August 1, 2013 Bible Study — Accept One Another

July 31, 2013 AttilaDimedici

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 Chronicles 30-31:21

Hezekiah decided to invite all of the people of Israel to celebrate the Passover at the restored Temple. They were unable to celebrate the Passover at the time set forth in the Law of Moses because not enough priests were able to get purified in time. So, Hezekiah, his officials and the entire community of Jerusalem decided to celebrate the Passover a month late. Hezekiah sent messengers throughout land of Israel, both the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel, asking the people to return to the Lord and come celebrate the Passover. Most of the people of the Northern Kingdom made fun of Hezekiah’s messengers. However, there were a few who responded to the message and went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.
The people of the Kingdom of Judah, on the other hand, responded enthusiastically. As a result, when they celebrated the Passover a large crowd had gathered in Jerusalem. Many of the people had not purified themselves properly, so the Levites sacrificed their Passover lambs for them. In particular, most of those from the Northern Kingdom had not purified themselves. Hezekiah prayed to God asking that He pardon those who had come to resume following Him without properly purifying themselves. The decision was made to allow those who were not properly purified to eat the Passover lamb anyway. The passage tells us that God honored Hezekiah’s prayer and the desire of the people to worship Him and blessed the people who came to partake in the Passover.

***
     This passage shows us that even here, under the Law, God honored those who sought Him and desired to be made right with Him. God invites us to come as we are, with our sins and imperfections. If we truly strive to follow and obey Him, He will bless us and purify us by His wondrous power. We do not need to purify ourselves before we come to God. Which is a good thing because we are not truly capable of doing so. It is only by the action of God’s Spirit and through the blood of Christ that we are able to be purified enough to approach God.
***
     When the people returned to their homes after the Passover, they destroyed the Asherah poles and removed the shrines and altars to pagan gods. Even the people from the Northern Kingdom did this upon their return home (although the passage suggests that many of them remained in the Kingdom of Judah). The people responded enthusiastically to Hezekiah’s religious reforms.
     Hezekiah assigned the priests to work full-time offering sacrifices and leading worship in the Temple. He sent out word that the people of Jerusalem were to bring a portion of their goods to the priests and Levites so that they would not need to stop caring for the Temple to care for themselves. When the people of Israel heard of this proclamation, they began to enthusiastically bring goods for the Temple workers even though Hezekiah’s edict only extended to the people of Jerusalem.
***
     I am praying for a revival today like the one experienced under Hezekiah, but not only in Judah, or Israel, but throughout the entire planet. I am striving to pray every day for the Holy Spirit to rain down on the earth and open the flood gates into people’s hearts.

Romans 15:1-22

Continuing on his theme from yesterday, Paul tells those of us who are strong in faith that we should bear with those who have weaker faith. In the context of yesterday’s passage, I would interpret this to mean that if we believe that some behavior is OK, but our fellow believer believes it to be a sin, we should not try to convince them to do that behavior, nor should we practice that behavior in front of them. Of course, the way Paul phrases his instruction raises the question as to who has the stronger faith? Well, the answer should be, since we should defer to those whose faith is stronger than our own on matters of faith, that if we think that someone else is mistaken in a matter of faith we must be the one whose faith is stronger and we are the one under obligation to bear with their failings of faith (of course, the same logic applies to the other party as well). Paul concludes this teaching by telling us that as followers of Christ we should live in harmony with our fellow believers. Our goal as Christians is to join together with one voice to praise God and bring glory to His name.
Paul concludes the teaching part of his letter by saying that he is confident that the readers of his letter are filled with knowledge and perfectly capable of teaching one another the Truths of God. He is merely writing to cover a few points which he considers worthy of special emphasis. He notes that his authority to make this emphasis is because God has appointed him as an apostle to the Gentiles. Paul tells us that while he is enthusiastic about what God has done through him, he does not want any special praise himself. Rather, we should praise God for what He has done.

***
As I write these blogs, I try very hard to remember to give all credit to God. If by some chance, someone reading this is blessed by what I have written, then praise God. That is not of any credit to me. While I believe myself to be a moderately good writer, even that skill is merely a gift which God has given me. Indeed, I have found that when I make an effort to do something to make my blog something special are the days when I get the fewest hits. Instead, it is the days when I struggle with getting my thoughts to be coherent that are the days when God brings more people to read what I have written (not that even on the best days is my audience size anything to brag about). I would love to have a large audience for my writings, but I know full well that if that were to happen it would be because God has chosen to work through my writings in that manner, not because I am such a gifted writer.
I am tempted to take that last paragraph out because as I re-read it it sounds like I am denigrating my ability as a writer and that would be incorrect. I think that I am a talented writer (please do not tell me if you disagree…or even if you agree). My point is that no matter how talented a writer I may be, that talent itself comes from God AND I will only gather a large following for my writing if God chooses to guide people to them. All-in-all my goal with this writing is to bring glory to God and gain a more in depth understanding of the Bible by attempting to share what God reveals to me in my writing.

Another view of the butterfly on the butterfly bush

Psalm 25:1-15

Once again the psalm starts with a statement I want to live my life by (NIV):

In you, Lord my God,
I put my trust.
I fully believe that no one who trusts in God will ever be put to shame. He will show me the path I should follow. God is a friend to those who fear Him and will guide them in the path that leads to life. He will guide me to do right as long as I remain humble and contrite, for whenever I lose my humility I sin. If I can keep my eyes on the Lord, I will not go wrong again (keeping my eyes on the Lord is a challenge for me).

Proverbs 20:13-15

Those who sleep when there is work to be done will find themselves in poverty, but if we spend our time looking for the things that need to be done, we will have plenty. Someone haggling over price will talk down what they are buying, then brag about how great it is once they have bought it. Wealth is more readily found and obtained than knowledge and wisdom.

