The Bible Basics

The Bible Basics11. Many Different Miscellaneous Matters in Your Life There are a number of major areas in your walk with the Lord where youwill have no other alternative but to wait on His perfect timing as to whenHe will want to make certain things happen in your life. There will also be many other smaller to medium type matters that willoccur in your life where you again will have to wait on God’s perfect timingto get something done, or wait for Him to bring you something that you willneed to solve the problem you may be dealing with. You will need to rely on God’s timing on many things that will occur inyour marriage with your spouse and children, along with all of theinteraction that will occur with the good friends you have in this life. Justlearn how to be led by the Holy Spirit as to not only what to do in certainsituations, but when to move with what He is guiding you to do. God’s wisdom and timing will always be perfect in every single situation that you will ever face in this life, so learn how to rely on it, as it will help keep you safe and out of harm’s way, along with keeping you on His divine path for your life, and making your life that much more productive in Him. 146

The Bible BasicsChapter 11Choose Your Friends Carefully For those of you who have really entered into a true Spirit filled, fullysurrendered walk with the Lord where He is now leading your life in thedirection that He will want it to go in, one of the first things that you willfind happening is that God will start to prune out the people that He does notwant in your life and start to bring in the people that He does want in yourlife. He who walks with wise people will become wise himself, but he whokeeps company with fools will be destroyed. We are not to be unequallyyoked with unbelievers, that we are to stay away from people who causedivisions and offenses, and to withdraw from every brother who walksdisorderly. This does not mean that we cannot work with the lost, the downtrodden,and the people who need to find God and His message of eternal salvation.When Jesus came to our earth in the flesh, He always went after the sinnersand the outcasts. But when Jesus went after these sinners, it was always forthe express purpose of getting them saved and cleaned up. Jesus did not chase after everyone. He ripped on the Pharisees and manyof the high ranking Jewish leaders. Some people are open to be helped,others are not. The Bible tells us to stay away from people who areconsidered to be “dogs,” and to beware of people who are “evil workers.” One of the first things that God will do with your life once you come intoa full surrender with Him is to start to set some boundary lines. He will nowdecide the path that you will follow in Him. He will now be leading you intothe specific jobs that He will want you to have in this life. If you are singleand have not married yet, He will lead you to the mate that He will want youto marry if it is in His perfect will that you get married in this life. And once those boundary lines start to go up, one of the first things that God will do is to decide who is going to be coming into those boundary lines and who will be going out. God will be deciding who your true friends are going to be in this life and who will not. 147

The Bible Basics The main reason God will be helping you to choose who your true friends are going to be in this life is because His ultimate and highest aim for you is to transform and sanctify you. He wants you to spiritually grow and mature in your walk with Him. We are transformed by the renewing of our minds. God’s ultimate aimfor us is our sanctification, where He starts to begin to mold and transformus into the express image of His Son Jesus Christ. The main reason that God will start to take out the friends in your life thatHe does not want you to have is because some of these people may benegative influences in your life. They may not be open to growing andmaturing in the Lord like you will be, and all they will do is try and hold youback when you start your own spiritual journey and growth in the Lord. Theywill start criticizing and making fun of you and all they will end up doing isstunting your growth in the Lord. God will not be putting up with this, and He will thus be taking all ofthese bad and negative influences out of your life very early on once youenter into this full surrender with Him. For those of you who are married andhave children, it is the same thing when you do not want your childrenhanging out with other children who you know would be a bad and negativeinfluence on your child. You know that if your children start hanging out with the wrong type ofcrowd, they can become very easily corrupted in a very short period of time.You will become very protective with your children, and you will watchthem very closely when they are old enough to start choosing who theirfriends are going to be. It is the exact same way with God the Father! This is why God will bemoving very early on to take out these negative influences in your life. Oncethis starts to happen, you have to go with the program or you could causeGod to start pulling back on you. And once that starts to happen, you couldthen start to backslide and everything could then start to shut down. If you will allow God to prune out the people that He does not want you tohave in your life, then what He will start to do is to bring in the people thatHe will want to have in your life. We call these types of friends “Godfriends.” These people will be other good, godly, Spirit filled Christianswho are truly walking in good stead with the Lord and they will now be thepeople that He will want you to share your walk with! You will need other good, solid, Christian friends in your life to help 148

The Bible Basics you grow in the Lord. We can only “know in part.” No one has all of the answers to everything. By sharing your walk with other good, solid, Christian friends, you can each help each other out in your pursuit of the knowledge and ways of God. You will know some things about God they may not know, and they willknow some things that you may not know. You thus are able to helpcontribute to each other’s storehouse of knowledge in the Lord. Two friends can help sharpen each other up like “iron sharpens iron.”Just like one piece of iron can make the other piece of iron extremely sharpby rubbing up against it, two solid Christian friends can also have the sametype of positive effect on one another by sharing their own personal walks inthe Lord with one another. By having other good, solid, Christian friends to share your journey with, you will literally accelerate your spiritual growth and development in the Lord because you will have more than one source in which to feed and learn from. You will be learning about God from all of your own personal adventures and experiences with Him, but you will also be learning more about God from all of your other friend’s personal journey and experiences with Him. How many of these types of God friends can you expect God to bring intoyour life? Only God will be able to answer that for each and every one ofyou. Some may only get one or two to start off with, others may get 5 or 10.Let God make the decision as to how many and when they will be broughtinto your life. What we have learned is that it is not the quantity or amount that comes in, it is the quality. You are much better off having just one or two good, solid, quality friends as versus 10 or 15 that are not as good quality friends as the one or two may be. Every Christian is operating at different levels of spiritual development with the Lord. God knows best as to who would be best suited for you at the level of spiritual development that you are currently operating at with Him. When God does bring in these types of special God friends to share your journey with, they will be real treasures! These God friendships will be anointed by God Himself due to the quality feedings and interaction that will occur in them. Sadly, what you will find out very early on, is just because someone maybe a saved and born again Christian does not mean this person has their acttogether in the Lord. Some people have become too judgmental and too 149

The Bible Basicscritical in their walks with the Lord. Some have become too arrogant andpompous, thinking they have all the answers to everything. They will tend tolook down on anyone else who is not operating at the knowledge levels theyare operating at. Some have become so flaky in their walks with the Lord,that they have lost touch with reality and you won’t be able to connect withany of them. God knows best as to who will be best suited for you at your current levelof spiritual development with Him, so let Him guide you to the ones that Hewill want you to connect with. We have seen God do this so many times forothers, that we literally consider it a miraculous piece of work, especially asto how He gets you to meet some of these people in the first place. Some ofthese chess moves are quite incredible, as most of these people will be totalstrangers to you until God moves in to match the two of you up. The other thing that could occur besides God matching you up with totalstrangers is that He may move on someone else you may know, but that youare not particular good friends with. That person then gets saved andplugged in, and then they find out that you too are saved and plugged in, andnow a good God friendship can start to build up as you now have somethingin common with one another to start to build a good solid friendship with. This could be another member in your family, someone that you may workwith, a friend who you may have known from your past, or someone youmay see at church from time to time but never really talked with. Thepossibilities are endless as to where these people may come from. These Godfriends can come from anywhere and at anytime, so keep your radars up, asyou never know when God may move to bring one of them into your life. Now we will go to the actual Scripture verses confirming all of the abovefor you.1. Choose Your Friends Carefully This first verse is the one that will tell us to choose our friends verycarefully in this life. This verse should literally be burned into your memorybanks so that you never, ever forget this basic fundamental command fromthe Lord! Here it is: ● “The righteous should CHOOSE HIS FRIENDS CAREFULLY, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.” (Proverbs 12:26) 150

