Tag Archives: Christianity

Daily Bible Study

July 27, 2015 Bible Study — How Will They Hear Unless Someone Tells Them?

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For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 20:4-6

    I am a procrastinator and this proverb strikes close to home for me. It is important to work hard when the time is right, so that you have resources later.

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Psalm 21

    This psalm is directed at rulers, but its message applies to everyone. If we trust in God and rejoice in His strength we will have victory over our enemies. It is important to remember that part of trusting God is trusting that following His will leads to our greatest happiness.

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Romans 10:14-11:12

    Here Paul lays out the obligation we have as Christians to preach the Gospel, and as the Church to commission people to preach the Gospel. In yesterday’s passage Paul described how people can only be saved by calling on the name of the Lord. However, today he points out that no one will call on the Lord if they do not believe in Him. They will not believe in Him if they have never heard of Him. They will not hear of Him unless someone tells them about Him (hint, hint. Yeah, that is meant for you and me). No one will go to tell them unless they are sent.
    This last is the part where we as a Church fail so often. An ambassador does not appoint himself. We, as members of the Church, need to identify those among us with the gift of preaching and teaching the Gospel and send them to where their mission can be the most fruitful. Paul did not appoint himself to go on his first mission trip. The Church in Antioch did so. In the same way, we in the Church today need to seek out those among us whom God is calling to ministry of one kind or another and send them to that ministry.

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2 Chronicles 19-20

    Jehoshaphat is a great example of a good ruler. He did not just stay in Jerusalem and wait for news of the people to come to him there. He traveled throughout the land he ruled, learning first hand what people were going through, while encouraging them to worship God, and only God. Further he appointed judges to judge the disputes between people, advising those judges that God would hold them accountable for judging fairly.
    At one point, Jehoshaphat received news that several other nations had allied and were marching to attack Judah with an overwhelming army. Rather than panic, or attempt to enlist a powerful nation as an ally, Jehoshaphat turned to God. He called on the people of Judah to fast and pray, doing so himself. This story shows us God’s power. The army of Judah marched out to meet the enemy on God’s command. However, before they reached the enemy God had stirred up conflict within the allied armies so that Judah’s enemies has destroyed each other completely. If we trust and obey God, He will defeat our enemies for us.

Daily Bible Study

July 26, 2015 Bible Study — Believe In Your Heart and Confess With Your Mouth

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For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 20:2-3

    Avoiding a fight is a sign that one is honorable. It is foolish to get into fights which could have been avoided.

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Psalm 20

    The first five verses of this psalm make a wonderful blessing to say over those we love. It would make a good benediction to a meeting. And then in verse 7 it makes a point which we should always remember. The citizens of many nations boast of their military might, but let us boast of the name of God.

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Romans 9:25-10:13

    In this passage Paul refers to Jews and Gentiles. As a Gentile, I praise God that He offered me the opportunity to become one of His people through Christ. However, as we read this we should also see how it applies to those of us raised in Christian homes. We cannot get right with God by our own efforts. The only way to get right with God is to trust Him. There are many who have been raised in the Church, and even some who have joined the Church as adults, who strive to get right with God by doing the right things. In order to get right with God by doing right, we must never fail to do the right thing. That is not possible for a human being.
    No, the way to be right with God is by believing in the depths of your heart, and publicly declaring to all who care to listen, that Jesus died, God raised Him from the dead, and now He is Lord (one who has the right to command our actions, even when following the command will lead to our death). If we truly believe this to be true, we will act accordingly. There may be times when we are weak and we do not follow His will, but we will regret our failure and seek His forgiveness. By publicly stating our belief, others will hold us accountable for our actions and help us see how our actions are inconsistent with our beliefs (even when that help is intended as hurt).

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2 Chronicles 17-18

    When Jehoshaphat became king he did many good things. He was king over the entire land he controlled and did not restrict his reforms to Jerusalem. He sent his officials out to teach in the towns and cities of Judah. From the context, it appears to me that while they taught the Law of Moses they also taught more general knowledge as well. He not only refused to worship the idols of Baal, he sent men throughout Judah destroying idols and pagan shrines. The only failure I see in Jehoshaphat as a ruler was his close friendship with Ahab.

Daily Bible Study

July 25, 2015 Bible Study — May the Words of My Mouth, and the Meditations of My Heart Be Pleasing to God

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For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 20:1

    If you allow yourself to drink to excess with any significant frequency you will never learn wisdom. Alcohol will make a fool of you if you let it.

