Monthly Archives: July 2015

Daily Bible Study

July 12, 2015 Bible Study — Why We Preach The Gospel

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 19:4-5

    Everyone wants to be friends with people who have wealth, while those same people avoid those who are poor. Are we willing to make the effort to break this rule?
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Psalm 9:13-20

    When God has delivered us from troubles, or saved us from harm, do we publicly praise Him? Or do we just go about our lives as if His salvation was our just due? Let us never forget that the wicked are trapped by their own actions. It is only by the grace of God that we do not join them. Let us praise Him and rejoice when we see His justice served around us. Even more so let us celebrate when He shows us His mercy.

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Romans 1:1-17

    Paul starts by summarizing the Gospel he preaches:

  1. God promised it through the prophets (we can read what they wrote about it)
  2. Jesus was biologically a descendant of David
  3. The Holy Spirit used its power to declare Jesus the Son of God by raising Him from the dead
      4. From there Paul goes on to describe his calling and the purpose for preaching the Gospel. Paul invited/enjoined/requested those who had no real understanding of God to a faith in Him which led to obedience to Him. I think this is a something we all to often forget. The purpose of preaching the Gospel is to convince people to have faith which leads to obedience. It is not just to get people to affirm that Jesus is the Son of God. We preach the Gospel (or at least, I do) in order to convince people to act upon that belief.
          Paul wanted to go to Rome so that he could, in some way, help them become stronger in their faith, so that he could help them become better Christians. However, he recognized that this goes both ways. I cannot help you be a better Christian unless I am open to you helping me become a better Christian. If we think that we are so much better than another that God cannot use them to strengthen us than we badly overestimate our faithfulness to God.

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      1 Chronicles 12:19-14:17

          It is interesting that this passage suggests that some men defected from Saul’s army to join with David when they thought David was about to join the Philistines in attacking Saul. The Philistines refused to allow David and his men join them in the battle against Saul. However, after the battle many other warriors from various tribes joined David with the intention of making him king over Israel in place of Saul’s remaining son. I am convinced that the fact that David did not take part in the battle where Saul died contributed mightily to his strength as king.
          The description of what happened when David first attempted to move the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem tells us something about how God works. David had the Ark put on a cart to transport it. When someone reached out to steady the Ark, they were struck dead. Two generations earlier, the Philistines had returned the Ark to Israel in a similar fashion and nothing bad happened. In some ways these two stories show us that God holds those of us who should know better to a higher standard than those who have never heard His commands.
          In Exodus, God had given the Israelites instructions on how to transport the Ark. The Philistines had never heard those instructions, but David and his men should have been aware of them.

Daily Bible Study

July 11, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 19:1-3

    It is nice to have someone who is enthusiastic about what they are doing. However, if they do not actually know what they are doing, that enthusiasm will generally do more harm than good (note: if the enthusiastic person is aware that they do not know what they are doing and seeks guidance from someone who does, this proverb does not necessarily apply). The next proverb is something I have often observed. All too many people blame God for the suffering which they caused themselves.

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Psalm 9:1-12

    The first two verses of this psalm fill me with joy.

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.

In addition to filling me with joy, they make me want to praise God and tell others about Him. Since this psalm was written with the intention of inspiring the reader to do that, the fact that it does so indicates how well it was written.

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Acts 28:1-31

    When Paul arrived in Rome, he met with the local Jewish leaders. He gave his side of the story about why he was brought to Rome as a prisoner. The Jewish leaders responded that they had received no communication regarding Paul’s arrest and trial, nor had anyone conveyed negative rumours about him to them. However, they wanted to hear what he believed because all they had heard about Christianity was that it was condemned everywhere. How much that sounds like today, all that many people know about Christianity is that the “sophisticated” people (however they define “sophisticated”) denounce it.
    Paul and the Jewish leaders set a time for Paul to tell them about what he believed. When the time came, a large number of Jews came to Paul’s residence to hear him speak. Paul attempted to convince them to believe using the Torah (the Law of Moses) and the writings of the prophets. Some of those who listened to Paul that day believed his message, others did not. The two groups argued among themselves about whether or not to believe Paul’s message. Based on Paul’s final word to them, it appears that those who listened to Paul that day reached a consensus to not believe him. It is important for us to remember that there are those who have hardened their hearts and will not believe, no matter what evidence you show them.

