14. April 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

I went to the studio premier of “Madea’s Big Happy Family” last night and it is the funniest Madea film yet.  I laughed so hard until I cried.  My stomach was in knots after the movie from laughter and as I am writing this post, I am still having flashbacks of hilarious moments.  Laughter is truly medicine for the soul.  I felt so good after I left that movie.    My friend is amazing at what he does, he really knows how to use his gift to bring joy and inspiration to people’s lives.

 Please go see it in theaters beginning Good Friday, April 22, 2011.  You’ll be so glad you did and to Jenny in South Africa and Tracy in Australia… so sorry…. Lol…   I’ll send it to you when it comes out on DVD… lol..

Today, we are going to pick up our study from the book of Romans.  All last week we talked about whether the requirements were different between the Gentiles and Jews in terms of salvation.  Paul emphasized that though the Jews were required by the law to be circumcised, it was not the act of circumcision that could save.  Paul also said that if the Gentiles obeyed the law then that was a type of circumcision of the heart and as long as they meet the requirements for salvation then the “act” of circumcision was not needed.   Paul then went on to discuss if  then being a Jew had advantages and Paul taught that the Jews are God’s chosen people and they are the ones that the law was given to which leads us to Christ and convicts us of sin.  Paul was clear that the law in and of itself does not save.   Paul’s topic today is on righteousness.

Here is our text for today:

Romans 3:21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished– 26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. 27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. 29 Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

Paul begins this segment by teaching that we (both Jew and Gentile) have all come short of the glory of God and it is not total adherence to the law that makes one righteous.   Paul explains that there is righteousness from God that the law and the prophets testify of and we all must claim hold of that righteousness but it is not gained through works of the law but through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.   I love these texts because it shows you that God takes the pressure off.   We can’t do enough works to be righteous before God but the acceptance of Jesus with his completed work of the cross is how we can stand before him and be declared righteous.  Whoooohhh…. How liberating to know that God has done the work that we would never be able to do. 

Paul goes on to say that our boasting is not in the law but we are actually justified by faith apart from observance of the law.  Paul closes with a question as to if we are justified by faith then does that nullify the law?  He closes by saving not at all, we uphold the law.   Where does works fit in then?  We will deal with the issue of works on tomorrow.

Wow.  This gospel is so liberating.

NOTE:  earlier in the text, Paul states that there is a righteous from God that is revealed in both the “law” and the “prophets.”  In the old testament the Hebrew bible which is called the TANAK was divided into 3 segments; the law, the prophets, and the writing.  The Law was called the “TORAH”, the Prophets was called the “Nabi” and the Writings was called “Ketabim” which are the TNK in TANAK.    The Hebrews considered the Law to be the highest authority, secondly the prophets and thirdly the writings.   So when Paul says it was revealed in the Law and the prophets he is talking about the books of the Old Testament that make up the law and the prophets.  The books of the law are the first five books of the bible also referred to as the Pentateuch. 

They are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy and there are 3 Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel) and 12 Minor Prophets.

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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13. April 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Today is the studio premier of Madea’s Big Happy Family and wrap party for House of Payne so I am again away from the computers today.  I will continue with posting our proverb scriptures and will be back on track on tomorrow.

Here is our proverbial reading for today:

Proverbs 24:1 Do not envy wicked men, do not desire their company; 2 for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about making trouble. 3 By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; 4 through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. 5 A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength; 6 for waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers. 7 Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the assembly at the gate he has nothing to say. 8 He who plots evil will be known as a schemer. 9 The schemes of folly are sin, and men detest a mocker. 10 If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength! 11 Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. 12 If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?

13 Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.

14 Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. 15 Do not lie in wait like an outlaw against a righteous man’s house, do not raid his dwelling place; 16 for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity. 17 Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, 18 or the LORD will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him. 19 Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of the wicked, 20 for the evil man has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out. 21 Fear the LORD and the king, my son, and do not join with the rebellious, 22 for those two will send sudden destruction upon them, and who knows what calamities they can bring?

Stay encouraged and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily. 

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11. April 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Welcome back from the weekend.

I am on the set today with my friends while they are filming the final episode in this season of House of Payne so I only have a few minutes.   Since I can’t pick up our study today, I thought I would pick up with our Proverbs scriptures.  Here is where we left off:

Proverbs 23:15 My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad; 16 my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right. 17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. 18 There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. 19 Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path. 20 Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat,

21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

22 Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. 23 Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding. 24 The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him.

25 May your father and mother be glad; may she who gave you birth rejoice! 26 My son, give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways, 27 for a prostitute is a deep pit and a wayward wife is a narrow well.

28 Like a bandit she lies in wait, and multiplies the unfaithful among men. 29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? 30 Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.

31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly!

32 In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. 33 Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things. 34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. 35 “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?”

We’ll resume our study on tomorrow.

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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7. April 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

In our last study we talked about the Value of being a Jew and being circumcised and the requirements for both the Jews and the Gentiles.   Paul explained that the Jews still had to accept the faith and live.  In today’s lesson, Paul discusses the Gentiles.

Here is our text:

Romans 3:9 What shall we conclude then? Are we any better ? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.”

14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

Paul makes it clear here that both Jew and Gentiles have to meet the same requirements for faith.  There is no respecter of persons. 

Paul also teaches us that righteousness is not obtained by strict observance of the law but it is through the law that we become conscious of sin.

