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Monday, Dec. 06, 2021

I have yet to look more into meanings of 1. "An odour of sweet smell", 2. "A sacrifice acceptable", 3. "Wellpleasing to God".

My curiosities lie in the knowing/understanding a) why was an "odour of sweet smell" significant at that time in history? What can I compare it to in today's cultural experience (find an example of it being used)?

What does an acceptable sacrifice look like? Where does it come from? What can be compared to it in today's experiences? How do we know that we need an acceptable sacrifice? What could be the epitomize to bring us to that knowledge and longing?

What is well-pleasing to God? Did He tell us what it is/was? Or is this referring to the odour of a sweet smell that is a sacrifice created/found by us where we have then given it to God who finds it, (an odour of a sweet smell)  well-pleasing? If these items were sent to Paul, how do they look compared to how they would look if they were only being given to God?

Why did anyone, but in this case Epaphroditus, bring such gifts as these to Paul? Are they symbolic in some way?

 

 

 

Tuesday, Nov. 09, 2021

Look up what these 3 phrases mean:

"a fragrant aroma, =

an acceptable sacrifice, =

well-pleasing to God" =

WHERE:

 

Lexicon:

I looked at the entry in the Lexicon for Phillipians 4:18 For the opening phrase of the verse I was troubled with the description that is given:

 

VERSE PART	DEFINITION:	PART OF SPEECH:	STRONG'S:	GREEK:	TRANSLITERATION:
But I have received	to hold back, keep off, to be away, be distant

For example, at Dictionary.com, the word -received- is defined:

_________________________________________________ 

received

See synonyms for received on Thesaurus.com

---

adjective

generally or traditionally accepted; conventional; standard:a received moral idea.

______________________________________________________________________

At the end of this brief review of the word received I am not any further ahead in terms of understanding the Lexicon's definition of received being "to hold back, keep off, to be away, be distant".

Erv's cancer may be back. We are both scared but decide to worship during the news. Our Creator made us with a choice. To choose our will or His will. His will is we totally trust Him with our lives. We do so with worship in the midst of bad news. Worship with us. Grab your psalm and pray with us through this news. https://biblestudycompany.com/blog/article/219

Jehovah's Witnesses. Have you gotten a phone call or letter from them yet? They are calling and dialing because of Covid. What do you do? Do not throw the letter away. Answer it! Did you know they do not believe Jesus Christ our Lord, is God? This means they have no salvation! Yet they are witnessing? To recruit for what? Their religion? Share the gospel with them and I included a tool for you to use. Feel free to download and share. It has great theology in it that is helpful to all of us. https://biblestudycompany.com/blog/article/218

Ephesians Bible Study with Erv Puckett 1:8-12 Erv Puckett Bible Study Ephesians 1: 8-12 We are studying the next part of Ephesians. We learn about, 1. Redemption and what it means. The forgiveness of our trespasses (sins) against God's laws. The good news (Gospel) is that we cannot earn or work our way to a relationship with God. We need a rescue (redemption). Christ did it all. https://biblestudycompany.com/blog/article/216

