Join Ric Joyner of Bible Study Company, which is going through Psalm 101, which is David's dedication to stand for God's word and recognize His salvation. He wants to govern His life according to the Bible and then does the same for Israel. On this Resurrection Day, we can understand verse 1 very well, as we should be included with all sinners bound for eternal fire. But our God has lovingkindness and justice. Meaning that He, with His life, paid our sin debt! Then gave us the Holy Spirit. How, then, should we live for Him? As a living sacrifice according to Romans 12!
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Is Easter Pagan?
Warning: Always do your own research. Our intention is to only accept narratives by doing the research ourselves, and our purpose is never to offend. However, going against familiar narratives to get to the truth will produce offenses. We apologize in advance.
Not long ago, I was sitting with someone I respect. He said, “Easter is pagan." I inquired as to how he arrived at that knowledge, and he mentioned something about the goddess Ishtar and Easter being the same. I said Easter was a Germanic word for spring, so how could it be Ishtar?
No, Easter is not pagan today. "Well, Ric, when I search on google for the origins of Easter, it shows it had pagan roots." "Ah, the Internet," I said with a frustrated sigh. As researchers, to be correct, we must dig deeper. Easter is not from a pagan goddess. Ishtar was a Babylonian goddess that "SOUNDS LIKE" Easter; however, there is no link in etymology, as the article below will show.[1] Here is a humorous video from Lutheran Satire on this topic.
This article explains the background of Easter from Baylor University. "Well, Ric, what about Easter bunnies and eggs? Aren't they pagan?" They are not pagan, and they are recent modern inventions. The article provides details.
https://news.web.baylor.edu/news/story/2016/why-easter-was-never-anything-christian-holiday
After reading the article, we continue studying why Christians celebrate Easter Sunday.
A Time for the Gospel
Those against Easter and Christmas have the same talking points. "Christmas and Easter are pagan." The assumption is that a good Christian will not celebrate this time of the year because someone said it is pagan, or worse, we are worshipping pagan deities.
Worshipping pagan deities is a serious charge. When one worships a pagan deity, there are several rituals of literal worship. Today, I had lunch with a friend who shared that his definition of pagan is consumerism—which he defined as buying easter eggs, the stores marking up eggs in the store, and buying candy and toy bunnies. In Jeremiah, there are several instances of pagan worship. Jeremiah 7:18 For Easter and Christmas, we see no one worshipping deities as defined by pagans. I think people project consumerism as paganism, but I believe this is not the case. Consumerism is a heart issue and cannot be judged from the outside.
If these accusations are not true about Easter, is there a problem of laziness because of a lack of research on our part? Worse, if a group in our circle of influence believes this and we do not know why they think this is true, are we giving into a type of adult peer pressure? A passionate argument of "Easter is pagan" can come from a good motivation, but the person echoing this comment may not have done any research. The person does not want to offend God. Good idea. However, if proper research is done, we will find that the concerns are not valid to actual history. Why are people sharing about something they themselves have not researched?
We can be at peace to celebrate Easter because Christ's resurrection gave us peace with God. What if the result is to focus on not celebrating Easter because it is pagan, and we lose an opportunity to share why we celebrate Easter and do not present the Gospel? Like Christmas, this time of the year is to celebrate the Gospel.
Another close friend came to Christ just over a year and prayed for his family to come to the knowledge of salvation. His youngest sister shared with him that she had no idea Easter was about the Lord Jesus Christ, and she was unchurched. My friend used the opportunity to share the Gospel, and she came to Christ! Three weeks later, she died of a heart attack! Christmas and Easter are a time to focus on Christ and what He did for us on that horrid tree.
Others believe Easter is pagan and tell us not to celebrate Easter for another reason: to celebrate the Jewish Passover.
Should a Christian celebrate Passover (Jewish) or Easter (Christian)?
