Getting To Know God – Spiritual Foundations Class 01

Posted on October 10, 2019 by ronelfran
Spiritual Foundations Class is designed to teach the fundamentals of the Christian faith.
We used it in my church as our new member class.
This is the outline for SFC session #1

Getting To Know God

I. Knowing God

A. Our first duty is to know God as He is (Prov 9:10; Psalm 14:1)

We must know and accept God as He really is. We must not make up
our own god as we want him to be. God is who He is!

B. God has revealed Himself

We can only know about God what He chooses to reveal about Himself

1)  Through nature

Everyone has some knowledge of God, admit it or not
Psalm 19:1-3; Rom 1:18-20

2)  In Scripture

God reveals His love for us and His plan of salvation
John 3:16; John 20:30-31

II. Who Is God?

A. God’s Identity

He is the God who created everything that exists
Isaiah 46:5-9; Isaiah 40:25-28

He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob   Ex 3:16
not of Mohammed, Buddah, etc  

There is only One God     Deut 6:4

He is Three in One

The Hebrew word echad in Deut 6:4 means “one in unity,” like a bunch of grapes

The Hebrew word most often used for God, elohim, is a plural form         Gen 1:1-31

“Let us create man in our own image”         Gen 1:26-27

The Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit are, like the Father, fully God
Matt 1:23; Acts 5:3-4

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all participated in Creation
Gen 1:1-2; John 1:1-3, 10-12

                • The Father is the Creator
                • The Son is the Redeemer
                • The Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier

Jesus commanded us to be identified in baptism with the triune God
(Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)  Matt 28:18-19

The Son reveals the Father
John 14:8-9; Heb 1:1-3; Col 1:13-15

The Spirit reveals the Son
John 15:26; John 16:13-14

B. God’s Name

God names Himself simply “I AM”   Ex 3:13-15; John 8:56-58

“Lord” translates the Hebrew YHWH (the Tetragrammaton), which comes into English (by way of German) as Jehova       Ex 6:3

The Hebrew YHWH (“yah-weh”) sounds like and is derived from the Hebrew for I AM

C. God’s Character

1. God is eternal and self-existent

Nobody made Him; Him has always existed    Psalm 90:2-4

He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last
Isaiah 48:12; Rev 1:8,17-18

He is unchanging in His essential character   Mal 3:6; Heb 13:8

2. God is sovereign

He can do whatever He wants to do         Isaiah 46:9-11; Eph 1:11

            • He is omniscient (all knowing)   Psalm 139:1-4
            • He is omnipresent (everywhere present)   Psalm 139:7-10
            • He is omnipotent (all powerful, almighty)  Gen 17:1; Rom 4:20-22

He works all things according to His own purpose and plan   Eph 1:11

3. God is holy   Ezekiel 39:7

          • He is righteous    1 John 1:5
          • He is just                Psalm 9:16
          • He is gracious      Psalm 103:8-14; 1 John 4:8,16; Rom 5:8

4. God is love    1 John 4:8,16

          • He is merciful and gracious   Psalm 103:8-14
          • He demonstrates His love in His dealings with us
            Rom 5:8; Jer 29:11; 1 John 4:19
© 1999 Ronald E. Franklin
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Are You Reigning In Life?

Posted on June 19, 2019 by ronelfran
Woman wearing a crown

In Christ you are royalty!

Did you know that if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, God considers you royalty? In fact, He expects you to reign in life! Look at this verse:

Romans 5:17 (NKJV)   For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

God intends for His children to reign in life! That’s part of the birthright of everyone who is born again through faith in Christ.

But what does that really mean?

God Intends for Us to Reign Over Our Circumstances in Life

In the Greek of the New Testament the word translated “reign” is basileúō. It means to rule as a king or queen. To reign as royalty means that you are not at the bottom of the hierarchy of life, but at the top.

Deuteronomy 28:13    And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.

As believers who are committed to living according what God commands, our rightful place is not “under the circumstances” that occur in our lives, but over them!

That Doesn’t Mean Everything Will Always Go Our Way

God’s promise that when we live according to His word we will be above and not beneath in life doesn’t mean we won’t have to deal with adverse circumstances. In fact, Jesus was quite clear that in this life we should expect to have trials and difficulties.

John 16:33    These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

Reigning in life doesn’t mean we’ll always have a smooth path – there will be times of adversity. But even when times are tough, we can have confidence that we will ultimately be “more than conquerors” over our circumstances. Jesus has already overcome everything this world can throw at us, and in Him we are more than conquerors in every situation.

This is the promise we have in Christ:

My circumstances do not rule over me … in Christ I rule over my circumstances!

