All posts by AttilaDimedici

July 4, 2013 Bible Study — Do Not Speak Evil of Your Rulers

July 3, 2013 AttilaDimedici Leave a comment

I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

2 Kings 23:31-25:30

When Josiah died he was succeeded by his son, Jehoahaz. Pharaoh Neco replaced Jehoahaz with his brother Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim was succeeded by his son, Jehoiachin. King Nebuchadnezzar replaced Jehoiachin with his uncle, Zedekiah. All of these kings failed to follow the example of Josiah. Instead, they did evil in the sight of God. When Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple. At that time, Nebuchadnezzar transported a large number of the people of Judah to Babylon as prisoners. He appointed Gedaliah as governor over those he left.
The remaining army officers approached Gedaliah and he swore an oath that the king of Babylon meant them no harm as long as they served him. However, one of the officers returned a few months later and killed Gedaliah and all of those with him. The remaining people of Judah fled to Egypt out of fear of how the king of Babylon would respond to this attack.

Acts 22:17-23:10

     Paul continued his testimony about how God convicted him to become a follower of Christ, continuing to talk about how God led him to preach to the Gentiles. When Paul mentioned the Gentiles the crowd erupted in anger to the point that the commander ordered Paul taken into the barracks and flogged. As they were about to flog him, Paul asked the officer overseeing his flogging if it was lawful to flog a Roman citizen without a trial. The officer told the commander, who then questioned Paul as to his citizenship.
     The commander was frightened because he had ordered a Roman citizen flogged without a trial. He ordered the Sanhedrin to convene the next day and brought Paul before them. Paul opened by telling the Sanhedrin that he had fulfilled his duty to God in all good conscience up to that day. The high priest ordered someone standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. Paul responded by calling the high priest a hypocrite for ordering him struck in violation of the law. When those standing near him reprimanded him for insulting God’s high priest Paul apologized, saying that he had not realized he was the high priest. Paul continued by saying that it was wrong to speak evil of one’s rulers.
     Paul says something similar in his letters and such passages are a struggle for me. I find it difficult to not speak badly of those who do things which I think are dishonest or otherwise wrong. I have attempted to limit my comments on political issues to pointing out logic flaws in the reasoning of individuals discussing those topics while avoiding comments on actual political issues, but I find that a difficult discipline to maintain. All too often, as time goes on I find myself openly calling into question the character of political figures who repeatedly take positions on issues that I find offensive. It is passages like this one that form the basis of my understanding that Christians are called to stay out of politics (although there are many other passages that go into that understanding).
     After this incident, Paul realized that the Sanhedrin was composed of a mixed group of Sadducees, who held in contempt those who believed in the resurrection of the dead, and Pharisees, who vehemently believed that God would resurrect the righteous. Therefore, Paul loudly proclaimed that he was on trial for holding on to the hope of the resurrection of the dead. This led to violent argument among the members of the Sanhedrin. The argument became so heated and violent that the Roman commander was afraid that the two parties would tear Paul apart. So he ordered his men to go in and take Paul out by force back to the fortress.

Psalm 2:1-12

Today’s psalm tells us of the futility of governments which attempt to free themselves from following God’s commands. It reminds me of what I have seen in the news over the last week or so. In so many places I have seen governments declare that they are not bound to follow God’s law. It can be frightening when one sees how the government is rebelling against God and then read what this psalm says about such governments. However, this psalm ends with a statement of hope, even in that situation: “But what joy for all who take refuge in him!”
While God will bring judgment on all who rebel against Him, He will provide protection and blessing for those who take refuge in Him!

Proverbs 18:13

Speaking about an issue before you know the facts is foolish and will often lead to shame.

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July 3, 2013 Bible Study — Do Not Follow the Advice of the Wicked

July 2, 2013 AttilaDimedici Leave a comment

2 Kings 22:3-23:30

     Josiah ordered repair work on the Temple. While the Temple was being repaired, Hilkiah, the high priest, found a copy of the
Book of the Law in the Temple. He sent it to King Josiah. When Josiah heard what was written in the Book of the Law, he sent to inquire of the Lord what they should do. He recognized that the people of Judah had failed to keep the Covenant with God. The prophetess whom they consulted told them that God was angry with the people of Judah and was going to bring disaster upon Jerusalem because of the sins of the people. However, because Josiah had humbled himself and sought God’s will, God was going to delay that destruction until after Josiah’s death.
     Josiah held a convocation of the people at the Temple of the Lord where the Book of the Law was read to them. Josiah pledged to obey the Lord and keep His laws and decrees with all of his heart and soul. The people joined Josiah in dedicating themselves to obeying the Lord. Josiah then began a campaign of cleansing the land of idolatry. He started by removing all of the implements of idol worship from the Temple and having them destroyed. He then systematically began destroying and desecrating the pagan shrines throughout the city and then the land. He went so far as to destroy the pagan shrines in what had been the Northern Kingdom, including the idols and shrines built by Jeroboam.
     Josiah called on the people to celebrate the Passover and the Passover was celebrated in all of its fullness for the first time since the time of the judges. Josiah went on to get rid of the mediums and psychics in the land as well as all of the detestable practices which people had adopted from the pagan peoples surrounding them, even those practiced in the privacy of people’s own homes. As I read the detailed description of the cleansing which Josiah performed, I realized how thoroughly ingrained in the lives of the people idolatry had become. It makes me wonder how much idolatry goes on in supposedly Christian America? Even among those who proclaim themselves “the Church”?