***

Daily Bible Study

July 31, 2013 Bible Study — The Earth Is the Lord’s

July 30, 2013 AttilaDimedici

2 Chronicles 29:1-36

Hezekiah succeeded his father Ahaz on the throne. His first act was to reopen the Temple and repair its doors. He summoned the priests and Levites and instructed them to purify themselves. He asked them to cleanse the Temple and resume the worship of God there. Hezekiah determined to restore the worship of God in the Kingdom of Judah. It took the priests and Levites sixteen days to clean and purify the Temple. At the end of that time they reported to Hezekiah that the Temple was ready for people to resume worshiping in it.
The following morning Hezekiah summoned the city officials and went to the Temple to worship the Lord. Hezekiah and the city officials brought animals to sacrifice as sin offerings for both themselves and the people of the kingdom. Hezekiah commanded the priests to sacrifice the animals as sin offerings for all of the people of Israel. As the offerings were being presented to the Lord, Hezekiah instructed the Levites to lead the people in songs of worship. When the priests were done sacrificing the animals which he had brought, Hezekiah told the people that now that they were consecrated they could bring their sacrifices and thank offerings. The people responded by bringing so many animals as sacrifices that there were not sufficient priests to prepare all of the animals for sacrifice. So, the Levites helped prepare the animals for sacrifice.

Romans 14:1-23

Paul tells us to accept those who are weak in faith. He instructs us to avoid quarreling over disputable matters. Paul gives us a couple of examples of things we should not argue over. He tells us that some people believe that it is OK to eat anything, while others believe that Christians should eat only vegetables. Paul states that no matter which side of that debate you find yourself on, you should not only not condemn those on the other side, but you should remember that they are honoring the Lord as they practice the position they are taking. Another issue that Paul brings up is that some people believe that we should worship God on a particular day, while others hold that it does not matter what day we choose to worship God since we should worship God every day (Paul was probably referring to a debate over keeping the Sabbath). Paul tells us that we should not condemn another believer over issues such as this. It is up to us to judge our fellow believers, we should leave that up to God (although we need to remember that Paul was not saying we should ignore all types of sin. I will discuss the other side of this when I cover the passage where he talks about it in Corinthians).
Paul continues by saying that he is convinced that there is no food that it is wrong to eat. However, if someone else believes that it is wrong to eat something, than it is a sin for them to eat it. He tells us that we should not encourage someone to do something which they believe to be a sin. If we do we are causing them to sin.

***
In this passage Paul addresses both sides and says that they should not be judgmental of those who feel differently. However, it appears to me that he puts the greater burden on those who feel that things are not a sin than on those who think that they are. He tells those who think that eating meat is not a sin that, if by eating meat they might cause someone who believed it wrong to stumble in their faith, they should not eat meat. My reading of this is that those who believe that certain activities are not sin are under obligation to avoid pushing that belief on those who believe those activities are sin.

Psalm 24:1-10

I read this psalm and the opening verse really struck me. Not as something new, but just as the theme for me today.

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to him.
Everything and everyone on this earth belong to God. I have nothing that does not belong to God. He is merely allowing me to use it. I need to treat this earth like it belongs to someone else, someone who will hold me accountable for any damage I may do to it. But more than that, I need to remember that every person on the face of the earth, no matter what I may think of them, belongs to God. I should treat them with the respect that a servant of God deserves, even if they are not willingly doing so. It is up to God to mete out any punishment that may be due, not me.

Proverbs 20:12

God has given us ears to hear, so we should listen to what God has to say. He has given us eyes to see, so we should actually look at what is in front of us. God has given us the gift to judge for ourselves what we hear and what we see.

***

Daily Bible Study

July 30, 2013 Bible Study — The Lord Is My Shepherd

July 29, 2013 AttilaDimedici

2 Chronicles 26-28:27

     Upon the death of Amaziah, his sixteen year old son, Uzziah, was made king. Uzziah did what was pleasing in God’s sight. The passage tells us that he continued to seek God during the days of Zechariah and that as long as he sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success. Uzziah became very powerful, conquering the Philistines and collecting tribute from other neighboring peoples. However, at the height of his power, he became proud and entered the Temple in order to burn incense on the incense altar, in violation of the Law of Moses which stated that only priests should do that. When some of the priests confronted Uzziah over this, he became furious. However, while he was raging at the priests, leprosy (the word used here refers to multiple skin disorders, not just the disease we apply the word leprosy to today) broke out on his forehead. The priests who saw this hurried Uzziah out of the Temple because of his leprous outbreak. Uzziah himself hurried out of the Temple because the Lord had struck him with leprosy. Uzziah lived out his life quarantined in a separate house and his son Jotham became regent for him until his death. Jotham became king after the death of Uzziah and followed his father’s example (except for the part about entering the Temple to offer incense). Jotham was careful to live in obedience to God and became a powerful king as a result.
     Upon Jotham’s death, his son, Ahaz, succeeded him on the throne. Ahaz did not follow his father’s and his grandfather’s example. Rather he made images for the worship of Baal and burned his own sons in the sacrificial fires. He suffered defeat at the hands of the king of Aram, who took many of the people of Judah captive. A warrior chief from the Northern Tribes raided Judah and took a large number of people captive, intending to make them slaves. However, a prophet confronted the force as it returned from battle and told them that God would judge them harshly for enslaving people of Judah. When other leaders of the Northern Tribes heard the prophet’s words, they insisted that the army release the captives. The army turned the captives and the plunder they had taken with them over to those leaders. The leaders used the plunder to care for and clothe the captives and returned them to their relatives at Jericho.
     The Philistines and the people of Edom raided Judah during the reign of Ahaz, but he did not turn to God for help. He took up worship of the gods of Aram and sealed the Temple so that no one could worship there. He attempted to make a treaty with the king of Assyria for assistance against his enemies, but the king of Assyria instead attacked him and took tribute from him. Ahaz worshiped pagan gods and encouraged the people of Judah to do the same.

Romans 13:1-14

Paul tells us in today’s passage that we as Christians should submit to the governing authorities because all authority comes from God. Everyone in a position of authority is placed there by God. God has ordained government to punish those who do what is wrong. We are to pay our taxes as part of that submission to government authority. Paul instructs us to pay taxes to those to whom taxes are due, fees to those to whom fees are due, respect to those to whom respect is due, and honor to those to whom honor is due.

