Daily Bible Reading Podcast

EZEKIEL 46-47:Yesterday we heard regulations for the priests and Levites, about foreigners, and about the prince of Israel. Also there was the fascinating detail about the eastern gate, which must remain shut.

ISAIAH 20:Yesterday we heard the prophecy against Egypt, but again it ends with a note of hope for Egypt.

2 CORINTHIANS 1:Yesterday we finished the book of Hebrews. I would encourage anyone to camp out for a longer time in the 12th and 13th chapters. There is deep insight hidden there.

Here at the end of the year, we will be touring through some of the deepest writing of the New Testament— like what we experienced in Hebrews. 2nd Corinthians is such a letter. It is actually called "Paul's hard letter." And from a Bible translator's experience, it is the hardest book in the New Testament to translate. This is because Paul shares his feelings deeply and in doing so he often draws fine distinctions— not wanting to be misunderstood. It is those fine shades of feelings that are so hard to translate.

2nd Corinthians is a book where Paul shares in an intensely personal way. First he shares about ministry setbacks and discouragement. In sharing these things, Paul also gives us golden keys to unlock comfort and encouragement in our lives. Then Paul shares several personal stories because he feels forced to. That is, because of comparisons drawn between him and false teachers, the Corinthian church needs to know information about Paul's apostleship and relationship with Christ that Paul would prefer not to boast about.

Paul also urges the Corinthian church to complete their desire to minister financially to the needy fellow believers in Jerusalem. In teaching about ministering with Christian kindness, Paul gives valuable examples to us about the proper motivation for Christian charitable work and appropriate fund raising.

NLT Translation note:2Cor. 1:21 It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has [anointed//commissioned] us, 24 But that does not mean we want to dominate you by telling you how to put your [beliefs//faith] into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy, for it is by your own [fully believing//faith] that you stand firm.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

EZEKIEL 44-45:In the vision of the ideal temple yesterday, we heard of the buildings of rooms for the priests and offerings, the altar, the glory of God coming to this temple, and the reason for this vision.

ISAIAH 19:Yesterday in Isaiah we heard the prophecy about the defeat of the Ethiopians, and at the end of that message, there was a note of hope for that nation.

HEBREWS 13:Yesterday (and even the day before) we returned to the place of rest which was the theme of chapters 3-4. Did you notice?! Compare the last verse of chapter 4 with the place where we 'have come' to in 12:22-24.

NLT Translation notes:Heb. 13:7 Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of [the way they lived out their beliefs.//their faith.]8 [Christ Jesus/Jesus Christ] is the same yesterday, today, and forever.9 So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God's grace, not from rules about food, which don't help those who follow them.[The correct order is 'title' then 'name' in English. We always say words like 'president', 'senator', and 'doctor' before a person's name in that role. Greek can do the order either way. This is important because there are people in the world that think that 'Christ' is Jesus' last name.]15 Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to [Him//his name]. 21 may he equip you with all you need for doing his will.May he produce in you,through the power of [Christ Jesus//Jesus Christ],every good thing that is pleasing to him.All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

EZEKIEL 42-43:In yesterday's tour of the ideal temple we viewed the sanctuary and Most Holy Place.

ISAIAH 18:Yesterday we heard of Damascus and Syria and Israel.

HEBREWS 12:After recounting the more victorious heroes of faithful believing, the author spoke about all those unnamed people who victoriously suffered because of fully believing. The Faith Chapter ends with this:

Heb. 11:39 NLT All these people earned a good reputation because of their [fully believing//faith], yet none of them received all that God had promised. 40 For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.

NLT Translation notes:Heb. 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of [fully believing//faith], let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who [initiated/initiates] and perfects our [way of believing//faith]. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won't become weary and give up. 4 After all, you have not yet given [up] your lives in your struggle against sin.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

EZEKIEL 41:Yesterday we started Ezekiel's account of his long vision about the future and ideal temple of God, and this is another vision that is referred to in the book of Revelation. The reason for this vision is given in chapter 43:

Ez. 43:10 NLT "Son of man, describe to the people of Israel the Temple I have shown you, so they will be ashamed of all their sins. Let them study its plan, 11 and they will be ashamed of what they have done.