Acts 21:37-22:16

As he was about to be taken into the barracks, Paul asked the commander for permission to speak to him. The commander was surprised that Paul could speak Greek and expressed the thought that Paul was an Egyptian revolutionary. Paul corrected his misunderstanding and requested permission to address the crowd. Paul motioned for the crowd to be quiet and they quieted down. When he could be heard, Paul began speaking in Aramaic (or Hebrew, the Greek is unclear, but it was the local language). When they crowd heard him speaking in the language of the Jews, they became very quiet (suggesting that the crowd was under a similar misunderstanding to the Roman commander).
Paul started by telling the crowd about his credentials as a student of Jewish law, referring to his time as a student of the prominent rabbi Gamaliel. Paul told them of his fanatical opposition to the early followers of Jesus. He then told them of his trip to Damascus to continue persecuting the Christians and how God struck him on the road with a bright light. Paul told them how this experience led to his conversion to being a follower of Jesus.

Psalm 1:1-6

This psalm gives us wonderful advice. It tells us that the route to great joy is to not follow the advice of the wicked, nor hang out with sinners, nor join in mocking others. No, the path to joy is to take delight in God’s commands and to study His instructions both day and night. Following this advice will make us like a tree planted on a riverbank, firmly rooted and prospering in all we do.

Proverbs 18:11-12

The wealthy think that their riches will protect them from the troubles of life. They are not always wrong, but even the wealthy will experience the consequences of their actions.
Those who are arrogant are on their way to their own destruction, while a necessary prerequisite to receiving honor is humility.

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July 2, 2013 Bible Study — Let Everything That Has Breath Praise The Lord

July 1, 2013 AttilaDimedici Leave a comment

2 Kings 20-22:2

     Hezekiah became very sick and Isaiah told him to set his affairs in order because God has said he was going to die. Hezekiah cried out to God for healing. Before Isaiah had left the palace, God told him to return to the king and tell him that he would recover. Shortly after Hezekiah’s recovery the king of Babylon sent emissaries to him with a letter and gifts. Isaiah came to Hezekiah and asked him who the emissaries were and what they had seen. Hezekiah told Isaiah that they were from Babylon and had seen all of the treasures of Jerusalem. Isaiah told Hezekiah that the day would come when all of those treasures would be carried off to Babylon and that Hezekiah’s descendants would be taken there as captives. Hezekiah greeted this prophecy as good news, since it meant that there would be peace and prosperity for the rest of his lifetime.
     Unfortunately, Hezekiah’s son turned to idolatry when he became king in Hezekiah’s place. Manasseh rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah had destroyed. He built altars to Baal and an Asherah pole. Manasseh built altars to “the starry hosts”(probably a reference to worshiping various astronomical phenomena) in God’s Temple. He practiced sorcery and divination. He even went so far as to sacrifice his own son in the fire. In addition to his idolatry, Manasseh was an oppressive, unjust ruler. He murdered many innocent people, filling Jerusalem with the blood of the innocent. It was during Manasseh’s reign that the prophets began predicting that destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the people of Judah.
     Manasseh’s son, Amon, was as evil as his father. His own officials conspired against him and assassinated him. However, the people rose up against the conspirators and killed them, placing Amon’s son Josiah on the throne. We are told that Josiah served God and did what was pleasing in His sight. Josiah did not turn from doing what was right.

Acts 21:18-36

When Paul arrived in Jerusalem he met with James and the other elders of the Jerusalem Church. Paul recounted his ministry among the Gentiles and the Church leaders were overjoyed. However, they were concerned about the rumors among Jewish believers in Jerusalem that Paul taught Jews living among Gentiles to abandon Jewish law. They asked Paul to join four men who had just taken a vow and pay for their purification rites. This would demonstrate that Paul still followed Jewish law. Paul agreed to this and went to the Temple the next day.
The next day, Paul showed one of his Gentile traveling companions around the city before joining the four men at the Temple. A group of Jews from Asia who had seen Paul in the city earlier accused him of defiling the Temple by bringing a Gentile into it. By doing so, they started a riot. The rioters grabbed Paul, drug him out of the Temple and attempted to kill him. The commander of the Roman garrison received news that the city was in an uproar and brought his troops out to quell the disturbance. When the mob saw the Roman soldiers they stopped beating Paul. The commander arrested Paul and asked the crowd what he had done. The crowd gave conflicting answers. As a result, the commander ordered that Paul be taken back to the fortress. As they started up the stairs to the fortress the crowd became so violent that the soldiers had to lift Paul to their shoulders to protect him.

