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The Way to Heaven - Part one
Here are Bible lessons, taken from the Old and New Testament; focussing upon what we believe God is saying to us through the selected readings. We believe the Bible is God’s Holy Word and that God’s Holy Spirit inspired everything written in it. Although there are some things that we do not yet fully understand we have been blessed to believe everything that is written in the Bible. The thrust of the lessons is to encourage those, in this busy world, (or for some…this lonely world) who need help, or need confidence, or need assurance, or are just seeki Bible readings covered in part one include…
* Why did God instruct his people to make blue tassels on their garments?
* What the Bible says about predestination.
* Why there is only one way to God’s Kingdom and why all our good works will not qualify us before a Holy God?
* The link between sin and hell.
* Have you noticed how fickle the public can be? Did you know that nothing can ever separate YOU from God’s love?
* How important are men and women in this great, massive universe?
*A fleeting Opportunity
Readings in 'Way to Heaven' part two
* The End Times - Signs prophesied in the Bible
* Born Again! How can it happen? What does it mean?
* Read what the Bible teaches us about love…and then, if you wish, you can take your own Spiritual Health Check.
To read the Christian Bible lessons please scroll down the page.
We
have divided them into weekly studies but please print them out if you
wish - for your own studies and for use at your Bible Study group.
Lesson1
Greetings, and a warm welcome to the first Bible lesson.
A Bible study to help you through the week, (especially if you're feeling blue.)
Have
you ever heard a tune that instantly takes your thoughts back in time,
reminding you of something that you have actually experienced?
No
matter how long ago and no matter whether the occasion was happy or
sad, when you hear the tune your brain makes you remember what was
happening and just how you were feeling at that time in the past.
More than 1400 years before the birth of Christ, Almighty God did a similar thing, but not with music: He did it with a colour.
Today's reading is from the book of Numbers in the Old Testament section of the Bible.
The
time of the reading was after the Jewish nation had safely escaped from
Egypt, where they had suffered under the severe yolk of Pharaoh, and
were journeying towards the land flowing with milk and honey that God
had promised his people. 'The Promised Land.'
They’d been given 10 commandments from God!
But they still kept going their own way, doing what they thought was right, and although they knew full well that God had delivered them from many awful situations; they still found it difficult to trust Him and were often blatantly disobedient to His law.
Therefore God gave the following instructions to their leader, Moses.
Numbers, chapter 1: verses 37-41.
Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
"Speak
to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of
their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread
in the tassels of the corners.
"And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined.
"And that you may remember and do all My commandments, holy for your God.
"I AM the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I AM the Lord your God."
The children of Israel were told to make tassels on the corners of their garments with a blue thread in the tassels.
At
first sight it might seem strange for Almighty God, the creator of the
universe, to involve Himself in such a tiny detail regarding the
tassels of their clothing…But He wanted the colour blue to remind the
people to: "do all My commandments and be holy for your God."
In other words He wanted the colour blue to remind them of Him.
The blue
thread to remind them that the commandments were important, but not
only that: It reminded them of God's love for His people and of His
desire to save them from the result of their disobedience.
Can you see how this could affect you?
You
will see Blue very, very often: The blue sky, blue seas and lakes, a
blue car, perhaps a blue advertising hoarding, a blue dress or a blue
tie.
In this coming week, whenever you see anything that is blue, just let the colour remind you of Almighty God.
Remember that He wants you to obey His laws, but also that God loves you, just as you are, 'warts and all.'
You are very important to Him.
Jesus told us (Matthew chapter 10 verses 29-31)
"Are
not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to
the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your
head are all numbered. – Do not fear therefore, you are of more value
than many sparrows."
God
knows every inch of you, right down to the detail of how many hairs are
on your head - and Jesus said that you are of great value to the
Father. He wants what is best for you. After all, He even gave his only Son to die for you. (Read John chapter 3, verse 16)
Did you know that God has given us another sign that He will remember all of us? And ‘all of us’ includes you!)…
That other sign is the rainbow in the sky!
In Genesis chapter 9 verse 17 He says that the rainbow
"Is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth."
So
now you have another of God's signs to help you and give comfort, even
cheer. Even when all around you seems full of gloom and you feel
absolutely hopeless to cope.
From today you don't have to cope alone!
Tell your heavenly Father about it!
Because He knows how to give good things to his children.
If you learn God's signs it will be easier to remember that
you are a very loved person. So at any time this week, (or in
the future) whenever you see the colour blue or feel blue: Look up!
