Monthly Archives: November 2014

Daily Bible Study

November 21, 2014 Bible Study — Confess Your Sins To Each Other

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 28:6-7

    I agree with this proverb. I would rather be honest and poor than dishonest and wealthy. I could not live with myself if I lived a life of dishonesty even if being honest means being poor.

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Psalm 119:1-16

    Every year when I get to Psalm 119, I try to see if I can follow a pattern through the entire psalm (besides the fact that it works its way through the Hebrew alphabet). I am never able to do so, mainly because I lose track part way through.
    The opening of this psalm can be read two ways, both of which are true. First, we can read it as saying that only those who people who obey God’s law truly have integrity. The second is that only those who have integrity truly follow God’s instructions. I believe that both of these are true. It is only by following God’s law that we can have true integrity, and if we are not people of integrity, we are not following God’s law. Let us follow the psalmist’s example and ask God to move in our lives so that we follow His commands. I will ask the Holy Spirit to come into my life and transform me to obey God’s law.
    The psalm goes on to tell us that the way to stay pure is to obey God’s word. The way to avoid sinning is to hide God’s word in our heart, to memorize Scripture. I will study the Bible and God’s word because it gives me great joy. I will study His commands and reflect on God’s ways. I will strive to do God’s will in all of my actions.

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James 5:1-20

    James makes many important points in this passage. He discusses the suffering that will come to those who have gained wealth by oppressing the poor. He encourages us to be patient in the face of suffering while we wait for the coming of our Lord. He warns us against swearing oaths, encouraging us to instead be honest so that no one needs us to take an oath to believe us.
    But for me the big take away from this passage is his encouraging us to recognize the power of prayer. If we have problems in our lives, we should pray. If things are going well, we should praise God. We rarely look at it this way, but he is telling us that praising God is a form of prayer. He tells us that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and will produce great results. Do we truly believe in the power of prayer? Are we willing to stand before the world and say that we believe that prayer can heal us? Or deal with other problems we face?
    He tells us that if we are sick we should call the elders of the Church to anoint us with oil and pray over us. Such prayer offered in faith, James tells us, will heal the sick. God will make us well. Then he adds an interesting point, in this circumstance those who have sinned will be forgiven. He continues by telling us to confess our sins to each other and to pray for each other. It is by confessing our sins to our fellow believer and praying for our fellow believer that we receive healing. James is telling us there is a clear link between confessing our sins and receiving healing. Do we confess our sins to our fellow believers? I must admit that while I try to do so, there are some sins I have difficulty revealing to others.

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Ezekiel 42-43:27

    Today’s passage continues with more descriptions of the Temple to come. There is a place in the middle of today’s passage where God promises to live among His people forever if they will stop defiling His name by worshiping other gods along with their worship of Him. What are we worshiping alongside God? Have we put aside our idols? Let us worship and follow God alone and no other gods.

Daily Bible Study

November 20, 2014 Bible Study — Humble Yourselves Before God

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 28:3-5

    These three proverbs all fit together in a way that many people fail to understand. Society becomes truly oppressive when the poor join with the rich in oppressing their fellows in poverty. The wicked thrive and rise to the top in a society where those who are favored follow a different set of rules from everyone else. The only way to resist the wicked is by obeying the laws that apply to everyone else, even when you can get away with not doing so. Those who are steeped in evil believe that justice is just an excuse used by those in power to get their own way. Only those who seek the Lord truly understand the meaning of justice.

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Psalm 118:19-29

    When God opens the gate where the righteous enter, will we go in? Or we be like the builders and reject the cornerstone because we think we know better than the Architect? No matter how intelligent and knowledgeable we think we are, let us recognize that God, as Creator of the Universe, has a better understanding of how we should live than we are capable of. God has made this day for us, let us rejoice in it and be glad. God is my God and I will praise Him.

