The Biblical Path of Life

Tag: family

  • Family

    “For with God nothing shall be impossible”
    Luke 1:37

    Jacob’s family moved to Egypt to be with Joseph. Before he died, he blessed each of his sons. When he came to Judah, he not only blessed him, but also made a prophecy concerning his descendants. “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be” (Genesis 49:10). God knew that His people (the Israelites) would reject Him as their king, hundreds of years before they actually did. He had already chosen a tribe to be the kingly tribe – the tribe of Judah. Not only would the kings come from this family, but Jesus (Shiloh) would one day descend from this tribe (Judah). This was to be The King they were looking for: “… and unto him shall the gathering (looking for) of the people be.”

    However, before Jesus came, remember David.

    King David (from the tribe of Judah) sat at his house, and he spoke to Nathan the prophet. “… See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains” (2 Samuel 7:2b). In the city of Jerusalem, David had set up a tent to house the Ark of the Covenant (which was a symbol of God’s presence among His people). David recognized God’s blessings, and he wanted to do something for God. God answered that night. David wanted to build a house for God that God declared was not really needed. The Ark of the Covenant had always rested in a tent. God reminded him that He had taken David from being a shepherd boy watching sheep to become the ruler over God’s people, Israel. God had always been with David, defeating David’s enemies, and He made David a great name. God went on to give David a great promise. “12. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. … 16. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever” (2 Samuel 7:12-16). Notice that God promised to build David a house – not a house to live in, but a dynasty, a kingly lineage. This promise was twofold. God established David’s family as the kings of Israel. God also promised that David’s son would build Him a house. David prayed to God thanking Him and praising Him. David’s son, Solomon, became the next king of Israel, and he built a beautiful Temple for God.

    Moreover, God would one day send His Son, Jesus, from David’s descendants: “… I will set up thy seed after thee …” (2 Samuel 7:12). Remember what Mary was told when the angel said that she would bring forth a Son. “30. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:32). When she did not understand, the angel told her, “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37).

    God did just what he promised He would do. We see it confirmed: “… he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. 23. Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus” (Acts 13:22-23). It is here that we see God kept his promise given to Jacob, David and Mary. It is Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Read how Revelation describes Jesus: “… behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David …” (Revelation 5:5).

    More than that, Jesus came so that we could be restored as part of God’s family – only by faith in Jesus. “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26).

    Have you looked unto Jesus, believing in Him by faith, and becoming a part of God’s Family?

    How to be Saved

  • Believe

    “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
    Acts 16:31

    An amazing event took place at Philippi while Paul and Silas were there. They were falsely accused, beaten and thrown in prison. The jailer was instructed to keep them safe. So, he threw them into the inner prison and put their feet in the stocks. Read what happened: “25. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. 27. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 28. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here” (Acts 16:25-28). Can you even imagine having a song in your heart after being falsely accused, beaten, and locked in stocks in prison? Yet they not only had a song in their heart, but they sang praises to the Lord loud enough for all of the prisoners to hear – for none of them escaped when their doors opened in the great earthquake. Because the keeper of the prison was responsible for those prisoners with his life, he decided to take his own life himself (probably so other Roman soldiers would not kill him!). See his reaction to seeing that none of the prisoners had escaped. “29. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30. And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:29-30). He wanted what Paul and Silas had – Jesus! “31. And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house” (Acts 16:31-32). Notice that they told this jailer and all of the people in his house. It was important that they hear the Gospel message. Each person has to hear and respond to the Gospel message. What was their response? “And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house” (Acts 16:34).

    This event should be an encouragement to anyone who has chosen to believe the Gospel message, yet that Christian’s family has not yet believed. If one is a Christian but their family is not, it is a sad thing. Christians want their friends and family to have the same salvation that they have found. They would love to have them join them in the journey of the Christian life as they learn and grow. However, it is a personal call and an individual choice. As much as one may share that faith and want them to join, one cannot make them follow. They must believe and follow Christ on their own. This is an important thing to understand. God calls each person into the Christian life, and that individual must respond to that call in affirmation. God calls individuals. Each individual must take action by responding God’s call. However, God wants the family to come to Him. Therefore, it is Christian’s duty to share with his or her family the Gospel message, warning them of the wrath to come. Most importantly, that Christian must live his faith out before them.

    In daily life, we learn that some people come to believe the Gospel message easily, while others have a more difficult time coming to the realization that they are a sinful person who needs a Saviour to deliver them from sin. Nevertheless, they must hear the Gospel message!

    “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).

    Have you believed on the Son?

    Have you shared your faith with your family?

    How to be Saved

  • Why This Study?