For the hearts of these people are hardened,
and their ears cannot hear,
and they have closed their eyes—
so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
and let me heal them.

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1 Chronicles 11-12:18

    I was reading through this feeling completely uninspired by the accounts of the acts of David’s mighty men when I came across the statement “These are the leaders of David’s mighty warriors….they decided to make David their king,…” This tells us something about the mindset of David’s men. They followed him because, for various reasons, they wanted him to be king.

Daily Bible Study

July 10, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 18:23-24

    There are two aspects to the part of the proverb which says that those with unreliable friends will come to ruin. The first is that if you spend most of your time with unreliable people, whom you think are your friends, when trouble strikes you will have no one to aid you in dealing with your problems. The second is that if you hang out with unreliable people trouble will soon find you. However, there are people who will be your friend and stand by you when times are bad. Seek out such people.

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Psalm 8:1-9

    This psalm reminds me of how great this universe is. Every time I look at the night sky I am reminded of the greatness of God. He made the moon, the planets, and the stars and put them in their positions. Yet, He nevertheless cares about individual people. He cares about each and every person. More than that, He has given people power over His creation that is subordinate only to His own. When I consider nature around me I am reminded that our God is majestic and powerful. Praise His holy name!

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Acts 27:21-44

    Everyone on the ship carrying Paul had been busy fighting the storm for several days, including the passengers. In that time, none of them had time to eat (it is not clear if they ate at all during the storm, but one would think they must have eaten at least a little bit). They were beginning to despair (that is me reading between the lines). Paul called them all together, reminded them that he had warned them against setting out, then he told them that God had revealed to him that everyone on the ship would survive the coming shipwreck. A short time after this, the sailors attempted to abandon ship in the middle of the night, leaving the passengers to their fate. Paul warned the Roman commander against allowing them to do so. Just as dawn was breaking, Paul reminded everyone that God had said they would all survive and got them all to eat. When the sun came up, they saw an beach and attempted to run the ship aground on it.
    In this account, Paul’s reminder that he had warned against leaving Fair Haven was not an “I told you so.” Rather, Paul was reminding them of his previous, accurate prediction in order to lend weight to his current prediction. This is an important point. We should avoid telling people “I told you so,” except in circumstances where it is critical that this time they take our advice. Be very careful to listen to God before using this tactic.

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1 Chronicles 9-10:14

    This passage starts with the genealogy of some of those who returned from the Babylonian Exile. Here we come to understand why the writer has spent so much time on genealogies so far. He was setting up the record to show how those who returned from the Exile were able to trace their ancestry back to Jacob. The writer then concludes his genealogy with the genealogy of Saul’s descendants.
    Then the writer begins telling the history of which most of the rest of this book is composed. He starts with the death of Saul. The part of this I want to highlight today is the response of the people of Jabesh-gilead to the Philistines displaying Saul’s remains. The first act of Saul as king was to mount a rescue of the city of Jabesh-gilead from an enemy who wanted to mutilate all the men living in that city. The people of that city showed their gratitude by mounting a raid to retrieve the remains of Saul and his sons. They then respectfully buried those remains. This shows us that despite his flaws, Saul did some good things as king of Israel.

Daily Bible Study

July 9, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 18:22

    Every time I write about this, and several similar proverbs, I feel like I am sucking up to my wife. Nevertheless, I will testify to the truth of this parable. My wife is indeed a treasure and I am lucky to have found her. She is indeed evidence that I have found favor with God.

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Psalm 7:1-17

    As I read this psalm I know that the psalmist is right. God will declare me righteous, not because I am innocent, but rather because of His grace. God will end the evil of the wicked. God has offered His grace to all who wish to accept it, but He will bring judgment to those who do not repent and turn to Him. God is both just and merciful. He will be my shield, and He will be yours as well if you repent of your sins and turn to Him.

