For today, One Year Bible Online links here. Christmas is coming soon. Let us remember what it is truly about, the birth of Jesus Christ. Let us strive to not be caught up in the commercialism which is what this season is about for many in our society today.

Proverbs 29:23

If we allow our pride to drive our behavior we will be humiliated, but if we humbly admit our limitations others will honour us for what we do accomplish.

Psalm 131:1-3

Let us model ourselves after the psalmist. Rather than be proud and aloof, let us be humble and caring. The psalmist said that he would not worry about matters too great or awesome for him to grasp. When we come across matters which we have trouble understanding, rather than fret over them and allow them to undermine our faith, let us set them aside and focus on those things which we can understand. This does not mean that we accept the interpretations of those who claim to understand such matters. It just means that we reserve judgement on such matters until the Holy Spirit gives us an answer we do understand. Let us trust the Lord and put our hope in Him.

Revelation 3:7-22

    Now John delivers the message for the church in Philadelphia. God has opened a door for them that no one can close. Despite their weakness they have obeyed God’s commands and refused to deny Him. There is an important message for all of us here, we do not need to be strong, we just need to persevere, to remain faithful in the face of opposition. We are not called on to defeat our opponents, nor to win the arguments. We are called on to remain faithful in the face of opposition and persecution.
    John has a message for one last church, the one in Laodicea. He tells them that they are neither hot, nor cold. They are confident that their material wealth provides them with all that they need. Their problem is that the things they, and we, truly need cannot be purchased with material goods. Until we recognize that our wealth is of no value to God, nor will it bring eternal salvation, we are spiritually poor. Let us give all of our material wealth in order to gain what God has to offer, if that is what it takes. No matter how much wealth we have, we cannot buy God’s favor. But sometimes we need to give away all of our material goods in order to accept it.
    If we go over the message to the churches, they really fall into three categories: two that are remaining faithful, two that are allowing sexual sin to creep in, and three that have become indifferent. In other words there are two traps the church can fall into. It can become enticed by sexual sin and other forms of debauchery. Or, it can become distracted and lose its enthusiasm for doing the Lord’s work (or perhaps, never actually have any enthusiasm for serving God). The latter seems to be the greater danger, but that does not mean we can drop our guard against the former. The two churches which were not condemned for a failing both appear to have been facing suffering, perhaps even persecution (or were about to do so). So, which type of church do we belong to? One faithfully facing opposition and persecution? One dealing with those endorsing sexual sin? Or one which has become indifferent to doing God’s work?

Amos 7-9:15

Amos proclaims that God will bring judgement against Israel for those who follow the forms of religion, but as soon as they are able return to cheating the poor and robbing from the helpless. In particular he condemns them for using false measurements and inaccurate scales. This is not just about those who use false measure, but about all who use misleading advertising to get others to buy what they are selling. God will bring judgement on any society which is dominated by those who mislead others into spending their money in ways which are foolish.

Daily Bible Study

December 11, 2014 Bible Study — What Kind of Church Are We Part Of? (Part 2)

December 10, 2014 AttilaDimedici

Proverbs 29:21-22

When I read this proverb I thought about controversial stories that have been in the news the last few years. When trying to judge what happened with limited information, we can know that the person with the history of poor anger management is more likely to be the one who started the fight. Those who have trouble controlling their temper are generally guilty of many other sins as well.

Psalm 130:1-8

No matter how deep our despair, nor how terrible our sins, God will listen to our prayers when we cry out to Him. God does not keep a record of our sins. It is we ourselves who do that. We could not survive if God made us pay the price of each and every one of our sins. God offers us forgiveness so that we can learn to serve Him. Will you serve Him today?

