Category: Connections

With 1,189 chapters, 31,000+ verses and over 788,000 words in the King James Version of the bible, there are almost countless combinations of words, phrases and concepts to learn from.

As a matter of fact, the Greek word sunesis is used 7 times in the bible and 7 is the number of spiritual perfection.

It is translated “understanding” in Colossians 1:9

Colossians 1:9
For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

Now check out it’s definition:

a running together, understanding
Usage: a putting together in the mind, hence: understanding, practical discernment, intellect.

HELPS Word-studies
Cognate: 4907 sýnesis (from 4920 /syníēmi) – properly, facts joined together for holistic understanding, i.e. synthesized reasoning that joins implicit (indirect) truths for comprehension. See also 4920 (syníēmi).

For the believer, this “connects the dots” through sanctified, inductive reasoning (done under God). This positive use of 4907 /sýnesis (“synthesized understanding”) occurs in: Mk 12:23; Lk 2:47; Eph 3:4; Col 1:9,22; 2 Tim 2:7.

This word sunesis is used in Greek literature to describe the process of 2 smaller rivers running together to form one larger river.

Talk about connections and new understanding of the word of God and life itself!

I have a growing list of bible verses and sections of scripture that have some parallel association together so that you can make new connections and have new spiritual light to build your scope and understanding of the word.

Galatians 6
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Hosea 10
12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
13 Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.

Acts 17
5 But the Jews [Judeans] which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.
6 And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;

Psalms 146:9
The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

Because of the figure of speech idiom of permission, God allows the ways of the wicked to be turned upside down. They are simply reaping what they have sewn.

The wicked then falsely accuse God’s people of causing the problem, when in reality, it was Satan working through the wicked all along. In other words, the wicked accuse God’s people of what they are guilty of themselves.

James 1:1
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

I Peter 1:1
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

In James 1:1, the english words “are scattered abroad” and in I Peter 1:1, the phrase “scattered throughout” are the same Greek word diaspora, which literally means the dispersion. It refers to Judeans that have been dispersed throughout the Roman empire, due to persecution.

Isaiah 24
14 They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord, they shall cry aloud from the sea.
15 Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the fires, even the name of the Lord God of Israel in the isles of the sea.
16 From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.

Isaiah 24:15 mentions glorifying God in the fires.

Acts 2
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The day of Pentecost mentions fire and speaking in tongues, which is a way to glorify God.

Isaiah 24:16 mentions songs and the uttermost part of the earth.

Acts 1:8 mentions the exact same phrase, “the uttermost part of the earth” in the context of speaking in tongues also.

Acts 1:8
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost [the gift of holy spirit] is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

In connection to this, I Corinthians mentions singing with understanding and singing in tongues, which is glorifying God by way of the manifestation of the gift of holy spirit which is speaking in tongues.

I Corinthians 14:15
What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.

In connection with this, look at II Timothy!

II Timothy 1:6
Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

The phrase, “that thou stir up” is the one Greek word anazópureó, which means “to kindle afresh; I stir up the fire, fan the flame of”.

The gift of God is the gift of holy spirit. There is only 1 way to stir up that gift, to manifest that spiritual power within, and that is to speak in tongues.

Acts 13:11
And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

In this verse, the apostle Paul had operated the manifestations of holy spirit and defeated Elymas the sorcerer, who was a child of the devil.

II Peter 2:17
These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.

It’s interesting to note that the child of the devil in Acts 13 was defeated and experienced a mist and a darkness and children of the devil in II Peter are reserved for the mist of darkness as well.

Romans 1:23
And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

I Peter 1:23
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

The word “uncorruptible” in Romans 1:23 is the same Greek word as the word “incorruptible” in I Peter 1:23. We are born of incorruptible spiritual seed because God is spirit and he is incorruptible too. Like father, like son.

I Kings 18:21
And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

James 1
6 But let him ask in faith [believing], nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

If we waver and are in doubt, then we will not receive anything from God. Doubt is a sign of weak believing.

Oftentimes, the options of a situation boil down to the wisdom of the world vs the wisdom of God.

In Elijah’s time, the people had the same problem: wavering between 2 options, so Elijah was trying to get them off the fence and make a decision.

We should do the same.

Colossians 1:23
If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

How was it preached to every creature under heaven? Certainly speaking the word was involved, but also by God’s creation: especially the word taught in the night sky by the heavenly bodies, which psalms 19 expounds upon.