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Acts 27:1-20

    The interesting lesson here is the danger of listening to experts. The ship that initially transported Paul, as a prisoner, from Caesarea experienced slow sailing, primarily due to the weather. Perhaps as a result of this, or perhaps because the original ship was not going all the way to Italy, the Roman commander decided to change ships at Myra. When they left there, the weather became worse. When they reached Fair Havens, they debated proceeding on. The captain of the ship and the ship’s owner both wanted to sail a little further to a better harbor. Paul advised against it. The Roman commander chose to side with the captain and the ship’s owner.
    This story shows us that even people who should know better can allow their personal wants to cloud their judgment. I am not faulting the Roman commander for siding with the professionals. It was the professionals who should have taken Paul’s warnings under consideration and rethought their desire to reach a better harbor. Having often read this passage, I do not think that Paul’s warnings were prophetic in the sense of being inspired by the Holy Spirit. I believe that Paul had sailed on enough ships over the course of his life, and had heard enough stories about the weather, that he just believed his warnings would be the likely result of attempting to sail on. That belief was based on his experience being a passenger on many ships over the course of his life, and having heard stories about the weather that time of year. No, Paul was not an expert on sailing or on ships, but he had enough experience to make a judgment of the situation. We need to be prepared to listen to the opinions of those with experience, even when they are not experts in the field.

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1 Chronicles 7-8:40

    As I was slogging through yet another passage of genealogies I came across the verse which said that two of Ephraim’s sons were killed trying to steal livestock near Gath. According to Genesis, Ephraim never lived in the land of Canaan. For that matter, Ephraim was still a boy, or young man when Jacob died. Therefore this passage tells us something about how the Israelites lived in Egypt in the early years, and possibly reveals part of why later Pharaohs feared them. My reading of this verse is that the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Jacob led raiding parties out of Egypt to steal livestock. In doing so, they would have learned many useful military skills.

Daily Bible Study

July 8, 2015 Bible Study — Whether Quick or Slow, I Pray That You Become As I Am

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 18:20-21

    The words we speak can bring happiness or sadness to others. Saying positive things can bring life to others, negative things can bring death. Those who like to talk (and therefore do so a lot) will experience the consequences. This is an important message for me because I like to talk. The more one talks, the harder it is to remember to think carefully before saying amything.

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Psalm 6:1-10

    There are two lines in this psalm which I make my prayer today. The first is:

Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak.

I am indeed weak when it comes to resisting temptation. I put up a good front of strength, but that is just a front. There are temptations which I find myself unable to resist. I know that, while I am able to put on the appearance of strength, it is not true. I strive to reveal that I am as much a sinner as the next, that it is only through God’s grace that I can act righteous in even the most mundane things. But I am embarrassed by the things which tempt me to sin.
The second line in this psalm which is my prayer for today is:
Go away, all you who do evil

I pray this because I know that one aspect of overcoming temptation is staying away from those who do evil, those who embrace sin. I will seek to spend my time with those who are godly, and therefore encourage me to be godly, rather than with those who are wicked, and therefore encourage me to be wicked.

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Acts 26:1-32

    When Festus brought Paul before himself and Agrippa, Agrippa instructed Paul to state his defense against the charges which the Jewish leaders had brought against him. Paul’s response to Agrippa’s instruction was to state his testimony, to tell the story of how he had come to be a follower of Jesus and what the Gospel message meant to him. The aspect of the Gospel which Paul stressed most strongly in this statement was that the Gospel message was the fulfillment of what Moses and the prophets had said would happen. Paul concluded that those prophets had predicted Jesus’ death and resurrection.
    Festus thought Paul was crazy to believe someone had been resurrected from the dead, Paul replied that he was not crazy and pointed out that Agrippa was familiar with the events which he described. Agrippa wondered if Paul thought he could so quickly convince Agrippa to become a Christian. Paul’s response is one which each and every follower of Christ should echo, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains.” When we think of those we know, we should pray that they, whether quickly or slowly, will come to know and put their faith in Jesus.

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1 Chronicles 5:18-6:81

    This passage tells us that the tribes east of the Jordan river fought a great battle for control of their land. It tells us that they gained the victory because they trusted in God. However, the descendants of those who fought in that battle failed to remain faithful to God and ended up being sent into exile as a result. The tribes which lived east of the Jordan gained wealth and prosperity because they trusted in God and were faithful to him. Unfortunately, they came to depend on that prosperity and to believe that it was theirs by birth rite. They then stopped being faithful to God and pursued other gods, and the practices which went with the worship of those gods.
    They sought the sexual pleasure which came from worshiping the fertility goddess of their neighbors. They sacrificed their children on the altars of the gods of their neighbors because of the pleasures those gods offered. As a result of these practices God caused them to be conquered and carried off into exile. I fear that the same may happen to the people of the United States, who worship on the altar of sexual pleasure, and offer their children on the altar of convenience.