So, when you are facing adversity remember that if you walk in obedience to God’s word, you will overcome in every circumstance. Never lose hope or let yourself become discouraged, no matter how dark things may look. As Jesus said, we can be of good cheer even in difficult times because He has already overcome the world.

In Christ you are God’s royalty and you will reign in life!

Ron Franklin

Photo credit: Bestbe Models via Pexels

© 2019 Ronald E. Franklin
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Beyond Resolutions

Posted on January 4, 2019 by ronelfran

If you are anything like I am, you know you need to make some changes in this new year. Perhaps you’ve made New Year’s resolutions about the things you’d like to change. If so, I have some bad news for you:

Most New Year’s resolutions don’t work!

According to Dr. John C. Norcross, Professor of Psychology at the University of Scranton, less than 10% of the New Year’s resolutions people make are successfully accomplished. Why? I think it’s because when we make a New Year’s resolution, we are depending on our own will power and commitment to achieve it. In other words, we’re leaving God out of the equation.

Yet the Bible is very clear that God wants to work in our lives to bring about the change we need.

Philippians 2:12-13 (NKJV)    Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13  for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Let’s take a brief look at this passage to see how we can cooperate with God to bring about lasting change in our lives.

1. Have the right motivation

According to verse 13, the reason I need to change is not to improve my life, but for God’s good pleasure. In other words, the question is not, “how do I need to change in order to make my life better?” Rather, it is, “how does God want to change me for His good pleasure –  in order to fulfill His plan and purpose for my life?”

I NEED TO SETTLE IT ONCE AND FOR ALL THAT I AM LIVING FOR CHRIST AND NOT FOR SELF!

2. Ask for God’s wisdom about what needs to change in your life

The fact is, we don’t even know the changes we need to make. Often, the change we think we need is not what we need at all.

I remember reading the story of a man who broke his leg. But when he went to have it treated, the X-rays revealed that he had a treatable cancer. This man thought his problem was a broken bone, and that certainly was an issue. But the priority issue, the one his life depended on having addressed, was something he was not even aware of.

In the same way, I may think my issue is smoking, drinking, or cursing – and those are all important issues. But God may be much more concerned about dealing with that negative, manipulative, self-centered attitude I don’t even realize I have.

Instead of struggling to make changes we think we need to make, we should ask God to show us how He wants us to change. And the way He normally does that is by renewing our minds as we study His word:

Romans 12:2    And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

3. Depend on God’s power and not your own

Whenever we try to make changes in our lives, there are three realities we must take into account:

(1) My flesh resists change!

Romans 7:18    For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.

(2) The devil will do everything he can to oppose me.

1 Peter 5:8    Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

(3) What I cannot do in my own power, God has already made provision for me to do by the power of His Spirit:

John 15:5    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.

Zechariah 4:6    So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.

No, our New Year’s resolutions are not likely to bring about the changes we really need in our lives. But when we humbly submit ourselves to God, asking Him to work in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure, He will build into our lives, over time, exactly the changes we need!

© 2019 Ronald E. Franklin

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We Are Being Stalked!

Posted on February 12, 2018 by ronelfran

1 Peter 5:8-9  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

On the plains of the Serengeti in Africa there’s no such thing as a wildebeest or gazelle that’s not sober and vigilant. They know they have an adversary that is dedicated every day to bringing them down. And the individuals most likely to be targeted by hungry lions are those that fail to  be sufficiently sober and vigilant. They don’t last long.

Sober: not controlled by emotion or fleshly desires and reactions, but guided by God’s Spirit through His word.

Vigilant: always alert and on the lookout for hidden dangers.

Lions are ambush predators. They sneak up on their victims and depend on not being noticed until it’s too late.

We as believers have our own spiritual lion stalking us. The devil is our adversary, an active, aggressive, and utterly malevolent opponent who is always trying to sneak into our lives to do us harm.

What the devil can do against us is circumscribed by God. Just as with Job, there are boundaries the devil can’t cross in his efforts to bring us down. He can’t just kill us, for example. His only truly effective weapon, but one he successfully uses time and time again, is lies and deceit. He works hard every day trying to deceive us into tolerating ungodly and self-destructive attitudes and practices in our lives. That’s the only way he can bring us down.

I think the message of this passage is that when we fail to subject every thought, every word, and every action to the scrutiny of God’s word, we leave an opening for the lion to sneak in and devour us. Ultimately, the only defense against the devil’s deceit is the truth of God. That’s why it’s imperative that believers look at every situation in their lives through the lens of the word of God.