Revelation 2:18-3:6

Next John delivers a message for the church in Thyatira. He commends them for their deeds. They are doing the opposite of what he condemned the church in Ephesus for doing. Rather than lose their enthusiasm, the church in Thyatira was becoming more enthusiastic and loving. They were doing even more than they had done when they first came to know the Lord. However, they had a woman in their church who was teaching believers to commit sexual sins and eat food sacrificed to idols. This went beyond teaching tolerance of sinful behavior. In Thyatira they had someone in the church encouraging believers to sin. Those who followed such teaching would suffer the consequences of such behavior, but those who remained faithful will see that God is faithful in turn.
Then comes the message for the church in Sardis. This is the message that should frighten us the most. The church in Sardis has a reputation for being a vibrant congregation, but the message John has for them says that they are dead. In how many of our churches are we gathering on Sunday to sing songs about how wonderful God is, but come Monday He has no role in our lives? God would rather see us bring glory to Him by what we do during the week, than see us “filled with the spirit” on Sunday morning.

Amos 4-6:14

Amos condemns those who brag about their charitable giving while oppressing the poor and crushing the needy. God brings hard times in order to remind us to turn to Him, but all too often we only dedicate ourselves even more thoroughly to the idols we serve. When hard times come, do we realize that we all need to pull together, or do we use our power and position to make sure that it is someone else who suffers. When hard times came upon the people of Israel, rather than aid the oppressed and seek justice, the people crushed the oppressed and sought special favors.
God is calling us once more to do what is good and to run from what is evil. Too many people say that they hate evil and love good, but then they seek to overturn justice. All too often I see what Amos describes here, where people hate honest judges and despise those who speak the truth. Let that not be us.

Daily Bible Study

December 10, 2014 Bible Study — What Kind of Church Are We Part Of? (Part 1)

December 9, 2014 AttilaDimedici

Proverbs 29:19-20

Words are not, by themselves, sufficient to impose discipline. While those who hear them may understand what is said, unless they lead to greater consequences, they will not change their behavior as a result.
Talking without thinking how others will hear what you say is the most foolish thing you can do. Thoughtless words will have longer term consequences than any other action you can take.

Psalm 129:1-8

This psalm is a reminder that the Jewish people have been persecuted for as long as they have been a people. Nevertheless, they have remained a people favored by God. Those who hate Jerusalem and the Jewish people will suffer and become outcasts. God’s blessings will be withheld from them.

Revelation 2:1-17

    John gives a message to each of the seven churches. His first message is for the church in Ephesus. He starts out with praise for them. They work hard and patiently endure difficult times. They do not tolerate evil people (an important point for us to note in this age of “tolerance”). They have not been fooled by false teachers who claim to speak for God. They have patiently endured suffering for their faith. All of this is praiseworthy. However, they have lost their enthusiasm.
    His message to the church in Smyrna is praise and a warning. They are materially poor and physically suffering, but they are rich in faith. Unlike the other churches, the warning is not a warning to change somethings. It is a warning that persecution is about to start. But it is also encouragement, reminding them of the reward that awaits those who remain faithful.
    Next is the message for the church in Pergamum. They are praised for remaining faithful in the face of persecution. They continued to call on the name of Jesus, even when threatened with death for doing so. However, they have among them those who encourage sexual immorality and eating food sacrificed to idols. I think this can be contrasted with the church in Ephesus which would not tolerate evil people. In Pergamum, they had among them those who preached in the church that they must tolerate all types of behavior. Such teaching encourages people to sin, instead of encouraging people not to sin.
    When we read the messages to the seven churches, we must take careful note of our own lives and our own churches to decide which of these messages most closely addresses where we are. Here in the U.S., there are few, if any churches which fall into the category of the church in Smyrna. We are not poor. nor are we truly suffering. However, much of the church in the U.S. falls into one of the other two we studied today, and some have both problems. All too many of us have lost our enthusiasm for Christ. And all too many people in the church today teach that we must be tolerant of others, no matter what they do, or teach. I do not make the second mistake, but I struggle with the first. How do I regain my enthusiasm?

Amos 1-3:15

The book of Amos starts of with repeated statements saying, “The people of XXX have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished.” This is to remind us that we cannot escape judgement for our sins by saying, “But everybody else was doing it.” God brought judgement against the peoples living around the land of Israel for the injustices they did against the people of Israel. But Israel did not get a pass because they were so mistreated. God will not excuse us for our sins just because we were “misunderstood”, or had a difficult childhood, or whatever other excuse we may have.

