Tag Archives: Christianity

Daily Bible Study

September 5, 2015 Bible Study

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For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 22:20-21

    The writer tells us his purpose in writing these proverbs: to teach us to be honest and to speak the truth. Reading Proverbs is a good way to come to the realization about how important those things are.

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Psalm 49

    If you trust in the Lord, and live your life accordingly, you have no need to fear those who trust in their wealth. No matter how wealthy someone is, no matter how powerful they are, no matter what connections they have, they will be unable to redeem themselves from death. There is no amount of money which will allow someone to avoid death and live forever. Ultimately, everyone will die, even the fabulously wealthy (special case for those who serve Christ and are still alive when He returns). Even if someone uses their wealth to build a great monument to themselves, eventually it will crumble and their name will be forgotten.
    Accumulating material wealth serves no eternal purpose. We cannot take it with us. The only wealth which will last into the next life is that which we have stored with God, and that is the rewards He gives us for serving Him.

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2 Corinthians 8:1-15

    We should eagerly give of what we have in order to help those who are struggling. The key is not how much we give, but that we give eagerly. Our giving should be in proportion to what we have. If we have more than others, we should eagerly give more than those others. If on the other hand, we have less than others we should not feel obligated to give as much as they do. We should seek to give so as to make others lives easier, but not so much as to make our lives hard. Paul quotes from Exodus to spell out what our goal should be:

“Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over,
and those who gathered only a little had enough.”

My Dad often made a statement which I think reflects what Paul is teaching here, “There is nothing wrong with a Christian being on welfare, and there is nothing wrong with a Christian being a millionaire. However, there is something wrong if a congregation has both a millionaire and someone on welfare.” He was very clear that he was not willing to say from outside the situation which one of those two was in the wrong, just that as Christians we should both be willing to help our fellow believers and accept help from our fellow believers. In the Church, those who are well off financially should strive to help those who are struggling financially, and those who are struggling financially should accept the help of those who are well off. That help does not necessarily come in the form of financial assistance, although that should play a part in the assistance.

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Ecclesiastes 10-12

    Throughout this passage the writer gives a lot of good advice. However towards the end he gives us the key to meaning. He tells us that the young should enjoy every minute of their lives, but not allow that enjoyment to cause them to forget our Creator. On the other hand, he tells those who live to an old age to enjoy every day of life they receive as a gift from God, while remembering that dark days will come. Overall, let us remember the Lord while our bodies are healthy enough to do His work.

Daily Bible Study

September 4, 2015 Bible Study

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Proverbs 22:17-19

    Yes, it is important, and valuable, to listen to the words of the wise. They will bring you great rewards. However, how do you know whose words are wise? The writer answers that for us as well. The wise will teach you to trust the Lord. So, when someone offers you “words of wisdom”, consider whether those words will teach you to trust God before you take them to heart.

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Psalm 48

    How great is the God we worship, He is deserving of praise and honor. The rulers of the nations of this world may join forces to oppose Him, but when their massed armies see God, they will fall to their knees and worship Him. I will strive to show God to all whom I encounter.

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2 Corinthians 7:8-16

    There are times we have to tell people hard truths which will cause them pain. We should not be eager to do so, but we must be willing to do so when it is necessary. There is another side to that. When someone tells us a hard truth which causes us pain, if it is indeed the truth, we should not be angry with them. Instead we should feel sorrow that we were acting in that way. However, sorrow is not enough. We need to then change our behavior.

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Ecclesiastes 7-9

    There are a lot of statements in this passage worth noting:

  • A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume.
  • Better to be criticized by a wise person than to be praised by a fool.
  • Finishing is better than starting.
  • Patience is better than pride.
  • Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool.

There are more, but those were the ones which stood out to me today.
    The writer goes on to tell us that the wicked are sometimes honored as righteous, but nevertheless those who fear God are still better off than the wicked. Another point the writer makes is that no matter how bad your life may be, you should take joy in whatever you can because you will only be alive for a short period of time.

