Tag Archives: Psalm 106

Daily Bible Study

November 8, 2015 Bible Study — Children Will Not Be Judged For the Sins of Their Parents

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 27:10

    Never abandon or forsake a friend whether it is one of your own or a friend of the family. Do what you can to help them in their time of need. When disaster strikes you and you are in need, it is better to have neighbors who will help than to be dependent on family who are far away.

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Psalm 106:32-48

    God’s anger burned against His people because they had sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons. How much more will His anger burn against this nation for the innocent lives they have sacrificed on the altar of convenience? The psalmist reminds us that God will again and again discipline us in His attempts to get us to turn from our sins, but, if we do not respond to God’s discipline, eventually our sins will destroy us. Even in the depths of destruction which results from our sins, God will pity us. If we turn once more to Him, He will save us, even when all seems lost.

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Hebrews 9:1-10

    The writer continues to show us how the new covenant is superior to the old one. Under the old one, only priests were allowed to enter the Holy Place, which was separated by a curtain from the Most Holy Place. Only the high priest was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place, and that only once a year. When the high priest entered the Most Holy Place he entered into the presence of God. So, under the old covenant, only the high priest was allowed to enter into the presence of God. He was only allowed to do that one time a year and he was required to make an offering of blood when he did so. The old covenant had regulations regarding external behavior, good enough as far as they went, but limited in their ability to truly change people. They were a start, but now God has shown us a better way. The old covenant had regulations requiring that worship be performed at a specific location. In tomorrow’s passage the writer will look at how the new covenant goes beyond the limitations of the old covenant.

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Ezekiel 18-19

    Ezekiel quotes a proverb, “The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste.” The meaning of this proverb is clear, children suffer for their parents’ sins. There is some truth to this proverb. The children of child abusers often suffer their entire lives as a result of the abuse which their parents committed. There are other ways in which the sins of parents affect their children throughout their lives. However, God is merciful and He does not judge us based on our parents actions, neither for good or for evil.
    While it is true that children are likely to commit the same sins which their parents did, they are not condemned to that. Each and every one of us can make our own decisions. If we reject the sins of our parents and strive to live righteous lives, God will provide us a means to escape from the punishment which goes with those sins. He will give us healing. In the same way, if we reject the righteousness of our parents and live sinful lives, God will judge us for those acts and visit the punishment we deserve upon us. The choice is ours to make.

Daily Bible Study

November 7, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 27:7-9

    Those who have had enough to eat will reject even the sweetest dessert. However, those who are hungry will be grateful for even bitter food. It is a way to measure the need of those who request your charity. Those truly in need will take whatever they are offered, those who are picky about what they will accept are perhaps less in need than they would like you to believe. Of course, it is also a measure to use when we are in need. If we are too good to take what is offered, perhaps we are not yet in need (or perhaps our pride is still too great).

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Psalm 106:13-31

    God has done wonderful things for us, but all too often we quickly forget. When things do not continue to go as we would like we quickly turn away and stop obeying God. Much of the time we lack the patience to wait for God to reveal the next phase of His plan. When things go “wrong”, we forget how He used such misfortunes in the past to bring honor to His name and good things to us. Time and again God disciplines us and welcomes us back. Yet we again and again forget what He has done for us.

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Hebrews 8

    The writer pointed to Jeremiah where the prophet declared that God was going to offer a new covenant. He points out that if there were no defects in the first covenant there would have been no need for a new covenant. Jeremiah told us that God would write His laws on our hearts and in our minds. The writer of Hebrews tells us that the new covenant makes the old covenant obsolete. The old covenant is now outdated and will soon disappear. Those to whom that old covenant applies who are faithful to that covenant will be carried over into the new covenant.

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Ezekiel 16:42-17:24

    Ezekiel tells us that Sodom’s sins were pride, gluttony, laziness, and an unwillingness to help the poor and needy. It was for these sins that Sodom was destroyed. Ezekiel prophesied that the Kingdom of Judah far surpassed Sodom when it came to sin. By this account of Sodom’s sins, so has this country.

