Showing results by author "Rick Noyes" in All Categories

Do you ever feel like you are failing at the most important things in life? Do you long for more in the church today? What can one individual do to really make a difference in what seems to be lacking in the life of the church today? What is it that sets our purpose and plan? What can make the depth of our relationships to be more satisfying, then the friendly we are left with today? I think all of those questions and more can be answered when we begin to look at our own devotion to the God who calls us. This little book explores what is a single-minded devotion and why it is important for ...

This study guide is going to emphasize a method for developing your abilities to do your own inductive Bible study. My desire is not so much to instruct concerning the letter to the Ephesians, although you will get that as I share my discoveries with you from doing the study together, but to teach you how to learn on your own from the Bible without having to be taught from anyone but the Spirit of God, who will lead you into all truth (John 16:13).

You will find that much of what I present here is counter culture to the psychology and martial counseling approaches today. It centers on a perspective that is taught in the Bible which gives a mindset as to how biblical marriage differs from that popular notion many today follow. That mindset becomes the spring board to the how to of living out a biblical marriage that is not only fulfilling, but gives clarity to life in a way that most don’t understand.

The grace of God should always be the focal point of our freedom in Messiah. When we lose sight of that, we are in danger and may well find that ourselves trading away our freedom for that of a performance-based approach to God. Please don’t let that be you. The Apostle Paul wants us to enjoy what God has done for us in the person and work of His Son, so we might be known by Him and know Him. The letter to the Galatian churches is our declaration of independence for the church even today.

In many ways, the story of Job is the story of every person, because no matter who we are, at some time in life, we all suffer. The only thing that separates us is the degree of our suffering. In discussing the subject of suffering with a friend of mine, he said that for most people life’s flow is a constant series of struggles, punctuated by times of peace. I believe everyone, everywhere, at differing times of life, comes face-to-face with their own suffering. If you are not suffering now, you certainly will at some point in life, wouldn’t you like to be prepared? If your answer is yes...

When we need the big picture, Luke’s gospel is a good place to start, since he challenges our expectations, concepts, and world view. Even though Luke chronicles the ministry of Messiah to Israel, his focus is to draw out the teaching of the Messiah that has application for the church as the kingdom of God. Therefore, it has much to teach concerning life in the kingdom of the Son, to which the Father transferred us when we were called by God. I think what Luke wanted his gospel to do, was to direct the gentile believers in the Jewish Messiah, to understand the importance of His teaching ...

Have you ever had your faith in God take a nose dive? I have. I have felt like my faith was as stagnant a pond longing for the fresh water of faith that used to flow through me. Relationship with the living God is not supposed to look like this, but mine has and maybe yours has too. I think Timothy might very well have been in a similar place when Paul sent this last letter to him. I find over and over again in this letter, encouragement from the Apostle, who is fanning the flame of faith that once burned brightly in Timothy.

Esther is one of the books of the Bible which draws critics to discount it as having an unproven validity, in an attempt to prove the Bible is unreliable and not the unerring Word of God. It is a curious book because it is a historical narrative, which has no spiritual references or specific lessons and, in many ways, it appears that its only purpose is to put the celebration of Purim into a historical context. However, the narrative is loaded with lessons and applications for the people of God. Even though God is not mentioned in the narrative, just like in creation, His sovereignty and ...

This started out being a book about prayer because I am taken back by how little the church today gives to this most important part of a maturing faith and instead it turns out to be zeroing in on faith, genuine faith. So then, are you tired of it? Are you tired of living a life where faith is more façade than reality? Where a fading faith must be propped up by inspirational messages and music to make you feel like you are not a failure. Are you tired of motivational speakers who prod the church to do better, when you already feel like you are spent? If you answered yes to those questions ...

I invite you into the process I use to dig out just what God has for me in this letter from Paul, so that you too may know the satisfaction of finding God’s Spirit is sufficient in illuminating His Word to your mind and applying it to your heart and life, unlike the spoon-feeding that most books on Romans provide. It is when we engage the Word of God through the Spirit of God that we will find our lives are changed as He conforms us the image of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Word of God is found in the gospel and the gospel is the theme of Paul’s letter to the Romans. It is power ...

