Mostrando resultados por autor "Rick Noyes" en Todas las categorías

Genesis means beginning and as the first book of the Old Testament it is a fitting title. However, it is more than just the Bible’s opening book, since it is the proper place to understand what the whole of God’s Word is revealing. Therefore, it is the proper beginning for understanding the origin stories and the plan and purpose of God. It not only reveals the God of the Word, but the call of God, the understanding of faith and obedience and the need for humanity’s Savior. Please join me in seeing how a proper beginning is important.

Have you ever longed for justice, desiring for a wrong to be righted or inequality to be avenged? I often think I am prone to desire justice, if justice does not hold me personally accountable. When it comes to justice, I rarely think about God dispensing justice, because after all that is somewhere in the future right? This study of the book of Ezekiel challenges my own thinking about justice by examining when God demands justice. If God’s justice were happening right now, would the scope of that interest you? Maybe it should.

Acts is a travel log of the church’s journey through the many changes that God puts in the path of His people. Change is the thread which weaves its way through these first twelve chapters of this first volume and really the whole book. I subtitled this study guide When everything changes because I think this theme not only draws out what is described by Luke, but also because it has real world application for anyone reading this. The reason is most people find at some point in life that everything changes. How we view life through the glass of that change can either be character building...

God’s Word has something to say to anyone who has known the disappointment of failed expectation which leaves the gray fog of pessimism tainting your view of life. Maybe your expectations concerning marriage were dashed and you have the bitter taste of betrayal in your mouth. Perhaps the circumstances of your life are not what you hoped for, because your expectations were built on an idealism squashed by the harsh boot of reality. So, you find yourself questioning your choices and perhaps God. If that is even close to describing your broken expectations, then this is the study for you.

Have you ever had your faith in God take a nose dive? I have. I have felt like my faith was as stagnant a pond longing for the fresh water of faith that used to flow through me. Relationship with the living God is not supposed to look like this, but mine has and maybe yours has too. I think Timothy might very well have been in a similar place when Paul sent this last letter to him. I find over and over again in this letter, encouragement from the Apostle, who is fanning the flame of faith that once burned brightly in Timothy.

Esther is one of the books of the Bible which draws critics to discount it as having an unproven validity, in an attempt to prove the Bible is unreliable and not the unerring Word of God. It is a curious book because it is a historical narrative, which has no spiritual references or specific lessons and, in many ways, it appears that its only purpose is to put the celebration of Purim into a historical context. However, the narrative is loaded with lessons and applications for the people of God. Even though God is not mentioned in the narrative, just like in creation, His sovereignty and ...

Why would anyone want to study the prophet named Isaiah? Afterall, he lived centuries ago, in a time nothing like our own days, or were they? Can a person or nation benefit from the mistakes made by others or is it just better to replicate them for ourselves? Ignoring history is certainly the right of a person or nation, and by the looks of things today we are skilled at doing that. But if you are tired of the uncertainty and chaos that is our new norm, then may I suggest the book of Isaiah has something to say to us today. Won’t you join me to see what that is?

Have you ever found yourself in the wrong because you totally missed the point? It could have been a school assignment, a botched task given by your employer, feeling the cold shoulder of relationship because you missed the point of something said, or even the punchline of a joke that everyone else understood. Regrettably, when we face those kinds of situations, most people revert to a self-defense mechanism that questions our guilt or failure. Sometimes that is displayed by pushing off our failing to others. I didn’t have enough time. The instructions were unclear. I was not given ...

This study is design to teach a person how to read and meditate on the Word of God. It has a refreshing approach that will captivate your interest. The New Zion Bible Study Series is design to teach a daily habit of study in God’s Word. This is the first book in the series in Kindle format to be used in conjunction with the internet, in an interactive method of looking at Bible study tools to help dig out the nuggets of wisdom found in the Word of God.

Have you ever felt stuck in place emotionally, spiritually, or in your circumstances? You cannot move forward and going back is impossible. You are not even sure you want to, because this darkness that has captured your soul seems like an old friend. If you have ever been in that place, you are not alone and this study is dedicated to you. It is written so that you might gain the strength and courage to go on to your best life, since there is no going back.