Psalm 150:1-6

This is a short psalm and a reminder that we should praise the Lord and call on everyone to do so as well. Read the psalm. Let us praise the Lord with every means at our disposal.

Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!
Praise the Lord!

Proverbs 18:9-10

The first of today’s proverbs was a bit of a challenge for me until I read the NIV translation. The NLT says that a lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things. I have always thought of myself as lazy. However, the NIV says something very similar, but slightly different. The NIV says “One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.” While I think of myself as lazy–I never work any harder than I need to, I also think of myself as one who, if the job needs doing, puts out the effort to do it right. There is a fine line between my self-perception and the laziness referred to in this passage and I do not always remain on the godly side of it, but there is nothing inherently wrong with making a job as easy as possible.
The second proverb tells us that if we are in doubt about the dangers we face in this life, turn to the name of God and He will guard us.

Daily Bible Study

July 1, 2013 Bible Study — Sing His Praises In the Assembly of the Faithful

June 30, 2013 AttilaDimedici Leave a comment

2 Kings 18:13-19:37

     Hezekiah was king of Judah when Assyria was at the peak of its power. Assyria invaded Judah. The king of Assyria sent an army led by his three chief officers to besiege Jerusalem. The Assyrian chief of staff summoned King Hezekiah to a meeting, but Hezekiah sent several court officials in his place. The Assyrians asked the officials what Hezekiah was relying on in his rebellion against Assyria. They told them that Egypt would not be able to help them. They then asked how Hezekiah thought he could rely on God, since he had torn down the shrines where the people had worshiped God and made them come to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices. They offer to provide Hezekiah with 2,000 horses, if he can find the men to ride them into battle. Finally, they claim that they invaded Judah at God’s direction, that God had told them to attack and destroy Judah.
     Hezekiah’s court officials ask the Assyrian officials to speak in Aramaic (the language spoken by the educated elites of the Middle East at the time), since they understood it, rather than in Hebrew (the dialect of the kingdom of Judah), because they did not want the people to hear what was being said. The Assyrian officials then called out to the people on the city walls telling them not to let Hezekiah fool them into thinking that he could protect them from the Assyrian army. They told the people not to count on God to rescue them because He would be unable to do so. No other god had been able to save their people from the Assyrians and God would be likewise powerless to stop them. When the court officials returned to Hezekiah and reported the message of the Assyrians to him, he tore his clothes in despair and sent to the prophet Isaiah for guidance. Isaiah told Hezekiah not to worry. The king of Assyria would be called home to deal with troubles there and while he was there, he would be killed by the sword.
     Soon afterward, Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, received word that the armies of Cush (which was located approximately where Ethiopia is today) were marching out to meet him. Before taking his army to meet this attack, Sennacherib sent a letter to Hezekiah saying that he would return and that when he returned, God would be unable to prevent him from destroying Jerusalem. Hezekiah took this letter to the Temple and laid it before the Lord. Hezekiah acknowledged that Assyria had conquered these other nations and destroyed their gods. He then declared that this time it was different because those gods were mere idols, while the God that he worshiped was the creator of the universe. Hezekiah begged God to show His power and rescue His people from the Assyrians.
     Isaiah sent a message to Hezekiah telling him that God had heard his prayer. God answered Sennacherib’s pride by telling him that all of his accomplishments were according to God’s plans. And now that Sennacherib had boasted against God, God would show His power by putting a hook in Sennacherib’s mouth and guiding him back the way he had come. Isaiah told Hezekiah that the Assyrians would not return to besiege Jerusalem, would not even launch the most basic attack against it. God would show His power and protect Jerusalem against this attack. That very night a large part of the Assyrian army died in the night. In the morning when he saw the number of men he had lost, Sennacherib broke camp and returned home. While he was in worshiping at the temple of his god in his capital, two of his sons killed him with their swords.
     The king of Assyria was the most powerful man of his day. He believed that he could go wherever he wanted and no one, not even God, could stand in his way. This passage reminds us that no matter how much power we may have, we can only accomplish those things which God has allowed. The other side of it is, no matter how powerful those standing against us may appear, when God stands in our defense we will not be defeated. Hezekiah did not proudly confront the king of Assyria, rather he humbly cried out to God. This should be our model when facing life’s difficulties.

