Capitol Studies, 4547 Calvert Street, Suite 5, Lincoln, NE (2026)

06/03/2026

THE SERVANT’S DUTY— RESOURCES AND FAITH

“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ And the Lord said, ‘If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, Be uprooted and be planted in the sea; and it would obey you” (Luke 17:5-6).

Now Luke calls Jesus’ disciples, apostles— a term for those of Jesus’ followers who were given a special commission because they were eyewitnesses of His teaching, healing, rescuing, and equipping. Apostles are not a part of our world today since no one today is an eyewitness of Jesus.

[The apostles] want a robust faith to do the Master’s bidding. They’ve seen what it takes to follow Jesus. “The Lord bluntly tells them that they do not need more faith. The smallest amount of faith can accomplish the miraculous. Faith is not measured by its bigness or littleness. What is needed is not so much a large faith as a living faith—faith in the Lord Himself and in His indwelling Holy Spirit. Surely, that is an infinite resource suitable for any occasion” (John Phillips, Exploring the Gospel of Luke: An Expository Commentary).

“The matter is not so much great faith in God, but rather faith in a great God” (Steven J. Cole, “Lesson 78: More Faith or More Obedience?).

06/02/2026

Capitol Studies Summer Update (Pt. 2)

While we are here on this earth, God asks us to use everything He has given us in ways that will bring Him glory. We so appreciate those who have been willing to sacrificially give of themselves in service to God as Nebraska’s elected officials.

Much of the time, it is a very difficult, lonely, discouraging road. It was exhausting in many ways for the senators who regularly attended our Bible study. We hurt with them and prayed with them as they faced much personal attack.

Term limits meant we had to say a bittersweet good-bye to three senators who have faithfully attended our Bible study since we began with Capitol Studies six years ago. They deserve rest and refreshment, but their influence will be greatly missed in the Legislature and at our Bible studies.

Please pray that God will bring in new senators who will have the courage to stand for truth and righteousness. It would be wonderful to have enough of a majority that much God-honoring legislation will be passed.

06/01/2026

Do We Have an Accurate Copy of the Original New Testament?

“If Jesus’ miracles are good evidence to believe that He was God, how do we know that Jesus performed miracles in the first place?

The New Testament contains much of the evidence of Jesus’ miracles, but can we trust the New Testament? Does the text we have today accurately represent the original New Testament?

Bart Ehrman, a New Testament scholar, says there are some problems with the accuracy of the New Testament. Another New Testament scholar, Bruce Metzger, believes that the copy of the New Testament we have today is highly accurate.

Two main criteria considered when looking at the accuracy of ancient documents are the number of copies we have and the length of time between the original and the copies that survived. When we compare the New Testament to other ancient documents such as writings of Aristotle, Herodotus, and Homer, we find that there are many more and much earlier copies of the New Testament than almost all other ancient documents. We have over 6,000 surviving Greek copies of the New Testament, some written within 150-200 years of the original.

According to Bruce Metzger, we can recreate the original New Testament text with 99.5% accuracy” (Dr. Adam Lloyd Johnson, https://convincingproof.org).

05/31/2026

“For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; and reproofs for discipline are the way of life” (Prov. 6:23).

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn, and I will confirm it, that I will keep Your righteous ordinances” (Ps. 119:105-106).

“You were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth)” (Eph. 5:8-9).

05/31/2026

THE SERVANT’S DUTY— RELATIONSHIPS AND FORGIVENESS (PT. 2)

“Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4).

Jesus is concerned about His children. He asks each to be alert and vigilant to the sinful actions of other believers so they can be quickly called back to repentance. Sometimes it is necessary to rebuke or call attention to wrongdoing to help a brother face responsibility. But no matter how often a person sins, if he or she comes back in true repentance, we are to forgive.

“Mature Christians understand that forgiveness is not a cheap exchange of words, the way squabbling children often flippantly say ‘I’m sorry’ to each other. True forgiveness always involves pain; somebody has been hurt, and there is a price to pay in healing the wound. Love motivates us to forgive, but faith activates that forgiveness so that God can use it to work blessings in the lives of His people” (Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary).

05/29/2026

Capitol Studies Summer Update (Pt. 1)

The 2026 Nebraska Legislative Session ended on April 17. It was a short session this year. Our Bible studies, entitled Luke for Legislators, went well. We spent half the time studying the parables in Luke. These earthly stories with heavenly meanings have much that is applicable for us today. The series, consisting of 13 studies, is available for download on our website: https://capitolstudies.org/bible-studies/.

These stories have allowed us to have extended conversations on being sure of heaven. We believe most of the people who attend our studies are born-again children of God who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus alone for salvation. Some, however, come from backgrounds where they have never received that assurance. We continue to pray that God, through His Holy Spirit, will open their eyes and help them to make sure of an eternal, heavenly home.

05/29/2026

God desires that we become more Christ-like in this life. But an enemy lurks among us who is committed to preventing that by throwing roadblocks along our path:

Fear can cause us to lose focus on Jesus, for “The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted” (Prov. 29:25). The antidote is to refocus on the One Who “strengthens” us.

Doubt leads to a lack of assurance that the Lord will help us, for “the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6).

Excusing or rationalizing disobedience, much like Adam’s complaint that Eve was to blame for his bad decision, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate” (Gen. 3:12).

Slowness and procrastination inhibit success. “To one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). Sins of omission lead directly to sins of commission.

May we lean into God for the strength to fight the evil one and live freely and purposefully in the way He has planned.

05/29/2026

THE SERVANT’S DUTY— RELATIONSHIPS AND FORGIVENESS (PT. 1)

“[Jesus] said to His disciples, ‘It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble’” (Luke 17:1-2).

[In talking with His disciples], Jesus implies that true believers are like little children. They humbly recognize that they are helpless on their own, so they simply put their trust in God. They are His children and, as such, are under His protection.

What kinds of things might cause someone to trip or stumble? Greed, pride, lust, addictions, [etc]. Perhaps it is the self-righteousness of a believer, which might include majoring on minor or minoring on major tenets of Scripture and, thus, completely missing the true mark.

05/27/2026

Showing mercy, especially toward those who have hurt us, does not come easy. Yet, being merciful is what God expects of His children.

In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul provided guidance:

“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification… so that it will give grace to those who hear” (Eph. 4:29).

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice” (v. 31).

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (v. 32).

Paul also said, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (v. 30). God is grieved when we allow pride, anger, or stubbornness to get in the way of living a righteous life.

05/27/2026

THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS— CONCLUSION

Since this parable contained so many particulars, could it be an actual account of what happened to two very different people? Some think so. Whether that is the case or not matters not. This powerful parable warns of a hell to shun and a heaven to gain. It all hinges on that little word “repent.”

To repent means to turn to Jesus in sorrow for one’s sin, knowing you need His rescue. It means to make a complete change in your attitude and actions. Instead of living life for self, you live your life in the way that would most show obedience, honor, and love to God. You do that with release, without reserve, and without regret.

This does not mean that you will lead a perfect, sinless life. It does mean that you will continue to make progress in becoming more… like Jesus. If you cannot remember a time when you repented, don’t put it off. Do it now. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring.

Capitol Studies

06/03/2026

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