The church is called to live for the will of God, but in reality I think that very few people know God’s will, let alone live for it. Do you want to own God’s will as your own? Then do something about it. Become a faithful student of God’s Word, in the classroom of the Spirit of God by joining with me in this study of the book of Ezra and His will can become your own.

Do you think the American church today is flourishing or is something else happening? Before you answer that question, I suggest that you do as I did and ask the people you know in and out of the church their assessment of the church today. If you do, I think you might find your view of reality challenged as did I. This little book is meant to challenge your thinking and awaken you to the problems that go unseen or unaddressed today in Christian circles. I think you will find it thought provoking at the least.

There are five post-exile books that are interwoven with Nehemiah’s narrative that help give us a clearer picture of this part of Israel’s history. They are Haggai, Zechariah, Esther, Ezra and Malachi. Nehemiah seems to be written like a diary of what happened in regard to the work that God had laid on his heart and therefore it is a very personal account. The theme of this study is going to be when we work together, but it is much more. The book of Nehemiah is meant to cause an unrest within us because we settle for what is, rather than what could be. It is meant to shame us for ...

I think there is a resistance within me when it comes to giving God my all, even when I know that is the right thing to do. Since the error of my way is comfortable and familiar, even when God’s blessing is withheld, I want to pretend it is for reasons other than me. In order to break this same type of resistance by the nation Israel, God uses two men to speak to the nation on His behalf. They were the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. I wonder if these two prophets can’t light our own path back to where God wants us to be in life, to understand what He wants us to do here and now. If you ...

This letter is addressed to Jewish Christians outside of Jerusalem and because it has a distinctly Jewish slant, it is often misunderstood by a Gentile mindset, which makes up most of the church today. I am of the opinion that the issue James is tackling in the letter is a loss of faith’s focus. When we lose sight of the object of our faith, life in the church reflects this loss of focus. The Jewish believers were perhaps manifesting behaviors that were not in line with what faith in Messiah ought to look like. It is possible the Jews who had been called to faith in Messiah were having a ...

When people talk about religion, they often speak of faith and belief, but what do those words mean and do they mean the same thing to you as they do to me? If faith is an integral part of relationship to God, don’t you think we ought to understand just what genuine biblical faith is all about? The second book of Moses, which we today call Exodus, is a blueprint for understanding what faith is and what it is not. Will you join me discovering how faith is married to a relationship to God.

Everywhere you turn nowadays someone is trying to influence your thinking. Whether it is the products that we buy, the candidates we vote for, the places that we go, or the way perceive life, someone wants us to jump on their bandwagon of thought. With so many vying for the hearts and minds of people today, much of the persuasion comes cloaked in deceit. Wouldn’t it be nice to simply have the truth for once? Wouldn’t it be nice to know that there was in fact undeniable truth we could count on? If you have ever felt that way then the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Colossians is for you. ...

The book of Lamentations written by the prophet Jeremiah. It addresses this topic of when we ought to mourn, but don’t. It has a peculiar style, and it is a book not widely taught today. When was the last time you sat in on a teaching from this small contribution to the Old Testament, which is found after the other writings of the prophet Jeremiah? Even though this book is neglected, this is a study everyone should do to gain a proper education in grieving before God. But the greater reason for a study in this little book is that I see a parallel between the church in America today and ...

The worst kind of deceit is self deceit. If you are like me (often blind to seeing myself for who and what I really am), then I would suggest this might be the right study for you. John wrote this letter to give its readers confident assurance that they had union and communion with God and His people. So they could know they were genuine Christians.

The unsettling events of 2020 are mind boggling and can easily cause a person to wonder just what happened. As if the world was not already confusing and complicated enough, having the events of the past year crashing into our reality has left many people trying to make sense of a world that doesn’t make sense. Are you trying to figure out what is the point of it all? Finding meaning in life seems to be impossible, but there is nothing new under the sun and Solomon has some words of hope for us to consider. The book of Ecclesiastes is a must for anyone asking, why am I here? What is the ...