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You have heard it said: “Obedience is better than sacrifice”. What is obedience to God?

We were created in Gen 2 for the purpose of serving God. Our worship and ministry are to HIM ALONE. Just like Adam and Eve. He then put them in His garden. This garden contains His rules and His boundaries. He gave us free will. True love always is about choosing to love or not. God considers those who obey His Word... those who love Him. (John 14:15) Look at your own children. When our kids obey us and the boundaries, we set for them, we swell with pride and want to do all we can to help them to achieve.  But Adam and Eve chose not to obey the Word of God. We are Adam and Eve. We/They decided they would live their own life apart from dependence on God. This caused sin to enter the world and sin creates death and SEPARATION FROM GOD. Their "sin" affected billions of people and the entire creation.  Can we say that the original sin was disobedience to the Word of God?

What hope do we have if they died because of their disobedience to the Word of God? They were separated from God...dead spiritually. We have a clue in John 3 that Christ said we must be born again. How? So this is our study and podcast. There are so many nuggets of biblical truth to help us obey. God answered a question we had of whether He will speak to us because we were not professionals? YES! Proverbs 1 says He is shouting to the world, yet we won't have the ability to hear Him if we are in the mindset of disobedience to God aka sin. Do we want to take that risk in the only life we have to live? Basically, turning from the One Who created us? NO!

Why study the Bible? We are all called to be disciples of Christ if we are born again and have accepted His sacrifice for our sin. Then we are born new in our spirit and now can understand the Word of God. Christ is the Word of God. (John 1). As untrained professionals, how do we approach the Word of God to learn His ways? (Heb 3:10) The disciples were not trained bible teachers. So what was different about them? What can we learn from their lives and why did Christ's focus on them? With the help of the Holy Spirit, they obeyed His Word. (John 14:15) We can too. We need to change our approach from gaining knowledge ABOUT God to OBEDIENCE to God. Join us for Podcast for Pewsitters Bible Study Step 1 Obey God vs Gain Knowledge. Come and join Ric and Mary Joyner for our first weekly series on Bible study of studying the bible to obey God not just gain knowledge about God.

By Ric and Mary Joyner

My mom used to say: "I am literally flabbergasted". I am too, and my heart says WOW! Why? First, when we compare ourselves to Christ, we cannot come close to anything He did or WHO He is…The God of the Universe in Human form. As I peer into the gospels, I look in wonder at His mission (to die) and how His people rejected Him. The bible is written to people who believed in God. Remember that fact… we are them. They are us. We must see Him as the Jewish people saw Him in their culture. In His miracles which He did to restore people. In their religious services. In their Holy Book. How can I compare? What if I ask Christ into my life and repent of my sins how then can I change to match the God of the Universe in the flesh? Am I without hope? Don’t people say: “I am not going to church because it is full of hypocrites”? They are right. And they are hypocrites too! We are all broken bits and pieces of life pottery. But then I see this verse, and I marvel that while in this body (it needs to be thinner) which we will discard shortly, I have no power in myself, to stop sinning. No amount of good works at judgment will save me from the ten commandments. We have all lied, we have all lusted after someone, we all have stolen, and we have all used God’s precious name in vain (ever ask yourself why God’s name is a swear-word in any language?). Flatly, we are under judgment from God. We need saving. Christ said He came not to judge but to save. In other words, we are already judged and under God’s wrath unless someone helps us, poor humans. Romans 2:5-6  But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS…(read the verses around these).

But it is up to us to respond to His calling and put trust in His death and resurrection. Each person’s SIN penalty is paid when Christ voluntarily took it to the cross. A true gift from God just like the air we breathe, the family we enjoy and the good food we eat.

But how do I walk out my life to honor His sacrifice because I am going to sin again? I am going to fail again. (you know…the broken life pottery thing?)

I am in astonishment of this fact: Galatians 3: 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. (Read the verses in context around it because they are so encouraging). By faith, we can “put on Christ’s righteousness” because we don’t have any! How? We identify with His death BY FAITH. Thus, when He was raised from the dead we are raised too…now and in the future! We have eternal life. WOW!  2 Cor 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation... See that? We now can share the good news with people that they too can be reconciled to God and not remain in our sinful states. Wonderment!