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James 4:1-17

    At first reading this passage seems to support those who preach “prosperity gospel”. James says that the source of all conflict is because we want things and do not have them. As a result we scheme and kill to get those things we desire. He goes on to tell us that the reason we do not have what we desire is because we do not ask God for what we desire. This sounds like standard “prosperity gospel” (which is not real Gospel at all).
    However, James does not stop there. He goes on to tell us that even when we do ask, we do not receive because we ask with the wrong motives. When we ask God for things in order to spend them on our own pleasures, God will not give us what we ask for. When we desire things in order to use them for our own pleasure, we are seeking to befriend the world. If we are friends of this world, we are enemies of God.
    So, rather than seeking things to use for our own pleasure we should humble ourselves before God. Part of doing this is seeking to spend what God has given us in serving Him. We need to faithfully desire to please God rather than ourselves. The next sentence seems to be a change of theme, but I think I see how it fits in with what went before.
    James said that we have conflict when we seek that which we do not have in order to spend it on our own desires. Now he tells us that the way to deal with temptation and sin is to resist the devil. If we resist temptation and those who encourage us to fall into it, they will flee from us. He is not really saying that those who encourage us to sin will flee from us when we resist temptation, although many of them will do so (with flee perhaps not being the word that would first come to mind). He says that if we resist the devil, he will flee from us. By which I take him to mean that if we resist the temptation to sin, we will find that the opportunity to succumb to that temptation will pass…and the more we resist the temptation, the fewer opportunities we will have to succumb to it in the future.
    There is one final point James makes in this passage. If we know what we ought to do and do not do it, it is just as much a sin as doing what we know we ought not do. It is not enough to not do wrong. In addition, we must do what is right.

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Ezekiel 40:28-41:26

    Ezekiel goes into great detail describing what the Temple in the restored Jerusalem will look like and its dimensions. I have read this passage many times, but it carries no special meaning for me. I have heard sermons preached on this passage and I admire preachers and teachers who see deep meaning in what Ezekiel describes here. However, it is not something that I see when I read this (although occasionally I will see what someone else sees when they talk about this passage).

Daily Bible Study

November 19, 2014 Bible Study — Faith Without Works Is Dead

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 28:2

    When a nation has no moral code, its government will easily fall and chaos will rule its streets. But a nation with wise and knowledgeable leaders will be stable and prosperous.

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Psalm 118:1-18

    Yes, the faithful love of the Lord endures forever. If the Lord is for me, I need not fear. Nothing can harm me if God is standing by side. The strong arm of God has done glorious things and I will agree with what the psalmist says:

I will not die; instead, I will live
to tell what the Lord has done.

Will you join me in telling the world what the Lord has done?

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James 2:18-3:18

    James discusses the meat of his teaching on faith in today’s passage. Yes, faith is important and it is through faith we are saved. However, it is not enough to believe, what we believe must change how we act. If our faith in Christ does not cause us to perform good deeds that faith is of no value. Even the demons believe in God, even so they have chosen to rebel against Him. Saving faith will lead us to behave in a righteous manner.
    James goes on to talk about the importance of controlling what we say. He uses several metaphors to demonstrate how an ill-chosen word can cause great damage. While he stresses the importance of controlling our tongues, he, also, points out that doing so is a herculean task. One which we will probably never accomplish fully. Even though we will probably never be completely successful we should constantly strive to have greater control over what we let slip out of our mouths.

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Ezekiel 39-40:27

    Ezekiel prophesied that a mighty ruler with a great army will attack Israel because he perceives them to be defenseless. He warns that God will strike the armies attacking Israel down with a devastating blow. I am not sure if this prophecy refers to a specific instance or if it is a prophecy about what will happen to those leaders who allow their hubris, their overwhelming arrogance, to lead them to attack God’s people. However, it certainly reads like something which I could see happening in the world today.
    The implication of this prophecy is that some nation, or group of nations, will attack Israel with overwhelming force, but be destroyed before they can damage the nation of Israel. If this is a singular event, Israel’s enemies will all be destroyed in a short time. Israel will prosper as a result of this attack. The army which attacked Israel intending to plunder it will itself be plundered by Israel. The prophet tells us that it will take the people of Israel seven months to gather the bodies and bury the dead from the attacking army. Further they will acquire enough fuel from plundering the army’s supplies to last them seven years. Those who sought to overwhelm and destroy God’s people will be destroyed and provide prosperity to them instead.

Daily Bible Study

November 18, 2014 Bible Study — Be Quick to Listen and Slow to Anger

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 28:1

    The wicked are fearful of everyone because they know what they would do if they were in the other person’s shoes. The righteous have no fear for the very same reason.

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Psalm 117:1-2

    God’s love for everyone is powerful and enduring. I will praise Him for all the good He has done and encourage others to do the same. If you have not experienced God’s love it is because you are not looking.