Acts 21:1-17

As Paul continued his journey to Jerusalem, he met with the believers in each city were he stopped. When he got to Caesarea, he stayed with Philip the Evangelist for several days. Agabus came down from Judea and prophesied that the Jews would bind Paul and turn him over to the Gentiles. The believers in Caesarea attempted to convince Paul that he should not go to Jerusalem. Paul responded that he was prepared not only to be bound, but to die in the service of Jesus. Paul then went on to Jerusalem where he was welcomed by the believers living there.
When reading this passage I have always heard preachers focus on Paul’s willingness to suffer persecution in the name of the Lord. And we should certainly be willing to face such persecution. We should not allow the threat of persecution turn us from following the path that God has set us on. However, I cannot help but wonder. Perhaps the reason that God sent prophets to warn Paul what he would face when he got to Jerusalem was because God was trying to tell Paul to not go to Jerusalem. As I have been reading the book of Acts this year, I noticed something. Other believers repeatedly attempted to get Paul to be less confrontational in his interactions with unbelievers. Paul had a tendency to rub people the wrong way and the book of Acts does not praise him for that. I have never seen it this way before, but I believe that the Scripture is not praising Paul for his abrasiveness. Rather it seems to me that Scripture tells us that God used Paul despite his abrasiveness.

Psalm 149:1-9

Today’s psalm is another one of praise. I have often felt called to talk about how we as Christians need to be out among the sinners of this world in order to witness to them. This psalm reminds us that we need to spend time telling the faithful as well what God has done for us.

Praise the Lord!

Sing to the Lord a new song.
Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful.

Let us not forget to tell the faithful how God has worked in our lives, so that we can encourage them as well.

Magrat's guest not sure he wants to be friendly — Magrat’s guest not sure he wants to be friendly

Proverbs 18:8

Listening to rumors and gossip make us feel like we are part of the “inner circle”, but we tend to take them into our basic understanding of people and events without ever examining their accuracy.

Daily Bible Study

June 30, 2013 Bible Study

June 29, 2013 AttilaDimedici Leave a comment

I have been using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study for over a year. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I started writing this blog because the only way I can get myself to read the Bible everyday is to pretend that I am teaching someone about what it says to me. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

2 Kings 17-18:12

     Today’s passage tells us that God had finally had enough of the sins of the people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and sent Assyria to sweep them away into exile. Despite repeatedly sending them prophets telling them to turn away from their sinful ways, they continued to worship other gods. They went so far as to sacrifice their own sons and daughters to these other gods. “They consulted fortune-tellers and practiced sorcery and sold themselves to evil, arousing the Lord’s anger.” This passage sounds like an indictment of most countries of the world today. In the countries that comprise Western Civilization, we sacrifice our children on the altar of convenience and abort them before they are born. In the Islamic countries they encourage their children to become suicidal jihadists and sacrifice them that way. There may be countries in the world today which are not sacrificing their children on the altars of the gods they worship, but I am not familiar with them.
     After the Assyrians took the Israelites captive, they settled other peoples in the land of Israel. However, lions preyed upon these new settlers. When word reached the King of Assyria about the depredation of the lions, he sent back a priest of the Lord to teach the new people in the land to worship the Lord. The new people in the land worshiped the Lord, but they also continued to offer sacrifices and worship the gods of their ancestors. They would not follow God’s command to worship only Him.
     Six years before the King of Assyria overthrew the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Hezekiah became king in Judah. We are told that he did right in the sight of the Lord. Hezekiah trusted in the Lord and we are told that there was no king like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after. Hezekiah destroyed all of the places in Judah where people worshiped idols. He removed the high places, destroyed the sacred pillars (which were part of Baal worship) and burned the Asherah poles. He even broke apart the bronze snake which Moses had made because the people were worshiping it in place of God. As a result of his dedication to serving the Lord, Hezekiah was successful in all that he did.
     In today’s passage we have a contrast between people who failed to obey the Lord and a man who led his people in strong dedication to follow the Lord. Those who worshiped the Lord and were faithful to Him were blessed, those who did not suffered. David is often viewed as the king of Israel whom we should most admire. I do not wish to diminish our view of David, but I believe that Hezekiah represents a model we should more closely follow. He led his people back to serving God and, unlike David, got rid of the high places where the people mixed worship of God with idolatry.

Acts 20:1-38

When the uproar in Ephesus died down, Paul went to Macedonia and traveled through it and then down into Greece. He was preparing to travel by ship from Greece back to Syria when he learned that some Jews were plotting to kill him (or have him killed). So, instead of taking ship from Greece, Paul traveled back through Macedonia and took ship from Macedonia. He stopped in Troas, where he was joined by Luke and some others (or possibly the others sailed first and Paul traveled with Luke). From Troas, Paul sailed on to Miletus where he sent for the elders of the church in Ephesus to join him.
Paul told the elders from Ephesus that they would not see him again as in every city prophets were telling him that he would face jail and suffering when he came to Jerusalem. He warned the elders to feed and guide the God’s flock. They were to be on guard against false teachers who would arise and attempt to gain a following with false teachings. They should remember Paul’s teaching and example. How he worked hard so as to have the means to meet his own needs and provide help to those in need.

