March 13, 2015 Bible Study — Who Ya Gonna Call?

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 11:8

    This proverb is not a guarantee. Rather it is a generalization. Most of the time when trouble comes the godly have taken actions which cause that trouble to pass them by. Instead, trouble which might have otherwise fallen on the godly falls upon the wicked.

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Psalm 56:1-13

    I have no idea why this psalm reminded me of the Ghostbusters’ them song, but that was what I thought when I read this verse:

But when I am afraid,
I will put my trust in you.

When I experience fear, I call God. The key to this as an effective strategy for relieving fear is given us by the psalmist:
I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?
What can mere mortals do to me?

If we truly believe and trust God we will not fear anything that can happen to us, knowing that He can and will care for us. I know that anything which happens to me is part of God’s plan and I know that God’s plan will bring me happiness.

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Luke 1:1-25

    Luke begins his account by telling us that many had set out to write accounts about the events which had occurred. He mentions that the others had used the eyewitness accounts that were circulating. We know of two of the accounts to which he was probably referring (the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Matthew). A third has been postulated as source material for both Matthew and Luke. It seems likely that Luke was aware of others which have been completely lost. Luke further says that after a thorough investigation he has decided to write a careful account.
    In Acts, Luke refers to an encounter with some disciples of John the Baptist who were unfamiliar with Jesus. Knowledge of this made me wonder if perhaps his account of John the Baptist’s birth came from accounts written by disciples of John the Baptist (or perhaps, just from speaking directly with them).

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Numbers 19-20:29

    The description of the water of purification sounds as if it would be a lye solution with several other antiseptic ingredients. In other words, this complex ritual would likely have resulted in reducing the risk of infection.