Tag Archives: praise the Lord

Daily Bible Study

September 15, 2012 Bible Study

     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.

Barony Wars, Taranach relaxes

Isaiah 19-21:17

     I read today’s passage and think about what is going on in the world. Isaiah prophesied against Egypt. He said that Egyptian would fight against Egyptian. Did that not just happen this summer? He says that God will hand Egypt over to “a hard, cruel master.” I could certainly envision Egypt’s current President as filling that role. Isaiah further prophesies that the Nile will fail to rise and flood the fields. The Nile has stopped rising to flood the fields since the Aswan Dam was built. The rest of the prophecy does not fit what we have so far seen, but it gives me cause for hope. The passage says that the people of Egypt will turn to the Lord. I believe that when Isaiah made this prophecy he was referring to a time in his future that is now long past. However, I am not sure that this prophecy does not also refer to what we see happening today. Perhaps the violence and strife we see in Egypt today will lead many of the people of Egypt to turn to the Lord. I pray for that outcome.

Barony Wars, Fencer awaits opponent

Galatians 2:1-16

     Paul continues discussing the beginning of his ministry. He talks about going to the Jerusalem Council. He tells us that he wanted to see if what he was teaching was consistent with what those who had walked with Jesus in His earthly ministry taught. Paul reports that the apostles in Jerusalem agreed with his understanding that Gentiles did not need to become Jews and follow Jewish Law in order to become Christians. Paul continues to tell us that later when Peter came to Antioch, he confronted him over hypocrisy. When Peter first arrived in Antioch he ate with the Gentiles. However, when a delegation came from James, Peter began separating himself from the Gentiles and other Jewish Christians began following his lead. Paul confronted Peter about this. He pointed out to Peter that we are not justified by adherence to the Law, but only by faith in Jesus Christ.

Barony Wars, Fencing

Psalm 59:1-17

     In yet another psalm the psalmist calls on the Lord for deliverance from his enemies. He says that his enemies have contempt for the Lord. However, he asks the Lord not to kill them because soon forget such lessons. Instead he asks God to bring them low and let them live as living examples of the result of defying God. I have an additional reason that I ask God to allow my enemies to live. If they die, they will have lost their opportunity to turn to the Lord. I look at what happened in Libya and Egypt. The destruction and death of those who committed these acts would be in the best interests of the U.S., but I pray for their salvation. I pray that somehow they would come to know the Lord. I know the power of the Lord and I will sing His praises morning, noon and night.

Barony Wars, Fencers await opponents

Proverbs 23:13-14

     Today’s proverb tells parents that they should, at times, use physical discipline on their children. Spanking a child will not lead to the child’s death. On the contrary, spanking the child may well save the child’s life (by teaching them to avoid behaviors which carry a high risk of death).

Daily Bible Study

August 13, 2012 Bible Study

1 Comment

© Image Copyright 2012, D.J. Hacker. All rights reserved.