Daily Bible Study

December 9, 2014 Bible Study — Glory to the One Who Is, Who Was, And Who Is to Come

December 8, 2014 AttilaDimedici

Proverbs 29:18

When people reject God’s direction, there are no limits on their behavior, anything goes. Those who listen to God show wisdom and find joy. Looking at the world around us it does not take long to see the truth of this proverb.

Psalm 128:1-6

The psalm has a similar theme to today’s proverb. Except that the psalm emphasizes the joy that comes from following the way of the Lord. Those who fear the Lord will be joyful and successful in what they do.

Revelation 1:1-20

There is a lot of symbolism in this passage. However, the biggest thing here is the reminder that God is, God was, and He is yet to come. Throughout all of history, God is there. He was there before history began, and He will be there when history is over. Moreover, God, in the form of Jesus, is THE Living One.
From time to time, there are those who say that God is dead. Jesus’ death and resurrection provides us with the answer to that, as we are reminded here. Our answer to those who say that God is dead is, “No, He was dead, but He is risen from the dead and now will live forever.” He holds the keys to death and the grave. We can no longer be locked away by those two. We need not fear death, or the grave for Jesus hold the keys to release us from their power.

Joel 1-3:21

    The prophet Joel speaks of a time of economic hardship, a time of famine. When such things happen, we are called to turn to the Lord, to fast and pray. These times are God’s call to us to repent our sins, to stop using our wealth for our own pleasure. If we repent, turn to God, and truly feel sorrow for our sins, God will restore our well-being and joy. He will pour out His Spirit on the people of the land.
    Every year when I get to Joel, it is such a relief. For the last few months I have been reading prophets who have been describing a people who resemble the people in our society today and the judgement which God is about to bring against them. It begins to feel like there is no hope, like it is too late for people to turn to God. Then I get to Joel, and he says that if we repent our sins and fast and pray before God, great things will happen.
    Old men will dream dreams and young men will see visions. God will pour out His Spirit on those who serve Him, men and women alike. Terrible troubles will come on all of the earth, but those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. Let us rejoice, Joel tells us that there is still time for people to repent. Let us repent today and turn to God.

Daily Bible Study

December 8, 2014 Bible Study — It Is Time To Seek The Lord

December 7, 2014 AttilaDimedici

Proverbs 29:15-17

The proverb writer reminds us that children will only learn wisdom through discipline, the NIV says “a rod and a reprimand”. An undisciplined child disgraces its mother. If you have disciplined your child, you will be able to have peace of mind when they are out of your care. You will not worry that he will do something foolish which will get him killed (or otherwise seriously hurt). Parents who do not discipline their children do not truly love them.

Psalm 127:1-5

The opening of this psalm tells us an important lesson. No matter how noble, no matter how admirable the task we set for ourselves, if it is not one which God has set for us, we will not succeed. God does not desire for us to work from sunup to sundown and beyond. His plans leave time for us to rest.

Jude 1:1-25

    There are two contrasting teachings which the New Testament writers warn us against. The first is the belief that we can earn our salvation by living good and pure lives. Paul makes it clear in his writings that no one can live a good enough and pure enough life to earn salvation. The second, and the one which Jude addresses, is the idea that, since God, from His amazing grace, will forgive our sins, we do not need to even attempt to live good and pure lives,
    Jude tells us that such teachings are nothing new and have been condemned by God whenever they appear. Inevitably, accepting sexual immorality leads to sexual perversion, which leads to a multitude of other sins. Taken together these things lead to destruction. Jude tells us that those who teach that God’s grace allows us to live immoral lives base their teachings on their dreams and “visions”. They must do so since the Scripture so thoroughly condemns what they wish to teach.
    Throughout my life I have been taught that we must be equally on guard against both of the teachings I mentioned above. However, as I have been reading through the Bible over the last several years, I noticed something. The places where the second teaching is condemned and warned against are much more frequent, and emphatic, than the places where the first is warned against. Yes, we must be careful not to get caught up in legalism, in the belief that our righteous acts make us better than others and/or make us deserving of God’s love. However, the much more dangerous idea is that, because God will forgive our sins, we do not need to stop sinning.

