Tag Archives: Psalm 24

Daily Bible Study

July 31, 2015 Bible Study — The Earth Is the Lord’s and Everything In It

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 20:12

    God gave us ears so that we could hear and eyes so that we could see. So, let’s USE them! That means listen to what people say and pay attention to what we see.

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Psalm 24:1-10

    The first verse of this psalm sums up why we serve the Lord:

he earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to him.

Everything we have belongs to God, including ourselves. They are His to be used for His purposes.

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Romans 14:1-23

    Paul tells us not to argue with other believers over “disputable matters”. Some people believe that we may eat any food, others, whom Paul characterizes as having weak faith, believe that we should only eat vegetables. He tells us that we should not argue over such things. Paul tells us not to judge one another over such things. There are those who argue that we should accept those who practice things which have traditionally been considered sins (usually, sins which are sexual in nature) without condemning them (I think that what Paul writes about the man sleeping with his stepmother in 1 Corinthians suggests otherwise, but that is another point).
    However, if this passage were to apply, those who believe those sexual behaviors are not sin would be in the same class as those who believed it was OK to eat anything. Paul tells us that if your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat (or in this case, who you have sex with), you are no longer acting in love. He goes on to say, “So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God.” Paul says that it is better not to do anything which might cause your brother or sister to fall. So, you should not do things which your fellow believers think is sinful where they might find out. If there is any chance they will find out about it, you should not do it at all.

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2 Chronicles 29:1-36

    When Hezekiah took the throne he immediately began to reverse the evil which his father, Ahaz, had done. He called on the Levites to first purify themselves and then purify the Temple. When they had purified the Temple, they purified the people. This should serve as a model for us. I believe our nation has fallen into the sort of situation which Judah was in when Ahaz was king (although, I do not believe the U.S. is God’s chosen nation, unlike Judah). If we want to turn that around we need to first purify ourselves. Then we need to purify the Church (and I do not mean the building). Only then will we be able to purify the people of this nation.

Daily Bible Study

January 29, 2015 Bible Study — A Camel Through the Eye of a Needle

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 6:1-5

    Do not offer to be security for someone else’s debt unless you can afford to pay it off yourself. Then plan on doing so.

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Psalm 24:1-10

    Do you want to know how to treat people? Treat them as if they are God’s people, because they are! Do you want to know how to treat the plants and animals around you? treat them as if they are God’s property, because they are! There is more to be gotten from this psalm and I hope you read it and see, but that’s all I am going to write about it today.

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Matthew 19:13-30

    Today’s passage contains the story of the rich young man. He has obeyed the commandments, but feels called to do more. Jesus tells him to sell all that he has and come follow Him. The young man is unwilling to do that and turns away. Jesus then tells His disciples that it is harder for a rich man to enter heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.
    I have repeatedly heard people try to explain that “camel through the eye of a needle” is a figure of speech for something else, something which is very difficult, but possible. When I first heard such explanations, I thought they were insightful, which shows the importance of reading the Bible for yourself. The focus of such teaching is that, while getting into heaven is very difficult for the wealthy, it is possible. However, that does not seem to be Jesus’ message here. When the disciples heard what Jesus said, their response was, “If that’s the case, who can get into heaven?” Clearly, they heard Jesus say that it is impossible for the rich to get into heaven. Jesus tells them that they had heard Him correctly. It is impossible for a human to get into heaven on the basis of his own actions. However, with God all things are possible.

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Exodus 8-9:35

    This passage falls into a pattern. Repeatedly Moses relays God’s message about coming plagues to Pharaoh. The plagues arrive, each one more severe than the last. Pharaoh promises to let the Israelites go to worship God. Moses prays to God for the plague to life. Pharaoh hardens his heart and refuses to let the Israelites go. How often do we follow a pattern similar to Pharaoh in our lives. Something bad happens to us, we turn to God and promise to reform our bad habits, God relieves us from our difficulty, we return to our bad habits. Rinse, lather, repeat. The escalation of difficulties in this passage are a warning to us to stop this behavior, before we end up paying a price for our sins that we will regret for the rest of our lives.

Daily Bible Study

July 31, 2014 Bible Study — Do Not Quarrel Over Disputable Matters

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 20:12

    We have ears to hear and eyes to see. They were given to us by God in order that we might learn to honour Him.

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Psalm 24:1-10

    The earth, along with everything in it, belongs to God. We should treat the things we have accordingly. Let us remember to use everything we have in order to serve God and bring glory to His name. All of the people on the earth are God’s as well. Let us remember that we are not special in being God’s possession and treat others with the love, honour, and respect that they deserve as being God’s people.
    The psalmist asks, and answers, who may approach God? Here I prefer the NIV. He tells us that only those who have clean hands and a pure heart, those who do not rely on something other than God, those who do not swear falsely, or by false gods. If we truly seek God, we will allow His Spirit to transform us into such people. His Spirit will cleanse our hands and our hearts. If we trust in Him, He will remove sin from our lives and keep us from sullying our hearts by trusting in that which cannot save us. We cannot enter into God’s presence and truly worship Him until we fully rely on Him.

