MasterTruth

Celebrate Recovery

We’re brand new into 2012, and it’s evident that times aren’t getting any easier. There’s a battle for our souls and lives. Even for those who have trusted Christ as their savior, temptations still loom, and if we don’t know how to handle them, sin easily predominates. We can’t allow ourselves to slip into habitual sin, unable to recover.

The book of Nehemiah has much to say that applies to this spiritual warfare and offers principles leading to victory over a sin-wrecked life.

While the theme of the book of Nehemiah is the wrecked and ruined city of Jerusalem and how God led Nehemiah to pick up the pieces and build it back, the process he used applies to individual lives in shambles today because of sin.

He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls. (Proverbs 25:28)

Nehemiah shows the path to restoration and hope. Victory is possible.

If you’d like to find out how, go to the right and click on “Study: Celebrate Recovery from Nehemiah,” and keep checking back as it will be updated.

Richmond Shee

Challenged World Views

Will anyone argue that we’re in the last days? All the signs point to what Christians have long awaited. But part of living in the last days is the “falling away” of many. You can just see wide-spread unawareness of the truth, in spite of a plethora of Christian books, radio programs, magazines, videos and mega churches.

We still have to study to show ourselves approved unto God. That’s studying, not simply devotional reading or following our favorite Christian speaker on the radio. If I was trapped on an island and could only have one book besides my Bible, it would be the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, which gives cross references for every verse, because part of studying is comparing Scripture with Scripture.

And if there was WiFi on this desert island, I’d be set, because I have a Bible program I just love on my computer that not only has the Bible, but Strong’s Bible Concordance and the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. If you don’t already have a program like this on your computer, you can download the one I use (e-sword) for free from this website: http://www.e-sword.net/downloads.html

I seem to find that in these last days, what mainstream Christianity teaches is frequently off the mark. For example, there’s one idea that’s making rounds in churches via video that argues for and fiercely defends the idea of a young earth- 6,000 years- as though all creationists believe that the earth is that young. I saw the series. But there is an exception to the idea of a young earth that was acknowledged in one sentence in that whole series. It was the idea of a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2.

What was barely worth bringing up in that series is something to consider. Richmond has studied it and written a white paper on the topic, which will open your eyes to something you may never have considered- simply because you have never been exposed to the possibilities, which are worth studying out. I encourage you to click to the right on Study: How Old is the Earth. And then, study it out for yourself.  

Jody

New and Improved

Good news. We’ve fortified this blog, keeping with its aim to share solid truth in an increasingly wishy-washy, unstable world. I want to point out the three new additions/revisions to the storehouse to the right—by title:

• Study: Life Orientation. Richmond has spent years studying and wrestling with the concept of “the vanity of life” Solomon wrote about in Ecclesiastes. The book presents a different approach to life than any of the rest of the Bible, and Richmond has gotten to the bottom of it in a somewhat lighthearted way.
• Bible Overview. Previously we presented a short summary of each book of the Bible in this section. Actually, there are books you can purchase that do the same thing (for example, “Know Your Bible” published in 2008 by Barbour Publishing Inc.) We wanted to offer a summary of each Bible book that has more depth than you’ve probably ever heard. Our church, Midtown Baptist Temple (MBT), Kansas City, Mo., has the same goal and is doing a series on the books of the Bible with plans to make all the notes available to anyone who wants them. We have been given permission to make them available here. This will be a constantly updated section as the books of the Bible are taught over the next few years. So far, we have Genesis and Exodus. There are some great charts, lists, summaries and overviews here. It’s a study unlike anything you’ve seen.
• Bible Versions. Can a person be dogmatic about which Bible version to use as a standard? Actually, most people are already pretty dogmatic. What’s the benchmark to decide, though? Is it readability or is it accuracy? Read the white paper on that to the right.

Anyone’s thoughts and comments on any of these things are welcome. Happy perusing! Jody

Deep Dive

As I was studying through Galatians, I learned a “how to study the Bible” lesson from the Apostle Paul, and he wasn’t even trying to teach that lesson.

I saw that when he studied his Bible (it would have been just the Old Testament at that time!) he didn’t just read through it devotionally, picking out the things he could apply to his life. He looked for doctrine. He saw places that the Old Testament talks about Christ that the average person wouldn’t pick up on. He read and studied his Bible deeply.