The Bible Basics If we do not choose our friends very carefully in this life, that we couldend up choosing the wrong type of people to become friends with, and theycan then end up leading us astray from God and with what He wants to dowith our lives. Many of God’s people have lost their calls in Him becausethey chose to hang out with the wrong type of people.2. Benefits of Choosing Good God Friends Here are 6 very interesting verses showing you why God does want you tohave other good, solid, Christian friends to share your walk with. These 6 verses will show you that there is safety in the multitude ofcounselors, that plans can go awry without having other people to hashthings out with, that war is waged by having wise counsel with others, thatlearning is increased by listening to wise counsel, and that if you cease tolisten to wise counsel, that you will start to stray from being able to acquiremore knowledge in God. 1. “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” (Proverbs 11:14) 2. “A wise man is strong, yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; for by wise counsel you will wage your own war, and in a multitude of counselors there is safety.” (Proverbs 24:5) 3. “Every purpose is established by counsel; by wise counsel wage war.” (Proverbs 20:18) 4. “Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established.” (Proverbs 15:22) 5. “Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days.” (Proverbs 19:20) 6. “Cease listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.” (Proverbs 19:27) Once you turn the reigns of your life over to God for Him to fully handle,He will now make sure that you get matched up with the right kind of peoplethat you can become true God friends with. 151

The Bible Basics3. As Iron Sharpens Iron Two friends can help sharpen each other up as iron sharpens iron. A trueGod friend can help keep you sharp in the Spirit, let you know when you aregetting too far off track, help you get through and make sense of some of thedownswings that can occur in your walk, confirm and help bear witnesswhen you are on the right track, give you pep talks when needed, and helpkeep you in the game when you start to get too mad and frustrated whenthings do not go your way. You each serve to help keep each other up in the Lord so that you bothcan continue to stay on the straight and narrow road that God now has youset up on. You can also help each other out if one starts to be tempted to dosomething they should not be engaging in. ● “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” (Proverbs 27:17) A true God friend will always be honest and straight forward with you.You cannot help keep each other up and sharp in the Lord unless you areboth willing to be totally honest with one another.4. Do Not Be Unequally Yoked With Unbelievers These next 7 verses will tell us not to be yoked together with unbelievers,foolish men, dogs, evil workers, those who are disorderly, reckless,contentious and always causing trouble and strife. There is one verse in particular that tells us that “evil company corruptsgood habits.” This verse perfectly shows us what can happen to any of yourchildren if they start hanging out with the wrong type of people. Here are 7 good verses telling us to stay on our side of the fence, and tostay away from all of the bad apples who have no desire for God or anythingthat He stands for. 1. “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God.” (2 Corinthians 6:14) 152

The Bible Basics 2. “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.” (Proverbs 13:20) 3. “A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it, but knowledge is easy to him who understands. Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.” (Proverbs 14:6) 4. “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers” (Philippians 3:2) 5. “But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.” (2 Thessalonians 3:6) 6. “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.” (Romans 16:17) 7. “Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God.” (1 Corinthians 15:33) We are to stay away from all of the bad apples in this life who will donothing but try and bring us down to their lower way of living in this life.Many Christians have had their lives totally ruined and destroyed as a resultof marrying the wrong people or choosing the wrong kinds of friends to hangout with. 153

The Bible BasicsChapter 12God Will Guide Your Steps Now that you have received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and havemade a complete and full surrender of your entire life over to God theFather, He is now in complete and total charge of your life! When you makethis full surrender with God, it is now His job to take full and complete careof you in every detail of your life, including finding the next new job that Hewill want you to move into. There is not an area or detail in your life that God will not be willing tohelp you out with, no matter how small or trivial you think it may be. TheHoly Spirit is called “the Helper” in the Bible. It is now His job to help youin every single area of your life where you will need His help. Here is what you will really need to ground on in your own personal walkwith the Lord. Now that you are walking in God’s perfect will for your life,God will now be the One to fully guide you into whatever jobs He will wantyou to have from here on in. The choice is no longer yours! God now has a perfect divine plan and destiny set up for your life, and He will now be the One to guide you every step of the way into the fulfillment of that divine plan! What specific jobs you will now be taking will be very important in yourown spiritual growth and development with the Lord. The jobs you will nowbe taking will be building blocks that will lead you into whatever Hisspecific plan and destiny is going to be for your life. This now takes theburden off you in trying to find the next right job. You obviously will stillhave to seek after the next job, but God will now be guiding your steps asyou continue to seek after this new job, making sure that you always land inthe specific jobs that He will want you to have at the exact time He will wantyou to have them. You are now operating on a different playing field where the rules havechanged a bit for you. If you go on a job interview and do not get the job,this means that God did not want you to have this job in the first place, andHe was the One who closed the door on you getting that job so as to makesure that you did not go down the wrong path. 154

The Bible Basics So when you keep getting rejected after several interviews, do not look atthese rejections like you are a failure. Look at it as these were jobs that Goddid not want you to have in the first place, and that He was the One who wasrunning interference so as to make sure that you did not end up takingthose wrong jobs. God already has your next new job all set up and planned out for you. All you have to do is simply wait for His timing to bring it to you! We know the waiting can really get to you, but this is how God developsthe fruit of patience and faith in your personality. You simply have to havefull faith, trust, and belief that God now has your life completely in Hishands and that He will now bring you the right job at the right time. And not only does God have a set plan and a set future for your life, butHe also has a set timetable in which all of these plans will manifest in yourlife. You simply have to learn how to have patience during these waitingperiods. God will make sure and arrange that you have enough money andsupport coming in to help keep you afloat until this next job comes through.This is where you have to learn how to have complete faith in the Lord todo all of this for you. The Scripture Verses It is now God’s job to fully guide you every step of the way as you nowembark on this new journey with Him. This is where many Christians really miss the boat with God. Too manyChristians are running there own lives and making their own choices insteadof turning the reigns of their life over to God the Father for Him to fullyhandle. Only God knows what your true potentials are in this life, and He isthe only One who can arrange to have those full potentials maximized andrealized in this life!1. God now has a definite PLAN and FUTURE set up for your life. This isfrom the prophet Jeremiah and it is a very popular verse. ● “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) Notice the words “to give you.” God is going to give you, to bring to youHis specific plans and future that He now has in store for your life. 155

The Bible Basics2. Memorize this next verse. This one liner is extremely powerful. ● “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,”(Psalm 37:23) Another way to look at this is that a step is one day in your life. God nowhas each day of your life perfectly planned out for you to the day that youdepart from this life. You are now on the yellow brick road with the yellowcolor now being the light of God Himself. Your job is to now live each day to its fullest, always trying to do the bestat whatever God will be calling you to do for Him on that particular day. Ifyou can learn how to keep this kind of mindset, you will be less likely tothrow pity parties when things do not go the way you think they should.3. Study this next verse very carefully. ● “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9) What this verse means is that at times you will have to plan things out, tryto figure things out, start testing things out. As you are doing all of this, Godwill then direct your steps as you are walking them out, and before you knowit, you will then end up at the place where God will want you to be at. This verse perfectly fits into what you are dealing with right now on yourjob situation. You now have to seek after this next new job, but as you are inthe process of seeking after this next new job, God will then make sure thatHe perfectly guides your steps all the way so that you can then land in thenext job that He will want you to have. You will thus find it as you areseeking after it.4. God will provide us with His divine protection if we are willing to listento Him and follow His ways. ● “But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.” (Proverbs 1:33) Notice the words “listen to me.” God leads, you follow. If you do, thenGod will give you safe and secure dwelling in this life and protection fromevil things! This is a very powerful promise for all believers. Many Christians findthemselves in one dire circumstance after another as a result of not listeningto God and doing what He wants them to be doing with their lives.5. The next 5 verses will tell you that God will now be fully guiding yoursteps in this life. 156

The Bible Basics 1. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5) 2. Thus says the Lord, Your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go.” (Isaiah 48:17) 3. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.” (Psalm 32:8) 4. “For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death.” (Psalm 48:14) 5. “The Lord will guide you continually” (Isaiah 58:11) God will “guide you continually, be our guide even to death, guide youwith His eye, leads you by the way you should go, teaches you to profit,instructs you and directs your paths.” These are extremely powerful words. It is God’s job to fully guide anddirect your steps in this life. And all of this is given to you free of charge.This is why you can let go and let God. This is why the Bible tells us that wecan now cast all of our burdens and cares upon the Lord, because it is nowHis job to take full and complete care of all of us from the moment we fullysurrender everything over to Him.6. It is not our responsibility to direct our own steps in this life, that thisresponsibility now belongs to God and God alone! ● “O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23) It becomes quite clear that it is God’s job to direct our steps in this life,not ours!7. Notice the last sentence where it tells you to trust in God, to wait patientlyfor Him, and that He will bring it to pass! ● “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass, Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.” (Psalm 37:4,7) 157

