1 Peter 1 - Key

v8

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see [him] not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

Sometimes we have heavy trials and temptations (v6). There's a way to still have great joy. That's by believing in Jesus.

Application

I want to have joy in hard times, so there are several ways I'll work to believe in Jesus and love Him more:

• fearing Him so I go away from sinning (v17)
• redeeming the time
• being serious about preaching the gospel and bringing people to Jesus (v25)

1 Peter 1 - Outline

v1-5

people who obey the faith have a lively hope of an incorruptible inheritance

v6-8

many temptations can try our faith, but we can have great joy in our hope, as we believe and love Jesus

v9-12

we have salvation through the gospel that the prophets and angels tried to understand

v13-16

be sober, obedient, without lust, and holy

v17-21

fear the Lord because we were redeemed by His blood

v22-25

love each other, being born again from the important and eternal Word of God

don't go back

Ezekiel 24

v13

In thy filthiness [is] lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.

It says, "...I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged...". After we have repented from sin and the Lord has forgiven us, we must not go back to it.

Hebrews 1 - Key

v9

Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, [even] thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

We should be like Jesus and love righteousness and hate iniquity.

Application

I'll remember that I'm supposed to hate sinning, and I'll work on doing that, hating sin.

Hebrews 1 - Outline

v1-3

God speaks now in a different way from in the past

v4-7

Jesus has been made much better than the angels

v8-12

Scripture quotations about how great Jesus is

v13,14

Who the angels are and what they do

stone, slay, and burn

Ezekiel 23

v47

And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.

This is pretty serious judgment. But this chapter describes pretty serious sin. I remember a saying I thought up a little while ago, to tell myself in temptation.

If I sin, that would be the worst thing that could possibly happen.

as silver is melted in the furnace

Ezekiel 22

v22

As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you.

The people of Israel had been doing very bad things. In Ezekiel 22 the Lord was letting them know what they had done wrong, and why He was going to punish them the way He was. They were committing idolatry, lewdness, violence, and taking bribes.

v26

Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed [difference] between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

We should make a clear distinction between what is holy, and sinful things. Everything we are and everything have, including our lives, our bodies, and our time, are supposed to be "holy", specially set apart for the Lord.

your sins do appear

Ezekiel 21

v24

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, [I say], that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.

The enemies were going to come with swords and destroy Israel in war because of their sin. We should remember the serious judgment there is for sin, and repent from it. The sin I think of is my slothfulness. We should be diligent.

of the eyes

Ezekiel 20

v7

Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I [am] the LORD your God.

Surfing the web and watching videos and things like that can be idols. They're generally OK things, but not if we idolize them, defile ourselves with them, or watch things that are abominations.

We should cast our idols away.

Israel was like a vine

Ezekiel 19

v10

Thy mother [is] like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.

It was as if the princes of Israel had a mother who was vine.

v12

But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.

The fruit reminds me of our modern economy. The strong rods represented scepters for rulers. That reminds me of our election. We could be in for some judgment. As the Lord's people, we should learn not to sin from this judgment that was on Israel.

repentance should be preached

Luke 24:36-53 (again)

v47

And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

This teaches that repentance is one of the things that we're supposed to preach in Jesus' name... But repentance in what way?

I think that we should preach for people who don't know Jesus to repent in their hearts from their unbelief, so they can be saved by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. I think we should preach for believers to turn from what unbelief in Him they might still have. I also think we should preach for believers to repent from wrong-doing, so they can walk with the Lord in a way that's worthy of the salvation we've received.

Of course, it would be great if people who don't know Jesus would turn from sin too. However, telling unbelievers to stop sinning is not the gospel. We can't really stop without His help. Even if we could, it wouldn't do us any good because we can't save ourselves. The most important thing we need is to believe in Him. Only by believing in Him can we be saved in the first place, and only by believing in Him can we really repent from our sins.

so sin won't be your ruin

Ezekiel 18

v30

Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn [yourselves] from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

Sin leads to death.

...every one according to his ways...

We're individually responsible for our own sin, not other people like our parents are responsible.

...Repent, and turn [yourselves]...

That's what we need to consider. What sins do we know we need to be repenting from now?

Babylon like today

Ezekiel 17

v15

But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such [things]? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?

Israel broke their contract with Babylon by going to Egypt for help to rebel against Babylon. The Lord compared Israel to a vine planted by one eagle that stretched out to another eagle and gave fruit to it. What would the first eagle do? The Lord would judge Israel because they had not just despised Babylon's oath, but they had really despised the Lord's oath.

This is hard to understand because Babylon wasn't such a great place. Except for Israel's sin and judgment, it's not really where they were supposed to be. The government there wasn't even really following the true Lord. But it was where the Lord had them.

Maybe the Lord has us, His people today, in the place where He wants us. Our situations might be unpleasant. We might be serving under authorities who aren't so great, who don't really follow the Lord, and weren't the Lord's original plan. But it's where the Lord put us, where He wants us, and where He told us to be right now. We have a commitment. We need to keep our commitment to stay where the Lord has us and follow Him here. If we rebel, we rebel against Him, and He will judge us for that.

sinning with the Lord's provision

Ezekiel 16

v19

My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, [wherewith] I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and [thus] it was, saith the Lord GOD.

