Episodes
Saturday Jul 31, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought 31 July 2021 – God, the Christian and Love
Saturday Jul 31, 2021
Saturday Jul 31, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
31 July 2021
16 “‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people.
“‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD.
17 “‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.
18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:16-18)
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one” answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your entire mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:28-31)
“Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” (1 John 4:20)
As Christians we are commanded not to sin! It is fundamental to living the Christian life! Essentially, "sin" is a failure to love God as well as a failure to love other people. We break God’s commandment when we do not show love to Him or other people. The primary way of loving God is to love other people. Were you aware of that?
Oh it is easy to love your friends and those you actually like. It is easy to love those around you including those you don’t know. But Jesus, as ever, goes even further than that! He commands that those who declare they love Him also go and love their enemies. Jesus commanded his followers, all those who claim to be His disciples, to love those they don’t like or are ever wanting to like! Now that is a bit radical is it not?
As Christians, we should be so filled with God’s love that it acts as a magnetic attraction to God’s goodness and love. What kind of love is this? How is this love in evidence? How do we show others that we love God? Let’s discover together more about the Christian and love, by listening to the podcast!
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Friday Jul 30, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought 30 July 2021 – God, the Christian and Living Water
Friday Jul 30, 2021
Friday Jul 30, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
30 July 2021
49 To purify the house he is to take two birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop. 50 He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot. 51 Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn and the live bird, dip them into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52 He shall purify the house with the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn. 53 Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields outside the town. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.” (Leviticus 14:49-53)
24 “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezekiel 36:24-27)
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” (John 7:37-39)
Living water! A recurrent theme through the Old Testament. How so? In the Old Testament, the people of Israel were to make sacrificial offerings to God, in order to worship and have fellowship with Him. For without sacrifice, nobody could enter God’s presence! In the book of Leviticus, God commanded that the cleansing of a defiled house required sprinkling with a mixture of blood and ‘living’ water, the bird having been slain over the water (Leviticus 14:51).
At the time of the prophet Ezekiel, Israel were in exile due to their sin and idolatry. They needed to be cleansed before being allowed back into their own country. Ezekiel 36:24-25 tells us that “God will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols.”
These sacrifices pointed forward to the God-man we know as Jesus Christ. What did He say about living water? How can water “live”? More importantly, what does all this have to do with us in the 21st century. Let’s discover together more about the Christian and joy, by listening to the podcast!
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Thursday Jul 29, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought 29 July 2021 – The Christian and Joy
Thursday Jul 29, 2021
Thursday Jul 29, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
29 July 2021
23 Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. 24 Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell face down. (Leviticus 9:23-24)
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3)
Joy! A wonderful word in relation to the Christian believer. Joy, a word which is often misused and often misunderstood in the life of the Christian! If that is so, what is true Christian joy? Is joy merely a form of bloated happiness as many people believe, including those in the church? Can joy be seen as going around everywhere with a silly grin etched into your face! That kind of joy is dependent upon circumstances and feelings! True joy is not to be confused with mere pleasure or feeling good!
So if that is what joy is not, what is joy in regard to the Christian and their life? Come and explore what the Bible has to say about God, the Christian and joy. What is true joy for the Christian? What does Jesus have to do with joy – in his earthly life and in his being now? How can the Christian recognize true joy? These and other questions we seek to answer! So come on in! Let’s discover together more about the Christian and joy, by listening to the podcast!
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Saturday Jul 24, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought 24 July 2021 – God the Holy Spirit and the Christian
Saturday Jul 24, 2021
Saturday Jul 24, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
24 July 2021
15 ‘If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you for ever – 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. (John 14:15-17)
12 ‘I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.’ (John 16:12-15)
God the Holy Spirit is one of the three persons of the Trinity, as we saw together in the Podcast yesterday. As such we do not refer to the Spirit as “it” or “that”, but rather Him! Wherever the Holy Spirit is, the Father and Son are also present because they are one (John 14:18-23). However, in some Christians circles, He is almost the forgotten person of the Trinity as well, alas!
Come and explore what the Bible has to say about the Holy Spirit and in particular the ministry that the Holy Spirit has in His relationship with the Christian. What does it mean to be “filled with the Spirit?” How is He the “Comforter”? in what way is the Holy Spirit assured proof that you, as a Christian, are God’s child? What is the best evidence for the work of the Holy Spirit in your life? These and other questions we seek to answer! So come on it! Let’s discover together more about the relationship between God the Holy Spirit and the Christian by listening to the podcast!