The broken life pottery pieces come together now! We are a new pot with new hope and new life. We clothe ourselves with Christ, and by doing so, we are “clothed” with His righteousness. Not mine because I don’t have any, but HIS!. Now doesn’t that make you joyful? My heart soars when contemplating walking in His clothes! Doesn’t that make you want to live your life asking Christ to change you to obey Him through His Spirit! WOW! Take the first step by asking for that reconciliation. Romans 10:13… for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."

Call on Christ and see your broken life come together.  If you did this after reading, please let us know.

Do your inside match your outside? What role do garments play in scripture? What is the fear of the Lord? How do we approach complex scripture that doesn't seem to make sense to us? Don't give up. The Holy Spirit is here to help! Join us in this podcast to live a Praiseworthy Life to God! Do we understand the fear of the Lord? What if the fear of the Lord is the fear to offend our Creator? We are made by God to serve Him and Him only. Exodus 29 begins with the garments given for the "call" of Aaron and his sons to serve the Lord in the tabernacle. The Lord gave Moses special instructions for the garments of Aaron and his sons. There was specific detail the skillful workers were required to follow. The garments in this chapter hold symbols for our own bodies. Each area of clothing, for example, our minds, are to be crowned with “holiness to the Lord”. (Eph 6) Everything we think about should become captive to Christ according to Paul. Our heart-life will be affected if our thought-life is not under the control of Christ and His Word (2 Cor 10:5). Does our inside match our outside (garments)? Christ said to follow me. He gave us His Word to obey. Follow Him means we do what He did which was subject Himself to the will of His Father. Will we obey like this? When we do, it shows faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Will we have a fear to offend Him? Wouldn't that begin a journey of wisdom if we approached all areas of life with "fear to offend" Him? And decided all areas of our life will be “in service” to Him and Him alone? Join us for our Podcast for Pewsitters, Fear to offend and does our inside match our outside?

Have you been subjected to these endless and unscriptural memes? Did you know that this is actually a lie? There is nowhere in scripture that God said any such thing. So, this is coming from man to inspire your sinful nature. Listen, folks, we at Biblestudycompany.com are dedicated to recognizing we are hopelessly lost sinners that are offending God by our actions, attitudes, and thoughts---unless we repent and ask for Jesus Christ to save us. If you prayed a sinner’s prayer and continue in a lifestyle that is unbiblical…no memes will help you at the judgment. Without Jesus Christ’s intervention into human history, to die a criminal’s horrible death we have no salvation. Shall we then live as we lived formerly? He is our Creator. This is His world and YOU ARE A GUEST. He made us a for a purpose and that was to serve Him and obey His word. But, we can’t in and of ourselves. We must turn to Him for help and change. Do that today. Your next breath is a gift from God. There may not be another. Please share this to spread the gospel. Let us know if you decided to join us in living a praiseworthy life to God.

We are studying the Bible in Exodus 28:36-41 where the pattern for the priestly garments was being discussed and came on the verses that were about Aaron's head coverings. The description had a symbolic detail that not only pointed to Christ but how we, as priests, were to focus our minds. We will serve what we think about. (Phil 4:6-8) Romans 12:1-2 1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” These verses show Aaron’s focus as a priest. Each piece of the garment is a spiritual principle that, if we obey, will lead us to a praiseworthy life to God. Are we Kingdom people? Who are they and what do they do? The first clue is obedience to God’s word which Moses was doing by responding to the pattern that God was showing him precisely as God revealed. Next God is teaching us symbolism in the priestly garments of how Christ would act and how we must follow Him too. This is important because Colossians 3:2 says; “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” His agenda is for our minds. We will eventually serve our thoughts. The gold plate with the "seal" of the ‘Holiness to the Lord’ is a powerful reminder of where our minds must be set because our hearts will soon follow. I struggle with reading the news and how bad things are getting. Meaning that it is almost scary where the entire world is headed in opposition to God’s principles. It truly is the ‘Days of Noah’ as Christ shared. And this worldly thinking causes some fear. I gently hear in these Scriptures; “get back to focus on Me and My Kingdom there is much to learn…let’s go and get walking!” Right. This is being a Kingdom person! These garment patterns will give us a clue of what our focus must be while we minister to the Lord and then how He ministers to the world. If we are ready for Him, He can use us. What if we have doubts? What if we are in the midst of trials? Where do we turn? Join us for Podcast for Pewsitters with Ric and Mary Joyner to discuss how to be a Kingdom person!

