Opened Scriptures Bible Studies

Good morning to every one of our faithful Readers.  This is our last full day with our son's family in South Carolina and our Father in heaven gave us a most spectacular sunrise.  The clouds were highlighted in shades of peach, coral and rose where the sun was coming up.  Toward the horizon the clouds changed to deep violet colors and the light aqua blue peaking through the openings in the clouds.   After teaching His disciples how to pray in a God honoring pattern, Jesus spoke some words about forgiveness that we need to take heed to. Matthew 6:14-15 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Jesus Christ would not have to teach us this truth unless this were an issue for the church and for individuals.  I am sure that most of us know that it is a real issue and sometimes we struggle mightily with forgiving those who have wronged us. 

Our time with our son's family is rapidly coming to a close.  We have been having so much fun with them.  It has been a blessing watching our grandchildren interacting with their Great Grandmother, who is 87 years young.  The 3 of us will be heading back to Ohio on Friday morning. Here come the  Hypocrites We have all encountered people who are hypocrites.  Often when inviting someone to attend our church the common reply is "Churches are full of hypocrites."  There is some truth to this statement since every church has people who are born again (the wheat) and people who are lost (the tares).  Since this is a reality of church life today, that is one reason why I emphasize the need for each one of us to have a good testimony. The born again Christian needs to aim for living a consistent Christian life of obedience to the Word of God.  Of course, it is no excuse (before God) for a person to say "I won't go to church because of hypocrites."  At the e

Good morning everyone, We pray that you are off to a good week!!  We rode along with our son this morning to drop our grandchildren off at their various schools, encouraging them to study hard! Chapter 5 is drawing to a close but our Lord's teaching continues on through Matthew 7.  Jesus showed us that we need to follow the letter of the law but to also discover the spirit of the law and seek His help in living it out in our lives. The last paragraph speaks more broadly about our enemies and having a right attitude of the heart.  Having a right heart toward them is what we need in dealing with enemies.  Enemies can be encountered in our families,  our vocations, in our schools, our churches  or even when we are doing the everyday things of life.  It is an unpleasant reality of living in a sin cursed world. Let us read the text of this section and see what we can glean from what Christ is teaching us.  Matthew 5:43-48 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love t

Good morning dear Readers.   We were blessed to spend some more time at the ocean yesterday.  The winds were brisk but the temperatures were warm and the waves boisterous and foamy. Another visually stunning panorama of the ocean stretching as far as the eye can see.  The steady rhythmic sound from the waves breaking is simply very calming and soothing to listen to.  The next section of this soul stirring sermon from the lips of our Lord begins to detail our relationship with other people.  The scripture cited by the rabbis in their teachings is referencing Exodus 21.  Based upon Exodus 21  the Jewish rabbis taught the people that it was permissible to retaliate against someone who has done wrong to another person.  This is another example of where they taught the letter of the law and missed the spirit of the law entirely.  Exodus 21:23-25  And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for b

Good Morning!  It is a warm and lovely day here in South Carolina. We are visiting our son's family at their home in North Myrtle Beach.  We are blessed by getting to spend time with our three Carolina Grandkids who are 12, 10 and 7 years of age. We were able to go to the ocean for an hour yesterday.  The waves were choppy and the crests were sparkling brightly in the sunshine.  This time of year it is not nearly as packed with tourists and offered us a very enjoyable and relaxing experience. Something very soothing about the sounds of the ocean. Below is the text of the next paragraph from the Sermon on the Mount.  This is an unusual and interesting section which deals with issues regarding the tongue. Matthew 5:33-37 33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: 34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: 35 Nor by the earth; for it

Now we come to the next section where our Lord is still helping the people see that they need a Savior because they cannot fulfill the righteous demands of the law.  We will see the Pharisees and scribes telling people to obey the letter of the law but they are missing the spirit of the law in the process.  The spirit of the law aims at showing the heart its failures and is meant to point us to God's saving provision in Jesus Christ.  We are moving from murder to sexual sin in this section. Jesus begins using the words "Ye have heard that it was said..." This alerts us to the fact that He is going to show us the spirit of the law as He moves beyond the letter of the law.  Here is the text and I ask that you read through it carefully.  Matthew 5:27-32 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29 A

We were blessed with a wonderful Lord's Day of worship!  It was a day full  of rich Christian fellowship centered around the gospel of Christ. I hope that each one of you have a church family that you are part of and that God is pouring out His blessings upon you.  Weekdays can be full of the mundane things of life and for most of us it is a very busy week.   However, you can stop in at this blog and refresh your soul during break time or during lunch by reading some of the posts. Look around you where you are working or living today because there are a lot of people who do not know the Lord.  They are bearing heartaches and burdens with no strength to go on.    Will each one of you consider sharing this blog with other people today?    When you tell others about this Bible study blog, it may bring that person face to face with the realities of sin, salvation and Christ.   Now we are ready to study the next paragraph of this powerful teaching of Jesus Christ.  I would