Nehemiah 5:14-7:73

     Following on his discussion of the problems that resulted from the wealthy Jews taking advantage of the misfortune of the poor Jews, Nehemiah writes that, unlike previous governors, during his twelve years as governor he never drew the governor’s food allowance. Nehemiah accuses his predecessors of putting a heavy burden on the people with even their assistants taking advantage of the people. Nehemiah says that he acted this way because he feared God. Nehemiah dedicated himself to working on rebuilding the wall, requiring his servants to spend time working on the wall as well. Nehemiah spent from his own resources to fulfill his duty as governor to host officials and visiting dignitaries. He did this because he felt that the burden on the people to rebuild the wall was all that they could bear and the added burden of supporting him and his officials would have been too much for the people.
     When the enemies of the Jews among the surrounding peoples found out that Nehemiah had completed the walls around Jerusalem, they attempted to lure him to a meeting where they could ambush him. Nehemiah refused to accede to a meeting with them offering as an excuse that he was busy with his work and saw no benefit in such a meeting. They sent him four such invitations. When they realized that he would not meet with them voluntarily, they attempted to blackmail him. They claimed that they had evidence that he was planning to set himself up as king in Jerusalem and that if he did not meet with them they would send this evidence to the king of Persia. When this did not work, they hired an invalid that Nehemiah visited to try to convince Nehemiah to shut himself up in the Temple over night to avoid an attack. Nehemiah recognized that shutting himself up in the Temple to avoid an attack while leaving the rest of the population vulnerable would destroy his credibility. He chose instead to trust in the defenses of the city.
     It took the people 52 days to rebuild the walls under Nehemiah’s leadership. During the time spent rebuilding the laws, many of the leaders among the Jews were telling Nehemiah what a wonderful man Tobiah (one of the leaders of the surrounding peoples who opposed rebuilding the walls) was. At the same time, they were reporting to Tobiah everything they knew about Nehemiah’s plans. Meanwhile Tobiah kept sending Nehemiah threatening letters to try to intimidate him. It is never spelled out in this account, but the reason that these attempts to thwart Nehemiah failed was because Nehemiah had a personal relationship with Artaxerxes who was then the king of Persia. Which shows how God’s hand was at work here. If someone without Nehemiah’s connections in the court of Persia had attempted this, they would have been thwarted. But God chose Nehemiah for this task and Nehemiah had both the connections and the dedication to God to complete it. When the walls were finished, Nehemiah turned over responsibility for governing Jerusalem to his brother, Hanani, along with specific instructions on maintaining the defenses of the city.
     Nehemiah noted that the population of the city was small and the houses within the city had not yet been rebuilt. This led him to decide to call together the leaders and the common people to register who was living in the city. He had found a record of the people who had first returned to Jerusalem from Exile and records that information here.

© Image Copyright 2012, D.J. Hacker. All rights reserved.


1 Corinthians 8:1-13

     Paul now addresses the question they had sent him about food offered to idols. It appears that the question had been couched in a manner so as to elicit the answer they wanted from Paul by starting out with something along the lines of, “We all know…” Paul replies to this by saying that, “Yes, we all know some things.” And that knowledge makes us feel important. However, love is what builds the Church. The person who is convinced that knowing the answers is what is important does not yet understand what matters. What matters is loving God. Being right is less important than showing our love of God and our fellow believers.
     Having said that, Paul begins to address their question. He starts out by saying that idols are not really gods. There is only one God. He points out that nevertheless some people worship a multitude of gods and lords. Paul tells us that we as Christians know that there is only one God, who created everything, and we live for Him.
     However, Paul points out that not all believers have come to this understanding yet. Some believers still believe in the power and existence of the gods that they worshiped before they came to the Lord. If they eat of food offered to idols, it is an act of worship to those idols. Paul points out that we gain nothing spiritually from not eating food offered to idols, but we, also, gain nothing spiritually from eating it. Therefore since some other believers might consider eating meat offered to idols to be idol worship and if they see a believer they look up eating such meat they might be led to do the same, we should not eat such food. If we, who know that idols are nothing and can eat meat offered to idols without worshiping the idols, are seen eating meat offered to idols, a believer who still struggles with believing in the power of idols might be led to return to worshiping idols. This argument applies in other areas besides meat offered to idols, which we have little exposure to in the U.S.. We need to be sensitive to the weaknesses of faith that other believers around us suffer from. Whether that is taking care about drinking alcohol around those who struggle with alcoholism, or in exercising some other freedom we have in Christ in front of a believer who struggles with temptation in that area. We must be careful not to lead a fellow believer to stumble and fall.


© Image Copyright 2012, D.J. Hacker. All rights reserved.


Psalm 33:1-11

     The psalmist tells us that those who love the Lord should be joyful and sing praises to God. We should use whatever instruments come to hand to produce music to praise God and not be afraid to write new songs that reflect out experience of Him. He tells us that creating the world was effortless for God, as easy for Him as breathing is for us. God’s plans will come to fruition, no matter who or what stands in their path.


© Image Copyright 2012, D.J. Hacker. All rights reserved.


Proverbs 21:8-10

     The first proverb today tells us that the guilty are devious, but the innocent are straightforward. This is a warning. If you are dealing with someone with whom everything seems to corkscrew through all kinds of hard to follow permutations, be suspicious of their intentions. On the other hand, someone who is straightforward and forthright can be trusted.
     The second one tells us that it is better to live in poverty with little, than to be wealthy and live with a wife who quarrels all the time. I thank God every day that the latter is not my lot in life.
     The third one tells us that if you know someone who is constantly plotting to cause unpleasantness for others, stay away from them because they will soon target you.