When someone cuts me off in traffic, my reaction needs to be based on the word of God, and not my feelings of exasperation. When my wife gets on my nerves (it happens!), instead of reacting based on my emotions of the moment, I must let my commitment to honor God in everything I do shape my response.

Because the devil is such an accomplished deceiver, one who is well practiced in making wrong look right and right look wrong, we must be very focused – sober and vigilant – to apply godly truth in every circumstance of life. If we just run off the top of our heads, reacting to situations according to our own feelings and thoughts, the devil will snap us up. He’s too good at what he does, so good, the Bible says, that if it were possible, the very elect would be deceived.

I’m not used to thinking of myself as potential prey, but that’s exactly how the devil looks at me. In order to survive and thrive spiritually, and practically as well, I’d better always be aware that the lion, with his powerful weapons of lies and deceit, is stalking me all the time.

Ron Franklin

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Learning To Rejoice Even In My Trials

Posted on February 2, 2018 by ronelfran

A barber shaving a man who looks extremely fearfulI hate shaving!

For me, shaving is not a matter of just running the razor over my chin once or twice. No, I have to be sure to cut off every little hair at the skin level. Otherwise some of them, their ends sharpened by the razor, will curl back and penetrate my skin. When that happens, that spot on my face becomes itchy and actually painful. So, I have to take the time to shave very closely, making sure every patch of skin is smooth. For me shaving is a real trial, and I hate it!

Actually, that’s not quite true. For a long time in my life I did hate shaving. But that’s not my attitude any longer. Now, when I shave I don’t think about how much the process irritates me. In fact, I’m learning to give God praise for every swipe of the razor!

What’s changed? The closeness with which I must shave hasn’t changed, and I still must occasionally bear the pain of accidentally cutting into my skin with the razor. So, the sources of my former irritation haven’t changed at all. What has changed is my attitude.

James 1:2-4   My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

For me, having to shave is a trial. And James is quite clear about how I am to handle the trials that come into my life – count them all joy!

So, believe it or not, I’m learning to rejoice in my shaving. Instead of continually lamenting how tedious and sometimes painful it is, I’ve begun to give God praise with every stroke. After all, He has given me the privilege of shaving in a bathroom that’s nice and warm, even in the dead of winter. I don’t have to go out into the cold and snow to get a bucket of water, then build a fire to heat it up. Instead, I can just walk a few steps inside my house, and turn on all the hot water I want. And the safety razors I use are so much better and more comfortable than the implements people had to use long ago.

I know that shaving is pretty trivial as trials go. Most of us will have much more serious trials to contend with at points in our lives. But, in terms of our attitudes toward them, a trial is a trial. If I learn to count it all joy when I deal with the trial of shaving, I’ll be much better prepared to count it all joy, and let patience have her perfect work, when the real trials come.

Ron Franklin

Photo credit: Lithograph by Louis-Léopold Boilly, from Wellcome Trust via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Have faith in God!

Posted on July 19, 2016 by ronelfran

Nobody asks directions any more. It used to be that if you didn’t know how to get someplace, you’d ask someone for directions. But it’s not that way now. Everybody either has their own GPS, or if they don’t, they go on MapQuest and receive written directions that are detailed and precise.

But you know what? People are still getting lost! It turns out that putting your faith in GPS or MapQuest may not always work out. But there’s one place you can put your faith with no fear of losing your way:

Mark 11:22 (NKJV) So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.”

What is faith in God? It’s simply believing what He says! He has given us a whole 66-volume Book filled with His guidance. And in order to get to the destination of a productive and successful life, all we need to do is to follow His directions.

How many times have you trusted the directions someone gave you, or even what your GPS told you, and still had difficulty getting where you wanted to go? Do we really believe that MapQuest or a GPS is more trustworthy than God? I don’t think so!

Yet how many of us unhesitatingly follow the directions our technology gives, while hesitating to put total faith in the directions God gives in His Word.

Jesus never said, “have faith in modern technology.” But He most emphatically said that if we want to be victorious in life, we must “have faith in God.”

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How To Make The Law of Sowing and Reaping Work For You

Posted on July 10, 2016 by ronelfran

A few years ago, I made a major mistake with my lawn. I put down too much fertilizer. Then my error was compounded by a near drought. The result was that all my grass burned up and died.

I really felt bad about that. I regretted no end having messed up my lawn by my own ill advised actions.

But this episode taught me a valuable spiritual lesson. It allowed me to see, in a very practical way, that the biblical Law of Sowing and Reaping works both ways – for the positive as well as for the negative:

Galatians 6:7 (NKJV) Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

On the negative side, my dead grass was the result of me reaping from the overdose of fertilizer I had sown. If I had just continued to wallow in regret for my stupidity, that would have been the end of the story.