Psalms 19 [NIV]
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.

3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.

5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.

Therefore, it doesn’t matter if somebody lives in a remote part of the world where no Christians have ever set foot or not. All of God’s creation is so sophisticated, complex, advanced and magnificent that nobody has any excuse for not believing in the Lord who both designed and created the entire universe.

Romans 1:20 [amplified bible]
For ever since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through His workmanship [all His creation, the wonderful things that He has made], so that they [who fail to believe and trust in Him] are without excuse and without defense.

Isaiah 33:2
O LORD, be gracious to us; for in thee is our trust; be thou our helper every morning, our salvation also in the time of distress.

Notice the sharp contrast between these 2 verses in Isaiah:
* trust in God and get help in the morning
or
* trust in your own wickedness and evil will come upon you in the early morning.

Isaiah 47
10 For you have trusted in your wickedness; you have said, None sees me. Your wisdom and your knowledge have misled you; and you have said in your heart, I am, and there is none else besides me.
11 Therefore evil shall come upon you in the early morning, and you shall not know from whence it rises; and mischief shall fall upon you and you shall not be able to put it off; and desolation shall come upon you suddenly, which you shall not know.

In connection with this, look what Jesus did:

Mark 1:35
And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

Leviticus 19:17
Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.

It’s not good to hate anybody, much less your own physical or spiritual brother in Christ.

I John 2
9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

The new testament enlightens us as to the full consequences of hating somebody: you are walking in spiritual darkness.

Related to this are 3 key verses in Ephesians, in perfect order:

* verse 2: walk in love
* verse 8: walk in light
* verse 15: walk circumspectly

God’s perfect love energizes our believing so that we can see the light which enables us to walk circumspectly with no blind spots.

Ephesians 5
2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
9 (For the fruit of the Spirit [light] is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

Proverbs 3
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

Another great promise of God, no doubt.

2 great and well known men of God, totally independent of each other, took that same promise of God to heart and reaped the rewards.

I Samuel 2:26
And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men.

Luke 2:52
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

In the new testament, the word “favour” is also translated “grace”.

John 1:17
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ held onto mercy and truth to the extent that he was able to deliver God’s grace and truth to all mankind.

How thankful we are for Jesus Christ’s stand on the word and the men of God in the old testament who stood on the word and would end up being great examples for Jesus Christ to learn from.

II Peter 2:14
Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:

The world preys on unstable people, but the word of God brings stability to our lives.

Isaiah 33:6
And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure.

Definition of unstable: [II Peter 2:14]
Strong’s Concordance #793
Part of Speech: Adjective
Definition: (lit: unpropped), unsteady, unstable, unsettled.

HELPS Word-studies
793 astḗriktos (an adjective, derived from 1 /A “not” and 4741 /stērízō “confirm”) – properly, not established (unstable), describing someone who (literally) does not have a staff to lean on – hence, a person who can not be relied on because they are not steady (do not remain fixed, i.e. unstable).

I Corinthians 14:33
For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

Definition of confusion
Strong’s Concordance #181
akatastasia: instability
Definition: disturbance, upheaval, revolution, almost anarchy, first in the political, and thence in the moral sphere.

HELPS Word-studies
181 akatastasía (from 1 /A “not,” 2596 /katá, “down” and stasis, “status, standing,” cf. 2476 /hístēmi) – properly, can not stand (remain steady); unsettled, unstable (in tumult); (figuratively) instability bringing on disorder (disturbance).
181 /akatastasía (“commotion”) generates confusion (things being “out of control”), i.e. when “up for grabs.” This uncertainty and tumult inevitably generates more instability.

James 3
14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

Notice the parallels between Joshua 1:5 and Acts 28:31.

Joshua 1
5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.

Acts 28
30 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him,
31 Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.

Judges 2:17
And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so.

Galatians 1:6
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

Human nature has not changed! Oftentimes, whether old testament or new, people will quickly get off the word and follow the adversary.
That is why we must be constantly diligent to stay focused on the word and keep each other strong and sharp on the word.

1 John 3:9
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Ecclesiastes 7:20
For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

This is an apparent contradiction, but we know that the original word of God was perfect and therefore cannot contradict itself.

I John 3:9 is talking about the perfect spiritual seed only, not the entire man of body, soul, and spirit.