Hosea 10-14:9

The prophet warns that the richer people get the more idols they build to worship. Yet it does not have to be that way. God calls us to plant seeds of righteousness so that we may harvest a crop of love. Now is the time to seek the Lord. Tomorrow may be too late. As I read this entreaty, I am reminded that last week one of my co-workers was killed on the way to work. I did not know him well, but from what my co-workers have said, I believe he knew the Lord. He was well-loved by all who knew him and he is harvesting a crop of love as my co-workers, and others, are raising money to care for his family.
But Hosea warns us that all too many of us have sown seeds of wickedness. Those who have done so will harvest a crop of sin. Rather than live lives of righteousness, they have chosen to believe that a strong military and powerful police force will protect them from troubles. How has that worked out in various cities across this country during the riots which have happened over the last few weeks? Far better to saw a crop of righteousness and trust in God for a crop of love.

Daily Bible Study

December 7, 2014 Bible Study — God Desires Mercy Not Sacrifice

December 7, 2014 AttilaDimedici

Proverbs 29:12-14

If a ruler gives credence to lies, it is only a matter of time until he will only have wicked men and wicked women for advisers. In such a situation it is only a matter of time until those who are not willing to lie, cheat, and steal to advance their own interests will either leave by their own choice or be forced out by those more ruthless than themselves.

Psalm 126:1-6

This psalm refers to when the people of Israel returned from exile. However, the psalm gives us an insight in how to deal with suffering and tragedy in our lives. I am actually going to look at it backwards. The psalmist tells us that those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. When we face suffering let us always remember that it is temporary. God will bring us joy when His plans reach their fulfillment.
Earlier in the psalm the psalmist said that the rest of the world will be amazed by what God has done for us. Let us live our lives so that when God works out His plans, others will look at us and say, “What amazing things the Lord has done for them.” When we experience the good times, let us make sure that everyone knows that it was God who brought them about for us.

3 John 1:1-14

John writes here about traveling teachers who will accept nothing from non-believers. They rely on the believers in an area to support themselves as they travel around teaching the Gospel. I wish he gave us a better idea of how they actually practiced their teaching. I suppose it is just as well that he does not because there would be some who would claim that was the only way to do it.
John praises those who provide support for these traveling teachers. It is interesting that there was a leader of the local church who opposed such traveling teachers and worked to keep them out of the area. John condemns such behavior. It is not clear, but it appears that the leader who John condemns used his position to silence everybody who might provide leadership aside from himself. John tells us not to let such a bad example influence us. Instead we should only imitate those who do what is good. In the NIV translation, it is clear that John is calling this leader an evil man. Those who do good prove that they are God’s children. Those who do evil prove that they do not know God.

Hosea 6-9:17

    God wants us to show love rather than offer sacrifices. He wants us to know Him more than He wants burnt offerings. It is not enough to give to good causes, even if we give until it hurts. We must show love to those around us. God wants to heal us, and our society, but our sins get in the way. When the prophet says that God wants to heal us he means physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
    In some ways this reflects back to yesterday. God wants to heal our society, but its sins are too great for healing. However, the prophet is not telling us that its “big” sins are too great. Rather, he is telling us that too many of us are sinning. I cannot fix what is wrong in our society by pointing to some other person and say, “See, that is what is wrong with our society.” No, I need to examine MY life and look at the sins I commit. In order to fix society, I must cleanse myself of my sins.
    The answer to our society’s problems is not new laws, or different laws, or stricter enforcing of existing laws. It is not changing the makeup of our government, or our institutions, or our media. No, the answer to our society’s problems is changing people’s hearts. That is something that cannot be done en masse. It must be done one by one and can only be done by showing God’s love to each and every person we meet.

Daily Bible Study

December 6, 2014 Bible Study — We Do Not Love One Another If We Do Not Obey God’s Commands

December 5, 2014 AttilaDimedici

Proverbs 29:9-11

Once again today, one of the proverbs reminds me of the events going on around the United States (and thinking about it, around the world). Fools give full vent to their anger, but eventually the wise will bring calm. Where are the wise people who will bring calm to these situations?