Briefly, here’s what I’m talking about: In Gal. 3, Paul is talking about the Old Testament law vs. faith, highlighting Genesis with Abraham (he believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.) He says in Gal. 3:13, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written ‘Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.’” (He’s quoting from Deut. 21:23.)  But here’s the verse that taught me the lesson: (verse 16) “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, ‘And to seeds’ as of many; but as of one. ‘And to thy seed,’ which is Christ.”

I sat back and thought, “wow!” Paul read Gen. 13:15 and noticed there wasn’t an “s” on the end of “seed” and concluded it was talking about Christ. Had there been an “s” on the end of “seed,” the verse would have meant something entirely different. (Perhaps the word “seeds” would have meant that the promise was for Abraham and his descendents.) Paul concluded that Gen. 13:15 looks forward to Christ.

Do I read and study the Bible so intently that the very letters (an “s” or no “s”) grab my attention and teach me deep doctrinal truths?

I did due diligence, and I went back to Gen. 13:15 to see if the Bible really does say “seed” and not “seeds.” Yes, it does. 

By the way, I read the King James version, antiquated as some may think, because I’ve been taught that it is the most accurate translation. So I wondered how NIV and NASV read in Gen. 13:15. Do they also say “seed” with no “s”?

Nope. NASV says “descendants” and NIV says “offspring.” Anyone have any thoughts on that? I think those two renditions make Paul sound like an idiot in Galatians. -- To my point, it’s important to study the Bible, not just read it. The words are important, not just the general idea (so go for the most accurate translation, not simply the easiest to read). Paul looked at words, and I’m sure that’s what he taught Timothy when he said, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Tim 2:15)

Crowns and Prizes

If I knew I only had a few weeks to live, decorating my house and staying up with my favorite TV programs probably wouldn't register on my priority radar again.

The apostle Paul came to a point when he knew he didn't have long to live. I read his last writing, 2 Timothy, with curiosity as to what he now thought was most important. There it is, in the last chapter of this final letter to his young disciple, Timothy.

Before I quote it, I find it interesting that his razor-sharp end-of-life focus was the same one he carried throughout his Christian life. It's a godly person who doesn't need to adjust a thing upon realizing he/she isn't long to this life.

He said: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." (2 Tim. 4:7-8)

He worked for a reward, a crown. He saw it years earlier, and aimed for it for the rest of his life.

I know he worked for a future reward for many years, because Paul said in Philippians (written about six years before 2 Timothy): "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil 3:14)

I'm thinking that if Paul was so focused on the prize/crown, maybe I should look further into it. You can too. If you'd like to use some of your daily quiet time to look into this, go over to the right, where it says "Quiet Time Ideas" and look at the first item listed. It gives some verses to look up and some questions to answer.

 

A "Truthful" Thought

I’m reading 2 Timothy in my daily time with God. It’s a book of practicalities, where Paul told Timothy how he (and thus we) are to live, think and act. In chapter 2 verses 19-26, Paul discusses practical righteousness, giving the foundation and the “how to” of it. He sums it up in vs. 25-26: “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”

The truth is the all-important element that we use to guide our lives and that we try to communicate to others. It’s what Paul dedicated his life to. He was passing that goal on to Timothy. I think it’s interesting that in the same breath that he talked about getting others to acknowledge the truth, he talked about delivering them from the snare of the devil. It makes sense, because, as you know, there’s no truth in Satan. Everything he speaks is a lie, because he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).

I remember 15 to 20 years ago hearing how our next big battle in Christianity was going to be the philosophy that there’s no absolute truth. You wouldn’t be able to say that anything was true for sure. Truth would all be relative… whatever you think is true is what truth is for you. 

I thought that was absurd. Thinking, rational people know there is absolute truth. But look now. You’re considered ridiculous if you try to pursuade someone that something in particular is the unqualified truth for everyone, no matter what. We decide for ourselves what is truth now. Even churches. I’ve passed a church that coaxed people in with a sign out front that said “no dogmatism here.” Even parents. Many say they are letting their children decide for themselves what to believe.

        Satan has sucked truth out of our culture. So, standing for the truth is unpopular. How do we do it? “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”

Jody

Devotional Book Drama

            I’m reading through a devotional book as assigned reading by our church as we start a capital-funds campaign. It’s a four-week daily devotional book about generosity, and it reminds me why I don’t like to read devotional books for devotions. It starts with a verse or two as the key verses, and then the author pontificates on the topic at hand. In this case, generosity.

