Examples of Godly instruction

Job

Job 4:-3-4  

3 Think how you have instructed many, how you have strengthened feeble hands.

4 Your words have supported those who stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees.

Job 29:21-22  

21 “Men listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel.

22 After I had spoken, they spoke no more; my words fell gently on their ears.

David

Psalms 78:70-72

  

70 He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens;

71 from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance.

72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.

Peter

Acts 4:1-4

1 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people.

2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

3 They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.

4 But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.

Philip

Acts 8:5-8  

5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there.

6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said.

7 With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed.

8 So there was great joy in that city.

Paul and Barnabas

Acts 15:32-35

32 Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers.

33 After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them.

35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.

Kinds of Days in Scripture

Day of wrath

Job 20:28  

A flood will carry off his house, rushing waters on the day of God's wrath.

Days of temptation

Psalms 95:8  

Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert,

Day of trouble

Psalms 20:1  

May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

Psalms 102:2

Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly.

Day of power

Psalms 110:3  

Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy majesty, from the womb of the dawn you will receive the dew of your youth.

Day of adversity

Proverbs 24:10  

If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!

Day of prosperity

Ecclesiastes 7:14  

When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.

Day of death

Ecclesiastes 8:8  

No man has power over the wind to contain it; so no one has power over the day of his death. As no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.

Day of fierce anger

Isaiah 13:13  

Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD Almighty, in the day of his burning anger.

Day of grief

Isaiah 7:11

“Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”

Day of vengeance

Isaiah 61:2  

To proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

Facts about Holy Spirit.

Sprit speaks by men:

1 Timothy 4:1  

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

Matthew 22:43  

He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,

Spirit can carry men:

Ezekiel 11:1  

Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the LORD that faces east. There at the entrance to the gate were twenty-five men, and I saw among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.

Ezekiel 13:12-14  

12 When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?”

13 “‘therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury.

14 I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the LORD.

Ezekiel 8:3  

He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance to the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood.

Ezekiel 37:1  

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.

The psalmist begs help of God.

The psalmist begs help of God, because there were none among men whom he durst trust.

This psalm furnishes good thoughts for bad times; a man may comfort himself with such meditations and prayers. Let us see what makes the times bad, and when they may be said to be so. Ask the children of this world, what makes the times bad? they will tell you, Scarcity of money, decay of trade, and the desolations of war, make the times bad: but the Scripture lays the badness of the times on causes of another nature, 2 Tim. 3:1, etc.: perilous times shall come, for sin shall abound; and of this David complains. When piety decays times really are bad. He who made man's mouth will call him to an account for his proud, profane, dissembling, or even useless words. When the poor and needy are oppressed, then the times are very bad. God himself takes notice of the oppression of the poor, and the sighing of the needy. When wickedness abounds, and is countenanced by those in authority, then the times are very bad. See with what good things we are here furnished for such bad times; and we cannot tell what times we may be reserved for.

1. We have a God to go to, from whom we may ask and expect the redress of all our grievances.

2. God will certainly punish and restrain false and proud men.

3. God will work deliverance for his oppressed people. His help is given in the fittest time.

Though men are false, God is faithful; though they are not to be trusted, God is. The preciousness of God's word is compared to silver refined to the highest degree. How many proofs have been given of its power and truth! God will secure his chosen remnant, however bad the times are. As long as the world stands, there will be a generation of proud and wicked men. But all God's people are put into the hands of Christ our Savior; there they are in safety, for none can pluck them thence; being built on Him, the Rock, they are safe, notwithstanding temptation or persecution come with ever so much force upon them.

My Father

By E. Stanley Jones

A little missionary boy was asked what he wanted most on Christmas Day. He was in school and his parents were out in foreign lands and of course he felt their absence. The headmaster of this school said to the little fellow, “What would you like most for Christmas?”

The little fellow looked at the framed picture of his father on the desk and he said, “What I would like most would be that my father would step out of the frame.” I think that is the cry of the human heart everywhere. It says: I wish God would step out of the frame of the universe and would become intimate and tender so that we could see him.