Remember that you are a child of the living God and He would be delighted if you made contact with Him!
(Bible references from the New King James Version. Bold type and underlines have been added to the Biblical text.)
Lesson 2
Have you noticed how fickle the public can be?A successful football manager seems to have the world at his feet. Sports writers delight in printing his opinions and theories. They hang upon his every word. Fans chant for him: T.V. chat hosts line up to have him on their show. But wait until his team lose a few matches!
The poor manager soon finds that his fair-weather fans detest him. He’s brought into ridicule in the newspapers and dropped like a hot potato by the same T.V. producers who'd been clamouring for him to appear on their programmes.
It's even worse when a politician makes even one error of judgment.
A person's entire career can disappear like a wisp of smoke.
Even an ordinary person's seemly secure marriage, can go up in flames when adultery shocks and hurts the other partner.
We can all so very, very easily be separated from people who once loved us, even almost worshiped us.
Now I want you to think about something very personal. Please think carefully about your answer.
Have you ever done, anything wrong?
Done,
or said, something about which you are utterly ashamed? Something so
bad that you would never confide it to another living soul, something
that could perhaps 'ruin you' if it ever came out?
Something that people would try with all their might to hide and to forget.
Have you, like thousands of others, got something in the past, a skeleton in the cupboard that you wish had never happened.
Well now...listen-up! I have something to tell you that will amaze you!
Almighty God already knows everything about your past.
He already knows your strengths, your failings and your weaknesses.
But although God hates your sin, he does NOT hate YOU!
He loves you – Yes! He loves you…Just as you are right now!
And…Nothing in all creation can ever separate you from God's love in Christ Jesus.
Please read Romans, chapter 8. - Our reading today is part of
that chapter: Romans, chapter 8, verses 31 – 39.
'What can we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?
Since
God did not spare even His own Son but gave him up for us all, won't
God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?
Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own?
Will God?
No! He is the one who has given us right standing with himself.
Who then will condemn us?
Will
Christ Jesus? No, for he is the one who died for us and was raised to
life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honour next to God,
pleading for us.
Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love?
Does
it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are
persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with
death?
(Even the scriptures say, "For your sake we are killed every day: we are being slaughtered like sheep.)
No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from His love.
Death can't, and life can't, and the demons can't.
Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away.'
Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean,
nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our lord.
I don't know about you, but I think that's a fantastic promise. It means that whatever has happened, or might happen…
Almighty God, the maker of heaven and earth, will never leave you nor forsake you.
So we can say with absolute confidence.
"The Lord is my helper, so I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?" (Hebrews, chapter 13, verse 6.)
Unlike people who rely upon fame and public approval, (things that can easily flee away so quickly.)
You
can rely upon the Lord God, who loves you so much that He gave His only
Son, Jesus Christ, to save you and, if you ask, will send His Holy
Spirit to help you in all that you do.
So whatever situation you're in...You can Look up, Stand up, put your shoulders back and go confidentially into the day.
(Bible references from the New Living Translation)
Lesson 3
HOW IMPORTANT ARE MERE HUMANS IN THIS MASSIVE UNIVERSE?
Last year in Springtime, we had a three-day trip, with our eldest daughter and our two youngest grandchildren, to see the sights of London.
We enjoyed a sail down the river Thames, the Royal Observatory, the Cutty Sark, an open top bus tour of City landmarks, until we spent the last half-day at Covent Garden, which was thronged with Spring tourists: wandering around with their cameras, eating in the street cafes, and buying a myriad of items from the market.
The children were fascinated by the goods on offer and particularly by the self-employed street entertainers, who were brilliant and really added to the wonderful holiday atmosphere. Three of the entertainers were face-painted, imitation robots. The children crowded round to touch and to talk to them, while they, dressed in cardboard suits, somehow managed to remain unbelievably still.
As I watched I was reminded of my ‘quiet times’ and how I sometimes sit down to read the Bible, only to be too easily distracted by delivery of the mail, remembering jobs that I would do later in the day, or the telephone ringing.
And I thought that, over 1000 years before the birth of Christ, King David, with all his problems, must have been much more focussed when he wrote psalm 8.
O,Lord, our Lord, How excellent is your name in all the earth.You who set your glory above the heavens!
Out of the mouth of babes and infants You have ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies, that you may silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider Your heavens, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
- What is man that You visit him? And the son of man that You visit him?
