Daily Bible Study

October 6, 2026 Bible Study — Be Wise as Serpents, but as Innocent as Doves

Leave a comment

Today, I am reading and commenting on Matthew 10-12.

I have a Youtube video of me reading the Scripture passage and my comments. Please check it out and let me know your thoughts.

Also, here is the link for my Patreon page

Jesus sent His Apostles out as  sheep among wolves, and I think what He says there applies to us as well.  We are to be wise as serpents, but as innocent as doves.  That is, we should be aware of the tricks and deceit which liars and cheats use, but not use any of them.  We should be honest and straightforward, not attempting to bring anyone to Christ through dishonest means.  Whatever we learn from Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, we should publicly proclaim.  Jesus taught nothing which should be kept hidden from those outside.  Further as we face the persecution which Jesus tells us is coming, we should not fear those who administer it, because God values us more than we can imagine.  If we stand up for Christ in the face of persecution, Jesus will stand up for us before our Father in Heaven.  When we are challenged for what we believe, we need not fear to speak because God will give us the words to speak.  I want to harken back to what Jesus said in yesterday’s passage about not throwing pearls before pigs because that applies to when we choose to speak.  From today’s passage, we learn that we should not fear to speak when we are compelled to do so, but Jesus’ teaching about throwing pearls before pigs shows that there are times when we should not speak.  As to how we know the difference, that is where being wise as serpents comes in.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

October 5, 2026 Bible Study — Judge By the Standards You Wish to Be Judged By

Leave a comment

Today, I am reading and commenting on Matthew 7-9.

I have a Youtube video of me reading the Scripture passage and my comments. Please check it out and let me know your thoughts.

Also, here is the link for my Patreon page

Today’s passage has so many things I want to write about that I’m not going to be able to get to all of them.  So, I’m going to pick a few, or maybe just one, and go from there.  The passage begins with Jesus telling us that we will be judged by the standard by which we judge others.  Most people just pay attention to the first phrase of the passage, “Judge not,” and thus get it wrong.  They mostly don’t even catch the “that you be not judged” with which Jesus finishes that sentence.  I have long taken this to mean that, when we see someone else sinning, We should immediately examine our own lives to see where we commit the same sin.  Then we should work on removing that sin from our own life before we point it out in others.  Actually, I just realized that what Jesus says next is actually part of that same teaching.  Once we have examined our own lives, we can point out to our brother, or sister, how what they are doing may be unwise (In Matthew 18 Jesus addresses how we should do that).  At least part of Jesus point about not giving dogs what is holy or throwing pearls before pigs is that we should not spend time judging those who do not yet know the Lord.  That didn’t come out quite right.  It is one thing to say to non-believers, “God calls all of us to avoid these behaviors.”  And another thing to say to a specific non-believer, “God condemns you for doing this specific thing.”   The latter is what Jesus tells us not to do.  However, I want to measure that against what Jesus says later in today’s passage when He tells us to judge people by their fruits.  We can point out to an unbeliever that the results of their sinful action are undesirable, but if they are unresponsive to such correction leave them be and move on.

I would love to write about more of it, but I am out of time.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

October 4, 2026 Bible Study — Jesus Taught His Disciples Who Then Taught Others

Leave a comment

Today, I am reading and commenting on Matthew 5-6.

I have a Youtube video of me reading the Scripture passage and my comments. Please check it out and let me know your thoughts.

Also, here is the link for my Patreon page

Last year when I covered this passage I focused on the fact that Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount by sitting down.  I think that this should change the way we look at Jesus’ ministry.  We picture Jesus going around and preaching to large crowds.  Yet here, when a large crowd gathered, Jesus sat down and spoke to his disciples.  Which brings up another point, when we read “disciples” in the Gospels we think of the Twelve, but in Acts on Pentecost there were about 120 disciples gathered.  So, most of the time when the Gospels talk about Jesus’ disciples they are referring to a group which was 120 strong after His resurrection (I believe the number went up and down over the course of His ministry).  So, the model of Jesus’ ministry, which we should follow, is generally teaching to a group of around 100, while sometimes taking a smaller group of about twelve aside for more advanced teaching, but only occasionally preaching to large crowds.

