Why Study Prophecy? Part 1

Why Study Prophecy?

When you think of studying the prophecy books in the Bible, how do you feel?  Does it stir up apprehension, fear, boredom, or a sense of dread?  Perhaps it stirs up feelings of inadequacy because you view the topic as being too complex and confusing.  .

I want to dig into scripture to show you why it is imperative that we study this topic.  I will even share some of my own experience and how pushing through any negative feelings about the topic has caused not only massive growth in my walk with the Lord, but has reaped fruits of peace and calm in the midst of our chaotic world.

We have a seen a lot of confusion in recent years.  Many false teachers have taken to social media, spreading their lies and stirring up even more confusion.  Some stir up fear and panic.  Others don’t truly know the Word, so they claim some of the signs we have seen in the sky are proof that Jesus is coming back.  Granted, there are several verses in the Bible that speaks of God setting signs in the sky.  (Genesis 1:14)  However, when you take those verses and start setting dates for the return of Jesus, that is a problem.

Recently, when Israel struck Iran, many started claiming the Ezekiel 38 and 39 war had begun.  This got people really stirred up.  Some were in panic mode, while others were thrilled, thinking this meant that Jesus is soon to return.

If only these people were students of the Word!  That alone would have alleviated much of the fear, panic, and nonsense that was showing up on social media.

Scripture tells us that God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light for our path. (Psalm 119:105)  In these dark times of chaos and confusion, it is imperative for us to know the Word so we don’t fall prey to deception.  Jesus warned us four times in Matthew 24 not to be deceived.  He knew this would be a massive problem!

When all of the hype over Israel’s attack upon Iran was spiking, I was able to remain calm and at peace.  How?  I had studied Ezekiel 37 and 38 many times.  Because of the time I invested in learning about that war, I was able to dispel that gossip with one verse.  That war will not happen until Israel is a land of unwalled villages and the people are living in peace.  (Ezekiel 38:11)  I saw recent pictures of Israel.  There are still a lot of walls there.  And peace?  I’m not seeing any peace in that land.  Do I believe it was important in the prophecy timeline that Israel struck Iran?  Absolutely!  But it was not the start of that war.

What would it do for you and your sense of peace if you could learn to keep your sense of calm and spiritual balance by simply applying one verse?  I hope you will join me in this quest of digging deeply into the Word to find even more reasons why we must study prophecy!

© 2024, Stacy R. Miller

Psalm 15: Speaking Truth in Our Heart

Psalm 15: Speaking Truth in our Heart 

Continuing in our study from Psalm 15, we are going to address speaking the truth in our heart.   

To speak truth in my heart goes very deep.  What we think in our hearts is a very private thing.  We can hide our true thoughts so easily from other people.  However, God knows our hearts, even when we don’t speak a word. (Psalm 139:2)  So what about the times we say in our hearts, “What an idiot!”?  God sees it, and He isn’t impressed.  Granted, we live in a time where there is rampant wickedness transpiring around us.  However, we must be careful not to allow our spirits to become tainted by those vile things. 

I can’t help but think back to Hannah, who spoke the truth in her heart to the Lord.  She didn’t speak ill of Penninah or her husband.  She didn’t even gossip about the priest who thought her to be drunk.  Instead, she quietly took all of this to the Lord, pouring out all of her frustrations, hurt, and bitterness. 

In a world where social media is so easily accessible, it is so easy to post something in the heat of the moment.  With intense anger, our fingers can easily type out our raw emotions.  Too often, people go to social media first when they need to be taking the issue to the Lord. 

What are some of your deepest thoughts that need to be cleansed by the Lord? 

What about when we think things like:

What an idiot.

They are stupid.

What a moron.

They are so annoying. 

You get the point.  We may not audibly say these things, but God still sees them in our heart. 

What about when someone lies about us? Let God be your defense. Forgive as you go — you may be judged more by your behavior rather than the false rumor.  The following verses may be a good reminder for all of us. 

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. (Psalm 141:3, NJKV) 

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. (1 Peter 2:21-23, NKJV) 

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, (1 Peter 1:6-7, NKJV) 

I will admit — this concept of speaking the truth in my heart can be dark because sometimes the truth of what I am thinking doesn’t follow what 1 Corinthians says about love.  Many times, my true thoughts aren’t loving or kind.  Instead, they are rude, easily provoked, angry, proud…I think you get the picture. 