Now that we have settled that Easter is not pagan, we can move on to another problem. Our faith in Christ has Jewish roots. The Jewish nation was founded on leaving Egypt as slaves to become a nation around their belief in God. To leave Egypt, they performed the Passover meal of the lamb. But first, those who believed in God were warned that the Destroyer would come and kill the firstborn children throughout the land. To prevent the Destroyer from visiting their homes, the Hebrews had to kill, eat and sprinkle the blood of a lamb on their doorposts. Believing in God's word and acting on it caused the Destroyer to "Passover" the house. Therefore, up to 1.5-2.5 million, people left Egypt.[2] The Jews were to celebrate Passover every year. The feast is called “unleavened bread” because the Jews left Egypt quickly without leavening their bread. Our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified on the Passover without sin (because He is God) and was designated the Passover lamb. Exodus 12.
Yet, for some reason, Christians celebrate Easter versus Passover. Why should that be? Simply because of calendars, the resurrection, and unleavened bread.
Christians view the first day of the week (Sunday) as the day Christ rose from the dead and therefore call it "the Lord’s Day." The celebration of Easter is not linked to the Jewish calendar but to a day. Sunday became the traditional day for worship for Christians (Jews and Gentiles in Christ), and it was natural to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on Sunday. The resurrection symbolizes Christ's defeat of sin and death. We can find records of the early church celebrating the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on Sunday, the first day of the week. We can also find documents that both Jews and Gentiles kept the Sabbath and also worshipped on the Lord’s Day. Acts 20:7-12
Judaism celebrates Passover because they do not accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah. Some Jewish people that believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah will still honor the Passover. "Remember, Ric, that Passover is not the end of the story," said Dr. Daniel Goepfrich. He paused and continued, "The resurrection is the end of the story, which is why we celebrate the resurrection." (paraphrase)
Jewish people also use a calendar based on the new moon, which can put the Passover and unleavened bread during the week. In other words, Judaism is not tied to celebrating the Passover on any given day, such as Sunday but does celebrate Passover on the 14th day of Nissan, which can be a different day of the week each year. Notice that Passover is a weeklong celebration, and Christianity instead focuses on the day of His resurrection.
Let’s Review
Christians believe that the feast of unleavened bread, which removes sin in our lives because we exchange His righteousness for our sinfulness, was fulfilled in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who made atonement with His sinless blood for all mankind. Jesus is the Passover lamb. In Contrast, the Passover focuses on the Exodus of Egypt (a type and shadow of what the Lord Jesus Christ would fulfill), which now finds fulfillment in Christ's resurrection. Heb 7:26-8:5.[3] Christians focus on Easter Sunday because they recognize Christ as the Messiah and Christ’s resurrection is on Sunday, the first day of the week. Mark 16:9
Why don't Christians celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread? The symbolism of yeast is sin. Therefore, in preparation for Passover, one is to remove sin in one's life by cleaning your house of all things touched or might have been touched by yeast (ovens, utensils, mixing bowls, etc.). If you have ever tried to go a week without yeast products, it is tough to accomplish. A person cannot work hard enough to have sin/yeast removed from their life. We are thankful for the Lord Jesus's sacrifice as the Passover lamb to wash our sins away with His blood. Therefore, this feast is fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We ask the final question, is Easter pagan? No. Should Christians celebrate Passover? We found that immersing ourselves in learning how Christ fulfilled most feasts is a beneficial experience. Seder meals (like the last supper) are informative for Christian believers to understand that Christianity is rooted in Judaism. The focus of Passover is the blood on the doorposts. The subject of Easter Sunday is the blood of Christ on the cross to forgive our sins and that He is risen from the dead, causing our sin debt to God to be "finished," as Christ said on the cross. Christ rose from the dead and was witnessed by over 500 people, which is our promise of eternal life. 1 Cor 15:6. No other person in history was raised from the dead. 1 Cor 15:13. Our God has risen!