Daily Bible Study

November 6, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 27:4-6

    Someone who openly tells you what you have done wrong in front of others is better than someone who likes you, but does not let anyone know. It is better to trust a friend who hurts your feelings than an enemy who tells you that all is going as you wish.

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Psalm 106:1-12

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
His faithful love endures forever.

Indeed He is and I will praise Him every day. I am grateful that His love for me will never end, no matter how often I disappoint Him. I believe His promise and will praise His name.

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Hebrews 7:18-28

    The writer compares the old covenant under the old priesthood with the new covenant with the new priesthood. Under the old covenant there were many priests because the priests were limited by death. Ultimately, all of those priests died. Under the new covenant there is only one priest because Jesus is that priest and He lives forever. Therefore His priesthood lasts forever. In addition, under the old covenant the priests had to offer sacrifices every day because they had to first sacrifice for their own sins before they could intercede for the people. Under the new covenant Jesus only had to make one sacrifice for all time because He was sinless.
    Jesus is the kind of high priest which we need because He is unstained by sin. He was tempted as we are, so He understands the challenges we face. However, He was able to resist that temptation, so He can show us how we too can resist that temptation. He has sacrificed Himself once and for all time for our sins. Now He lives to intercede with God on our behalf.

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Ezekiel 14:12-16:41

    God is sending judgment upon the nations of this earth and when it comes, the righteous will be only able to save themselves. Even if Noah and Job were alive today they would be unable to save anyone other than themselves. They would be unable to shield even their own sons and daughters. This is the day that is coming. Let us strive to convince our friends and loved ones to turn to God today so that we will not witness their suffering and be unable to help them.
    And why is this judgment coming? God had raised up Jerusalem and made it a beacon to the nations. He had given its people treasure and luxuries so that they lived a life of beauty and comfort. Rather than praising God and thanking Him for their wealth, they took their wealth and used it to worship idols. Further, they sacrificed the children which God had given them to those idols. Those children belong to God and He will not forget those who sacrifice them on the altar. Our society is guilty of the same sins. God took the people of this nation and built a great nation, but how do we repay Him for His wonderful gifts to us? We offer our wealth on the altar to numerous idols and we sacrifice the children He gave us on the altar of abortion. God’s judgment is coming. There may still be time, but only if all of God’s people who remain stand in the gaps and pray for His Spirit to transform hearts throughout this land and this world. The time is short.

Daily Bible Study

May 10, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 14:34-35

    No nation becomes truly great unless its people are godly. A nation begins its fall from greatness when its leaders start to justify sinful actions on the basis of it being in the nation’s interest. Once that is accepted it is only a matter of time until sinful actions are justified on the basis of it being “in my interest”. Once the people of the nation start accepting sinful actions in their leaders because those actions are in their own interest, the nation is doomed. Godliness is not something that can be imparted by changing the laws. Only the work of the Holy Spirit can change people so that they seek to live a godly life. I do not seek for the United States to be a great nation. I seek for my neighbors to know the Lord, and thus lead godly lives.

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Psalm 106:32-48

    It has been awhile since I saw a theme running through more than one of the passages I read in a day, but today I am doing so with this psalm following the proverb I just finished writing about. The psalmist pointed out how the downfall of the people of Israel resulted from their adopting the evil customs and practices of the pagans among whom they lived. In the same way the downfall of the Church in America has been a result of us adopting the evil customs and practices of the society around us. He speaks of sacrificing their sons and daughters to the demons, something that is all too common in the U.S..
    If the Christians of this nation will not hold themselves to a standard of godly behavior, how can we hope to convince others to come to know the Lord? The issues that matter (abortion, sexual immorality, integrity, etc) are not about the laws of the land. They are about the behavior of individuals. Let us behave in a godly manner, and call those around us to do likewise by our example more than by our words. When we teach and preach against immoral, sinful behavior we should make it clear that we are directing our words to those who are seeking to follow Christ.