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Psalm 19

    No one has an excuse for not knowing about God. The stars and moon at night and the sun during the day declare His glory for all to see. So do the clouds in the sky. They do not make a sound, but they stand as a silent testament to God’s greatness and glory. The psalmist goes on to remind us that we will lie to ourselves about our sins, it is only when we allow the Holy Spirit to control our lives that we learn of the sins hiding in our heart.
    This psalm ends with what I wish to be my prayer motto:

May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you, O Lord,…

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Romans 9:1-24

    I struggle with this passage. Paul tells us that God chooses to show mercy to some and not to others. As I look at this passage longer I think the key take away is that we should not think of ourselves as better than those who do not follow God. We neither chose to receive God’s mercy, nor were/are we able to work so as to obtain it. We have received God’s mercy because He chose to show it to us, not because of any merit which we have.
    The first application of this passage is that the fact that we have received God’s mercy through faith in Christ is not an indication that we are somehow superior to those who have not. We need to recognize that we are no better than anyone else. The Holy Spirit chose to work in our lives in such a manner that we would come to have faith in Christ. It is not my place to debate why He has not done so in another’s. However, I am called to pray that the Holy Spirit will do such work in the lives of those He has not yet done so. This passage convicts me to pray harder for my unsaved friends.

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2 Chronicles 14-16

    When Rehoboam’s grandson, Asa, took the throne he served God faithfully. Early in his reign Judah was attacked by an overwhelming army. Asa recognized that his army was inadequate to meet the threat so he called out to God for aid. God aided him and he was able to defeat the invading army. Upon returning to Jerusalem, Asa instituted religious reforms. He destroyed idols throughout the land and called the people to worship God. However, late in his reign when he was attacked by the king of Israel, he turned to the king of Aram for aid rather than relying on God.

Daily Bible Study

July 24, 2015 Bible Study — Nothing Can Separate Us From the Love Of God

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For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 19:27-29

    When you stop learning you start losing knowledge. No one ever knows so much that they cannot improve by learning even more. Even if that was possible our minds are built so that when we stop adding to our knowledge we start to forget the things we already knew.

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Psalm 18:37-50

    If we serve God He will arm us for the battles He wishes us to fight. When our enemies are God’s enemies they will fall before us and no one will answer their cry for help. We do not need to seek revenge against our enemies because God will repay those who harm us. God will hold us safe and subdue those who fight us because we serve God.

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Romans 8:26-39

    The first phrase of this passage is a great conclusion to the subject Paul has been covering for the last few days. I have been talking about how Paul tells us that if we sin we are allowing our sinful nature to control us and if our sinful nature controls us the Spirit is not in us. And yet, who among us has the strength to resist temptation day in and day out. So, here Paul tells us that the Spirit will help us in our weakness. Paul uses the example of prayer, but the help the Spirit will give us extends to helping us resist temptation. If we allow the Spirit, He will help us overcome other temptations as well. We just need to listen to the Spirit’s prompting and do the things which He tells us we should be doing. As we do the righteous things which the Spirit tells us to do we will find that we do not have time to do the things which our sinful nature tells us to do.
    Using his example of how the Holy Spirit helps us pray, Paul then transitions to a new topic. He tells us that we often do not know what to pray for and about. However, the Spirit knows and helps us do so. There are times when we just need to cry out to God and allow the Spirit to convey our needs. God knows our hearts and knows what the Spirit is saying on our behalf. We can be confident that God will listen to this pleading on our behalf and know that He will cause all things to work together for the good of those who love Him. So, if God is working to make all things work together for our good (we do love the Lord, don’t we?), then what do we have to fear from others? After all, if God is for us, who can be against us? (Yes, I know, lots of people, but they can do nothing which God does not allow.)
    God has made us right with Him. He has taken the actions necessary to bridge the divide between us caused by our sin. He did this because of His great love for us and there is no power on earth, in heaven, or anywhere else which is capable of separating us from God’s love. I will conclude this with Paul’s statement on the issue:
“Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.”

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2 Chronicles 11-13

    After the northern tribes rebelled against Rehoboam and made Jeroboam their king, the priests and Levites all moved south. They did this because Jeroboam replaced them with priests of his own choosing. The result of Jeroboam’s actions and the actions of the Levites was that those people in the Northern Kingdom who genuinely wanted to worship and serve God moved to the territory controlled by Rehoboam.

Daily Bible Study

July 23, 2015 Bible Study

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For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 19:26

    This proverb seems self-evident, but sometimes we overlook the self-evident. It is not just that those who do these things are an embarrassment to their parents. These are people we should be ashamed to be seen with. People who mistreat their parents as described should be ashamed to show their face in public. Society should consider them to be disgraced with no further action needed.

