All posts by AttilaDimedici

Daily Bible Study

October 27, 2023 Bible Study — Who Is My Neighbor?

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Luke 10-11.

In today’s passage, Jesus discusses what we must do to inherit eternal life.  He tells us, by agreeing with the man who asked Him about it, that all of God’s commands follow from two basic commands:

  • Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind
  • Love your neighbor as yourself

Really, the first of these should be sufficient, because if we truly love God with all of our heart, and all of our soul, and all of our strength, we will love our neighbor as ourselves.  However, we need the second because some of us, most of us, would try to claim we do the first command while treating our fellow man with contempt.  However, what I really want to look at is the story Jesus told to illustrate who our neighbor is.  He told the story of the Good Samaritan.  The Samaritan in this story practices love for his neighbor.  But, who was the Samaritan?  He was part of a social group which the man who fell victim to criminals held in contempt.  The Samaritan would have been an “oppressed” group to those in Jesus’ audience: they would have hated them.   The Samaritan was one of those whom many today would have said was justified to commit violence against the man he instead helped.  So, with this story, Jesus tells us that we should love and care for those who abuse and oppress us.

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

Daily Bible Study

October 26, 2023 Bible Study– Welcoming Children in Jesus’ Name

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Luke 9.

This passage contains some interesting juxtapositions.  Luke goes from recounting how Jesus attempted to settle His disciples argument about who would be the greatest by telling them that the least among them would be the greatest to Jesus telling John not to stop outsiders from casting out demons in His name.  Then Luke goes on to recount how James and John wanted to call down lightning on the Samaritans who rejected Jesus.  So, let’s walk through the connections between these events.

Jesus introduced the idea of the least among us being the greatest by telling His disciples (and us) that whoever welcomed a child in His name welcomed Him, and whoever welcomed Him welcomed the One who sent Him.  When we take that with John telling Jesus that they had tried to stop an outsider from casting out demons in Jesus’ name, I take it to mean that the disciples thought they were greater than this outsider.  The outsider was doing good in Jesus’ name, so by trying to stop him, they were failing to welcome him, and thus, had failed to welcome Jesus.  Then when James and John wanted to call lightning down on the Samaritans they once more demonstrated that they had failed to understand Jesus’ teaching about how we should deal with those outside our group.  It also combines with John being the spokesman for trying to stop the outsider from casting out demons in Jesus’ name to cement the understanding that James and John were the hotheads among Jesus’ disciples.

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

Daily Bible Study

October 25, 2023 Bible Study — That Which Is Hidden Will Be Revealed, so Be Careful How You Listen

Today, I am reading and commenting on Luke 8.

Every year I run into a point where I have trouble not seeing some part of Luke as just a restatement of what I went over in both Matthew and Mark.  Today is that time, or at least the first time this year.  As I was trying to put together what to write my thought was that everything I am seeing in today’s passage went through my mind when it came up in Matthew and/or Mark.   Then I realized that I had not written about one of the thoughts I had about the Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Lamp.  When explaining to His disciples why He taught with parables, Jesus said that He did so in order that those who did not truly follow Him would not understand His teaching.  I understand Him to mean that those who reject Him will fail to understand what He taught, even if they study it.

He follows that up with the Parable of the Lamp which He concludes by saying, “Be careful how you listen. Whoever has will be given more, whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.”  The first part of that seems strange.  What does how we listen have to do with hidden things being revealed? Or, even with those who have being given more?  We should be careful how we listen, because when we listen to Jesus’ teaching, when we read the Bible, we will find that for which we look.   If we look for understanding and knowledge of God, we will find it.  If, on the other hand, we look for faults and flaws, we will find those as well.  However, in the latter case, we will lose whatever understanding of righteousness and God’s will we had when we started.

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

Daily Bible Study

October 24, 2023 Bible Study — It Is a Blessing to Be Cursed for Following Jesus

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Luke 6-7.

In Luke’s account of Jesus’ primary teachings, which Matthew records in the Sermon on the Mount, He tells us that we are blessed when people hate us because of Him, when they exclude us and insult us, even go so far as to call us evil because we hold to His teachings.  In fact a little further into His sermon, Jesus tells us that we should do good for such people, pray for them, and bless them.  He tells us to be like our Heavenly Father, merciful to those who hate us just as He is merciful to us and to those who hate Him.  Let us do good to those who cannot, or will not, repay us (or who will repay us with evil), and God will repay us for what we have done.  Let us remember that we owe Him more than we can ever repay.  Which brings me to the story of the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet at the end of today’s passage.  We should all strive to have the enthusiasm to serve Jesus that she had.

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

Daily Bible Study

October 23, 2023 Bible Study — Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Luke 4-5.

When Peter saw Jesus’ power demonstrated, he recognized both his sin, and how undeserving he was to be near someone as holy as Jesus.  His response was to ask Jesus to leave him so that he, Peter, would not make Him, Jesus, unclean.  In the account of the man with leprosy, which comes next, the leper says, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”  To which Jesus replies, “I am willing. Be clean.”  I believe that Luke put these two accounts next to each other in order to show us that Jesus offers to cleanse us of both our physical uncleanness and our sin.  When Peter saw Jesus’ holiness, he saw the only answer to be separating himself from Him.  However, the account of the leper* shows us that if we acknowledge our uncleanness, our sinfulness, God, through Jesus, will cleanse us if we want to be cleansed.  We need to echo both Peter and the man with leprosy.  First, we must acknowledge our sin.  Second, we must recognize that being cleansed of our sin, being forgiven, only happens because God is willing to make us clean.