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James 1:19-2:17

    James tells us to be quick to listen and slow to speak, and even slower to anger. He goes on to tell us that anger does not produce the type of behavior God desires in us. Instead of getting angry we should get rid of the filth and immorality in our lives replacing them with the word of God. However, it is not enough to listen, we need to act on what we hear. This is true when we listen to other people, but even more so when we listen to the word of God.
    If we listen to God’s word but do not act on what God says, the listening will do us no good. We can claim to be religious, but if we do not control the words we speak we are kidding ourselves. True religion means taking care of widows, orphans, and others who cannot care for themselves. It is not enough to tell people that you wish them well. If they are in need, we must do whatever is in our power to meet their needs. Faith that does not cause us to act righteously is worthless.
    The lesson that James is trying to get through to us in this passage is that we should listen carefully to what others say they need and to what God tells us we should do. Then once we have heard what is being said to us, we should act according to God’s will.

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Ezekiel 37-38:23

    There are so many lessons that can be learned from Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones. Today, it makes me think of congregations which have become dried up and dead. I remember a man who was serving as interim pastor for a congregation which had been struggling for years. He told someone that there was nothing wrong with letting a congregation die.
    He was not exactly wrong… but he was wrong.
    There is nothing wrong with a congregation dying, but who are we to say that God does not still have a purpose for a congregation, even one which appears to be already dead. Perhaps if that interim pastor had spoken a prophetic message to that congregation instead of preparing to bury it, the Spirit of God would have moved in it to accomplish a great work.
    I currently attend a congregation that was in much the same state as the one that interim pastor said that about, at the same time. However, God sent the congregation I now attend a man who spoke a prophetic message. A man who called on the Spirit of God to breath new life into the congregation. Both congregations were in areas which desperately needed the love of God. In both cases the congregations are still there. But the first one is small and struggling still 30 years later. The other is vibrant and growing. The difference is that in one all leadership saw was dry bones, in the other leadership saw that God’s Spirit could breathe new life. I know of at least one other church leader who was called by God into the area of that struggling congregation, but he looked elsewhere because all he could see when he looked at that congregation was dry bones. I pray to God that He never let me dismiss something as dry bones when He desires to use me to bring His Spirit to breathe new life into it.

Daily Bible Study

November 17, 2014 Bible Study — Wealth Is Not a Sign of God’s Favour

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 27:23-27

    Make sure to continue to manage the work and resources which provide your income, no matter how wealthy you become. Continue to be productive as long as you are able because accumulated wealth is fleeting.

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Psalm 116:1-19

    This psalm starts with a line that we should all remember. “I love the Lord because he hears my voice…” Yes, the Lord hears our voice and answers our prayers. The translation I am using (New Living Translation) says that God protects those with childlike faith. Other translations say that God protects the simple. It reminds us that many people will look at our faith in God and think we are foolish, naive, or just plain childlike for having such a faith. I will not let such opinions shake me because God will protect me. I will not fear death. I will not fear anything because I will walk in God’s presence as long as I draw breath.
    The psalmist asks,

What can I offer the Lord
for all he has done for me?

He then answers that question. We have nothing to offer the Lord that He does not already have. We have a limited number of things we can do to show our gratitude. We can lift up the salvation God has given us and show it to those around us, making them aware that it is there for them as well. We can praise God for all of the wondrous things He has done for us. We can publicly keep our promises to God, so that others will see how His faithfulness causes us to be faithful.

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James 1:1-18

    I love the book of James. He starts off by stating that he is a slave/servant of God and Jesus Christ. He is owned by God and does what God commands/orders him to do. We should seek to live in the same manner. Then comes something that is hard to actually do. We should not just be willing to endure troubles and trials. We should take joy in experiencing troubles and trials. They will test our faith and increase our endurance/perseverance. As our endurance increases we will come ever more mature in our faith. When our endurance becomes complete we will find ourselves perfected (a situation I do not anticipate attaining until I enter into God’s presence in heaven).
    James tells us that the poor should consider themselves honoured by God, while the rich should be humbled by the fact that they are rich. This runs exactly counter to the way we normally look at such things. We have a tendency to honour the wealthy and look askance at the poor, usually thinking that the latter is something to be embarrassed about. This passage is one of the most direct contradictions of “prosperity gospel” (which is exactly the opposite of good news). I think that James is saying that if you are rich, God is telling you that you do not have the faith and gumption to serve Him well without that wealth. While, the poor are being honoured by God because He is telling them, and the world, that they are able to do His will with few resources. Contrary to the way the world views things, wealth is not a sign of God’s favor. Rather, it is a sign that we need to work harder to accomplish His will.
    I want to make two final points. Wealth is not a sign that someone is an inferior Christian any more than it is a sign that someone is a superior Christian. I am not wealthy by American standards, but I am when compared to most of the world. I am not sure how my faith would survive if I was at the average level of wealth for people around the world, or below. As I have gotten older I have become ever more humble. I have come to fear that if God had chosen to give me a life of hardship that my faith would not endure. However, I am sure of one thing, God’s grace will be sufficient for whatever situation He puts me in. He will not test me beyond what I am able to endure.