Psalm 148:1-14

Another psalm of praise. Some days these are hard to write anything about. Today is one of those days. I will encourage you to read the psalm and let its sentiment sweep over your soul. I will pull out this phrase for special focus:

Let every created thing give praise to the Lord,
for he issued his command, and they came into being.
Even if you can think of no other reason to praise God, you should praise Him because He is the reason that you came into being. If you do not know why that should lead you to praise Him, remember that He did not create you on a whim. He created each and every one of us to accomplish a purpose. We may not know what that purpose is, but if we strive to be faithful to God, we will fulfill that purpose in a way which will bring us joy.

Proverbs 18:6-7

Unlike yesterday, today’s proverb is clear to me. When I regularly find myself in quarrels it is time to examine what I say. The cause is usually because I am saying foolish things and asking for trouble by doing so. When we say and do foolish things, we will get caught out by our own words.

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June 29, 2013 Bible Study –The Lord’s Delight Is In Those Who Fear Him

June 28, 2013 AttilaDimedici Leave a comment

2 Kings 15-16:20

In today’s passage we have reference to three kings of Judah and six kings of Israel. We are told that each of the kings of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. Four of the five kings of Israel whose reigns are detailed in today’s passage were killed by assassins who then took the throne (the reign of the sixth king is described in tomorrow’s passage).
We are told that the first two kings of Judah did what was pleasing to God. However, neither of them removed the high places where the people offered sacrifices. The third king, Ahaz, son of the second and grandson of the first, did evil in the sight of the Lord, going so far as to sacrifice his son in the fire. He paid tribute to the king of Assyria in order to get him to attack Aram and Israel so that they would stop attacking Judah. In addition he went to the capital of Assyria and worshiped the gods of Assyria there. He then instructed the high priest of Judah to build a new altar modeled after the altar used in Assyria. It is not clear from the passage but it appears to me that Ahaz instituted worship of the Assyrian gods on this altar.

Acts 19:13-41

The miracles performed by Paul so impressed the people of around Ephesus that some Jewish exorcists started using the name of Jesus in their exorcisms. When one group tried this, the man possessed by the evil spirit told them that it knew Jesus and knew Paul, but did not know them. The man with the evil spirit then attacked them and drove them from the house naked and bleeding. Word of this spread throughout the area. One of the biggest impacts was on believers who had continued in occult practices. In reaction to this, they brought their grimoires (books of spells and incantations) and burned them on a public bonfire. It is worth noting that these were not just books of information, but were rather “cookbooks” for practicing magic.
Shortly after this a silversmith named Demetrius who manufactured and sold shrines to Artemus called a gathering of the people to whom he subcontracted some of the work. Demetrius then told them that Paul was preaching a message that would destroy their business and respect for their city. As he spoke to them he got them angrier and angrier until a riot started. The rioters gathered in the city amphitheater. Some of them grabbed Paul’s traveling companions and took them into the amphitheater with them. Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the rest of the believers would not let him do so. There was a lot of confusion in the amphitheater and most of the people who were there did not know why. Some of the Jews in the crowd tried to put their representative forward to explain the situation, but when the crowd realized he was a Jew (and this not a worshiper of Artemus) they just shouted him down. Finally the mayor of the city was able to calm the crowd down enough to speak. He then convinced the crowd that any grievance could be settled in civil court and that if the rioting continued the Romans were likely to send in the Legions to sort things out.

Psalm 147:1-20

The psalmist tells us that it is good and fitting to sing praises to God. I could not agree more. The psalmist goes on to tell us why it is fitting:

He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.
He counts the stars
and calls them all by name.
…
The Lord supports the humble,
but he brings the wicked down into the dust.
Later he tells us: He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse
or in human might.
No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him,
those who put their hope in his unfailing love.
I will praise the Lord and I will put all of my hopes in His unfailing love.

Proverbs 18:4-5

I do not understand what the first proverb means. The second proverb however tells us that when the wicked are knowingly allowed to avoid punishment, the innocent suffer.

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June 28, 2013 Bible Study — Baptism of the Holy Spirit

June 27, 2013 AttilaDimedici Leave a comment

2 Kings 13-14:29

The passage tells us that the successive kings of Israel continued to do evil in God’s eyes. The people of Israel continued the sins of Jeroboam in their reigns and placed an Asherah pole in Samaria. However, God saw the suffering of the people of Israel and provided them rescue from their enemies for a time.
Amaziah became king in Judah and executed the officials who had assassinated his father, Joash. However, he did not punish their families, for which he is commended. The passage tells us that he did what was pleasing in the sight of God, although not as pleasing as David. He followed after his father and continued to allow the sacrifices on the high places. He reconquered Edom. This led Amaziah to hubris and he made war against Israel. The king of Israel defeated him and sacked Jerusalem. At the end of his reign there was a conspiracy against him and he was assassinated. Amaziah’s sixteen year-old son Uzziah was placed on the throne.