© Image Copyright 2012, D.J. Hacker. All rights reserved.

     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.

Daily Bible Study

June 27, 2012 Bible Study

     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 10:32-12:21

     After the death of King Ahaziah of Judah, his mother, Athaliah, attempts to kill off all of his sons. However, King Ahaziah’s sister hides his infant son, Joash, and takes him to the priest, Jehoiada. Athaliah, Jezebel’s daughter, ruled Judah for seven years. When Joash is seven years old, Jehoiada organizes a revolt against Athaliah and puts him on the throne. Jehoiada uses his position as the man who put Joash on the throne to destroy the temple of Baal and kill Baal’s high priest. Early in his reign, Joash instructs the priests to take part of the money that is brought as offerings to the Temple and use it to repair the Temple. However, by the twenty-third year of his reign, little to no progress has been made in repairing the Temple. Joash instructs that all money donated for any reason other than as a guilt or sin offering will go into a separate fund exclusively for Temple repair. In addition, he took responsibility for the Temple repair away from the priests and gave it to construction experts.
      I remember when I was young there was a bit of a controversy in the local conference of the Mennonite Church because the financial management for the conference was taken out of the hands of ordained ministers and given to lay persons. The bulk of the controversy was because some people interpreted this move as expressing distrust of the ordained ministers. I remember my father explaining/arguing that ordained ministers have many gifts, but they are selected to be ordained and for conference leadership positions for gifts other than financial management. My father went on to make the case that the Church’s money should be managed by people who are selected for that job because they do have the gift of financial management. Conference finances improved significantly after this change was made and my impression is that the ministries of the conference became more effective as well. I believe that this represents an important point, the Church should select people with ministry gifts for those roles we traditionally consider “ministry” and choose people with the appropriate gifts for those roles that call for other gifts, rather than assume that the guidance of the Holy Spirit will suffice to direct those we have called to the ministry to the proper action in areas where they have not been gifted.

Acts 18:1-22

     After his experience on Mars Hill, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. In Corinth, Paul meets Priscilla and Aquila. He lived and worked with them for awhile because they were tent-makers, as was he. Each Sabbath Paul went to the synagogue and attempted to convince Jews and Gentiles of the truth of the Gospel. When Silas and Timothy joined him in Corinth, Paul spent more time preaching the Word. At this point some of the Jews in the synagogue became hostile to him. Paul stopped going to the synagogue and started teaching in the home of a Gentile who lived next to the synagogue. Luke tells us that even though Paul moved his preaching and teaching from the synagogue, the leader of the synagogue and his household became believers. The Jews who did not believe left Paul alone until there was a change in the governor. At that point they brought Paul before the governor and accused him of teaching things contrary to Jewish law. The governor refused to even listen to Paul’s defense and threw the case out telling them that it was a matter for them to settle themselves and not for his court.
     Paul spent some more time in Corinth and then traveled to Ephesus where he preached for a short time. The Jews in Ephesus asked Paul to stay longer, but he declined, promising to return if the Lord willed. He then traveled to Jerusalem by way of Caesarea. From Jerusalem he returned to Antioch.

Psalm 145:1-21

     The psalmist declares that the Lord is great and the he will praise Him everyday. He tells us that each generation should tell the next of God’s mighty works and raise them to praise Him. The psalmist tells us that God provides for all of creation and protects those who love Him. The psalmist closes by repeating that he will praise the Lord and calls on everyone on the earth to do the same. I will do my best to join the psalmist in praising the Lord everyday.

Proverbs 18:1

     This proverb tells us that people are unfriendly because they care only about themselves. That they will lash out even at common sense suggestions.

Daily Bible Study

June 16, 2012 Bible Study

     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.