Matthew 1:21 I have had this realization before but checking it out based on this verse. I feel kind of convicted in helping people understand that salvation is about not so much us being saved from sin, but saved from the wrath of God. Here's context of my thinking. The world is destroying itself in sin. We see sin destroys, but it is God who judges and God who actually destroys the world. It immediately brought into my mind Passover. I looked up verses to see how salvation is described, and this verse is the only one I've found so far that says we're saved specifically from sin. The rest I've seen just speak more generally of being saved, though I haven't looked very much. I have a bad memory so try to get things out before I forget. Just wondering if I should re-assess my thinking based on this verse because it's so strait forward. I looked a bit at what the word translated "from" can mean but I I am a bit uncomfortable with that, especially because i have preconceived notion. In one level it seems a bit like splitting hairs, but I personally find a lot of conviction in understanding that it is God who destroys sin, and so in Jesus I am saved from God. It just puts it into perspective a bit more seriously. I feel like people hear about God saving us from our sin so much they don't really understand the bigger picture of how God fits into that. I think it's too much self-focus in a culture that's selfish if that makes sense. People are getting so selfish, some don't care about their sin. We're losing a sense of shame or guilt necessary that helped us reach people in previous generations I think. As believers we understand He is saving us from sin, but the way God handles sin by destroying it has so many implications that in my heart I wonder if I'm being led to focus people more on that they need to be saved from the wrath of God. I think I'm being directed to focus more attention on Him than their sense of sin. I feel a sense of needing to direct people's focus to God instead of self. I think there's a spiritual shift we need to make maybe as sin is becoming acceptable more and more. I think He's calling me to start pointing the need for repentance out more in terms of being saved from His wrath then sin fewer and fewer people take sin seriously, but wondering how that fits with this verse. Just checking my convictions and sharing them as well. I feel there may be a shift we need to make in how we're called to address people now that there's no shame in sin and do much focus on self in the world. Think we need to start talking about salvation in terms of His wrath more than their sin. I just don't think many people want to be saved from sin. Honestly, we probably haven't been talking about sin right for a long time and that's why we find ourselves here. I'm not saying anything differently than what I see in the Bible. Typing this made me realize how really incomplete a Gospel we have generally shared in this nation. Even our Gospel has been kind of perverted I think to be too selfish - i used to think that's how it had to be to start out, but I don't after typing this. We have not shared the whole Gospel for longer than I know I think. We should fear God more than even our sin - it may be the only way some people can think about their sin if their conscience is seared. That's why I think there's a spiritual shift going on. Think God is telling me we're getting to that point in how He's teaching me.

#bibleverse #biblestudy #bible #jesus Erv Puckett and I had another bible study on Ephesians 1:5-9. We discussed many good topics but we are now IN CHRIST. The concept of IN CHRIST is a new way to look at our relationship and who we are and how God thinks of us. We are part of His family now if we believe that He is the son of God. Join us for this podcast or video here. Please share. https://biblestudycompany.com/blog/article/215 #bibleverse #biblestudy #bible #Jesus Erv Puckett and I had a bible study using the Biblestudycompany.com tools and methods. We are in Ephesians 1:5-9. We learn what it means to be in Christ, about predestination and about how to find the will of God for our lives. We talk about what Christ has done for us through His death, burial, and resurrection. So much hope!