Daily Bible Study

July 7, 2015 Bible Study — The Prayer Of Jabez

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 18:19

    Take care not to offend your friends. There is nothing more difficult than regaining the trust of one whose friendship you have lost by giving offense. Be careful when arguing with friends, in such situations it is very easy to give offense unintentionally. If you do so, do not be too proud to apologize immediately.

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Psalm 5:1-12

    There are a lot of things I thought of writing about this psalm, but every time I read it again I was convicted by one line.

Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

When I read that I was reminded that I do not approach the Lord in prayer as I should, nor as much as I should. I ask the Holy Spirit to transform me so that my first desire each morning is to go to the Lord in prayer.

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Acts 25:1-27

    When a new governor, Festus, took over the political/religious leaders of Jerusalem attempted to get him transferred to Jerusalem for trial. They planned to arrange an ambush to kill Paul while he was being transported to Jerusalem. Festus rejects the Jewish leaders request and insists that they bring their accusations before him at his court in Caesarea. When the Jewish leaders made their accusations against Paul before Festus they were unable to prove any of them. When Festus tried to convince Paul to go up to Jerusalem to face trial, Paul realized that Festus was not going to release him. Therefore Paul asserted his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to Caesar.
    Festus admitted in his consultation with Herod Agrippa that he had no basis for continuing to hold Paul. He asked Herod Agrippa to turn the Jewish accusations into something which represented a violation of Roman Law. I have been struggling to get to the point I saw in this passage. Festus had no particular animosity to Paul or to Christianity, but he was convinced that in some way Paul must be a bad person to have generated the animosity the priests and Jewish religious leaders felt toward him, even though they could not provide evidence to support their accusations. We see the same reaction in people today. They hear the accusations made against Christians and are convinced that, while none of the Christians they personally know are like that, Christians, in general, are guilty of the fault being expressed.

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1 Chronicles 4:5-5:17

    Today’s passage continues with the genealogies, but stuck in the middle of them is this passage:

There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful. He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request.

Bruce Wilkinson wrote an entire book around this prayer, which I think makes too much of it. However, there is something there for us to meditate on. The first point is that Jabez was honorable. IF we expect God to answer our prayers, we need to be honorable, and that by God’s standards of honorable, not just man’s standards.
    In order to understand the value of this prayer we need to look at the two sentences in reverse order. In the second sentence, Jabez asked God to be with him in all he did. That is certainly a good thing to do, but if we want God to be with us in everything we do, then we need to be sure that everything we do is with God. That is, we need to make sure that everything we do is what God wills us to do. If we desire that God be with us in all we do and act accordingly, God will bless us. I am not going to expound on Jabez’ request that God expand his territory, nor on his request that God keep him free of all trouble and pain because not everyone is called down such a path.

Daily Bible Study

July 6, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 18:16-18

    When the first person in a disagreement makes their case, they will sound like they have right on their side. However, that often does not last once those who disagree with them gets the chance to make their case. Always wait until you have heard both sides of a story before you choose a side in a disagreement.
    Sometimes the only way to choose between two options is by chance such as flipping a coin. Sometimes we cannot tell which choice is the better. When such is the case, our best bet is to allow God to decide by using a random event to decide.

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Psalm 4:1-8

    God will answer us when we call on Him. We should only be concerned as to whether or not He declares us innocent. If God declares us innocent the condemnation of mere men is of no consequence. There is a corollary to that statement. If God declares someone else innocent our condemnation of them is of no consequence. Therefore, we must no allow our anger to cause us to sin. Instead, when we are angry we should remain silent and think about our anger overnight.
    I have never been able to see how the last insight in this psalm connects with the rest. However, the psalmist tells us that many people spend their lives seeking someone, or something, that will give them even more pleasure. Yet, if they would just be satisfied with the joy provided by God they would discover it to be greater than the pleasure brought by any amount of material wealth.