I want to talk about what I think may have happened here.  Jesus sat down and His disciples gathered around Him.  He taught them a few things, such as the Beatitudes, then the disciples went out and explained what He had just taught to members of the crowd, while Jesus healed some of the sick among them.  Once they had gone over the teaching with members of the crowd, the disciples gathered around Jesus again and He taught them another bit to teach to others.  Or, perhaps Jesus did not break this up into pieces but instead taught the whole thing to His disciples before they dispersed among the crowd teaching groups within the crowd.  In either case, think about it.  It only took me a little over ten minutes to read this passage.  A crowd which gathered to hear Jesus preach was going to want to spend more than ten minutes with Him. Also, what better way for the disciples to learn what Jesus was teaching then to immediately go and teach it others in small groups.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

 

Daily Bible Study

October 3, 2026 Bible Study — Matthew Points Out the Importance of Women and of Sinful Men in Jesus’ Ancestry

Leave a comment

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Matthew 1-4.

I have a Youtube video of me reading the Scripture passage and my comments. Please check it out and let me know your thoughts.

Also, here is the link for my Patreon page

I want to start by taking note that in his genealogy of Christ, Matthew mentions each of the women who the Old Testament talks about who are in His genealogy.  In fact, he mentions that Judah had two sons by Tamar, even though only one of them was part of Jesus’ genealogy.  Another interesting point is that while Matthew mentions Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth by name, he refers to Bathsheba as the wife of Uriah.  He does not do that to downplay Bathsheba in favor of her first husband.  Rather, he highlights all of David’s sin, not just his adulterous affair with Bathsheba.  The next thing I want to note is verse 25 in chapter one.  The wording seems odd if Joseph and Mary never consummated their marriage.  The phrase could say, “he took his wife, but he knew her not.  And he called the son she bore Jesus.”  Saying that Joseph “knew her not until she had given birth to a son” suggests to me that he did so after Jesus was born.

Finally I want to touch on the fact that Joseph decided to take Mary, his wife, and Jesus, his son (Jesus was Joseph’s son because Joseph was by this point raising Him as his adopted son) to Nazareth rather than returning to Bethlehem.  Matthew casually mentions that a key motivating factor in Joseph going to Nazareth was that he learned that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod.  What is not mentioned is that Archelaus had slaughtered a large number of Jews shortly before Joseph left Egypt, something he would have likely heard about during his trip back (I want to note that Archelaus was an Idumean, not a Jew).  Unlike his father Herod, Archelaus was never king, and Matthew’s wording seems to indicate that he was aware of this distinction.  The important point here is that  some of the people Matthew was writing to would have known about what Archelaus had done and the fact that he was never king.  Which means that Matthew did not need to explain the significance of Joseph being afraid of Archelaus.

 

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

 

Daily Bible Study

October 2, 2026 Bible Study — God Uses a Portion of His Spirit to Join Each Married Couple Together

Leave a comment

Today, I am reading and commenting on Malachi 1-4.

I have a Youtube video of me reading the Scripture passage and my comments. Please check it out and let me know your thoughts.

Also, here is the link for my Patreon page

One thing I think worth mentioning is that we do not know if Malachi is the name of the author of this book, or merely the title he was given by God, since Malachi means “my messenger”.  In any case, he writes that God is angry with His people, both the ordinary people and the religious leaders.  The ordinary people because they have offered corrupted offerings, and the religious leaders because they have accepted those corrupt offerings in the name of God and have not taught the people to do what is right in God’s eyes.  Religious leaders are called to guard the knowledge of God and be His messenger to the people.  Instead many have taught false things in God’s name, saying that those who do evil are good in the sight of God.  Malachi goes on to condemn those who divorce their wife as faithless.  I want to note that while Malachi does not say it, his condemnation applies for women who divorce their husbands.  Malachi adds an interesting thought about the marriage covenant.  When he says that God made them one he also says that God does so by putting a portion of His Spirit into the union.  So, marriage is not just a man and a woman joining together.  God is also a part of that union.  I was going to go on, but I want to stop there and think about what that means for my marriage, and to encourage you to do the same about your marriage.