ISAIAH 17:Yesterday we finished the two chapter oracle concerning Moab. It was really not so much a prophecy of condemnation, but a lament for the people.

HEBREWS 11b:The Faith Chapter of Hebrews is an exposition of the verse quoted from Habbakuk 2:

Heb. 10:38 NLT And my righteous ones will live by [fully believing in Me//faith].But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away."

It is unfortunate that the King James Version of the first verse of Hebrews 11 doesn't make good sense but is still so often quoted as the definition of faith. The KJV says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for …" But how can I use that idea of 'substance'? This became the definition that is quoted, but no one can figure out what to do with it after quoting it. No one can— so to speak— put their finger on that 'substance'. The Greek word translated as 'substance' can also be translated 'confidence'. And using that word, our definition makes sense.

NLT Translation notes:Heb. 11:32 How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of [how these people fully believed://the faith of] Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. 33 By [fully believing//faith] these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. 35 Women received their loved ones back again from death.39 All these people earned a good reputation because of their [fully believing//faith], yet none of them received all that God had promised. 40 For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

EZEKIEL 40:In chapter 38-39 we heard of the kingdoms of Gog and Magog, which point to future kingdoms in the north. Like Ezekiel's prophecies against the kings of Tyre and Babylon, Gog and Magog also refer to spiritual entities beyond this world, and we will hear of them again in Revelation chapter 20. And today we begin hearing of something else that appears in Revelation.

ISAIAH 16:Today's chapter is the continuation of the prophecy against Moab.

HEBREWS 10:35—11a:As I have told you again and again this year, because of a quirk in English, the tight connection between the noun 'faith' and the verb 'believe' has been broken. These two words have the same root in Greek. It would have been better had English preserved the connection such as between 'confidence' and 'confident'. The reason I mention that again here is because this is the famous 'faith chapter' of Hebrews. Note that this chapter is actually expounding on a quote from the end of chapter 10, so that's where we begin today.

NLT Translation notes:Heb. 11:1 ['Fully believing' means that we are confident//Faith is the confidence] that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. 2 Through their [fully believing//faith], the people in days of old earned a good reputation.5 It was by [fully believing//faith] that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—"he disappeared, because God took him." For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. 6 And it is impossible to please God without [ believing//faith]. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

EZEKIEL 38-39:Yesterday we heard the famous 'dry bones' chapter of Ezekiel. Again the prophecy is that David will rule over the nation of Israel, which is like a nation of bones brought back to life. The references to David of course point to his heir, Christ.

Starting in this chapter we hear of the kingdoms of Gog and Magog. These names point to future kingdoms in the north (in Turkey or farther north). Like Ezekiel's prophecies against the kings of Tyre and Babylon, Gog and Magog point to spiritual entities beyond this world, and we will hear those names coming up again in Revelation. I doubt that these names pointed to a specific kingdom in Ezekiel's day, but if they did, the knowledge about that is lost.

ISAIAH 15:Yesterday's reading in Isaiah started out like Ezekiel, talking of Israel's return from exile and slavery. Then we heard another portion where the king of Babylon is clearly portraying Satan. That section starts with these words:

Is. 14:12 NLT "How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning!You have been thrown down to the earth,you who destroyed the nations of the world.13 For you said to yourself,'I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God's stars.…

HEBREWS 10b:In the first part of chapter 10, the writer is still speaking of the advantages and greater glory of the new covenant, proving this with a reference to Psalm 40 and returning to the extended quote from Jeremiah 31.

NLT translation notes:37 "For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay.

38 And my righteous ones will live by [fully believing in Me//faith]. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away."39 But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the [fully believing//faithful] ones, whose souls will be saved.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

HOSEA 9-10:I like how the GNT translates the first paragraph of chapter 6 as being the words of the people of Israel.

