Tag Archives: Proverbs 29:9-11

Daily Bible Study

December 6, 2015 Bible Study — If You Do Not Love Your Fellow Man You Are Breaking God’s Commands

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 29:9-11

    It is foolish to think that you can make things better by venting your anger. The wise restrain themselves and let their anger cool before expressing themselves.

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Psalm 125

    If we trust the Lord, and act accordingly, we will be safe and secure. Furthermore the psalmist points out that if the people of a land are godly, their rulers will not be wicked. So, when the people believe that those running the government are evil, they have no one but themselves to blame. If they chose to start being godly, their rulers will be replaced with godly ones.

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2 John

    We should love one another. This is not a new command with this letter, rather it goes back to the beginning of Jesus’ teachings and, for that matter, to the beginning of the world. There is a circular logic in the writer’s argument, but one with real logic to it if you pay close attention. In order to show our love to others, and to God, we need to follow God’s commands. However, we are not following God’s commands if we do not love one another. There is no separation between the two things. Every act which goes against God’s commands is a failure to love others. However, no matter what we do, we are not following God’s commands if we do not love one another.
    The writer brings up another point. In our effort to love others, we must not encourage those who are teaching falsehood and deception. In particular, he points out those who teach that Christ was not truly a man. Even though he does not spell it out, I believe that the author would also include those who teach that Jesus was ONLY a man as well.

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Hosea 4-5

    For me the key message in all of Hosea’s prophesies is in verse 4 of chapter 4:

Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame!

There is special blame for the leaders for the people’s sins because they have led the people into idolatry and sin. It was the leaders’ job to lead the people into righteous and upright behavior and they have not only failed to do so, but they have done the opposite. However, this does not excuse the people because they have rejected those leaders who tried to lead them into righteous and upright behavior. Instead, the people have chosen to follow those leaders who lead them into idolatry and sin. Each and every one of us must take responsibility for our own actions. We must repent of our sins and turn to God.

Daily Bible Study

December 6, 2014 Bible Study — We Do Not Love One Another If We Do Not Obey God’s Commands

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. Christmas is coming soon. Let us remember what it is truly about, the birth of Jesus Christ. Let us strive to not be caught up in the commercialism which is what this season is about for many in our society today.

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Proverbs 29:9-11

    Once again today, one of the proverbs reminds me of the events going on around the United States (and thinking about it, around the world). Fools give full vent to their anger, but eventually the wise will bring calm. Where are the wise people who will bring calm to these situations?

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Psalm 125:1-5

    If we trust God we will be secure, nothing will be able to shake our confidence. The psalmist makes a good point in the middle of today’s psalm

The wicked will not rule the land of the godly,…

This is something to remember whenever we begin to believe that those who rule over us are wicked. If the people are godly, their rulers will be as well. God promises that the wicked will not rule over the godly.

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2 John 1:1-13

    The most important thing for us to remember is that we are to love one another. Yes, it is important that we obey God’s commands, but one of the most basic of God’s commands is that we love one another, the other one is that we love God. All of the rest of God’s commands are instructions on how we can do those two things (or about things that are inconsistent with those two things: e.g. we will not murder someone we love). So, John tells us that we are not obeying God’s commands if we do not love one another and we do not love one another if we do not obey God’s commands.
    Then John makes a point that is very important. He tells us that he wrote his reminder about loving one another because of deceivers who have gone out into the world. He tells us that these deceivers deny that Jesus came in a real body (I suspect that he means that they deny that Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead). I am glad that I am reading this now because it reminds me of an point to keep in mind when discussing issues with those who hold non-traditional positions on things such as abortion and “homosexual marriage”. Before spending any time discussing the merits of their arguments on the issue, it is important to discover what they believe about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. If they do not believe that the Gospel accounts are historical reality, nothing else they have to say represents a position consistent with faith in Christ.

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Hosea 4-5:15

    The prophet makes God’s case against Israel:

There is no faithfulness, no kindness,
no knowledge of God in your land.
You make vows and break them;
you kill and steal and commit adultery.
There is violence everywhere—
one murder after another.

When I read that I thought, “That so describes our country today.” Then he goes on and writes this:

Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky,
and the fish of the sea are disappearing.

But Hosea is not calling on us to be environmentally conscious. I am convinced that if we live truly godly lives, taking care of the environment will happen as a side effect. However, the most important part of today’s passage is when Hosea says this:

Don’t point your finger at someone else
and try to pass the blame!

We cannot avoid blame for what is going wrong by looking at those who are worse than ourselves. No, we need to ask ourselves how we are contributing to the above. Do I agree to do something and then fail to do it? Do I take things which do not belong to me? Do I watch violent TV shows, or movies? How about those which are sexually salacious? We are not to assign blame for what is wrong in our society to others. We are to take responsibility for our own actions and change them. Let us be models of godly living. I will admit that I have failed to live according to what I believe is right. In as much as I have done so, I have contributed to the problems in our society.