Magrat's attention is focused — Magrat’s attention is focused

Acts 18:23-19:12

     Today’s passage in Acts contains two things that I find noteworthy. The first is the introduction of Apollos, a teacher of the Gospel who other references suggest was viewed as being in the same league as Paul for the spread of the Gospel. He was a learned man who preached with fervor and enthusiasm. We are told that he spoke boldly and accurately about Jesus, although he had no knowledge of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Which brings us to the second thing.
     After talking about Apollos and how he was more thoroughly taught about Jesus by Priscilla and Aquila, Luke goes back to Paul and tells us that Paul arrived in Ephesus Where he found believers who had never heard of the Holy Spirit. In fact, they were only familiar with John’s baptism (as Apollos had been before he met Priscilla and Aquila). When Paul learned that they were for the most part only familiar with the teachings of John the Baptist, he taught them how John had pointed to Christ and baptized them again in the name of Jesus. When Paul laid his hands on them they received the Holy Spirit.
     Which raises the question of what is the baptism of the Holy Spirit? And how do you know if you have received it? Here and elsewhere in Acts, Luke seems to mention speaking in other languages whenever he speaks of someone receiving the Holy Spirit. Yet, elsewhere Paul tells us that not everyone receives the gift of speaking in other languages. The other point I would like to make is that Luke’s accounts in Acts seem to all refer to people speaking in languages comprehensible (or at least recognizable) to those who witnessed the Holy Spirit coming upon them.

Psalm 146:1-10

I love the opening to this psalm:

Let all that I am praise the Lord.
I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.
I attempt every day to make it my prayer. As I read this psalm, I became inspired to attempt to memorize it. It has so many lines that are worth meditating on. Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them.
It is only God who can save us. I will praise the Lord.

Proverbs 18:2-3

The first of these proverbs gives us an important measure to use when we enter into debates with others, both of our own motivation and of the value in having the debate. Are we debating because we want to gain better understanding? Or, are we debating in order to show the other person how much wiser than them we are? If we are doing the latter, this proverb tells us we are not wise at all, but are rather fools.

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June 27, 2013 Bible Study — I Will Praise the Lord

June 26, 2013 AttilaDimedici Leave a comment

2 Kings 10:32-12:21

     When Queen Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, learned that her son Ahaziah, the king of Judah, had been killed, she seized the throne and began killing the rest of the royal family. However, Ahaziah’s sister, Jehosheba, smuggled Ahaziah’s infant son out of the nursery and hid him in the Temple. His name was Joash and he remained hidden in the Temple for six years. When Joash was seven, Jehoiada the priest made him king and overthrew the reign of Athaliah. After killing Athaliah, Jehoiada led the people to destroy the temple of Baal in Jerusalem.
     We are told that Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord for as long as Jehoiada was alive to instruct him. However, Joash did not destroy the high places where people continued to offer sacrifices throughout his reign. The New Living Translation translates “high places” as “pagan shrines”. However, I think that allows us to miss an important lesson here. From my reading of the Old Testament, it appears to me that the high places were places where people sacrificed to God. However, the problem with this was that when they did that they started to forget what God really wanted from them and gradually drifted into being accepting of idolatry. We see the same thing today when people think that they don’t need to go to church to be a Christian. We need to spend time with people who are fellow Christians, at least some of whom the only reason we would ever spend time with them is because they are our fellow believers in Christ.
     Joash instituted a program to repair the Temple. Late in his reign he was forced to pay tribute to the king of Aram. Shortly after doing so, he was assassinated by two of his officers.

Acts 18:1-22

Paul left Athens and went to Corinth, where he met Aquila and Aquila’s wife Priscilla. Paul stayed with them and worked with them because they were craftsmen in the same business that he was (tent making). Each Sabbath, Paul went to the synagogue and attempted to convince both Jews and Gentiles. Eventually, some of the Jews began to oppose Paul and answer his arguments with insults (apparently with the support of the opinion leaders of the synagogue). When this happened Paul shook the dust from his clothes and went next door to the home of a God-fearing Gentile to teach. The leader of the synagogue, along with his household became believers, as did a large number of other people, Jew and Gentile, in the city.
Paul preached in Corinth for a year and a half before problems arose. When a new governor was appointed to the region, some of the Jews brought Paul before the new governor. They accused him of teaching people to worship God in ways that were contrary to Jewish law. The governor threw the case out saying that he was not going to judge a case that involved Jewish religious beliefs, not Roman law. The crowd then grabbed the leader of the synagogue (a different man from the one were told earlier had become a believer), named Sosthenes, and beat him in front of the governor, who did nothing to intervene. There are two things that are not clear to me from the passage. The first is, was Sosthenes also a believer, or was he perhaps among those who brought the case before the governor? The second is what group made up the crowd and why did they beat Sosthenes? Were they Jews who had brought the case, unhappy about the outcome? If so, did they beat Sosthenes because they thought he had done a poor job of making their case? Or, was it because he was a believer? Maybe the crowd was composed of people who were angry that the Jews had brought the case in the first place?