We can focus on the Passover, which points to the lamb's blood in Egypt, or believers in Christ can celebrate the fulfillment of Passover on Easter Sunday and the resurrection of Christ! And if you like, add Easter bunnies and cute eggs for kids that point them to new life in Christ.
Enjoy your holiday. People are open this season to know what Easter is about, so share the Good News! Christ has risen!
[1] Owen Jarus 01 February 2014, “Ishtar Gate: Grand Entrance to Babylon,” livescience.com, September 22, 2022, https://www.livescience.com/43036-ishtar-gate.html#:~:text=The%20Ishtar%20Gate%2C%20named%20after.
[2]Liz Abrams and Troy Lacey, “Did 600,000 Men Leave Egypt with Moses?,” Answers in Genesis (Answers in Genesis, September 20, 2022), https://answersingenesis.org/bible-questions/did-600000-men-leave-egypt-moses/.
[3] Nissan Dubov, “Pesach,” Chabad.org (Chabad), accessed March 23, 2023, https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2313774/jewish/The-Jewish-Festivals.htm.
By Biblestudycompany.com Ric Joyner
We will state upfront that Christmas is not a biblical holiday. But it is not unbiblical to celebrate the birth of Christ. We should also not equalize Christmas with the advent of our Savior. The Old Testament prophesized over the birth of the Savior to come. The current secular traditions of Santa, with almost God-like qualities and manipulating kids to "further fantasize" a jolly old man who can give all children on earth toys and an "elf on the shelf" that watches how they behave, is unbiblical. Still, some feel it is acceptable to create a myth around Santa Claus while children are young. We disagree. It is always best to be honest with children about Santa. Giving presents at this time of the year is not wrong because the Magi gave Christ's family gifts in worship to the young boy Messiah, who helped the family with the expenses of fleeing to Egypt. Consumerism and greed are wrong and sinful, but only the Holy Spirit can lead you to that truth, and He knows your heart.
Frustration mounts as we approach this time of year in the Christmas season. Screams of "Christmas is pagan" escalate into a crescendo with arguments against Christmas on social media and by some bible teachers. Could this be a veiled attack on the Gospel in the name of "we don't want to be idolators"?
Let's take a look. Please reread these scriptures prayerfully as we begin our biblical study.
Matthew Chapters 1-2 highlights
"30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation, 31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel."
Luke Chapters 1 and 2. Pay attention to what the angels say a couple of times: "Good news," translated as the same word… Gospel. The birth of Christ was good news for Jews because their long-awaited Messiah was finally here, and the prophecy was fulfilled. We write this paper 2,000 years later for Gentiles, grateful that the apostles preached the Gospel to us: Good news: Christ came as a child to break the back of sin and death and allowed us Gentiles an eternal "home" and become children of God! Gentiles are not part of the nation of Israel, but we are part of God's family! (Eph Chap 1-4) We celebrate the birth of Christ because of the Gospel!
Read John 1 for a view from heaven of why Christ came.
"9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the intention of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. We saw His glory as the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'" 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him."
If it is, then are you a pagan for celebrating the Day of Christ's birth? The historical false proof that Christmas is pagan is thrown at you with overwhelming emotional authoritarianism. Is emotionalism based on biblical truth? How about historical facts? We know the origin of Christmas (birth of Christ) is biblical. The story of our Savior starts with His birth because the prophets mentioned He was coming. We suspect the anti-Christmas vehemence is agenda-driven. We ask this question because born-again believing Christians are not worshipping pagan deities by participating in the birth of Christ called Christmas today. I spoke to a Torah-keeping brother who said, "Yes, Christmas is pagan." I asked how that could be, and he shared, "When you put a present under the tree, you are 'bowing' down to the tree." I was stunned. The logic he displayed defied logic. Yeah, no. Worshipping a pagan deity requires one to engage the diety knowingly.