- For You have made him a little lower than the angles,
- And You have crowned him with glory and honour.
- You have made him to have dominion over the works of your hands:
- You have put all things under his feet,
- All the sheep and the oxen, even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air and the fish in the sea: That pass through the paths of the seas.
- O Lord, our Lord,
- How excellent is your name in all the earth.
- The above is from the New King James Bible, but an earlier version reads: “What is man that you are mindful of him?”
When King David thought of the outstanding mighty works of God’s wonderful creation and compared it to human fragility and feebleness, he asked in awe and wonder, “What is man, that you even notice him?”
But God not only notices us, he actually wants us to be close to him, he is interested in everything about us, our families and friends, the work we do, Our recreation time, our health and in our relationship with all the other people he has created – whom he loves just as much as he loves us.
Isn’t it great to realise that we have a place in God’s vast eternal plan!
He wants us to take the place for which he created us: i.e., only a little lower than the angels.
It is only right that we want to give thanks for all the blessings that he has bestowed upon us: such as family, health, houses, jobs, cars, fresh air to breath, food to eat and water to drink. But, in addition, you can also take all your problems to God in prayer. He knows your needs, even before you ask and has promised that he will grant anything you ask of him in the name of Jesus, that is in line with His will.
Be assured that God will always hear your prayer and will answer it in one of three ways.
- Yes.
- Yes, but you will have to wait
- No
– Sorry, your request is not in line with my will, or in line with the
words I have given to my prophets. Perhaps it will harm others, or not
actually be in your own best interest.
- Creation is filled with signs that point to the creator and the more clearly we see God’s sovereignty the less worried we will be, because we will realise that we never have to face anything alone!
Lesson 4
Today's Bible Lesson is aimed to help you through the day…or right through this week…Or right through your life…Even through Eternity!
Our reading is from the book of Ephesians, in the New Testament.
The time of writing was A.D. 60-61 Paul wrote that salvation can only be attained by God's divine grace and NOT by human works.
Ephesians chapter 1, verses 3- 6: show that we were chosen by God - and the next 4 verses confirm that we are redeemed through his only Son, Jesus Christ.
Verses: 3 - 6
'How we praise God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ.
Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.And this gave him great pleasure.
So we praise God for the wonderful kindness he has poured out on us because we belong to his dearly loved Son.'
Paul writes that, Christians were chosen by God from the very beginning.
People might ask, "Do you mean pre-destination? Because if it's already predestined then whatever I do will make no difference."
Sounds sensible?
Not really…Because God chose the whole of mankind as eligible to be made righteous before Him through the precious blood of his Son.
In Revelation, chapter 3, verse 20, Jesus said,
"Behold I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me."
.Jesus also said, in Matthew, chapter 18, verse 14.
"Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."
(Note that the Bible refers to predestination many times:
However, remember that God created us with free will. He gave us the freedom to make our own choices:
For example…Matt. 25, v 32-35: Luke 22 v 22: Rom. 8 v 29-30: Rom. 9, v 15-24: Acts 2 v 22-23: Gal. 3 v 8: 2 Tim. 1 v 9.)
And the fact that an all powerful and all knowing God knows in advance what those choices will be, does not affect the right he has given us to decide things for ourselves.
Now for verses: 7 - 10
'He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven.
He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
God's secret plan has now been revealed to us: it is a plan centred on Christ, designed long ago according to his good pleasure.
And this is his plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth.'
Imagine for a moment that you and a friend wanted to get to Heathrow Airport and you decided to travel from Central London by underground train.
You carefully made sure that you took money, also a map of the underground, your tickets and passports - and a kindly ticket inspector directed you to the right platform.
So far so good! But once the train was underway you couldn't recognize any of the stations from your map.
You turned it side ways and upside down - but still couldn't find out where you were.
Sick with worry that you could be on the wrong train and would miss your flight, you plucked up courage to hand your map to the stranger sitting near you and ask for her help.
"This is a map of the French Metro, not the London tube," she said, smiling.
"You'll never find your way with this. The map you need is right in front of you, fixed above the seat opposite."
You have to use the correct map!
The only way is by believing that: God has given his only Son: To die, instead of us, for our sins,
(Read John chapter 3, verses 15-18)
Verses 16 & 18:
"For God so loved the world that he gave
his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him, but those that do not trust him have already been judged, for not believing in the Son of God."
This means that the ONLY way we can be acceptable to God is not by our own works, but by believing in Jesus Christ - Admitting that we have fallen well short of God's standards and accepting Jesus as our Saviour.