Hosea 6:1-4 GNT:1 The people say, "Let's return to the LORD! He has hurt us, but he will be sure to heal us; he has wounded us, but he will bandage our wounds, won't he?2 In two or three days he will revive us, and we will live in his presence.3 Let us try to know the LORD. He will come to us as surely as the day dawns, as surely as the spring rains fall upon the earth."

4 But the LORD says, "Israel and Judah, what am I going to do with you? Your love for me disappears as quickly as morning mist; it is like dew, that vanishes early in the day.

PROVERBS 24b:Just one of many neat nuggets of truth in today's reading:

Pro. 24:26 NLT An honest answer is like a kiss of friendship.

MATTHEW 6a:Yesterday's reading had five 'You have heard it said … But I tell you …' And they included some of the hardest ones for us to obey.

NLT Translation notes:Prov. 24:30 I walked by the field of a lazy [man/person],the vineyard of one with no common sense.====[In this memorized and often repeated verse, I suggest that 'name' should be taken as a metonymy that stands for God. See the note in the GNT section.]Mat. 6:9 Pray like this:Our Father in heaven,may [You always and everywhere be regarded as holy//your name be kept holy.][In most of the world's languages a 'kingdom' cannot come or move. Instead it is more natural to say that a King will come to rule.]10 May [You come as king to rule on this earth//your Kingdom come soon.]May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Recorded July 7, 2023 Buckling the Belt of Truth, lesson 3

THEME: following the SPIRIT's lead

I will not read all the verse numbers, nor will I always cite which translation I am quoting from. If I don't say which translation, it is either NLT or GNT. The complete information is found in the episode notes.

One of the mistakes I made in trying to find victory over my evil desires was thinking that the spiritual reality of my death and resurrection with Christ was going to be the key that would give me total victory over sin. It doesn't work that way. But the reality I find is that the Holy Spirit empowers all the truth about our unity with Christ. The Spirit is actually the Answer to the prayers we made based on the first two lessons for bucking the belt of truth.

He is

• our rescuer from evil desires (our 'flesh') which is bent on taking us to spiritual death.
• He is the power for transformation,
• the creator of a new creation,
• the motivator of our hearts.

But realizing the role of the Holy Spirit is not like finding a key to anything. He is a person. It would be insulting to His personhood for me to give you steps for using or controlling God's Spirit. You must get to know Him.

The personhood of the Holy Spirit actually made it difficult for me to write this lesson. Let me give an example: In my first draft I wrote the next heading as "How to get the Spirit." How insulting that must be to Him! And I beg his pardon. He is not a thing we obtain. People do slip sometimes and talk about marriage that way, like, "Where did he get that wife?" or like insensitive advice to a woman, "You need to get a husband."

Gale and I have built our relationship over 51 years, over many tough times, and through the crucible of taking our family to live in a different culture. Yet I still need to keep a close eye on maintaining my relationship with Gale. Now, the tricky thing is, if I were able to go back in time to 1972 to give myself advice, I would not be able to articulate a set of steps for how to keep Gale happy. Living with the Spirit is like that. I can't tell you very much about how to know Him, while paradoxically, I know He has been my friend. So that next heading is:

How do we start a relationship with the Spirit? The answer is incredibly simple.

John 7:37-39 GNT

On the last and most important day of the festival Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, "Whoever is thirsty should come to me, and whoever believes in me should drink. As the scripture says, 'Streams of life-giving water will pour out from his side.'" Jesus said this about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were going to receive. At that time the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not been raised to glory.

This agrees with Rev. 22:17 GNT

The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come!" Everyone who hears this must also say, "Come!" Come, whoever is thirsty; accept the water of life as a gift, whoever wants it.

So the simple answer to how we start a relationship with Him is to come to Him in prayer and ask Him to start his work in your heart. I'll give pointers about how to pray at the end of this lesson.

Cooperate with the Spirit:

We must understand that God's Spirit is the Author of Scripture. Therefore, we can know that He wants to do his work in us in a way that matches what we find in Scripture. The memorizable verses to support this are 2 Peter 1:20‭-‬21 (NLT):

Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet's own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.

