Tag Archives: Religion

Daily Bible Study

September 18, 2022 Bible Study — Do Not Pray Because You Think You Are Righteous

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  Daniel 9-10.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

When Daniel realized that the time which Jeremiah had prophesied for Jerusalem to be desolate was coming to an end he began praying to God.  Daniel starts his prayer by praising God and by acknowledging that the punishment which God had meted out was deserved.  Only after confessing the sins of his people does Daniel beg forgiveness and restoration.  Then he makes a point which we must understand and internalize: Daniel does not ask God to restore them because of their righteousness.  He asks God to restore them because of God’s mercy.  In the same way, we need to recognize that we do not deserve the blessings we receive from God.  When we request things from God in prayer, we do not deserve to receive those things because of our righteousness, not even the things which we request for others.  No, our only basis for expecting God to answer our prayers is His goodness and mercy.

 

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 17, 2022 Bible Study — Daniel Predicts That One “Like A Human Being” Will Be Given Sovereign Power Over The Earth

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  Daniel 7-8.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

Today’s passage contains Daniel’s vision of four beasts and his vision of the ram and the goat.  Traditionally, the four beasts are understood to be the same empires as those in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream which Daniel interpreted at the beginning of this book.  According to that interpretation, the beast like a lion is Babylon, the beast like a bear is Persia, the beast like a leopard with four heads is the Greek empire(s) established by Alexander, and the fourth beast would be the Roman empire (there is some debate about the fourth empire).  I am not convinced of this interpretation because when the fourth beast is slain and destroyed the other three are allowed to live for some time after that. It reads to me as if all four beasts existed at the same time.  I am not sure that the traditional interpretation is not correct, it just seems to me that it misses something.  I cannot, however, come up with a better interpretation.  What I do see in this vision is that someone who was “like a human being” (see translation notes) came before the throne of the Ancient of Days and was given authority and power over all of the earth in place of the four beasts.  I read the wording of the vision to suggest that the four beasts had incomplete authority over the earth, but that the One who was to come would have, does have, complete authority.  The various governments which arise over different parts of the world have authority for a time, but that authority is limited in scope.  While Jesus has authority for eternity and His authority is not limited in scope.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 16, 2022 Bible Study — God Has Numbered Our Days. Will He Find Us Wanting When He Brings Them To An End?

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  Daniel 5-6.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

There are many things we can learn from the story about the writing on the wall.  First, by the time you see the writing on the wall, let alone read it, it is too late.  Which brings me to the message.  In some ways that message is for all of us, at least the first part.  God has numbered our days, and while He may not yet have done so, He will bring them to an end.  And God is weighing us on His scales, if we rely on ourselves we will be found wanting.  When God weighs us on His scales only if we put our trust in Jesus will we not be found wanting.  Only by putting our faith in Him and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us will God’s scales balance in our favor. But do not wait until you can read the writing on the wall, because then it will be too late.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 15, 2022 Bible Study — The God We Serve Is Able To Deliver Us

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  Daniel 3-4.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

When Nebuchadnezzar made his gold statue and set up the ceremony for everyone to bow down to it, I think he imagined it as a unifying event which could help unify all of the peoples of his empire.  For Nebuchadnezzar this ceremony was political, not religious.  Nebuchadnezzar did not care if Jews worshiped God, as long as their first loyalty was to himself.  Thus the nature of his threat, “what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”  Actually, this same attitude is what got Nebuchadnezzar in trouble in chapter 4 after his second dream.  In both cases, Nebuchadnezzar came to believe that no power could stand between him and his desires.  Returning to the story about the gold statue, those who reported Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did so in order to gain political power.  Which brings us to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  For them, this had nothing to do with politics, not because they were unaware of the politics involved, but because their worship of God outweighed, for them, the political implications of their actions.  They believed that God could, and would, rescue them from Nebuchadnezzar’s hand, but if God chose not to rescue them, they would serve no other god.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 14, 2022 Bible Study — Ask God For The Answer To Unsolvable Riddles, And Give Him The Credit When We Receive The Answer

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  Daniel 1-2.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

We often focus on Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.  However, today I am going to look at a few other things about that.  The first thing I would like to note is that Nebuchadnezzar’s request that his wise men interpret his dream without him telling them what the dream was suggests that Nebuchadnezzar had become skeptical of the mystical powers his wise men claimed.  When Daniel comes before the king, he denies having any mystical power and credits his interpretation entirely to God.  My understanding of what Daniel said was that anyone who put their faith in God could request what God had given Daniel and have an equal chance with Daniel of receiving the answer.  In considering this we should look at what Daniel did when he realized the danger he, and his friends, were in because of Nebuchadnezzar’s skepticism regarding his wise men.  Daniel went to his friends and asked them to pray, pleading with God for mercy.  Daniel himself then spent the night in prayer until God revealed the answer to him.  At that point Daniel thanked and praised God.  Additionally, when Daniel appeared before Nebuchadnezzar, he insisted that the credit for the interpretation belonged to God, not to himself.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 13, 2022 Bible Study — The People Were To Leave The Temple Through The Opposite Gate From Which They Entered

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 46-48.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