Psalm 125:1-5

If we trust God we will be secure, nothing will be able to shake our confidence. The psalmist makes a good point in the middle of today’s psalm

The wicked will not rule the land of the godly,…

This is something to remember whenever we begin to believe that those who rule over us are wicked. If the people are godly, their rulers will be as well. God promises that the wicked will not rule over the godly.

2 John 1:1-13

The most important thing for us to remember is that we are to love one another. Yes, it is important that we obey God’s commands, but one of the most basic of God’s commands is that we love one another, the other one is that we love God. All of the rest of God’s commands are instructions on how we can do those two things (or about things that are inconsistent with those two things: e.g. we will not murder someone we love). So, John tells us that we are not obeying God’s commands if we do not love one another and we do not love one another if we do not obey God’s commands.
Then John makes a point that is very important. He tells us that he wrote his reminder about loving one another because of deceivers who have gone out into the world. He tells us that these deceivers deny that Jesus came in a real body (I suspect that he means that they deny that Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead). I am glad that I am reading this now because it reminds me of an point to keep in mind when discussing issues with those who hold non-traditional positions on things such as abortion and “homosexual marriage”. Before spending any time discussing the merits of their arguments on the issue, it is important to discover what they believe about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. If they do not believe that the Gospel accounts are historical reality, nothing else they have to say represents a position consistent with faith in Christ.

Hosea 4-5:15

The prophet makes God’s case against Israel:

There is no faithfulness, no kindness,
no knowledge of God in your land.
You make vows and break them;
you kill and steal and commit adultery.
There is violence everywhere—
one murder after another.

When I read that I thought, “That so describes our country today.” Then he goes on and writes this:

Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky,
and the fish of the sea are disappearing.

But Hosea is not calling on us to be environmentally conscious. I am convinced that if we live truly godly lives, taking care of the environment will happen as a side effect. However, the most important part of today’s passage is when Hosea says this:

Don’t point your finger at someone else
and try to pass the blame!

We cannot avoid blame for what is going wrong by looking at those who are worse than ourselves. No, we need to ask ourselves how we are contributing to the above. Do I agree to do something and then fail to do it? Do I take things which do not belong to me? Do I watch violent TV shows, or movies? How about those which are sexually salacious? We are not to assign blame for what is wrong in our society to others. We are to take responsibility for our own actions and change them. Let us be models of godly living. I will admit that I have failed to live according to what I believe is right. In as much as I have done so, I have contributed to the problems in our society.

Daily Bible Study

December 5, 2014 Bible Study

December 4, 2014 AttilaDimedici

Proverbs 29:5-8

    When you flatter your friends (and in this context, “flatter” means telling them good things about themselves that are not true) you are setting them up for devastating failure.
    The evil will allow their desire to sin lead them into a trap. The righteous, who reject the sin, will avoid the trap completely, shouting for joy at their good fortune. The godly care about the poor, not only do they care about the poor, but they care about their rights. The wicked do not care about anyone but themselves, and their actions reflect it.
    The last of these proverbs reminds me of what is going on in Ferguson, MO. There are agitators stirring up trouble there. The proverb writer tells us that they are mockers and fools. If they were wise, as they would have us believe, they would be calming things down, not stirring them up.

Psalm 124:1-8

This psalm reminds me to look at my life and think about what could have been. When I look at my life, where would I be if God had not been on my side? If He had not been looking out for me? It would not have taken much to be different for things to be much worse. I made plenty of bad decisions over the years, but none of them turned out quite as bad as they could have, or as I deserved. If God had not been on my side, the suffering in my life would have been much worse. I thank and praise God for all He has done for me.

1 John 5:1-21

    This passage starts out with what, at first, appears to be circular reasoning. If we love God, we will love His children and we demonstrate that we love His children by loving God and obeying His commands. However, some thought reveals that there is an important point here. It is not enough to obey God’s commands and it is easy to say that we love God. We need to demonstrate that love by our actions towards our fellow believers, who are God’s children. However, John wants us to understand that we cannot truly love our fellow believers without believing in and loving God. John is addressing both those who want to make Christianity purely about a one on one relationship with God and those who want to make it purely about a relationship with the “Body of believers” (quotes used because this latter group does not actually believe).
    John changes subject slightly as he concludes this letter. However, here again John expresses what at first appears to be circular reasoning. If we ask God that He do His will, He will do as we ask. However, it is more a matter of knowing that as we seek His will, He will listen to our prayers and give us what we want. However, God will not give us what we ask for if what we are asking for will cause us to become less in love with Him.
    I am finding it hard to get this to come out right. So, I will use an illustration. If we ask God for a shiny new car, but if we get that car we will start to value that car more than doing God’s will, God will not give us that shiny new car. On the other hand, if we ask God for a new car so that we can use it to something that it is His will that we do and we will be better able to do that with a luxury vehicle, God will give us a luxury vehicle.