The Bible BasicsChapter 13God Will Fully Support You Not only must you have a full understanding of this major revelation fromthe Lord, but this revelation has to be believed on, grounded on, and actedon if you want to be able to make it through this life in one piece and fullyaccomplish all of God’s perfect destiny for your life. To really get this incredible revelation burned into your memory banks sothat you never forget it, especially when you find yourself going throughsome of the trials and tribulations that can occur at a moment’s notice in thislife, we are going to give you a very good analogy the Lord gave us severalyears ago that will perfectly describe what we will get in this revelation thatwe have received from Him through His Word. This analogy is what we call the “Car Analogy.” When you buy a brandnew car, you will get 4 things with the car that will enable you to properlyuse the car for what it was originally designed for. Visualize these 4components as we describe them to you and lock them into your memorybanks, as we will then show you how these 4 factors will perfectly line upwith how God will fully support you as you journey through this life. Here are the 4 key components that you will get with every car that youbuy in this day and age.1. Protection Every car that you buy will have body panels that will surround the entirecar. These body panels will serve to protect you if you are ever struck byanother car. We all know how fatal motorcycles accidents can be as compared toaccidents involving cars. Motorcycles do not have the outside physicalprotection surrounding them as cars do. Motorcycles are thus subject tobeing involved in many more serious accidents as a result of not having thekind of physical protection that a normal car has on it. 158

The Bible Basics2. Support The second thing that a car will give you is support, and that support is inthe 4 tires that will come with every car. If a car does not have the 4 tires onit to properly support itself, you will never be able to move and get out of thedriveway, much less ever be able to get it to move forward so that you canget to where you want to go with it. And not only must these 4 tires be supporting you so that you can drivethe car forward, but these four tires must also be kept properly inflated. Ifthey are not kept properly inflated and you end up getting a flat tire as youare driving the roadway, your whole vehicle will be completely shut downuntil you are able to fix that flat tire.3. Power The third thing that you will need to be able to properly drive and operatethe car is power. You can have all 4 tires properly supporting you, and all ofthe body panels properly protecting you, but if the car does not have thepower to be able to propel itself forward, then you will never be able to startthe car, much less ever be able to get it to move forward to move out of thedriveway. The power of the car is obviously in the engine and all of its components.If some of those engine parts will not work or if any of them ever breakdown, the whole engine will completely shut down, thus making the cartotally inoperable.4. Guidance The last and final thing that you will need to be able to properly operatethe car is a guidance system, and that guidance system is given to you in thesteering wheel and its column. You can have all of the protection of the body panels, all of the support ofthe 4 tires, and all of the power in the engine to take you wherever you wantto go, but if you do not have the steering wheel to safely guide you so thatyou can either turn right or left, the car will be totally useless to you, as allyou will be able to do with it is to drive forward and hit the first thing thatwill come directly in your path. We have all four of these components in the divine support system that wecan receive from the Lord. 159

The Bible Basics Here are the four components of this car analogy in a bullet point format.Visualize these 4 components and lock them into your memory banks, as thispicture and revelation will help keep your chin and faith levels up if you areever forced to take on any type of heavier storm cloud in this life. ● Protection ● Power ● Support ● Guidance You will have to have all four of these things in full operation with theLord in order for this piece of revelation to be able to work in your ownpersonal life and walk with Him. If God will protect you, but He does not properly support you, you willnever make it out of the driveway, as your walk with the Lord willcompletely crumble and shut down in the same way a ship will completelysink if it gets a major leak in its support structures. In that divine support youwill be receiving from the Lord will be all of the money, supplies, favor,friends, and windows of opportunities that you will need in order to be ableto make it into the next levels of service for Him. No support, nopromotions! If God will protect you and support you, but He does not give you Hispower and anointing to be very good at whatever He will be calling you todo for Him, then you will not be able to properly function and max out forHim in that call, and you will thus never be able to fully accomplisheverything that He will want you to accomplish for Him in that call. If God will support you, protect you, and anoint you with His power, butHe does not properly guide you, then you will never be able to get to whereyou are supposed to be going for Him, and you will thus never be able tofully accomplish everything that He will want you to accomplish for Him inthis life. You will thus end up going down one dead end road after another,with no positive fruit and results ever occurring in your life. As you can see with this car analogy, you have to have all 4 of thesefactors in full play and operation with the Lord if you want to have any kindof chance of being able to complete His perfect plan and destiny for yourlife. 160

The Bible Basics Scripture Verses Though some of these verses have already been talked about in some ofour other bible basics, we are going to go ahead and re state some of themonce again under these 4 factors so that you can have all of them right atyour fingertips as you are reading this. You will only be able to receive all four of these factors in your divinesupport from the Lord only if you are walking in a full surrender with Him.This full surrender has been fully discussed in our bible basic “The FullSurrender”. If by chance you have come across this bible basic before reading thatone, it would be our strong recommendation that you also read that biblebasic, as you will not be able to receive this kind of divine support from theLord unless you are walking in this full surrender with Him.1. Protection As stated in the above car analogy, the first order of business that you willhave to have going with the Lord in this divine support that you can receivefrom Him is to have His full divine protection operating in your life. As a result of many of God’s people not walking in this full surrender withHim, they are not receiving His full divine protection. And as a result of nothaving His full divine protection operating in their lives, they are gettinghammered with one trial after another and are getting absolutely nowherewith their lives. Attacks from the dark side, and just some of the normal cause and effectthings that can occur at a moment’s notice in this life, all serve to keep themgrounded and broken down, thus causing them to never be able to fullyaccomplish what God originally had in store for them before they were evenborn through their mother’s womb. If you enter into this full surrender with the Lord, and He then enters youinto His perfect plan and destiny for your life, but He does not divinelyprotect you along the way, then you will never make it to the finish line inone piece, much less ever fully accomplish everything that He will want youto accomplish for Him in that divine destiny. If you commit to buying a new car, then you will get the full protection of the body panels surrounding that car. 161

The Bible Basics In the same way, if you commit to making a full surrender with the Lord, and are willing to submit to His perfect plan and destiny for your life, then you will get His full divine protection operating in your life as you start on this new journey with Him. This is one of the major perks and blessings that you can receive from the Lord as a result of entering into this full surrender with Him, His full divine protection operating on both you and your entire life! Here are 23 of the better verses from the Bible showing how God cansupernaturally protect you as you journey through this life. 1. “Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side?” (Job 1:10) 2. “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; the God of my strength, in Him I will trust, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my Savior, You save me from violence.” (2 Samuel 22:2) 3. “Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.” (Psalm 62:1) 4. “But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.” (2 Thessalonians 3:3) 5. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He guards all of his bones; not one of them is broken.” (Psalm 34:19) 6. “And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom.” (2 Timothy 4:18) 7. “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.” (Psalm 18:2) 8. “But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him.” (Psalm 37:39) 162

The Bible Basics9. “I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.” (Psalm 121:1)10. “Deliver me speedily; be my rock of refuge, a fortress of defense to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name’s sake, lead me and guide me. Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, for You are my strength. Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.” (Psalm 31:2)11. “Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men! You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.” (Psalm 31:19)12. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this I will be confident.” (Psalm 27:1)13. “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is for me among those who help me; therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. All nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.” (Psalm 118:6)14. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) 163

