Category: Bible Study

“The reign of God is like a mustard seed which someone took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest seed of all.” –Matthew 13:31-32 The kingdom of God doesn’t look like much. It looks as little as a mustard seed or yeast. Therefore, to work in God’s Kingdom we must not go by sight, but by faith (2 Cor 5:7). Not only are we unable to see much, but to see anything at all will take some time. Dough rises gradually and mustard seed grows slowly. Therefore, to work in God’s kingdom we must persevere for some time....

“The reign of God is like a buried treasure which a man found in a field.” –Matthew 13:44 Joel prophesied that life after death on Judgment Day and even life before death can be described as “the valley of decision” (Jl 4:14). Life is the opportunity to decide to be like the young Solomon and to choose wisdom (1 Kgs 3:9). Life in the new covenant is to decide to live for Jesus. The meaning of life is either to sell all of the little that we have to buy what appears to be a vacant lot or to sell...

“We have that spirit of faith of which the Scripture says, ‘Because I believed, I spoke out.’ We believe and so we speak.” –2 Corinthians 4:13 St. James spoke out publicly without fear. In the book of the Acts of the Apostles, we read about the speeches of Peter and John, but James proclaimed the truth so powerfully that Herod chose him as the first apostle to be killed (Acts 12:2). However, James was initially fearful and ran from conflict (Mk 14:50). Yet after receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, James was “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4) and...

“Return, rebellious children, says the Lord, for I am your Master.” –Jeremiah 3:14 The Lord promised that, if we repented of our rebellion against Him, He would appoint over us wise and prudent leaders after His own heart (Jer 3:15). Then we would become fruitful and reach new heights (Jer 3:16ff). We do not produce “grain a hundred- or sixty- or thirtyfold” (Mt 13:8) if we do not repent of: • not growing in understanding God’s Word (Mt 13:19). The Holy Spirit has been given to us as our Teacher (Jn 14:26). If we are docile to the Spirit, we...

“They have forsaken Me, the Source of living waters; they have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water.” –Jeremiah 2:13 Does your life hold water — the living waters of God’s grace, Baptism, and the Holy Spirit? The patterns that we develop in our lives can be likened to digging cisterns (see Jer 2:13). These patterns will either help us retain and grow in our faith or contribute to an erosion and loss of our faith. For instance, a cistern, or way of life, in which God’s Word is not taken authoritatively will usually not hold water for...