Hosea 1-3:5

    Hosea married a prostitute/promiscuous woman. The passage tells us that God instructed him to do so. I do not know if God told him to marry a specific woman who was promiscuous, or if he was supposed to seek one out to marry. I don’t think it matters for the point of this passage, but I have always wondered. Every time I read, or hear, this passage I feel sorry for Hosea’s children. What terrible names to go through life with.
    Through Hosea God told the people of the Northern Kingdom, Israel, that they were not His people. Yet the day will come when they will once more be God’s people. The interesting thing I noticed is that although Hosea was speaking against the Kingdom of Israel, not the Kingdom of Judah, he tells us that the people of Judah will go into exile as well as the people of Israel. We find this out when Hosea says that the people of Israel will reunite with the people of Judah, and together they will return from exile.
    The key element of today’s passage is when God tells Hosea to go and love his wife once more, even though she was committing adultery. This is to illustrate that God will take back the people of Israel even though they worship other gods. I believe that it represents how God will continue to love us even though we sin and worship things other than Him.

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December 4, 2014 Bible Study — We Love Each Other Because God First Loved Us

December 3, 2014 AttilaDimedici

Proverbs 29:2-4

When those who are in authority are godly, people are happy and thrive. When the wicked rule, people suffer, even if they are not directly oppressed by those rulers. When the government rules justly a nation will be stable and the economy will thrive. When those in government use their power for their own interest, the nation will be on the path to destruction.

Psalm 123:1-4

Let us watch God as a slave watches his master, intently studying Him so as to know His will, reacting to every little sign to gain His favour and avoid His displeasure. Do we really do this? Or are we so sure of God’s mercy that we do not worry about what will please Him, or what will anger Him? Oh God, please forgive me for those times when I have not taken into account what You desire me to do.

1 John 4:1-21

    Not everyone who claims to speak on behalf of God is guided by God’s Spirit. Anyone who is speaking a message given to them by God’s Spirit will acknowledge that Jesus actually lived, died, and rose from the dead. Anyone who does not acknowledge this truth about Jesus is not from God. The latter have the spirit of this world in them and are speaking from the viewpoint of this world. Therefore the world will readily listen to them. Those who truly follow Christ have God’s Spirit within them. If we have God’s Spirit within us we will listen to those who speak the message given by God’s Spirit. Those who do not have God’s Spirit will not listen to that message. In this way we are able to distinguish those who have God’s Spirit from those who do not.
    John continues telling us how to recognize those who know and belong to God. God is love (but love is not God), therefore everyone who truly loves others knows God. Anyone who does not love others does not know God. Here he teaches us a key part of the Christian message. No one has seen God directly, but if we love one another, others will see that God lives in us and see Him through us. As we allow God’s love to grow in us we will fear less and less. If we do fear it is because we do not yet experience God’s love fully. Let us continue to grow in our love so that we learn not to fear anything.
    This passage is packed full of insight. John goes on to tell us that we love because God first loved us. This is an important insight into human nature. We are only capable of loving if we have been loved. If you look at people around you you will notice that those who do the best job of loving others were well loved by others. When you find an exception to this rule, it is someone who is filled with God’s Spirit. Which means that it is not an exception after all. Ultimately, this tells us that our job in this world is to pass God’s love on to others, especially those who have never experienced love from a human being. All love is originally from God.