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Ezekiel 35-36:38

    Ezekiel tells Edom that they will suffer because they took pleasure in the suffering of the people of Israel. This is a warning for us. I will never take pleasure in the suffering of others, no matter how deserving I believe they are of that suffering. The wicked may deserve to suffer for their wickedness, but rather than take pleasure in their suffering we should feel sorrow that they had not turned from their sins before it came to pass.
    Ezekiel prophesies that God will restore the people of Israel to their land. However, He will not do it because they deserve it. He will do it in order to bring honour to His name. In the same way, He has offered us salvation, not because we deserve it but so that His name may be honoured. Let us remember that we did not receive good things from God because we deserve them. God has done good things for us in order that we will honour His name. Let us never forget to honour God’s name and praise Him for His generous mercy.

Daily Bible Study

November 16, 2014 Bible Study — Not To Me, But To the Lord Be the Glory

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 27:21-22

    Fire is used to test the purity of gold and silver, but you can measure a person by how they react to praise. No matter what you do, or how hard you try, a fool will not give up his foolish ideas. If by some chance you do convince a fool that one of his ideas is foolish, he will replace it with another just as foolish.

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Psalm 115:1-18

    The psalmist reminds us that the glory for our successes should go to God. Any success which I have in this life is because of God’s mercy and grace. It was His gifts to me which made me able to accomplish anything of worth. It is not I who deserves the credit, but rather God.

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Hebrews 13:1-25

    Today’s passage starts out with four instructions that all fit together. We are to continue loving each other, show hospitality to strangers, and remember those suffering (being imprisoned and mistreated are both forms of suffering) as if we were experiencing that suffering ourselves.
    The next couple of things fit together with these as well. Everyone should honour marriage, even those who are not married. Those of us who are married must remain faithful to our spouse. Those who are not married should encourage those who are married to remain faithful to each other. Remaining faithful to your husband or wife involves more than just sex.
    The final point that stands out to me today is “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” This does not mean that we should resist change. However, as the writer points out, it does mean that we should reject new teachings, that is, teachings which do not have their basis in the Bible. It is sometimes argued that the anti-slavery movement represented a new teaching because slavery is mentioned in the Bible, even in the New Testament, and not condemned (it can be argued that it was even indirectly supported). However, the anti-slavery movement was against a culture which viewed certain people as less than human. The anti-slavery movement arose when all slaves in Western Civilization were derived from the same racial background and enslaving them was justified on the basis of claiming that they were not truly human. Such a claim is counter to the teachings of the Bible, even those places where it discusses slavery. As a result, the anti-slavery movement relied on Christian teachings of long standing. Some more recent teachings rely on the claim that loving my neighbor means not confronting him or her about behaviors which cause them to be distanced from God. I cannot accept that approach.

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Ezekiel 33-34:31

    Ezekiel returns once more to the theme of the watchman. There are two points to this metaphor. The first is that God does not take pleasure from the death and destruction of the wicked. He would rather that they turn from their wicked behavior and live. The death and destruction of the wicked is only inevitable if they keep on sinning. The second point of this metaphor is that it is our duty as servants of God to warn people of the death and destruction which is coming for them. Do we love those around us enough to warn them of the dangers inherent in their sinful behavior? Have we spoken out as loudly against greed as we have against sexual sins? Have we warned those who oppress the poor that their actions will lead to their destruction as surely as sexual sins will lead to the destruction of those who partake in them?
    Ezekiel than goes on to speak about those spiritual leaders who use their position to enrich themselves rather than to care for the flock. Spiritual leaders who are more interested in what is in it for themselves than in the needs of the people they lead. They do not assist the weak, nor care for the sick. They do bind the wounds of the injured, nor go searching for the lost. While he is discussing his condemnation of spiritual leaders, Ezekiel makes his first comment directed at all of us. Not only did the spiritual leaders not go looking for the lost, no one else did either. Ezekiel continues by warning us that God will judge even the common person for their actions. God will judge between the “fat” sheep and the “skinny” sheep. What role have we played in driving others away from God? Have we kept the best “grazing” for ourselves and trampled the rest? Have we bullied the weak and driven them from God?