Psalm 145:1-21

Another psalm of praise. A key line for me is this:

Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts;
let them proclaim your power.
There are some who read this to say that we should tell each successive generation about the great things which God has done in history, and I heartily agree. However, I think that this is really telling us that we should tell the next generation about the mighty acts which God has done in our lifetimes.
This psalm reminds us of where to look to see the great things which God has done for us and around us. The Lord helps the fallen
and lifts those bent beneath their loads.
The eyes of all look to you in hope;
you give them their food as they need it.
When you open your hand,
you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.
The psalmist adds to that another reason to praise and love the Lord.The Lord is close to all who call on him,
yes, to all who call on him in truth.
He grants the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cries for help and rescues them.
I will recount to those around me the times when God has heard my cries for help and rescued me. And when I face troubles, I will remember that He has done so in the past and trust that He will do so again.

Proverbs 18:1

Those who pursue selfish ends are unfriendly and those who are unfriendly tend to start quarrels with no good cause.

Daily Bible Study

June 26, 2013 Bible Study — Joyful Are Those Whose God is the Lord

June 25, 2013 AttilaDimedici Leave a comment

2 Kings 9:14-10:31

     Having been anointed by the prophet sent by Elisha, Jehu led a chariot force to Jezreel, where King Joram had gone after being wounded in battle. King Ahaziah of Judah was visiting his wounded uncle, King Joram, at the time. When the messengers Joram sent out to determine Jehu’s intent joined with Jehu rather than return, KingJoram went out to meet him himself. His nephew, King Ahaziah joined him. When Jehu responded to Joram’s greeting by condemning Jezebel’s (Joram’s mother) idolatry, Joram realized that Jehu had come to kill him. When King Joram turned to flee, Jehu drew his bow and shot him, killing him immediately. King Ahaziah of Judah also fled and Jehu pursued him ordering his men to shoot Ahaziah as well. King Ahaziah was also shot but was able to continue to Megiddo before he died.
     When Jezebel heard that Jehu had killed her son, Joram, she put on her makeup and did her hair before sitting by a window. When Jehu entered the palace, she called down to him that he was a murderer. Jehu responded by asking if anyone in the room with her was on his side. When several of the eunuchs looked down to him, he told them to throw Jezebel out of the window. They did so and she died upon hitting the ground. Jehu consolidated his power by killing all Ahab’s family, fulfilling the prophecy Elijah had made concerning Ahab’s family.
     When Jehu was secure on the throne, he summoned the people of Samaria and told them that he would worship Baal even more fervently than Ahab had done. He then made preparations for a great festival of worship for Baal and sent word throughout Israel summoning all Baal worshipers to it. Jehu had special robes made for the worshipers of Baal and gave them out to them as they arrived. Once all of the Baal worshipers had gathered in the temple of Baal in Samaria, Jehu stationed 80 of his men outside of the temple with orders to let no one escape. Jehu then ordered his men to kill all of the Baal worshipers and destroyed the temple. Jehu destroyed every trace of Baal worship in Israel. But he did not destroy the golden calves which Jeroboam had built and continued the practice of worshiping them.

Acts 17:1-34

     Paul and Silas next went to Thessalonica. As usual, Paul started by going to the synagogue and teaching there first. He made the case for Jesus by expounding on how the prophets predicted that the Messiah would suffer, die and rise from the dead just as Jesus had done. Some of the Jews were convinced by his arguments, as were a large number of God fearing Greek men and prominent women. However, other Jews were angered by Paul’s teaching and rounded up some troublemakers and started a riot against Paul and Silas. They went to the home of Jason looking for them. When they failed to find Paul and Silas there they dragged Jason before the city officials and accused him of treason against Caesar. The city officials made Jason and some others post bond, then let them go.
     The believers sent Paul and Silas out of town to Berea that very night. They were welcomed in Berea where the people studied the Scriptures to see if what Paul and Silas were teaching was consistent with Scripture. As a result many of the Jews became believers as did many prominent Gentiles (men and women). However, when the Jews in Thessalonica who opposed Paul learned they were teaching in Berea some of them came and started stirring up trouble. The believers immediately sent Paul to Athens, while Silas and Timothy stayed behind. When they got to Athens, Paul sent for Silas and Timothy to join him there.
     While Paul was waiting for the others to arrive, he began to preach, both in the synagogue and in the public square. He was willing to engage any who wanted to discuss whether Jew, God-fearing Gentile or those who had no understanding of God. While Paul was doing this a group of Greek philosophers began debating with him. Some of them thought he was speaking nonsense, while others were interested. They invited him to speak to a group of the opinion leaders of the city.
     Paul explained how even a people with a multiplicity of gods like the Athenians knew there was something more than could be explained by their pagan idols. He told them that God had made the universe and mankind so as to direct us towards Himself. Throughout history people have striven to find God and have felt their way towards Him as if in darkness. But now God has revealed Himself in fullness through Jesus Christ, whom God raised from the dead. At this point, Paul lost most of the crowd, who were unwilling to accept the idea of resurrection of the dead. Some laughed in contempt, but some wanted to hear more and a few joined Paul and became believers.