Daniel 11:36-12:13

The book of Daniel ends with an account of a “king of the north” who will do as he pleases. He will be victorious in many battles, then suddenly his time will run out. After his death, a time of great anguish will occur, but those whose name is written in the book of life will be rescued. The dead will rise, some to everlasting life, some to everlasting shame. Then the account contains several cryptic comments about how long these things will go on. At one point it says, “It will go on for a time, times, and half a time.” At another point we are told, “…, there will be 1290 days. And blessed are those who wait and remain until the end of the 1,335 days!” I will not pretend to have any understanding of what those mean. I have heard, and read, various interpretations of those, but none that I find convincing. At this point, the important meaning I take from them is that while the suffering will go on for a long time, it is still a limited, measurable amount of time. When measured against eternity, the suffering will not go on for all that long at all.

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December 3, 2014 Bible Study — Live Righteously and Love One Another

December 2, 2014 AttilaDimedici

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 29:1

Someone who refuses to change their actions, even after repeatedly being told what they are doing wrong, and why it is a mistake, will suddenly be destroyed (well, at least from their perspective). By the time they fall it will be too late to mount a recovery. You know the type of person the writer is talking about. Those people who are even more determined not to change their ways after someone has told them they are wrong.

Psalm 122:1-9

I love how this psalm opens:

I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

Are we glad when people invite us to go somewhere to worship God? Do we look forward to our opportunities to join with others in worship? I was going to say that as I get older I find greater joy in doing so, but that is not really true. I have always found great joy in joining others in worshiping the Lord. It is just that I used to be more easily distracted by other pleasures. I have come to realize that the joy I get from worshiping God lasts longer than the pleasure I get from other things (except doing other things to serve the Lord, but that is a form of worship as well).
The psalmist asks us to pray for Jerusalem to be at peace. This is certainly something we should do. We should pray for peace in all the earth, but there is something especially symbolically important about peace in Jerusalem. Let us pray that one day soon there will be peace in Jerusalem, and that that peace will spread throughout the earth.

1 John 3:7-24

In yesterday’s passage, John told us that if we sin, we have an intercessor who pleads our case with God. However, in today’s passage he tells us that those who keep on sinning belong to the devil. Those born of God will not continue to sin. Taken together these two passages teach us that, while God will forgive us for our sins, if we rely on that forgiveness and refuse to change (that is, we do not attempt to stop sinning) we do not belong to God. It is possible to know if we are children of God. If we live righteously and love our fellow believers, we are children of God. If we do not do those things (which are really one and the same thing), we are children of the devil.
Those who do not live righteously will hate those who do. It should come as no surprise when those who do not strive to follow Christ hate us. What should surprise us, and make us question whether we are being faithful, is when those who reject Christ like us (there will be times when it happens, but we should be very careful when it does). Even when others hate us we should show our love. It is not enough to say that we love, love is not passive. Rather true love is active. If we love those around us we will demonstrate that love by our actions. If we do that which love compels us to do, our actions will show the truth of our faith in Christ for all who see.

Daniel 11:2-35

Today’s passage continues to lay out events in Daniel’s future. It talks about a king who will rise to power and will act against God’s people. This king will ally with those who once served God but have chosen to reject God’s will. However, those who truly know God will stand strong and resist such blasphemy. The ending of this passage describes a time when the government will persecute those who attempt to remain faithful to God. Such times have come in the past and will come again in the future. Are we prepared to remain faithful servants of God in the face of persecution?

Fact and Fantasy

Monthly Archives: December 2014

December 12, 2014 Bible Study — What Kind of Church Are We Part Of? (Part 3)

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December 11, 2014 Bible Study — What Kind of Church Are We Part Of? (Part 2)

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December 10, 2014 Bible Study — What Kind of Church Are We Part Of? (Part 1)

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December 9, 2014 Bible Study — Glory to the One Who Is, Who Was, And Who Is to Come

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December 8, 2014 Bible Study — It Is Time To Seek The Lord

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December 7, 2014 Bible Study — God Desires Mercy Not Sacrifice

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December 6, 2014 Bible Study — We Do Not Love One Another If We Do Not Obey God’s Commands

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December 5, 2014 Bible Study

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December 4, 2014 Bible Study — We Love Each Other Because God First Loved Us

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December 3, 2014 Bible Study — Live Righteously and Love One Another

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