Your results may vary:

In Eph 4 and Col 3 (by using verbs related to clothing) Paul gives us two metaphors, telling us to take off the clothes of our old life and put on the clean clothes of our new life. This process is directed by the Holy Spirit. My experience leads me to conclude this: There is more to our part in the equation than simply surrendering to the Spirit. The Spirit wants to motivate and help us, but He doesn't want to do everything for us. We don't get to be lazy.

This is why some believers have stories of amazing overnight changes that happened in their lives when they believed in Jesus, but then afterwards, it seems that all of us find left-over problems in living according to God's will that only can be conquered with personal effort and spiritual understanding. For me the Spirit immediately changed the way I talked. For others the Spirit gives immediate freedom from anger or various kinds of addictions. But after that, there always seem to be plenty of things left over for us to work on under the patient help of God's Spirit.

Ephesians 4:21‭-‬24 NLT

Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

What kind of things can be thrown off? Immediately after those verses Paul rapidly lists such life changes as stopping

• lying,
• anger,
• stealing,
• bitterness,
• outbursts of rage,
• and slander.

Please know: There is no fakey-ness in 'putting on' the new clothes that the Spirit gives. When such changes come welling up from inside you, be brave and allow them to show, like wearing a pair of obviously new jeans. Read the Bible daily and the Spirit will direct you in applying your new wardrobe. Sometimes following the advice of well-meaning friends will lead to frustration. They will want you to change everything all at once.

The Holy Spirit is the engine empowering our spiritual transformation.

I take that idea from the book of Romans. In chapters 5-7, Paul talks of the victory we have over the power of sin and death, but I find no hint of how that victory can actually be obtained. Then suddenly in chapter 8 Paul starts talking about the Holy Spirit.

Here is how Paul comes back to his topic after a long parenthesis in chapter 7:

Romans 8:1‭-‬3 NLT

So now there is no condemnation for those who [*are one with//belong to] Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.

Romans 8:4‭-‬8 (NLT)

He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws, and it never will. That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

Paul's intention is absolutely clear here! Believers can "follow the Spirit's leading." Both NLT and GNT use the word 'controlled' in verse 5, but I think that word can give the wrong impression. The translators were struggling to express what is mysterious and difficult to grasp. Let me try to express it! The Holy Spirit doesn't take over complete control of our minds, but when we are clinging to Jesus, the Spirit enables us to know how to think and act. In verse 4, Paul literally says 'walk according to the Spirit'. This Greek idiom of 'walking' means our manner of life. NLT's translation of 'following the Spirit's leading' is perfect in saying what the Greek means. We aren't controlled but more subtly directed, being enabled to 'follow the Spirit's leading'.

My team in Indonesia worked hard to translate those verses in a way that makes sense to our Indonesian readers. Please listen to how our Indonesian translation sounds when translated into English.

Romans 8:4-6 (PET)

God did that [declared an end to sin's control over us] so that the right way of life required by God's Law would be fulfilled in us because of being united with Christ. Now, we are enabled to live obeying the leading of God's Spirit rather than going back to following our sinful natural desires.

Allah melakukan hal itu supaya cara hidup benar yang dituntut oleh Hukum Taurat terpenuhi dalam diri kita karena kita bersatu dengan Kristus. Sekarang, kita dimampukan untuk hidup menaati pimpinan Roh Allah dan tidak lagi mengikuti naluri yang berdosa.

Anyone who still follows their sinful natural desires lives to satisfy themself alone. Whereas every person who lives clinging to God's Spirit is helped by Him to think according to his will. If the direction of our lives is only to satisfy our sinful natural desires, we will end up in destruction. But if [the direction of] our lives is directed by God's Spirit, we will receive eternal life and feel calm/peace under the protection of God.

Setiap orang yang masih mengikuti naluri berdosanya, berarti dia hidup untuk memuaskan diri sendiri saja. Namun, setiap orang yang hidup bergantung pada Roh Allah ditolong-Nya untuk berpikir sesuai dengan kehendak-Nya. Bila tujuan hidup kita hanya untuk memuaskan naluri kita yang berdosa, kita akan berakhir dalam kebinasaan. Tetapi bila [tujuan] hidup kita [dipimpin oleh//dikuasai] Roh Allah, kita akan mendapatkan hidup yang kekal dan merasa tenang dalam perlindungan TUHAN.

