each subsection, answering for yourself the questions associated with them. Type out your answers or jot them down on a piece of paper and place in your Bible for further meditation and study. Read Colossians 1:1-14 1. Following his greetings (1:1-2), Paul expresses his thanks to God for the Colossian believers. What are the two things he gives thanks for? (1:3-4). 1. In 1:15-17, as the "firstborn over all creation," four things describe the Lord Jesus' relationship to his creation. What are they? Read Colossians 1:21-23 1. In 1:21, what are the two things Paul says were the reason you were alienated from God? III. Memory Verse Here are a few suggestions that may help you to memorize your memory verses: 1. Ask the Lord to help you remember his Word (see John 14:26). 2. Use the version of the Bible you are most familiar with. What you normally read in your Bible is what you need to be memorizing. 3. Don't just memorize the contents of the verse; memorize its "address" (the verse reference) as well. You can do this by following this pattern: Step 1: reference; Step 2: verse content; Step 3: reference. Then repeat steps 1-3. Note that you are quoting the reference twice as many times as you quote the actual verse content. This gives the verse a clear "reference tag." 4. After you have read your memory verse out aloud several times, try going through your memory verse without reading your computer screen. 5. Look up your memory verse in your Bible. Look at its immediate context and read the verses that come before and after your memory verse. 6. Print out your memory verse or jot it down on a piece of paper. Take this paper with you when you go to work or do other daily activities. Meditate on the meaning of the verse throughout the day. 7. During your noon appointment with the Lord, take out your memory verse and go over it again. Talk to the Lord about what this verse means to you personally. 8. In the evening (at either your evening study or your evening devotions), see if you can quote your memory verse from memory. Then, without looking at the memory verse itself, see if you can find it in your Bible. 9. The next day, before you begin committing a new verse to memory, rehearse your previous day's memory verse and see if you can remember it (without cheating!). 10. Finally, at the end of the week (possibly on Sunday), collect all your week's memory verses, rehearse them and see if you can recall them without reading them. Spend a little extra time on any verses you have difficulty recalling. 11. Remember: Don't just memorize a verse. Put it into practice (James 1:22). It is not being able to quote a verse from memory that counts. It is His Word abiding in your heart that counts (John 15:7). When you actually apply a verse consistently to your daily life; that is when you truly know that verse! This article is Copyright © 1999, The Online Bible College. It is used by permission and formatted for presentation in this newsletter. What is this “open secret”? That is the subject of this article. So let's begin by asking the question; "What makes the Christian life work?" This question (in its many forms) has been asked by millions of Christians down through the ages. And depending on your church background, you will get a variety of answers: 1. Faith There are many variations on the above themes, and some of them do play a significant and indispensable role in the Christian life. For example, Hebrews 11:6 tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please Him [God]" and Ephesians 2:8 informs us "For by grace you have been saved through faith..." Indeed you could say that faith and grace are part of the secret, but are they the secret. As important as they may be, are they the single most important element? The reason you get so many different answers to the question, "What is the secret to the Christian life" is that the question itself is ambiguous. A better question to ask is, "What matters most to God?" Does reading the Bible matter most to God? The Jews of Jesus' day read the Bible yet, according to Jesus, they missed the entire point of Scripture (John 5:39-40). And what about praying? In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus indicated that some of the most elaborate of prayers were not even heard by God (see also Matthew 23:13). And what about worship? The people of God in Isaiah's time worshiped God regularly in the way specifically prescribed by God in the Sinai Covenant, yet God had this to say in Isaiah 29:13: "Therefore the Lord said: 'Inasmuch as these people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men...' " And here we find our first clue to what really matters to God. It is not the worship itself which he desires, but the heart of the worshiper! This one simple fact, so easily overlooked, is underscored in John 4:23: "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." Do you notice what Jesus says? The Father isn't seeking worship; he is seeking worshipers! It is not prayer he desires, but the heart of the one praying! It is not the reading of the Bible he desires, but the heart of the person who is reading the Bible! So what is the answer to the question, "What matters most to God?" The answer is - your heart! It is heart-to-heart relationship with you! Unless otherwise noted: All Scripture is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Welcome to this edition of the W.I.N. E-Mail Newsletter. We are continuing to pray for the complete recovery of Pastor Bobby Laster of Whitestone Christian Fellowship as well as my daughter, April Leigh, who has been hospitalized twice this month, once with kidney stones, and once with pneumonia. Join with me in lifting up these two individuals before the Throne of Grace.
Rev. Sam T. Leigh
Presiding Bishop
Freedom Covenant Global Ministries
E-mail: ambassador@fcgm.org
Website: www.fcgm.org
Bishop's eCorner: www.fcgm.org/ecorner/
Back to top
THE BOOK OF COLOSSIANS - PART TWO
I. Devotional Reading
In your devotions this week, read Psalm 118 again. Because there is so much in this psalm, we don't want to move on just yet. As you read, talk to the Lord about the content of this psalm. When you have finished, go back and find one or two verses and meditate prayerfully on them. Notice how God will speak to you in a completely different way this week, even though it is the same psalm you read last week.
2. What was Paul continually praying for them and why? (1:9-12).
3. In 1:12-14, note the four things that Paul says qualifies you to "share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light."
Read Colossians 1:15-20
2. In 1:18, how does Paul describe the Lord Jesus' relationship to his Church?
3. How has God reconciled all things to himself? (1:19-20).
2. What is the glorious result for you of Christ's ministry of reconciliation (1:22).
3. What two things are important for you to continue in? (1:23).
Colossians 1:13-14; "
Back to top
THE AMAZING SECRET
The Christian life holds a unique secret. It is not a secret, however, that has been reserved for the select few. In fact, as paradoxical as it may seem, it could be called an “open secret,” for it has been “hidden in plain view” within the Scriptures for anyone with eyes to read.
2. Grace
3. Prayer
4. Worship
5. Holiness
6. Humility
7. Discipleship
8. Perseverance
9. Church attendance
10. Reading the Bible daily
11. Studying at Bible College
12. The power of the Holy Spirit
13. Believing a particular church doctrine
Back to top
COPYRIGHT 2005
This newsletter Copyright © 2005 Freedom Covenant Global Ministries. All Rights Reserved. Individual articles displaying copyrights from other ministries are used by permission, have been formatted for use in this publication, and remain the property of respective ministry. Permission is granted to copy, print, and distribute this newsletter for ministry purposes, whether whole or in part, so long as ALL copyrights remain in place and no copies are printed or distributed for sale or commercial purposes.
Back to top