***
This is a very difficult passage to reconcile with the evil behavior often exhibited by government officials. However, the governing authorities of Paul’s day were every bit as evil as any that we experience today, so we cannot say that he did not understand the potential for evil among government officials. I look at this passage and consider it in light of when Jesus said, “Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s.” In addition, Paul here tells us that God created government in order to punish those who do wrong. This leads me to conclude that I am to be subject to those instructions from the government which fall into the government’s purview of passing edicts against doing what is wrong, but that I should never obey it when it exceeds that authority and declares as wrong things which God has declared to be right…or demands behavior which God has declared to be wrong.
***
Paul continues on from his discussion of giving what we owe to those to whom we owe it, whether that be money, respect, or honor by telling us that we should owe no one anything. That is we should give everyone what they are due when they are due it. He then says that the only ongoing obligation we should have is the obligation to love one another. Paul echoes what Jesus said when he tells us that all other laws follow from the one which states “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If we love others, we will do no wrong to others. This means that if we truly love others, we will fulfill all of God’s other commands.

Psalm 23:1-6

Today’s psalm is one of the most familiar passages in the Bible. Even those who have never opened the Bible have at least a passing awareness of it. As a result of that familiarity, I sometimes forget why it is so familiar, because it tells us some great basic truths about God’s love for us. It starts out by telling us:

The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
It goes on to tell us that God will guide on us the right paths. So that even when we go through a valley where we cannot see what threats might lurk in the darkness, we need have no fear because God is right beside us to protect us and to comfort us. But God’s love for us goes beyond that. The psalmist tells us that God will honor us with a feast in front of those who wish us harm, who are are enemies. God’s goodness and love will follow us all of the days of our lives. This is a wonderful and beautiful psalm.

Proverbs 20:11

If we judge even children by their behavior, whether they are good kids or not (and we do), how much more can we who are grown adults be judged by our actions?

Daily Bible Study

July 29, 2013 Bible Study — If Your Enemies Are Hungry, Feed Them

July 28, 2013 AttilaDimedici

2 Chronicles 24-25:28

     As long as his uncle, Jehoiada, the man who had raised him, was alive, Joash followed the Lord faithfully. He ordered the Levites to collect the offerings required by the law and use those funds to repair the Temple. When the Levites failed to follow through, Joash ordered a chest made and placed at the entrance to the Temple. He then sent word throughout the land that people were to bring their offering to the Temple and place it in the chest, rather than give it to the Levites visiting their town. When the chest was full, it was brought to Joash’s officials who emptied it and tallied how much had been collected. Once a large amount had been collected, Joash hired construction supervisors to repair the Temple. When the repairs were finished the money left over was used to replace the various articles of worship which had been destroyed or defiled over the years.
     Jehoiada lived to 130, but unfortunately after his death Joash began listening to less righteous advisers. They encouraged him to abandon the Temple of God and start worshiping Asherah poles and other idols. Jehoiada’s son, Zechariah prophesied against these practices telling the people that since they had abandoned God, God had abandoned them. Joash ordered that Zechariah be stoned to death in the courtyard of the Temple. In the spring of the following year a small army of Arameans invaded Judah and plundered Jerusalem. In the battle Joash was wounded. While he was recuperating some of his officials assassinated him for killing Zechariah.
     Amaziah, Joash’s son, succeeded him on the throne. Amaziah gathered his army and attacked Edom, plundering it. He brought back the idols of Edom and began worshiping them. A prophet confronted Amaziah, asking him why he worshiped gods that had been unable to rescue their own people? Amaziah told the prophet that he had not been appointed a counselor to the king and should keep quiet. The prophet concluded by telling Amaziah that God had determined to destroy him. Amaziah then issued a challenge to the king of Israel to meet in battle. The king of Israel responded by telling Amaziah that he should not stir up trouble just because he had defeated Edom. Amaziah did not listen to this advice and went to war against Israel. The king of Israel soundly defeated Amaziah and plundered Jerusalem, tearing down a large segment of its walls. Eventually there was a conspiracy against Amaziah and he was assassinated.

Romans 12:1-21

     Today’s passage is perhaps the clearest part of the book of Romans and a great basic outline of how to live as a Christian. First Paul tells us not to conform to the world, that is not to copy its behaviors and customs. Rather we are to be transformed by God’s Spirit so that we will know and practice God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will for us.
     Next he tells us not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought. That is not to think we are more important or better than others. We need to honestly evaluate ourselves, judging ourselves against the standard of what God has called us to be, not against the standard of what others do (or more likely what we perceive others to do). Paul explains both why we should not think ourselves better than others and why we should not judge ourselves against others. He tells us that just as the body has different parts which each have their own purpose, so each of us in the Church are different and have different gifts from God so as to fulfill different purposes. We should use the gifts which God has given us to the best of our ability.
     We should not hypocritically love others, holding them to a standard that we do not live up to ourselves. Let us hate what is evil and strive to do that which is good. Paul tells us to be devoted to our fellow Christians, giving preference to others over ourselves. He commands us to work hard at serving the Lord. Let us rejoice in the hope that God has given us and be patient when we face difficulties and trouble, praying at all times. Help those around us who are in need, especially our fellow Christians, seeking opportunities to practice hospitality.
     Paul finishes out this section by telling us how to deal with those around us who wrong us. He tells us to bless those who persecute us. He tells us not to curse them, if we are not to curse even those who persecute us, how can there be anyone it is appropriate for us to curse? Through Paul, God commands us to live in harmony with each other. It is our duty to live at peace with those around us as much as that is within our control. God calls us to associate with those others might consider beneath us. When someone does wrong to us, we should respond by doing good and certainly not by doing wrong to them. It is not our place to take revenge. God reserves vengeance for Himself. Paul reminds us that God says: “Vengeance is Mine. I will repay.” I will not be conquered by evil, but will strive to conquer evil with good.

