How can I change or control my thought life?

How can I change or control my thought life?

Paul's statement, "Think on these things" (Philippians 4:8)," TARGET="_blank">Philippians 4:8), shows that we can choose the focus of our thoughts.

A controlled mind (1 Peter 1:13)" TARGET="_blank">1 Peter 1:13) characterizes normal Christian living. The power of the Spirit of God within and of devotion to Christ produces obedience to God's Word and likeness to Christ. Spiritually healthy habits - reading and meditating on the Word of God, confessing sins and communing with the Lord in prayer, maintaining wholesome relationships with others, and participating in the spiritual activities of an assembly -preserve us from most problems with an unholy thought life. Healthy Christian thinking is the byproduct of healthy Christian living.

A history of bad habits in thinking, of spiritual departure, or of inappropriate responses to circumstances in life will deepen problems in a believer's thought life. Replacing these habits with spiritual habits helps to change our thought life.

The remedy is focusing on Christ's loveliness and on things positive and Christ-honoring (Philippians 4:8)." TARGET="_blank">Philippians 4:8).

Here are 4 suggestions:

1. When facing conditions that trigger wrong thoughts, read conveniently placed index cards on which you have written relevant Bible verses. This allows God's Word to speak to and strengthen your mind.

2. Prayerfully eliminate idle time, lonely interludes, or physical tiredness.

3. Cultivate the companionship of an omniscient God.

4. Carefully select your food. Some "food" you see and hear will sow seeds of wrong thoughts. Replace this with spiritually strengthening food. Listen to and sing songs rich in Biblical truth. By these means the word of Christ will dwell in you richly (Colossians 3:16)." TARGET="_blank">Colossians 3:16).

D. Oliver
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The Bible character Sampson is one of the great heros of the sunday school lesson colleciton. Here are some resources that you can use to teach Samson's life, Samson's faith and his mistakes.

See the lessons section for a kick start on what you should include in your sunday school lesson.

See the sunday school activities section for ideas on printable projects, power points and classroom activities to go along with the sunday school lesson.

If you wish to search the KJV Bible for any scripture passage click here .

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Does "that day" refer to the same day in its three uses in 2 Timothy?

Does "that day" refer to the same day in its three uses in 2 Timothy?

This expression appears four times in Paul’s writings, three times within the four chapters of this epistle. It is safe therefore to expect a similar meaning and to consider each context to verify that. Paul seems to have "that day" in his mind as he closes his ministry and is about to depart.

In chapter 1:12, Paul is thinking of the gospel entrusted to him by the Lord. This "good thing" (verse 14) involved a stewardship both for Paul and now for Timothy to which it had been transferred. Paul had committed the keeping of the deposit of truth to the Lord and labored to pass it to others, particularly Timothy, in order to perpetuate it. Ultimately, though, he would have to give account of his stewardship (Luke 16:2;" TARGET="_blank">Luke 16:2; 1 Corinthians 4:1-4)" TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 4:1-4) to the Lord. "That day" was the day of review, the Judgment Seat of Christ. It is clear that the same occasion is on Paul’s mind in 4:8 when he speaks about the Lord giving him a crown of righteous in "that day," a day of rewards.

The meaning of the passage in chapter 1:16-18 may be decided by the meaning of mercy. W. E. Vine indicates that mercy assumes a need and "resources adequate to meet the need." "Mercy is His [God’s] attitude toward those who are in distress." In 1:15, Paul names two who turned away from him. In contrast, Onesiphorus deliberately associated himself with the imprisoned apostle (verse 17). He may now have gone home to heaven as a result of his boldness in standing by truth and Paul, its ambassador. Paul desires mercy for him in "that day" (verse 18), when the Lord would fully bless one who had suffered on earth for the sake of the gospel. Twice Paul uses an expression unique to this passage: "the Lord give" or "grant" (verses 16, 18). His wish was for divine resources to respond in the present to Onesiphorus’ household’s needs and to respond in the future to Onesiphorus’ costly faithfulness. "That day" will be a day of recompense.

D. Oliver
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Did Jesus suffer the pains of Hell on the cross?

How are Christ's sacrificial sufferings related to the sufferings of the lost in hell?