Daily Bible Study

November 15, 2014 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I am home from my business trip. Praise God that the whole trip went without incident. I want to thank all of you who prayed for me while I was travelling.

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Proverbs 27:18-20

    We cannot see what is in someone’s heart to judge why they took a particular action. However, we can get a pretty accurate picture by looking at their entire life. Individual acts do not tell us much about what is going on in someone’s heart, but, if we see how they treat others day in and day out we will get a pretty clear picture of what they think of others. Does my life reflect the love of God which I claim lives in my heart?

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Psalm 113-114:8

    God, the Creator of the Universe, cares about each and every individual. Let us praise God because, even though He has created a Universe so great and large that the Solar System is insignificantly small, He cares enough about individual people to lift them up and save them.

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Hebrews 12:14-29

    The writer echoes something which Paul said in Romans. We are to do what we can to live at peace with everyone. The writer here tells us that, in addition to striving to live at peace with everyone, we are to live a holy life. Living at peace with others is part and parcel of living a holy life, but if others refuse to live at peace with us because we live a holy life, that is not our problem.
    The writer warns us that we must be careful to not allow bitterness to take root in our lives. If we allow it, bitterness will grow up in our lives and corrupt them. Beyond that our bitterness can corrupt others and separate them from the holiness of God.

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Ezekiel 31-32:32

    Sooner or later every mighty nation will fall. When a nation begins to believe that its might is a birthright which it earns just by being, that day is close. God will show His power and bring down that nation when they begin to think that their power and might is theirs by right. Mighty nations will only remain strong as long as they strive to do what is right. When they lose sight of the fact that might grows from doing the right things and starts to believe that their might makes all of their actions right, their end is in sight. I fear for our world because the political leaders of the world seem to have lost sight of this truth.

Daily Bible Study

November 14, 2014 Bible Study — Of Whom the World Was Not Worthy

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have been away on business the last few days. I hope that my writing has not suffered from this. I am writing today’s before I catch my flight home. Thank you for all of your prayers during this time.

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Proverbs 27:17

    Just as one iron tool can be used to sharpen another one, so too can our friends help us become better at serving God. We are God’s tools to accomplish His purposes. Let us spend out time with others who are also serving God so that we can make each other better tools for God’s use.

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Psalm 112:1-10

    Yesterday, the psalmist told us that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Today, he tells us that it is a source of joy. It seems counter intuitive to us to think that fear can be a source of joy. Most of the time, fear is the opposite of joy. However, fear of the Lord will inspire us to obey God’s commands and following God’s commands will bring us joy. If we fear the Lord we need fear nothing else. Not only need we fear nothing else, if our fear of the Lord is as great as it ought to be, we will fear nothing else.
    As our fear of the Lord leads us to obey Him, good things will come to us and evil will find no foothold to bring us down. Let us infuriate the wicked by doing what is right, no matter what they may do to discourage us.

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Hebrews 11:32-12:13

    The writer goes on to point out that many people did great things as a result of their faith, but not all of those whom we should admire for their faith did things which the people of this world would desire to emulate. Some people suffered mocking, torture, and some even painful death. They were destitute, mistreated, and persecuted because of their faith. Yet despite this they maintained their faith in Christ.
    Here the writer puts in something which has always touched me deeply, the KJV translates it as “Of whom the world was not worthy.” I can barely begin to communicate what that phrase means to me. Growing up there was a book in our house called the “Martyrs Mirror” which contained accounts of those who suffered death for their faith in Christ. It contained stories of how the authorities committed ever greater atrocities against such people because they would not stop joyously praising God in the face of horrible suffering. The world was not worthy to have such people in it. Yet they counted it as joy to suffer for the name of Christ. My greatest fear is that I would not be able to emulate those people if faced with even a fraction of what they suffered.