***
     When I think that I owe someone revenge, I try to remember this passage (forgetting more often than not). However, if someone has truly done something to me deserving of revenge, what can I do to them that comes close to the vengeance which God will enact against them. On the other hand, if God never exacts vengeance for the wrong I believe was done to me, there are two possibilities. Either I am mistaken in perceiving the person to have done me wrong, or I was due that wrong for wrongs I myself had done. Of course, just because I never see God exact revenge on those who have done wrong does not mean that He has not done so.
     There is a further quote from the Old Testament that Paul uses here. “If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
burning coals of shame on their heads.”
If I do good things for those who have, by their actions, declared themselves my enemies there are three possible outcomes. All of which reflect well for me. The first is that they will live in fear, waiting for me to “drop the mask” and exact my revenge, which they will be convinced will be all the worse for being set up by my kindness. The second is that they will feel shame and remorse for having done wrong by me. The final is that those whose good opinion is worth having will hold me in high esteem for my failure to sink to the level of the one mistreating me (and will hold the one who wronged me in low esteem).
     I chose my title for today’s blog because God’s command to us is to not let evil overcome us. It is to overcome evil with good. We don’t understand it, but God tells us that if we want to defeat our enemies then we must follow Paul’s instruction: “If your enemies are hungry, feed them.” The people of God win when they do good, even for those who do evil against them.

Another tomato plant with tomatoes ripening

Psalm 22:19-31

Today’s psalm is the second part of Jesus’ last message for His disciples while He hung on the cross. In the first part, which we covered yesterday, the psalmist expressed utter despair and the feeling of abandonment. However, in today’s portion he tells us that God has not ignored his cries for help. He proclaims that God listens and answers the cries of those in need. For this he will praise God in the assembly of the people.

***
When I read this psalm, I realize that when Jesus cried out on the cross, “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?” he was not crying out in despair because God had turned His back on Him. Rather He was telling His disciples that despite the despair He was (and they were) feeling, God had NOT turned His back on Him. Rather, in the midst of His suffering, Jesus was praising God for His faithfulness and kindness. At that, His lowest moment, Jesus was still willing to praise God and have faith that God would redeem Him.

Proverbs 20:8-10

I have read this proverb, “Who can say, ‘I have cleansed my heart; I am pure and free from sin’?”, many times. Today for the first time I realized the key part of it, “Who can say, ‘I have cleansed my heart;…'”. I have not cleansed my heart. To the degree that my heart has been cleansed, it is God who has done it. Until I am willing to accept that the only way any and every sin can be cleansed from my hearts is for God to do it, those sins will remain. Any time, I say to God, “OK, I see what you want, I’ll take it from here,” I will fail to overcome the sin in question. It is only when I turn to God in abject humility and say, “God, I can’t do it. It is beyond my ability to overcome. Please do this for me,” that the sin in my life will be overcome.

***

Daily Bible Study

July 28, 2013 Bible Study — My God, My God, Why Have You Abandoned Me?

July 27, 2013 AttilaDimedici

2 Chronicles 21-23:21

     Jehoshaphat had given each of his sons valuable gifts and control over some of Judah’s fortified towns. He named his eldest son, Jehoram, to succeed him as king. However, when Jehoshaphat died and Jehoram became king, Jehoram had his brothers all killed. Jehoram followed the example of his father-in-law, Ahab, and was wicked in the sight of the Lord. Jehoram built shrines in the hill country of Judah and led the people to worship of other gods than God. The kingdom of Edom and the city of Libnah revolted against Jehoram’s rule and we are told that Edom gained its independence (the passage does not say whether or not Jehoram was able to reassert his rule over Libnah).
     The prophet Elijah sent Jehoram a letter telling him that God had condemned him for his failure to follow the example of his father and his grandfather. Elijah told Jehoram that God was going to strike his people, his wives, his sons and his possessions and that Jehoram himself would die of a very painful intestinal disorder. Soon after the Philistines and some Arabs allied and attacked Judah. They sacked Jerusalem taking Jehoram’s wives and sons, excepting only his youngest son, Ahaziah (a variant of Jehoahaz). Shortly after that Jehoram began suffering from a very painful intestinal illness which got continually worse until he died of it very painfully.
     Ahaziah, Jehoram’s son was made king upon Jehoram’s death. Ahaziah made members of his mother’s family, the family of Ahab, his advisers and did much evil at their advice. At the advice of his mother and her family, Ahaziah joined his uncle, King Joram in the battle where Joram was wounded. Ahaziah visited with Joram during his convalescence and was there when Jehu overthrew and killed Joram. Jehu captured and killed Ahaziah as well. Upon Ahaziah’s death, his mother, Athaliah, seized the throne and began killing off the remaining male heirs to the throne. Ahaziah’s sister rescued Ahaziah’s infant son, Joash, and hid him. Ahaziah’s sister was married to the priest Jehoiada, so she took Joash to the Temple where the two of them raised him.
     When Joash was seven, Jehoiada led a rebellion against Athaliah to make Joash king. He plotted with the priests and Levites and five army commanders. When everything was in place, Jehoiada crowned Joash king in the Temple. Athaliah, hearing the commotion came to investigate. Jehoiada ordered the soldiers to seize her and take her out of the Temple to kill her. Once Joash was firmly established on the throne, Jehoiada led a religious reformation and brought the people back to worshiping the Lord.

Romans 11:13-36

Paul continues discussing how some Jews had rejected God’s good news and how this led to the gospel being preached to the Gentiles. He says that if their rejection led to reconciliation with God for the rest of the world, will not their acceptance lead to even more wonderful things? Paul goes on to say that if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be holy and the Patriarchs were holy. However, some of the branches were broken off and branches from a wild tree (Gentiles) were grafted on in their place. This allows the grafted branches to experience the holiness of the roots. However, it is not basis for those who were grafted on to boast, because if God cut off native branches, he can surely cut off the grafted branches.

***
There is much in this passage. However, the thing that most speaks to me today is Paul’s emphasis that the Jewish people still have a place in God’s heart. We, as Christians, should always remember that God first made His promises to the descendants of Abraham. This reads to me that Paul is saying that we should have a desire to spread the Gospel to all people, but most especially to the Jewish people. At the very least, this passage condemns those who claim to be Christian but have a hatred of Jews.