What was infinite in character (the sufferings of our Lord Jesus at Calvary) and what will be eternal in duration (the sufferings of the lost in the lake of fire) should be carefully distinguished. A reverent consideration of the Bible's descriptions of Calvary indicates that the Lord Jesus endured the unmitigated judgment of God. His was an infinite capacity to feel and to suffer. His holy emotions, unclouded by sin, fully registered the approaching storm when He was in Gethsemane. He endured the totality of that judgment on the cross. Prophetically, His language was, "Thou hast afflicted me with all Thy waves." "All Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over me." Although the flood waters were "restrained" in Noah's day, no such limitations restricted the flood-tide of grief that swept over His holy soul. Typologically, the scapegoat, whose death was in an uninhabited land, points to the One Whose sufferings were incomprehensible to the human mind. How could we measure His sufferings when He Who is absolute Holiness was, at the same time, "made sin for us?" Not only was the Savior suffering for countless others' sins, but God, through His Son, was condemning sin in the flesh. How correct Samuel Stennett was, "What he endured no tongue can tell to save our souls from death and hell!" Saying, "Christ suffered our hell" not only claims too much but also says too little. He suffered infinitely more than we could have endured through endless ages.

E Higgins

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How do various Bible versions translate the words Sheol and Hades?

The meaning of SHEOL and HADES

In the King James Version, the Hebrew word SHEOL is usually translated as hell. The corresponding Greek word HADES is also translated as hell. Sheol means “the place of departed spirits” and hades means the “place of the dead”. The word “hell” conjures images of darkness, flames, torment and agony. However, the departed spirits of the Old Testament believers also went to sheol/hades, but not to suffer torments.

According to Vines Dictionary…

Hades is the region of departed spirits of the lost". This includes the blessed dead in periods preceding the ascension of Christ. It corresponds to "Sheol" in the Old Testament. In the Authorized King James Version it has been unhappily rendered "hell" (Psalms 16:10)" TARGET="_blank">Psalms 16:10) or "the grave," (Genesis 37:35)" TARGET="_blank">Genesis 37:35) or "the pit" (Numbers 16:30-33)." TARGET="_blank">Numbers 16:30-33). In the New Testament the Revised Version always used the rendering "hades". In the Old Testament, they have not been uniform in the translation. For example in Isaiah 14:15" TARGET="_blank">Isaiah 14:15 it is translated "hell" with a note in the margin that says "Sheol". Usually they have "Sheol" in the text and "the grave" in the margin. Sheol never denotes the grave, nor is the permanent region of the lost.

Translation Challenge

Most Bible translators avoid using “hell” to translate the words sheol and hades. Instead they simply transcribe the words from the original Hebrew (sheol) or Greek (hades) such as the English Standard Version (ESV). Other translations that use “sheol” instead of hell include the New American Standard Bible (NASB), The New King James Version (NKJV), Darby, and Young’s Literal Translation. The NIV and other loose translations and paraphrases use a phrase such as “the realm of the dead”.

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Bible Coloring Sheets

Select several of the 350 Bible Coloring Sheets that cover nearly every story in the Bible. These pre-made Bible coloring sheets are in PDF format. The sheets contain a word search activity, a crossword puzzle activity and a Bible coloring sheet.

You may also be interested in Bible worksheets that you can create from a Bible verse.

Word Find

Word Scramble

Crossword Puzzle Creator

Cryptogram Puzzle Creator

Fallen Quotes

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Why does the church use one loaf of bread?

What is expressed by partaking of the bread (1 Corinthians 10:16)" TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 10:16)?

As the cup symbolizes the physical blood of Christ, so the bread symbolizes the physical body of Christ. Partaking of both expresses a fellowship, or communion, with God (the cup) and with believers (the bread). The truth of fellowship with God underlies the teaching of chapter 10; fellowship with believers reappears in chapter 11:17-34.

The bread, speaking of the physical body of Christ, does not symbolize the church, the Body of Christ, nor does partaking of it express the fellowship of that Body. Verse 17 explains the fellowship. The believers who partake of the bread are one, because ("for") they have all partaken of one loaf. All are one, because all partake. In this context, Paul must be referring to partaking of the physical loaf at the Breaking of Bread. By partaking of this bread, believers in the assembly express that they are one.