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John 6:22-42

    My first thought when I read this was that the theme I found in the proverb and the psalms was not continued here. That is partially true, but there is a related theme here. The people crossed the Sea of Galilee looking for Jesus because He had fed them. When they found Jesus He told them they should be more concerned with spiritual food than with material food.
    All too often we follow leaders who promise to advance our interests in the material world. When we believe that such leaders will deliver on such promises we are often willing to follow them even when their behavior is selfish and advances their interest at the expense of others. Rather than follow such leaders we should follow leaders who sacrifice their own interests in order to advance our spiritual interests. The leaders who we should follow do not offer to give us anything except God’s work to do.

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1 Samuel 8-9:27

    When Samuel got old he appointed his sons as judges over Israel in his place. Unfortunately, rather than follow their father’s example they used their position to advance their own interests and accepted bribes to render judgments. The leaders of Israel decided that the answer was to select a king who would found a dynasty. Rather than a spiritual leader, such as Samuel, who called them to follow God’s commands they wanted a military leader. They no longer wanted their security and material interests to depend on God, which meant remaining faithful to God. They desired a king, a military leader, who would be responsible for their security and material well-being.

Daily Bible Study

May 9, 2015 Bible Study — Will We Feed the Five Thousand?

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 14:32-33

    Wisdom is everywhere to be found if you look for it. Seek advice from those who exhibit good judgment, but if you truly look for wisdom you can even find it among those who act foolishly. No one acts foolishly because they lack access to wisdom, rather they do so because they do not seek the wise course.

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Psalm 106:13-31

    The psalmist points out how quickly people forget what God has done for us. Rather than be thankful for the things God has done, we have a tendency to demand ever more from God. Let us be careful about being demanding. If we refuse to be content with what He chooses to give us He may give us what we ask for rather than what He knows is best for us. Oh Lord God, may my prayer always be, “not my will, but thine.”

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John 6:1-21

    In John’s account of the feeding of the five thousand Philip and Andrew are the prime players among the disciples. It is Philip who wonders how they can possibly afford to buy food for that many people. It is Andrew who presents the boy with the bread and fish, but he does not see what good that will do them. The point of this passage is that when God calls us to a task, He will provide us with the means to accomplish it, even if it seems well beyond our means. Jesus took five loaves of bread and two loaves of fish and began feeding a crowd of five thousand. Not only was there enough food that everyone was satisfied, but there was more left over than what He began with.

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1 Samuel 5-7:17

    I have always loved the story of what happened after the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant. They took the Ark and placed it to indicate that Dagon was more powerful than the God of Israel. There was logic in this. They had just one a great victory over an Israeli army and captured the Ark, which was the symbol of God’s presence. God quickly demonstrated that they had misunderstood what their victory meant. The Israelites surely heard the stories of what happened and how and why the Philistines returned the Ark. Yet it was twenty more years before they were ready to turn away from the pagan gods and back to God.
    Twenty years after the return of the Ark, Samuel led a revival in Israel. He called on the people of Israel to turn from their worship of idols and return to worshiping God wholeheartedly. The Israelites gathered to rededicate themselves to worshiping and serving God. The Philistines gathered their armies and attacked them. It was not the Israelites superior military which won the day. It was the hand of God which disrupted the Philistine army. What happened here is what happens every time God’s people dedicate themselves to serving Him rather than seeking to advance their own interests. God rises up and strikes down those who choose to be His enemies by attacking His people. This is why I do not get down and depressed when I look at the events of the world today. All it will take to turn things to a more positive direction is for God’s people to rededicate themselves to serving Him with all of their hearts, minds, and strength.

Daily Bible Study

May 08, 2015 Bible Study — Jesus Is the Route To Eternal Life

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I hope those of you who regularly read my blog are not getting tired of pictures of flowers and of Magrat (my cat), because there are a lot more to come.

