THE BIBLE TALKS TO US ABOUT LOVING GOD. To love God is better than all sacrifices. Mark 12:33. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as you love yourself is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” To love God is a characteristic of believers. Ps. 5:11-12. But let all who take refuge in you rejoice. Let them sing with joy forever. Protect them, and let those who love your name triumph in you. You bless righteous people, O LORD. Like a large shield, you surround them with your favor. To love God is commanded Deut. 11:1. Love the LORD your God, and do what he wants you to do. Always obey his laws, rules, and commands. Josh 22:5 Carefully follow the commands and teachings that the LORD’s servant Moses gave you. Love the LORD your God, follow his directions, and keep his commands. Be loyal to him, and serve him with all your heart and soul.” Encourage one another to love God. Ps. 31:23. Love the LORD, all you godly ones! The LORD protects faithful people, but he pays back in full those who act arrogantly. God is faithful to those who love Him Deut. 7:9. Keep in mind that the LORD your God is ⸤the only⸥ God. He is a faithful God, who keeps his promise and is merciful to thousands of generations of those who love him and obey his commands. LOVING GOD COMES WITH BENEFITS. FOOD FOR THOUGHT. ALLOW THESE VERSES TO BE A GUIDE UNTO YOUR LIFE. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
JESUS CHRIST IS FAITHFUL Hebrews 3:6 But Christ is a faithful son in charge of God’s household. We are his household if we continue to have courage and to be proud of the confidence we have. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 But the Lord is faithful and will strengthen you and protect you against the evil one. 2 Timothy 2:13 If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful because he cannot be untrue to himself. Lamentations 3:22-23 It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, Because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: Great is thy faithfulness. JESUS IS FAITHFUL. WE CAN DEPEND ON JESUS. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
THE LOVE OF GOD Is Inseparable. Rom. 8:38-39 I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love which Christ Jesus our Lord shows us. We can’t be separated by death or life, by angels or rulers, by anything in the present or anything in the future, by forces or powers in the world above or in the world below, or by anything else in creation. God’s love Is Unfailing. Isa. 49:15–16 Can a woman forget her nursing child? Will she have no compassion on the child from her womb? Although mothers may forget, I will not forget you. I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. Your walls are always in my presence. 1 John 3:1 Consider this: The Father has given us his love. He loves us so much that we are actually called God’s dear children. And that’s what we are. For this reason the world doesn’t recognize us, and it didn’t recognize him either. Romans 5:8 Christ died for us while we were still sinners. This demonstrates God’s love for us. 1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the payment for our sins. OUR GOD HAS SHOWN US HOW MUCH HE LOVES US. HOW ARE YOU SHOWING YOUR LOVE FOR GOD? OUR GOD HAS LEFT NO DOUBT ABOUT HOW MUCH HE LOVES US. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
Proverbs 5 Sexual sin is eventually disappointing When married people honor and respect sex as God instructs them in His Word, they can experience increasing enjoyment and enrichment in their intimacy. But when people break the rules, the result is just the opposite. They experience disappointment and disillusionment and have to search for larger “doses” of sexual adventure in order to attain the imaginary pleasure level they’re seeking. God created sex not only for reproduction but also for enjoyment, and He didn’t put the “marriage wall” around sex to rob us of pleasure but to increase pleasure and protect it. In this chapter, Solomon explains the disappointments that come when people violate God’s loving laws of sexual purity. Their experience goes from sweetness to bitterness (vv. 1–6). We’ve met “the strange woman” before (2:16; NIV, “adulteress”) and she’ll be mentioned again (5:20; 6:24; 7:5; 20:16; 22:14; 23:27; 27:13). The