Watching Dr.Baruch's lesson in Mathew 26 part 4. I think I noticed some spiritual issue I have with "doing" verses submitting. Listening to the lesson, I'm like, "yep, that's me". Very different day to day on watching and waiting and a lot like disciples not watching and waiting. Then I go immediately into an anxious sense of having to do. Then I catch myself and think "I can't do that." I know the problem, but over and over, I can't change it. Then I kind of hand it over to God, but quickly wonder if that's what I'm doing or just giving up so to speak. This is the kind of dynamic underneath a lot of my issues. Somehow needing to feel you're always ready, but immediately being drawn into anxiety over it that results in the need to do but in an almost spiritually distracting way. How do you know when you're submitting verses when you're just deluding yourself and giving up? There's a polar opposite way of looking at "I can't do this, You're going to have to." And often before I'm able to fully process my own heart in the matter, I'm confused in terms of is this me submitting to God or me just being apathetic and giving up? For example, I struggle with mood. The best I can often do when struggling with my mood is just not say what I'm thinking, but that leaves me feeling shut down and disconnected from people around me. I know it's about bringing the flesh into submission of the Spirit, but we connect with people through emotions. I feel like I have to become almost robotic sometimes not to give into my mood. Anyway, I know He's going to have to help me with that. I can't overcome this issue on my own, as it feels like I'm somehow getting hung up in what I have to do or should do to the point it stifles me. It's the knowing what you should do issue, but not doing it. My issue is knowing what I should do, and outwardly managing it but inwardly or spiritually stifled because I'm honestly annoyed by what seems really petty to me at that time. Hard to explain, but I think this is getting into what's behind some of the works based approaches to spirituality we've discussed in here. How do you know when you are submitting in sincerity verses just giving up in a very dismissive or hopeless way? Things can feel really out of control - there's something spiritually different though in trusting Gods in control to help you and just deciding you're too helpless to make a difference so He has to do it. There's some distinction in there about trusting God and almost giving up on Him.!I find myself doubting my heart when I'm trying to submit a lot. There's some line about giving up on yourself is giving up on God because He does want to use us to make a difference in the world around us. It's weird to know how to submit to Him that way, and that's where my issue with doing presents an obstacle for me. I think needing to do relates to an issue with waiting maybe. Maybe works are about lacking faith in terms of not knowing how to wait in faith. All sorts of verses come into my mind about doing, "being about your Father's business" for example. How do you know that's not coming from a place of anxiety though? You see how works can reflect faith or a lack of faith. That's the underlying issue I think. With Him we will just do well, but of our own, we just do to manage our own anxiety or something. I think it's about control, and I think that's a dynamic I'm trying to figure out with this question. We are expected to do our Fathers business but we can't make Him do a thing - it's really a scary issue I'm discussing because it's getting at sometging idolatrous in our hearts if we don't really know how to submit things to Him in the right heart. It's causing me anxiety so I know I'm having spiritual problems because of this.

A video I found particularly convicting on YouTube is called "Are progressive Christianity and conservative Christianity different faiths? Yes". It was pretty eye-opening in terms of statistics and understanding the purpose of the apostasy. Here's my conviction - a lot of people calling themselves Christians are just blasphemers. Biblical Christians who believe Jesus is the only way are being ostracized by those who call themselves Christians but don't believe in the word of God. They call themselves Christians but simply are not. What was eye opening for me is that I didn't realize that many of them are basically ashamed of us. That's how it came across to me. I think I'm right because is that not what denying Jesus as the only way is really about? They're ashamed of Him. They're ashamed of the Bible, so I think it makes sense to consider that they're ashamed of us. Just think we should be prepared and realize what we're dealing with. God help us, but love seeing how perfect His way is. It's all for the sake of salvation. Another point of conviction for me - point everyone to the Bible. Let fake Christians have to argue with God instead of me. I'm not going to focus on convincing other people in the church of what the Bible says. They can read it and what more can I offer them than what they've heard and read and already rejected? We're better off letting God deal with the blaspheming "Christians" because the level of rebellion is likely greater than many of those outside of the church I think. Kind of eye-opening for me to consider how great the divide within. Maybe I have more in common with some people lost in the world but sincerely seeking truth than with some who are calling themselves Christian...I found that thought pretty convicting and somehow hopeful. Glad God is going to deal with the church for the sake of the church. I'm glad for the sake of the church and those who will be brought in that false believers are forced to fall away. I understand why that has to happen.

Ric and Erv started bible study that we have been doing all year on various topics, but now we are starting in books of the Bible. Ephesians 1 is our first podcast. We decided to record them so people could enjoy the back and forth and use good bible study principles. Do you know what the Will of God is and how to acquire it? Stick with us and enjoy. https://biblestudycompany.com/blog/article/213

Looking for ways people understand Matthew 24:13. "But he who endures to the end shall be saved." I have always believed in eternal salvation -once saved always saved, but this is an example of a verse that causes me pause on that topic. Then in trying to understand it based on this belief, I run into end times issues in terms of who is this verse talking to. If it's talking to Israel, then I can reconcile the issues I run into with salvation. If it's Israel, then the rememant is those who endure to the end during the tribulation. However, in that understanding, my previous understanding of the entire passage is called into question. I run into big issues with this passage depending on which way I go to reconcile it. Either way, a major part of my previous understanding is challenged.