Read entire article, How to Begin a Daily Quiet Time In 5 Easy Steps,
by Ron Edmondson, at Bible Study Tools.





It is sometimes difficult to find quiet time to study the Word of God.  Ron Edmondson gives good advice.  We can do this, if we only just begin.

"I often encounter people who want to begin a daily quiet time, but they aren’t sure how. It really isn’t as complicated as we often make it out to be.The main thing is simply to do something, but in case you are one of those still wanting to but not sure how…"

PLACE

"Pick a definite place where you’ll be everyday for your quiet time."

SCHEDULE TIME

"Pick a reasonable amount of time and put it on your schedule."  Ron recommends you begin with 15 minutes, or even 10, daily.

FORMAT

"Decide basically how you will structure your quiet time."

ACTIVITIES

"Decide what you will specifically do in your time. Will you do a Bible study or simply read Scripture and pray? If your time is 15 minutes, for example, you could spend 6 minutes reading the Bible; 3 minutes talking to God; 2 minutes in silence, asking God to speak to you; and 4 minutes writing your thoughts at the time."

DISCIPLINE

"Commit to doing something consistently for at least 30 days."

"Nothing of value is ever easy. The main objective for any of us, including pastors, is disciplining ourselves to do something everyday. Over time, it becomes a habit that is easily repeated. Even better, it will soon become the best and most productive part of your day."

Read Prosperity Preaching: Deceitful and Deadly, by John Piper, at One Place.

"What will make the world taste (the salt) and see (the light of Christ in us is not that we love wealth the same way they do. Rather, it will be the willingness and the ability of Christians to love others through suffering, all the while rejoicing because their reward is in heaven with Jesus. This is inexplicable on human terms. This is supernatural. But to attract people with promises of prosperity is simply natural. It is not the message of Jesus. It is not what he died to achieve."



"So then, none  of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.   
Luke 14:33

And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, "How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." They were even more astonished and said to Him, "Then who can be saved?" Looking at them, Jesus said, "With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God."   
Mark 10:23-27

But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot  take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.   
1 Timothy 6:6-10

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal."   
Matthew 6:19

He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.   
Ephesians 4:28

Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have ; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER  DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER  FORSAKE YOU," so that we confidently say, "THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?"   
Hebrews 13:5-6

"The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.   
Luke 8:14

"Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.   
Matthew 5:11-14

Though there may be differences in doctrine (perhaps THE definition of the collective group of Christians today), Jack Kelley is one who has his hat on straight.  Today, we look at his study of Hebrews 10.  He affirms with scripture the promise and the fact that once we are saved, we shall always be saved.

Please read, OSAS and Hebrews 10, by Jack Kelley, at Grace thru Faith.




1 For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.            
2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?            
3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.            
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.            
5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, "SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME;            
6 IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE.            
7 "THEN I SAID, 'BEHOLD, I HAVE COME (IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD"            
8 After saying above, "SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU TAKEN PLEASURE in them" (which are offered according to the Law),            
9 then He said, "BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL." He takes away the first in order to establish the second.            
10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.            
11 Every priest stands daily  ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;
12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD,            
13 waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET.
14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.            
15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,
16 "THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART, AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM," He then says,            
17 "AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO  MORE."            
18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.          

19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,            
20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;            
24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.    
       
26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,            
27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.            
28 Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.            
29 How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know Him who said, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY." And again, "THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE."
31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.            
32 But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings,            
33 partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated.            
34 For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.            
35 Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.            
36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.            
37 FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY.            
38 BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM.
39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul. 

Hebrews 10

Jack sites other Scripture as well:

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation - having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.   
Ephesians 1:13-14

Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.   
2 Corinthians 1:21-22

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.    
Ephesians 2:8-9

When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.    
Colossians 2:13-14

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.   
Romans 7:18-20

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
1 John 8-10

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!   
John 1:29

"For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."    
John 6:40

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.   
1 John 1:9

Learn Why Modern Christians Rarely Talk about Rewards in
Heaven, by Michael J Kruger, at Bible Study Tools.





"Whenever a sermon (or book) provides a motive for obedience, it is almost always thankfulness for what Christ has done. And certainly that is a wonderful and foundational motivation...But is it the only motivation? The New Testament writings suggest it is not."

There is certainly reward for those who faithfully endure persecution:

Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.   
Luke 6:23

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.
Hebrews 11:24-26

"But sometimes people are careless and speak disparagingly of all human righteousness, as if there were no such thing that pleased God. They often cite (Isaiah 64:6) which says our righteousness is as filthy rags…[But] when my sons do what I tell them to do—I do not call their obedience “filthy rags” even if it is not perfect. Neither does God. All the more because he himself is “working in us that which is pleasing in his sight” (Hebrews 13:21). He does not call his own, Spirit-wrought fruit, “rags” (Future Grace, 151-152)."

For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.   
Isaiah 64:6

versus

...equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.   
Hebrews 13:21

"It is only when we recognize that the obedience of the believer really does matter, and that we really can please our Father, that the rewards passages in the Bible will make any sense."

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:58

Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
1 Corinthians 3:8