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Ezekiel 29-30:26

    Ezekiel prophesied against Egypt.Egypt’s fall came about for two reasons. The first was that the Pharaoh and the people of Egypt believed that the blessings they gained from the Nile were the result of their own actions. The second was that they had made promises to the nation of Judah to defend it against Babylon, but when the time came to do so, Egypt offered no support at all.
    Let us never forget to give thanks to God for the blessings He has given us. And let us remember the dangers of making promises that we will be unable, or unwilling, to fulfill, even if we think we will never be called upon to do so.

Daily Bible Study

November 13, 2014 Bible Study — Fear of the Lord Is The Beginning of Wisdom

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I am out-of-town on business for a few days. I believe that I will still be able to get these published each day, but it may be a little later than usual when I do so. Please pray for me that I may serve God on this trip and that He keeps me safe. Also, pray for my wife, that God’s Spirit comforts her in my absence.

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Proverbs 27:15-16

    The proverb writer says that a quarrelsome wife is like a dripping roof on a rainy day. The fact of the matter is that that is true of anyone you spend a large amount of time with, if they are quarrelsome they will become more annoying the longer you are with them. So, the question this proverb should lead you to ask is this, “Am I quarrelsome?”

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Psalm 111:1-10

    This psalm reminds us once again to praise the Lord and thank Him for all He has done. His righteousness never fails. The key part of this psalm is the reminder that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. It is when we have a proper fear of God that we obey His commands, and when we obey God’s commands we will gain wisdom every day.

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Hebrews 11:17-31

    The writer gives example after example of people acting on faith, and of improbable things happening to them or for them. We have examples of people willingly sacrificing their worldly desires in order to serve God (Abraham was willing to sacrifice his heir and Moses sacrificed the pleasures and comforts of being a member of Pharaoh’s family). We have examples of people being willing to take risks (the people of Israel marching into the Red Sea and Rahab helping the spies). Examples of people willing to look foolish (the people of Israel marching around Jericho). Are we willing to do the same? Are we willing to sacrifice our worldly desires, to take risks, to look like fools, in order to serve God? Do we have the faith to believe that the sacrifices and risks are worth it?

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Ezekiel 27-28:26

    Ezekiel gives warning against hubris, excessive pride. The rulers and people of Tyre and Sidon did not believe that they could suffer the destruction which was visited upon Israel and Judah. They thought they were wise enough that they did not need God. They thought that their natural defenses made them unconquerable (well, at least Tyre did). There is no nation or kingdom which will last. When the day of God’s judgement arrives, they will all fall.

Daily Bible Study

November 12, 2014 Bible Study — Faith Is Assurance About What We Do Not See

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I am out of town on business for a few days. I expect to be able to get these completed each day, but may be a little later than usual in getting them published.

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Proverbs 27:14

    No matter how positive what you have to say, if you say it loudly and forcefully early in the morning to someone who has not had enough sleep.

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Psalm 110:1-7

    I have spent the last several days studying how the writer of Hebrews sees this psalm as applying to Jesus. As a result I find it hard to see it any other way. As I read this, I realized that the world is divided into two camps; those who serve the Lord willingly and those who oppose Him. Christ will be victorious and those who serve Him willingly will join Him in glory. Those who oppose Him will be struck down and destroyed.

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Hebrews 11:1-16

    Here the writer makes a stab at defining faith, and does a pretty good job of it. Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Faith is the confidence and assurance that not everything can be explained by what we can experience with our five physical senses, that science does not answer all of the questions about the universe.

    It was because of their faith that the great figures of the Bible were commended. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Sarah were all commended because of their faith. It was because of their faith that they did the things which lead us to hold them up as examples. It is impossible to please God without faith because in order to please God we must seek Him. But we will not seek Him if we do not believe that He exists. These forerunners in faith considered themselves foreigners upon the earth, waiting for their heavenly homeland. We, too, are foreigners in the land in which we live, citizens of God’s kingdom. Let us always remember that this is not our home.

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Ezekiel 24-26:21

    God sends troubles and trials to us and to our society to cleanse us from our sins, from our impurity. If we refuse to allow these things to cleanse us, God will have no choice but to throw us on to the fire for complete destruction. As a society, and as individuals, our impurity is lewdness and idolatry. Will we allow God to cleanse us of these impurities? Will we allow Him to remove the lewdness and idolatry from our lives?