" Smartphone Idolatry "

1st.Corinthians 7:29-31  " But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they have none; and they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion (form) of this world passeth away. "

Crowds of people in every major city, waited for days in line for the Iphone X

     An idol is anything that takes the place of GOD in our lives and robs HIM of our wholehearted devotion of which HE is so worthy. Is it possible that the smartphone and other electrical devices can become overly important to us ? Consider the following:

" Without a smartphone I can do nothing. "

" I can do all things through my smartphone that accompanies me. "

" Blessed be my smartphone that comforts me in all my tribulations that I may be able to text them which are in any trouble. "

" My smartphone is sufficient for me. "

" My smartphone which has done a good work in me will perform it until the next one comes out. "

" I count all things but loss for the excellency of the possession of my smartphone. "

" My smartphone shall supply all my need according to the power in the grid. "

" The cell phone is my guide, I shall not want. "

" My smartphone will never leave me nor forsake me. "

" On thy screen will I meditate day and night. "

" Text without ceasing ! "

" Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the latest device."

" When I am weak, my signal is strong. "

" Fear not, for the apps will help thee ! "

" Let us hold fast our smartphone. "

     Electronics certainly have a place in our lives, and they can be wonderfully used for the glory of GOD. BUT good things can be easily abused, robbing us of the full enjoyment of a vibrant relationship with JESUS CHRIST. BEWARE lest a good thing rob you of the best thing. " But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that . . . they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away " (vv.29,31).  " Little children, keep yourselves from idols. AMEN " (1st.John 5:21). GWZ

Your servant in CHRIST,

Julie

Copyright, FEATURE: A Daily Bible Study Guide.

Used  with  permission.   www.feasite.org

" In the Last Days . . . "

2nd.Thessalonians 2:1-10  " Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, and by our gathering together unto HIM, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of CHRIST is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called GOD, or that is worshiped; so that he as god sits in the temple of GOD, showing himself that he is god. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things ?

And now ye know WHAT withholds that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity does already work: only HE WHO now letteth will let, until HE be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the LORD shall consume with the SPIRIT of HIS mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of HIS coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. "

     The WORD of GOD prophetically states, " This know also, that in the last day perilous times shall come " (2nd.Timothy 3:1a). " Perilous times, " fierce days, will prevail before our LORD's return. Do biblical texts depicting the " last days " for the church age speak of a great revival ? Will the strategies of the " church growth " experts establish the LORD's kingdom in the earth ? Will the charismatic dreamers and " power evangelism " deceivers bring about the Salvation of multitudes by supposed " signs and wonders " ? Will ecumenical evangelism, in which consensus on the very Gospel itself does not even exist, bring to pass a revival ? Not according to this text !

     The " day of CHRIST " (v.2) refers to the period of time when the wrath of GOD will be poured out upon an unbelieving world during the seven-year tribulation period following the rapture of the church. The persecuted, suffering Thessalonian believers thought they had possibly missed the rapture and were in the midst of the prophesied tribulation. But this was not so ! Paul assured them that " that day " was yet future, for before the LAMB of GOD's wrath would be fully manifested, the Antichrist and great apostasy would come on the world scene. The " spirit of Antichrist " is at work even now (1st.John 4:3), and a departure from the one, true faith is increasing. This apostasy and wicked spirit of rebellion will reach a crescendo after the church is caught up (raptured) to be with CHRIST, but the LORD wants us to know that such are building in ferocity and scope right now. In observing the sad state of Christendom, we can see that these are truly the " last days " of the church age - and " perilous days " they certainly are ? DWC

Your servant in CHRIST,

Julie

Copyright, FEATURE: A Daily Bible Study Guide.

Used  with  permission.   www.feasite.org

" The Bible Authenticates ITSELF " (Final Part #4)

Isaiah 7:14  " Therefore the LORD HIMSELF shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a SON, and shall call HIS name IMMANUEL. "

     The prophetic statements of Scripture defy fulfillment by coincidental probability, thus authenticating GOD's WORD. The most important prophetic announcements are those that foretold JESUS CHRIST coming to earth as our SAVIOR. The appearance of these in the Old Testament number in the hundreds ! Obviously, GOD wants us to notice them. Genealogical statements made centuries before JESUS' coming - declaring that HE would be of the seed of Abraham (Genesis 22:18), of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10), of the family of David (Jeremiah 23:5-6) - were fulfilled exactly as predicted. The place of JESUS' birth was declared more than seven centuries before the wonderful events in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), and the evil decree of Herod (Matthew 2:16) was announced hundreds of years earlier by the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:15). Our LORD's death, burial, and resurrection all were recorded in prophecy long before their actual happening (Isaiah 53; Psalm 16:10). JESUS betrayal by a friend (Psalm 41:9) for thirty pieces of silver, which would be thrown in the house of the LORD and then picked up and used to purchase a potters field (a place where the poor were buried)(Zechariah 11:12-13), are exact fulfillment's that were prophesied far before those events occurred. As with the prophecies in the earlier studies, these biblical statements are much too precise to be mere coincidence. 