It is in the category of body and soul that we can sin, to get out of fellowship with God, but the gift of holy spirit can never sin or get corrupted.

What a relief that is!

I Peter 1:23
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Here we see the basic general truth that if we identify ungodly material items [such as items used in idolatry] and destroy them, then we will see an immediate positive spiritual result from God.

Acts 19
17 And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.

19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.
20 So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.

The curious arts were books, trinkets, amulets, etc that were used to practice black magic, worship the goddess Diana [also called Artemis], etc.

The modern day equivalent could be something obvious such as various things that are used in satanic rituals, but a much more common, treacherous and counterfeit religious items like a statue of mother mary that a Roman Catholic might be praying to or a new age items used in various rituals to become one with the universe.

Any material item used in worship of the creation or any part of it, such as the universe, mother mary, Jesus, Satan, your “higher power”, etc carries devil spirits whose sole job is to steal, kill, and destroy.

Acts 19:17-20 & John 10:10

Isaiah 30
21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
22 Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.

The Israelites took the first step to getting back into alignment and harmony with God by casting out the material items used in idolatry which not only removes the spiritually contaminated physical items, but also all the devil spirits that go with them.

23 Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures.
24 The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan.

Now they reaped the rewards and blessings!

The pattern for the prevailing word is to identify, locate and destroy the negative things first and then the positive blessings will follow.

Isaiah 30, 31 & Acts 19

Isaiah 31
6 Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.
7 For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.

8 Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.
9 And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

John 17:17
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

God’s word is the truth, therefore, we are wise in taking heed to it.

Genesis 2
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Many people say that verse 17 is a lie because Adam lived to be 930 years old. They are only partially right. He did live to be 930 years old.

Genesis 5:5
And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

Genesis 2:17
…for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

God’s word clearly says that in the very day he eats of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he will surely die.

He didn’t die physically, but spiritually. He lost the gift of holy spirit that was upon him because he committed treason against God, which is a crime punishable by death.

Genesis 3:4
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

God’s Truth | Genesis 2:17 | thou shalt surely die
Devil’s Lie     |Genesis 3:4 | Ye shall not surely die

This sets a pattern that we often see throughout the bible – God’s truth comes first, and then Satan’s lie contradicts it afterwards.

The gospel of John has a good example of this.

John 9
1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

In verse 3, Jesus told the truth first: “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents”.

34 They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.

In verse 34, “they” refers to the pharisees, who are mentioned in verses 13, 15, & 16.

So we see the exact same pattern of truth vs lie in John that we first saw in Genesis.

God’s Truth | John 9:3 | “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents”
Devil’s lie | John 9:34 | “Thou wast altogether born in sins”

The Pharisees were one of the main religious leaders in Jesus Christ’s time.

What does God’s word say about corrupt systems of man-made religion?

Matthew 15
1 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

“Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.”

Its corrupt systems of religion that contradict God’s word that cancels out, that nullifies, the good effects of God’s word in our lives.

We must have an accurate knowledge of God’s word so we can separate God’s truth from the Devil’s lies.

One of the dominant lies in many cultures around the world is the idea that you go to heaven when you die.

Hint: the answer is not “Jesus was the gingerbread man in the gingerbread house!” 😉

Where was Jesus Christ born?

John 7:42
Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?

What does the word “Bethlehem” mean?  House of Bread

So Jesus was born in Bethlehem, [the house of bread], where David was a citizen.

Matthew 12
3 But he said unto them [the Pharisees], Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?

The word “shewbread” comes from the Greek word prothesis [Strong’s #4286] and literally means “a setting forth in advance for a specific purpose” (“God’s pre-thesis”).

It refers to the holy or sacred bread that was used in the temple in the old testament.

I Samuel 21
5 And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.
6 So the priest gave him hallowed [sacred or holy] bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the Lord, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

Now comes the verses that tie all of these together.

John 6:31
Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

John 6:33
For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

John 6:35
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

John 6:48
I am that bread of life.

John 6:51
I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Summary about the title of this article:

• The house is Bethlehem, the house of bread, where Jesus Christ was born
• David was a citizen of Bethlehem, the house of bread
• David ate the shewbread [holy bread] in the temple in the old testament
• Jesus Christ is the bread from heaven
• Jesus Christ is a descendant of David

Jesus Christ, the bread from heaven, was born in Bethlehem, the house of bread, so that we could have eternal life.