Podcast For Pewsitters: We are discussing the priestly garments and how they point to Christ. What happened between Exodus 19 where God told Moses He wanted a Kingdom of priests and Exodus 28 where only Aaron was the High Priest? Something drastic changed. If God loves us the way we are, as some say, then we need to love Him for the way He is. This is His world and we are His servants. But, do we act the way we were made? Did you know we were not created to serve ourselves and our happiness?

Did you know our purpose is to minister to God? Could what we desire be to our detriment unless it lines up with God's Will? Do we want to walk with Him and experience joy and peace and satisfaction in this rough, tumble and a hurtful world even if our life is crumbling? Yes! Why were the priestly garments even needed? What is God calling us to in Christ? Why did He suffer for us and die for us? Could it be we are criminals? Christ died a criminals death. Was this a picture to show us how evil sin is? Yes! No one likes this thought, but we do need to look in the mirror of our heart called the 10 commandments to see where we stack up. These are the 10 expectations of God. The "follow your feelings" society just doesn't cut it in the Kingdom of God. People are left hungry, empty and broken. But God is our Creator, and He can make way for us. What is it?

We ask questions like why did Aaron get priestly garments and not Moses? Perhaps Moses was a model priest already? Moses heard God's voice and carried it out correctly. That is what priests did in the Old Testament, and disciples do in the New. He was truly a servant of God. We have God's Word, and we can be the same. We can say Moses was trained by God. We have the same opportunity. Will we take it?

What is God trying to say to us with the tinkling bells and pomegranates? Where does all of this show up in the new testament? Why is there so much symbolism in the old testaments? Why can't people see the connection to symbolism? Could the gospels be a parallel picture of the Exodus? The Hebrews in the desert saw the pillar of fire and the cloud and how God miraculously provided for them and healed them, yet it says they did not believe! (Hebrews 3) WHAT! The people in the new testament saw the miracles and the Words of Christ as He spoke to them, yet many did not believe! Even some of the disciples doubted! (Matthew 28) What shall we do? Could obeying God produce faith? YES! One step toward Him, even if we are confused and unsure is an act of faith. It will even produce more faith! You will start to grow up in God. Let God help you with your pain, hurt and confusion. We asked a lot of questions, and this is exactly what we should do every time we approach scripture. "What is Your agenda, Lord and how may we carry it out?" Join Ric and Mary Joyner for Podcast for Pew Sitters!

In this episode, Ric and Mary Joyner of Bible Study Company discuss why they went to Israel. What did they see? And did how Israel and the tour touched them? Ric said: "It is fair to say that we left our hearts in Israel. We see why this country has been through so much as it literally is in the center of the world and where the trade routes went through for the entire known world. Was this an accident? Or does God have plans for lands, peoples and us? Psalm 24: 1 A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it. 2 For He has founded it upon the seas And established it upon the rivers. As always we want to line up with His agenda not our own. This is why we study the bible. We are His creation and therefore we can choose to serve Him or ourselves. Which will it be?"

Going to Israel was fraught with anxiety and safety concerns but we discovered that this was a false narrative. We went on tour with Dr. Baruch and Rivka Korman of loveisrael.org. This was a teaching tour. Meaning, that we would include tourist areas but also spend time teaching at specific spots to relate the Bible and God's agenda to the land. It was over the top good. Loveisrael.org is having another tour in 2019. Their website has details. So join us for a time of discussion in this podcast about our trip for part 1. Two pew-sitters who are studying the Bible using principles Dr. Korman taught us and we went to actually see the Holy Land! WOW!

Ric and Mary Joyner explore, Exodus 1 Part 2 which discusses the Hebrews entering a crisis of faith and fear called slavery that will last almost 80 years. This is a harsh reality. How did the Hebrews go from high stature in Egypt under Joseph to being brutalized? What happened? The story may surprise you, which the Bible so often does, that there are patterns and principles that affect us today! Join us for this exciting study of a God who keeps promises and discover how to live a praiseworthy life to God. This is His creation and we are His servants! He is in control! Glory to God!

Bible Study Basics for Pew Sitters Part 2 is a "redux" with less "scholarly" content. We think you will enjoy the nuts and bolts of bible study and take the "fear" or mystery out of study. We are to be disciples of Christ and thus He is our Teacher. If we turn toward Him and ask Him for His agenda we open a whole new world where the bible invades our life. Trials and stresses all now make sense. Why? Because He is working to show us what is in us so we can grow for His purposes and to be used by Him. Come join Ric Joyner and Dr. Baruch Korman of Loveisrael.org discuss the basics of bible study for Pew-Sitters.