Now let’s look back at where we started — speaking truth in my heart.  What about when someone does me wrong?  We must be real and honest with ourselves.  We must focus on speaking truth in our heart.  That isn’t the truth about what happened.  It is deeper — it is the Truth of God’s Word and how I am going to respond to what happened.  We have a choice.  Do we let a bitter root grow?  Or do we rise above, seeking to be found without spot or blemish? 

My prayer for us is that we allow the Lord to speak truth to our hearts where there are ungodly thoughts.  May we be willing to let Him transform us so our thoughts become the true, just, lovely, pure, and noble thoughts mentioned in Philippians 4. 

© 2024, Stacy R. Miller

Psalm 15

Psalm 15

I recently read through Hebrews.  One of the verses that stuck out to me is from Hebrews 12:14 where it tells us that without holiness, no one will see the Lord.  Shortly after that, I read Psalm 15, and found it deeply convicting, especially in the light of the verse from Hebrews.

In Psalm 15, David discusses the character of those who may dwell with the Lord.  You must walk uprightly, work righteousness, speak truth in your heart, not be a backbiter, do no evil to your neighbor or speak evil against your friend.  You must despise those who are vile, but honor those who fear the Lord, and swear to your own hurt and not change.

The final verse is powerful.  If you do the above, you will never be moved.

To walk uprightly is to be sound, wholesome, having integrity, entirely in accord with truth and fact.  I’ve heard it said that who you are when you are alone is who you really are.  That being said, how do we act when we are by ourselves?  Do we partake in sin because we think no one sees us?  Do we watch things on TV that would dishonor the Lord?  Do we read things that are not wholesome?  

When I read the part about truth and fact, it made me think of two things.  First, do I line things up with the Word?  Am I careful to be a Berean?  What about gossip I hear?  Do I quickly repeat it?  When I hear something on the news, do I immediately take it as truth and spread it?  Or do I seek to verify that it really is true?  If I neglect to fact check it, and spread it, I not only disturb others, but I may be joining the ranks of those who speak falsehoods.  

Something that recently challenged me comes from our Sunday school class where we are studying 1 Samuel.  I noticed that Hannah was tortured in her soul because she was barren.  What made it worse was how Penninah provoked Hannah because she was barren.  If that’s not enough, she tended to do it right around the time they were heading to make an offering to the Lord.  Elkanah didn’t have much compassion on her because his response was to ask her “Am I not better to you than ten sons?”  Wow, how insensitive!  

She finally gets near the tabernacle and was calling out to God with all of the hurt, abuse, bitterness of soul, and distress that she was facing.  At the place where she should have found comfort, solitude, and peace, she found something else — A priest who accuses her of being drunk.

Yet Hannah remained respectful toward him, calling him lord.  I had to admit in class that would definitely not have been the response I would have given him.

So bringing this back home to our own lives, what do we do when we are faced with issues regarding our enemies, insensitive comments from our spouse or other family members, or even our own church family?

Let us learn from Hannah.  Like what Psalm 15 mentions about walking uprightly, Hannah did just that.  She didn’t angrily retort to her accusers and tormentors.  Instead, she went right to the Father and cried out to Him.  The Lord greatly blessed her for her character and her trust in Him.  May we learn to keep our mouths shut when we’ve been hurt or offended, taking it only to the Lord.  We may find ourselves amazed with how He will intervene if we will only give Him the chance to do so.

© 2024, Stacy R. Miller

Being a Berean, #5 (Final one)

Being a Berean, #5

I wasn’t planning on doing another teaching on The Passion Translation, but I found one more verse that I believe is worth researching.

Since these virtues are already planted deep within, and you possess them in abundant supply, they will keep you from being inactive or fruitless in your pursuit of knowing Jesus Christ more intimately.  (2 Peter 1:8, TPT)

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they do not make you useless nor unproductive in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:8, NASB)

I immediately got a red flag in my spirit when I saw how TPT says we already possess these qualities.  That is like saying simply because I go to the gym every day, my body is in great shape.  However, it is only those who diligently put forth the effort to work out whose bodies will be in great shape.

TPT says we possess these qualities in abundant supply.  This is like me walking into a grocery store whose shelves are full of food.  I don’t possess any of that food in abundant supply until I put forth the time and effort to put them in my cart, go through the checkout, and pay for them.  But wait!  I’m not done yet!  I still need to push that cart to my car, drive home, unload all of the groceries, and put them in the cabinets, fridge, etc. I’m still not done though!  I have to plan, prep, bake and/or cook those groceries to be able to fully possess and savor the nutrients. It takes a lot of effort to possess those groceries.  And it isn’t something I do once and am done.  It requires doing it multiple times a month.  Do we put forth that much effort into our Bible study?  I’m even stepping on my own toes, so let’s move along!