In our research, there were pagan celebrations that started around the time of 274 AD, but they appear to be in response to Christians in Rome celebrating the birth of Christ! We then ask what came first, the "chicken or the egg?" "However, it has also been argued that, on the contrary, Emperor Aurelian, who in 274 instituted the holiday of the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, did so partly as an attempt to give a pagan significance to a date already important for Christians in Rome.[76]
Is the nearness of a pagan holiday make Christmas pagan? When I sift through the concerns of 'Christmas is pagan,' people, did you know there was a pagan holiday at this time? We will deal with this later, but does that make celebrating the birth of Christ pagan today? Let's ask another question: Is Hanukkah pagan? The answer is no. Yet, Hanukkah is square in the middle of this pagan holiday called Saturnalia. The true church pushed hard against these wicked holidays, and to assume born-again believers were participating in pagan festivals doesn't make much sense since Christians had to live outside of society for several hundred years because of severe persecution.
Calling Christmas pagan because of the nearness of the same period of a pagan holiday would be the same as calling Easter (the resurrection of Christ) and Passover pagan. The proximity does not work because a pagan spring festival may happen simultaneously.
We can confidently say that born-again believers would not have observed a pagan holiday and dishonored our Lord Jesus Christ, who rescued us from sin and death. Born-again believers do not participate in pagan rituals today, and Christmas is about the birth of Christ.
Conclusion. We will focus on the birth of Christ currently and not conflate the past to today.
"Certainly today, the mix of consumerism (AKA Santa Claus) can take people's eyes off Christ, but our job is to bring them back to the salvation message of the Gospel. Will you join us?" BSC.
Note: In our extensive research, we stumbled upon a Wikipedia article. We usually would bypass Wikipedia as higher education frowns on the use of Wikipedia; however, this article has stood the test of time (2001) and is updated continually, even in 2021. Once you dive into the article, you will see the extent and expanse of the research on Christmas.
"Got you, Biblestudycompany…see, Christmas is pagan". Well, no, and not so fast. This Wikipedia article on Christmas is excellent and thorough for a balanced perspective.
Here are some highlights:
"Christmas" is a shortened form of "Christ's mass." The word was recorded as Crīstesmæsse in 1038 and Cristes-messe in 1131.[22] Crīst (genitive Crīstes) is from Greek Khrīstos (Χριστός), a translation of Hebrew Māšîaḥ (מָשִׁיחַ), "Messiah," meaning "anointed";[23][24] and mæsse is from Latin missa, the celebration of the Eucharist.[25]”
"December 25 was the winter solstice date in the Roman calendar.[16][53] A late fourth-century sermon by Saint Augustine explains why this was a fitting day to celebrate Christ's nativity: "Hence it is that He was born on the Day which is the shortest in our earthly reckoning and from which subsequent days begin to increase in length. He, therefore, who bent low and lifted us chose the shortest Day, yet the one whence Light begins to increase." [54]
We conclude by the historical facts that the Roman Catholic Church did not exist at the beginning of Christian recognition of the birth of Christ.
"The Roman Emperor Constantine established himself as the head of the church around 313 A.D., which made this new "Christianity" the Roman Empire's official religion. The first actual Pope in Rome was probably Leo I (440-461 A.D.), although some claim that Gregory I was the first (Pope) (590-604 A.D.). This ungodly system eventually ushered in the darkest period known to man, called the "Dark Ages" (500-1500 A.D.). Through popes, bishops, and priests, Satan ruled Europe, and Biblical Christianity became illegal."
"And therefore, we should not celebrate the birth of Christ." We would say, "Tell that to the angels engaging the shepherds because heaven celebrated the birth of God's Son!" Luke 2:2-14
"And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 "This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
Note: the words Good News are translated from Greek
Original word: εὐαγγελίζω
Transliteration: euaggelizó
Definition (short): preach
Description (complete): to announce good news
Yep, evangelize during Christmas. There are hurting hearts at this time of the year, and many blindly celebrate a holiday not connected to Christ's birth. Let us help people relate it to Christ, our Savior.