Daily Bible Study

September 3, 2015 Bible Study — Do Not Team Up With Unbelievers

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Proverbs 22:16

    If your plan for success involves oppressing the poor, or giving lavish gifts to the rich, you will end up in poverty.

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Psalm 47

    Clap your hands, shout your praise, make a joyful noise to bring glory to God. Let everyone know that you serve the Lord. We are called to let everyone know of our faith. Honor and praise God, let no one doubt that you have faith in Him.

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2 Corinthians 6:14-7:7

    This passage is a hard one. Paul tells us that we, as believers, should not team up with unbelievers. The first interpretation I ever heard of this was that a believer should not marry an unbeliever. While it is certainly true that a believer should not marry an unbeliever, I do not think that is the point which Paul is making here. I am pretty sure that Paul means that believers should not partner with unbelievers in any way. This does not mean that a believer cannot partner with an unbeliever to play tennis, but, I think, that it means that a believer should not partner with an unbeliever to form a business. Further, I believe Paul is warning us against partnering with unbelievers when we are pursuing social causes. Our goal, in everything we do, should be to honor and serve God. Unbelievers will never share that goal, therefore we will never truly have common goals with unbelievers. If we partner with unbelievers in order to pursue worthwhile goals, those goals are likely to become idols. The unbelievers will encourage us to put the shared goals above serving God.

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Ecclesiastes 4-6

    In the middle of talking about the futility of life, the writer hits on something of great importance. We should not attempt to go through this life alone. Everyone needs someone to share their life with, not necessarily a spouse. The writer goes on to tell us that we would be even better off as part of a group of three. If we hope to serve God faithfully we need to have others around us who can hold us accountable for our actions and who can pick us up when we fall.

Daily Bible Study

September 2, 2015 Bible Study — For Everything There Is a Season

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Proverbs 22:15

    The young have many foolish ideas. The only thing that will teach them not to put them into practice is suffering the consequences of a few of them.

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Psalm 46

    Every time I hear the Led Zeppelin song, “Thank You” I am reminded of this psalm…and am disappointed that the song is a love song rather than based on this psalm.
The song:

If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you.
When mountains crumble to the sea, there will still be you and me.

While I want to believe the song is true about me and my wife, I know that it is not. My love for my wife will last for my lifetime, but not beyond. However, God’s love for us will last beyond the crumbling of the mountains.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!

I will not fear when theses things happen because I know, and trust, the One who is Lord over them. The earth may quake, the mountains will crumble, the oceans may roar and foam, but God is Lord of all and none of those things will happen outside of what He ordains for them. He causes wars, and He ends wars. Through all of the turmoils of this life He says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

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2 Corinthians 6:1-13

    Paul gives an example how all who have a ministry for God should live and act. None of us should do anything which might cause someone else to reject God. In all we do, let us serve God, regardless of whether it results in people honoring us or despising us, praising us or slandering us. Let us remember that we can only serve God so long as we faithfully preach the truth. If the result of doing so is suffering and hardship, let us patiently endure that hardship.

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Ecclesiastes 1-3

    I have always loved the beginning of chapter 3, but for the last 15 years it has had a special meaning to me. My wife and I gave out bookmarks with it on them at our wedding. That was a difficult year for my wife’s family. Her father was diagnosed with cancer early in the year and died at the beginning of summer. Her maternal grandmother died in early August. When we asked her Mom and her cousins if we should put off the wedding, they emphatically told us the family needed something to celebrate after all of the sadness. So we chose to put 3:1-8 on our wedding favors:

For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
…
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.

Our wedding was a reminder that God provides us joy to offset the grief of this life.
    I have always found the rest of this passage depressing. “Everything is meaningless.” The writer’s point is that we will not find meaning in this world. The only meaning is by serving God. Everything else we might do will only be transient.

Daily Bible Study

September 1, 2015 Bible Study — We Are God’s Ambassadors

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Proverbs 22:14

    The immoral say things which are tempting, but what they offer is a trap leading to trouble. Those who fall into such traps have already acted in ways which anger God.