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Psalm 18:16-36

    When I read this psalm my eyes were drawn to the middle of this passage:

To the faithful you show yourself faithful;
to those with integrity you show integrity.
To the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

What exactly does that mean? Well the first parts are easy, God will respond to virtue with virtue, but God is not able to do evil. So He cannot respond to the deceitful, the crooked, and the dishonest in like manner. However, God responds appropriately. The deceitful, dishonest, and crooked discover that God is not naive. He is not fooled in the least by their subterfuge.

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Romans 8:9-25

    Paul points out that if we have the Spirit of God living within us we are not controlled by our sinful nature. Further, he tells us that if we do not have the Spirit of God living within us we are not God’s people. What does this mean for us? It means that we need to examine our lives and seek out the places where we are allowing our sinful nature to control us. Or more exactly, we need to ask the Spirit to search us and identify those areas. Once we have identified those areas, we need to allow the Spirit to enter into them and take control. If we do not do this, but instead allow our sinful nature to control those areas we will die bit by bit.
    However, if we allow the Holy Spirit to take control and stop us from doing the deeds of our sinful nature we will live. Doing so makes us children of God. So, even though we allow the Spirit to control us, we are not slaves. If we allow it, our sinful nature will make us slaves, but, on the other hand, if we allow the Spirit to do so, He will make us free. This does not mean that we will not suffer. No, it actually means that we will suffer. However, the suffering we experience in this life is nothing compared to the glory we will experience when this life is over. As we allow the Holy Spirit to control our lives, He will give us a foretaste of that glory. I hope that you have experienced that foretaste because even that little bit makes me excited about what is to come. My excitement is not based on my imagining what that glory might be but on the thought of experiencing that glory continuously rather than intermittently, as I do now.

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2 Chronicles 8:11-10:19

    We learn here that Solomon had married Pharaoh’s daughter. He thought it inappropriate that she live in the palace which David had built because the Ark of the Covenant had been there. I know that this marriage was a political one, but nevertheless, perhaps Solomon should have considered if it was appropriate to marry a woman who he felt could not step on holy ground. Certainly, I will advise anyone reading this to take that into account before entering into a relationship with someone.
    The passage also describes how Solomon built a trading empire. Solomon sent ships on three year trading missions. He commissioned caravans. The land of Canaan was ideally suited for such an empire. If Solomon and the people of Israel had faithfully served God, this trading empire could have continued for many years.

Daily Bible Study

July 22, 2015 Bible Study — If My People Will Humble Themselves And Pray…

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For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 19:24-25

    The writer does not mean this literally (or perhaps, he does not JUST mean this literally). The lazy begin doing things which would lead to success, but they abandon them when they realize it will take work and time to gain from them.
    If you point out their mistake to the wise, they will become wiser. The simple-minded only learn when they see someone suffer for doing the things which they do.

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Psalm 18:1-15

    Every time I read this psalm I am struck by the imagery it uses to describe God’s reaction to our cries for His help. When God launches Himself to bring justice to the innocent and the powerless, nothing will stop Him, all of Creation will tremble in fear. I pray that I am never the target of God’s anger and I weep for those who are. They were given ample opportunity to change their ways but have instead chosen to bring harm to others.

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Romans 7:14-8:8

    Paul sums up the human condition when he says, “I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.” There is a power within us which leads us to do things we don’t want to do. That power is our sinful nature which makes us slaves to sin and death. The only way we can be freed from that bondage is through faith in Jesus Christ.
    Paul tells us that if we are controlled by our sinful nature we will think about sinful things and if we are controlled by the Holy Spirit we will think about things pleasing to the Spirit. The converse of those are true as well. If we think about sinful things we will be controlled by our sinful nature. Which means that if we want to give control to the Holy Spirit we need to fill our minds thinking about things which are pleasing to the Spirit. Remember, you are going to think about something. The Power which rules this world is constantly striving to fill our minds with thoughts about sinful things. If we do not work just as hard to fill our minds with thoughts pleasing to the Holy Spirit, he will fill us with thoughts about sinful things. The result of that is that our sinful nature will control us. I realize that the key to overcoming the sin in my life is to work harder to fill my mind with thoughts pleasing the the Holy Spirit. Thus I will give the Holy Spirit control over my life and deprive my sinful nature of control.
    We need to remember this same principle in discussing controversial issues with others. Our Enemy constantly seeks to make the discussion about what is sinful rather than about what is righteous. By doing this he gets us to think about sinful things. Instead of falling into that trap (something I struggle against), let us make the discussion about doing what is right, not about whether sin is sin.

