Bible Study With Jairus

#Bible Study With #Jairus #Deuteronomy 17 8-9 -How Should We Make Difficult Decisions?

#Bible Study With #Jairus #Deuteronomy 17 8-9 -How Should We Make Difficult Decisions?

“If any case arises requiring a decision between one kind of homicide and another, one kind of legal right and another, or one kind of assault and another, any case within your towns that is too difficult for you, then you shall arise and go up to the place that the Lord your God will choose. And you shall come to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall consult them, and they shall declare to you the decision.

 

In the Old Testament, people went to the Levitical priests and the judges to seek answers and guidance in their lives. Today, we have laws and courts that help us make decisions in matters of justice. But who can help us make decisions in other areas of our lives? Here are some principles that will help us understand God’s guidance.

1. Does it violate a basic moral standard? If not, we can proceed to the next point.
2. What does our conscience say? God’s word that God is greater than our conscience. If our conscience does not condemn us, God will not condemn us either (1 John 3:20). For this reason, we should not ignore our conscience.
3. Tune in to the leading of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle John says we don't need others to lead us; the anointing of the indwelling Holy Spirit will teach us (1 John 2:27).
4. If we don't have clear guidance from the Holy Spirit, we must check our decision against God’s word and the principles that show the character of God.
5. We can check if we have bad feelings, or “desolations,” in our hearts. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will give us bad feelings to warn us about a certain action. We should never ignore them.
6. If we have no bad feelings, we should check with family, friends and the body of Christ. If they are all against our plan, we'd better think twice. This often means God is trying to speak to us through the body of Christ to bring balance to our lives.
7. Are there obstacles in the environment? God often uses our circumstances to lead us or stop us from doing things.

If we have taken the above precautions, we will avoid most mistakes. We must remember that the Holy Spirit leads, and Satan pushes. We should not make rushed decisions. Instead, we should always wait on the Lord to give us answers. We must have faith that if we have followed the principles above, the peace of the Lord will eventually guide us on the right path.

 

#Bible Study With #Jairus #2Kings 13 19 – We Should Never Give Up

#Bible Study With #Jairus #2Kings 13 19 – We Should Never Give Up

Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”

 

In this chapter, the prophet Elisha had fallen sick and was about to die. The King of Israel was crying, since he knew he was about to lose the best weapon that Israel had. Elisha asked the King to shoot an arrow out the window. “This is the Lord’s arrow of victory,” Elisha said. After he shot an arrow, Elisha told him to strike the ground with the remaining arrows. Elisha did not tell the king how many times to strike the ground. He stopped at three. Elisha was angry with him not striking the ground five or six times. If he had, he would have completely defeated Syria. But now, he would only strike them three times.

Let’s apply this story to our everyday lives. Imagine you are facing a difficulty, like the king faced the Syrian army. You heard the voice of God, just like the king heard the voice of the prophet. When the Holy Spirit prompts you to do something, you quit when you don’t see a result. Why did the king quit before the prophet asked him to stop? For the same reasons we often give up on the things God asks us to do. Of course, we should make sure that God is really calling us to do something before we start it. But if God has initiated something and he has not asked us to stop, we SHOULD NOT STOP. Sometimes I become discouraged when I do not see immediate results in the ministry God has asked me to do. This verse encourages me to NOT STOP what God has asked me to do. If God has not asked me to stop, I SHOULD NEVER GIVE UP!

 

#Bible Study With #Jairus #2Kings 6:33 – We Should Be Humbled Before God

#Bible Study With #Jairus #2Kings 6:33 – We Should Be Humbled Before God

And while he was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him and said, “This trouble is from the Lord! Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”

 

In 2 Kings 6, Elisha saved the king’s life several times by giving him intelligence about the King of Syria. When the Syrian army ambushed Elisha because of his Spirit-directed spy activity, God struck them with blindness. This gave the king of Israel an unexpected opportunity to kill the army of his enemies. However, Elisha asked the king of Israel to spare the Syrian army. Instead of killing them, Elisha prepared a feast for them and allowed them to go home.