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Psalm 45

    This psalm could easily be advice to young couples (with most of the actual advice being addressed to the young man). The advice for the young man could also be seen as advice to those who desire to exercise government authority. In either case, seek to perform awe-inspiring deeds, but not just any such deeds. No, those deeds should defend truth, humility, and justice. If you are a young man seeking a wife, doing such deeds will attract the type of women who make a good wife. If you are someone who seeks to exercise government authority, such deeds will demonstrate that you are worthy of being granted such power. In either case, you will be blessed by God.

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2 Corinthians 5:11-21

    I try to take the same attitude as Paul reveals here. Whether people see me as crazy or sane makes no difference to me (at least, I try to feel that way). If I can bring glory to God by appearing insane, then go ahead and think me crazy. On the other hand, if I can benefit others by appearing rational, I will do by best to appear rational. Either way, I want to be controlled by Christ’s love.
    Paul tells us that we are ambassadors for Christ. This is a position of great responsibility. Our actions reflect on God’s character. If we act disreputably, people will think poorly of God. On the other hand, when we live up to our role, people realize that treating us poorly is like treating God poorly. Let us live up to the responsibility God has entrusted us with. Our job is to show people how God is reconciling them, and us, to Himself.

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Job 40-42

    When God answered him, Job realized that his challenges to God were wrong. He realized that his understanding was too limited to judge God. God did not rebuke Job for asking questions. God rebuked Job because he thought he had a right to understand God’s actions and to demand an explanation. When Job stood before God, he reacted with humility. Let us remember to live our entire lives with that humility.

Daily Bible Study

August 31, 2015 Bible Study — I Believed, Therefore I Have Spoken

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Proverbs 22:13

    Those who are lazy exaggerate the dangers of any particular course of action which might increase their workload. If you find yourself making up reasons not to work, you are probably lazy in the way the proverb writer uses the term.

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Psalm 44:9-26

    Today’s psalm reminds us that there are times when the faithful will suffer for following God. Persecution and suffering are not always a result of unfaithfulness. There are times when God allows His people to be persecuted in order to advance His purposes. When such times come, let us rejoice that God has found us worthy of such suffering. However, we can still call on God to rescue us from such suffering.

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2 Corinthians 4:13-5:10

    Paul makes an important point to start this passage. IF we believe something we will speak about that belief. If we believe the Gospel, we will tell others about it. Do you tell others about what you believe? Or are you afraid of them rejecting you because of your belief? We should fear God’s rejection more than we fear the rejection of our fellow humans.
    Paul goes on to talk about the nature of our being after death. The importance of this cannot be stressed enough. We are not spirit beings who have bodies, nor are we bodies which have spirits. Our physical bodies are not inherently evil. We are not looking forward to a day when we will be pure spirit. Our desire to leave our current bodies, with their many pains and weaknesses, is not a desire to become a pure spirit. Rather it is a desire to be transformed into the heavenly bodies which God has promised us.
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Job 37-39

    Elihu finishes up his rebuke of Job by pointing out how little we understand about how God’s creation works. Elihu goes onto point out that even if we understood how things like the weather work, we would still be far from being able to control it. Finally, he points out that we cannot even look directly at the Sun. How much less are we able to look directly at God?
    Then God replies to Job. God’s monologue reminds me of what Ken Ham says regarding those who proclaim that Genesis does not accurately describe the creation of this Universe, “How do you know? Were you there? Did you see it happen?” God’s response to Job is essentially that and a little more. How can we hope to understand and judge God’s actions when there is so many things we do not know or understand about this world? There is too much in this world that we do not know or understand that we cannot begin to comprehend the reasons and justifications for everything we experience. Our limited, finite minds are unable to fully grasp the complexities involved in the decisions which God makes.

Daily Bible Study

August 30. 2015 Bible Study — Letting God’s Light Shine Through Us

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Proverbs 22:10-12

    It is those who mock others who generate the insults and quarrels in a group. Get rid of them and the hostilities within the group will vanish.