The passage cannot teach that all the Body of Christ is one (Ephesian truth), because all partake of the loaf. All believers on earth have never partaken of one loaf, even in Acts 2" TARGET="_blank">Acts 2 when all in the Body were on earth. Furthermore, some in the Body have never partaken of this "communion of the body of Christ."

In chapter 10, partaking of the cup and bread expresses our fellowship with God and with fellow believers in the assembly. In chapter 11, partaking of these symbols brings to remembrance our beloved Lord, declares the value we see in that death, and anticipates His coming.

D. Oliver
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Can a brother be told not to participate in the meetings of an assembly?

Can you give any Scripture for the “silencing” of a brother? For what “crime” is he to be “silenced”? and who is to do it?

This is an important enquiry. I suppose the questioner does not mean literally a “crime,” for surely no one guilty of a serious moral offence against the law could be allowed to preach or teach, even if he were allowed for the time being to remain in the assembly, which could hardly ever be the case. But I suppose what is meant is some brother, against whom, perhaps, no real accusation can be made, but who has been requested not to minister the Word.

Now, of course, we cannot judge of any particular case without knowing the details. I believe in general that no one would be silenced, unless there were good reasons—some manifest lack of gift, some recognised inability to edify the saints, some habit of too lengthy and unprofitable ministry, which had wearied hearers, or some clear moral defect. Sometimes a man may insist on reading and commenting on long chapters of the Bible, or always the same chapter, as we have known in one case, or always the same disputed doctrine, which in an unruly way he persists to inflict upon the saints.

Perhaps Paul refers to some such men in Titus 1:10" TARGET="_blank">Titus 1:10 as ”unruly and vain-talkers and deceivers . . . ,“ and then adds, “WHOSE MOUTHS MUST BE STOPPED.” It is not necessary to fill every line of this indictment, to deserve the form of discipline here prescribed. A man would seem to fall within it, who is known as an unprofit able talker, or as pushing some doubtful or controversial teaching. I do not think this silencing ought to be done by an individual acting on his own responsibility. It is a case where “two are better,” and they should act only as representatives of the assembly.

The phrase, “the liberty of the Spirit,” is sometimes quoted to show that the Spirit gives liberty to anyone who likes to teach, but in their context the words only refer to seeing Christ without a veil. Certainly the Spirit does not give liberty to those whom He has not qualified to speak. However, it does not always follow that the one silenced will never again be able to minister, for sometimes it may be that a young man may have been too quick to come forward into this service, and may develop a true gift later. I know of one such case, where the one silenced (and he submitted himself humbly to the ruling of his elders) became afterwards universally recognised as a true minister of the Word.

W.H.

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Online Bible Text

Resources at the Gospel Hall for online Bible Text

Depending on your search for online Bible text, you may be looking for

Online Bible Text Search in multiple versions. You can read the text of the Bible in multiple Bible versions.
Printed Texts for hanging on the wall. We recommend www.textools.org
Commentaries on the text for reference in Bible Study.
Articles related to gospel themes found in New Testament Bible Study.

The Bible in various versions is available in the form of a full text Bible search.

Instructions for using the Full Text Bible Search in your Bible Study...

1. Select the following link - gen 1:1-5" TARGET="_blank">gen 1:1-5&search=&ver1=kjv&ver2=bbe">Full Text Biible Search .

2. Type in a passage Bible reference such as John 3:1-5" TARGET="_blank">John 3:1-5 as pictured.

3. Choose the one or two Bible versions to search in the Bible text search form.

4. Optionally, you may select the second Bible version to complete the full text search. The second, optional parallel version, is not required to make a full-text search.

5. Click Search to launch the bible text query.

If you enter a text search for a word or phrase, the full text results of your bible search will be different with each Bible version since the language in each Bible version is slightly different.

About the versions of the Bible

The King James or Authorised Version of the Bible is an English translation of the Bible text first published in 1611. The New Testament text was translated from the Textus Receptus (Received Text) edition of the Greek texts, so called because most extant texts of the time were in agreement with it. The Old Testament was translated from the Masoretic Hebrew text.

Modern English Bibles such as the New American Standard Bible and the English Standard Version decline to use the Textus Receptus, opting instead for what many modern scholars feel are more reliable critical editions.