The Bible Basics15. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.” (Psalm 46:1,5)16. “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?, In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 56: 3,11)17. “When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people, He permitted no one to do them wrong; Yes, He reproved kings for their sakes, saying “Do not touch my anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.” (Psalm 105:13)18. “Give us help from trouble, for vain is the help of man. Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies.” (Psalm 60:11)19. “For the Lord God will help me; therefore I will not be disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed. He is near who justifies me; who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near me. Surely the Lord God will help me; who is he who will condemn me? Indeed they will all grow old like a garment; the moth will eat them up.” (Isaiah 50:7)20. “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever.” (Psalm 125:1)21. “Oh, bless our God, you peoples! And make the voice of His praise to be heard, who keeps your soul among the living, and does not allow our feet to be moved.” (Psalm 66:8)22. “Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.” (Isaiah 46:4)23. “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the 164

The Bible Basics Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust. Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feather, and under His wings you shall take refugee; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your habitation, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample. Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” (Psalm 91:1-16)2. Support The next thing that you will need in God’s divine support system for yourlife is His actual support itself. Just as a ship needs the support of its bottomplanks to ride the sea, and a car needs the support of the 4 tires to be able todrive on the roadways, in the same way you will need God’s fullsupernatural support to be able to make it into the directions that He willwant to take your life in. Here are some of the specific things that God can give you that will serveas good support structures for your life with the perfect plan that He willwant to set you up with: ● All of the money you will need to be able to survive and function in this life ● All of the friends you will need to share the walk with 165

The Bible Basics ● Marriage and/or children if it is God’s perfect will that you get married in this life ● All of the shelter, supplies, equipment and materials you will need ● Doors supernaturally opening up for you when the time is right for your next promotion ● All of the favor you will need with others in order to be promoted to the next levels of service All of this can be given to you free of charge if you are willing to enterinto this full surrender with the Lord and are willing to fully submit to Hisperfect plan for your life. Here are 7 very powerful verses all showing you how God cansupernaturally support you in this life. 1. “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” (Ephesians 3:20) 2. “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) 3. “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, have an abundance for every good work..” (2 Corinthians 9:8-11) 4. “But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” (Psalm 34:11) 5. “The Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11) 6. “These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” (Deuteronomy 2:7) 7. “Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your feet swell these forty years.” (Deuteronomy 8:4) He will supply all of your needs, not just some or part of your needs, andthat you will have an actual abundance and not lack any good thing forevery good work that He will set up for you to do for Him in this life. Theseare very powerful promises being given to us by the Lord through His Word. The last two verses had to do with when God was testing the Israelites inthe wilderness for forty years in the story of Moses. During those trying 166

The Bible Basicstimes that they had “lacked nothing,” that their garments “did not wearout” on them, nor did their feet ever swell on them during the course of theentire ordeal. God had kept them properly supported during those trying times. And ifGod properly supported them, then He will also support you since He is norespecter of persons. This dramatic story shows you that God can keep youproperly supported through thick and thin, and during the most trying oftimes if you are willing to hold fast to Him and not bail out on Him withwhat He wants to do with your life. These verses are telling us one thing, and that one thing is that majordivine support is available for all of us from the Lord on whatever He willbe calling us to do for Him in this life if we are willing to fully surrender toit!3. Power Just as a car needs the power of the engine in order to be able to moveitself forward, in the same way you will need God’s anointing and powerflowing through you in order to become very good at whatever He will becalling you to do for Him. If God calls you to be an evangelist, doctor, policeman, or an attorney, butdoes not anoint you with His supernatural power to be very good in thosecalls, then you will end up being only second best, if even that, and you willend up abnormally straining yourself trying to be very good in thosepositions and trying to make things work out properly. When God’s anointing is properly flowing through you, it will becomevery easy to do what He wants you to do in these calls. But if you are notflowing in His anointing and you are only trying to make things work outfrom your own flesh, it will only be a matter of time before you startreaching dead ends in your own personal pursuits and everything ends upfalling apart. Whatever God calls you to do for Him in this life, He will make sure to anoint you with His power so that you can become very good at the position that He will be calling you to play on His team. God’s anointing can be given to you free of charge if you are willing to enter into this full surrender with Him. Here are 25 very good verses all showing us that we have the power ofthe Holy Spirit Himself ready to flow through us so that we can fully 167

The Bible Basicsaccomplish all of the missions that God has in store for us in this life. 1. “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19) 2. “Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.” (Luke 9:1) 3. “And He called the twelve to Him, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits, And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.” (Mark 6:7,13) 4. “And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.” (Matthew 10:1) 5. “But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:6) 6. “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from me,” says the Lord. (Isaiah 54:17) 7. “Through You we will push down our enemies; through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, nor shall my sword save me. But You have saved us from our enemies, and have put to shame those who hated us. In God we boast all day long, and praise Your name forever.” (Psalm 44:5) 8. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9) 9. “But the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” (Daniel 11:32) 10. “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might, 168

The Bible Basics nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6)11. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)12. “For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 1:5)13. “For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” (1 Corinthians 4:20)14. “In mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God” (Romans 15:19)15. “Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.” (2 Corinthians 12:12)16. “God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit” (Hebrews 2:4)17. “And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.” (Mark 16:20)18. “And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.” (Acts 4:33)19. “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you” (1 John 2:27)20. “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.” (1 John 2:20)21. “Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.” (Acts 2:43)22. “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage” (Joshua 1:5)23. “Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle, my loving kindness and my fortress, 169

The Bible Basics my high tower and my deliverer, my shield and the One in whom I take refuge, who subdues my people under me.” (Psalm 144:1) 24. “For You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord shall enlighten my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop; by my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” (2 Samuel 22:29) 25. “It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on high places. He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze, I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them; neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed. I have wounded them, so that they were not able to rise; they have fallen under my feet. For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.” (Psalm 18:32,37) If God highly anointed the first set of apostles so they could embark on thedangerous missions they were called to undertake for Him, then God can dothe exact same thing for you since He is no respecter of persons. Theseverses are showing you the incredible supernatural power God can flowthrough you if you are willing to enter into this full surrendered walk withHim.4. Guidance God’s guidance system for our lives, and that guidance system is the HolySpirit Himself. Just as you will never be able to get to where you want to go with a carwithout being able to properly steer the car in the right directions, in thesame way, you will never be able to make it into the divine calls andopportunities that God has in store for your life if you are not willing to beled by the Holy Spirit on exactly how to get there. If there is one major thing that gets fully surrendered, Spirit filledChristians into major trouble with the Lord and the direction that He wantsto take their lives in, it has to be their refusal to be led by the Holy Spirit intheir daily lives. 170

The Bible Basics We recently had a very solid Christian man, who does very heavy fulltime ministry work for the Lord, tell us that he has met very few Christiansin his life who are truly following the leadings of the Holy Spirit on any kindof regular basis. Most of the Christians he has met and worked with in hisfield are still walking and working in the flesh rather than trying to walk inthe Spirit and follow His specific leadings on a regular daily basis. We have to be led by the Holy Spirit in this life. If you do not, or you arenot willing to do so out of direct disobedience to the Lord, then you willnever accomplish whatever God’s perfect will would have been for your life,and your life will then end up being all for naught and a total waste of timeas far as the Lord is concerned when you come to the final end of it. If God is willing to enter you into His perfect plan for your life, anoint you with His divine power in order that you can become very successful in that call, and protect you and support you as you embark on that call, but then you refuse to follow the leadings of His Holy Spirit on a daily basis, then sooner or later God will pull back His anointing, His support, and His divine protection on your life, and you will then end up falling all the way down to the bottom of the mountain, possibly never getting another chance to climb to the top of that mountain ever again. Just as a car needs all four of the above factors in operation in order to be able to safely drive you and get you to where you want to go with it, in the same way we have to have all of God’s guidance, protection, support, and power flowing through our lives if we are ever going to be able to leave any kind of personal mark in this world in the divine assignments that He will be calling us to do for Him in this life. Here are 20 very powerful verses showing us the extreme importance thatwe all learn how to be led by the Lord through the Holy Spirit on a regular,daily basis. 1. “For as many are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” (Romans 8:14) 2. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord” (Psalm 37:23) 3. “O Lord, I know the way of a man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23) 4. “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the 171