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Acts 24:1-27

    When the representatives of the Sanhedrin brought their case against Paul before the Roman governor, Paul was able to quickly, and easily, counter their claims. Paul then pointed out that those who had actually started the trouble were not even present. It was not convenient for those prosecuting Paul to have the people who started the riot present at his trial. They did not truly have a case against Paul, so they tried to build one out of rumour and innuendo. This is a tactic that is often tried against Christians. Paul did two things which we need to imitate when we are in similar positions. First, he did not allow the rumour and innuendo to stand. He flat out denied their accusations and demanded that they provide evidence to support those accusations. He could do this because the accusations were indeed false. Second, he used the opportunity to preach the Gospel.

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1 Chronicles 2:18-4:4

    Once more the Old Testament passage for today is a genealogy. I did not see anything in these genealogies that stood out to me today. However, I believe that God has a reason for them being here. It is why reading through the Bible every year is valuable. If I did not discipline myself to do so, I would not read these genealogies. For that matter if I was not looking for something to write in this blog, I would probably not read through these genealogies any way.

Daily Bible Study

July 5, 2015 Bible Study — Victory Comes From God

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 18:14-15

    If you wish to understand how the world works you need to acquire knowledge. If you wish to follow the path of wisdom you will seek out knowledge. There is a corollary to this. As you acquire knowledge you will come to understand the world better and develop a desire to understand it even better. As you seek out knowledge you will gain wisdom, which will lead you to seek even more knowledge.

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Psalm 3:1-8

    As I read this I was reminded once more of what has been going on politically, and in the courts, in the U.S. recently. All too many Christians have been relying on Congress and the Supreme Court to save them. This psalm reminds us that victory comes from God. It is time to stop asking the courts and our government to save us from those who are enemies of our faith. It is time for us to turn to God for rescue. Our enemies may think that God will not act, that God cannot act, but they are mistaken. If we put our trust in Him, God will keep us safe from all of our enemies, no matter how badly they outnumber us.

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Acts 23:11-35

    When Paul’s enemies realized that they could not beat him in debate, they stirred up a riot to attempt to kill him. When that was broken up, they discovered that they could not defeat him in a legal setting, so they conspired to kill him. They even included some of the authorities in their plot. However, God did not wish Paul to die in this manner and arranged for their plot to be revealed. We will face similar plots, perhaps not to the extent of seeking our deaths. However, God will foil such plots until such a time as He can use them to advance His Kingdom. Let us put out trust in God and not fear those who can merely harm our bodies. They will have no power over us that is not given to them by God.

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1 Chronicles 1-2:17

    I always struggle with understanding the point of the genealogy at the beginning of the 1 Chronicles. I know there are those who find great meaning in them, but I rarely do. When I went back and read over it one more time, I had the thought, “What is the point of the list of kings of Edom?” It then occurred to me that at some point archeologists may discover inscriptions which place one or more of these kings into historical context.

Daily Bible Study

July 4, 2015 Bible Study — You Must Not Speak Evil Of Your Rulers

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 18:13

    If you form and express your opinion before you have listened to the facts on the issue you are a fool, and should be embarrassed.

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Psalm 2:1-12

    How appropriate this psalm is right now as so many people celebrate the Supreme Court ruling “freeing” them from God. Those who govern this country have conspired together to set aside God’s laws. It is not just the ruling enforcing the recognition of same sex “marriage”. It is not even primarily that. It is the fact that our government has officially acknowledged that the rules which govern behavior are determined by the power of the individuals involved. God clearly lays out that He has one set of rule which apply to each and every person. He has granted governments the authority to enforce laws which protect the innocent and punish the evil-doer. Our government has declared that no one is innocent and it will punish whom it will. God scoffs at such a plan and will replace such a government with one which honors Him. In the process, He will smash those who rebel against Him like an iron rod smashes a clay pot.

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Acts 22:17-23:10

    The crowd listened closely to Paul speak as he talked about his life up until his conversion. They were willing to continue listening as he told them that God had told him to flee Jerusalem. However, when he said that God had commanded him to go and minister to the Gentiles, they, once more, became enraged. We need to be sure that we do not fall into the mistake made by the crowd. We should never be angered by someone declaring that they were called by God to minister to some group, no matter how far from God we believe that group to be. Someone has been called to minister to every single person on this earth. There is room to argue over the message someone declares that God has called them to deliver, and possibly over whether they specifically have been called to deliver it, but not over whether the group they feel called to minister to is deserving of hearing God’s message. None of us were deserving to hear God’s message/
    I was going to write about Paul’s speech before the Sanhedrin. However, as I re-read the passage to begin writing I was convicted by something Paul said. When he was confronted for insulting the high priest, Paul apologized and said, “You must not speak evil of any of your rulers.” I struggle with this. There are government officials (our rulers) who do things which lead me to believe that their motives and intentions are evil. There are times when I allow myself to succumb to my passions and express such thoughts. I believe that this passage tells us that we should never do so. We should pray for our rulers and seek God’s guidance for them. We should obey their orders, as long as those orders do not instruct us to violate God’s commands.