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Psalm 44:1-8

    It is not by strength of arms that a nation arises, rather it is by the will of God. We will not gain victory through our own efforts. Success only comes about through the hand of God. If God does not give us victory over our enemies, we will go down to defeat. I will trust in God, not in my own ability.

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2 Corinthians 4:1-12

    Paul makes an important point here. It is counterproductive to attempt to spread the Gospel with deceptive methods, or to distort the message so as to avoid unpleasant truths (or to distort it for any other reason). If some people are going to misunderstand, or fail to get a clear understanding of, the Gospel let it be because they allowed the spirits of this age, the mavens of “modern” culture, to blind them to the truth. Paul teaches us to make it clear that the Gospel is not about how wonderful we are. Rather it is about how wonderful God is. The truth of the matter, which we must constantly strive to communicate, is that we are flawed and broken vessels conveying the light and truth of God. The Gospel message is not about how much better we are than others, it is about how God can use even someone as flawed as myself. The power and joy of the Gospel comes not from us, but from God.

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Job 34-36

    I struggle with Elihu’s monologue because while he was not rebuked by God he echoes some of the things said by Job’s other friends (at least, as I read it), who were. However, there are several points which Elihu makes which I do not struggle with:

  • God does not sin. He can do no wrong.
  • God loves justice and hates injustice.
  • God sees everything we do. Nothing can hide our acts, wicked or good, from God.
  • God hears the cries of the needy.
  • Our sins do not affect God. Our good deeds do not benefit Him.
  • That does not mean that He does not care.
  • God will bring justice, if we are patient and wait for His time.
  • God is greater than we can understand.

There is more in this passage of which it is worth taking note, but you can read it for yourself. I do not need to copy it all out here.

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August 29, 2015 Bible Study — Our Competence Comes From God

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Proverbs 22:8-9

    The proverb writer tells us that those who plant injustice will harvest disaster. Looking at the world around me, I realized that the writer does not just mean those who deliver injustice to others. He also means those who use the perception of injustice to raise themselves to power.
    The more interesting proverb to me is the second one. He tells us that those who are generous are blessed, but not because of something they receive. No, they are blessed because they feed the poor. The blessing is the act. We do not help the poor because God will reward us. Helping the poor is the reward for helping the poor.

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Psalm 43

    In some ways I hate to bring this up because I have never suffered depression. I know it is simple to say this and hard to do, but in verse 5 the psalmist tells us the place to start to defeat depression:

Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and my God!

The first step to overcoming depression is putting your hope in God and praising Him. I know that when I begin to feel sad and worried by the issues of life, if I turn to God in prayer and begin singing praises to Him, the clouds soon lift.

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2 Corinthians 3

    Paul makes a point in today’s passage. As Christians we should be confident in serving God. Our confidence does not come from faith in our own ability. On the contrary, we need to recognize that we are not, in ourselves, competent to do God’s will, let alone excel at it. Rather, our confidence comes from our faith in God. God will provide us with the ability to do His will. When we are doing what God desires we will find that He gives us skills and abilities we never had before.
    As we allow God to provide us with the abilities to do His will, as we contemplate God’s glory by listening to His Spirit, God transforms us, bit by bit, into His likeness. The goal of all of our actions is to become more like Christ, which is to become more like God. We study Jesus in order to become more like Him.

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Job 31-33

    We can learn a lot by looking at the list of things Job of which Job proclaims he is not guilty. They are things which he declares are worthy of judgment. First on that list are the twin sins of lies and deceit. This is followed by lust and sexual sins. I could go with his list because it is instructive. There are both sins of commission and sins of omission on that list. It is worth studying how our lives match up to this list. We may never have actively oppressed the poor, but have we helped them? We may not have profited from the misfortune of widows and orphans, but have we done all that we can to aid them?
    A fourth friend of Job, Elihu, speaks up now. He is younger than the rest, yet he is the only man who speaks in the book of Job who is not rebuked by God. Elihu tells us that Job is wrong to claim that God does not respond to people’s complaints. God speaks time and again, but people do not listen. When we do not hear God, it is not because God is not speaking. It is because we do not like what He is saying. If we listen to what God is telling us and turn to Him, He will give us joy, even in the midst of what others would see as suffering.