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Proverbs 14:30-31

    The first of these proverbs reminds us that those who forgive those around them and are at peace with themselves live healthier lives than those who allow themselves to be filled with bitterness and envy.
    The second proverb tells us one side of this. Those who oppress the poor hold God in contempt and those who help the poor honour God. There is another side to this. No matter what they claim, those who hold God in contempt will oppress the poor. when all is said and done, only those who honour God truly help the poor.

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Psalm 106:1-12

Praise the Lord!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.

Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord?
Who can ever praise him enough?


That sums up this psalm for me.

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John 5:24-47

    I struggled this morning with what to write about this passage. I am not sure how to phrase the message which this passage conveys to me, but here goes. The two pieces of this passage do indeed go together. Jesus tells us that those who listen to His message and believe in God have eternal life. When Jesus says this He means more than just hear the words and acknowledge the existence of God. He is referring to those whose behavior is different because they heard His message and believe in God who sent Him. If hearing Jesus’ message does not change our behavior, we have not truly listened.
    Then Jesus talks about the other ways we might hear how to receive eternal life. I believe that what He is talking about is the other ways people talk about when they say that there is more than one way to God (or Heaven, or eternal life). He is telling us that they are not wrong, well, not exactly. What He tells us here is that anyone who truly listens to what those other ways teach will be directed to Him. God will speak to some people by a means other than the New Testament, or Christians, but if those people listen to His message they will be led to Christ. It does not matter if God speaks to them directly, or through the writings of some other religious teacher. There are indeed directions towards God’s gift of eternal life in all of the religious teachings of this world. However, those who refuse to believe in Jesus will never hear the full message. There is a difference between those who refuse and those who have never heard that portion of the message.

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1 Samuel 2:22-4:22

    We are told in this passage that Eli confronted his sons about their sins, but they would not listen to him. It is clear from both how Samuel turned out and the advice which Eli gave Samuel when God called to him that Eli served God in the way he lived his life. Yet he failed to serve God in the way he raised his sons. Eli failed to discipline his sons. He was satisfied to tell them that what they were doing was wrong.

Daily Bible Study

November 8, 2014 Bible Study — God Does Not Want the Wicked to Die

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have been convicted to seek to develop a disciplined prayer life. It is still a work in progress. Please pray for me, that the Holy Spirit may show me how to pray in a disciplined manner.

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Proverbs 27:10

    Never abandon a friend, either your own or of your father. Maintain the friendships which you have inherited and those which you have made. You may need those friends one day when you are far from your family. When trouble strikes it is better to have a friend close by than a brother far away.

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Psalm 106:32-48

    Time and again the people of Israel sinned against God, going so far as to sacrifice their children to idols. As a result of their sins they suffered tragedy followed by disaster. Yet God is a loving God and when they cried out to Him, He came to their rescue. Even today, despite all of our society’s sins, if people will turn to God, He will gather them to Him. Let us praise His holy name and rejoice in the wonders of His love.
    I remember that when I was young I was horrified at the thought that parents could kill their children as sacrifices to pagan gods. I could not imagine how any parent could do such a thing. I learned about abortion. At first I did not make the connection, but as I read the Bible time and again, I cannot help but see the parallels between the horrific acts of those who would kill their own children as sacrifices to appease an angry god and those who would kill their children just so that they would not be inconvenienced by them.

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Hebrews 9:1-10

    Under the covenant which God established through Moses, only the high priest could enter into the presence of God, into the Most Holy Place. And he could do that only once a year after offering blood sacrifice for his own sins and those of the people. All of this shows the limitations of the old covenant. Under the old covenant, we were still separated from God and only an intermediary could enter into His presence, and then, only after offering a sacrifice before each occasion. The sacrifices given were imperfect and thus did not have lasting effect. This system was established to show us the need for a better way.

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Ezekiel 18-19:14

    Ezekiel tells us that God does not hold the children accountable for the sins of their parents, nor will He give the children credit for the righteous behavior of their parents. The righteous will be rewarded for their own righteous behavior and the wicked will be punished for their own wicked behavior. God does not wish to see the wicked die. He wishes to see them turn from their sins and live.
    This passage is perhaps the clearest statement in the Bible that wicked behavior leads to death because that is the consequence of wicked behavior, not because God wishes to punish people for doing other than what He commands. God gets angry when we are wicked because He loves us. He knows that our wickedness will have consequences which harm us and does not wish to see us suffer those consequences.