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2 Kings 23:31-25:30

    The first thing I have to say today about this passage is that every time I read about Pharaoh Neco I cannot help but think about Necco Wafers. I know it is silly, but nevertheless that is what goes through my mind.
    After the death of King Josiah, it was only a short time until Pharaoh Neco led his armies against Jerusalem, captured Josiah’ son (who had been king for only a few months), installed another of Josiah’s sons on the throne, and demanded tribute. Despite the example of their father, Josiah’s sons did what was evil on God’s sight. Perhaps if Josiah’s sons had followed their father’s example things would have turned out different, although the passage tells us that God had determined to banish the people of Judah from His presence because of the sins of Manasseh.
    Four kings reigned in Jerusalem between the death of King Josiah and the fall of Jerusalem. Each of them did evil in the sight of God. None of them learning from the good example of Josiah, nor the bad examples of their predecessors. In the end, the bulk of the leaders of Jerusalem and of the Kingdom of Judah were taken into exile to Babylon. I believe that this exile, much like the time spent in captivity in Egypt was designed by God to shape the people of Israel into a more faithful people, distinct from the peoples around them.

Daily Bible Study

July 3, 2015 Bible Study — Delight In the Law of the Lord

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 18:11-12

    The rich think that their wealth will protect them from troubled times. They believe that they will be able to depend on it, even when civilization collapses around them. As a result, they are often arrogant and haughty. Such arrogance keeps them from recognizing the dangers which threaten them until it is too late. Arrogance leads people to make mistakes which bring about their downfall. It is those who humbly acknowledge their vulnerability who are prepared to act when disaster strikes. They will be honoured for their foresight.

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Psalm 1:1-6

    The book of Psalms begins with a wonderful statement of how to live a faithful life. First we have the things we should not do:

  1. Do not follow the advice of the wicked
  2. Do not spend all of your time with sinners
  3. Do not join in mocking others

Then we have the the things we should do:

  1. Delight in God’s law
  2. Meditate on that law day and night

I would like to say that the latter is more important than the former, but the fact of the matter is that if we do the latter we will find we do not have time to do the former. Of course, the inverse of that is also true, actually the inverse is more than true; if we do the former we will have neither the time, nor the desire, to do the latter.

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Acts 21:37-22:16

    After he had been arrested, Paul addressed the commander of the Roman soldiers in Greek. By doing so, he revealed to the officer that he was not who the officer thought he was. There is an important lesson for us here. Paul knew that the officer arresting him did not share the biases of the mob, so he politely addressed the officer in order to make it clear that he was not the one making trouble. Paul then convinced the officer to allow him to address the crowd.
    It immediately became apparent that most of those in the crowd which had just rioted had no idea who Paul was. They were surprised into silence when he began speaking to them in Aramaic. Paul used this opportunity to tell the people in the crowd who he was, and his background. He started by giving his credentials as a good Jew, pointing out that he even went so far as to persecute the Church. He goes on to explain how and why he changed. This is also an important lesson for us. When we preach the Gospel we need to tell people about our sinful past. Then we tell them what God did to make us receptive to change and how He transformed us.

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2 Kings 22:3-23:30

    In today’s passage, Judah once more has a leader, a king, who serves God. When Josiah reached his majority, his first act was to order the Temple to be cleaned and repaired. In the process of cleaning the Temple, the high priest, Hilkiah found a copy of the Book of the Law (I believe it was the first five books of the Bible, but the passage does not say that). When it was read to Josiah, he was mortified at how badly the people of Judah had failed to keep God’s law. Josiah immediately sought God’s forgiveness and guidance. Josiah was not satisfied with living a personally holy life, he led the people of Judah in a revival. He used his position to get rid of the idols, pagan shrines, and evil worship practices throughout the land. I believe that in many ways Josiah’s revival prepared the Israelites to survive the coming Exile.