The grace of God should always be the focal point of our freedom in Messiah. When we lose sight of that, we are in danger and may well find that ourselves trading away our freedom for that of a performance-based approach to God. Please don’t let that be you. The Apostle Paul wants us to enjoy what God has done for us in the person and work of His Son, so we might be known by Him and know Him. The letter to the Galatian churches is our declaration of independence for the church even today.

I am 64 years old at the writing of this study guide and one thing the Lord has taught me in life, is relationships are more important than we know. We ought to do what we can to keep them.The subtitle of this book is When your measure is off, but the study is really about reconciliation. I don’t know anyone who does not have at least one relationship that has gone south and refuses to or can’t see a way to fix that which is broken. Paul has become our example to that process in this letter, but an example has to be followed to make a difference in us. Won’t you consider what we learn...

We live in evil times and one of the casualties of our times is the truth. Truth is thought to be relative to one’s viewpoint and distorted to achieve personal and selfish ends. We see this flexible view of truth practiced in our political process, businesses, interpersonal relationships, and in the church as well. The distortion of the truth is a form of deceit that we have grown so accustomed to, that we are not shocked by what is commonplace. What was once considered to be lying, today is simply defined as the truth relative to the person speaking it. This gap between the perception of...

In the USA today, there is a bias in the church, which favors those I call intellectuals. Those that lack the proper academic credentials are often dismissed by the intellectuals, lacking their respect. This rise of intellectualism in the church today is an unfortunate situation because it has created a caste system of the haves and have nots, within the body of Christ. This is particularly distressing when the church should be a place which has no distinctions or partiality. The greatest line of demarcation in this unspoken caste system within the church concerns the understanding of the ...

This started out being a book about prayer because I am taken back by how little the church today gives to this most important part of a maturing faith and instead it turns out to be zeroing in on faith, genuine faith. So then, are you tired of it? Are you tired of living a life where faith is more façade than reality? Where a fading faith must be propped up by inspirational messages and music to make you feel like you are not a failure. Are you tired of motivational speakers who prod the church to do better, when you already feel like you are spent? If you answered yes to those questions ...

I believe there is need for direction is built into our being. We not only want to know where we are, but where we are going. The problem is that the goal or direction for where we are headed can often be unclear. This is one of the main reasons the Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the church in Philippi of Macedonia. He loved this church and desired to give it the directions to finish well in their race toward the goal of knowing Messiah. He wrote this letter toward the very end of his life. Consequently, Paul lays out a map for the church, to set a correct course to finish well. The aim ...

I think the Jewish Christians and perhaps all Christians, who were undergoing suffering for their faith in Messiah, were looking at suffering from a perspective that they had been raise with, which put them at odds with the reality of their situation as God’s children. This is what Peter is going to try to counter in this letter. The study of 1 Peter is helpful in redirecting our focus in the midst of suffering so there is spiritual clarity, but the letter deals with so much more than suffering. I am sure you will find it to be a very illuminating study.

For me, this story of 2 Samuel is like discovering that my favorite hero of days gone by was more of a scoundrel than a hero. David had been called by God and he is remembered here more for things he did that were questionable and out of character for one called by God, than for the good things that has many people giving him the title of a man after God’s own heart. Much of the good of his relationship with God is recorded in this book as well as the failure that proved him to be human, like you and me. When God called David, He was not expecting perfection, but faithfulness. The same is...

Most people think that knowing future will give them an edge over others or help them prepare for what is ahead. However, knowing something and acting on its truth are two different things. Today we are closer to the return of our Lord than ever before, yet gauging from the way the church lives, it is apparent few truly believe the truth which is revealed here. In the first chapter of Revelation, the Son of God is calling the Apostle John to take up pen and paper and write what he sees and hears. There is a promise of blessing in this revelation dependent on our reading, hearing and heeding...

God used prophets to reach His people throughout history. I hope this study has you wondering as do I, if we could not use a few more prophets today to call the people of God back from where they are presently. It you find yourself longing for a change from the reality that surrounds us today and the same old status quo, then perhaps you have the heart of a prophet.