Side Note: Jesus notes that those who have cheated on their spouse have already broken the marriage

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

October 1, 2026 Bible Study — Jesus Is the Fountain Which Cleanses from Sin

Leave a comment

Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 11-14.

I have a Youtube video of me reading the Scripture passage and my comments. Please check it out and let me know your thoughts.

Also, here is the link for my Patreon page

Today’s passage begins with something which made me question my understanding that Zechariah was writing after the return from Exile.  However, Zechariah does write after the Exile, which leads me to see why the Early Church saw this prophecy as being about Jesus’ coming.  I am not sure I fully understand what Zechariah is saying here.  I would not make the connection between the thirty pieces of silver given to the shepherd in this passage if Matthew had not done so in his Gospel.  The first part of this prophecy which is clear to me is where Zechariah says that the inhabitants of Jerusalem will mourn for the one whom they have pierced.  Jesus is the One whom they have pierced.  And Jesus is the fountain which has been opened to cleanse the inhabitants of Jerusalem from sin and uncleanness.  Jesus is a fountain which cleanses all who come to Him from sin and uncleanness.  One interpretation of this passage is that the day is coming when all of the people of Israel will turn to God, accept Jesus, and be cleansed of their sin.  Another could be that all people who turn to God and accept Jesus will be made into the people of Israel, whom God will cleanse from their sin.  I am certain that the latter is true, but I am not certain that this prophecy is not more specific than that.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

 

Daily Bible Study

September 30, 2026 Bible Study — Live So That People Will Seek the Lord of Hosts

Leave a comment

Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 7-10.

I have a Youtube video of me reading the Scripture passage and my comments. Please check it out and let me know your thoughts.

Also, here is the link for my Patreon page

Some of the Jews who had returned from Exile came to Zechariah to ask if they should continue the fasts which they had instituted to memorialize the destruction of Jerusalem.  I can understand their question.  they had established these fasts to mourn the fall of Jerusalem, but now Jerusalem was restored.  Should they continue the fasts as worship to God in memory of the sins of their ancestors, or would doing so be failing to honor God for restoring Jerusalem?  Zechariah’s response reminds me of what Paul says in Romans 14 where he says “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”  In this passage Zechariah says, “Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”  The point made by both Zechariah and Paul is that it is not the rituals which make us holy before God.  Instead what is important is how we treat others, how we treat our fellow image bearers of God.  A little further after what I quote above, Zechariah tells us that God will bring His people to Himself and says that, “they shall be my people and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”  Zechariah tells us that we should live our lives so that those around us will say, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”  Let us live so that the nations of the world will seek the Lord of Hosts.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 29, 2026 Bible Study — Return to the Lord

Leave a comment

Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 1-6.

I have a Youtube video of me reading the Scripture passage and my comments. Please check it out and let me know your thoughts.

Also, here is the link for my Patreon page

Zechariah begins his prophecy by calling on the Jews who had returned from Exile to return to the Lord.  The people whom Zechariah called on to return to the Lord thought that they were already serving the Lord.  So, we also should examine our lives and see where we fail to be faithful to God.  Then we should return once more to Him.  Perhaps, we should also see Zechariah as speaking to the Jewish people today to return to God.  Or, perhaps we should read all of the prophecies of Zechariah as being fulfilled in his day.

As I read a little further into the passage I see Zechariah speak of the two olive trees which are the anointed ones who stand by the Lord.  In the Book of Revelation, John speaks of two witnesses who are the two olive trees.  Clearly John either sees Zechariah as prophesying something in his future (that is, John’s future), or he is borrowing Zechariah’s symbolism because it was already familiar to his readers.  When I read Zechariah, the two olive trees seem to me to be Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel the governor, but John seems to read this differently.