I like that the NASB uses a couple of words in other verses, making it clear that possessing and growing in these qualities takes a lot of effort and diligence.  

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,  and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,  and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.” (2 Peter 1:5-7, NASB, emphasis added)

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choice of you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble.”  (2 Peter 1:10, NASB, emphasis added)

Thank you for indulging me in my passion to be a Berean.  I hope you have learned a few things during this study!  May we all endeavor to be Bereans in a world full of false teachers, proof that we are under the judgment of God.  (1 Timothy 4)

© 2023, Stacy R. Miller

Being a Berean, #4

Being a Berean #4

Let’s continue to look deeper at The Passion Translation.

Live as one who has died to every form of sexual sin and impurity.  Live as one who has died to the desires for forbidden things, including the desire for wealth, which is the essence of idol worship.  When you live in these vices you ignite the anger of God against these acts of disobedience.  (Colossians 3:5-6, TPT)

Therefore, treat the parts of your earthly body as dead to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.  For it is because of these things that the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience.  (Colossians 3:5-6, NASB)

I knew I didn’t like the word “essence” when I read it in TPT.  What I didn’t fully understand was why I didn’t like that word.  I looked up the meaning, using Bing:  the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, that determines its character.

There is nothing abstract about idol worship.  Anything that we love or hold above the Lord is an idol.

Something else I noticed is the TPT uses anger, whereas the NASB uses the word wrath in its description of how God feels about the sins listed.  I also checked other versions to see what wording they use.  The NIV, RSV, ESV, KJV, and The Geneva Bible also use the word wrath.

There is a huge difference between God’s anger and His wrath!  The Word tells us that believers will never face the wrath of God, so the implication here is that those who actively partake of these sins will be facing the wrath of God.  That made me dig deeper, pausing to reflect, asking myself, “Am I partaking in any of these things?  If so, I need to repent and run from those sins!”

This is just one more example on how the TPT softens the message.  When you soften that message, it can lead one on a slippery slope to “another gospel,” of which Paul speaks in Galatians 1.

© 2023, Stacy R. Miller

Being a Berean #3

Being a Berean, #3

Your spiritual roots go deeply into his life as you are continually infused with strength, encouraged in every way. For you are established in the faith you have absorbed and enriched by your devotion to him! (Colossians 2:7, TPT)

Having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. (Colossians 2:7, NASB)

In TPT, the wording sounds very New Age-y to me — almost like you can breathe deeply, causing your roots to grow, every breath infused with strength.  Yet the NASB makes it very clear that to grow, we must be firmly rooted in Christ and established in our faith.  John 1 tells us Christ is the Word, so to grow deeply means spending a lot of time in the Word, learning and applying what we learn.

This “realm of death” describes our former state, for we were held in sin’s grasp.  But now, we’ve been resurrected out of that “realm of death” never to return, for we are forever alive and forgiven of all our sins! (Colossians 2:13, TPT)

When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, (Colossians 2:13, NASB)

TPT in this verse reminds me of a teaching from the false prosperity gospel.  First, it is like that our old nature is completely gone.  However, Paul spoke about the constant battle of doing the things he didn’t want to do and not doing the things he should do.  Our fleshly nature, which they refer to as the “realm of death,” is something we carry with us until the Lord calls us home.

Secondly, they view the cross as a place of death, and are challenged to move away from it.  They neglect the scriptures that tell us to take up our cross daily and follow the Lord, to die daily, and to boast in nothing but the cross of Christ.  Yes, our old life is to be left behind.  The hymn Amazing Grace causes us to pause and remember from where we have come and where we are now going.  While we aren’t to dwell on the past, an occasional reflection back to what we were can keep us humble and remind us that our new life is all about Christ and what He has done.

The more I check verses in The Passion Translation, the more convinced I am that it is very sneaky and deceptive.  That is why I feel compelled to share some of the errors I am finding in it.  Sometimes it feels good to switch to another version to try and “freshen up” our devotional time.  However, we must never forget to keep our Berean focus when we do so.

© 2023, Stacy R. Miller

Being a Berean

Being a Berean

If you have read my writings, you have heard me often give admonitions to be a Berean with what you read and any preaching you hear.  Make sure that it lines up with the Word so that you aren’t deceived.

I want to give that admonition once again, but not in a way that you would expect.  I recently discovered how deceptive certain versions of the Bible can be.  We must be a Berean, even when reading scripture!  A friend of mine sent me a couple of charts on Bibles.  One shows which versions are a word for word translation and which ones are paraphrases.  The other shows the reading level on which they have been written, along with showing which versions use gender-neutral language.  It also lists them by number, according to how accurate they are with the original language.  I found them quite insightful and have attached them at the end of this message so you can view them.