So, these verses claim that the Spirit can enable us to know how to think and act according to God's will. Following the outlook/direction of God's Spirit is what 'ends sin's control over us'! (I want that!) But wait! Is what Paul is saying available to only a few super-Christians— like Paul himself— or is it available to all believers?

Truth: Yes, this is for you! You (a sincere believer listening to this) have been enabled to live following the Holy Spirit's leading. A basic principle that makes this possible is realizing that we have been united to Christ. (Rom. 8:1 We are truly 'unified with/in Christ'.)

Your part in this is to decide clearly the direction you want for your life (v.6). There must be an intentional change of your mind empowered by the Holy Spirit and prayer. The Greek word for 'mind' here is phronema in v6 means 'thought, purpose, aspirations'. Ask for the Spirit to renew your mind. We must cooperate with the Spirit!

Our part #2: In verse 5 translators struggle to express the meaning found in the Greek of 'living according to the Spirit' (ESV), or as NET translates it, having our 'outlook shaped by the Spirit'. I think our part in that is to cling to, or lean on the Holy Spirit (v.5).

I dislike the way NLT translates this as 'letting the Spirit control your mind'. Stating it like that seems to make me more powerful than God's Spirit.

Instead we are the weak party in our collaboration with the Spirit, and that's why I prefer to use the word 'cling'. This is supported by Romans 8:26‭-‬27 (GNT) which says:

In the same way the Spirit also comes to help us, weak as we are. For we do not know how we ought to pray; the Spirit himself pleads with God for us in groans that words cannot express. And God, who sees into our hearts, knows what the thought of the Spirit is; because the Spirit pleads with God on behalf of his people and in accordance with his will.

With what Paul just said about the Holy Spirit praying for us, let's look at

John 14:16‭-‬20 (NLT), where Jesus says,

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

The Spirit is our Helper and Advocate. The Greek word translated like that literally means that He comes alongside.

The Spirit has 3 functions in this passage in John 14:

1. He leads us into all truth.

2. In his advocate role and just like Paul said, the Spirit intercedes for us. He prays to the Father for us.

3. He gives us confidence in our unity with Jesus. We are not left like orphans.

Let's put that alongside

John 16:13‭-‬14 (NLT): Jesus told his disciples,

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.

Part of knowing God's Spirit is to realize that his motive is to bring glory to Jesus. He never seeks glory for himself. It follows then that if we are following his lead, we also will not seek to glorify ourselves.

When Jesus mentioned to his disciples how the Holy Spirit would 'speak' and 'tell you about the future', that has primarily been fulfilled for us in His giving us the Bible. I can't remember any times Jesus or the Holy Spirit have spoken to me in an audible voice. He nudges me in other ways, often when reading the Bible. When verses jump off the page, pay attention! He uses our consciences to tell us when we have sinned or to warn us not to sin. But, I still believe that the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit still do occasionally speak to people in what they perceive as an audible voice. From a few testimonies I have considered believable, God's voice or an angel's voice only come once in a lifetime. It is obviously not the Holy Spirit's prefered method of communication with us. The Bible is the prefered method! Those who claim that they daily hear the Lord speaking to them are sadly deceived. Mascurading demons are happy to give daily messages. Similarly, my advice is to never seek to be given direction through dreams.

How should we pray involving the Holy Spirit?

I have mentioned the importance of prayer several times. This makes me think that some listeners might like a few pointers about how to pray.

• The Holy Spirit does not seek to glorify himself, so the normal direction about praying should work well for us, namely,

We pray to God the Father in the name Jesus the Son and through the mediation of the Holy Spirit.

• Most of the time I address my prayers like that to our Father in heaven. But it is perfectly fine to address prayers to any member of the Trinity.

• If I happen to be praying about something that reminds me of Jesus, then I will often address my prayer to Him. An example would be realizing that I have a special need today for Jesus to be with me in something facing me. So I find it natural to pray, "Lord Jesus, You promised You would be with us always in Matthew 28, and I need You to be with me today."