Psalm 22:1-18

This is the psalm which Jesus referenced when He hung upon the cross, just before He died. Today’s portion of this psalm is one of both great despair and of faith. The writer is in great distress and calls out to God. He has been calling out to God for some time and has not experienced relief. Yet, he acknowledges that God is holy and has rescued all who called on Him in the past. Despite the great despair that the psalmist expresses, he also tells us that he has faith that God will bring about great things from his suffering, that his suffering will be worthwhile in the end. This was the message that Jesus was trying to give to His disciples as He hung on the cross. He was telling them that while both He and they were feeling despair, they should keep the faith because God was faithful and would work things out for the good of those who loved Him.

Proverbs 20:7

The integrity of the godly brings a blessing on those who come after them, whether those who follow share in that integrity and godliness or not.

Daily Bible Study

July 27, 2013 Bible Study — How Can They Hear Unless Someone Tells Them?

July 26, 2013 AttilaDimedici

2 Chronicles 19-20:37

     When Jehoshaphat returned from visiting King Ahab (where he had joined King Ahab in going into the battle where Ahab was killed) a prophet confronted him for befriending Ahab. The prophet told him that God was angry with him for aiding the wicked king Ahab, but happy about his destruction of Asherah poles and commitment to seeking the Lord.
     The passage tells us that Jehoshaphat went out among the people all throughout the land he controlled, encouraging them to be faithful to God. While doing this he appointed judges throughout the land, setting up a system of appeals. He instructed the judges to think carefully before pronouncing judgment and to remember that they were to please God with their judgments, not people. They were to pass judgment in fear of the Lord, with faithfulness and integrity.
     Sometime after this, three of Judah’s neighboring countries allied together against Jehoshaphat and gathered their armies to attack him. Jehoshaphat sent out word to the whole nation for a fast seeking God’s guidance and help against these enemies. He called an assembly of the people and led them in a prayer requesting the Lord’s aid against their enemies. When Jehoshaphat finished praying a prophet received word from the Lord that they were to assemble their fighting force and march forth to meet the enemy armies. The prophet told them where they would find the enemy, but told them that they would not need to fight. God would defeat the enemy for them.
     The following morning Jehoshaphat led the army out to battle. He instructed the men to have faith in God and believe the message from His prophets. He then appointed singers to lead them in songs of praise as they marched. While the army of Judah sang praises to God and marched to battle, their enemies had a falling out and began fighting among themselves. By the time the army of Judah arrived at the point where they planned to take their defensive position, the three armies had destroyed each other. Jehoshaphat and his men plundered the dead of the enemy armies. It took them three days to gather all of the plunder. When word spread of what happened the other neighboring kingdoms were afraid to make war against Jehoshaphat.

Reading Phillies mascot holds finish line tape

Romans 10:14-11:12

Today’s passage is one of the great calls to missionary work. Paul says (my paraphrase), “How can they call on God if they don’t believe in Him? How can they believe in Him, if they haven’t heard about Him? How can they hear about Him unless somebody tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them about Him, unless we send them?” So, this is not just about those who are missionaries, but also about the congregations which send them out to be missionaries as well. In other words, we have an obligation not just to preach the Gospel to the unbelievers but also to commission and send others to preach to the unbelievers. To those who welcome the good news of God’s Salvation, those who bring the message are to be praised.
However, not everyone welcomes the good news of God’s Salvation. While faith comes from hearing the Gospel, not everyone who hears it accepts it. Paul here speaks about how many of the Jews rejected God’s salvation. He points out that Jews have been rejecting God’s commands and His messengers for their entire history. However, he is quick to point out that it has never been all Jews, that God has always had those that he reserved for Himself. The salvation of these Jews comes purely by God’s free and undeserved grace. Paul tells us that because the Jews rejected God’s salvation, God aroused their jealousy by extending it to Gentiles. He wanted them to claim His salvation for themselves by accepting His free gift. Paul tells us that the Gentiles were enriched by the Jews rejection of God’s salvation, but the entire world will be even more blessed when the Jews turn to God and accept His salvation.

Psalm 21:1-13

Overall this is a Messianic prophecy, but there are some things that apply not just to Christ here.

You have endowed him with eternal blessings
and given him the joy of your presence.
For the king trusts in the Lord.
The unfailing love of the Most High will keep him from stumbling.
This reflects Christ, but it could certainly be changed slightly and read to apply to us as well.
***
I read it today like this: You have endowed me with eternal blessings
and given me the joy of your presence.
For I trust in the Lord.
The unfailing love of the Most High will keep me from stumbling.
For this is certainly true, God has given me eternal blessings. He has given me the joy of His presence and His unfailing love keeps me from stumbling as long as I trust in Him.

Reading Phillies conference on the mound

Proverbs 20:4-6

There is a time to plow and plant if we want to eat at the time of harvest. Sometimes it takes effort on our part to gain the advice we need from those who have it to give. Am I willing to be that faithful friend who is so hard to find?

***

Daily Bible Study

July 26, 2013 Bible Study — If You Confess With Your Mouth That Jesus Is Lord…

July 25, 2013 AttilaDimedici

2 Chronicles 17-18:34

When Asa died his son Jehoshaphat took the throne. Jehoshaphat followed the example of his father’s early years and did not worship the Baal’s. Jehoshaphat was deeply committed to following the Lord. He removed all of the pagan shrines and Asherah poles in all of Judah. He sent kingdom officials throughout the land to teach the people from the Book of the Law. Jehoshaphat became more powerful and began receiving tribute from the surrounding peoples.

