Tag Archives: Proverbs 18:2-3

June 28, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 18:2-3

    When you get into an argument/debate with someone, listen to the case they make for their point of view so that you can gain understanding. If all you do is spend your time telling them what you think, you are a fool.

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Psalm 146:1-10

    Let all that I am praise the Lord! The psalmist reminds us not to put our faith in human beings, whether they are Governors, Presidents, or Supreme Court Justices. They cannot save. No matter how powerful they are, or how cleverly they plan, their ability to impose their will on others will end with their death, if not sooner. It is God to whom we must turn for justice. It is He who can offer us help which lasts beyond the moment.

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Acts 18:23-19:12

    Today’s passage talks about Apollos, who apparently came to follow Jesus without direct teaching from anyone. I am convinced that Apollos was someone who followed the teachings of John the Baptist and heard stories both about John’s comments about Jesus and about Jesus’ death and resurrection. Certainly, Apollos had heard stories about Jesus’ death and resurrection, although apparently not from believers. As a result of these stories and his study of Jewish Scripture, Apollos became a believer. This tells us something about the power of the Holy Spirit and of the Gospel message. The passage also tells us about other believers who came to a belief in Jesus by way of the teachings of John the Baptist. It is not clear how that happened, whether through their own study or the teachings of Apollos from before he met Priscilla and Aquila.
    This story confirms for me something I firmly believe. Those who genuinely seek God will find Him, and when they are ready, He will bring into their lives those who can fill in the gaps in their self-acquired knowledge of Him.

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2 Kings 13-14:29

    Today’s passage gives a great example of the dangers of pride. King Amaziah of Judah did what was pleasing to God, even though he did not eliminate the worship of idols by the people. However, after defeating the Edomites in battle, he became proud and decided to make war against Israel. The King of Israel at the time tried to persuade Amaziah not to attack, but was unsuccessful. The war went badly for Amaziah and Judah.

June 28, 2014 Bible Study — “Did You Receive The Holy Spirit?”

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 18:2-3

    This is an important proverb to think about. When I talk to people I disagree with, am I having the conversation in order to increase my understanding? Or am I only interested in telling others what I think?

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Psalm 146:1-10

    I will praise God as long as I live. Others may put their confidence in their connections and the people they know in high places, but I will put my trust in the Lord. Powerful people will die, but God will help me for all of eternity. Let all that I am praise the Lord until after I breathe my dying breath.

Day lily (3)

Acts 18:23-19:12

    We have two references here to believers who only knew “the baptism of John” and had not yet received the Holy Spirit. Apollos was an enthusiastic speaker who became a powerful voice for the Lord once he received the Holy Spirit. The believers whom Paul met in Ephesus were genuine, yet it was not until they received the Holy Spirit that they gained the power to perform wonders. Is the lack of miracles in the Church in America because not enough of us have the Holy Spirit? How can we bring the Holy Spirit to more people of faith? What do we need to do differently in order to encourage believers to receive the Holy Spirit?

Day lily (4)

2 Kings 13-14:29

    In today’s passage we read of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, who did what was evil in God’s sight. Yet, when the land of Israel was being badly oppressed by the king of Aram, Jehoahaz prayed for God’s help and God delivered the people of Israel from the king of Aram. Despite God delivering them, they did not turn from their sins. We also read of Amaziah, king of Judah, who did what was pleasing in God’s eyes, but not as David had done. Amaziah allowed the people to continue worshiping in the high places where they combined worship of God with pagan practices. Amaziah became arrogant and went to war against the king of Israel. As a result, he suffered a terrible defeat. As I read this I see that God will some times come to the aid of those who sin, and those who usually do what is right will not receive God’s aid when their actions do not align with His will.

June 28, 2013 Bible Study — Baptism of the Holy Spirit

     I have been using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study for over a year. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I started writing this blog because the only way I can get myself to read the Bible everyday is to pretend that I am teaching someone about what it says to me. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

Magrat on the grass
Magrat on the grass

2 Kings 13-14:29

     The passage tells us that the successive kings of Israel continued to do evil in God’s eyes. The people of Israel continued the sins of Jeroboam in their reigns and placed an Asherah pole in Samaria. However, God saw the suffering of the people of Israel and provided them rescue from their enemies for a time.
     Amaziah became king in Judah and executed the officials who had assassinated his father, Joash. However, he did not punish their families, for which he is commended. The passage tells us that he did what was pleasing in the sight of God, although not as pleasing as David. He followed after his father and continued to allow the sacrifices on the high places. He reconquered Edom. This led Amaziah to hubris and he made war against Israel. The king of Israel defeated him and sacked Jerusalem. At the end of his reign there was a conspiracy against him and he was assassinated. Amaziah’s sixteen year-old son Uzziah was placed on the throne.

Magrat's attention is focused
Magrat’s attention is focused

Acts 18:23-19:12

     Today’s passage in Acts contains two things that I find noteworthy. The first is the introduction of Apollos, a teacher of the Gospel who other references suggest was viewed as being in the same league as Paul for the spread of the Gospel. He was a learned man who preached with fervor and enthusiasm. We are told that he spoke boldly and accurately about Jesus, although he had no knowledge of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Which brings us to the second thing.
     After talking about Apollos and how he was more thoroughly taught about Jesus by Priscilla and Aquila, Luke goes back to Paul and tells us that Paul arrived in Ephesus Where he found believers who had never heard of the Holy Spirit. In fact, they were only familiar with John’s baptism (as Apollos had been before he met Priscilla and Aquila). When Paul learned that they were for the most part only familiar with the teachings of John the Baptist, he taught them how John had pointed to Christ and baptized them again in the name of Jesus. When Paul laid his hands on them they received the Holy Spirit.
     Which raises the question of what is the baptism of the Holy Spirit? And how do you know if you have received it? Here and elsewhere in Acts, Luke seems to mention speaking in other languages whenever he speaks of someone receiving the Holy Spirit. Yet, elsewhere Paul tells us that not everyone receives the gift of speaking in other languages. The other point I would like to make is that Luke’s accounts in Acts seem to all refer to people speaking in languages comprehensible (or at least recognizable) to those who witnessed the Holy Spirit coming upon them.