word translated “strange” basically means “not related to.” The “strange woman” is one to whom the man is not related by marriage, and therefore any sexual liaison with her is evil. The beginning of this sinful alliance may be exciting and sweet, because the kisses and words from her lips drip like honey (7:13–20), but in the end, the “sweetness” turns to bitterness and the honey becomes poison (5:4). The Book of Proverbs emphasizes the importance of looking ahead to see where your actions will lead you (see 5:11; 14:12–14; 16:25; 19:20; 20:21; 23:17–18, 32; 24:14, 20; 25:8). The wise person checks on the destination before buying a ticket (4:26), but modern society thinks that people can violate God’s laws and escape the consequences. They’re sure that whatever has happened to others will never happen to them. Sad to say, their ignorance and insolence can never neutralize the tragic aftermath that comes when people break the laws of God. “Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!” (Deut. 32:29) Their experience goes from gain to loss (vv. 7–14). Temptation always includes hopeful promises; otherwise, people would never take the devil’s bait. For a time, it seems like these promises have been fulfilled, and sinners bask in the sunshine of pleasant experiences and false assurances. This is what family counselor J. Allan Petersen calls, “the myth of the greener grass.” People who commit sexual sins think their problems are solved (“She understands me so much better than my wife does!”) and that life will get better and better. But disobedience to God’s laws always brings sad consequences and sinners eventually pay dearly for their brief moments of pleasure. When you read verses 9–14, you hear the words of a suffering sinner lamenting the high cost of disobeying God’s laws, because the most expensive thing in the world is sin. He discovers that the woman’s husband is a cruel man who demands that he pay for what he’s done, so the adulterer ends up giving his strength to others and toiling away to pay his debt. Instead of luxury, the sinner has misery; instead of riches, poverty; instead of success, ruin; and instead of a good reputation, the name of an adulterer. He looks back and wishes he had listened to his parents and his spiritual instructors, but his wishes can’t change his wretched situation. Yes, God in His grace will forgive his sins if he repents, but God in His government sees to it that he reaps what he sows. Their experience goes from purity to pollution (vv. 15–20). Solomon compares enjoying married love to drinking pure water from a fresh well, but committing sexual sin is like drinking polluted water from the gutter or sewer. Sex within marriage is a beautiful river that brings life and refreshment, but sex outside marriage is a sewer that defiles everything it touches. To commit sexual sin is to pour this beautiful river into the streets and the public squares. What waste! If you “drink deep” of the wrong kind of love (7:18, NIV) it will destroy you. The commitment of marriage is like the banks of the river that keep the river from becoming a swamp. God’s holy law confines the waters within the banks, and this produces power and depth. Extramarital and premarital affairs don’t satisfy because they’re shallow, and it doesn’t take much to stir up shallow water. A man and woman pledged to each other in marriage can experience the growing satisfaction that comes with love, commitment, depth, and purity. But there’s something else involved here. Solomon admonishes the husband to be “ravished” with his wife’s love (5:19–20); the word translated “ravished” also means “intoxicated” or “infatuated.” The adulterer watches the river turn into a sewer, but the faithful husband sees the water become wine! I think it’s significant that Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding feast, as though He were giving us an object lesson concerning the growing delights of marriage (John 2:1–11). When a husband and wife are faithful to the Lord and to each other, and when they obey Scriptures like 1 Corinthians 7:1–5 and Ephesians 5:22–33, neither of them will look for satisfaction anywhere else. If they love each other and seek to please each other and the Lord, their relationship will be one of deepening joy and satisfaction; they won’t look around for “the greener grass.” Their experience goes from freedom to bondage (vv. 21–23). Freedom of choice is one of the privileges God has given us, but He instructs us and urges us to use that freedom wisely. The laws of God are guideposts to lead us on the path of life, and He watches the decisions we make and the roads we take. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (15:3). As long as we use our freedom wisely, we will mature in Christian character, and God can trust us with more freedom. But if we abuse our freedom and deliberately disobey His Word, our freedom will gradually become bondage, the kind of bondage that can’t easily be broken. “The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast” (5:22, NIV). Those words could have been used as an epitaph for Samson (Jud. 13–16). It’s impossible to sin without being bound. One of the deceitful things about sin is that it promises freedom but only brings slavery. “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34, NKJV). “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (Rom. 6:16, NKJV) The cords of sin get stronger the more we sin, yet sin deceives us into thinking we’re free and can quit sinning whenever we please. As the invisible chains of habit are forged, we discover to our horror that we don’t have the strength to break them. Millions of people in our world today are in one kind of bondage or another and are seeking for deliverance, but the only One who can set them free is Jesus Christ. “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36, NKJV). No wonder the father warns his children to stay away from the adulteress. “Remove your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house” (Prov. 5:8, NKJV). “Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death” (7:27). I HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND RECEIVED FROM THIS DEEP STUDY. ALLOW THIS WORD FROM GOD TO BE A GUIDE UNTO YOUR LIFE. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
“Be Not Afraid” 1. “Be not afraid” when Christ says, “It is I” (Matt. 14:27). 2. “Be not afraid” when He says, “Arise” (Matt. 17:7). 3. “Be not afraid” when told to “go” and “tell” (Matt. 28:10). 4. “Be not afraid “when Christ says, “Believe” (Mark 5:36). 5. “Be not afraid” of what may happen, provided God is feared—Luke 12:4–7. 6. “Be not afraid” when God commands us to “speak” (Acts 18:9). 7. “Be not afraid” when ungodly men are a “terror” (1 Peter 3:14). DON’T BE AFRAID, RECOGNIZE GOD. DON’T BE AFRAID KNOW THAT GOD IS WITH YOU. DON’T BE AFRAID TO DO WHAT GOD TELLS YOU TO DO. DON’T BE AFRAID TO BELIEVE, AND TRUST GOD. DON’T BE AFRAID OF MAN, BE AFRAID OF GOD. DON’T BE AFRAID, LIVE GODLY AND BE BLESSED BY GOD. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
GOD TEACHES US ABOUT MARRIAGE Marriage is honourable for all. Heb 13:4 Marriage is honorable in every way, so husbands and wives should be faithful to each other. God will judge those who commit sexual sins, especially those who commit adultery. Marriage should be only in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 7:39 A married woman must remain with her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but only if the man is a Christian. Marriage is divinely instituted. Ge 2:24. That is why a man will leave his father and mother and will be united with his wife, and they will become one flesh. Designed for a. The happiness of man. Ge 2:18. Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is right for him.” b. Increasing the human population. Ge 1:28 God blessed them and said, “Be fertile, increase in number, fill the earth, and be its master. Rule the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that crawl on the earth.” Ge 9:1 God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fertile, increase in number, and fill the earth. c. Raising up godly seed. Mal 2:15 Didn’t ⸤God⸥ make you one? Your flesh and spirit belong to him. And what does the same ⸤God⸥ look for but godly descendants? So be careful not to be unfaithful to the wife of your youth. d. Preventing fornication. 1 Co 7:2 But in order to avoid sexual sins, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED AND RECEIVED FROM THIS QUICK REFRESHER. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTER ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