***
     The mention of sending officials out to teach the people from the Book of the Law reminds me of one of the reasons that the first schools were set up for the common people in Europe and in the U.S.. Many early schools were set up to teach people to read so that they could read the Bible. It looks to me that that is what was happening here. Jehoshaphat sent his officials out to teach the people so that they could read and know God’s law for themselves.
***
     The passage recounts one thing that Jehoshaphat did that I will find fault with. He arranged for his son to marry the daughter of Ahab, king of Israel. In addition, Jehoshaphat allied with Ahab to go to war. Jehoshaphat was visiting Ahab when Ahab enticed him to join him in an attempt to recover the city of Ramoth-gilead. Jehoshaphat agrees, but requests that they first seek the counsel of the Lord. Ahab consents and summons 400 prophets who tell them that they will be victorious. Jehoshaphat is not satisfied and asks if there is not a prophet of the Lord there that they can ask the same question. Ahab says that there is one more man they can ask, but he hates him because he always prophecies trouble for him. Jehoshaphat tells Ahab that that is no way for a king to talk.
     They summon Micaiah who comes and answers their question. The officials who went to fetch Micaiah warn him that all of the other prophets have told Ahab that he would be victorious and that he should as well. Initially, Micaiah tells Ahab to go into battle, that he will be victorious, but Ahab challenges him to tell them what God had actually said. It is not clear to me how Ahab knew that Micaiah was not giving him a true prophecy. The New Living Translation suggests that Micaiah spoke sarcastically, but no other translations echo that. Nevertheless, after being challenged by Ahab, Micaiah tells the two kings that, if they go into battle, Ahab will be killed. Despite Micaiah’s prophecy, the two kings went into battle, but Ahab disguised himself in an attempt to avoid the fate prophesied for him by Micaiah. This deception fails to save Ahab’s life and he is killed by a random arrow.
***
     One thing I find interesting about this passage is that Jehoshaphat recognized that the 400 prophets summoned by Ahab were not prophets of God. The passage does not tell us that they were not, yet after they had prophesied, Jehoshaphat requested that they ask for a prophet of the Lord. I think that the reason that the passage does not clearly say the 400 prophets were not prophets of the Lord has to do with the way that Baal worshipers viewed Baal. Looking at the information on Baal worship, it appears to me that Baal worshipers thought that Baal was the same god as the one worshiped by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They claimed that they were worshiping the same god, just as Muslims claim to be worshiping the God that Jews and Christians worship.

Romans 9:25-10:13

     Paul continues his discussion of salvation by talking about how God has now made those who were not His people (Gentiles, non-Jews) into His people. He shows us that God had declared that He was going to do this through His prophets. Paul then discusses how Isaiah had prophesied that only a portion of the large numbers of the Israelites would be saved.
     What conclusion can we reach from this? Those who did not try to be righteous gained it through faith. While those who tried everything in their power to be righteous failed to obtain it. Why did it happen this way? Because those who were seeking righteousness were continuing to follow in the original sin, they were trying to get right with God by their own efforts, rather than trusting in God. They were trying to be equal with God. They sought to come to God with their own righteousness and Paul tells us that the only way to be able to do that is to never do anything wrong…and only God is capable of that.
     Paul tells us that the only way to be made right with God is to accept the righteousness that God is offering to us. Here Paul tells us the key to being saved. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” The NIV uses the word “declare” rather than the word “confess”. In both cases there is the implication of both being willing to publicly acknowledge that you believe that Jesus is Lord and that you are willing to actually obey Him as Lord. That conclusion also follows from the second part of Paul’s formula for determining salvation, “believe in your heart…”. If you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead it means that you will realize that He is the one with the ultimate power of life and death over you and act accordingly.

Psalm 20:1-9

This psalm is a great blessing to say for those on whom we wish good things. I will wish this on all of those reading this.

May he grant your heart’s desires
and make all your plans succeed.
I will further tell you that the way to make this blessing come true for you is to seek to do God’s will with all of your strength, all of your heart, and all of your mind.

Proverbs 20:2-3

It is honorable to avoid a fight, to minimize strife. Only fools seek confrontation and to quarrel.

Daily Bible Study

July 25, 2013 Bible Study — The Decrees of the Lord Make the Simple Wise

July 24, 2013 AttilaDimedici

2 Chronicles 14-16:14

     The next king in Jerusalem was Asa, who took the throne when his father, Abijah, died. We are told that Asa did what was pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord. Asa commanded the people of Judah to seek God and obey His commands. Asa removed the pagan shrines from all of the towns of Judah. He had peace for the first ten years of his reign.
     Asa had an army of just shy of 600,000 men. At one point, Judah was invaded by an army from Cush (more or less modern Ethiopia) of over 1,000,000 men. Asa deployed his army against them, but realized that he was badly outnumbered and called on the Lord. The passage says the the Lord defeated the Cushites (Ethiopians) and caused them to flee. The wording suggests that the defeat occurred before Asa’s army engaged them in battle, but could just indicate that the Ethiopians were defeated by Asa’s army more readily than one would have expected considering the relative sizes of the armies. Whatever happened, Asa’s success was such that he conquered some of the cities in the area where he met the Cushites while he had his army in the field and returned to Jerusalem with a large amount of plunder.
     When Asa returned from battle the prophet Azariah met him, and his army, and shouted out a prophecy from the Lord. He told them that as long as they sought the Lord they would find Him. As long as they stayed faithful to the Lord, He would stay faithful to them. Asa responded to this message by having all of the idols removed from the lands he controlled. He repaired the altar in the Temple of the Lord and called the people to come together for a festival to the Lord. The passage tells us that many people from the Northern Kingdom had moved into the lands controlled by Asa because of his faithfulness to the Lord. The people entered into a covenant to seek the Lord and obey His commands. As a result, there was peace in the land until the 35th year of Asa’s reign.
     In the 36th year of Asa’s reign, King Baasha of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) invaded Judah and started to fortify the city of Ramah to control the border. Asa responded by sending a bribe to the king of Aram, asking him to make war against Baasha. The king of Aram did so, forcing Baasha to abandon his efforts on the border with Judah. Asa took the materials that Baasha had been using to fortify Ramah and used them to fortify cities which more strategically defended Judah. A prophet came to Asa and told him that God was unhappy that he had put his trust in the king of Aram rather than in God, by doing so he had missed an opportunity to expand his power. The prophet reminded Asa of how God had helped them against the Cushites. Asa responded by having the prophet jailed. The passage continues by telling us that Asa began oppressing some of his people at this time. Further the passage tells us that in the 39th year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease, but rather than seek the help of the Lord he relied solely on his doctors and as a result he died from this problem.

***
I want to point out that the passage does not condemn Asa for using his doctors. It condemns him for not, also, turning to God for healing. This is an important lesson for us. When we face illness, we should certainly follow the advice of medical doctors, but we should turn to God and ask for His healing and remember that it is God who can bring us healing no matter what the doctors have to say.