The King James Version has had a profound effect on English literature. The works of famous authors such as John Milton, Herman Melville, John Dryden, and William Wordsworth are deeply inspired by it.

The Bible In Basic English (also known as BBE) is a translation of the Bible into Basic English. The BBE was translated by Professor S. H. Hooke using the standard 850 Basic English words. 100 words that were helpful to understand poetry were added along with 50 "Bible" words. The New Testament was released in 1941 and the Old Testament was released in 1949.

The American Standard Version (ASV) of the Holy Bible was first published in 1901. It has earned the reputation of being the Rock of Biblical Honesty. Although the English used in the ASV is somewhat archaic, it isn't nearly as hard to understand as some passages of the King James Version of nearly 3 centuries earlier. This translation of the Holy Bible is in the public domain, since its copyright has expired. You are encouraged to download, copy, publish, and use this translation freely.

John Nelson Darby Version

First published in 1890 by John Nelson Darby, an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher associated with the early years of the Plymouth Brethren. Darby also published translations of the Bible in French and German.

The English Standard Version (ESV) was Published in 2003 as a translation to bridge the gap between the accuracy of the NASB and the readability of the NIV.

The ESV is an “essentially literal” translation that seeks as far as possible to capture the precise wording of the original text and the personal style of each Bible writer. As such, its emphasis is on “word-for-word” correspondence, at the same time taking into account differences of grammar, syntax, and idiom between current literary English and the original languages. Thus it seeks to be transparent to the original text, letting the reader see as directly as possible the structure and meaning of the original.

In contrast to the ESV, some Bible versions have followed a “thought-for-thought” rather than “word-for-word” translation philosophy, emphasizing “dynamic equivalence” rather than the “essentially literal” meaning of the original. A “thought-for-thought” translation is of necessity more inclined to reflect the interpretive opinions of the translator and the influences of contemporary culture.

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Do we worship Christ or the Father or the Holy Spirit?

PRAYER AND WORSHIP
THE PROPER OBJECT OF OUR WORSHIP

In this dispensation, to which Person in the Godhead should the worship of the assembly be directed?

Without question our Lord Jesus Christ is a true and proper object of His people’s worship. The wise men from the east came to worship Him (Matthew 2:2)," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 2:2), and “when they saw the young child with Mary His mother, they fell down and worshipped (not them, as the Romanist and Ritualist would have it, but) Him”—not to mention such cases as occur in Matthew 8:2;" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 8:2; Matthew 9:18," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 9:18, which perhaps would hardly mean more than an act of deep reverence (for “worship” etyrnologically means “worth-ship,” and is thus used in law courts—”your worship”).

In Matthew 14:33 we read that those in the boat recognised Him as “Son of God;” as did the healed man of John 9:38" TARGET="_blank">John 9:38 when he exclaimed, “Lord, I believe, and he worshipped Him.” In each instance it is the revelation of the glory of His person, which draws out the adoring worship of His own. This was the case on earth after His resurrection (Matthew 28:9)," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 28:9), and never did the Lord disclaim such worship, as did Peter (Acts 4:12)," TARGET="_blank">Acts 4:12), but accepted it as His rightful due.

This is all perfectly true and most blessed, and wherever to-day God is worshipped, our Lord Jesus Christ receives His part, for He is God the Son. But this being so, we must not confuse the Persons of the Trinity. Each has His proper place and function, and in John 4" TARGET="_blank">John 4: the Lord clearly indicates that it is God the Father who is seeking worshippers, and it is “in spirit and in truth” that the true worshipper must worship Him.

The worship of the Old Testament saints was figurative. The worship of the Lord when on earth was direct and personal, but there was another worship, even then beginning, true and spiritual. The Lord Jesus is the Way to the Father. If in our priestly worship we habitually stop short of Him, we fall below what the Lord wills for His people. He is the High Priest over the house of God, delighting to present their worship to the Father. The object, the way, and substance, the power of worship are all indicated in that most inclusive verse, Ephesians 2:18," TARGET="_blank">Ephesians 2:18, “For through Him (the Lord Jesus) we both (Jew and Gentile) have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”

W.H.

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