Psalm 144

The last few days have been psalms of despair, where the psalmist was suffering from problems and difficulties. However, today is an unmitigated psalm of praise. This is what life is like for those who love and serve the Lord. We go through periods where life is difficult and our trials seem without end. But if we continue to call on the Lord and serve Him through the difficult times, He will bring us through to times of joy. when we will sing with the psalmist:

Praise the Lord, who is my rock.
I will sing a new song to you, O God!
I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp.
We will conclude: Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord.

Proverbs 17:27-28

Those who are wise do not speak more than they need to and even those who are foolish will seem wise if they refrain from talking about things which they do not know.

Daily Bible Study

June 25, 2013 Bible Study — Teach Me To Do Your Will

June 24, 2013 AttilaDimedici Leave a comment

2 Kings 8-9:13

Elisha told the woman whose son he had raised from the dead to move out of Israel for a time because a famine was coming. She did as Elisha recommended. When the famine had ended, she moved back to Israel. When she returned to Israel, she went to the king of Israel to request her land back. She got there as the king was talking to Gehazi, Elisha’s servant. As Gehazi talked about the time Elisha had raised her son, she arrived at the court. Gehazi immediately pointed out that she was the mother of the boy whom Elisha had brought back to life. When she confirmed Gehazi’s story, the king ordered that her property be returned to her. This passage confirms that God will look after our interests if we make the effort to serve Him with our resources.
The passage goes on to recount how Elisha told Hazael that he was going to kill Ben-hadad, king of Aram. It tells us that Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat married Ahab’s daughter and as a result did evil in the sight of God, as did his son, Ahaziah. And finishes by telling us how Elisha sent one of the young men from among the group of prophets to anoint Jehu as king of Israel. After being anointed, Jehu led a revolt of army officers against the existing king of Israel.

Acts 16:16-40

     One day while they were in Philippi, a slave girl who was used as a fortune-teller started following Paul and the rest of his party shouting that they were servants of the Most High God and that they had come to tell people how to be saved. This went on every day for several days until Paul became exasperated. Paul turned to the girl and commanded the demonic spirit which allowed her to tell fortunes to come out of her in the name of Jesus. It immediately departed. The slave girl’s owners, having lost a source of income, roused a mob against Paul and Silas. This led the arrested and beaten. They then threw them into prison.
     Paul and Silas were placed in the inner dungeon and their feet were placed in stocks. During the night Paul and Silas were singing and praying, while the other prisoners listened. There was a violent earthquake in the middle of the night which opened the prison doors and released the locks on the chains holding the prisoners. When the jailer came out of his house and saw that the prison doors were open, he thought the prisoners had escaped. As a result, he drew his sword and prepared to kill himself. Paul quickly called out to him that he should not harm himself as all of the prisoners were still there. The jailer brought Paul and Silas out of the prison and asked what he needed to do to be saved. Paul preached the Gospel to them and they believed. Even though it was the middle of the night, the jailer had Paul and Silas cared for and fed them a meal. Then he and his household were baptized.
     In the morning, the city officials sent word to have Paul and Silas released. At this point, Paul declares that he is a Roman citizen and demands that the city officials come themselves to release them. The city officials were alarmed to discover that they had had Roman citizens beaten and imprisoned without a trial. The city officials came to try to appease Paul and Silas and asked them to leave the city. Paul and Silas returned to Lydia’s house, where they met with the believers and encouraged them some more.
     There are several points that I wanted to highlight. The first is that, unlike the way many people would react, Paul was annoyed by the slave girl following them around proclaiming that they were servants of God. Paul refused to accept acclamation from a demon-possessed person. Another point is that when the jailer and his household expressed belief in Christ, Paul made sure they had a basic understanding of what that meant by teaching them immediately and then he and Silas baptized them. They did not wait to have them complete a class, just as in the other accounts in the New Testament, baptism immediately followed a profession of faith. The final thing that struck me in this passage was that Paul did not make an issue over being punished in violation of his rights until the city officials were trying to make him go away. I am not sure what that means for us today, but it is something that needs to be thought about.

Psalm 143:1-12

The psalmist proclaims that he will turn to the Lord when depression strikes, that he will not allow deep depression to disrupt his faith in God. Even though he has suffered major setbacks, he still trusts on God to rescue him. He will call on God to show him the path he should follow. I will call on God to teach me to do His will, even when times are difficult and circumstances seem to be stacked against me. He is my God and I know that He will guide me on firm footing and that He will silence my enemies. I will forever be His servant.

Proverbs 17:26

It is wrong to punish those who are innocent and even worse when honest officials are harshly penalized.

Fact and Fantasy

All posts by AttilaDimedici

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