Obviously, Jesus Christ wasn’t a literal piece of bread, so by the word of God calling him the bread of life, its a figure of speech emphasizing his spiritual life-giving qualities that no one else has.

John 6
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth [make alive spiritually]; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life [a figure of speech meaning spiritual life].
68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

How do we gain eternal life?

Romans 10
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

I Timothy 2
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Joshua 1
5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.

Acts 28
30 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him,
31 Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.

The main point of comparison is here:

Joshua 1:5 – There shall not any man be able to stand before thee

Acts 28:31 – with all confidence, no man forbidding him.

As both men of God stood upon the word of God that they knew, they were able to successfully repel any attacks against them with the power of God.

Of course, the Apostle Paul had been given a great deal more knowledge and enlightenment, [among other things], but they were both still able to defeat evil men that tried to deter them from their heavenly calling by simply believing what God had told them and not compromising on the truth.

As we withstand the evil in our day with the light of the Lord, we can be successful too.

Romans 8
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Proverbs 3
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

I Samuel 2:26
And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men.

Luke 2:52
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

Based on proverbs 3, both Samuel and Jesus Christ applied the principles of holding onto mercy and truth.

John 1:17
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

So mercy & truth can definitely benefit us immensely as we etch God’s word into our heart and life.

Proverbs 23:7
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

Proverbs 4:23
Keep [guard] thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Isaiah 47:11
Therefore evil shall come upon you in the early morning, and you shall not know from whence it rises; and mischief shall fall upon you and you shall not be able to put it off; and desolation shall come upon you suddenly, which you shall not know.

Apparently, Taylor Swift hasn’t read this verse [“put it off” approximates “shake it off” song].

That’s one hell of a morning. Contrast that morning to a very different one in Isaiah 33.

Isaiah 33:2
O LORD, be gracious to us; for in thee is our trust; be thou our helper every
morning, our salvation also in the time of distress.

Now that’s more like it. Why the extreme difference in the good morning and the bad morning?

Isaiah 47
10 For you have trusted in your wickedness; you have said, None sees me. Your wisdom and your knowledge have misled you; and you have said in your heart, I am, and there is none else besides me.
11 Therefore evil shall come upon you in the early morning, and you shall not know from whence it rises; and mischief shall fall upon you and you shall not be able to put it off; and desolation shall come upon you suddenly, which you shall not know.

There’s the key: people with the bad morning trusted in the wrong source – their wickedness. They thought they could hide it. Their own wisdom & knowledge [as opposed to God’s wisdom and knowledge], misled them. Their ego & selfishness, their rejection of God’s help [I am, and there is none else besides me], was their downfall.

Keep in mind that if you are consistently having bad mornings, bad hair days, then that is not God punishing you, its a combination of broken principles and having no defense against Satan.

Galatians 6
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Romans 8
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Its all a matter of trust – whom do you trust, God or yourself and the world?

Jeremiah 17
5 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.
6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
10 I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

Psalms 9:10
And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. [BTW – since Jesus Christ spent his entire life seeking after God, more than any other person in human history, how could God have forsaken him on the cross??? For more information, Find out why God could not have forsaken Jesus on the cross

When we have an accurate knowledge of God [not corrupted information from man-made religion], we will automatically trust in him and his word.

Psalm 18:30
As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler [shield, defense] to all those that trust in him.

Exodus 16:7
And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord…

Wouldn’t you like to see or experience that every morning?  You can by simply and faithfully applying sound biblical principles.

I Chronicles 22:30
And to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at even:

Psalms 5
2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.

Psalms 59
16 But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.
17 Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy.

Psalms 92
1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High:
2 To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,

Psalms 143
7 Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.
9 Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.

Lamentations 3
22 It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

Revelation 22:16
I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

Jesus Christ is the bright and morning star – wouldn’t you rather have him lighten and brighten your morning instead of being hammered with evil that you just cant seem to shake off?

Daniel 1:20
And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them,
he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.

Wow, that’s a huge competitive advantage – 10 times better!  That’s literally an order of magnitude better.   Why ten times better?

Biblical & spiritual significance of the number ten

“It has been already pointed out that ten is one of the perfect numbers, and signifies the perfection of Divine order, commencing, as it does, an altogether new series of numbers. The first decade is representative of the whole numeral system and originates the system of calculation called “decimals,” because the whole system of numeration consists of so many tens, of which the first is a type of the whole.