But then I began to realize that the Law of Sowing and Reaping could work for me as well as against me. So instead of continuing to moan, groan, and complain about the grass that died, I planted new grass!

I used what I learned from my previous failure to help me grow a great new lawn.

Grass lawn 01Many of us have episodes in our past lives that we deeply regret. Trying to do the best we knew how in life, we made stupid mistakes that were much more damaging than just using too much fertilizer.

It may have been marrying someone we shouldn’t have married. Or divorcing our mate when the marriage could have been saved. Many times our regrets come from spending money we didn’t have, and being saddled for years with debts that hang on us like weights. Whatever it was, it left us living with our regrets.

We can never go back in time and undo the mistakes we made. But the Law of Sowing and Reaping teaches us that we can go forward in time and overcome those mistakes.

How? By doing just what I did with my lawn. The way to get beyond reaping the corrupt harvest of the bad seeds we planted in our past is to plant new seed for our future!

The apostle Paul showed us the way:

Philippians 3:13-14 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

So, stop moaning, groaning, and complaining about reaping from the stupid mistakes of the past, and start making some biblically wise decisions now. You’ll continue to reap what you have sown, but now you’ll have a new crop, green and lush, not just dead grass.

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Only The Strong Survive

Posted on June 26, 2016 by ronelfran

Years ago soul singer Jerry Butler had a hit with a tune called, “Only The Strong Survive.”

Sometimes there’s a lot of wisdom in the words of a song, and I think that’s the case with this one. If you want to survive in this life, you’ve got to be strong.

Life is not easy. Have you noticed that you never seem to have any extended period of time in your life when you don’t face challenges? Whether it’s on the job, with our children, when there are more bills than money, the challenges seem to just keep on coming. Sometimes it’s a challenge just to get out of bed in the morning!

But, as with everything else in life, God has already provided what His people need to overcome the challenges of life:

BibleColossians 1:11 (NKJV) strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;

This is a great promise for those who put their trust in Christ – God Himself will strengthen us according to His own glorious power! You literally cannot get any stronger than that!

Yes, only the strong survive. But anyone who puts his or her trust in Christ will never have to wonder if they will have the strength to survive. When you are strengthened with the mighty power of God Himself, you’ll not only survive, but thrive!

 

Ron Franklin

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God’s gift is unearned and undeserved

Posted on January 6, 2016 by ronelfran

When Jesus met and spoke with a deeply sinful woman at Jacob’s well in Samaria, He told her of the gift God was offering to her:

Bible-sxchu-443787-Nafrea.jpgJohn 4:10 (NKJV) Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

That “gift of God” was (and is) eternal life in Jesus Christ. This woman, who had had five husbands and was now living with a man she was not married to, was the poster child for flagrant sin in her village. Yet, Jesus was offering her God’s greatest gift.

The wonderful thing about a gift is that it is unearned and undeserved. For example, if you work a job, your salary is not a gift! If your boss started talking in a department meeting about the financial gift you were getting every week from the payroll department, you’d probably be highly offended. That money was no gift – you earned every penny of it!

So, God’s gift is a blessing that is unearned and undeserved. The biblical word for it is GRACE: the unmerited favor of God.

And the same gift of eternal life that Jesus offered a woman who in no way deserved it, He also offers to each of us today. All we have to do is invite Him into our lives as Savior and Lord.

And that is grace, because we don’t deserve it any more than the woman at the well did.

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Christmas is about “God With Us”

Posted on December 21, 2015 by ronelfran

In our worship service this past Sunday, our church sang a little chorus entitled “Emmanuel.” It goes like this:

Emmanuel, Emmanuel
His name is called Emmanuel
God with us, revealed in us
His name is called Emmanuel

That little song summarizes, in just four lines, one of the greatest meanings of Christmas. Scripture puts it this way:

BibleMatthew 1:23 (NKJV)  “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

God with us! What a wonderful reality. God sent Jesus into the world on the first Christmas to be God with us.

Isn’t it great to know that God didn’t just create us and leave us on our own? And He didn’t just stay way off up in heaven, looking down at us from afar. Instead, in the person of His Son, God came to us, and became one of us.

Hebrews 2:17-18 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

That tells me that anything I have to face in life, Jesus, who names Himself my divine brother, has already gone through. He understands! And because He Himself had to deal with the same types of trials and temptations, He can be an ever present help in my time of trouble.

So, remember that Christmas is not just about what happened in Bethlehem more than 2000 years ago. It’s about the great and wondrous reality that the One who was born on that day is here now, and He’s here to be “God with us”!

And because of Christmas you and I need never again face a hostile world alone.

Ron Franklin

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