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2 Chronicles 6:12-8:10

    In response to Solomon’s prayer God said, “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” As I look at world events I see a future where scary things are going to happen. This passage reminds me of the answer to the frightening future I see coming. God is calling His people to humble themselves and pray. I know that I do not pray as I should. Let those of us who wish to be called by God’s name humble ourselves and fill our minds with prayer. This is the answer to filling my mind with thoughts pleasing to the Spirit. Oh Lord, make me a man of prayer!

Daily Bible Study

July 21, 2015 Bible Study — Freed From The Letter Of the Law

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For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 19:22-23

    What people truly desire above all else is to be loved unconditionally. Therefore it is better to be poor than to lie, to claim that we love someone when we do not.

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Psalm 17

    God will test our thoughts and examine our hearts. If we allow Him, He will cleanse them and mold them so that we will do what is right. If we truly desire to do what is right then the first step is to be determined not to sin in what we say. If we gain control over our tongue, the rest of our actions will follow.
    I strive very hard to keep my political views from entering into this blog because I believe that Christians are called to leave politics to God. When I read the psalmist’s statement that following God’s commands kept him from following cruel and evil people, I thought about how so many of those involved in politics are following cruel and evil people. Rather than following such people, let us put our feet upon God’s path and not waver from following Him.

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Romans 7:1-13

    I am struggling with what to write about this passage. Not because I am having trouble understanding the message, but because it speaks to my thoughts on some of the issues we are facing in our society today. The first point Paul makes is that when we accepted God’s grace through faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection, we were freed from obligation to the letter of the law. We are now able to do what is right according to the spirit of the law without worrying about whether what we are doing meets the technical details of the law.
    Paul points out that sin uses the law to get us to sin more. I believe that part of what Paul is talking about is our human tendency to do things like say, “Well, it depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is.” That is, when we read the law, we look for loopholes which allow us to violate it’s purpose without technically breaking it. When the law says, “You shall not steal,” we say, “Well, it’s not really stealing. He dropped that $20 bill and was never going to know where to come back and get it.” We can do this all we want, but we know its not right, and now we have been freed from the letter of the law so that we can follow the spirit of the law.

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2 Chronicles 4:1-6:11

    When Solomon completed the Temple, he summoned all of the leaders of Israel to Jerusalem to worship God and celebrate the establishment of the Temple. This is how a nation achieves unity, when all of the leaders unite to worship God. I am not in favor of religion in politics. For that matter, I believe that Christians should stay out of politics. However, I also believe that the answer to the problems in this country (and every other country in the world) is for the people of this nation to gather together as one to worship God. I don’t think that will ever happen, but I do believe that if those of us who do believe would gather together to pray for our neighbors we could transform this nation and the world.

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July 20, 2015 Bible Study — Godly People Are the True Heroes

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For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 19:20-21

    If you want to be thought of as wise, listen to all of the advice you receive and allow yourself to be disciplined. There are really two pieces to this. The first part is that if you listen to someone’s advice they will think you are wise because you listened to their advice. The second part is, if you listen to lots of advice, and accept discipline when you make mistakes, you will learn wisdom and actually become wise.
    Another aspect of wisdom is remembering that no matter what plans we make it is God’s purpose which determines the outcome. Let us seek as we make our plans to align those plans with God’s purposes.

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Psalm 16

    The psalmist is correct, every good thing I have comes from God. The most profound thing the psalmist says in this psalm is that the godly in the land are the true heroes. We should not consider people heroes because they are star athletes, or movie stars, or famous musicians, or some other sort of entertainers, or some other sort of public figure. All too often such people chase after gods other than the true God. Let us refuse to have anything to do with such gods.

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Romans 6

    Before Christ we had no choice, we were enslaved to sin. Now, however, we have a choice. We can be united with Christ in His death, and thus be raised to life with Him as well. That means that we have a choice, we can serve sin, or we can serve righteousness. If we choose to obey sin, we will be enslaved by it once more. On the other hand, if we choose to obey God, we are freed to serve righteousness. If we give in to our sinful desires, we will become enslaved once more to sin. On the other hand, the more we do what is right and holy, the harder it will become for us to do anything but what is right and holy. Think about this every time you are tempted to sin…and every time you are tempted to pass up an opportunity to do good.