Every year I come to this passage and feel like there is a lesson here for us that I am not seeing.  Today, I am going to focus on the things which struck me as significant, even though I do not understand their significance.  First, the gateways to the temple.  Ezekiel says that the eastern gate will only be opened on Sabbath days and New Moon festivals.  Only the prince will be allowed to enter by that gate and he will worship and offer his sacrifices in the threshold to that gate, then depart the way he came.  Every one else is to enter either the northern gate or the southern gate and they are to exit through the opposite gate of the one they entered.  As I read this it seems deeply significant, but I have no idea why it should be.  I have looked up what a few other people have written concerning this passage.  While I find what they have to say to accurately reflect how God wants us to live, I am unconvinced that this passage was intended to teach us those lessons.  That is, if those lessons were not taught elsewhere in the Bible, I doubt that you would learn them from reading this passage.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 12, 2022 Bible Study — Believers Should Not Call On Unbelievers To Carry Out Our Duties To God And Our Fellow Man

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 44-45.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

Usually, when I read this passage I do not know what to make of it.  My understanding of the New Testament says that Jesus has expanded the priesthood to all Believers, which diminishes the significance of chapter 44, and eliminated the sacrifices by sacrificing Himself, which diminishes the significance of chapter 45.  However, today I was struck by the way in which Ezekiel condemned the people of Israel as he begins his prophecy concerning the restored temple.  Once more Ezekiel condemns them for doing detestable things.  This time he also condemns them for failing to carry out their duties regarding God’s holy things.  Instead, they brought in outsiders, people who did not worship God at all, to take care of these things.  To me this sounds like a condemnation of those who outsource God’s command to care for our neighbor to the government, or some secular charity, instead of working with our fellow Believers to provide that care.  Ezekiel writes of the Israelites putting those who were uncircumcised in both flesh and heart in charge of God’s temple.  In much the same way, many Believers today  seek ever more government programs to help those who are unable to care for themselves rather than seeking for the Church to step up and implement solutions.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

Sept 11, 2022 Bible Study — Separating The Common From The Holy

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 41-43.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

In today’s passage Ezekiel gives a detailed description of the Temple he saw in his vision of the restored Jerusalem.  Every time I read this I wonder if the description is intended to be purely symbolic, or if it was a model the people of Israel were supposed to follow.  However, today I was struck by the focus on separating the holy from the common.  The description contains special rooms where the priestly share of the sacrifices was to be stored, cooked, and eaten within the holy portion of this temple.  The priests were to wear special garments while they were within the holy portion of the temple, changing into other clothing before they went out among the common people.  Today’s entire passage seems to emphasize the importance of marking a separation between the holy and the ordinary.  For the first time I start to see a connection between this passage and how God wants us to live.  But I do not quite know how to reconcile that separation and what I believe about Jesus bringing us into the presence of God without the need for priestly intermediaries aside from Himself.  Still, I praise God for finally showing me how this passage speaks to us today, even though I do not yet understand that message.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 10, 2022 Bible Study — Sometimes God’s Message To Us In A Passage Is Not The Same As God’s Message In The Passage

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 39-40.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

The description Ezekiel gives here about the war against Gog, ruler of Magog, is difficult to interpret.  First we need to understand what purpose God intended this prophecy to serve.  It seems to me that God intended this prophecy to inspire hope among the people of Israel when they faced the prospect of being wiped out.  But God also intended to remind its readers that He has, and will again, displayed His power in this world in ways which make it hard for people of good faith to deny Him.  And perhaps that is where I am meant to go with this today.  In the passage we are told that after this battle the Israelites will spend seven months cleaning up the bodies of Gog’s army and that the arms and armaments of God’s army will provide them with fuel for seven years.  In the same way we may experience times in our life where God displays His power to us in such a way that from that time forward we will know God and understand His power.  We may spend months cleaning up the debris of our “enemies” who God destroyed when we thought all was lost, and then years living off of the “loot” they left behind.  I use quotes around enemies and loot here because I am using those words very figuratively here.  In this context, “enemies” may be people, groups, or, perhaps just situations, which interfere with us living as God intended: things which attempt to destroy us and/or our faith.  And, also in this context, “loot” can be anything which provides us with energy and/or motivation to do God’s good work.

Do I believe the above has anything to do with what Ezekiel was getting at?  Not really, but I do believe that things like what I wrote will happen in the lives of those who trust in God, and it was this passage in Ezekiel which inspired me to think about that.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 9, 2022 Bible Study — God Can Turn Even Dead, Dry Bones Into Vibrant Servants For Him

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezekiel 37-38.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

I really like the prophecy of the valley of dry bones.  It reminds me of the congregations I have known over the years which seemed like they were as good as dead.  The membership had shrunk, and for the most part gotten old.  No one really thought they would ever grow again, and those still attending were doing so because finding a new congregation was too much work.  Usually, the larger Church body they were part of was just waiting for enough members to die off that they could close it.  This prophecy reminds us that thinking that way is a mistake.  Certainly, most of those congregations eventually ran their course, or will run their course, and closed, but if God wishes He will breathe new life into them and revive them.  If you are part of such a congregation, or, if you even just know of one, pray that God will do just that.  That He will breathe His Spirit into those who still attend that congregation and light them on fire for Him.  Pray that God will breath new life into those dull, moribund congregations so that they will be light in the darkness.  However, let us not forget what comes before God breathing new life into them.  First, He pulls the bones together, then attaches tendons and muscles to those bones, finally, He covers this new flesh with skin to protect it from the elements.  Only then does God breathe life into what was dead, dry bones.  The same is true of individual people as well.  God may breathe His Spirit into someone who has become tired and “dried up”, so that His energy and light flows through them once more.  Let us pray that God pours His Spirit out onto the Church in this country, and throughout the world, so that it becomes the army He intends it to be to transform society around us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.