If not Christmas, what should we celebrate instead? We should celebrate Hanukkah to return to our Jewish roots. Hanukkah was not part of the Gospel, and the birth of Christ IS part of the Gospel.
We encourage everyone everywhere to ask God whether one should participate in the celebration of the birth of Christ. We say YES! We can confidently push back on anti-Christmas and anti-birth of Christ people with correct historical and biblical facts.
During this time of the year, people are open to the Gospel for nearly one month. Do we let this opportunity slide through our fingers? In Matthew 28, our commission is to go and make disciples. To make a disciple, we must present the Gospel first. Will we waste our time arguing over the birth of Christ, whether it is pagan or not? To this, we say that people saying Christmas or the celebration of the birth of Christ is pagan are avoiding the Gospel! Why? Who in the spiritual realm attacks the Gospel and wants it destroyed? Satan. Think about this tidbit. Imagine a worldwide focus on Christmas, even in Buddhist countries. Why not present the Gospel at this time of the year? As Paul said, his focus was on getting people reconciled to God. (2Cor 5:18-21)
"15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." The Accuser is bound and determined to use people, even with good intentions, to stop the message of the Gospel of Salvation. We use the word accusation intentionally because people who celebrate traditional Christmas are called pagans. A severe charge but, fortunately, untrue.
God is a God of prophecy. He wants us to know what is coming. He answered His word and has "healing in His wings" to "reconcile us to God." There are no other holy books that contain prophetic words fulfilled!
Every Christmas season is a literal miracle that this holiday (holy Day) is focused worldwide on Jesus Christ, our Savior. Even the Wikipedia article acknowledges this undeniable fact.
Therefore, let us turn aside from the poor handling of scripture and agenda-driven history "facts" and focus on the birth of Christ and sharing the Good news of His coming to rescue us from our sin, thus giving us eternal life without works and fear in the blood of Christ!
What can you and your family do to share the love of Christ with a hurting world this Christmas season? Here is one video that touches our hearts when we watch it.
Feel free to share the resources.
Melton, James. "The Plain Truth about the Roman Catholic Church." biblebelievers.com. Bible Baptist Publications, 1998. https://biblebelievers.com/jmelton/Catholic.html.
Wikipedia Contributors. "Christmas." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 31, 2001. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas.
———. "Christmas." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 31, 2001. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas
William Federer: There is a Santa Claus - History of Saint Nicholas & Christmas Holiday Traditions
by Amazon.com Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0965355748/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_QVM4MJF835RK35KMWAHR
Christmas has nothing to do with paganism: Red pen logic
Was December 25 the date of Christ's birth? The Greek Orthodox church thinks so.
Mike Winger on Christmas:
1. Is Christmas PAGAN? In defense of Christmas
3. Stop Twisting Jeremiah 10 Because It's Not About Christmas Trees
4. Alisa Childers on Christmas
5. For the extensive history of Christmas with the discussion of the dates for the birth of Christ, God Became Incarnate James Quiggle by Amazon.com
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/149918669X/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_AR6NEZ6XB0TPZ5N1VB90
6. The star of Bethlehem is an excellent movie on the astronomical view of the star. https://youtu.be/55VRdLnkvDw
Playlist of videos that will go step by step
Article On how to study the Bible from BSC step by step
Article by Dr. Baruch on how to study the Bible
Article on how numbers play a role in Bible Study
Blog article and podcast on how we learned to study the Bible with Dr. Baruch
See full post & commentsThis prayer is a guide and biblically based. All a person needs to do is cry out to God in their own words. If you are not sure how to pray, please use this as a guide.
To have a relationship with God versus religion, pray this prayer sincerely and in your own words.