• Similarly, I pray directly to the Holy Spirit when I am praying something that has to do with the ministries of the Holy Spirit as described in the Bible.

• As I said above, He leads us into all truth. He is also the author of Scripture. So it is fine to invite the Holy Spirit to help you when you need direction in understand or putting into practice something you've found in the Bible.

• The Holy Spirit pleads for us directly to the Father. So if I am praying to the Father about some urgent issue, I sometimes ask the Holy Spirit to help me bring my plea powerfully to the Father.

• Since Paul says we are enabled to be directed by the Holy Spirit (as in Romans 8), then asking Him to remove any communication barriers is a good idea.

• Ephesians 4:30 says: "Do not bring sorrow (grieve) the Holy Spirit." He won't want to direct your thinking/outlook if you have done that. It is certain that He will be pleased if you come to Him and ask for forgiveness.

• Ephesians 6:18 (GNT) "… Pray on every occasion, as the Spirit leads. For this reason keep alert and never give up; pray always for all God's people." Therefore it is certainly a good thing to pray to the Holy Spirit asking for Him to lead you in praying, giving you alertness to things He wants you to pray about.

• Ephesians 6:17 (GNT) Directs us to "accept … the word of God as the sword which the Spirit gives you." It is therefore a great idea to ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom in how to bring God's Word into your conversations.

• Then we can't forget to ask Him for this one too: Ephesians 5:18 (GNT) "Do not get drunk with wine, which will only ruin you; instead, be filled with the Spirit."

We have run out of time to discuss the gifts that are given by the Spirit. Paul urges us to pray, asking to be given the most useful spiritual gifts. When someone thanks you for the way God is using your gift in your local church, don't get proud about that. But use that feedback as an encouragement to cling even tighter to the Holy Spirit.

Let's pray.

Dear Heavenly Father, Paul says that as a believer in Christ, the power of sin should no longer control our lives. So my listener and I have already been enabled through the truth of your Word to live obeying the leading of the Holy Spirit. Dear Father, please give our minds a new sensitivity to the nudges of your Spirit. O Holy Spirit, help us to realize any ways we have grieved You. Please lead us in asking for your forgiveness. And teach us how to cling to You. Dear Jesus, we pray that we will remember that we are so unified to you that it is as if we died with You on the cross and now have been raised to live a life under new management. Therefore Lord, help us to realize when our minds go back to well-worn pathways that lead to the desires that used to dominate our thoughts. Help us to put our eyes back on You, Lord Jesus. Heavenly Father, I pray for my brother or sister listening to me now, if he/she struggles to believe that the Holy Spirit is in any way active in his/her life. Dear Jesus, please convince my listener that you haven't left them alone and orphaned. O Holy Spirit, come to my listener and to me. Renew our minds and make us a new creation.

Amen. And Gale and I say, "May the Lord bless you 'real good'."

2SAMUEL 16:Absolom first stole the hearts of all Israel by being a shrewd politician. Then he mounted a rebellion against his own father. David fled Jerusalem to avoid bloodshed, and as he left, he planted several carefully chosen people to work for him.

PSALM 115:I know I have said it a lot, but can't help saying it again: This is one of my favorite psalms. Our God is so different than idols. He is in heaven and does whatever He pleases.

ROMANS 16:Having told of his plans to visit Rome on his way to Spain, and how he must first go to Jerusalem, Paul now turns to greeting his friends in Rome. I really enjoy this section! There is real closeness in the family of God. When we call each other 'brother' or 'sister', we really mean it. And our love and bonds of fellowship often span long distances. I enjoy seeing this in every phrase in this chapter.

NLT Translation note:Ps. 115:8 And those who make idols [will be//are] just like them,as [so will be//are] all who trust in them.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A few years ago I published a YouVersion reading plan entitled Buckling the belt of truth. In this podcast I'm reissuing the first episode of that reading plan.

Here I am at 72. I'm beginning to not be so surprised at my own age. Being so very elderly, perhaps it is time to share some grandfatherly advice.