Israel used the great things the Lord had provided for them in His love to them to do wrong. When we're tempted to do things that don't please the Lord, we should consider how the Lord has provided the good things we have. For example, He provided our time that we could potentially use in valuable ways. We shouldn't use those precious things for sin.

giving in to temptation

Ezekiel 15

v8

And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord GOD.

Doing wrong is destructive. We can't just do little things wrong and maintain the status quo. We need to be serious about doing what's right. If we aren't, we'll end up like the burned vine this chapter talks about, that doesn't supply any valuable wood.

Noah, Daniel, and Job

Ezekiel 14

v20

Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, [were] in it, [as] I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall [but] deliver their own souls by their righteousness.

We can't trust in being delivered by having righteous people in our families.

speak His Word faithfully

Ezekiel 13

v3

Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!

When we tell people what says, we need to make sure to do it faithfully, and not say that He said something He didn't say.

Luke 24:36-53 - Key

v52

And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:

This is the way Jesus' followers were after they witnessed His resurrection and ascension, and this is the way we should be. I noticed that they worshiped Jesus Himself.

v53

And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

They were:

• worshiping Him
• with great joy
• praising God
• blessing God

Application

When I pray to worship the Lord, I've been working on being sincere and genuine. I'll keep considering to make sure I really mean it.

Luke 24:36-53 - Outline

v36-37

They thought Jesus was just a spirit

v38-40

Jesus showed them that He was not

v41-43

He ate something

v44-46

Jesus made them understand how the gospel fulfilled the scriptures

v47-49

His people are supposed to preach and witness

v50-53

they had joy after He went up to heaven

do things to illustrate

Ezekiel 12

v9

Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest thou?

We can do things to illustrate the Lord's Word that we share, and call people's attention to it.

He will be a little sanctuary

Ezekiel 11

v16

Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.

The Lord is still merciful, and even though He'll pour out terrible judgment on people for their sin. If we're His people, even if bad things happen to us, He will be a sanctuary for us. This is an encouraging promise.

there's judgment for sin

Ezekiel 10

v2

And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, [even] under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter [them] over the city. And he went in in my sight.

I'm not completely sure that scattering those coals of fire over the city meant judgment, but it makes me think of judgment.

The Lord could judge the United States for our sins like He judged that city in Israel for their sins.

There's a judgment for sins, and we should remember that and go away from sinning.

cry for all the abominations

Ezekiel 9

v4

And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

We shouldn't condone sin.

in the chambers of imagery

Ezekiel 8

v12

Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.

This hole-in-the-wall, where Ezekiel dug in and went through the closed door, reminds me of the imaginations in our minds. What they "do in the dark" drawing creatures on the walls and offering worship to them, reminds me of what we do in our minds.

We shouldn't imagine about things that aren't right. It also reminds me about wasting time surfing the web. There's a lot to see on the web, like images and such. We shouldn't surf the parts of the web where there could be things that aren't right, or when we should be doing something else.

Luke 24:1-35 - Key

v17

And he said unto them, What manner of communications [are] these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?

Jesus had just risen from the dead, but the two people walking there were all depressed. It was because they were hesitant to believe the Scriptures. We can be sad in our walk with the Lord if we're fools and slow of heart to believe.

Application

When I'm sad in my walk with the Lord, I'll remember to believe the Scriptures and how Jesus got the victory over death.

Luke 24:1-35 - Outline

v1-3

the women didn't find Jesus' body

v4-8

remember how He spake

v9-11

the 11 didn't believe the women

v12

Peter ran and saw the scene

v13-18

Jesus walked with 2 men on the road to Emmaus

v19-24

they told Him what they thought

v25-26

they were slow to believe

v27

all Scriptures have things in them about Jesus

v28-35

the Scriptures made their hearts burn within them

the sword, famine, and pestilence

Ezekiel 7

v15

The sword [is] without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that [is] in the field shall die with the sword; and he that [is] in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.

Today, instead of a "famine", we call it a "food crisis". With the stock market down, the war in Iraq, and unrest in other regions, the United States and the world seem to be near a slightly similar situation to Israel's situation in Ezekiel 7. Bad things happen because people sin. We shouldn't commit abominations.

they shall loathe themselves

Ezekiel 6

v9

And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.

It says, "they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed". That makes me think of how after I sin, I regret it and kind of hate myself for it. We think it might be wrong, but it will make us happy. It doesn't end up making us happy either. We shouldn't do those things.

they have refused my judgments

Ezekiel 5

v6

And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that [are] round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them.

I was convicted about the sin of not listening to the Lord's instructions. We should repent from the sin we know we've done.

lacking bread and water

Ezekiel 4

v17

That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity.

Israel lacked food because of their sin. That makes me think of the economic situation and high prices of food today.

It's good to be wise and make some plans. However, instead of worrying about what we'll eat, or what we'll wear, we should make sure we're right with the Lord.

speak with My Words

Ezekiel 3

v4

And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.

The believers today are like the house of Israel in those days, because we're the Lord's people.

We should speak to believers with the Lord's Words.