Romans 9:1-24

Paul expresses great grief over the failure of many Jews to accept Jesus as their Savior. He tells us that he would be willing to accept eternal damnation if that was what it took for them to be saved. He then makes an important point for all Christians to take note of: Christ Himself was an Israelite, a Jew. This means that there is no room for Christians to have a hatred or dislike for Jews. Instead, we should have a special place in our hearts for the Jews, since it was through Judaism and the Jewish people that God brought our Salvation into the world.

***
Do I have the same passion for bringing salvation to my friends and those around me that Paul has? Would I be willing to accept eternal damnation if that was what it took for those I love to come to know the Lord? I would like to think that the answer is yes. But, is it? When sometimes I am not even willing to risk ridicule in order to share the Gospel? I pray to God that He give me that passion, first for my friends and loved ones, then for all of those I meet and interact with.

Psalm 19:1-14

I love this psalm. It starts by saying something that was echoed by Paul in his letter to the Romans.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.[a]
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.
There is no excuse. God has made Himself known to anyone who chooses to look. All we have to do is look at the sky above us to see His glory and His craftsmanship. Then the psalmist goes on to tell us that once looked and found God He will give us commands and instructions. These commands and instructions are more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey.

They revive the soul.
They make the simple wise.
They bring joy to the heart.
They give insight for living.

The psalmist asks God to cleanse him of sins hidden in his heart and to keep him from deliberate sin. I will echo the psalmist and ask God to keep sin from controlling me. And finally I pray:

May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Proverbs 20:1

Today’s proverb warns us not to let alcohol lead us astray. That if we consume too much alcohol we may become someone who mocks others to no good effect. Or even worse, we may get into fights for no good reason. We should not allow anything other than the Holy Spirit to control our actions.

Daily Bible Study

July 24, 2013 Bible Study — In All Things God Works For the Good of Those Who Love Him

July 23, 2013 AttilaDimedici

2 Chronicles 11-13:22

     When Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem he mustered the fighting men of Judah and Benjamin in order to regain control of the Northern Tribes. However, the prophet Shemaiah told Rehoboam and the gathered troops that God had said not to fight against their relatives, the rest of Israel. As a result, the troops went home. It is not clear from the passage whether Rehoboam listened to the prophet and sent the troops home, or if the troops refused to fight when they heard the prophet’s words, or some combination of the two.
     There are two things mentioned after this that are often overlooked. The first is that in addition to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, all of the priests and Levites living in the lands of the Northern Tribes moved into the territory controlled by Rehoboam because Jeroboam replaced them as the ones to lead worship and care for the centers of worship. The second is that everyone who sincerely wanted to worship the Lord from all of the tribes of Israel followed the Levites into the territory controlled by Rehoboam.
     Once Rehoboam had consolidated his control over Judah and Benjamin he abandoned the Law of the Lord and led all of his people into sin. The passage tells us that as a result, God allowed King Shishak of Egypt to conquer much of Judah. When Shishak was besieging Jerusalem, the prophet Shemaiah told the leaders of the kingdom that because they had abandoned God, God was abandoning them to Shishak. The leaders responded that God was right to do what He was doing. In response to the people of Judah humbling themselves by restraining Shishak and causing him to withdraw after looting Jerusalem.
     After the death of Rehoboam his son, Abijah, took the throne. Shortly after doing so war broke out with Jeroboam. Abijah mustered his army and had about 400,000 men. Jeroboam mustered his army and had about 800,000 men. When the armies met, Abijah called out to the men of Israel saying that Jeroboam had abandoned the worship of God, while the people of Judah were still worshiping the Lord. He continued that the army of Judah being led by the priests of God and that by fighting against them the men of Israel were fighting against God. If they went up against God, they would not succeed. In the meantime, Jeroboam had sent part of his army around behind Abijah’s force. When the men of Judah realized that they were being attacked from the front and the rear they cried out to God for help. Despite the fact that Jeroboam outnumbered Abijah’s force and had managed to outflank it, his troops were defeated soundly in the ensuing battle. Abijah followed up his victory by capturing several towns from Jeroboam. Jeroboam never regained sufficient power to challenge Abijah again.

Romans 8:26-39

Paul tells us that God has given us the Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness. One example of how the Holy Spirit will help us is when we do not know how to pray according to God’s will. The Spirit will intercede for us with God. God who knows our hearts, knows the mind of the Spirit and thus will understand how what we are pleading for fits into His will and will answer accordingly.

***
     This passage suggests to me that perhaps we should strive less to spell out the details of what we are praying for and strive more to allow the Spirit to make our requests in accordance with the will of God.
***
     Paul goes on to tell us that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him. He has known us before we knew Him and chose us to be transformed into the likeness of His Son. If God is for us, what concern is it to us if some are against us? If God, the ultimate judge, justifies us, who can bring credible charges against us? Not only do we have God justifying us, but we have Christ interceding for us before His throne. Who or what has the power to separate us from God’s love against God’s will? Paul answers that with one of the Biblical truths that we should always hold close to our hearts: “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
***
     No matter what troubles we face in this life, we need to remember the truths which Paul expresses in today’s passage. The first is that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. Not just in some things, in all things. God is working in every aspect of this world to bring good to those who love Him. From there we can see that we have no need to fear anything that happens in this life, whatever happens we should rejoice because it is the work of God to deliver good into our lives. How can anything, or anyone, do anything to thwart God’s plans for us? If we truly believe that God loves us, we have nothing to fear. For not only will God act for our good out His love for us, but no one and nothing is capable of interfering or reducing that love.

Psalm 18:37-50

I started reading today’s psalm and had trouble seeing a message that fit where my thoughts were today. Part of that is because it is a continuation of a Messianic theme begun earlier in this psalm that I read on previous days. However, then I came to verse 46-48:

The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock!
May the God of my salvation be exalted!
He is the God who pays back those who harm me;
he subdues the nations under me
and rescues me from my enemies.
You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies;
you save me from violent opponents.
And for whatever reason, I saw how this fit with what I read in Romans 8 today. I went back and re-read verses 37-45 and saw how that they fit right with “If God is for us, who can stand against us?” We need have no fear of those who make themselves our enemy. The psalmist tells us that God will give us victory over our accusers, because God has justified us.

