52 Weeks

By Oscar C. Johnson Ph.D.

52 Weeks is a book that presents topics from the Word of God to reflect on. Unlike daily meditations, topics are presented in a weekly format with perspective from different authors of the Bible. I believe that there are issues that need more concentrated meditation, though it can be used for daily reflection also.

Its purpose is to help when one is troubled with an area of life or to seek knowledge on a particular subject. It can provide inspiration or give guidance. It can be used to share the Gospel of Christ to nonbelievers or strengthen the faith of fellow Christians.

52 Weeks is not a theological essay needing interpretation, but it is a book of common language presentation of how I view the Bible. The intention is to present the Bible in a way that any intellectual level will understand the meaning.

As a Christian, the Lord gives us all spiritual gifts. Some are called to be ministers; some are skilled to present their testimonies to anyone at any time. I believe that my gift is in writing. I pray that this book will be pertinent to the believers and nonbelievers alike.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 24, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973629511

Oscar C. Johnson Ph.D.

After accepting Christ as his savior in his late teens, Oscar Johnson spent the next 30 years studying science and philosophy in an attempt to justify his belief. After writing on topics of Eternal Life, Evolution, Is God real, Justice, and Genesis, he came to the realization that the Word of God is an infallible source to answer all questions if you believe. Oscar Johnson has studied and taught philosophy and has advanced degrees in medicine and science. His PhD in Bioethics gives him a unique perspective on life and cultures.

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Copyright © 2018 Oscar C. Johnson Ph.D.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture citations taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

Scripture citations taken from the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-2952-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-2951-1 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 5/24/2018

Preface

52 weeks is a book of scripture topic meditation. Unlike a daily verse to read, it focuses on the same topic for a week. The intent is to get to know that topic much better as it directs us to look at multiple verses and conversations in the Bible about a particular topic. It frequently will present a topic from the viewpoint of different authors.

There is nothing special about who I am. I consider myself an average Christian with a strong belief and trust in God. I am not a gifted speaker, nor have I ever written anything other than college papers and a few science articles. I pray and read scripture daily to start my day and give me something to reflect on during the day.

When I started this book, I wanted to give the reader something to focus on for more than one day. I found that studying one topic for a week gave me a greater insight to that topic and made it more pertinent to my life. In writing this book, I found that I studied more deeply than I did with daily scripture topics.

I don’t consider myself a great writer as I said, I’m pretty much an average guy. I’m not a philosopher or a deep thinker by any standard. That being the case, this book is relatively superficial. It addresses my feelings toward a subject. It may or may not be in line with the great religious thinkers, but it is how I interpret the various topics in this book.

We all have gifts given to us by God that we use to spread the gospel. I hope that this book reaches those who want to understand and seek more knowledge about the message of God. I believe that the Lord has helped me to write this book to spread his Word. I pray that it will help bring one closer to God. It continues to help me.

Table of Contents

Forgiveness

Happiness

Faith

Salvation

Sin

Assurance

The Bible

Blessed

Jesus

Children

Christian Living

The Church

Comfort

Death

Disobedience

Doubt

Giving

God’s Care

God’s Will

Grace

Heaven

Holy Spirit

Humility

Justice

Love

Praise

Prayer

Preaching

Resurrection

Santification

Second Coming

Patience

Wisdom

Works

Worldliness

Taming The Tongue

Suffering And Presecution

Natural Disasters

Managing Time

Overcoming Prejudice

Pride

God’s Help

Seeking Strength

Anger

Discouraged

Belief

Fear

Relationship With God

Relationships With Others

Temptation

Parables

About Hell

WEEK

1

FORGIVENESS

Day 1    Suggested Reading    John 1:29

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (NIV)

J ohn the Baptist saw Jesus coming and announces him to the world as the one to take away all sin.

The implication of this proclamation cannot be understated. Jesus has the ability to take away all sin. This gives one who believes a reset of their life from one of sinful damnation to one of righteous salvation. This gift from God is the greatest of his gifts.

Don’t be confused though, this does not mean you won’t sin again. Chances are you will. God does promise that if you confess your sins and repent through Jesus’s name, he will forgive you. This appears to be a pass to sin freely but what really happens after accepting Christ is a building of ones’ spirit to avoid what is unrighteous.

So think about this, repent and confess to Jesus. Do this immediately if you can. Learn from your sin. God is patient and will forgive.

Day 2    Suggested Reading    Luke 15:18 – 24

¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’

²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹ "The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² "But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.

²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. (NIV)

I n the story of the prodigal son, Jesus tells us of an ungrateful son who squandered his money and lived an immoral and sinful life. When he realized the wrongness of his ways, he returned to his father full of remorse and wanting to repent. He felt he did not deserve his place in the family, but his father was overjoyed with his return and stated, For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. (Luke 15:24 NIV)

This is the life of many Christians. For whenever our lives get derailed and we abandon the life of Christ, we become a servant of sin.