Later, Syria came back to attack Israel after a period of peace. The Assyrian king besieged the city, causing a famine in Samaria. The famine was so severe that the people began eating their own children. This greatly angered the king, and he sent a messenger to kill Elisha. Why was he so angry with Elisha? Why did he accuse the Lord of causing this? Perhaps because God did not allow him to kill the Syrian army in the first place. The king thought that if he had killed the Syrians earlier, he could have avoided the current situation.

In the next chapter, God did a miracle. He chased away the Syrian armies, and the Israelites plundered their abandoned camps, solving the problem of famine. However, since the King of Israel did not show genuine repentance, Elisha soon announced a seven-year famine after this rescue.

What can we learn from this story? We can learn from the king’s response. The king’s first reaction to tragedy was to blame the Lord. He said, “This trouble is from the Lord! Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?” This statement contains a half-truth. God really was using the Syrians as a tool to chastise Israel. However, the king’s focus was off. He should have said, “How have I sinned against the Lord so that he sent the enemy again?”

When we face trouble, we should examine our hearts. Will we blame God? Will we accuse the Lord? Or will we humbly ask God what he wants to teach us? Our reaction to the trouble shows our heart.

 

#Bible Study With #Jairus #Deuteronomy 17:7 - New Testament believers need to be stricter in dealing with sin in our lives

#Bible Study With #Jairus #Deuteronomy 17:7 - New Testament believers need to be stricter in dealing with sin in our lives

 

The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

 

At first glance, this Old Testament law seems cruel. But I believe it has an important lesson for us today. Many times, we as New Testament believers need to be stricter in dealing with sin in our lives.

 

Many Christian leaders have fallen into sin in the prime of their influence and at the peak of their ministry. If the church was willing to deal with these sins in their early stages, instead of harboring these leaders’ sins, it would save these influential leaders from falling. If Christian leaders were tougher on themselves and dealt with their sins instead of hiding them, it would cause less damage to the people around them.

 

We need to be ruthless in dealing with sins. Even if it is difficult, we need to be “cruel” toward the sins that violate our conscience, the law, or the Word of God. If we are ruthless in eliminating sin from our lives, we will have more  victory and influence in this world. We will face less problems down the road, and we will have a greater impact on the world for the glory of God.

 

This passage does not give us permission to point fingers at someone else. Instead, it encourages us to be ruthless in dealing with our own hidden sins. It also motivates us to compassionately help our fellow brothers and sisters overcome their sins and weaknesses.

 

 

#Bible Study With #Jairus #Numbers 2:2 - Facing God but not the Enemy

#Bible Study With #Jairus #Numbers 2:2 - Facing God but not the Enemy

 

The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side.

 

When the twelve tribes of Israel set up their campsite in the wilderness, God told them to “camp facing the tent of meeting on every side.” When I first read this passage, I assumed the purpose of this formation was to protect the tent from enemy attack. By surrounding the tent on every side, they would be better informed of enemy strategies and better positioned to defend the tent from attack. In this scenario, it would make sense to camp facing outward in order to be alert to enemy activity.

 

However, the Bible does not tell us this. Instead, it says the tribes were to camp facing inward, toward the tabernacle. The tent of meeting represented the presence of God. It contained the ark of the covenant, where God spoke to Moses from above the Mercy Seat. Furthermore, it was the place where the priests and Levites brought offerings to God and brought the presence and guidance of God to the people. When the people positioned themselves toward the tabernacle, they could focus on God and receive His guidance.

 

Instead of facing outward, so they would be prepared to react to threats, they were supposed to focus on the presence of God.

 

This is a great picture of the Christian life. So many times, we focus on issues, ministry needs, and enemy attacks instead of focusing on the presence of God and His guidance. If we are reactive to the problems around us, we will lose focus and will not win the battle. But as we focus on the presence of God and His word, we will gain victory over our enemies.