    From a friend and Sunday School teacher about The Biblical Path of Life:

    I was searching for a church home. Day 1 at Rehoboth Baptist Church the Sunday School teacher was teaching Isaiah, overview style. I fell in love with the Sunday school Bible study (The Biblical Path of Life). For the first time in my entire life I was looking at the Bible as a whole and learning how it all fit together. So simple, so incredible to realize these prophets were speaking to the Kings of their day, some prophecies would come to pass before their eyes and others would come to pass hundreds of years later. All of God’s Word through the prophets would come to pass and we could study the history in the Bible and see fulfillment!

    I love learning the books of Moses in Sunday School.  The Sunday School curriculum mentions over and over “These are familiar stories so let your class tell you what they remember”. Sometimes the children don’t remember near as much as I thought they would, and it’s a wonderful springboard to delve into what the Bible says and meet them exactly where they are. Other times, I’m exhilarated with details they remember so clearly and can explain correctly. It lets us spend more time on a “deeper path”. I love the “Deeper Path”, there are always connections with the OT to NT and vice versa. We see the Lord Jesus everywhere in the Bible!

    Just last week studying II Kings, I was delighted to realize that Elisha cried out “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof” when Elijah was carried up to heaven;  King Joash of Israel cried the same thing when Elisha was dying. The Sunday School lesson brought that out so clearly because it always makes it easy to see the big picture. And yep, I’m sorry to say it wasn’t on my mind at all when I read it in the Bible. And when I saw it in the Sunday School lesson I was so taken by it. It made a huge impact on me, my study, and teaching the lesson.

    After worshiping on Sunday morning, my family talks about the Sunday School lesson. Each of us have had an encounter with the Lord in His Word. The classes teach the same chapters of the Bible and yet each class has a take-home message individually tailored to their level of understanding. Only the Lord could give us written communication easy enough for a child to understand, hard enough to challenge an educated adult all the days of their lives, and impossible for the unbelieving. This 3 year Bible Study for children and adults has blessed my family! We all grasp the difference between OT and NT. Young and adult all have been taught and understand how the Bible fits together.

    I love the easy-to-read formatting in the Sunday School guide. It’s clear and concise… Each lesson is organized into a few main points with key verses explained. These lessons are Holy Spirit led. There is just no other way a book of the Bible could be summarized so simply and yet so completely… The memory verse each week really summarizes the heart lesson of the Bible study.

    This 3-Year Bible Study program (The Biblical Path of Life) is a breath of fresh air amidst the typical swirl of bible stories lacking connection to God’s word as a whole. My own daughters ages 14 and 12 have gone through the Bible from cover to cover three times. It has helped them to be discerning when they hear someone talk “Bible” out of context. They get a very fast sense that something is not right – because they’ve been studying the Bible and receiving sound teaching. Movies are the worst! There is always some character misrepresenting God with their words – a person who has studied the Bible can spot it.

    I love the question books that accompany the children’s Sunday School. The questions are easy to answer because the verses to read for the answer are printed with the question; but the questions help them to go back to the Bible and meditate on these verses. It prepares them for Sunday School class. Every class member has had a full week to be just as prepared as the teacher – that makes for a wonderful Bible study and fellowship!

    … I love having the Dispensational chart on wall while going through our Bible study. It makes it so easy for everyone to see God’s timeline; to see man’s constant failures to live up to God’s standard. It’s almost jovial to consider that mankind is still trying to prove they can get better and better … and we just fail over and over anytime we try to do it apart from Jesus Christ. The red line showing the human family tree up to Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, takes preeminence on the chart. That’s a theme taught by the Bible lessons all the way through. The Dispensational chart is just a fantastic visual aid. I especially love to see how the Day of the Lord does begin in darkness but there’s joy seeing the saints being drawn up in the clouds to be with our Lord. I use the chart every single week while studying Genesis. Children find the pictures helpful. I’m a forty-something and I find the pictures immensely helpful! The overview in the lessons of Dispensational Truth sets the stage for “getting it” – how the Bible fits together and what the Lord is doing.

    …  I never spent the hard study time on law and prophets until this SS program. Going through the entire Bible has helped me get out of reading my favorite passages over and over. And now I understand my favorite passages so much better because I understand more how it all connects. By the way, now, my favorite passages are whatever I’m studying at present. Every passage is always alive and I’m learning and he deals with me so I’m not stuck in my sin.  Going through the Bible never gets old! Before this program I thought I knew the Bible. I’m delighted to say my weak points were exposed when I was encouraged to study all the way through instead of just reading. What a mighty God we serve!

    ~Jody