Dear Heavenly Father, (Matt. 6:9) I want a relationship with You...not a religion. I come to You and open my heart. (John 3:16) I will be honest and sincere with You. (John 4) I am running my life and need Your help. (Matt. 6:10) I am made in Your image (Gen 1:26, 27), and I won't be happy until I am in a relationship with you. (Gen. 3) Most of my behavior does not please You. (Romans 3:23) I know I am a sinner, so please forgive my sins because of Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who came to die for my sins. (John 3:16) His death on the cross is the punishment I should receive, but You were gracious to die in my place through Christ. By faith, I place all of my past, present, and future sins on Christ. I believe Jesus Christ is my Savior, and salvation is a gift! I know I cannot earn my way to heaven by being good through good works. (Eph. 2:8) You did this so I can be in a relationship with You on earth and for all eternity. (Romans 10:9-13) And I will forgive those who have sinned or hurt me because you have forgiven me. Take away any bitterness or resentment I carry toward You or other people. (Matt. 6:13-14) Please show and teach me how to live a praiseworthy life on earth to You starting today. (Matt. 6:33, Acts 9 and 10) I ask you to be in my heart, as Paul said in Ephesians 3:17. I know that You love me, Father, and I want to love You and that you have a purpose and plan for my life. I accept You as my Lord and Savior. Lord, because You gave me breath in my lungs and Savior, because you paid my sin debt. Please teach me to pray. (Matt. 6:9) Thank You, Jesus, for saving me to Yourself (Ex. 19:1-8) and making me a new person! (2 Cor. 5:17) In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!
Learn to grow at www.biblestudycompany.com, Grace Bible Church, and Christ Community Church.
See full post & comments#apologetics #Christian #doubt #skeptic #atheist #biblestudy #God #DoubtofGod #podcast
Experience doubt? "When in doubt..." they say. Let's ask God questions. God is our Creator, and we cannot see into a spiritual realm, but we can *hear*, *see*, and *experience* a relationship with Christ; doubts come with the territory. Even the disciples doubted in more instances than we typically realize.
Our special guest is Kedar Joyner, our daughter, artist, techie, Trekkie, and User Experience Designer for the University of Wisconsin. Together we discuss growing up in a Christian home but finding her way through doubt and developing our assurance of faith in Christ through understanding sound biblical study principles.
Is doubt accepted in the church or "frowned-upon"? Who can you go to with your doubt questions? Did you know doubt is connected to anxiety? Did you know that at the heart of doubt are questions? For those with doubt, please let us know in the comments below. We would love to walk with you! Please comment and share. Don't forget to subscribe.
Here is a link to Kedar's art:
https://www.instagram.com/kedarjoynerdraws/
@kedarjoynerdraws
Kedar's UW talk on Anxiety and tech
Doubt Podcast Outline: (can be used for discussion)
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Did we just define our struggle in our life? We start our second Bible Study of Ephesians with the biblical study principles on what Paul is communicating what we "are" in Ephesians 1. So we are to "be" in GOD's POWER v.s., not to "do" IN OUR POWER and strength. But this is where we live, in our heads, emotions, and our will. How can we change to "be" in His will? Easy to say, hard to accomplish. But not complicated in His power. Let's see.
Our podcast and video are the practical applications of our DEPENDENCE ON GOD, not on our strength. Did you know Adam and Eve were to have God's help daily to carry out God's will while they were in the Garden? Yes, our lives were never meant to be lived without God's help. Paul explains we are IN Christ now. Yet, our struggle continues.
Adam and Eve decided to do their own will, and this rebellion caused them separation from their CREATOR. Christ came as a sinless man, and also God Almighty, the same One in the Garden, Who was to help Adam and Eve carry out God's will. Through the blood of Christ, even though we are in our sinful flesh, we have the Holy Spirit given to us to help us carry out His will, with "every spiritual blessing," which is HIM!
We can get excited about this and worship our Creator. He wants us to be dependent on Him. How do we practice this principle? By having our hearts submitted to His Word and be in personal fellowship with Christ and realize we are to "be" in Christ. Join us for this revealing podcast!
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Episode Summary
Ric and Mary Joyner discuss our "pre-loads" of beliefs and ideas, which cause us hindrance in our biblical study. How do we clear out these programmed biases? Our podcast will discuss exactly how we can change our mindsets by beginning our study in Ephesians.