Daily Bible Study

November 7, 2014 Bible Study — God Will Put His Laws In Our Minds

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have been convicted to seek to develop a disciplined prayer life. It is still a work in progress. Please pray for me, that the Holy Spirit may show me how to pray in a disciplined manner.

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Proverbs 27:7-9

    Someone who is full will turn down the most desirable sweet, but someone who is hungry will gobble down food that they otherwise would turn their nose up at. There is great pleasure in receiving sincere advice from someone who cares about us.

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Psalm 106:13-31

    God did great things for the people of Israel, yet time after time they turned from Him to worship idols. They were not satisfied with the provisions God had made for them and demanded more. God granted their desires, but plague came with it. They rebelled against the leaders whom God had given them and suffered for it. The psalmist recounts the other ways in which they refused to obey God. How many of those same sins are we guilty of? How often have we suffered the consequences of not obeying God’s will?

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Hebrews 8:1-13

    Our places of worship here on earth are mere copies of the Temple of God in heaven. Jesus is our high priest in that heavenly Temple. Just as the Temple where Jesus ministers is greater than the earthly Temple, so too is the covenant He established than the one established the high priests of the order of Aaron. Under the old covenant the priests read the law to the people and interpreted it for them so that they would know what God expected of them. Under the new covenant, God will place His law in our minds and write it on our hearts. He will send His Holy Spirit to whisper His commands into our ears. We do not need teachers because we know God and He will speak to us directly.
    The message here is not that we should not listen to those whom God has sent to teach us His ways. Rather the message here is that we should not elevate those teachers. It is important that we recognize that the Holy Spirit will speak to each and every one of us. If a teacher we respect starts teaching something which we find troublesome, we are not to just accept it, but to study what they are saying, compare it to the Scripture, and listen to what the Holy Spirit tells us about the teaching in question. We should neither hold someone as an authority who cannot be questioned, nor ask others to so hold us. We each must judge for ourselves whether a teaching is, or is not, of God.

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Ezekiel 16:42-17:24

    Ezekiel tells us that Sodom was wiped out for the sins of pride, gluttony, and laziness, all while the poor and needy suffered outside her door. The people of Sodom lived a life of wealth and did not help the poor and needy. For this sin, Ezekiel tells us, Sodom was destroyed. I am not positive that Ezekiel is referring to the Sodom of “Sodom and Gomorrah”. That is not his point. His point was that God will destroy those who indulge themselves while refusing to help those who are poor and needy. Are we looking for how we can help the poor and needy outside our “door”?

Daily Bible Study

November 6, 2014 Bible Study — Jesus Is the Only Intermediary We Need

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have been convicted to seek to develop a disciplined prayer life. It is still a work in progress. Please pray for me, that the Holy Spirit may show me how to pray in a disciplined manner.

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Proverbs 27:4-6

    Someone who is willing to openly rebuke you for you actions is preferable than someone who loves you, but hides it. Those who care for you may hurt your feelings by what they say and do, but they will do so in an attempt to help you become a better person. In the meantime, your enemies will tell you that your mistakes are triumphs.

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Psalm 106:1-12

    Let us praise the Lord with all that we are. No one can praise the Lord as much as He deserves. It is not possible to declare all the wonderful things He has done for us. Let us not think that we are better than the Israelites who rebelled against the Lord in the desert. We too have sinned against Him. And just as God saved the Israelites despite their sins, so He has rescued us. After God repeatedly saved them from the consequences of their rebellion against Him, only then did they finally sing His praises and worship only Him. Let us remember the great things the Lord has done for us and praise His name.