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Romans 14:1-23

    Once again, I prefer the NIV for this passage. Paul tells us to accept those whose faith is weak. We are not to quarrel over disputable matters, such as whether to observe certain days (Is Christmas really a pagan holiday?), or whether or not it is OK to eat meat (Was this meat dedicated to an idol?). The phrasing chosen by the NIV is important. Other translations use the term argue rather than quarrel. The problem is that arguing can be a logical discussion, laying out the reasons for holding a particular position, and I cannot imagine Paul having a problem with that. It is when arguing becomes quarreling that problems arise. Quarreling is divisive and angry. Quarreling is what happens when we allow our emotions to enter into a disagreement. Paul tells us not to condemn those we disagree with. We are not to hold them in contempt. Ultimately, what each one of us believes is between ourselves and God. God will judge us according to how responsive we are to guidance by His Spirit. If we allow emotions to enter into our arguments (debates) with our fellow believers, we may convince them to change their actions, even though we have not convinced them that such changes are not sinful. Let us not ridicule others so that they change their behavior, even though they still think it is wrong.
    There is another clause in what Paul says that is worth noting, he tells us not to quarrel over “disputable matters”. He gives examples of disputable matters (what types of food we eat, what days are holy). It would be helpful if he gave examples of what is not disputable. However, we can get a sense of that from his writings elsewhere: sexual immorality, the importance of faith in Jesus and His death and resurrection, a few other matters. More importantly, if we remember to not let our emotions become entangled in our efforts to convince others (except possibly our concern for them), we will not go far wrong. It is not wrong to disagree, nor to discuss our disagreements. It is wrong to condemn our fellow believers because they disagree with us. Let us seek to allow the love God has for each person influence the way we approach those we disagree with.

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2 Chronicles 29:1-36

    When Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah, became king, the first thing he did was reopen the Temple of God for worship. He summoned the priests and Levites and instructed them to purify themselves and then purify the Temple. They were to remove everything that was defiled from the Temple, all of the implements of pagan worship. It took them sixteen days to cleanse and purify the Temple. When this was done, Hezekiah called the people of Judah to rededicate and reconsecrate themselves to God. The people responded to his call with such fervor that the priests were overwhelmed trying to keep up.
    Let us remember that Jesus has made our bodies the Temple of God. Let us purify our bodies and consecrate ourselves to serving God. Then, when we have done this, let us call on those around us to do the same. Perhaps if we do so, trusting in the Spirit to move them, we will get a response similar to that which Hezekiah got. Perhaps we can get the people of this land to respond to God in such a manner that the Churches are overwhelmed and do not know what to do with the people who come to Him.

Daily Bible Study

January 29, 2014 Bible Study — The Earth Is the Lord’s, and Everything In It

     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. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more. in advance. My work schedule has recently changed, meaning that I may not have time every day to complete these. As a result, I am trying to get several days ahead. I hope this does not negatively impact the quality of these posts (if that is possible). If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Exodus 8-9:35

     Moses went back again and again to Pharaoh warning him that terrible things would happen if he did not let the Israelites go to worship God (at this point, the request was for a trip into the wilderness to offer sacrifices and then return). Time after time, Pharaoh promised Moses that he would let them go, if only Moses would lift the plague. Each time, once the plague was lifted, Pharaoh reneged on his promise. The majority of the plagues did not effect those living in the land of Goshen (the area of Egypt where the Israelites lived). How often are we like Pharaoh, when things go wrong we promise that if things get better we will do as God wishes. Then when things get better we go back to doing that which led to the problems in the first place?

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Matthew 19:13-30

     I find the beginning of this passage interesting. When some parents brought their children to Jesus in order to be blessed by Him, His disciples berated the parents for bothering Jesus. This happened just a short time after Jesus had told them that anyone who welcomed a little child on His behalf was welcoming Him. Jesus uses this incident to reinforce His teaching about our need to be like children in our faith and dependence on God.
     This passage also contains the story of the rich young ruler. Many read this passage and see Jesus’ comment about how hard it is for the rich to enter heaven, but overlook the fact that when the disciples reacted by thinking that it would be even harder for the poor, Jesus did not contradict that impression. Rather Jesus told them that for man it was impossible. It is only possible for anyone to get into heaven because God has made it possible. Jesus goes on to tell the disciples that those who have given up worldly comfort in order to serve Him will be rewarded for their sacrifice.

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Psalm 24:1-10

     The opening of this psalm is an important reminder to us. This earth belongs to God, as does everything and everyone in it. I will treat the things of this earth as things which I hold in trust for God to use to further His will in this world. I will treat the people I meet as the servants of God, treating them as I hope that He will treat me.

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Proverbs 6:1-5

     The proverb writer warns repeatedly against putting up security for someone else’s debt. He warns that if you have done so, do whatever you can to get out of it. My interpretation of these various warnings is that you should never off to secure a debt that you cannot afford to pay back. No matter how well meaning someone is, if they need you to secure the debt for them there is a risk that they will either be unable to pay it back, or just fail to do so, leaving you to pay off the debt.