That is the only way (map) laid down by Almighty God for anyone to obtain salvation.
You're going to love what follows:
This means that no one can earn his or her way to heaven.
*You can give up eating various types of food.
*You can go out every day of the week evangelising.
*You can give all your savings to the church.
*You can let poor people sleep for free at your home.
*You can even sell your house and give your life to working in a leper colony.
*All of these things are very good works, but they will NOT get you into God's kingdom.
The ONLY way to gain entry into GOD'S KINGDOM is through his Son JESUS CHRIST!
You can't earn your way to heaven.
We will repeat that:
You cannot earn your way to heaven! It has to be through Jesus.
There is no other route that will get you there.
So now you know that, if you choose, YOU can do it! You now know the way! Don’t you? You've read God's map for your salvation in John, chapter 3. That's good news isn't it?
In a recent survey in the U. S. A., carried out by the Barna Research Group.
54% of the adult population said that they thought that: ‘People who are generally good and do enough good things for others will earn a place in heaven.’
That means that more than half of adults in America got it wrong!Whatever circumstances you find yourself in as you’re reading this Bible lesson:
The biggest decision in your life comes down to: 'What Do I Do About Jesus?'
Read John Chapter14 verse 6:
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life: No one comes to the Father, except through Me." God has already laid out his plan, and now all you have to do is acknowledge that your conduct has fallen far short of being reconciled by a Holy God (i.e. that you are a sinner) and then accept His wonderful offer of Jesus as your saviour.
Yes, that's all you have to do! The great transaction will be done the moment you tell God that you repent your sins, that you’re determined to lead a new life and that you accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour.
Go on...kneel down; close your eyes and
Do It Now!
(Bible references from the New Living Translation)
Lesson 5
The link between
HELL and SIN
It
had to come! Just as we were enjoying the Bible lessons and thankful,
realising how much God loves all human beings, along comes the bad news…Sin and even worse…Hell.
These days, many, many religious people, say they don’t believe that there is such a place as Hell. They think the Biblical warnings that Sin leads people to spend eternity in Hell are not relevant in today’s world.
No one wants to live a life full of problems.
Therefore…If you asked people to choose between A,) a life that is full of pain, sorrow and bitter regret: called Hell.
Or B,) a life without any problems such as, pain, sorrows and regrets: called Heaven.
Which option do you think they’d choose?
Option B Right? No sorry,
You'd think B but the majority are choosing option A.
Why would anyone make such a choice?
The main reasons are that they haven’t read the Bible, or if they have read the Bible, then they have not understood it, or they simply do not believe, or want to believe what God is saying about sin leading to Hell. God has given us free choice and some do not choose to believe, because they don’t choose to change their current behaviour. The Bible says, however that the desire to change and be rid of sin is essential. People who don’t make a choice, by default are choosing option A. For eternity.
Let us therefore first read what the Bible has to say about the reality of Hell.
Matthew Ch.5 verse 22
Jesus
said, “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother, without
a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his
brother’ Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘you fool’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”
Verse 29:
“And if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from
you: for it is more profitable for you that one of your members should
perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell.”
Matthew Ch. 5 Verse 30: + Matthew Ch.18 verse 9. And Ch.23 verses 15. say similar.
Mark Ch. 9 verses 42, to 47 are also similar readings of Jesus’ teachings.
In Matthew Ch.23 verse 33 Jesus said about the scribes and Pharisees,, “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape from the condemnation of hell?”
Luke Ch. 12 verse 5: “But
I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him, who after He has
killed, has power to cast you into hell: Yes, I say to you, fear Him!”
There are many more Biblical references, but the above reveals that Jesus Christ knew that Hell is a real and terrible place. And you don’t want to choose to go there!
Now lets see what the Bible says about sin.Romans chapter 3 verse 23 “For all have sinned and fall nedshort of the glory of God.”
Has anyone ever told you that they do not sin?
Don’t believe them! The Bible states that ALL have sin. (And that means everyone,no exceptions…(except the Lord Jesus Christ, who never sinned)
So what happens to you if you Sin?
Well, sin pays you a wage: Yes, the Bible says that you actually earn wages for sin.
People might wonder, ‘What are the wages then?’
For a clue read Romans chapter 6 verse 21
“What fruit did you have then in the things for which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.”
Yes that’s right, only two verses later Romans 6 v23 states,
“For the wages of sin is death,” and goes on to say, “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Are there different kinds of sin?
