Mended Institute

Morning Bliss: The Holy Spirit and His Effects in our Lives_ Focal Scripture : John 7:38 'He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.'                                      Read: John 7:37-41   These rivers of living water are referring to the Holy Spirit and the effects He produces in the life of the believer.    Galatians 5:22-23 says, 'the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.'  These qualities should flow out of us as an artesian well.  They should not have to be pumped. They will flow as we conform our thinking to God's Word. Jesus speaks of bearing fruit in John 15 and declares that '. . . without me ye can do nothing' (Jn. 15:5). This fruit is the product of the Holy Spirit, not our effort.  However, since 'he that is...

Morning Bliss: The Heart Matters_ Focal Scripture : John 7:22 'Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.'                                      Read: John 7:21-24   The covenant of circumcision was given to Abram in Gen. 17:9-14. In v. 14, the Lord said that any man who did not carry this sign of the covenant in his flesh was to be killed.  This placed a great importance on the act of circumcision. Paul says in Rom. 4:3-13, that Abraham had already been justified by faith before he was circumcised.  It was Abram's faith that saved him at least 13 years before the Lord commanded Abram to be circumcised.  The Jews had focused on the outward act of obedience instead of the inward act of faith that caused Abraham to be obedient.  This was the source of the contention ...

Morning Bliss: Rebirth_ Focal Scripture : John 7:19 'Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?'                                      Read: John 7:16-19   Jesus received His wisdom and knowledge by direct revelation from the Spirit of God rather than by the teachings of man. These Jews prided themselves on their observance of the law, but they were keeping the letter of the law and missing its true intent.  The greatest of all the Old Testament laws was to love God and then to love your neighbor as yourself. The Jews were violating these laws by having hatred in their hearts toward Jesus and wanting to kill Him.  They denied that they desired to kill Him, but the scriptures declare that they had already plotted or tried to kill Him three times. They also knew much about God. It was required of the Jewish men to me...

Morning Bliss: The Holy Ghost Teaches all Things! Focal Scripture : John 7:15 'And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?'                                      Read: John 7:14-15   Jesus received His wisdom and knowledge by direct revelation from the Spirit of God rather than by the teachings of man.  Jesus had been learning, but not through man. The Holy Ghost was His teacher. Jesus had to be taught the things of God.  This looks contrary to Colossians 2:3, which says that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Jesus. If Jesus was God manifest in the flesh, why would He have to learn or be taught? The harmony between these apparently opposite statements is that Jesus' spirit man was 100% God and had all of the wisdom and understanding of God in it, but it was manifest in natural flesh.  It wasn't sinful ...

Morning Bliss: Limitless Forgiveness_ Focal Scripture : Matthew 18:33 'Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?.'                                      Read: Matthew 18: 21-35   Peter thought he was being very generous by offering to forgive his brother seven times in one day, but Jesus said he should forgive him 490 times in one day.  It would be impossible to have someone sin against you 490 times in one day. Jesus is actually saying that there should be no limit to our forgiveness. When we are offended or hurt, we often feel justified in holding a grudge. The Old Testament law expressed this when it stated, 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth' (Ex. 21:23-25) .  Until the offense was paid, we did not feel free to forgive. However, God dealt with all men's offenses by placing sin upon the perfect Savior who was judged in...

Morning Bliss: Discipline Brings Life_ Focal Scripture : Matthew 18:18-19 'Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.'                                      Read: Matthew 18:15-19 Verses 18 and 19 have many applications, but taken in context, they are specifically referring to church discipline.  Some might think that church discipline is only symbolic and carries no real weight; however, Jesus is making it clear that in the spiritual realm, discipline that is directed by the Holy Spirit has much power. The scriptural commands concerning church discipline are designed to help restore the brother or sister who is...

Morning Bliss: God Loves Us_ Focal Scripture : Matthew 18:14 'Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.'                                      Read: Matthew 18:12-14 One of the greatest truths of the Bible and also one of the hardest to comprehend, is that we are the objects of God's love.  God didn't just pity us or feel some sense of moral obligation to save us. He saved us because of His infinite love for us (Jn. 3:16).  God loves people. He even loves those who have gone astray. As Jesus said in a similar parable (Lk. 15:7) , 'I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.' Once we experience the life-changing power of Christ, there is a tendency to become harsh and impatient with others who contin...

Morning Bliss: Angelic Protection_ Focal Scripture : Matthew 18:10 'Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.'                                      Read: Matthew 18:10-11 We have angels assigned to us. Hebrews 1:14 further reveals that their purpose is to minister to us (i.e. on our behalf). In the Old Testament, Psalm 91 teaches on the ministry of angels to God's people. Some have realized this truth and have taken it even further to say that we are supposed to speak to our angels and they will obey our commands.  There is no instruction in scripture to do this nor is there any example of it being done. Many of the angels' protective duties described in Psalm 91 are preventative, and we certainly could not effectively command these activities. Rather, th...

Morning Bliss: Humility Before Honor_ Focal Scripture : Matthew 18:4 'Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.                                      Read: Matthew 18:1-5 It is interesting that Jesus used a little child to illustrate humility. Although it is true that little children have a purity and humility that is many times missing in adults, they certainly are not selfless.  A child comes into the world totally self-centered, wanting what he wants when he wants it. Parents are to train children out of this self-centeredness. One of humility's dominant characteristics is a God-dependency and not a self-sufficiency. The truth of humility being the key to greatness or success was not new. Jesus gave this truth new meaning by walking in humility as no one ever had before. This path of self-denial to greatness...

Morning Bliss: Cast you Hook_ Focal Scripture : Matthew 17:27 'Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money; that take, and give unto them for me and thee.'                                      Read: Mark 9:28-29 This was quite a miracle. Not only was the money supplied for their taxes, but it was the exact amount needed, and it was from the first fish that was caught. Although this sets the precedent that God can supply our needs in a miraculous way, it's important to remember that God doesn't counterfeit money.  He didn't create money in the fish, but rather he had the fish miraculously find and swallow the exact Roman coin that Peter needed. It's a mistake to just pray and then wait on God to rain the money down from heaven. ...

Morning Bliss: Fasting Drives Away Doubt _ Focal Scripture : Mark 9:29 'And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.'                                      Read: Mark 9:28-29 Prayer and fasting do not drive certain demons out. If the name of Jesus and faith in His name won't do the job, then fasting and prayer won't either.  Jesus is saying that fasting and prayer are the only ways of casting out this type of unbelief. An unbelief that comes as a result of ignorance can be done away with by receiving the truth of God's Word ( Rom. 10:17; 2 Pet. 1:4). However, the unbelief that hindered the disciples in this case was a 'natural' type of unbelief.  They had been taught all of their lives to believe what their five senses told them. They were simply dominated by this natural input more than by God's supernatural input (God's Word). ...

Morning Bliss: His Purpose Revealed_ Focal Scripture : Matthew 16:21, 'From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.'                                      Read: Matthew 16:20-28 Despite the abundant and clear prophecies about His death and resurrection, Jesus' disciples didn't understand or remember Jesus' words until after His resurrection (Lk. 24:5-9) .   Luke records twice that Jesus' sayings about His resurrection were hidden from the disciples.  It is interesting to note, however, that the chief priests and Pharisees remembered Jesus' prophecies about His resurrection (Mt. 27:63)  when His disciples didn't. One of the great truths of the Bible is that Jesus died for our sins, not for His own. Je...