1 Kings 15:25-17:24

     This passage tells us that king after king came to the throne of Israel and did evil. God brought them, or their sons down and wiped out their entire family. We are not really told much more than that until we come to Ahab, son of Omri, who was king when God called Elijah. Ahab we are told built a temple and altar to Baal in Samaria and set up an Ashera pole there. The passage tells us that Ahab did even more to anger God than any of the kings preceding him.
     God called Elijah to go to Ahab. Elijah went to Ahab and told him that it would not rain until Elijah said otherwise. As James puts it, “Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.” That is a powerful testimony to the power of the prayer of faith. We are told that God told Elijah to go and hide by a stream near the Jordan river. That the ravens would bring him food there. So, Elijah goes and camps where God told him and the ravens brought him food morning and evening and he drank from the stream. Elijah stayed there until the stream dried up.
     God then sent Elijah to a village near Sidon, where a widow would feed him. When Elijah got to the village he saw a widow gathering sticks. He asked her to bring him some water and a little bread. When he asked for bread she told him that she had just enough left for one more meal for herself and her son, after which they would both starve. Elijah tells her not to worry, just bring him some bread and then prepare a meal for herself and her son. That her flour and oil will not run out until God sends rain and the crops grow again. We are told that this does indeed happen. Elijah stayed with her. Some time later, the widow’s son dies. She asks Elijah why this happened. Elijah takes the child’s body up to his room and prays to God for the child to live. The child is returned to life and Elijah gave him back to his mother.
     This passage is a primer on faith and prayer. Elijah trusted God and God sent him food by way of ravens. When his water source at the place where God had the birds feed him dried up, God sent him to a widow that was in need. Notice the timing here, the water in the stream did not dry up until Elijah would arrive at the village as the widow was preparing the last meal for herself and her son. When Elijah asked for bread, the widow gave him bread even though it was the last food she had. When she acted in faith, God provided for her and her son. When the widows son died, Elijah called out to God and God raised her son from the dead. Do we today have the faith to act as the widow did? Do we even have faith to act as Elijah did and pray for such a miracle? Or even to follow Elijah’s example and count on God to provide for our needs? Would we be willing to camp by a stream and count on birds to bring us food?

Acts 10:24-48

     When Peter arrived at Cornelius’ house, Cornelius attempts to worship him but Peter prevents him from doing so. Peter then enters Cornelius’ home where he explains that God has shown him that he should not think of anyone as impure or unclean. Peter began preaching to those who havdgathered at Cornelius’ house (we are told that Cornelius had called together his relatives and close friends). As he is preaching, the Holy Spirit came upon those who were listening to him. The Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter were amazed that God poured out his Holy Spirit on gentiles. When Peter saw that the Holy Spirit had come upon those present, he instructed that they should be baptized.
     This passage is an important one for us as Christians to return to regularly. There are a couple of points. First, God shows no favoritism. He will pour out His Spirit on any who seek Him, no matter what state they are in when they begin seeking Him. Second, we should think of no one as impure or unclean, as someone we should not associate with. God is calling us to preach the Gospel to all who will hear. There are times when Christians think that certain groups are especially condemned of God, whether it be drunks, or drug addicts, or the wealthy or whatever group you can think of that is somehow too far away from God for Him to reach. The point of this passage is that there is no such group. No one is beyond the reach of God. We as Christians are called to pray for everyone we meet and to preach the Gospel to them. We do not know whom God will send His Spirit upon to convict of their sins. We must be prepared to minister to those whom God calls, no matter how distasteful we might find them. Beyond that, we are called to learn to not find them distasteful, but as sinners called by God to repentance, just as we are. I am a sinner called by God to repentance. I have no room to look down on others for their sins.

Christian Art

Psalm 134:1-3

     The psalmist calls on all servants of the Lord to praise God. If we are servants of God, we should be praising God. If we are praising God, we are servants of God. Even those who serve at night, when no one really notices, should praise God for the opportunity to serve Him. Whatever way we are called to serve God, we should praise God. Even if we are called to some task that no one ever notices, we should recognize that we are serving God.

Proverbs 17:9-11

     When we forgive those who have done something blameworthy to us, our love for them and their love for us gets stronger. On the other hand, when we keep thinking about something someone close has done that bothers us, it creates distance between us. The second proverb tells us that those who are wise will take even a single rebuke to heart, while those who are foolish will not learn from severe punishment. Finally, we are told that those who are looking for an opportunity to challenge authority are likely evil.