Because I’ve been taught that you read your Bible for devotions, I first look at the verses at the top of the devotional. I know better than to study verses out of context, so I copy and paste the passage the verses are found in into a Word file from my online Bible. Then I examine the passage. I look for the main verbs of the verses and highlight them in blue. I look for cause-and-effect statements and write notes after them. I end up summarizing the passage and how it could apply to my life, and I pray God will help me apply what it says.

That part, I enjoy. Next, I read the devotional from the book, and I sometimes scratch my head. “How did he get that out of that?” I wonder.

I wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading a devotional book. But I encourage those who read devotional books as their devotions to step it up another level and learn effective Bible study methods, because it’s the Bible and the Holy Spirit that God uses to teach and transform us. Then, let the devotional books be supplemental reading.

If you’d like some ideas on what to study for devotions in place of a devotional book, you’ll find some ideas to the right under “Quiet Time Ideas.” -- Jody

Purpose

What is your purpose as a Christian? I think about that sometimes. I think my first purpose is to know God better. It always has been. But there’s another purpose that I don’t think of as often, and I should. The Apostle Paul thought of it and spoke of it often. That is to perform good works. Maybe we don’t talk about that much in Christian circles because we’ve been so well taught to separate “good works” from “salvation.” Like salvation is the goal and good works are the opposite. For a quiet-time exercise, take a day or two to study “good works” in the Bible. I just posted a guide to this under “quiet time ideas” to the right. Click on that, and it’s the first item in the list after the quiet time ideas introduction.

Jody

More musical memory verses

The older we get, the harder it is to memorize verses - or anything for that matter. But verses set to music are another story. For a few years, I put Sunday school memory verses to music, and that's the only music the children sang. They learned dozens of verses that way, and you can too. To the right, you'll see listed NT Musical Memory Verses and OT Musical Memory Verses. All together, there are nearly 40 verses listed with simple sheet music for each. I just updated both files with additional songs. You might take a look and see if it will help revive you in the discipline of Bible memory. Feel free to use the sheet music to help teach others you want to encourage in Bible memory. 

Jody

Morning jolt

I remember sitting on my living room floor one morning several years ago with my Bible and thinking I probably should read it. I had been in the habit of meeting with God daily for years, but I was in a dry spell and hadn't read it for months. I still remember the overwhelming feeling of not having any idea where to begin. I felt like I was at the bottom of a mountain looking up trying to figure out how I could possibly climb this thing. I did end up reading my Bible that day, and with the help of a friend who held me accountable, I got back into spending time reading each day. I imagine many people feel like that. So I have started a list of quiet time ideas to the right. Open that file, and you'll find some reading/study ideas that will help get you or someone you know in the groove. I'd love your feedback. Let me know if any of the ideas are helpful, and let me know ideas of what you have studied that would be helpful to others.

Jody

Good reading

I've just added two new books to the "Book Review" section on the right. I love both of them. They each affected my perspective in different ways. Epicenter helped me get a better grasp of what's happening in the Mideast (the epicenter of end-time events), and Cat & Dog Theology helped me examine my overall Christian view using the illustration of how dogs and cats view their masters. I asked myself: Do I live for God, or do I expect that God lives for me? The book is about the glory of God, not the glory of "me."  Read the reviews and you'll see what I mean. -- Jody Shee

Musical Memory Verses

Happy day! I finally finished putting together the musical memory verses that I've wanted to put on here since the beginning. For several years, I helped out with childrens' music at church and decided I did not want to sing, play or teach Deep and Wide, Arky Arky or I've Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in My Heart. Rather, I thought the kids should learn something more meaningful. So, I put their memory verses to music - every week. Each week they would review the verse/songs from the previous weeks, and that is all they sang. And they learned every single one of their memory verses. Not only that, they thought about and sang those verses throughout the week. Incredibly, I heard stories from moms and and grandparents how the kids thought about those verses, and how they chose to consciously obey them at specific times. My friend Chris Brisciano often helped out and put verses to music himself. He is the one who put the verses to sheet music, and we can all thank him for doing that! Look to the right and you will see headings for Musical Memory Verses New Testament and Musical Memory Verses Old Testament. If you click on those, you have the option to open a pdf. It just takes a minute, and there you will find sheet music to many Bible verses. Enjoy!