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2 Chronicles 1-3

    God asked Solomon a question that each of us must answer. What do we truly want? Some of us want fame, some power, and still others want riches. However, Solomon gave the answer that should be ours if we truly wish to serve God. Solomon asked God to give him the wisdom and knowledge he needed to serve others. We may not be called to rule over others as Solomon was, but it is God’s desire that we serve those around us. So, when we are asked what we want, let us seek for the knowledge and wisdom to serve others.

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July 19, 2015 Bible Study — Who May Enter God’s Presence?

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For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 19:18-19

    Parents discipline your children. Otherwise you risk them facing an early death as a result of foolish behavior. If that happens, you will be responsible.
    Sooner or later, a person who does not control their temper will have to face the consequences of allowing their anger to control their actions. As long as someone bails them out, they will continue to repeat the same mistake.

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Psalm 15

    I hope this psalm strikes home with my readers. It tells us what sort of characteristics we need to have if we want to enter into God’s presence, and I pray that you want to enter into God’s presence. Here is the list (although the psalm is pretty clear):

  • Lead a blameless life
  • Do what is right
  • Sincerely speak the truth
  • Refuse to gossip
  • Refuse to harm their neighbors (and remember who Jesus says is our neighbor)
  • Refuse to speak evil of their friends (I suspect that Jesus would tell us something similar about who are friends are)
  • Despise flagrant sinners
  • Honor those who fear the Lord
  • Keep their promises, even when it hurts
  • Lend money to the poor without interest
  • Cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent>/li>

That is quite a list. I am not sure I can claim to successfully meet all of those, but I am seeking to do so. I wish for the Holy Spirit to transform me into someone who lives up to that standard (and it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that I would be able to do so).

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Romans 5:6-21

    Most people would not be willing to die for someone else, although a few would be willing to die for a good person, or someone they loved (husband, wife, parent, child, sibling). Jesus, however, died for us when we were sinners, enemies of God. Jesus did this in order to demonstrate that the enmity between God and us was on our side, not God’s. God was willing to pay any price to restore a relationship with us. As a result of Adam’s sin, sin was given entry into our lives and ruled over us. Through Christ, God demonstrated that He was willing to break sin’s power over us and bring us back into friendship with Him. Sin, which entered the world through Adam, brought death into the world. God’s grace, which was brought into the world through Jesus, replaces that death with life for those who are willing to believe.

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1 Chronicles 28-29

    In his advice to his son Solomon, King David told Solomon something all of us need to remember. If we seek God, we will find Him. This is true of each and every person, no matter where on earth they live, who their parents are, or what they have been taught about God. If they truly seek God, they will find Him. God will direct them. He will send people, events, and things into their lives which will show them the way to Him. However, David accompanies this with a warning. If we reject the guidance which God gives us, if we learn something about God and then reject that knowledge, if we forsake what God has taught us, God will in turn reject us.

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July 18, 2015 Bible Study — Fools Say In Their Hearts, “There Is No God”

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For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 19:17

    Using our skills and resources to help the poor is lending to God. God will repay all of His debts in full…of course, I already owe God more than I can possibly pay. God will more than repay any effort we expend in helping the poor and He will more than compensate for any resources we give them.

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Psalm 14

    Reading this psalm today reinforces the lessons from the last few days in Romans. First, it tells us that one must be a fool to believe that there is no God. The psalmist goes on to tell us that when God looks down on the earth He sees that everyone has done wrong. Not one of us has a basis to brag about our good works.

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Romans 4:13-5:5

    Abraham had faith in God’s promise, even when it seemed impossible. Abraham reached 100 years of age before Isaac was conceived. Nevertheless, he was willing to sacrifice Isaac to God, believing that God was able to provide him with a son even so. When things seem hopeless for us, let us remember what God has already done. Is our situation really any more hopeless than the idea that Abraham and Sara would have a son when Abraham was already 100 and Sara was 90?
    God’s promise was not given to Abraham on the basis of Abraham obeying the law, and it was not fulfilled because Abraham did so. Rather God’s promise and its fulfillment were given on the basis of Abraham’s faith. Abraham is the father of all who believe. We are not capable of following God’s law closely enough to earn God’s promise. As a matter of fact, we have already failed to do so. Let us have faith in God and trust Him to transform us into someone worthy of receiving the gift He is freely offering us.

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1 Chronicles 26:12-27:34

    The passage today continues to discuss the assignment of Levites to tasks relating to the Temple. Once more it makes a point about avoiding favoritism in who got assigned to which task and location. In addition, this passage points out how the David’s standing army served on a rotating basis.