Completeness of order, marking the entire round of anything, is, therefore, the ever-present signification of the number ten. It implies that nothing is wanting; that the number and order are perfect; that the whole cycle is complete. “

So God’s wisdom is complete.  Here’s another reason Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were ten times better.

Ecclesiastes 7:19
Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.

There are only 2 verses in the entire bible that have both the word “wisdom” and “ten” in them, so Ecclesiastes 7:19 & Daniel 1:20 divinely complement each other.

Daniel 1:17
As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

God gave them wisdom because they were meek and humble to listen to God’s instructions.

Look what God did for Moses.  God can do similar things for us with his wisdom in our lives as we stay meek and humble to God almighty.

Exodus 31
1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:
3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,
4 To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
5 And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.
6 And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;

Proverbs 3
1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.

Psalms 147:5
Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.

That is a priceless resource we can tap into the rest of our lives.

For a more in-depth analysis of God’s wisdom, go here: Why does God’s wisdom have 8 characteristics?

Most Christians are familiar with Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness in Matthew 4, but I don’t know that everybody is aware of how risky it really was for Satan to misquote scripture to Jesus.

Matthew 4
1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

The devil knows the bible, better than most of the people of the world and even better than many Christians, unfortunately.   He’s really clever and very bold.  Just look what he did!  He deliberately misquoted 2 verses out of Psalms.

Psalms 91
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Devil –      He shall give his angels charge concerning thee:
God – For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

So the devil left out the word “for” at the beginning of verse 11, and left out the phrase “to keep thee in all thy ways” at the end of the verse.  In addition, he changed the word “over” to “concerning”.  Not so trustworthy, is he?

Let’s look at the next phrase.

Devil – and in their hands they shall bear thee up
God – They shall bear thee up in their hands

Here in verse 12, the devil speaks 9 words, but God’s corresponding and original word has only 8 words in it.

Secondly, the devil rearranges the order of the words of God. You may say that there really is no difference, but when you consider that God’s word is perfect, if you make any changes to it, then you no longer have perfection. You have imperfection. That’s a subtle, but extremely critical error.

I still believe the devil’s greatest trick is to mix lies with the truth. That way he establishes his credibility with the truth and deceives you with the lies based on the trust he has already established with the truth. Very crafty indeed.

Another very important note to make is that by rearranging the words of the word, you can actually change the meaning and emphasis of the verse and destroy figures of speech, many of which depend upon a precise order of words in order to convey the truth and impact.

Devil – lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone
God –  lest                      thou dash thy foot against a stone

Notice what the devil did this time – he added the words “at any time” to God’s word. If you add to perfection, then you no longer have perfection left, but a corrupted word instead.

No surprise or coincidence here!  It was Lucifer in the garden of Eden who deceived Eve to add a word, change a word, and delete words from what God had said. The consequences were absolutely catastrophic!

It was Eve then who was deceived and who convinced [not deceived] Adam to go along with the changes and they took action on this corrupted word. The result was that Adam had transferred all the power, dominion and authority that God had given him to the devil. That makes the original sin, at least from a legal viewpoint, treason.

Furthermore, look at what God says about making any changes to God’s word!

Deuteronomy 4:2
Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

Revelation 22
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Look at the importance God places on not adding to or subtracting from his holy word!  He didn’t bury these words in the middle of an obscure prophets’ words in the old testament that hardly anybody has even heard of, [let alone find].  No.

In the very last 4 verses of the last book of the entire bible, God’s final words were a warning to not add to or subtract from his holy word.  That speaks volumes.  And no wonder.  Look what God says about his word in psalms.

Psalms 138:2
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

Out of all of God’s works, including the incomprehensibly vast and complex universe, God still holds a higher opinion of his word that anything else.

Finally, look at the incredible boldness of the devil!  Not only did he add to, subtract from, and change God’s word, but he also performed a very daring deed indeed.  Look at the very next verse he misquoted!

Psalms 91:13
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

Lion, adder, and dragon are all direct or indirect references to the devil and his offspring!  So the devil misquoted 2 verses in the old testament that was only 1 verse away that spoke about the devil’s defeat!   How daring or stupid is that?

Jesus legally defeated Satan, only not by quoting this verse, but another one instead.   So although Jesus Christ didn’t actually speak this verse to Satan, he ultimately carried it out and won the battle.

II Corinthians 2:14
Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

Colossians 2:15
And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.