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and it suffices us.” Then one day Jesus turned to us and said, “If you want to know what God is like look at me. He that has seen me has seen the Father.” Jesus is God stepping out of His frame—that personal approach from the unseen. It is God meeting us in our environment, showing us His character where your character and mine is wrought out namely in the stream of human history.

When I say God, I think Jesus. So the gospel begins with God and comes down to us.

200 Miscellaneous Commands from the Bible

   (126 to 135 out of 200)

126

Provoke not children to wrath

Ephesians 6:4  

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Colossians 3:21  

Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

127

Purge out old leaven

1 Corinthians 5:7  

Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.

            128

Purify hearts of doubt

James 4:8  

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

            129

Put others in remembrance of essentials

2 Timothy 2:14  

Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.

            130

Quench not the Spirit

1 Thessalonians 5:19  

Do not put out the Spirit's fire;

131

Raise the dead

Matthew 10:8  

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

            132

Receive weak brethren

Romans 14:1  

Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.

            133

Receive one another

Romans 15:7  

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

            134

Receive Word with meekness

James 1:21  

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

            135

Reckon self-dead to sin

Romans 6:11  

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Gifted for a reason

By John Fischer

God made us to fit into his family and gave each of us gifts that will help define our place in that family. That gift is a special ability to meet other people’s needs. It’s what helps us serve better. Serving other people is not an added little project for us to take on so we can be purpose driven; it is an integral part of our identities. You were made to serve, and you were given gifts to help you serve better.

Your gift is by nature just that: a gift, so it is not hard to do. Sometimes it may take effort to get yourself into a place where you can exercise your spiritual gift, but once you start serving, the gift comes naturally. If you’re not sure what your gift is, ask somebody.

What I mean is: We are not very good judges of our own gifts. Our gifts are for others, and for this reason, those who receive the benefits of our gifts are the best qualified to tell us what they are. For instance, if people naturally come to you for advice because you always speak practically into their lives, then they are probably telling you that you have the gift of wisdom. If people call you when they need something done because you always get things done on time and with limited effort, they may be telling you that you have the gift of service or administration. If people confide in you because they know that whatever they say you will not turn them away, they may be counting on your gift of mercy. If whenever you teach a Bible study or a small group, people come up to you and tell you what they learned, then they may be telling you that you have the gift of teaching. Ask the people around you to tell you specifically how you affect their lives.

Of course you have to exercise your gift before anyone can benefit from it and tell you what it is. Knowledge of these things doesn’t come out of a vacuum. How do you start serving if you aren’t sure what your gift is? Best to simply get involved with a small group or in some capacity in your church or community. As you reach out to people in general, a certain expertise will take shape. It will be hard to miss. It’s a blend of what you like to do, what comes easily, and what those around you confirm.

Having a role to play in the family of God can be the difference between wondering why we are here and knowing why. And that can make all the difference in the world.

For more study on spiritual gifts, read Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-31; Ephesians 4:4-13.

Ways of Backsliders…Part 2

Cast God back to them

Ezekiel 23:35  

“Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Since you have forgotten me and thrust me behind your back, you must bear the consequences of your lewdness and prostitution.”

Trust own righteousness

Ezekiel 33:13  

If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but then he trusts in his righteousness and does evil, none of the righteous things he has done will be remembered; he will die for the evil he has done.

Are bent on backsliding

Hosea 11:7  

My people are determined to turn from me. Even if they call to the Most High, he will by no means exalt them.

Lose Savor

Matthew 15:13  

He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.

Grow cold in love

Matthew 24:12  

Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,

Become offended

Mark 4:17  

But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

Fall away by temptation

Luke 8:13  

Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.

Power of the Holy Spirit

Power of the Holy Spirit

 “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”  Acts 1:8, NKJV

Remember the followers’ fear at the crucifixion? They ran. Scared as cats in a dog pound . . .

