Tag Archives: Proverbs 3:27-32

January 18, 2015 Bible Study — Are We For Jesus, Or Against Him?

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 3:27-32

    If you can do good for someone who deserves it, don’t put it off. If someone needs your help, deserves your help, and you could help right now, DO IT. Don’t wait until tomorrow, that might be too late.

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Psalm 16:1-11

    God is my master because every good thing I have comes from Him. When I look at the world around me I realize that it is the godly who are the true heroes. Being an athlete, a pop music star, or a movie star, or any other kind of pop culture star does not make one a hero. Those are not the people we should hold up to be honored. Instead, I will honor those who do the will of God.

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Matthew 12:22-45

    Jesus says that whoever is not for Him is against Him. Yet, shortly after the Transfiguration,He told the disciples that whoever is not against us is for us. These two statements seem in contradiction. However, when taken together they tell us something about Jesus and Christian faith that people often try to sidestep. There is not such thing as being neutral when it comes to Jesus. Sooner or later everyone must reach a decision. They are either for Him, or against Him. You must decide if you believe that He is your Savior, the Son of God, or you must believe that He is some combination of crazy/evil.
    There are those who try to get around this choice by saying that He is fictional. However, that only puts off the problem for a bit. If you believe that He is fictional, you will still have to decide whether the teachings attributed to Him are good or evil. Ultimately, the teachings attributed to Jesus cannot truly be good if Jesus is a fictional character. This leaves you with the conclusion that those teachings are evil when taken as a whole, even though you may think some of them are bad. So, either Jesus was God, and the only path to salvation, or He was evil/crazy (or the invention of evil/crazy people). Those are the only two options and, sooner or later, everyone is going to have to choose between them.

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Genesis 37-38:30

    I find the story of Judah and Tamar interesting. One thing I wondered about when I was younger was why God made the Israelites slaves in Egypt. Why did His chosen people have to suffer through that slavery? I found that answer in the story of Judah and Tamar. Judah thought nothing of joining into pagan worship by visiting a shrine prostitute. I take Judah’s attitude as typical of his brothers. If Jacob’s sons were already casually integrating with the pagan practices in this way, how long would it have been before they had completely adopted the local practices?
    So, the answer to the question I started this section with is, the Israelites had to suffer through slavery in order to forge them into a people separated from others by their worship of God. We see this still to this day. From time to time the Church becomes too much a part of society around us. When that happens, God allows persecution to arise in order to call His people out from the midst of society so that they will renew their dedication and love for Him.

January 18, 2014 Bible Study — “Whoever Is Not With Me Is Against Me”

     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, or more. in advance. My work schedule has recently changed, meaning that I may not have time every day to complete these. As a result, I am trying to get several days ahead. I hope this does not negatively impact the quality of these posts (if that is possible). If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Genesis 37-38:30

     We have here the story of Joseph’s early life. Since he was the first son of Rachel, Joseph was Jacob’s favorite. This resulted in him being spoiled. His father gave him gifts that were much nicer than those he gave his other sons and Joseph was a tattletale. Then to compound things, he had dreams which showed him ruling over his brothers, and over his father and mother. Worse, he told his brothers about his dreams, and, while the passage does not say so, I am pretty sure he talked about the obvious interpretation of the dreams and told his brothers he was their better.
     Later his father sent him to get a report about his brothers. When he arrived at where they were, his brothers decided to take out their resentment on him. However, Reuben, the eldest, had second thoughts and convinced the other brothers to throw him in a cistern, intending to return later and let him go. While Reuben was away from the rest of them, Judah had the idea of selling Joseph to a caravan of merchants. When Reuben returned and found Joseph gone, he lost his composure and worried what he would tell his (and Joseph’s) father. However, his brothers convinced him that they should dip Joseph’s coat in blood and send it to their father saying that they had found it.
     There is an important lesson for us in this passage relative to how Joseph handled his dreams, dreams which were messages from God. What we learn is that just because God has revealed something to us, we don’t necessarily have to tell everybody about it.

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Matthew 12:22-45

     A demon possessed man who could not see or speak. Jesus healed the man so that he could both speak and see. The crowds were amazed and began to ask if perhaps He might be the Messiah. The response of the Pharisees was that the only reason He could cast out demons was because He got His power from Satan. Jesus first points out that it makes no sense to believe that Satan would give someone the power to cast out demons, since that would mean that Satan was fighting against himself. He follows up this up by asking them who gives power to their own exorcists. He concludes this argument by telling them that if He casts out demons by the power of God it means that the Kingdom of God is among them. I think that He is suggesting that the reason they are denying that God is working through Him is because they are afraid to face the Kingdom of God in their midst.
     Jesus then tells us that those who are not with Him are against Him. That those who are not working with Him to bring God’s kingdom into this world are working against it. Those who attribute the acts of the Holy Spirit to Satan are committing the one sin which cannot be forgiven. Finally, Jesus tells us that we can judge people by the results of their actions. If others are better off because of what they do, they are good people. On the other hand, if others suffer as a result of their actions they are evil people.