Proverbs 19:27-29

If you stop listening to those who offer you instruction you will not only stop learning more, you will gradually lose the understanding that you already possess.

Daily Bible Study

July 23, 2013 Bible Study — God’s Way Is Perfect

July 22, 2013 AttilaDimedici

2 Chronicles 8:11-10:19

The passage tells us that Solomon moved his wife, Pharaoh’s daughter out of the palace David had built. It goes on to tell us that he built a fleet of trade ships which sailed out of ports on the Red Sea. These ships were manned by crews provided to Solomon by King Hiram of Tyre. Solomon’s trading fleet spread his fame such that the Queen of Sheba came to see him for herself. She brought Solomon many gifts of great value and Solomon gave her gifts of great value to take home with her. The passage goes on to describe the great wealth which Solomon amassed.

***
     I had said in one of these blogs about King David that David appeared to have gained his power and wealth by acting to protect merchant caravans from bandits. It even appears that part of his reason for conquest was to eliminate kingdoms which provided a safe haven for bandits which raided the merchant caravans. I came to this conclusion largely by reading between the lines and would not want to argue the point with someone who disagreed (there is insufficient evidence to prove this). However, this passage makes it clear that Solomon gained his great wealth by sponsoring trade missions. He sent out trading fleets which returned with large amounts of wealth. It would seem likely that he sent out trading caravans as well.
***
     The passage concludes with the account of how Rehoboam lost control of the Northern Tribes upon Solomon’s death. When Rehoboam went to Shechem to be crowned king, the people of Israel requested that he promise to the forced labor and heavy taxes that his father, Solomon, had imposed on the people. Rehoboam first asked the advice those men who had been his father’s advisers. They told him that he should honor the request of the people of Israel and that if he did so, the people would be his faithful servants. Rehoboam rejected this advice and turned to the young men he had grown up with for advice more to his liking. They told him to tell the people of Israel that not only would he not reduce the burdens his father had imposed, but he would increase them.
     Rehoboam took this bad advice and told the people of Israel that he would increase the burdens that his father had laid on them. As a result the peoples of the Northern Tribes refused to accept Rehoboam as their king and returned to their homes. Shortly after this Rehoboam sent out the official in charge of the forced labor to restore his control. However, the people of the Northern Tribes stoned that official to death. When the news of this reached Rehoboam, he fled back to Jerusalem.

Romans 8:9-25

     Paul tells us that if we have the Spirit of God living within us we are no longer controlled by our sinful nature. Rather we are controlled by the Spirit. He further points out that everyone who belongs to Christ has the Spirit of Christ living within him, or her. Sin has brought death to our bodies, but if the Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives within us He will raise us to life as well.
     As a result, we are no longer obligated to obey our sinful nature. If we allow it to dictate our actions, we will follow it into death for eternity. On the other hand if we allow the Spirit to put to death the deeds of the sinful nature we will experience life eternal. The Spirit does not make us fearful slaves, rather it makes us the adopted children of a loving Father. As a result of this adoption, we are heirs with Christ to the glory of God. Paul then says something that is a bit scary. He tells us that while we will share in Christ’s glory, we will also share in His suffering.
     Paul tells us that the suffering we experience now is as nothing to the glory that God will reveal to us in His time. He goes on to tell us that all of creation is suffering because of the consequences of sin. The day will come when creation will be freed from death and decay along with God’s children. We are suffering as we wait for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. But we await that day with eagerness, when we will experience our adoption to sonship and the redemption, not only of our souls, but of our bodies.

***
This passage talks about the other side of the fear of God. While the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God, once we learn to know Christ we discover that God is a loving father. These two aspects of our relationship with God is something that is hard to understand. God does not want us to fear Him. It is just the natural reaction that we will have when we come to truly understand who and what God is. God wants us to know that He loves us. As we come to know Him we see that He does and that He cares for our every need, just as a loving father does for his children. In the same manner, God will discipline us when we do wrong, because He knows that when we do wrong we endanger ourselves and others.

Psalm 18:16-36

The psalmist says the following about God:

To the faithful you show yourself faithful;
to those with integrity you show integrity.
To the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the wicked you show yourself hostile.
You rescue the humble,
but you humiliate the proud.
I have found this to be true. There are two sides to this. On the one hand those with the positive qualities of faithfulness, integrity and purity perceive others as having those same qualities, while the wicked perceive those who are good and powerful as hostile. On the other hand, God actually will be faithful, behave with integrity, and show purity to those who have those same qualities, while showing hostility to those who are wicked. Going on, those who are humble will find “chance”(I do not believe in chance, chance is generally the hand of God) coming to their rescue time and again, while those who are proud will find humiliation where others would find nothing of note.
Then the psalmist tells us something that should be self-evident, but too often is not for us.
God’s way is perfect.
All the Lord’s promises prove true.
He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.
If we follow the way that God has laid out for us, we will find that everything comes together for us. He will fulfill His promises, every last one of them. I will trust in the Lord and strive to follow the way that He has laid out for me.

Proverbs 19:26

I can think of nothing to add to today’s proverb: “Children who mistreat their father or chase away their mother are an embarrassment and a public disgrace.”

Fact and Fantasy

Monthly Archives: July 2013

August 1, 2013 Bible Study — Accept One Another

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July 31, 2013 Bible Study — The Earth Is the Lord’s

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July 30, 2013 Bible Study — The Lord Is My Shepherd

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July 29, 2013 Bible Study — If Your Enemies Are Hungry, Feed Them

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July 28, 2013 Bible Study — My God, My God, Why Have You Abandoned Me?

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July 27, 2013 Bible Study — How Can They Hear Unless Someone Tells Them?

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July 26, 2013 Bible Study — If You Confess With Your Mouth That Jesus Is Lord…

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July 25, 2013 Bible Study — The Decrees of the Lord Make the Simple Wise

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July 24, 2013 Bible Study — In All Things God Works For the Good of Those Who Love Him

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July 23, 2013 Bible Study — God’s Way Is Perfect

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