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Thursday Jul 22, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought 22 July 2021 – The Christian and God’s Sovereignty
Thursday Jul 22, 2021
Thursday Jul 22, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
22 July 2021
“8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10)
7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. 8 Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Ephesians 3:7-11)
Ahhh the Sovereignty of God! That is what we are looking at today. What does this mean? The sovereignty of God means that God is in control at all times and nothing can occur outside of His control and will. God loves His creation and cares for it. He won’t deny people their humanity when dealing with them. God issues decrees: Sovereign, Conditional and Natural.
Come and explore what the Bible has to say about God’s Sovereignty! What does God being sovereign, mean? What can we understand when it is said that “God decreed”? What role does God’s sovereignty have to do with the decisions we make today? Let’s discover together more about God and His Sovereignty by listening to the podcast!
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Wednesday Jul 21, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought 21 July 2021 – The Christian and a God of Love
Wednesday Jul 21, 2021
Wednesday Jul 21, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
21 July 2021
“16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:7-12)
Come and explore what the Bible has to say about God of Love. What does this mean for the unbeliever and for the Christian? How has God’s love been seen in the past? How is God’s love seen today? Let’s discover together more about God and His love by listening to the podcast!
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Tuesday Jul 20, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought 20 July 2021 – The Christian and a God of Judgment
Tuesday Jul 20, 2021
Tuesday Jul 20, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
20 July 2021
“22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. (Hebrews 12:22-24)
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15)
Come and explore what the Bible has to say about God of Judgment. You may just be surprised! What does this mean for the unbeliever and for the Christian? Will Christians be judged, and if they are, what concerning? Let’s discover together more about several aspects concerning God and His judgments by listening to the podcast!
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Monday Jul 19, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought 19 July 2021 – The Goal of the Christian Disciple
Monday Jul 19, 2021
Monday Jul 19, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
19 July 2021
“23 Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? 26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. (Luke 9:23-26)
“1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:1-6)
I wonder what you think the goal of being a Disciple of Jesus Christ is? Praying a lot? Perhaps it is reading and memorizing the whole Bible? Doing lots of evangelism or doing lots of work for the church? As admirable as those things are, they are not the goal for all those who call themselves, Christian, a Disciple of Jesus Christ. The ultimate goal for any Christian Disciple is to be as John wrote “must live as Jesus did.”, to walk and live as Jesus did.
Come and explore what the Bible has to say about the goal of being a Christian. It is almost forgotten in a lot of the Church today, it seems! What does it meant to live as Jesus did, to walk and live as He did? Let’s discover together how this is possible! Find out more by listening to the podcast!
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Sunday Jul 18, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought 18 July 2021 – The Christian and Giving
Sunday Jul 18, 2021
Sunday Jul 18, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
18 July 2021
“1 Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. (1 Corinthians 16:1-2)
“6 Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: ‘They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures for ever.’” (2 Corinthians 9:6-9)
Every Christian, has in differing quantities time, possessions and, of course, money. The whole Christian community is to be a community where the strongest members support the weakest members. This applies not only to the local church, but also to the universal Church and therefore has a national and international context as well.
Come and explore what the Bible has to say about the Christian and and giving. Discover more about what giving involves and what the role of giving as perhaps the greatest indicator of your spiritual growth. What is the role of God to be in your giving to others? Giving, a practical part of love and more can be heard by listening to the podcast! Go give and live!
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Saturday Jul 17, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought 17 July 2021 – The Christian and Forgiveness
Saturday Jul 17, 2021
Saturday Jul 17, 2021
Partakers Bible Thought
17 July 2021
“14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15)
“12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:12-14)
Forgiveness! Every Christian can claim to have experienced forgiveness! What is forgiveness? True forgiveness is not just saying sorry!! Forgiveness is to include penitence and also a desire never to do that same thing again. Forgiveness of course is a major part of Christianity, both in the way that God forgives when approached in penitence and repentance, but also in the way Christians forgive others and themselves! In both giving and receiving forgiveness, consider Jesus Christ and the enormity of His forgiveness.
Come and explore what the Bible has to say about the Christian and and forgiveness. Discover more about what forgiveness is, the role of forgiveness in the life of the Christian, in both giving and receiving it! What role does God have in forgiveness? Finally, come and hear a test to see if you need to forgive somebody else! Forgiveness, a part of love and more can be heard by listening to the podcast!