 

#Bible Study with #Jairus – #Deuteronomy 32 Verse 4 Part 3 For all his ways are justice

He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He. NKJV

 

God is a God of faithfulness and truth. Although American culture values honesty and truth, many cultures do not. Presenting God as a God of truth may mean very little to cultures who do not value honesty. For example, in the Chinese culture I grew up in, lies and deceitfulness are common business practices. It is the only way to succeed in the business world. How can you do business if you cannot lie? Even after immigrating to the USA, I continued to receive spam messages from Chinese people trying to cheat me. I am not saying that everyone in China is a liar, as there are many good and honest people in China. But deceitfulness is certainly common in this godless culture. In this type of culture, honesty is viewed as a weakness instead of a truth.

 

On the other hand, honesty is valued in American society. Honesty is rewarded more in America than it is in other countries. People in America often trust you initially but will never trust you again if they find out you are lying to them. America values honesty, which is why it attracts talented people from around the world. These people may not have been successful in their own countries, but they can succeed in America’s honesty-based culture. For example, a hard-working creative artist cannot succeed in China because their art or digital property may be stolen overnight. But they can succeed in America because America protects their creativity and intellectual property.

 

As a God of truth, God cannot lie. Who do you think has more power: God, who cannot lie, or Satan, who has lied from the beginning? Many people may think that Satan’s lies have more power than God’s truth. After all, he deceived one third of the angels and tricked our ancestors, Adam and Eve. In addition, when we look at the society we live in, we may think that Satan’s lies are very powerful. After all, he has trapped quite a few people in lies. But in the end, when Satan is cast into the lake of fire, we will realize that the God of truth has all power over the god of all lies.

 

Often, we struggle to overcome our sin and failure because we cannot break free from the strongholds the enemy has created through the lies we believe and practice. The more we understand God’s nature as a truthful and honest God, the more our lies will be dismantled, and the more we will be delivered from the bondage of the enemy.

#Bible Study with #Jairus – #Deuteronomy 32 Verse 4 Part 3 For all his ways are justice

The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice, A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

 

Moses said that God’s work is perfect! Can you say the same thing from the bottom of your heart?

 

Many people struggle with this idea. For example, people who believe the lie of transgenderism think they are trapped in the wrong body or that God made a mistake in creating them as a man or woman. They would struggle to say that God’s work is perfect.

 

But they are not the only ones. Many believers who have experienced hardship, neglect, abuse, or betrayal would also find it difficult to say God’s work is perfect.

 

So how could Moses say this? Because he had an easy life? Definitely not. He faced the difficult task of leading a rebellious, doubting people who often revolted against him. He even faced rejection from his own brother and sister! Yet he could say that God’s work was perfect.

 

Why did the Israelites struggle to believe this? Because of their corrupted view of God. In Deuteronomy 32:5, God called the Israelites a “crooked and twisted generation” (ESV). Since I grew up in a godless country like China, I can relate to this. Many people in China are twisted and crooked in their minds. They do not value human lives at all. When I was growing up, the older generation told stories of killing their newborn girls in their chamber pots. Although infanticide is longer allowed in modern China, there are still massive amounts of abortions and human trafficking. The people’s minds are so twisted that they do not value every human life as created in the image of God. They cannot say God’s work is perfect.

 

After 400 years of slavery in Egypt, it is not surprising that Israelites had a slave mindset. When the ten evil spies reported that there were giants in the Promised Land, the Israelites wanted to stone Moses and choose new leaders to take them back to Egypt. They could not say God’s work and guidance were perfect! Instead, they wanted to return to Egyptian slavery!

 

The journey in the wilderness served the purpose of making their crooked minds straight. As we allow God to transform our minds, we can finally say “His work is perfect.” Perhaps in Deuteronomy, when they were about ready to enter the Promised Land, they could finally believe these words. Perhaps this is why Moses told them this message at the end of his life. Perhaps they finally had ears to hear and minds to believe that God’s work is perfect.