Ephesians Bible Study with Bible Study Company
Computers come with what we in IT call "bloatware." This pre-loaded software, although meant to be helpful, is biased toward the computer maker. However, this pre-load can seriously slow down the performance of a computer. Ric goes through each computer we buy and unchecks the software to prevent it from starting up and causing the computer to slow down. It uses computer resources we need, such as memory, to perform daily tasks. It has to go.
We are similar to a computer. We can come with preloaded software (ideas and beliefs) that include; bias towards how we grew up. For example, Mary was Catholic and had a bias caused by being in the Catholic church. We discuss the particular quirks of growing up in different mindsets. We can say we are almost pre-programmed toward a certain group, denomination, or religion. For example, in charismatic circles, there are all sorts of denominational beliefs and doctrines (pre-loaded software beliefs) that never get sorted out? These "pre-loaded biases" can split churches.
We explore how we can be willing to "clear the deck" and build a new foundation based on proper biblical study patterns. Then we can eventually add back in the beliefs we hold in a particular denomination or doctrines or toss them out for a foundation based on biblical principles. Are you willing to toss out cherished beliefs if they don't match up to Scripture? The disciples were faced with this pre-loaded teaching as well. Christ changed it all. He even said, "don't build your house on the sand, which is man's opinion, but the Rock is Christ.
Ric and Mary Joyner discuss our "pre-loads" and the type of hindrance they can become. How do we clear out these programmed biases? Our podcast will discuss exactly how we can change our mindsets by beginning our study in Ephesians.
Remember to share with a friend. This helps us grow and get the word out.
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Mary and I reviewed this podcast to take notes, and it is the first one we watched through to the entire end. You may say: "Ric, so what, you did the podcast." Fair comment, but strangely we learned from our *own* podcast!
These principles are what we learned from studying Exodus. Exodus is a picture of our Christian walk, according to Dr. Baruch Korman of loveisrael.org.
If so, what truths did we learn?
1. We learned about His Character.
2. We learned His purposes for us and his wonderful intentions.
3. We learned we could depend and lean on Him.
4. That we should not be grumblers in our tents (homes)
5. That tents represent an eternal perspective vs. "being invested" in the world
6. God will meet our needs.
7. Suffering is part of the package because we are in a dying world.
8. Fear is a waste when the God Who parted the Red Sea has our back.
These truths are what Mary and I rewatched and were amazed at what God revealed to us as we looked back. And we all desperately need God's revelation!
We are taking God's word seriously, and it shows by what He shared with us. We became more and more hungry for these truths and principles, and based on proverbs 1; we can see that God wants to speak to us...if we're going to listen.
Please take time to share in the comments what your Exodus is? And give us a "like". Will you join us? Will you please share? Please subscribe.
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We are experiencing growth in our youtube channel and podcasting. We hope you will consider sharing and subscribing and recommending to your friends.
We are working on creating short videos on many topics of interest to our walk with Christ. If you have ideas of what topics you would like to have us research pls let us know.
We also want to produce a course for people on "the proper methods to study the Bible for yourself without all the fluff". If your church or fellowship would like us to come and share on how we study to be pleasing to God and what we learned from Loveisrael.org let us know.
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The Amalekites are coming! We need a new foundation! Mary and Ric continue the podcast/video on what it was like to start to study the Bible together. We all need an Exodus from the world system (Egypt) and Church doctrines we learned and absorbed. But what if these are what "men" have taught us? We need an Exodus in our hearts that includes wanting the will of God in our lives. Christ, Whom we are to follow based on His command to us, IS the Word of God. (John 1).
When the Amalekites attacked the Israelites, we learned a valuable lesson: Satan uses people. And he can use us if we are not careful. Our reactions to people matter. Anytime anger is involved or if people treat you poorly, make sure you worship the Lord rather than reacting.