I want to touch on the four chariots which went to the four winds of heaven.  The angel who spoke to Zechariah only told him where three of the chariots were going, and two of them went to the same place, even though the angel had already said that they were going out to the four winds of heaven which we would usually understand to be in each of the four cardinal directions (North, South, East, and West).  The angel says that the chariot with black horses goes towards the north country, and that the one with white horses follows it, while the chariot with dappled horses goes toward the south country.  But he does not say where the chariot with the red horses goes.  I do not know what we are to take from that.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 28, 2026 Bible Study — Humble Yourself and Seek to Do What God Wants of You, Even If You Think You Aren’t Ready

Leave a comment

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zephaniah and Haggai.

I have a Youtube video of me reading the Scripture passage and my comments. Please check it out and let me know your thoughts.

Also, here is the link for my Patreon page

The first thing which struck me when I read this is that the prophet who wrote this book is part of the ruling family.  He was a cousin of King Josiah and made this prophecy while his cousin was pushing religious revival.  Zephaniah’s prophecy closely echoed that which Josiah received when he asked about the Book of the Law which had been found during the restoration of the temple.  Zephaniah condemns the people of Jerusalem for the same sins which Jeremiah and Ezekiel would also condemn them: Baal worship, worshiping the starry host, and combining worship of God with worship of Molek (which throughout the Old Testament appears to involve sacrificing one’s children).  He warns that the day is coming when God will bring destruction upon the complacent who think that God will not bring judgement upon them, who think that their wealth and/or political power will shield them from this coming disaster.  Zephaniah says that wealth and power will not provide protection, that only those who humble themselves before God and do what He commands.  If you want shelter from the coming disaster, seek God’s righteousness with humility.  Only the meek and humble who trust in the name of the Lord will survive that coming day.  Zephaniah was speaking of the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem, but his prophecy should stand as a warning to people of all time.

Now we come to the prophet Haggai, who prophesied after the return from Exile.  He also has a message for all of us.  After returning from Exile the Jews thought that they should wait until they had become economically secure before they began to rebuild the temple.  I do not believe that Haggai’s message calls that completely wrong.  However, the prophet basically says, “How long are you going to use that excuse to not do the Lord’s will?”  And that is the lesson we should learn.  The problem with waiting until our finances, or other economic circumstances, are secure to do God’s will is that we will may always think of more that needs to be secure.  Instead, we should start doing what we know of God’s will for us as soon as we know what it is.  If we don’t do that we will find that our personal circumstances are never right to do God’s will.  I am tempted to list some examples from my life, but I’m afraid that my wife would think they are about her when the problem is not what she has done or not done.  The problems I am thinking of are things I have failed to do, which I need to do so that I can do what God is calling me to do.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 27, 2026 Bible Study — Will You Oppose God, or Will You Fear and Trust Him?

Leave a comment

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Nahum and Habakkuk.

I have a Youtube video of me reading the Scripture passage and my comments. Please check it out and let me know your thoughts.

Also, here is the link for my Patreon page

Nahum begins his prophecy against Nineveh by telling us that God takes vengeance on His adversaries.  Even though He is slow to anger, God will punish the guilty.  None can withstand His anger and when His wrath comes forth the seas will dry and the mountains tremble.  However, Nahum also tells us that God is a stronghold on that day for those who take refuge in Him, and He will surely remember who they are.  We have a choice.  We can either humbly take refuge in God, or we can be His adversaries and plot against Him.  Things will not end well for the latter, so let us choose to be the former.

While I was reading Habakkuk I thought about Artificial Intelligence (which is not really intelligence of any kind).  Habakkuk speaks of idols which are images shaped by men, but upon which those same men turn their worship.  Habakkuk refers to these idols as speechless and says that they are silent.  He asks if they can teach, with the answer being obviously, “no.”  Well, today, the makers of Artificial Intelligence (AI) think they have given a voice to these silent images, but it is not truly a voice.  They think that AI can teach, and while that is technically true it can only teach what someone else already knows.  AI cannot teach us something new.  AI is just another idol which some men worship.  Let us put our trust in God and fear Him alone.  Let us neither fear nor trust AI.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.