THINK ABOUT THIS God is the supreme purpose of all things., 1 Pe. 4:10–11 Each of you as a good manager must use the gift that God has given you to serve others. Whoever speaks must speak God’s words. Whoever serves must serve with the strength God supplies so that in every way God receives glory through Jesus Christ. Glory and power belong to Jesus Christ forever and ever! Amen. Failure to glorify God is the great sin of unbelievers., Ro. 1:20–32 From the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly observed in what he made. As a result, people have no excuse. They knew God but did not praise and thank him for being God. Instead, their thoughts were pointless, and their misguided minds were plunged into darkness. While claiming to be wise, they became fools. They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for statues that looked like mortal humans, birds, animals, and snakes. For this reason God allowed their lusts to control them. As a result, they dishonor their bodies by sexual perversion with each other. These people have exchanged God’s truth for a lie. So they have become ungodly and serve what is created rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen! For this reason God allowed their shameful passions to control them. Their women have exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. Likewise, their men have given up natural sexual relations with women and burn with lust for each other. Men commit indecent acts with men, so they experience among themselves the punishment they deserve for their perversion. And because they thought it was worthless to acknowledge God, God allowed their own immoral minds to control them. So they do these indecent things. Their lives are filled with all kinds of sexual sins, wickedness, and greed. They are mean. They are filled with envy, murder, quarreling, deceit, and viciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, haughty, arrogant, and boastful. They think up new ways to be cruel. They don’t obey their parents, don’t have any sense, don’t keep promises, and don’t show love to their own families or mercy to others. Although they know God’s judgment that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do these things but also approve of others who do them. FOOD FOR THOUGHT. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS? FEEL FREE TO SHARE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT THIS WORD FROM GOD. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
GOD IS WITH US. saiah 41:10 ESV Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Joshua 1:9 ESV Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” 1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? Deuteronomy 31:8 ESV It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Luke 1:37 ESV For nothing will be impossible with God.” Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
THE LOVE OF CHRIST Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me. Those eagerly looking for me will find me. John 14:21 Whoever knows and obeys my commandments is the person who loves me. Those who love me will have my Father’s love, and I, too, will love them and show myself to them.” John 13:34 “I’m giving you a new commandment: Love each other in the same way that I have loved you. Ephesians 5:2 Live in love as Christ also loved us. He gave his life for us as an offering and sacrifice, a soothing aroma to God. JESUS LOVES US. LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER SAME AS JESUS LOVES US. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
THE DUTY OF BELIEVERS Duty in relation to oneself. Four laws governing., Lu. 17:1–16 Fourfold duty., He. 10:22–25; 13:13–16; Jude 17–25 How to live in light of the new heavens & earth., 2 Pe. 3:11–14 Must not try to serve two masters. Cannot., Lu. 16:13 Not to be anxious, but to pray about everything., Ph. 4:6–8 Not to be conceited., Ro. 12:16 Not to be slothful., Ro. 12:11 Not to continue in sin., Ro. 6:1–10; 6:11–13; 1 Jn. 3:6–7; 3:9 Not to harden one’s heart., He. 3:7–11 Not to think one can sin & sin & still be forgiven., Ep. 5:5–6 Not to think too highly of oneself., Ro. 12:6–8 Not to use one’s liberty as a license to sin., Ro. 6:14–23 Not to worry about necessities., Lu. 12:22–34 Rules for