#Bible Study With #Jairus #Deuteronomy 32 Verse 4 Part 1 God is Our Rock

#Bible Study With #Jairus #Deuteronomy 32 Verse 4 Part 1 God is Our Rock

 

The Rock, this work is perfect, for all his ways are perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

 

What does it mean that God is our rock? For many of us, when we speak of God as our rack, we are simply repeating what we have heard others saying. However, it is a completely different thing to experience this for ourselves in our own lives. Let me illustrate by sharing an experience from my life. When I was saved in 2002, I began to witness to my parents and share the gospel with them. But my mom was very committed to Buddhism and idol worship, and my father was a strong atheist. In our country, it is not easy to witness to family members. In fact, many people are even persecuted for sharing the gospel. Even in America, a so-called Christian country, it is not easy to bring back a prodigal son or daughter.

 

For ten years, my wife and I struggled with infertility. This made things worse. My mom told me she would not believe in Jesus, since she had not seen God answering our prayer to bless us with a baby. I didn’t know what to say, but I just kept trusting in the verse that says, “the one who believes in him will never be put to shame” (Romans 9:33). This verse is quoting Isaiah 28:16, which says, “whoever relies on it [the precious cornerstone] will never be stricken with panic” (NIV). I simply told my mom that I would continue to trust my God.

 

In 2016, God told me I would have a baby that year. I told my mom about this promise, but she did not believe it. When the promise was fulfilled, my mom was shocked. She was so amazed by this miracle that she decided to believe in Jesus’ name and get baptized. Because of my experience, I can say from experience that God is my rock. He is the rock of my salvation.

 

Why and how can Moses say that God is a rock? What was his experience with God being a rock? The Bible tells us that Moses told his father-in-law, Jethro, about the mighty acts of God. However, this did not happen right away. When Moses originally left his father-in-law to go back to Egypt, he took his wife and son with him. But later, they went back to be with Jethro. Perhaps Moses’ wife, sons, and father-in-law doubted God’s power to deliver them from Egypt. If not, why would his wife and sons have gone back to be with their family instead of going with Moses to Egypt?

 

However, after God successfully delivered the Israelites from Egypt, Jethro brought Moses’ wife and sons to meet him. Then Moses told his father-in-law what God had done to miraculously free them from Egypt. At that point, Jethro believed in Jehovah and offered sacrifices to God.

 

Do you think it was easy for Moses to witness to his father-in-law, a Midianite priest who worshiped a foreign God? Was it easy for Jethro to accept Jehovah as the real God, the Rock? No. Even Moses’s own brother and sister despised him. However, God’s mighty acts performed through Moses helped his family believe.

 

The promise of God always starts from a tiny seed. But this seed will grow into a miracle if we keep believing God’s promise and steward it well. As a result, we will have a powerful testimony of God being our rock.

 

Not only did Jethro place his trust in Jehovah, but an entire group of Midianites also went on the journey of faith to the Promised Land. One of their descendants is Jael, who later killed Sisera. Witnessing to your family members and bringing back the prodigals is not easy. But if you keep trusting him, you will be able to testify that God is your Rock. He who trusts in him WILL NEVER BE PUT TO SHAME!

#Bible Study With #Jairus #Deuteronomy 32 Verse 3 For I will proclaim the name of the Lord

#Bible Study With #Jairus #Deuteronomy 32 Verse 3 For I will proclaim the name of the Lord

 

For I will proclaim the name of the Lord;   ascribe greatness to our God!

We trust that when we call, others will answer.

• If we call our mom, we will get food, comfort, and love.
• If we call our teacher, we will get help with math and reading.
• If we call 911, we will get assistance from first responders.
• If we call our dog, he will come running and wag his tail.
• If we call a person’s name, we will get the person himself.

We have confidence that we will get a response when we call the names of many different people and even animals. But we often neglect the fact that when we call on the name of the Lord, we will get the reality of the Lord’s presence.

 

In Genesis, we see that in the third generation of human existence, during the lifetime of Enosh, people began to call on the name of the LORD (Genesis 4:26). The name “Jesus” means “God is our salvation.” If we call on the name of Jesus, we will get the salvation of God.