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Hebrews 7:18-28

    Under the old order priests had to offer sacrifices daily for the sins of both themselves and the people. Jesus offered Himself up as a sacrifice once. In addition, the priests under the old order died and new priests needed to be appointed to take their place. Jesus lives forever and therefore is able to intercede for who come to God through Him for all time. There will never be a need for another high priest to take His place.
    Under the old system, there was a class of people set up to be intermediaries between man and God. In order to approach God, people needed to go through these intermediaries. Under Jesus, our intermediary is God. We do not need anyone else to intercede with God for us. We can approach Him directly.

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Ezekiel 14:12-16:41

    Ezekiel warns that a day of judgement is coming when even the most righteous of people will only be able to save themselves. A day when even if the most righteous people of history were to intercede and pray on behalf of a sinner, it would not be enough. The sinner will still face judgement for their sins. If you have met those who suffer such judgement, you will understand their great wickedness and it will make you feel less bad about the suffering they experience.
    Ezekiel talks about how God lifted up the people of Judah and made them prosperous. Yet despite all that God had done for them, they turned away from Him and worshiped idols. I see this on the land around me. The people think that their beauty, fame, and wealth is theirs. They fail to remember that it was all a gift from God. They use the gifts God has given them to set up shrines and make offerings to other gods. All of this arouses God’s anger. But the final straw, the thing which He must bring judgement against, is when they offer their children as sacrifices to those gods. Whenever I read in the Old Testament about the people offering their children as sacrifices, I feel conviction regarding the issue of abortion. The people of our society offer their children as sacrifices on the altar of convenience and argue that it is their right and prerogative. If our society does not turn from this great sin God is going to bring a great judgement against this people, just as He did Judah and Jerusalem. He will not allow to stand a people who sacrifice their children on the altar to their god. Passages such as this are also a judgement on Muslim societies which sacrifice their children as suicide bombers.

Daily Bible Study

May 10, 2014 Bible Study — “I Will Never Reject Them”

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 14:34-35

    There are two ways to read the first of today’s proverbs, both are correct. It can be read to mean that a nation will become great if its people and government act in a godly fashion. There is truth to this. However, it can also be read to mean that the true measure of whether a nation is great is the degree which its people and government act in a godly way. This is definitely true. Let us not seek for our nation to wield power in the world. Rather, let us seek for the people of our nation to act in a godly fashion. If the people act in a godly way, the government will follow.

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Psalm 106:32-48

    The psalm recounts how the people of Israel, time after time, rebelled against God and did evil. The part that strikes me as standing in judgement against us today is this:

They even sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to the demons.
They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters.

It makes me want to cry to consider the degree to which people of our nation do the same through the practice of abortion. Killing their sons and daughters on the altar of convenience.

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John 6:22-42

    Jesus told us that we should spend our energy seeking after the things of God, rather than seeking after food which perishes. When the crowd asked Him what to do in order to perform God’s works, Jesus told them to believe in the one God sent. In response the crowd wanted Jesus to perform yet another miraculous sign. This was despite having witnessed Him feeding the 5,000 the day before and the fact that Jesus crossed the lake ahead of them without getting on a boat. They gave Jesus the example of Moses giving the people of Israel manna in the wilderness. Jesus pointed out that it was not Moses who gave the manna, but rather God who did so.
    Those who come to Jesus will receive the bread of life, which is Jesus Himself. God will give those who truly seek Him to Jesus and Jesus promises that He will never reject any who come to Him truly seeking to serve God. Let us expend our energy seeking the bread of life. Let us believe in Jesus and act on that belief. He will never reject us. Others may reject us and hold us in contempt, but Jesus will never do so.

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1 Samuel 8-9:27

    As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to act as judges over Israel. His sons, like those of Eli before him, were corrupt and used their position for their own benefit. Samuel’s sons served themselves rather than serving the people of Israel. I had never noticed before, but Samuel was no better of a father to his sons than Eli had been to his sons before him. It was Samuel’s failure to raise godly sons to follow after him which led the people of Israel to ask for a king. This story is such a classic example of people taking the wrong lesson from their experiences. What made the people of Israel think that a king would have a son who would make a good successor when their last two leaders had sons who abused their authority?