The Bible Basics way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12)5. “A man’s steps are of the Lord. How then can a man understand his own way?” (Proverbs 20:24)6. “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)7. “Direct my steps by Your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me.” (Psalm 119:133)8. “Therefore be followers of God as dear children.” (Ephesians 5:1)9. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27)10. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5)11. “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:1)12. Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go.” (Isaiah 48:17)13. “Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation” (Psalm 25:4)14. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.” (Psalm 32:8)15. “Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.” (Psalm 27:11)16. “The Lord will guide you continually” (Isaiah 58:11)17. “For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death.” (Psalm 48:14)18. “Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar, and by night with a pillar of fire, to give them light on the road which they should travel.” (Nehemiah 9:12) 172

The Bible Basics 19. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6) 20. “Therefore you shall be careful to do as the Lord Your God has commanded you; You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” (Deuteronomy 5:32) In every single one of these verses that we are to follow directly after theLord and His desires for our life. We are not to follow after our own wills,our own desires, or the wills or desires of anyone else in this life. God, andGod alone, is the Captain of our ship and the Shepherd of our souls. We areto follow Him and Him alone, no matter how much someone else may tryand persuade you otherwise. Follow God and the divine path that He has set up for you to follow in thislife, and you will enter into true abundant life on this earth. Follow your ownpath or the paths that others will want you to take, and your life willeventually end in corruption and death. 173

The Bible BasicsChapter 14Memorizing Verses From the Bible One thing that many Christians will try and do is to memorize certain keyverses from the Bible. The reason they are doing this is so they can have theknowledge that is being given in each of these Scripture verses solidlyimplanted into their minds and thought process. We are actually transformed by the renewing of our minds, and there is nogreater way to help this process along with the Lord than to try andmemorize certain key verses from the Bible that we know will directly helpus in our own personal walk with Him. For those of you who have never tried to do this with the Lord, let us usethis bible basic to show you the incredible benefits that can be given to youby the Lord if you will make an attempt to try and take this kind of extra stepwith Him. The first step is to fully realize what we are actually dealing with. God theFather has given all of us only one Holy Book that has everything we willneed to know about Him, His Son Jesus, and His Holy Spirit down here onthis earth. The Bible is literally a treasure chest of knowledge andrevelation direct from the Lord Himself, and it is all contained in this oneHoly Book. When the one and only God of this entire universe starts to speak to all ofus direct through this one and only powerful Holy Book, then you know it issomething that every single Christian should take very, very seriously. This is why we have started up this kind of bible basic, to give peoplemany of the different Bible verses we have from the Lord covering many ofthe main areas of our walk with Him. Once you start to group these Bibleverses together by specific subject matter, you will then see the real powerthat is in the Bible and how it can really work to change all of our lives forthe better. We give you some of the specific verses from the Bible to show you howpowerful and life changing the Bible really is. Here are some of the specific things that we have in place with our Holy 174

The Bible BasicsBible: 1. The Bible itself tells us that all of Scripture, not just some or part of it, all comes direct to us from God the Father. The Bible is the only Book that we have down here on this earth that will give us knowledge and revelation direct from the Lord Himself. No other book that we have down here on this earth can do that for us. 2. The Bible also tells us that the Word of God is living, powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword we could possibly make down here on this earth. This is not dead meat, this is real, live meat that can supernaturally feed and nourish our mind, soul, and spirit. No other earthly book can do that for us. 3. Since all of the Bible is direct revelation from God Himself, this means that all of the words and revelations contained in it will be 100% PURE SOLID TRUTH. This thus makes the Bible totally infallible and inerrant. No other earthly book can make this kind of claim. 4. The Bible also tells us that it can sanctify and cleanse us. And the reason it can do this is because the Holy Spirit, who is the One who will actually sanctify and cleanse us, will move very heavily on any Christian who will spend a reasonable amount of time in this Book trying to learn as much as they can about the Lord and all of His ways. When you add it all up, there is simply no other book on our earth that islike the Bible. And with all of it coming direct to us from God the Fatherthrough the Holy Spirit, every single Christian should try and spend as muchreasonable time as they possibly can so they can properly grow in theknowledge of our Lord and Savior. It is one thing to read the Bible as it is, but it is quite another thing to tryand meditate on some of the specific passages, and then try to get some ofthese powerful, spiritual truths worked into our lives and mindsets. King David tells us that we must learn to meditate on God’s Word. Godtold Joshua that we must meditate on His Word day and night. Here is the direct word spoken to Joshua by God Himself on theimportance that we all meditate on His Word, and that we try to get HisWord worked into our lives and mindsets. 175

The Bible Basics ● “This Book of Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall MEDITATE in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8) If we seek to meditate on His Word, and then seek to do everything He istelling us to do in this Holy Book, then our way will be made “prosperous”and we will have “good success.” This one verse simply says it all. ● If you really want to get to know the Lord better so you can establish a strong, intimate, personal relationship with Him ● If you really want to learn how to live this life God’s way so you can stay out of trouble and out of harm’s way ● And if you really want to learn how the Lord can truly sanctify you and make you into a better and more holy person ● Then you will have to be willing to spend a certain amount of reasonable time reading and meditating from the Bible. There is simply no other way. There are no shortcuts you can take to reach these kinds of goals with the Lord. Knowledge about God and all of His ways will only come direct to us ifwe read and study from His Word. If you do not seek to get to know Godbetter by reading and studying from His one and only Word, then you willnever spiritually grow in this life. When the Bible tells us to “meditate” on the Word of God, the word“meditate” means the following from some of the different BibleDictionaries: ● Contemplation of spiritual truths ● The practice of reflection or contemplation ● The act of calling to mind some supposition, pondering upon it, and correlating it to one’s life Notice the keys words of “contemplation” and “reflection” in the abovedefinitions. Christian meditation is an active process, not a passive one. TheHoly Spirit works best with an active mind, not a passive mind. 176

The Bible Basics To truly meditate does not mean to blank your mind out like many of the far eastern religions will try and get you to do. It means to think about, to chew on, to try and figure out what many of the different verses mean and how they can apply to your daily life. And as you are doing this, the Holy Spirit Himself will help guide your thoughts and give you illumination as to what some of these different verses will mean and how they can be applied to the different areas of your life. But you first have to be willing to meditate and think about these versesbefore the Holy Spirit will sometimes do this for you. Seek, and then youwill find. And when you start to seriously meditate on the Word of God,then you are going into a major seeking mode with the Lord, and that iswhen He will then allow you to start finding the knowledge that He willwant you to have from some of these different verses. This is why God made sure to use the word “meditate” in the above versewith Joshua, so as to give all of us a big, major clue as how to get Him torelease more of His knowledge and wisdom to us in this life. If you really start meditating on the Word of God with the goal in mind of trying to learn as much as you possibly can about the Lord, and then you add to it the element of memorizing certain key Scripture verses, you will spiritually grow in this life beyond anything that you ever thought was possible in this fallen and cursed world we all now live in. Here are 9 incredible things that could happen to you if you will bewilling to truly meditate on the Word of God, along with trying to memorizecertain key Scripture verses from time to time: 1. Will Help You Grow Closer in Your Own Personal Relationship With the Lord 2. Will Help Increase Your Faith in the Lord 3. Will Help Strengthen Your Prayer Life With the Lord 4. Will Help in Being Able to Properly Witness to Nonbelievers 5. Will Help in Counseling and Discipling 6. Will Help in the Area of Spiritual Warfare 7. Will Help in Being Able to Properly Defend Your Faith in the Lord 177