However, God forgives like the father in this parable. He rejoices when one of his children returns to the ways of righteousness. God accepts you back through an unearned and underserved concept call grace. The amazing thing is that, chances are, you are unworthy of this grace. Fortunately, God does not base his relationship with you on your worthiness. He accepts you solely on the basis of his infinite love.

Day 3    Suggested Reading    Luke 6:27 – 36

²⁷ "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.

³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.

³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you.

³² "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.

³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.

³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.

³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (NIV)

T oday we contemplate on something that we as Christians have all said or thought; I can never forgive him/her. A statement like this is typically fueled by an emotionally laden event. Satan uses emotions to allow hate, anger, jealously, envy pain and any other negative feelings to persistently linger. The feelings of resentment fail to go away.

This is not unanticipated though. When feelings are involved faith takes a back seat. Feelings are subject to man’s, and more importantly, Satan’s whims. Therefore, feelings can be manipulated. In this scenario, we can forgive but typically will not forget.

To truly forgive one must rely on faith. True forgiveness has nothing to do with how one feels. It is an act of will. It is based on prayer and having faith that the prayer has been answered.

Once you have forgiven by prayer, you must forgive as God does. He forgives and forgets. When Satan tries to rekindle old memories, remember they are forgiven by faith, not feelings. The resentment is now permanently and unconditionally removed, and you spirit will be at ease.

Day 4    Suggested Reading    1 John 1:9

⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (KJV)

S ometimes we are so busy in our lives we are not aware of the fact we are sinning. This may be due to distraction or an inadvertency. Other times we willfully sin. Regardless of the situation, we as Christians will eventually realize we had sinned.

Most of the time we pray for forgiveness and move forward. However, may times we forget to repent and our sins start to stack upon themselves. After a while fear and guilt pushes us farther from God. This is a perfect scenario for Satan, as he will insidiously plant thoughts of helplessness in our minds.

But John reaffirms God’s promise to us. It doesn’t matter how much we have sinned. We just need to repent and confess to reestablish our relationship with God. God knows when you are feeling guilty. He knows you are sorry. Therefore, he gave his son, Jesus Christ, to wash our sins anyway with his blood and mediate between us and the Father, God, for forgiveness.

No matter how bad the sin or how long since one has repented, seek God. He wants to forgive and ease your soul.

Day 5    Suggested Reading    Psalm 103:1 – 12

¹ Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

² Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

³ Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

⁴ Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

⁵ Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶ The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

⁷ He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.

⁸ The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

⁹ He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger forever.

¹⁰ He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

¹¹ For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

¹² As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. (KJV)

S in is like debt. If unrepented it builds to a point where we believe it cannot be repaid. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. We fail to ask for forgiveness because we are afraid of what God will do or we don’t care one way or the other.

David explains God’s capacity for forgiveness in Psalm 103. In it, he explains that God’s capacity to forgive is vast; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalms 103:12 NIV) We can’t compile enough sin that he would not forgive.

He forgives our total debt and then forgets. His mercy is limitless. How great is God that we can start anew?

Day 6    Suggested Reading    Isaiah 1:18

¹⁸ Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (KJV)

T here was an insect that produced bright red dye from its eggs. This dye fixed to cloth and could not be washed out. Isaiah likened this red dye to sin because sin could not be removed. Sin permeates every fiber of our being. It is in our heart and soul. There is nothing man can do to remove it.

Only God can cleanse man from sin. He tells us he will they shall be as white as snow. (Isaiah 1:18 NIV) A millennium later, Peter confirms this; "repent, then, and turn to God, so that he will forgive your sins. (Acts 3:19 GNT)

This is the promise of God to remove the blemish of sin from us, permanently.

Day 7    Suggested Reading    Romans 6:23

²³ For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (KJV)

T he wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23 KJV). This concept originated before the sin actually occurred as God told Adam of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil you shall not eat. For in that day you eat of it you will surely die. (Genesis 2:17 KJV)

Now we recognize this death as the result of the original sin committed by Eve, then Adam. The first death was to animals, from which God took their furs to make clothes for Adan and Eve, and then to man.

Now the Lord says; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23 NIV). That is everyone.

Then God gives us the gift. He gives us the gift of eternal life through his son. This is the ultimate act of forgiveness and love from God.

WEEK

2

HAPPINESS

Day 1    Suggested Reading    Psalm 1:1 -3

¹ Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

² But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

³ And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (KJV)

W hen I think of what makes me happy as a Christian, I always refer to the Psalms of David. They will lift my spirit and reaffirm the promises of God.

In his first Psalm, David reflects on those who enjoy obeying the Law of the Lord. We need to think about this with regard to our own behavior.

Day 2    Suggested Reading    Psalm 89:15 – 18

¹⁵ Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.

¹⁶ In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

¹⁷ For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.

¹⁸ For the LORD is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king. (KJV)

T here are times that we are so happy that we sing our praises to the Lord. These praises are the blessings and triumphants that you have provided us. The praises are for the just laws for