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Psalm 16:1-11

     Who do we hold up as heroes? The successful athlete? The movie or television star? Or do we follow the example of the psalmist and hold up the godly people of the land as our heroes? I will strive to emulate the godly and hold them up for others to do the same. I will not imitate those who worship gods other than God. I will be content with what God has given me, with the inheritance which is mine from Him. No, I will not just be content, I will be glad for what God has given me, whether it is great or small in the eyes of this world.

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Proverbs 3:27-32

     This proverb is a wonderful piece of advice about how to live a good life. If you can assist someone who needs help now, do not put it off. Do good for others when the opportunity arises. Further it tells us not to betray those who have reason to trust us. Finally it warns us against admiring those who use violence to advance their interests, or to succumb to the temptation to imitate them.

January 18, 2013 Bible Study — He Who Is Not For Jesus Is Against Him

     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.

More Snowy Day
More Snowy Day

Genesis 37-38:30

     When Joseph was 17 he began working with his brothers tending the flocks. In particular, he worked with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, who were the servant women that Rachel and Leah had given to Jacob as wives in their competition over having children. These were the sons that Jacob had put out front when he thought Esau might be coming to extract revenge. Joseph reported on their bad behavior to Jacob (in other words he was a tattletale). To make matters worse, Jacob spoiled Joseph, giving him extravagant gifts that indicated that he favored Joseph over his brothers. This resulted in Joseph’s brothers hating him.
     It is with this background that Joseph starts telling his brothers about the dreams that he had. In one dream he saw that they were out binding grain when the sheaf he had bound stood upright while the ones his brothers had bound gathered around and bowed down to his. This infuriated his brothers because they interpreted it as Joseph ruling over them. They also interpreted it as Joseph planning to rule over them. In another dream, he saw the sun, moon and eleven stars bowing down to him. When Joseph told his father about his dream, his father rebuked him for suggesting that his father, mother and brothers would bow down before him. While Joseph’s brothers became even more jealous of Joseph, Jacob filed it away in the back of his mind.
     Some time later Jacob sent Joseph to find his brothers and see if all was well with them. It took him some time to find where they were, but when he finally found them, they saw him coming from a distance. When they saw him they conspired to kill him and tell their father that a wild animal had killed him. Reuben, the eldest, in an attempt to rescue Joseph from his other brothers, suggested that they not shed his blood. Instead Reuben suggested they just put him in one of the cisterns and let him die there. Reuben intended to return later and take Joseph to their father. His brothers liked Reuben’s idea and decided to follow it. When Joseph got to them, they stripped him of the fancy coat their father had given him and threw him in an empty cistern. While they were eating their noon meal they saw a caravan on its way to Egypt. Judah came up with the idea that rather than let Joseph die, they should sell him to the merchants. The remaining brothers agreed. When Reuben went to the cistern to rescue Joseph, he discovered he wasn’t there. Reuben went to his other brothers distraught over this. The brothers took Joseph’s fancy coat and dipped it in goat’s blood. They then took the coat to their father Jacob, told him they had found it like this and if it was “his son’s coat”. Jacob recognized the coat and went into mourning for Joseph. His remaining sons and daughters attempted to comfort him, but Jacob refused to be comforted.
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Two Fencers
Two Fencers

Matthew 12:22-45

     After Jesus heals another demon possessed man, the people begin to ask if perhaps He is the Messiah. However, the Pharisees start to say that He gets the power to cast out demons from Beelzebul, the prince of demons. Jesus replies that any kingdom that is divided against itself cannot stand. If Satan drives out Satan, Satan’s kingdom would not stand. Further, if He drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul, by what power do their own people drive out demons? Jesus continues by saying that everyone who is not with Him is against Him, which is interesting because at another place Jesus says that whoever is not against Him is for Him. We tend to view these two statements as contradictory, yet these two statements tell us a lot about the nature of human reaction to Jesus. Sooner or later, everyone will take sides, either for Jesus, or against Him.
     Jesus continues by saying that if a tree is good its fruit will be good, whereas if a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. You can tell what a person is like by what they say. What we say comes out of what is stored up in our hearts. If our hearts are full of good things, then our words will be full of good things, but if our heart is full of evil, our words will be likewise. On the day of judgment we will be held accountable by our words. Our words will either acquit us or condemn us. Based on this let us choose our words carefully.

Snow In The Fire Pit
Snow In The Fire Pit

Psalm 16:1-11

     I trust in God to Keep me safe. Every good thing in my life was given to me by God. Those who make anything other than God the center of their life will suffer ever greater loss.

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure.

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,

God makes known to me the path I should follow and I will strive to follow it all of my days. Oh Lord help me to see the path that you have laid out before me!

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Proverbs 3:27-32

     Do good to those who deserve it and act when it is within you ability to do so. Don’t procrastinate on doing good, if you have the ability to do good now, don’t put it off. Do not plot against your neighbor and don’t make baseless accusations. Do not envy or imitate the violent.