Maybe I have some of you fooled. Some of you may think that an elder missionary like me has it all together and that I don't ever sin. You might think that I have conquered all weaknesses and no longer have episodes of sinful thoughts. You would be wrong. And I suspect that I don't fool everyone. People who really know me have seen my weaknesses.

However, if I am working with the right information, a lot of you have struggles with sin the same way I do. So let me start by calling our attention again to these frequently quoted verses:

2 Peter 1:3-4 NLT'15 3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires.

2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV: 3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Those are great verses, but they leave me asking, even crying out, "Which promises?! I don't think I have "escaped the world's corruption" yet! Have I been overlooking a key promise somewhere?!"

Peter follows verses 3-4 by urging his readers to take steps for spiritual maturity found in verses 5-8. While Peter gives great advice in those verses (which I hope you will study), I still keep coming back to verses 3-4 and asking, "How do I put golden promises found somewhere in the Bible into effect?— so that through them, I can 'share in God's divine nature' and truly 'escape' from bondage to sinful desires. What are the practical steps to do that?" Where can I find the promises that unlock moral excellence and self-control?

Just like any college curriculum, before you start advanced courses, you need to take the prerequisites. So also, for you to get the most from this study, here are the prerequisites.

• This study is for true believers in Christ who are mature enough in following Jesus to have experienced the frustration I just explained above.
• The 5-7 studies I am starting with this session won't be much help to you if you are living in gross disobedience to basic commands in God's Word. Using an extreme example, if you make your living by stealing packages, you need to get an honest job before taking this course. This course is for those seeking spiritual maturity. The first step in becoming a maturing follower of Jesus is for you to repent of all openly disobedient life-styles.

• Another foundational step toward maturity is being a member of a local Bible-believing church, being baptized, and taking part in the Lord's supper with your fellow believers. I can imagine some readers complaining about my saying this. I urge you to understand that membership in an organized fellowship of believers is a baked-in part of how God designed humans to live. The picture of community life starts in Genesis and goes through the whole Bible. You will not be successful in your quest for spiritual maturity if you are attempting to live as a Lone Ranger Christian. Other readers will say, "I don't want to be a lone ranger, but there isn't a Bible believing church near me." I recognize that finding a church that is faithfully teaching the Bible will become increasingly difficult at this time— especially in some countries, but also anywhere in the increasingly post-Christian world. Look for a home fellowship that you can join.
• Finally, an important foundational prerequisite step is to cultivate a scheduled Bible reading habit.

If you fit this profile, please continue to listen/read.

1. My first step to finding the golden promises Peter mentioned and escaping moral corruption is to Put on the belt of truth. This is one of seven parts to the Christian's armor found in Ephesians 6. But I suggest that we make this clarification: Buckle the belt of truth by believing what God says about you in the Bible.

NLT'07 Ephesians 6:14: 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth …

If you are a Christian, you believe a lot of true things already about Christ and the Bible. (You believe Christ came to earth to save us. You believe the Bible is God's message to us.) But do you reject believing other things the Bible says about you? If you do, it is like putting on a belt— putting it through your belt loops, but not buckling it. So let's learn how to buckle the belt of truth.

In this lesson, I want to sensitize you to realize when you don't actually believe it when the Bible says incredibly awesome things about YOU as a believer in Christ.

Having the realization is often the hardest part. After that, ask God to renew your mind to fully accept the new truth.

Let's make one thing clear about believing. Believing isn't something that just sort of happens. Believing is an act of the will. You decide if you believe something or believe in Somebody, or not. This is why in Scripture we read that God commanded people to believe and do what He told them, and He punished them for a stubborn refusal to believe His commands.

Just look at the people of Israel who followed Moses all the way from Egypt and through the wilderness. They got all the way to the border of the promised land, knowing all the time what they would have to do. But when the Lord, "Now it's time to enter and conquer that land," they said, "Surely you couldn't mean us!"

Let's go back to where we started. Peter said, "he (God) has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires.