Daily Bible Study

December 6, 2013 Bible Study — The Wicked Will Not Rule the Land of the Godly

     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. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Hosea 4-5:15

     Hosea proclaimed the reasons for God’s judgment against the Kingdom of Israel. The people have abandoned morality. He warns them to examine themselves, not to point the finger against someone else. The religious leaders profit from the sins of the people, so they encourage them to sin rather than encouraging them to be righteous. The people refuse to acknowledge God and reject any knowledge of Him. They turn to idols and superstitious nonsense to predict the future. The people offer sacrifices to all sorts of idols. As a result their young women lead lives of sexual debauchery, as do their young men. There are no morals in the land. They refuse to recognize the connection between their lack of morals and their problems, both economic and political. As I read this it reminds me of our society today. I will not point the finger at others. God is calling me to live a morally exemplary life and I have not done so. I will ask God to place His Spirit within me and transform me into the person He desires me to be.

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2 John 1:1-13

     Reading this, I believe that John wrote this letter to a specific person, but even so God meant his message for all of us. This letter contains the same theme(s) which John wrote in the one I finished yesterday. God commands us to love one another. John reminds us that God’s commands are about loving. We may not always understand the connection between God’s commands and loving each other, but nevertheless if we do not follow God’s commands about morality and integrity we are not acting out of love.
     If you listen closely to those who say that we can love without following the God’s moral teachings you will soon realize that John’s secondary theme here is very appropriate. Those who teach such things also teach, often with great subtly and guile, that Jesus did not actually live as a man. John warns us to have nothing to do with those who teach that Jesus did not live, die, and rise from the dead. No matter how good the rest of what they teach sounds, it does not come from God.

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Psalm 125:1-5

     Those who trust in the Lord will be as secure as a mountain that cannot be shaken, even by earthquakes. God will surround His people and keep them from harm. This psalm addresses one of Hosea’s themes in a different way. The wicked will not rule the land of the godly, so if our rulers are wicked we need to look at ourselves. Let us turn from wickedness to God and call on God to banish those who will not turn from wickedness from among us.

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Proverbs 29:9-11

     Be careful if you find yourself in the presence of someone who hates those with integrity because they will seek the downfall of anyone who tries to live a righteous life. We have been told that it is bad to control our anger and bottle it up, yet a wise man does not allow himself to be controlled by anger.

Daily Bible Study

December 6, 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. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

Getting Ready For Christmas

Hosea 4-5:15

     Hosea laid out God’s case against Israel. There was no faithfulness or kindness, no knowledge of God in the land. They made vows and broke them. They killed and stole and committed adultery. This sounds like the nightly news. Then Hosea says something we should take to heart. He says “Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame:”. Even the priests, those who were supposed to be teaching God’s laws and directing people to worship God, were guilty of idolatry. The priests benefited when people sinned, so they encouraged people to sin. If we are among those who others look to for spiritual guidance, are we encouraging them to sin because we benefit from it (either materially or because we feel better about ourselves when we see the contrast between ourselves and them)?
     Several times Hosea repeats in different wording that we should not place the blame on others for what is wrong in our society, instead we should look at our own actions. He tells us that the priests do wrong, but he tells us that the people do the same things that the priests are doing. In this passage this is not a statement telling preachers and teachers to be careful because others follow their example. This passage is telling the average person not to try and shift the blame to the preachers and teachers because the average person is doing the same things. The passage tells us that, yes, the women are committing prostitution and adultery but why should they be singled out for condemnation because the men are doing the same thing, committing adultery and hiring prostitutes. He condemns the leaders because they have led the people into a trap of sin and idolatry. However, there is no room for the people to complain and try to pass off blame because they chose leaders who were willing to lead them in the direction they wanted to go. When prophets arose to call on the people to follow the Lord, they were attacked and condemned. When I see what is wrong in society, there is no room for placing the blame on others. I need to look to my own actions, to my desire for material things rather than following the will of God.

Snow On the Garage

2 John 1:1-13

     John begins his second letter by telling us that he loves the Church and its members. Further he tells us that everyone who knows the truth does so as well. He loves not just some of the members of the Church, but all of them. Once again John emphasizes the importance of loving one another. This is not an empty emotion, but rather a motivation for action. Loving one another means that we act to give to each other that which is in their best interests. John transitions from telling us to love one another to telling us to watch out for false teachers by telling us that he is reminding us to love one another because there are false teachers (deceivers) who teach that Jesus did not come in a real body. It is interesting that John makes this link between believing and teaching that Jesus was a historical person and loving one another. He tells us that if someone comes to us who teaches something other than the truth of Christ, we should not invite that person into our homes. We should not encourage such people lest we become partners in the stumbling block they put before others coming to know the Lord.

Abandoned House In the Woods

Psalm 125:1-5

     If we trust the Lord we will be secure. The land of the godly will not be ruled by the wicked. So, if you think the nation’s leaders are wicked, you better judge yourself and make yourself right with God. God will do good to those who are good, those whose hearts are in tune with Him.

Friends At Bhakail Yule

Proverbs 29:9-11

     A wise person can take a fool to court, but they will not gain satisfaction from the action. The wicked hate the blameless, but the upright seek to help them. You can tell a lot about people from how they react to those who have done nothing to be ashamed of. The last of today’s proverbs tell us that a fool vents his anger, but a wise person holds their back.