The version I want to address today is one that wasn’t on the list.  It is The Passion Translation, first published in 2017 to reflect the beliefs of The New Apostolic Reformation, which is nothing more than a cult.  Bible Gateway has even removed The Passion Translation from their website.  Here is a website that explains more about their beliefs and why they are dangerous.

The Six Hallmarks of a NAR Church — Pirate Christian Media

I like to change things up during my lunchtime reading at work.  I have been in some of the epistles, meditating on a few verses that I feel the Lord is impressing upon me.  I decided to compare those verses in other versions.  What I found was quite enlightening as well as disturbing.  

Colossians 4:6:  Your speech must always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. (NASB)

“Let your speech at all times be gracious and pleasant, seasoned with salt, so that you will know how to answer each one [who questions you].” (AMP)

Now let’s look at the verses in The Passion Translation.  “Let every word you speak be drenched with grace and tempered with truth and clarity.  For then you will be prepared to give a respectful answer to anyone who asks about your faith.” (TPT)

At first, it sounds really good.  However, as I went back and studied every word in light of the compromise and woke-ness that is hitting many churches, I became quite disturbed.

TPT:  Basically it is telling us to give a respectful answer — an answer that might not be biblical truth.  It’s respectful, regardless of what biblical truth declares.  In other words, be respectful, even if the version of truth shared isn’t biblical truth.

AMP:  Your answer will be seasoned with salt.  You are giving an answer with only one point of view, and that view is based on biblical truth.  Truth is truth regardless of what the correct, respectful answer is.

We must remember how Jesus answered those who opposed Him.  He always spoke the truth.  Sometimes it infuriated His hearers.  Yet, His answers were always respectful (and pleasing) to God.  We must remember our focus in this world.  We aren’t called to respect the world and its ways.  We are to expose the deeds of darkness.  Paul asked a great question that we should ponder when facing those who oppose us.  “Am I now seeking favor of people, or of God?”  (Galatians 1:10) The same could be said when we are seeking to be respectful.  Our aim should be to respect God in all we say and do.  Our goal is not to be respectful of views that are opposed to the Word of God.  We can be kind to those who oppose us.  We must remember that contrary to what the world says, true love speaks biblical truth even when it isn’t popular.

I will share some more insights from the Word, comparing to The Passion Translation in upcoming writings.  My goal is to help all of us see the importance of being careful with what versions we allow into our lives.

© 2023, Stacy R. Miller

The Struggle With Devotions and Praying

Are you struggling to spend time with the Lord? Do you have trouble with praying? Are you easily distracted when trying to study or pray? If so, this video is a MUST-SEE!

The Benefits of the Right Choice

The Benefits of the Right Choice

We come to conclusion of this series from 2 Peter 1 today.  I have to admit — the Lord has really challenged me through this study, showing me some weak places in my own building blocks from 2 Peter 1:5-6.  It has moved to me to deeper prayer time, to many tears, to pondering, and even to asking a close friend to pray for specific prayer needs in relation to this study. He has even challenged me to look at lost people through His eyes, rather than through the depravity of their sinful actions.  I was deeply convicted for some attitudes I had been hiding in my heart. I kept thinking of a quote I recently heard from Spurgeon.  “In order to be winners of souls, we must first become weepers of souls.”

As promised, we are going to look at the great benefits we can reap if we are diligent in adding these building blocks to our lives.  These benefits aren’t easily given to us.  There is a tiny two-letter word that speaks volumes.

8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Notice the word “if.”  Once these qualities begin to abound in us (existing in abundance and increasing), we won’t be barren (lazy, shunning the labor we ought to perform), or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord.  If that doesn’t motivate you to be more diligent in your spiritual walk, perhaps the warning in verse 9 will.

9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

So we have an either/or scenario.  We can endeavor to create solid, strong building blocks that will help us grow spiritually, or we can choose to be one of the shortsighted ones who have forgotten about how we were cleansed from our sins.

Next, we find another admonition from Peter.

10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:8-11, NKJV)

To make our calling and election sure is to have one that is stable, fast, and firm.  It won’t be swayed by the dictates of the world.  If (there’s that two-letter word again), we do these things, we will never stumble.  The Interlinear Bible describes stumble as to err, make a mistake, sin, fall into misery, or to become wretched.  But I skipped over a word — it’s not just that we won’t stumble.  It says that we will never stumble!  What an amazing thought as we continue to face such ever-changing and challenging situations in our world!