The Bible Basics 8. Will Help in the Renewing of Your Mind and Being Sanctified By the Lord 9. Will Help in Improving Your Intelligence and Memory Abilities Here is a brief breakdown on each one of these so you can see howpowerful of a thing it really is if you can start to truly meditate on the Wordof God, and then be willing to commit certain key Scripture verses tomemorization.1. Will Help You Grow Closer in Your Own Personal Relationship With the Lord The number one thing God is looking for is to establish a strong, intimate,personal relationship with each person He has created. God created all of usfor close intimate fellowship. Not only does God want to be our God and ourFather, but He also wants to be our best Friend. He wants to be number onein our life and He will not settle for a second or third position next to any ofour friends or family. As such, when you start to really meditate on His Word, and then you starttaking the extra step in trying to memorize certain key Scripture verses, thiswill show God that you really mean serious business with Him, that youreally do love Him, and that you really want to learn more about Him. Sometimes our actions will speak louder than our words to God. Andwhen you start really meditating on the Bible, and then you start tomemorize certain key Scripture verses so you can get to know our God thatmuch better, these kinds of extra actions will show Him that you are reallyserious about Him and that you are doing everything you can to draw thatmuch closer to Him. And when God sees this kind of extra effort being put in on your part, thiswill create an incredible desire in Him to also want to draw closer to you.And when this starts to happen, your personal relationship with the Lord willthen get stronger, deeper, and much more intimate. And this is all due to youseeking after the Lord with the original goal in mind of wanting to draw thatmuch closer to Him. It is one thing to say we love God, but it is quite another thing to actuallyprove it to Him by our actions. And nothing will prove our love to God morethan us diving head first into His Word so we can learn more about Him andall of His awesome ways. 178

The Bible Basics2. Will Help Increase Your Faith in the Lord Not only will your personal relationship with God get better and strongerif you learn to really meditate on His Word, but your faith will also increasein Him. Why? Because the Bible tells us that our faith comes by hearing theWord of God. Here is the verse that will prove this to you: ● “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) When you hear the Word of God, you are either reading the Bible foryourself or you are listening to someone teach it. Either way, you are loadingup your mind with the words from the Bible. And when you do that, not onlywill faith come to you, but it will also increase over time with the Lord. Here is a very good verse that will show you that your faith levels in theLord are capable of increasing over time: ● “Because your FAITH GROWS EXCEEDINGLY.” (2 Thessalonians 1:3) When you start to read and meditate from the Word of God, and then youstart to commit certain key Scripture verses to memorization, your faithlevels are going to really start to grow and increase in the Lord as a result ofthis type of heavier seeking! And the stronger your faith becomes in the Lord, the stronger and deeperyour personal relationship will become with Him. And the stronger yourpersonal relationship becomes with the Lord, the more He is going to showHimself to you and interact back with you.3. Will Help Strengthen Your Prayer Life With the Lord Your prayer life with the Lord is like the oil to the engine. Get your prayerlife with the Lord shut down for whatever reason, and your whole walk andcall in Him will also get shut down right along with it. Your prayer life with the Lord is what will continue to fuel your personalrelationship with Him, so anything you can do on your end to make it betterand stronger will just help draw you that much closer to the Lord. And bymeditating on His Word so you can learn as much as you can about having agood, strong prayer life with Him is going to be exactly what will give youthat stronger prayer life with Him, and then going the extra step in 179

The Bible Basicsmemorizing certain key verses on this subject is again going to make yourprayer life with Him just that much stronger and better. We give you many of the main healing verses from the Bible. If you cancommit a few of them to actual memory, you will then be fully loaded toquote some of these verses back to God in your own personal prayers to Himwhen you are needing a healing either for yourself or someone else you maybe praying for. God loves it when you quote His own Word back to Him, and you thenask Him to move off the wording of some of these verses. By committingsome of these verses to actual memory, you are showing God that you meanserious business with Him. And when you show God that you are willing totake this kind of extra step with Him, this may be just enough to get Him toanswer your prayer, whether it be for your own self or someone else you maybe praying for.4. Will Help in Being Able to Properly Witness to Nonbelievers Another major area where Scripture memorization will really help you iswhen you are attempting to witness to a nonbeliever. We give you some ofthe main Bible verses on what it means to get saved and receive eternalsalvation from the Lord. Jesus Christ is the only way to be able to receive eternal salvation fromGod the Father. These verses are as clear and as plain as they can be, andyou are going to need some of these basic power verses when witnessing to anonbeliever. And if you can have some of these powerful verses fullymemorized, it will just make your witnessing that much more stronger andeffective. Also, the Lord will really anoint you with His power if you will seek toload your mind and spirit up with some of these major power verses. Most ofthese verses are only one and two sentences long, so they are all very easy tomemorize. If you will take this extra step to memorize some of these kinds of verseson Jesus being the only way to eternal salvation, God will then be able to useyou to witness to others. And if God can use you in this realm, how manypeople will you end up getting saved in this life? As we have said before,nothing will ever top leading a lost soul to the Lord, thereby giving themeternal life and eternal salvation. 180

The Bible Basics5. Will Help in Counseling and Discipling Part of the Great Commission Command given to us by the Lord beforeHe left us is to make disciples. Once you get someone saved, that is just thebeginning. All newborns will need some kind of mentoring and discipling to help getthem up and running with the Lord. And if God wants to use you to helpmentor and disciple someone, it will really help if you have some of thesebasic Bible verses memorized so you can shoot them out very quickly in anyconversations you will be having with the ones you will be mentoring anddiscipling. Scripture memorization will also help in the area of counseling, whenpeople are coming direct to you to try and get God’s point of view on amatter they may be wrestling with. Having some basic Bible versesmemorized and right at your fingertips will again help many of these people,as so many of life’s problems can really be solved with revelation andknowledge direct from the Word of God itself.6. Will Help in the Area of Spiritual Warfare This bible basic will give you many of the main battle verses you willneed to not only be able to directly engage with demonic spirits, but to alsobe able to use against any other type of battle situation you may find yourselfinvolved in. Having some of these basic battle verses memorized will give you reallive ammunition right at your fingertips that you will be able to use at amoment’s notice. If you are attempting to cast demons out of someone, itwill really help to have some of these basic battle verses loaded up in yourmind so you can quote these specific verses directly at the demons as you aredirectly engaging with them. Demons hate all Scripture, and the Holy Spirit will really move on your behalf if you start using Scripture verses to battle against them. The Word of God is the Sword of the Holy Spirit. Quoting Scripture verses directly against the demons will be you wielding and using your Sword directly against them. Demons are cast out of someone by the Word of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit. You speak out the appropriate command words against the demons, and then the Holy Spirit will move in to blow them out of the person they are inhabiting. 181

The Bible Basics Having some of these basic battle verses fully memorized so you can callthem up at a moment’s notice will just make you that much more of ananointed soldier for the Lord, as the Bible is telling all of us to become goodsoldiers of Jesus Christ.7. Will Help in Being Able to Properly Defend Your Faith in the Lord In the times we are living in, with there being so many attacks againstChristianity, we really need to be able to properly defend our faith whencalled upon by the Lord. And having some of these basic Bible verses fullymemorized will again help you that much more if you are ever called uponby the Lord to defend your faith in Him. We have all been “appointed” by the Lord to defend His Gospel, and thatwe should always be “ready” to do so for anyone who will want to know thereason that we have such a good hope in us. 1. “Knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.” (Philippians 1:17) 2. “Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15) Being appointed by the Lord to be able to defend our faith in Him issomething that He would like all of us to be able to do for Him. This is notjust for the pastors, teachers, and evangelists in the Body. This is a commandfor all believers, as God can use each and everyone of us to witness, teach,and disciple others if we have spent enough reasonable time in learning thebasics of our salvation in Him. Having some of these basic Bible verses fully understood and fullymemorized will just make us that much more effective in being able todefend our faith for the Lord.8. Will Help in the Renewing of Your Mind and Being Sanctified by the Lord We are actually transformed by the renewing of our minds. And whatbetter way to help this process along with the Lord than to really meditate onthe truths of the Bible, and then be willing to commit some of these verypowerful, spiritual truths to actual memory. We need to have a good understanding of some of these kinds of verses,as they will all give us direct knowledge and revelation on exactly what Godwill be wanting to do with us in this realm. 182