Here's the basic principle I hope you will learn: When you encounter 'great and precious promises' in your Bible reading, telling you about wonderful things God has done for you or given to you, ask God to make those things real to you. Ask him to open your mind to receive that truth about you, and help you live in the light of that truth. You will need to pray asking God for such help, because for your whole life, Satan and his friends have been feeding lies to you.

Now let's turn to Ephesians 1. You might want to follow the episode notes so that you can see the words I have highlighted.

NLT'15 Ephesians 1:1-23: 1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God's holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. 2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

This letter written to the normal believers in Ephesus, is therefore written to us too. For now let's skip the idea that Paul called them 'holy people', because Paul comes back to that idea more than once below.

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

This paragraph turns our normal understanding upside down. I think that most people think of God as the angry judge that will destroy us. But these verses have God as the actor doing all these wonderful things, which are too many for me to comment on now. Let me highlight just two of them: God loves us and called us in advance. Change what you think about God and yourself: Tell this truth to yourself: God loves even me. God called me long ago, before I was born (amazingly, before He made the world).

Let's claim another truth here: As a believer in Christ, you are united with Christ. A literal translation will say, 'in Christ'. Jesus spoke of this unity when He said, "I am the vine and you are the branches." (John 15:5)

NLT'07 John 15:4: 4 Remain in me (joined to me), and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

This idea of being 'joined' to Christ (or 'in Christ) is spoken of in many places in Paul's writing, and it becomes one of the themes of this letter. But, dear friend, it's time for you to start believing this idea about yourself! This is a key concept in believing that you are accepted as 'holy' in God's sight. If you see yourself as separate from Christ, sadly, you will act like you are not connected to Christ.

Now with this connection, we also have the reason we are holy. It's not that we are in any natural sense 'saints', but we have been made holy by Christ. We have received his holiness.

Out of the incredible richness of this paragraph, I want to pull out one more gem. God has adopted you and me into his family. In the Greek Paul used a legal term here which means you have been given 'sonship' or 'legally adopted as a son'. In Roman law, the adoption of a son could not be undone. It was permanent. (Ladies, in this spiritual reality, don't let the male gender of this term rob you from considering yourself permanently adopted.) Dear friend, it's time to revise how you think of yourself. You're not a nobody. You're not unloved. You are a permanent member of the most powerful royal family!

Let's skip down to the middle of v.13.

And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

Think about this: God has given you a guarantee that he is going to give you a wonderful inheritance. Stop saying, "Well, as long as I get to heaven I don't need an inheritance." God wants us to think about that inheritance. It is healthy for us to think longingly for our inheritance in heaven.

Our guarantee is not some flimsy card that we will misplace. Our guarantee is the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts! Our text says, "when you believed in Christ, he (God) identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit,"

It is crucial that you have a sense of belonging to God given by the Holy Spirit. Think of how personal and intimate is this bond we now have with God. I think you will find that this intimate bond is something you want to keep. This is one of our main motivations in seeking to live a holy life in God's sight.

NLT'07 Romans 8:9: 9 … (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)

It's no wonder that in the John 15 passage we quoted about Jesus being the vine and we the branches, He mentions prayer:

NLT'07 John 15:7: 7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!

If we aren't praying, then we aren't believing the truths I just listed for you.

Power points:

• God is for us and loves us. God is the actor for most of this chapter. This love from God the Father is counter-intuitive for us. We won't believe it unless we realize our lack of belief and pray to God asking Him to make it real to us.
• God went to great lengths to put his plan into action. This gives us great confidence that we have really been called by Him. We are one with Him, joined to Him.
• We are united to Christ, so much so that He considers us actually part of his body.
• We have a powerful guarantee, the Holy Spirit, which is not an external thing, but an inward witness that we are joined to Christ.
• We are God's holy people, not because we have the power to be holy. But God has made us holy by our unity with Christ. This is our identity! Take this identity. Believe and preserve this identity by taking care of the unity you have with the Holy Spirit.
• Paul wants us to understand all these things so that we understand that God will use his power to help us.

Homework:

2PE.1.3-4

EPH.6.10-18

EPH.1

EPH.2.1-10