Yes indeed and we will discuss some, but first please read the 10 commandments, Exodus chapter 20 verses 1 to 17. Sin is not keeping these 10 commandments…And even if a person keeps most of them, that is not good enough, for the Bible says that a person who breaks one of the commandments, is as guilty as though they had broken them all, because they have not kept to God’s law.
I once heard a sermon that Man makes little of sin, but God makes much of it!
Adam
only had a bite of an apple, but that was the only law God had given
him. In eating the apple Adam broke the whole of God’s law!
Sins of direct disobedience
refer to Romans Ch.5 verse 19:
1 Timothy Ch. 2 verse 14
Ephesians Ch. 2 verses 1 to 6
Sins of omitting to do the right thing
James Ch. 4 verse 17
Hebrews Ch. 9 verse 7
2 Corinthians Ch. 11 verse 3
Sins of attitude
Mathew Ch. 5 verses 21 to 48
James Ch 1 verses 14 to 16 (ex
plains that sin begins in your own thoughts)
God’s plan for sinners: 1 John Ch. 1 verses 8,9
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’.”
We
hope the above will convince readers that we ALL have sinned…And even
the best Christians occasionally still do. So never think that another
human being can point the finger at you – Remember all have done wrong.
There are two consequences of sin
A) Death and Hell
B) Repentance and life:
through
acknowledging to God that you are a sinner. A sinner who realises that
it’s more than just turning over a new leaf: It’s being willing to do
that - and then receive a new life. And then asking God to forgive you…through His only Son Jesus.
Please read John Ch. 3 verses 15 to 19 (probably the most important verses in the entire Bible)
We
have not written the lesson to depress anyone, but to warn people and
then to assure everybody that God loves sinners, so much that he
sacrificed his only Son to die in our place for the sins that we’ve all
committed. Jesus gave his life for us, not after we had repented, but while we were still sinners.
Jesus died so that we could live! That’s great news for sinners like us, isn’t it?
Readings taken from The New Open Bible, New King James Version
Lesson 6
Belief in Jesus is the only way for any human being to be acceptable to God!
So does that mean that the things we do (our works) are not important???
Last week we thought about John chapter 3, verses 16 & 18:
'For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."
"There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him, but those that do not trust him have already been judged, for not believing in the Son of God.'
Fine…But now let us read James chapter 2, verses 14-17:
'Dear brothers and sisters, what's the use of saying you have faith if you don't prove it by your actions?
That kind of faith can't save anyone.
Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing: and you say...
"Well, good-by and God bless you: stay warm and eat well" – but then you don't give that person any food or clothing.
What good does that do?
So
you see, it isn't enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn't show
itself by good deeds is no faith at all – it is dead and useless."
Does this mean that James, chapter 2 is contradicting John, chapter 3???
It may seem so at first glance, but actually both are true!
The ONLY way to be acceptable to God is through our faith:
You MUST Believe in Jesus Christ! Confess to God that you have sinned and ask his forgiveness and help.
When God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac: Abraham was acceptable to God because…By faith. He was even ready to kill his son, Isaac. It must have seemed horrible, appalling, crazy…sick!
But Abraham was willing to obey God and completely trusted the result to Him.
So you see: Faith came first and then followed the works, (Abraham was ready to obey God and slay Isaac.) Faith came First! It does, every time.
However, James wrote that faith without works is dead.
What he meant was: If a person has true faith in the Lord, his/her nature will change. Then…Filled with God's Holy Spirit they will WANT to do good for others (works)
In verses 19 & 20 James writes, 'Do you still think it's
enough just to believe that there is one God? Well, even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.
Fool! When will you ever learn that faith that does not result in good deeds is useless.'
So if a person professes to have faith, but does no good works, then it is not real faith that they have!
That is why faith without works is dead. True faith
will produce good works, while faith that is a sham is an impostor, no better than a pretence, and that will not be acceptable to God and will not produce good works.
If you don't believe in Jesus Christ, or you're not sure, why don’t you tell Almighty God and ask Him to help you? You can tell Him that you want to believe, and ask Him to help you. God Will hear your prayer and He will answer it.
(Bible readings from the New Living Translation
Due to the length of 'Way to Heaven' please continue on page 'Way to Heaven' Part two
The next lesson (7) shows a selection of the Bible's descriptions of something in which everyone is interested: THE END TIMES
To continue please click the link
'Way to Heaven part 2'