The Bible Basics This is why we have created a separate Sanctification, so you can reallystudy and meditate on some of the verses that will help God sanctify andtransform you in this life.9. Will Help in Improving Your Intelligence and Memory Abilities One major blessing you will get if you start to meditate on the Bible, andthen try to commit certain verses to memorization, is that this kind of intensemental activity will start to increase your intelligence levels, along withincreasing your ability to remember and retain information. Not only will you get better at memorizing certain Scripture verses, but itwill also help you out in your everyday life, as many people start to developshort term memory loss as they get past their mid 40′s. The brain is like amuscle, and the more you use it and exercise it, the stronger and moreefficient it will become. Athletes have a common slogan, use it or lose it. This also applies to ourbrains. And memorizing certain key Scripture verses is a very good activityyou can do for your brain to help keep it healthy and properly functioning,especially as you start to get older in life. 183

The Bible BasicsChapter 15Bearing Good Fruit for the Lord Without question, one of the most important analogies God has given tous in His Word on the new, restored relationship we now have with Him as aresult of Jesus dying on the cross for all of us is the vine and branch analogy,where Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. And not only does this analogy give us a very good visual of what we nowhave with the Lord, but it also gives us one more important piece ofrevelation, and this second piece of revelation being given to us by the Lordis what He will be expecting from each one of us once we are fully graftedback into Him. God will now be expecting all of us to produce good fruitfor Him. Once you get saved and born again through the blood that Jesus hasalready shed for you, God will now expect you to do something with thisnew reality and new life that He has now given to you. God will now wantyou to come and “work” for Him. God will be rewarding us according tothose good works. When you put those kinds of verses next to this one,special, intense verse, you can tell that God is not pulling any punches. Here is one of the most important verses in all of Scripture that each andevery Christian needs to have a full and complete understanding on: ● “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ● You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. ● I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 184

The Bible Basics ● If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” (John 15:1-8) Notice 2 things:1. The first thing Jesus is trying to show us is now that we have been savedthrough His shed blood, we are now to Him like branches are to a tree. In thethird paragraph in this verse, Jesus is now telling us that He is the vine andwe are the branches. And once you really grab a hold of that visual andcompare it to the trees that are in our natural surroundings, the first thing youwill see is that the branch of the tree cannot live apart from the tree. Thatbranch has to stay completely hooked into and grafted into that tree for it tocontinue to remain fully alive. If for whatever reason the branch of the tree ever gets fully disconnectedfrom the tree and falls to the ground, it will wither and die. And once thatbranch gets fully disconnected from the tree, it can never repair itself again.That branch cannot get grafted back into the tree. The branch is nowpermanently cut off from that tree, and from there, it will wither and die.Jesus tells us the exact same thing will occur to all of us if we do not abide inHim. Jesus says that if a person does not abide in Him, that this person “iscast out as a branch and is withered.” And from there, that branch isgathered up and thrown into the fire. The word “fire” being used in this verse is talking about hell fire. If weare not truly abiding in Jesus like the branch is with the vine, we are going tobe cast off from Him like a branch can be cut off from a tree, and from there,we will be thrown into hell. God is giving all of us a very strong visual ofwhat we now have in place with Him once we are born again through HisSon Jesus. Jesus is now the vine, we are the branches, and God the Father isthe vinedresser, and from there, God will expect all of us to continue toabide in Him and His Son Jesus. Not only is this verse giving us a verystrong visual of what we now have with God and Jesus as a result of beingborn again, but it is now giving us a very dire warning if we should everwant to pull away and disconnect from the Lord. God has made all of us forHimself and He will not be denied. We either graft back into Him and abidein Him, or we will become like a branch that has been cut off from a tree andfrom there, we will wither and die. This is an all or nothing proclamationbeing made by the Lord.2. The second thing to pick up from this verse, and this is the part we want to 185

The Bible Basicskey in on for the rest of this bible basic, is what Jesus says in the secondverse above. Here are the exact words in this second verse: “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” Here is another very extreme verse saying the exact same thing: ● “And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matthew 3:10) There is not any other way to interpret these two verses other than oncewe are saved and born again, God is now going to expect something morefrom all of us with the brand new life He has now given to us, and thatsomething more is that we start producing good fruit for Him. What exactly is God meaning when He tells us that He wants all of us tostart producing good fruit for Him? The word fruit is meaning that God willwant us to do good works for Him, with those good works then producinggood results and good fruit for Him. Example, if you are witnessing to another person and you end up gettingthem saved, then not only did you do a good work with that person by beingwilling to witness to them in the first place, but you also ended up producinggood fruit as a result of getting them saved. If you are discipling anothernewborn and they start to really grow in the grace and knowledge of God asa result of your good mentoring efforts, you have just produced good fruitfor the Lord. Here is a list of 16 things God is looking for when He is talking about usproducing good fruit for Him in this life. This good fruit God is looking foris going to cover many different areas of our walk with Him. 1. Be willing to read and study from your Bible so you can grow in the grace and knowledge of God. 2. Be willing to establish a strong, intimate, personal relationship with God, as this is the number one thing God is looking for from all of us. 3. Be willing to establish a strong, prayer life with God so He can then start to answer your prayers for any specific needs you may have, along with being able to pray for others for any specific needs they may have with the Lord. 186

The Bible Basics4. Be willing to enter into a full surrender with the Lord so He can then enter you into His perfect plan and destiny for your life. And when you start doing good works in that perfect plan and destiny for your life, then you will start producing good fruit for the Lord.5. Be willing to give God a good, solid, green light to enter you into a true sanctification process so He can then begin the process of molding and shaping you into the express image of His Son Jesus. This is also where the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit will be worked and meshed into the core of your personality so you can then start to become the true sanctified saint God is calling you to become in Him.6. Be willing to witness to other people so you can get them saved and born again, especially if the Holy Spirit is leading you to do so.7. Be willing to disciple other believers so they too can grow in the grace and knowledge of God.8. Be willing to be a good, godly spouse for your mate if you are married, and a good, godly parent for your children if you have children. These two endeavors alone will be very good works and very good fruit that you will be producing for the Lord.9. Be willing to help family, friends, and strangers with whatever they will need help on.10. Be willing to give money to your home church and any other causes God may lead you to give to.11. Be willing to be perfectly obedient to the Holy Spirit with whatever He will lead you to do on a daily basis for the Lord.12. Be willing to be a part of the Great Commission Command, which is to save, heal, deliver, and disciple.13. Be willing to walk with any of the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit if God should ever want to manifest any of these 9 gifts to you. Do not be afraid of these gifts if God would like to manifest some of them to you from time to time, especially if they are being given to you to help someone else out.14. Be willing to continue to pray for the salvation of all your close loved ones who have yet to receive Jesus as their Lord 187

The Bible Basics and Savior. Be willing to pray for them to the day they either get saved, or to the day they literally die and leave this life for good. 15. Be willing to take a strong stand for Jesus in our public arenas on hot topics such as abortion, homosexuality, same sex marriages, trying to take Jesus out of Christmas, dark side material like the Harry Potter books and videos, defending the state of Israel and the Jewish people since they are still God’s chosen people, and every major area of our public life where they are trying to take out the basics of our faith such as our schools, judicial systems, and many of our public offices. 16. Be willing to provide for your own, especially those of your own household, as the Bible says in 1 Timothy 5:8 that if you do not do so, that you have denied the faith and that you are worse than an unbeliever. We could go on and on, but all of the above are some of the things thatGod will be looking for once we have been grafted back into Him throughthe shed blood of His Son Jesus. Once God has fully restored us back toHimself, you can tell by the way the above verse is being worded, that Hedoes not want us sitting around and doing absolutely nothing for Him. Wegave you one big whopper verse showing us that our faith in God will beconsidered dead in His eyes if we do not back up that faith with some type ofgood works. Here is this verse: ● “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead, Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?, You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only, For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:17-26) This verse is straight in your face and it is all literal language being usedby the Lord. He is letting all of us know in no uncertain terms, that He wantsall of us coming to work for Him once we are born again. Our faith in Himnow has to be backed up with good works. And if we are willing to do goodworks and produce good fruit for Him with what time we still have left downhere, then we will be appropriately rewarded once we enter into heaven. 188