discipleship., Lu. 6:39–45 Seven marks of believers., He. 13:1–8 To abstain from fleshly lusts., 1 Pe. 2:11–12 To accept others., Lu. 9:49–50 To add certain things., 2 Pe. 1:5–7 To arise & stand forth., Mk. 3:3 To awaken out of sleep., Ro. 13:11–14 To be a peacemaker., Mt. 5:9 To be clean-bodied., Ep. 5:3 To be clean-mouthed., Ep. 5:4 To be completely changed., Ga. 1:10–16 To be diligent in working out one’s own salvation., 2 Pe. 1:5–15 To be fearless., 1 Jn. 4:18 To be fervent & zealous of good works., Ro. 12:11; Tit. 2:14 To be humble & meek., Mt. 5:5; Ph. 2:3–4; 1 Pe. 5:5–6 To be hungering & thirsting after righteousness., Mt. 5:6 To be loving., 1 Th. 4:9 To be loyal., Mt. 5:10–12; 10:32–33 To be merciful., Mt. 5:7 To be mourning., Mt. 5:4 To be obedient to God & Christ., Jn. 14:21, 23–24; 15:10, 14 To be poor in spirit., Mt. 5:3 To be pure., Mt. 5:8; 1 Th. 4:1–8 To bear fruit., Mk. 4:20; Jn. 15:1–8 To beware of some things., Mk. 12:38–40 To boast in the cross., Ga. 6:14–17 To build oneself up in the faith. Four warnings., Jude 20–21 To cleave to the good., Ro. 12:9–10 To combat the flesh., Ga. 5:16–21 To conquer trials., Ro. 12:12 To constantly pray., Ro. 12:12 To control one’s conversation., Col. 4:6 To control one’s mind & thoughts., Ro. 8:5–7; 2 Co. 10:3–5; Ph. 4:8–9 To count one’s self dead to sin., Ro. 6:1–10 To dedicate one’s body as a living sacrifice., Ro. 12:1–2 To deny oneself., Mk. 8:34 To die to oneself. (See SELF-DENIAL) To discern spiritual things., 1 Co. 2:15–16 To do all in the name of the Lord., Col. 3:17 To do the expedient, not just the lawful., 1 Co. 6:12–20 To enjoy life., 1 Pe. 3:10–12 To examine oneself., 2 Co. 13:5 To fear certain things., 2 Co. 11:1–15 To flee youthful lusts., 2 Ti. 2:22–26 To follow peace & holiness., He. 12:14 To forget the past., Ph. 3:13 To get up, face circumstances, & conquer., Ph. 4:11–14 To give all one is & has—all beyond necessities., Ac. 4:32–37 To give generously., Ro. 12:13 To give undivided attention to one’s task., Jn. 21:20–23 To grow in grace & in the knowledge of Christ., 2 Pe. 1:18 To guard against immaturity & falling away., He. 5:11–6:2 To guard against unrighteous character., 1 Co. 6:9–11 To hate evil., Ro. 12:9–10 To hold fast., 2 Ti. 1:13–18 To keep oneself from idols., 1 Jn. 5:21 To keep oneself pure., 1 Ti. 5:22 To labor for reward., Mt. 10:1–16; He. 11:1–40; 12:1–4 To labor one hundred percent., Mt. 13:8, 23; Lu. 19:15–23 To let the gospel abide within., 1 Jn. 2:24–27 To live a consistent life., Ga. 5:25 To live a life of heavenly behavior & conduct., Ph. 3:20–21 To live a morally pure life., 1 Th. 4:1–8 To live above reproach., Ro. 12:17 To live as a citizen of heaven., Ph. 1:27 To live by the golden rule., Mt. 7:12 To live free of sin., 1 Jn. 5:16–21 To live in prayer—to pray about everything & know the constant peace of God., Ph. 4:6–7 To live worthy of the gospel., Ph. 1:27 To look for a new heavens & earth., 2 Pe. 3:12–15 To love life for the sake of the gospel., Mk. 8:35 To match one’s profession., 1 Jn. 2:3–6 To mind one’s own business., 1 Th. 4:11 To mortify, put to death, five things., Col. 3:5–7 To obey. Not an option., Jn. 14:15; Ph. 2:12 To obey the truth., Ga. 5:7–12 To pass one’s time in reverence., 1 Pe. 1:17–21 To pray. (See PRAYER), Col. 4:2–4 To press on., Ph. 3:1–21 To purify oneself., 1 Jn. 3:3 To put on Christian virtues., Col. 3:12–17 To rejoice in hope., Ro. 12:12 To sin no more. After being helped & healed., Jn. 5:13–14 To strip off six things., Col. 3:8–11 To strive for the faith of the gospel., Ph. 1:27 To struggle for deliverance., Ro. 8:23–27 To study to be quiet., 1 Th. 4:11 To use one’s time wisely., Ro. 13:11–14 To walk as a child of light., Ep. 5:8–14 To walk carefully & strictly., Ep. 5:15–21 To walk humbly., Ro. 12:3–5; 12:9–10 To walk in the truth., 2 Jn. 4 To walk worthy of one’s calling., Ep. 4:1–6 To watch. Fear certain things., Lu. 6:39–45 To watch & not be sleepy., 1 Th. 5:2–11 To watch & pray for the end time., Lu. 21:34–36 To watch & work for judgment is coming., Mt. 25:14–30 To work before the night comes., Jn. 11:7–10 To work out one’s own salvation., Ph. 2:12–13; 2 Pe. 1:5–15 I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS DEEP STUDY. DID YOU FIND IT TO BE HELPFUL? Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