Magrat watches a bug
Magrat watches a bug

Psalm 146:1-10

     I love the opening to this psalm:

Let all that I am praise the Lord.
I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.

I attempt every day to make it my prayer. As I read this psalm, I became inspired to attempt to memorize it. It has so many lines that are worth meditating on.
Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them.
It is only God who can save us. I will praise the Lord.

Daisies on the corner
Daisies on the corner

Proverbs 18:2-3

     The first of these proverbs gives us an important measure to use when we enter into debates with others, both of our own motivation and of the value in having the debate. Are we debating because we want to gain better understanding? Or, are we debating in order to show the other person how much wiser than them we are? If we are doing the latter, this proverb tells us we are not wise at all, but are rather fools.

June 28, 2012 Bible Study

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

2 Kings 13-14:29

     Jehoahaz succeeded his father Jehu as king of Israel. Jehoahaz allowed an Asherah pole to be constructed in Samaria and otherwise committed evil acts such that Israel was repeatedly defeated by the kings of Aram and lost much territory to them. We are told that in desperation Jehoahaz prayed to the Lord for help and the Lord granted Israel some peace from the kings of Aram. Jehoahaz’s son, Jehoash succeeded him on the throne. When Jehoash was on the throne, Elisha died. While Elisha was on his death bed King Jehoash went to see him. Elisha prophesies that Jehoash will defeat the king of Aram three times and this does indeed come to pass. We are told that on one occasion after Elisha’s death some Israelites were taking a body out to be buried when they spotted some Moabite raiders. They threw the body into Elisha’s tomb and fled, but when the body struck Elisha’s bones, the dead man revived and jumped to his feet.
     In Judah, Amaziah succeeded his father Joash on the throne. We are told that he did what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord, like his father. However, he did not get rid of the high places of worship as David had done. Amaziah had military success against the Edomites and flush with victory went to war against Israel. He was badly defeated by King Jehoash. After twenty-nine years on the throne, Amaziah was assassinated and his son Uzziah was placed on the throne.
     Today’s passage ends with an account of the reign of Jeroboam II. He succeeded his father King Jehoash and continued in the idolatrous ways of his predecessors. The passage tells us that despite this God used him to protect the people of Israel. Jeroboam II expands the power of Israel from the low point it had reached under his grandfather.

Acts 18:23-19:12

     Luke tells us here about Apollos who, like Paul, is a well-educated Jew who has come to believe in Jesus. The account tells us that he taught with enthusiasm and accuracy, but that he only knew John’s baptism. Priscilla and Aquila took him aside and gave him a more thorough understanding. After this Apollos went to Corinth where he took on various Jews in public debates and showed that Jesus was the Messiah using Jewish scripture. I think that many today overstate the influence of Paul on the early Church because Luke chose to follow his missionary journeys and so many of his writings ended up in the New Testament. I think that the reason that Luke mentions Apollos here is because Apollos was another influential leader of the Early Church, who like Paul, and unlike the other apostles, was well-educated in both Jewish law and tradition and Greek philosophy. It seems likely to me that Apollos had similar influence on the early Church to that of Paul. I am not saying that Apollos was as influential as Paul. What I am saying is that Apollos probably taught the Gospel from a similar perspective to that of Paul, whereas most of the other early Church leaders had a much more earthy and less nuanced understanding of what it meant to be a follower of Jesus.
     While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul returned to Ephesus as he had promised to do. In Ephesus he found some who had already become believers, but who had not yet received, or even heard of, the Holy Spirit. They only knew the baptism of John. Paul pointed out that John had told his followers to follow the one who would come after him, who was Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of Jesus and received the Holy Spirit. This follows a pattern we often see in the book of Acts, people come to believe the full Gospel, are baptized and start to demonstrate the “charismatic” gifts of the Spirit. Paul preached regularly in the synagogue for the next three months until some of the Jews started to actively oppose his message. When that happened, Paul left the synagogue, taking those who were believers with him, and started preaching in a lecture hall nearby. Paul had daily discussions in the lecture hall and it sounds like he drew a pretty good crowd. This must have really gotten under the skin of those Jews who had driven him out of the synagogue.

Psalm 146:1-10

     The psalmist tells us that we should praise the Lord. We should not rely on powerful people because even if they choose to look out for our interests they will only live a short time and then no longer be able to help us. God on the other hand made all that is and will keep His promises for all eternity. The psalmist tells us that God will give justice to the oppressed. That He will protect and care for those with no political power, the foreigner, the widow and the fatherless. This is both a warning to us and a reason for us to praise God. A warning, because the psalmist is telling us that even if we think these people can do nothing to prevent our abuse of them, God will act to protect them and care for them. And a reason for us to praise God, because even when we are powerless God will protect and care for us. Let us praise the Lord.

Proverbs 18:2-3

     When you are debating with someone, make sure to genuinely listen to what they have to say, because it is evidence that you are a fool when you only want to be in a debate in order to air your opinions. You should only debate with others when you are interested in learning from them. If your only interest is in convincing them of your position, you are proving yourself a fool.