 

Moses knows this fact from personal experience. He also expects the Israelites to have a proper response to the name of God. For example, if a herald announced that a great king was approaching, people would kneel and give them honor. In the same way, Moses expects that when he proclaims the name of the Lord, the Israelites will respond by “ascribing greatness to our God.” When we proclaim the name of the Lord, we will bring God’s greatness into our awareness.

 

As humans, we experience the personal presence of God through his acts. If we have never experienced the miraculous acts of God, it is difficult to associate the name of the Lord with the greatness of God. When Abraham first built an altar between Bethel and Ai and called on the name of God, he did not fully understand God’s greatness. He immediately went down to Egypt and almost sold his wife. God was faithful to save Abraham from the Egyptians, even though Abraham was not faithful. Then Abraham returned to the same altar, offered sacrifices, and once again called on the name of God. His experience of God’s power in Egypt deepened His understanding of God’s faithfulness. It helped him understand what it truly meant to call on the name of God. This is why he again called on the name of the Lord to ascribe greatness to his God.

 

This is one reason that God revealed Himself to Moses as “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” God gave Moses similar experiences that helped him understand God’s greatness in the same way as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did. Before Moses went to Egypt, he did not tell his father-in-law what he was about to do in Egypt. Moses only told him about God’s greatness after God rescued His people from Egypt and brought them through the Red Sea. When Moses declared God’s mighty deeds and his awesome wonders to Jethro, he ascribed greatness to the Lord. He accepted Jehovah as his God and offered sacrifices to God right on the spot. This is another example of Moses declaring the name of the Lord and others ascribing greatness to Him.

 

Many Christians today cannot connect the name of God with the greatness of God. If we proclaim the name of the Lord, they don’t react by ascribing greatness to the Lord. Why? Because they need to experience God through his acts and deeds. Why don’t we have these experiences? Because we haven’t asked for them. The Bible says, “Ask, it shall be given to you.” Why don’t we ask for these experiences? Because experiencing God’s power may cost us something, so we often avoid it.

#Bible Study With #Jairus #Deuteronomy 32 Verse 2 The Law is like Rain

#Bible Study With #Jairus #Deuteronomy 32 Verse 2 The Law is like Rain

 

May my teaching drop as the rain,
    my speech distill as the dew,
like gentle rain upon the tender grass,
    and like showers upon the herb.

 

To help you understand this verse, I want you to close your eyes and imagine the four pictures that Moses points in this verse. He likens his words to rain, dews, raindrops, and showers to water the plants and provide for human life on earth.

 

First, please imagine you are watching rain drizzling against a windowpane, falling from the sky, and gently dropping to the ground. Second, please imagine drops of dew on the grass when you walk out of your house in the morning. Thirdly please imagine raindrops on a bush or plant. You can see the drops that still linger on the tip of a blade of grass or on the leaves of a water lily. Fourth, please imagine gentle showers falling on your garden so you don’t need to water them.

 

In this verse, Moses painted a picture of the law as a nourishing dew or a gentle, life-giving shower. He did not liken his words to storms, floods, typhoons, or tsunamis.  But in the later portion of this chapter, Moses warned the Israelites about the chastisement that would come upon them if they didn’t heed his gentle words. If they rejected the gentle rainfall of his word, they would experience the flood of condemnation. The law brings life, but if you disobey the law, it becomes a curse and a source of condemnation.

 

The Law first teaches and admonishes before correcting and disciplining. A good parent will speak gently at first, but will later discipline the child if they don’t obey. In the same way, the law protects and teaches us when we are spiritually immature (Galatians 3:24). Paul made it clear the law is good, but the person who cannot follow the law is the problem. Is the mother wrong to discipline her child? Most of the time, it is the children who are in the wrong.

 

Ultimately, Moses reminded the Israelites that God would one day have compassion on His people. After their time of discipline was over, God would again have compassion on them. No punishment or chastisement or anything else can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus (see Romans 8:38-39).  Moses did not mention Jesus’s name in this passage, but he alludes to the coming Savior. The Apostle John said, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17 ESV).