But fast-forward forty days . . . Peter is preaching in the very precinct where Christ was arrested. Followers of Christ defy the enemies of Christ . . . As bold after the Resurrection as they were cowardly before it.

Explanation? A resurrected Christ and his Holy Spirit. The courage of these men and women was forged in the fire of the empty tomb.

Present Tense

 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”  Hebrews 13:8 NLT

The present-tense Christ. He never says, “I was.” We do. We do because “we were.” We were younger, faster, prettier. Prone to be people of the past tense, we reminisce. Not God. Unwavering in strength, he need never say, “I was.” Heaven has no rear view mirrors . . .

Can God be more God? No. He does not change. He is the “I am” God. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

We Row

 “He went into the hills to pray.”  Mark 6:46

What does Jesus do while we are in the storm? You’ll love this. He prays for us . . .

So where does that leave us? While Jesus is praying and we are in the storm, what are we to do? Simple. We do what the disciples did. We row . . .

Much of life is spent rowing . . . Getting out of bed. Fixing lunches . . . More struggle than strut.

Uncommon Use

 “He gives grace to the humble.”  James 4:6

Heaven may have a shrine to honor God’s uncommon use of the common.

It’s a place you won’t want to miss. Stroll through and see Rahab’s rope, Paul’s bucket, David’s sling, and Samson’s jawbone. Wrap your hand around the staff that split the sea and smote the rock. Sniff the ointment that soothed Jesus’ skin and lifted his heart . . .

I don’t know if these items will be there. But I am sure of one thing—the people who used them will.

By Max Lucado

The Forgetful Servant

By Jon Walker

“All of you serve each other in humility, for God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5)

Serving others requires forgetfulness on your part: You need to forget your own needs.

You cannot be self-centered and serve the real needs of another person. “Don’t be selfish ...,” Paul says in Philippians 2:3, “Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.”)

Jesus gave his disciples an example of this humility when he stooped to wash their feet: “So during the meal Jesus stood up and took off his outer clothing. Taking a towel, he wrapped it around his waist. Then he poured water into a bowl and began to wash the followers’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” (John 13:4-5)

Foot-washing was customary back then (not just for pedicures!) because people wore sandals or walked barefoot on dusty roads. Usually a host had his servants do the dirty chore, but Jesus saved this service for himself, “taking the very nature of a servant ….” (Philippians 2:7)

It is interesting to note that the disciples hadn’t already taken care of the dirty feet, not even slipping into a self-service scrub. Could it be they considered this task beneath their dignity?

But it wasn’t beneath Jesus.

He placed his disciples’ needs above his own – even as he approached his darkest hour.

So what?

• The forgetful servant – The life of a servant requires a kind of forgetfulness, the ability to forget our own needs in the process of tending to someone else’s. “We should please others. If we do what helps them, we will build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn't please himself.” (Romans 15:2-3) Look to the needs of others, and trust God to supply your own needs. (Philippians 4:19)

• Live well for others – “We want to live well,” Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:24, “but our foremost efforts should be to help others live well.” Everyone we serve is someone important to serve.

• Do what Jesus does – “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:14) How would this change your marriage (or some other family), if you began to serve one other person before you considered your own needs?

How God Speaks To Men.

By Prophecy.

Acts 3:21 

Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

2 Peter 1:21 

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Acts 11:27-28

27 And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.

28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.

Acts 21:10 

And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.

Hebrews 1:1

 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

Still small voice.

1 Kings 19:12 

And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

Conditions of Long Life

Live free from idolatry

Deuteronomy 4:25-26

25 After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the LORD your God and provoking him to anger,

26 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed.

Keep Commandments

Deuteronomy 4:40  

Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time.

Deuteronomy 6:2

 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.

Deuteronomy 11:8-9 

8 Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,

9  and so that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your forefathers to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Deuteronomy 32:46-47  

46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law.

47 They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

Honor Parents

Deuteronomy 5:16  

“Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

Ephesians 6:2-3 

2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—

3 “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”