Daily Bible Study

August 28, 2015 Bible Study–Let Us Be a Fragrance Before God

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Proverbs 22:7

    If you borrow money, you end up enslaved to the lender. Stay out of debt so that you serve only the Lord. If you find yourself in debt, pay it off as fast as you can so that you can free yourself to serve only the Lord.

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Psalm 42

    Do I, do you, long for God in the manner in which deer long for water? Deer desire water in such a way that predators often wait by watering holes for them to come get water. Of course that is because the deer must have water in order to survive. Do we need God in order to survive? Do we understand that we do?
    The psalmist gives us a reference which leads to another question for us to ask ourselves. His heart was breaking as he remembered a time when he gathered with God’s worshipers, singing for joy and giving thanks to God. Do we remember such times? If such times are in our past, but nor our present, why not? If you live in the U.S., there are almost certainly such gatherings going on near you. Join them and gain joy. Finally, the psalmist reminds us that we do not need to be sad and discouraged. Let us put our hope and faith in God. If we do so and praise His name, we will find our joy restored.

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2 Corinthians 2:12-17

    Reading this, I think about Paul’s metaphor of our lives being a fragrance rising up to God. When you smell pleasant odors you, generally, do not initially know where they come from. In the same way, others will not be exactly sure why they like, or dislike, us (more on that in a moment). They will just sense something about us. Paul tells us that, if we are serving God, those who are believers will find that pleasant (even if they are not quite sure what it is at the moment). However, those who are refusing to accept Christ will find that service unpleasant, similar to the smell of something dead. This is an important point to remember. We should strive to befriend the unbelievers in our lives, but despite our best efforts, if we are faithful many of them will find us unpleasant to be around.

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Job 28-30

    Job spends some time discussing how ingenious and industrious mankind is at finding metals and gems which we value. Yet, he tells us that no one knows where to find wisdom. He tells us that only God knows where to find wisdom. Job then tells us how we too can find wisdom. Wisdom is found in fear of the Lord and forsaking evil demonstrates understanding.

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August 27, 2015 Bible Study — Necessary To Forgive Those Who Repent

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Proverbs 22:5-6

    The actions of the wicked expose them to dangers and obstacles. If you desire a long life you will avoid them and their plans. Show your children the right way to live when they are young and they will live their entire lives that way.

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Psalm 41

    I really needed to read both the NLT and the NIV translations of this psalm in order to get a fully formed idea of what it meant to me today. Those who are kind to the poor and help the weak will be blessed by God. God will protect them and people will see them as the justly blessed. Even if we have sinned against God, He will forgive us and bless us when we turn to Him and help the poor and weak.

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2 Corinthians 1:12-2:11

    Paul starts out today’s passage by stressing that there is no need, and no benefit, to read between the lines of what he writes. He did not write his letters intending to convey a hidden message, nor did he intend to write something that went over their heads. He was confident that they could, and would, understand what he wrote.
    Paul then addresses the issue of what to do about the man about whom he had written in the previous letter. In the first letter Paul had told the Corinthian believers that they should cast the man out of their company for his sins. In this passage, he tells them that now that the man has repented of his sins, the Church should forgive him and welcome him back. This is an important second part to Church discipline. We need to be ready and eager to forgive and welcome back those who have repented of their sins. In the previous letter the key problem was the failure to recognize that their was anything wrong with sinful behavior. Here the key is the willingness to admit that his actions were wrong and seeking forgiveness.

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Job 23-27

    I always struggle when I get to this point in Job because the arguments from both sides have run their course. Job’s friends insist that he must be guilty of some heinous sin. Job insists that he is not. In today’s passage, Job agrees with his friends that God will judge the wicked, even if it sometimes seems as if they suffer no harm. Job points out that everyone dies, but the wicked have no hope, no comfort, when their fate befalls them. The righteous, on the other hand, can take comfort from God, even in their suffering.