*I like how Luke writes “a man…who was covered with leprosy”, rather than “a leper”.  It indicates that the thing which made the man unclean did not define who he was.  We should view people the same way.  God does not define us by our sins, and we should not define our fellow man that way either.

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

Daily Bible Study

October 22, 2023 Bible Study — God’s Messengers Are Terrifying, but Those Who Receive Their Message Need Not Fear

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Luke 2-3.

The appearance of God’s messenger, the angel, to the shepherds illustrate once again the points I made yesterday about God’s messengers.

  • The shepherds were terrified at the messenger’s appearance
  • The messenger told them not to be afraid

There is another aspect all three of these incidents have in common: after the recipients of God’s message saw its fulfillment, they praised God.  The other thing that most people to whom God sends a messenger have in common is that they tell others about what God has done.  So, when God sends His divine messengers to us it is a terrifying experience, but they will reassure that we need not fear.  And, if we follow their direction, we will discover that not only do we not need to fear anything, but we will find joy and a desire to praise God.

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

Daily Bible Study

October 21, 2023 Bible Study — God’s Message Always Begins With “Do Not Be Afraid”

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Luke 1.

I do not normally pay much attention to the first couple of verses of Luke, but today I want to start by commenting on them.  Luke begins by explaining why he wrote this account.  He tells us that he has observed that others have written up accounts about the life of Jesus (and perhaps also the founding of the Church).  He then tells us that, since he had carefully investigated all of the events surrounding Jesus, he would write up an orderly account of those events.  This suggests to me that there existed at that time accounts which recorded stories about Jesus’ life in no particular order, and that perhaps some of those accounts were fictional.  As a result of his purposes in writing this account (and the Acts of the Apostles), Luke wrote a carefully researched  and systematic account of Jesus’ life.

When God’s messenger appeared to Zechariah, Zechariah’s initial response was to be gripped with fear.  When he appeared to Mary, Mary’s initial response was to be troubled.  In both cases, God’s messenger, Gabriel, told them not to be afraid.  This follows a pattern from the Old Testament.  So, God’s message always begins with “Do not be afraid.”  It is a scary thing to be chosen by God for some purpose of His.  Yet, He assures us that He will stand by our side as His purpose is worked out through us.

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

Daily Bible Study

October 20, 2023 Bible Study — The Spirit Is Willing, But the Flesh Is Weak

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Mark 14-16.

Shortly after telling Jesus that even if all others abandoned Him, he, Peter, would stand with Him, Peter fell asleep while Jesus was praying in deep distress. After admonishing Peter, and the other disciples, for falling asleep, Jesus said something which should resonate with all of us.  “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  I think that this statement by Jesus about His disciples with Him there in the Garden of Gethsemane applies to us as well and shows how well He understands us.  In many ways, my spirit wishes to serve God, but my flesh is weak and I fail.

I want to highlight that the only followers of Jesus whom the writer records as being present at His crucifixion were women.  I find that significant because it paints a negative picture of His male disciples.  In addition, this account indicates that it was women to whom news of Christ’s resurrection was  first reported.  And why is either of those things important?  Because they make the idea that Jesus’ disciples made up the story of His resurrection implausible.  If the early Christians had made up the story, those who led the early Church would have been cast in a more positive light.  They would have been the ones who stood by Jesus as He went to the cross.  They would have been the ones to discover the empty tomb.

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

Daily Bible Study

October 19, 2023 Bible Study — Do Not Be Found Sleeping When Christ Returns

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Mark 12-13.

Today’s passage contains Jesus’ prophecy regarding the end times and His return.  Today I want to focus on two aspects of Jesus’ prophecy.  First, He warns us not to be deceived by those who falsely come in His name.  Jesus tells that many false prophets and false messiahs will come, performing signs and marvels to deceive.  We need to be on guard and compare the messages of those who claim to speak on behalf of God to that which He has already told us.  In this prophecy Jesus tells us of many signs which will tell us that the day of His return is near.  However, He also tells us that no one knows the day and hour of His return aside from the Father.  Therefore, we must remain on alert and on guard, making sure to be carrying out the tasks which God has given us.  We must not let His return find us sleeping and allowing our tasks to remain undone.

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

Daily Bible Study

October 18, 2023 Bible Study — Let No One Separate That Which God Has Joined Together

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Mark 10-11.

When Jesus was questioned about divorce He quoted from Genesis chapter one and chapter two.  First He states that from the beginning God created them male and female.  I try to avoid controversial topics of discussion going on about us today, but this clearly runs contrary to the idea many today have that there are multiple genders.  He then continues to say that this duality of mankind is why a man leaves his parent and gets married, with the man and woman becoming one.  This contradicts the idea that same sex marriage can be the same sort of union as traditional, heterosexual marriage.  Up until this point, Jesus merely paraphrased what Genesis said.  However, He then reaches a conclusion about what these facts about God’s design mean for us.  Jesus brought up these facts when He was asked His position on divorce.  Jesus tells us that these basic facts of Creation tell us that divorce is wrong.  Which leads me to conclude that if we want to address the issues of today we must first address an issue which the Church in America “passed” on in the 1970s: divorce and heterosexual infidelity.  God calls us to either abstain from sexual acts, or to remain faithful to the one we marry.

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