Archive for the 'Bible Studies for Life' Category
Sheltered by God’s Presence
Where do you go when bad times come? Are you overwhelmed? Do you feel like the end is near? Do you sometimes feel one step away from doom?
You are not alone. Literally. The child of God is never abandoned. God is always near His children.
God is your shelter in the storm
Writing in Bible Studies for Life, Philip Nation says, “We’ve all experienced the pain of an unexpected crisis. When it happens, we scramble for shelter. We need something to cover us in the midst of the storm. The good news is that no matter what you’re facing, God is present. He doesn’t offer some sterile room as a shelter during your storms. He is the shelter. His presence with us is the only thing that can make sense of this life.”1
God is your comfort in the storm
One of the most comforting passages in scripture is also one of the most well known. The 23rd Psalm has comforted many an anxious follower of Jesus. No stress exists in this life that cannot be alleviated by the reading of David’s beautiful, inspired poem.
- Through shepherding imagery we are assured we will lack nothing because the LORD is our shepherd.
- We are assured of rest in green pastures, a refreshment beside still waters.
- We are promised a renewed life. God leads us along paths where He would have us go for the sake of His own name.
- We are promised His presence when we walk through the darkest valley. His presence is all we need when danger is near. We need not fear whatever we face. It is God Himself who comforts us.
- We are blessed abundantly with all we need: food, oil, and drink.
- The goodness and faithful love of God will pursue us all throughout life, and God’s house will be our house as long as we live.
The presence of God has long been a promise to those who follow Him. This presence is not mere wordplay; it’s more than a metaphor.
God’s presence is your shelter in the storm
Instead, God’s presence is a strong and real comfort to His children.
Psalm 46:11- “Yahweh of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.”
Isaiah 43:2- “I will be with you when you pass through the waters, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire, and the flame will not burn you.”
Matthew 28:20b- “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”2
Before He returned to the right hand of the Father, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit who would “come to us.”
God is with us
One of the names of Jesus is Immanuel, “God with us.” He is with you now and at all times in all situations.
Following Jesus is more than a slovenly pilgrimage in a barren land. It is the promise that wherever we are, and through whatever challenges we face, God is with us. He does not fail. He does not abandon. He does not quit. He is with us in every trial and every valley. When the shadows are all around, even to the point of covering the way, remember: there are no shadows without Light.
God is with us. He is with us always.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church
General Editor, Bible Studies for Life
President, Southern Baptist Convention
References
1- Bible Studies for Life, Storm Shelter, Philip Nation
2- All scriptures from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Pornography: The Secret Assassin
Sin is most powerful in the darkness. Sin’s power to operate in secret has destroyed many followers of Jesus. Open sin can be confronted, rebuked, challenged and repented. Secret sin eats away like acid on skin. Jesus warned us the most dangerous things to us come from inside ourselves (Matthew 15:16-20).
Sin is most powerful when secret
Sin is most powerful when unknown, and few sins among Christians are more destructive in secret than pornography. In Bible Studies for Life, Chip Ingram writes, “13 percent of all web searches are related to erotic content [and] almost 9 out of 10 young men (85 percent) and almost half of young women (48 percent) report viewing pornography.”1
More troubling than the overall data is that related to followers of Jesus: 50 percent of men and 20 percent of Christian women regularly view pornography. Too many from the body of Christ are being eaten up from the inside by this secret sin. Marriages are suffering. Husbands do not love their wives as they should. Wives are looking for pleasure apart from their husbands. Single adults are allowing pornography to substitute for actual relationships rather than remaining mentally pure. Seven of 10 teens have accidentally been exposed to pornography online.2 This exposure could permanently affect their ability to have deep relationships. It could torpedo marriages before the “I do’s” are even spoken.
Pornography wounds not just you, but others
As bad as those things are, pornography does not only affect the person consuming it. Pornography is “like shrapnel [which] will damage and wound those around us.”3
The Old Testament hero of the faith, Job, recognized the need for purity saying, “I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I look at a young woman?”4 The Apostle Paul instructed us, “For this is God’s will, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality, so that each of you knows how to control his own body in sanctification and honor, not with lustful desires, like the Gentiles who don’t know God.”5
Mental and physical sexual purity are required by God. Physical impurity is always preceded by mental sin.
Pornography can be overcome
Victory over pornographic use or pornographic addiction should begin with the spiritual root. All sin is a result of wanting selfish desires rather than God’s desires. Sin is a not merely an unwise choice or unhealthy decision. Sin is the replacement of God’s authority with our own. This is why all sin, including the viewing of pornography, must be repented.
Followers of Jesus must use the word of God to combat the temptation to indulge in viewing pornography. The power of God’s Word is the power to overcome sin, any sin. Reading it, meditating on it, memorizing it, and internalizing it lead to victory over sin. The work of the Spirit in the power of the Word is the power Jesus’ followers need to overcome temptation.
He has not left his people defenseless against sin and temptation. The allure of pornography and the damage that comes from it can be overcome in the power of God’s Word.
Saturate your life in every way with God’s Word. Be filled with the Spirit at all times. The Word and the Spirit together will lead you to overcome pornography.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church
General Editor, Bible Studies for Life
President, Southern Baptist Convention
1– Bibles Studies for Life, Ready, Chip Ingram quoting “Pornography Statistics” (2014 edition), [cited 13 May 2014]. Available at www.covenanteyes.com.
2– Ibid.
3– Ibid.
4– Job 31:1 (HCSB)
5– 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 (HCSB)
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.