     The LORD has purposely revealed through prophecy that HE is the only True GOD WHO alone knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 48:5). No man can use the excuse, " I just did not really know if GOD and HIS WORD were true." The Bible authenticates ITSELF time and again, and we are responsible to read it and believe it (John 20:31). JMC

Your servant in CHRIST,

Julie

Copyright, FEATURE: A Daily Bible Study Guide.

Used with permission.   www.feasite.org

" The Bible Authenticates ITSELF " (Part #3)

Ezekiel 26:1-21  " And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the WORD of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, because that Tyre hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste: Therefore thus saith the LORD GOD; Behold, I AM against thee, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the LORD GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations. And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I AM the LORD. For thus saith the LORD GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.

He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee. And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers. By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach. With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground. And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water. And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the LORD GOD.

Thus saith the LORD GOD to Tyre: Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee ? Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling: they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment and be astonished at thee. And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that was inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which was strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it ! Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure. For thus saith the LORD GOD; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee; when I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living; I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more: though you be sought for, yet shall you never be found again, saith the LORD GOD. "

     GOD has placed within the Bible fulfilled prophecies proving to the sincere reader that the Bible is true. The prophet Ezekiel made an amazing pronouncement concerning the city of Tyre: " Son of man, because that Tyre hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto ME: I shall be replenished, now she is laid wast. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. For thus saith the LORD GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people " (vv.2,4,7). Shortly after the prophecy, the king of Babylon came upon Tyre and destroyed the city, causing the inhabitants to flee to a fortified island that was about one half mile off the coast.

     Ezekiel's prophecy continues: " And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water . . . for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the LORD GOD " (vv.12,14). In fulfillment, more than two and a half centuries after the prophet Isaiah had recorded these words, Alexander the Great conquered the island inhabited by the citizens of Tyre. By taking the debris from the mainland city, and in exact keeping with the words of Scriptures, Alexander made a land bridge to the island: " And they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water. " Yes, GOD's WORD is true ? JMC

Your servant in CHRIST,

Julie

Copyright, FEATURE: A Daily Bible Study Guide.

Used with permission.   www.feasite.org

" The Bible Authenticates ITSELF " (Part #2)

Isaiah 45:1-3 " Thus saith the LORD to HIS anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, AM the GOD of Israel. "

     We noted yesterday that an honest investigation of the prophetic statements of Scripture reveals GOD's WORD to be a supernatural book. Only the true and living GOD, WHO is eternal and knows all events past, present, and future, could be the source of the prophetic utterance of Scripture. In our previous inquiry we cited several verses from Isaiah in which GOD challenges anyone else to reveal the future. In the context of those passages is a most interesting prophecy of the conquering of Babylon by Cyrus the Persian. Nearly two centuries before the Persian leader's triumphal acquisition of Babylon, the prophet Isaiah, by the inspiration of GOD, in today's text names this man and declares specifically what he would do. GOD says to Cyrus, " whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD which call thee by thy name, AM the GOD of Israel " (vv.1b-3). Several facts further illustrate the miraculous nature of this prophecy. Isaiah wrote these words while Assyria was the kingdom that dominated the world, which was even before Babylon's rise as a world empire. The prophet also forecast that Cyrus would make specific proclamations regarding Jerusalem (Isaiah 44:28). These declarations, which were prophesied centuries before their exact fulfillment, authenticate GOD's Holy WORD. The Bible is true. JMC

Your servant in CHRIST,

Julie

Copyright, FEATURE: A Daily Bible Study Guide.

Used with permission.   www.feasite.org

" The Bible Authenticates ITSELF " (PART #1)

Isaiah 41:4, 22-23  " WHO has wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning ? I the LORD, the FIRST, and with the LAST; I AM HE. . . . Let them bring them forth, and show us what shall happen: let them show the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods: yes, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. "

     An honest investigation of the prophetic statements of Scripture reveals that men inspired of GOD wrote specific statements forecasting future events - revelations that have been fulfilled with exactness. This is an uncomfortable fact for those who have purposed to reject the Bible. Strange theories have been developed by men who have desperately attempted to answer the historical accuracy of Biblical prophecy. One popular fabricated explanation is the claim that the prophecies were plugged into the Book by an unknown editor after the forecasted happening had historically occurred. The finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls proved the fallacy of this argument, but for lack of a better explanation many continue to hold this bogus excuse.

     In the prophetic Book of Isaiah, written in the eighth century BC, GOD reveals that, as the "FIRST" and the "LAST," HE knows what is going to happen from the "beginning" (v.4). GOD challenges those who arrogantly disregard HIS WORD, " Let them accurately predict future happenings." HE declares in our text, " Let them bring them forth . . . that we may know that you are gods "(vv.22-23). An authenticating attribute of the true GOD is that HE can perfectly declare the future: " Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them " (Isaiah 42:9 cf. 46:10). " I have even from the beginning declared it to you; before it came to pass I showed it to you " (Isaiah 48:5). During the next few days, we will examine some of these specific prophecies that have been perfectly fulfilled. Yes, the Bible purposely authenticates itself so that men have utterly no excuse for rejecting GOD's WORD. JMC

Your servant in CHRIST,

Julie

Copyright, FEATURE: A Daily Bible Study Guide.

Used with permission. www.feasite.org