Ric and Mary discuss how they could obtain a new foundation in Christ by setting aside what they had previously learned and allowed the Lord to lay a new foundation as they studied the Word with a fresh perspective.
If we ask Him in our study to show us His will, He delights in our new attitude, and based on Proverbs 1; we can be sure of this promise that; The God of the Universe will give us revelation. If we are seeking knowledge, then we must ask ourselves: Is it for Him or us? Our mission is to study the Bible to find out how to please the Lord and perpetually ask Him how we can respond to His Word correctly.
Join us for this authentic and candid podcast of our learning to study the Bible.
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Hey Everyone,
We are coming up on Passover (Pesach) and Dr. Baruch Korman has done an outstanding video regarding how the Passover is done in Jewish homes. Remember, that to the Jewish people, believing in the blood of the lamb on the doorposts in Egypt, "stopped the destroyer angel". In the action of adding the blood of the lamb to the doorposts, the angel would pass over the house and not cause death to the firstborn. Many Egyptians and Jewish families who saw the mighty signs of God's destruction through 10 plagues, decided to participate and believed God by faith in the blood of the lamb on the door posts. On those households who decided not to participate or rather did not believe God's word, and stubbornly refused, someone died in their household in Egypt. The King of Egypt, "let the Jewish people go" into the wilderness and into God's care. The Jewish nation was born. A nation based on God's word. As Christian, (One who believes and follows Christ and His word) we recognize and remember His blood shed for our sin! That is significant. We can place our sin on Christ by faith, just as the Jewish believers did in the Passover lamb.
As Christ said, "It is finished". That is all of our sins were washed away...if we put our sin on Him and believe in His resurrection. He literally trades us our sin for His righteousness! Doesn't that make you want to live for Him? On top of this wonderful gift, which is good news, Christ sent us the Holy Spirit to make us born again and to write the laws of God on our hearts! WOW! So turn to Him today and believe in His death, for your sin, and believe in His resurrection as our promise of eternal life. Through Christ, our sin problem was "fixed" with God and we have "Peace with God", and we now have the power to walk with our God and please Him. Titus 2:11-12. Make peace with Him today!
Pray this way: "Lord, Jesus there are only two ways to look at life. I can try to be a good person based on what I think is good or some other religion. Or I can place my sin on Your death and resurrection and ask You to forgive my sin which I do. I am so sorry for what I have done and the people I have hurt. I beg you to forgive me. Will you give me a new heart? Please send the Holy Spirit to live in me and give me new birth so I can be a part of Your Kingdom. The thief on the cross had minutes to live and asked You to remember him when You get to Your heavenly Kingdom. Will you do the same for me? Please save me by Your power. Amen."
Passover Demonstration from LoveIsrael.org on Vimeo.
See full post & comments#Jesus #Bible #Biblestudy #inspirational #inspiration #motivation #inspirationalquotes #weneedanexodus
Episode Summary
What is your Exodus? Part 1 discusses Ric and Mary Joyner learning to study the word of God properly and the life-changing impact our lives. Healed marriage, God opening the word in profound ways and His active presence in our lives on a daily basis. Join us for this personal and transforming podcast.
Episode Notes
We participated in churches for many years. We can honestly say we did not learn how to properly engage and study the Bible. Is this strange? We think so. But more than not learning how to understand the Word of God caused major problems for us in our lives and marriages, and we looked through nonbiblical filters at the Bible. How is this possible?
Changes in our life created the need for help. We almost lost our marriage. Why wasn't Christianity working for us? What was wrong? Through Dr. Baruch and Rivka Korman, we learned how to study the Bible properly.
Below is a PowerPoint in PDF that you can read the whole story. But we are discussing one of the most neglected aspects of churches which is to show people how to feed themselves with the Bible, and encountering God in a new relationship. He is our Creator. We are made to serve Him. So, why didn't we learn to study His word? Good question.
Join us for a review of the last 6 and half years it took us to learn how to study Exodus.