Jody

Book Reviews

If you're looking for a great book to read for your own edification, or to pass along to a friend, we're starting a new section to the right - Book Reviews. We just put the first one on there today, "More Than a Carpenter" by Josh McDowell. Why are we recommending it? You'll have to read the review and find out! This will become a running list, so check back now and then and see if there are new books listed. And, if you've read a great book and want to recommend it, let us know. Tell us about the book and why you like it, and we may just add it to the list! (with your permission and name, of course). Jody

New e-book

Notice on the right "Fresh Start ebook." It's new, and I'm excited about it.  It's six lessons for new believers. What do they need to know to get going? It's a pdf file, so you can download and print it and give it to someone you know who wonders "what's next?" after becoming a Christian. They are all lessons I wish I would have known right away. The six lessons are: 1) Assurance of salvation 2) The Bible 3) Prayer 4) Dependance on God 5) Victory over sin 6) Christian fellowship. 

This new e-book is in keeping with our goal to provide free Christian growth resources for individuals as well as churches. With the failing economy and everyone trying to cut financial corners, we think it's important to be able to have free access to the truth that transcends.

Let us know what you think, and also what other kinds of materials you'd like to see.  

The Book of Truth

For anyone not used to regularly reading the Bible, the thought of starting to read it is akin to climbing a mountain. Where do you start? Perhaps you or someone you know has never read it. In that case, it would be important to know a little more about this best-selling book. In either case, help is here. To the right you’ll see the heading “Bible Overview.” Click on that and you’ll learn about the theme of the Bible and a capsule of each of the 66 books that make up this one awesome volume. It will provide great background, and perhaps one of the summaries in particular will grab your attention. You can start reading that book of the Bible.

 

As for how to read it, keep some colored pencils and a regular pencil handy. Highlight verses you like with the color pencils (markers tend to bleed through the pages). Use a regular pencil to write notes in the margins of your Bible. It also might help to keep a notebook handy to write your thoughts and observations as you read.

Just start reading the Bible somewhere. It will seem like less of a mountain adventure once you get started.  

Dealing with Depression

Some temperaments are more prone to depression than others, but I think we all wonder when the dark clouds settle in, where's relief? I've studied the topic, and I think there are some helpful answers in the Bible, which is what the study is about on the right side over there under "Materials: Study: Conquer Depression."

You'll notice that it starts with a quote from D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. He wrote a tremendous book that I'd recommend, and one of the many ideas I share in the study for how to overcome depression comes from his book. It's called "Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and its Cure." You can buy it online. Just Google the book title.

For now, if you are struggling with depression or you know someone who is, feel free to open the study on the right and copy and paste it into a file and pass it along. Let's spread the relief!

Jody

Foundational study

To the right, under materials, you’ll see “Study: Luke in 30 days.” This is actually the foundation for this Web/blog site. It took me probably a year to study and write this, and I originally intended to have it published into a book.

But thinking it through, I pondered why anyone should have to pay for a Bible study. My goal isn’t to make money, but to get the wonderful truth out that I discovered about Christ from the book of Luke. The title of the study is “Fresh Air: A devotional look at Christ’s perfect balance of truth and mercy from the book of Luke.”

I’m a student of the description God gave of himself in Ex. 34:6-7 when he told Moses who he was. “And the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty…”

I figured, if God is like that, then Jesus must demonstrate that in skin. So I studied through Luke looking to see how Jesus embodied those verses. And sure enough—he was a gracious, merciful, longsuffering savior abundant in goodness and truth. In fact, he was the perfect balance of mercy and truth. You’ll read all about that in the study.

What I hope is that if you’re an individual reading this site, you’ll take the challenge to go through one of these chapters each day for a month and do the “for further meditation” at the end of each lesson.

If you’re a pastor or church leader reading it, I offer the same challenge to you, but also, look at this as material you could pass along to those you think need this truth. It could also be used as a class study going through the “for further meditation” as a class. It will change your life. It did mine.

Jody

Great and green new idea

Welcome to the new blog/web site MasterTruth.com. Over time, you'll learn the big idea behind this new site. But in a nutshell, my goal is for you to be able to read, copy, paste and distribute biblical truth - for free! I think that if some great work of truth is great enough to pass along, it should be free and should be spread freely. Anything you read on this site is available for you to reproduce and pass along however you see fit.

Besides being a great idea, it's a green idea. It eliminates paper. You can copy, paste and pass along entirely electronically. Truth is not limited to paper. You can spread it to the four winds without one scrap of paper!

Enjoy. More later. Jody