The Bible Basics Here are 5 good verses on the importance that we all do good works forthe Lord and seek to produce good fruit for Him in this life. He will berewarding us according to any good works we do for Him while down hereon this earth. 1. “Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before unknown men.” (Proverbs 22:29) 2. “This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.” (Titus 3:8) 3. “And each one will receive His own reward ACCORDING TO HIS OWN LABOR.” (1 Corinthians 3:8) 4. “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone ACCORDING TO HIS WORK.” (Revelation 22:12) 5. “I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you ACCORDING TO YOUR WORKS.” (Revelation 2:23) These verses are really pointing to the extreme importance that we all dosomething in this life for the Lord, and that something is that we do goodworks for Him, and from those good works will come good fruit. Do good works for the Lord, produce good fruit for the Lord, and you canthen leave this life with absolutely no regrets and that you lived this life toits fullest for the Lord. And from there, God will highly and appropriatelyreward you for those good works and good fruit once you enter into heavento be with Him for all of eternity. 189

The Bible BasicsChapter 16Bible Verses on Marriage and Family With half of all marriages in our country still ending up in divorce, nowmore than ever, people need to realize how important marriage and family isnot only to God Himself, but also to every single country across this world,as the family unit is the absolute basic, foundation that a society has to bebuilt on. God had it all set up in the Garden of Eden that Adam would have a mate,and from there, they would be able to have a one flesh, marital union withone another. And from this one incredible marriage union God was going toset up for them, they would then be able to bring children into this world. As we all know, Adam and Eve ended up blowing this perfect paradiseby directly disobeying the Lord on one, simple, little command. However,though Adam and Eve blew it for the rest of us as well, God still kept Hisoriginal plan of marriage and family for the human race fully intact. Now looking at how God has the big picture set up down here on thisearth, you can really see all of it in three, simple, basic things: ● God ● Family ● Friends And in that specific order. God always has to be number one in our lives.No one or no thing can ever replace Him in our lives. We were made solelyfor the Lord and He will not be denied. Only Jesus is the true vine in ourlives, not any of our family members or good friends. God is the only One who we spiritually need in this life to find true innerhappiness and fulfillment, God still saw that He had to make a helper for thefirst man He had created. When God initially created Adam, He saw after a certain length of timethat it was not good that Adam be “alone.” From there, God then createdEve from one of his ribs so he could then have a helper that would becomparable to him. 190

The Bible Basics Adam obviously had it all in the Garden of Eden. He had God, himself,and all of the animals God had created for him. But yet, the way Scripture iswording this event, God decided to add a woman into the big picture by whatwas apparently happening to Adam in this Garden. The Bible does not give us the specifics on what was occurring withAdam, but we have to surmise that Adam was a bit lonely to some degree,even though he fully had God, himself, and all of the other animals God hadcreated for him. God saw that there was something extra that Adam wasneeding in his life and He then created the woman Eve for him. When God goes to the additional length to create an entirely different creature from the man Adam just so Adam could enjoy this special one flesh, marriage union with her, you know this has to be a very big thing in the eyes of God, otherwise He would have never created a woman and marriage for Adam in the first place. This now tells us that marriage and family are the second greatest thing that God can give us in this life next to Himself, His Son Jesus, and His Holy Spirit. As such, we all need to fully appreciate this incredible gift that God has given to the human race and not take it for granted, or want to throw it away once we hit a few minor speed bumps in the marriage. When you really stop and look at the real big picture and how God haseverything set up, there are only three things that will be crossing over withus when we die and go to heaven. Those three things are: ● Ourselves ● All of our saved family members ● All of our saved friends All of the money we have made and saved up down here on earth, and allof the material possessions we have acquired will not be crossing over withus. With only ourselves, our saved family members, and our saved friendscrossing over into heaven with us, what this now tells us is that the personalfriendships we have established down here with each one of our familymembers and good friends is now very important, because when we enterinto heaven, we will be able to continue each of those personal relationshipsin heaven for all of eternity! 191

The Bible Basics As such, we always need to keep our priorities straight down here on thisearth as we continue to walk in the divine plan that God has set up for ourlives. Sometimes we get so busy and so distracted with our work for theLord, that we sometimes forget how important our family and friends reallyare. If we do not keep our priorities set straight, we could easily lose some ofthe good tight relationships we have established down here with our spouses,children, and friends. How many good marriages are now ending up in divorce because one orboth of the spouses had started to take their marriage too much for granted?Marriage, like anything else, takes a lot of hard work to keep up and running.We always need to stay on top of our game with the Lord with the blessedspouse and children He has brought into our lives, and do everything we canon our end to make it happy and fulfilling. If people did not need any kind of marriage union in this life to help make them happy and fulfilled, then God would have never created this marriage union in the Garden of Eden in the first place. The fact that God created this special marriage union with the first two people He had created tells us that this is a real big thing with Him, and that it is a gift of the highest order when He does match us up with the person He will want us to marry in this life, and from there, be able to have an incredible sexual union that will be able to bring children into this world. As such, we should never forget how special our spouses, children, and good friends really are. The good personal relationships we will establish down here on this earth with each one of them is what will be carrying over into the next life. This is why you always have to keep God, family, and friends at the top of your priority list, because your personal relationship with each one of them is the only thing that we will be carrying over into this next life. So you can see how important and how big of a thing marriage and familyis both to the Lord, ourselves, and our world in general, we will give yousome of the main verses from the Bible on this topic under 8 separatecaptions below.1. God Wants Us To Be Married and Have a Family It is God Himself who instituted the sacrament of marriage for the human 192

The Bible Basicsrace. God Himself did not think it was good that man be alone, so He thencreated a woman for him that would be his helper and that would besomeone that would be comparable to him. Adam needed one of his own kind to walk with and fellowship with, soGod made sure that not only would Adam have this kind of helper, but sowould the rest of the human race that would follow after him. God says this marital union will be a one flesh union, bone of my bones,flesh of my flesh. This is why when people break up and divorce, the painthey feel is so excruciating. It feels like flesh is ripping from flesh once youstart to pull apart and try to dissolve the marriage union. There is both a spiritual union and a physical union when two peoplemarry for true love. That is why Jesus says in one of the verses below let noman try and separate what God has joined together in holy marriage. Here are 15 verses, all showing you that God Himself was the One whoset up the sacrament and institution of marriage, and that it is a very goodblessing to have from the Lord if it will be in His perfect will for you to haveit in this life. 1. And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make a helper comparable to him.” (Genesis 2:18) 2. “But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2: 20-24) 3. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them; “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:27-28) 4. “So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore 193

The Bible Basics what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:6)5. “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters, that you may be increased there, and not diminished.” (Jeremiah 29:4-6)6. “He who finds a wife finds a good thing. And obtains favor from the Lord.” (Proverbs 18:22)7. “Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house. Your children like olive plants all around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.” (Psalms 128:3-4)8. “Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life, She girds herself with strength, and strengthens her arms .. and her lamp does not go out by night, Yes, she reaches out her hand to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed in scarlet, She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness. She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her, Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” (Proverbs 31:10-30)9. “Wives, submit to your husbands, as to the Lord. for the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.” (Ephesians 5:22-24)10. “Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (Ephesians 5:33) 194

The Bible Basics 11. “So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.” (Ephesians 5:28) 12. “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.” (Colossians 3:18-21) 13. “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach” (1 Timothy 3:2) 14. “Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.” (1 Timothy 3:12) 15. “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8) The very last verse shows you how serious God really is about marriageand family. He says that if we do not provide for our own, especially those ofour own household, that we are denying our faith in Him and that we areworse than an unbeliever. God has created marriage and family for our human race, and for thosewho find it in this life, they have been given a blessing of the highest ordernext to the Lord Himself. To be given a true soulmate direct from the hand of God, and then fromthat true love, you are allowed to marry one another and bring children intothis world, it just does not get any better than this. And then once we allcross over into heaven, we will then be able to keep those special godlyrelationships intact for all of eternity. This is the real kind of treasure that the Bible is talking about in storingup for heaven, not all of the material things in this life that will do nothingbut perish right before your very eyes on your deathbed.2. God Wants the Whole Family Saved and Working For Him Not only does God want us to marry and have families in this life, but Healso wants all of our families saved and working direct for Him in this life. 195