Paul will deal with the subject of righteousness in detail in our text on tomorrow.

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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6. April 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 

I have to preach this evening so I have been focusing on my text for tonight and just remembered my blog.

I will post from the Proverbs today because that is the reading that we are doing jointly with Romans and I post them when I don’t get a chance to do the blog. 

If you would like to hear my teachings tonight, you can view me via live streaming at www.cagmin.org and click on the Media/Live streaming link.  I will be ministering at 7:30p.m. Atlanta time.

We left off with chapter 22 so today I am posting Proverbs 23

1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler , consider diligently what is before thee: 2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. 3 Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat. 4 Labour not to be rich : cease from thine own wisdom. 5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. 6 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: 7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink , saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. 8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up , and lose thy sweet words. 9 Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words. 10 Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: 11 For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee. 12 Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge. 13 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die . 14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.

Please keep me in your prayers.  No matter how many times I do this, I still get so nervous.

Stay encouraged and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily. 

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5. April 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Our text for today is as follows:

Romans 3:1 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God. 3 What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? 4 Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.”

5 But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) 6 Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? 7 Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” 8 Why not say–as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say–”Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved.

Our last lesson talked about how just because someone was a Jew or was circumcised it did not guarantee them salvation.   So Paul opens up with the 3^rd chapter of Romans asking the question “what advantage is there in being a Jew or what value is there in circumcision?”

Paul answers this question by saying that there is significant value because the Jews had the upper hand because they were entrusted with the word and ordinances of God which were advantages for obtaining salvation.  This knowledge that they had was made useful in the conversion of many Jews.    Paul is simply stating in these texts that Jews had to have faith.   Being born a Jew was no guarantee that they would receive Jesus Christ as their savior; they had to believe just like everyone else does. 

Paul goes on to say that if they do not have faith it will not nullify God’s faithfulness and he quotes the psalm of David when he was confronted by the Nathan the prophet concerning his sin with Bathsheba.   The verse is Psalms 51:4 and David writes; “Against thee , thee only, have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightiest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 

Paul closes with just because our unrighteousness clearly reveals the righteousness in God and brings forth his glory, it is still no excuse for us to do wrong.

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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4. April 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Welcome back from the weekend.   I was so convicted by our text today.    It pierced my very heart.   It made me look at my own spiritual journey with all my “knowledge” and “insight” into the word of God and had me analyzing both my motives and works.  It was a good thing. 

Here is our text for today:

Romans 2: 17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; 18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth– 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself ? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

25 Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. 26 If those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? 27 The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

28 A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.

The text is referring to the Jews and the Law.  The scriptures teach that the Jews were of the mindset that because they were heirs of Abraham that the covenant of salvation was a guarantee for them despite of their lifestyles.

In this text, Paul makes it clear that the Jews do have insight on the law yet they are being challenged as to if they are really practicing what they preach.   Paul even goes on to say that it is written in scripture that “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”  In other words, many of the religious leaders who were teachers of the law were demanding standards of others that they themselves were not keeping. 

Paul then goes on to explain to them that physical circumcision has no merit unless a lifestyle of obedience to God’s word follows.  Many Jewish leaders misunderstood the true meaning of circumcision and considered it as a guarantee of un-broken covenant relationship with God when Paul describes it here as an outward sign of an inward change of the heart.  Paul goes further to state that circumcision has value only if you are a keeper of the law and if you break it then you are as one that hasn’t been circumcised.  He further clarifies that if the un-circumcised keep the law’s requirements then they will be regarded as one who is physically circumcised.

Paul ends by declaring that true circumcision is done of the heart by the Spirit and such a man’s praise is not from man but from God.   In other words, God does the work on the heart through his Spirit and not from man’s abilities and God can only be praised for the ability to keep his commandments sincerely.

What a great way to start the week with sincerely analyzing our walk with God while hopefully making the necessary changes.

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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1. April 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our text for today is as follows:

Romans 2:6 God “will give to each person according to what he has done.” 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism.

12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.

13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15 since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) 16 This will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

Paul is describing that judgment is both for the Jew and the Gentile.  He actually says that it is First for the Jew and then to the Gentile.  When he talks about  those who sin apart from the law, he is talking about the Gentiles who have not known the law given to the Jewish people and when he refers to those who sin under the law, he is referring to the Jewish people.  The bottom line is that no-one has any excuse as Paul described before.  If you are a Jew and were raised under the law then you know the decrees and ordinances of God because they have been taught to you since birth but if you are a Gentile then Paul talked about how inherently through creation and God’s power, you still are aware of the glory and existence of God. Actual Paul says that for the Gentiles if they do by nature what is required of the law then they are actually a law to themselves.  Paul also teaches that this shows that the requirements of the law are written on the hearts of the Gentiles which causes their conscious to affirm or condemn their actions.

Paul condemns a life of hypocrisy in this text.    The Jews thought of themselves a holy nation and entitled to their privileges by the fact that they were birthed into the chosen people of God and yet they were rebellious, ungrateful and unrighteous.   Paul teaches us in this text that the judgment of God will be according to a person’s character and not what a person pretended to display to people all while living in hypocrisy. 

Our works will be judged.  While we accept salvation through faith alone, the true test as to whether or not someone is really saved (because anyone can just confess Jesus) will be the outward change/actions that come from an inward conversion.

Have a wonderful weekend everybody.

Stay encouraged and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily. 

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