I have watched legal persecution arising in our nation over the last several months, growing larger in scale and intensity.  After studying this text and pondering on it, I couldn’t help but think of the story in Daniel where the three young, Hebrew men stood firm in their faith.  They declared to that wicked king how their God could deliver them from the king’s hand, but even if He didn’t, they would not bow to the statue.

I want to be able to stand firm and secure so that when my own “but even if He doesn’t” moment comes, I honor the Lord instead of caving to the culture.  How about you?  

© 2023, Stacy R. Miller

Bible Study Tips

Bible Study Tips

While on a “stay-cation,” I wanted to take some time to share a few Bible study tips I have implemented, in hopes that it will inspire you to dig deeper into the Word.

I have always wanted to study 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles, marking those who did right in the sight of the Lord, and those who did evil in the sight of the Lord.  I used green to mark those who did right and orange to mark those who did evil.  I noticed something though as I was reading.  Many times, those who did right in the sight of the Lord either didn’t follow completely the ways of the Lord, or they veered off and took a dark turn into evil.  Whenever I would see that, I would mark those sections in orange.  This has really made those books come alive to me.

Since our women’s study has been doing the book of Genesis, anything about God’s covenant would stand out to me.  I would mark those sections in pink. Another thing that stood out to me from the Genesis study were the times the Lord appeared to different people.  I began to see that in my study of Kings and Chronicles.  I really wanted those to stand out so I can easily find them, so I would mark through the words with purple, but then underline them with blue.  The two-toned effect really does make the verses “pop.”

If I found verses that make a great prayer, I would mark those in green.

Shortly after doing that study, I felt led to do a deep dive into Jeremiah, using a book by Life Change.  I was amazed how many times what I was reading in Jeremiah was actually in Kings and Chronicles.  It “connected” a lot of dots for me.  

Whenever it mentioned the Lord speaking, I would mark it in purple.  If it switched to say Jeremiah was speaking, I would highlight that in yellow. If it mentioned famine, pestilence, and sword, I would mark those in orange since they are signs of God’s judgment.  Anything related to God’s covenant was pink.  Anything that was comforting was marked in blue.

I am in the beginnings of studying Matthew.  In the genealogy, I marked any women in pink.  I circled Jeconiah in black and wrote a note explaining why his name was important.  The line was cursed after him, meaning no one from that line would be a king from the lineage of David.  Joseph was from this line, which is why the religious leaders didn’t believe Jesus could be King.  But as we know, Joseph wasn’t the biological father of Jesus.  However, Mary was from the line of David!  

In my NASB bible, any prophecies that were fulfilled by Jesus are printed in all caps.  I wanted those sections to stand out even more, so I am using a purple highlighter (since purple can represent royalty).  I draw a vertical line to the left side of any prophecies that Jesus fulfilled, thus making them easier to find.

In Matthew 5, Jesus spoke of personal relationships.  For instance, in verse 21, He said, “You have heard that the ancients were told, “YOU SHALL NOT MURDER,” and “Whoever commits murder shall be answerable to the court.” (NASB)  I have highlighted verses like this in yellow.  Yet, Jesus went on after comments like this to say, “But I say to you….”  I have marked all of those statements in green because he is giving us an action plan on what we should do.  (Think: Green means go, or do.)

Words like ”immediately,” or “at that moment,” etc., are also highlighted.  General things I want to stand out, I will highlight in yellow.  Warnings are always marked in orange.

If I find a section where Jesus says the same thing several times, I will highlight it.  For instance, He tells us three times in Matthew 6:25-34 “Do not worry.”  I highlighted those words in green.  However, because I find comfort in this portion of scripture, I used a pink highlighter and did vertical lines on the left side of those paragraphs.  I used pink because the assurance of His loving care for me gives me joy.  Blue would have been applicable because these verses also give me comfort.

While eating breakfast, I will use my i-Pad to read a Proverb, a couple of Psalms, and something in the Old Testament.  While doing my hair and make up, I listen to a “read through the Bible plan” from You Tube.  I read the New Testament on my Bible app while at lunch.  Unfortunately, I don’t retain much from those times because I am busy with other activity.  Nothing compares to those evening times when I can sit down and actually hold my Bible in my hands with my highlighters at my side!

I hope these tips will encourage you to dig deeply into the Word, finding a method of studying that makes the Bible come more alive to you than it ever has!  We are living in times where we must get our daily bread from the Word to sustain us in these tumultuous times.

© 2023, Stacy R. Miller