Tag Archives: Psalm 88

Daily Bible Study

October 18, 2017 Bible Study — God Promises a New Covenant

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I am away this weekend Friday night through Sunday (October 16-18). I prepared my studies for the weekend in advance. I published both Saturday’s and Sunday’s studies Friday evening before I departed. I hope this does not cause anyone a problem.

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Proverbs 25:20-22

    Rather than seek revenge, do good for those who have done you wrong. It serves three purposes. First, if they have a decent bone in their body, they will be shamed by your actions. Second, they will spend their time worrying, waiting for you to stop “acting” and exact your revenge. Third, God will reward you for your good behavior. Of those, hopefully only the first and last will truly motivate you. The last because we know that the rewards God gives us are worth any amount of suffering. The first because perhaps their shame will cause them to repent of their sins and turn to God.

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Psalm 88

    I have never been as depressed as expressed in this psalm. That being said, when I have felt overwhelmed by what was going on in my life I cried out to God continually and He brought me relief. He will do the same for you. It may take time, but be persistent and He will answer. (Just don’t forget to listen)

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1 Timothy 3

    This passage describes the characteristics a person must have for two leadership positions in the Church. The first position is one of authority, translated here as elder, the KJV translated the word as bishop. Paul tells us that it is an honorable position to which it is good to aspire (although in no way does he say that everyone should do so). It is then that he tells us what characteristics we should look for in considering a person for the position. I think there are three key elements to these characteristics. A candidate for elder must be the husband of one wife (not single, not divorced and remarried, not having affairs). They must have well-behaved children. They must not be a new convert. They must have a good reputation with non-believers.
    Paul then describes the characteristics for the second position, that of deacon. Those being considered for the position of deacon must be well-respected and have integrity. Reading what Paul writes about the requirements leads me to believe that a deacon is someone who handles money for the Church (otherwise, why does Paul make such an emphasis on them being responsible and honest in handling money?). Which leads to the main requirement, that they be someone who has been shown to act without any impropriety, or even the appearance of impropriety.

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Jeremiah 31:27-32:44

    God told the people of Israel, through Jeremiah, that He would give them a new covenant. This new covenant would not be written on stone tablets. Instead it would be written on the hearts of God’s people. That new covenant was delivered through Jesus Christ. We no longer need to refer to a document to know what God desires of us. He has put His instructions deep within those who strive to serve Him. If we seek God, He will reveal Himself to us.

Daily Bible Study

April 19, 2015 Bible Study — Are We Willing To Shake Things Up?

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 13:12-14

    One of the things which is emphasized throughout Proverbs is the value of listening to advice and taking instruction. Time and again we are told that the wise look to learn from any source which offers itself, while those who think they know all they need to know are destined for trouble and likely destruction.

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Psalm 88:1-18

    Let us remember to follow the psalmist’s example and cry out to God when all seems lost. Even if our troubles seem to have no end, let us continue to have faith in God’s love and faithfulness. We do not serve God because of what He does for us. Rather we serve Him because it is right to do so.

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Luke 19:28-48

    In the passage about Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jesus I, and others, have pointed out that He entered Jerusalem as a king returning victorious from battle. In addition, a lot of time has been spent speaking and writing about Jesus’ response to the Pharisees requesting Him to silence the crowds. However, I cannot recall anyone talking about what the crowd was saying that had the Pharisees upset (although I am sure that I have heard, or read, such commentary).
    So, what was it that the crowd was shouting which worried the Pharisees? And why? They were wanted Jesus to tell the crowd to stop shouting about the King coming in the name of the Lord. They did not want the crowd shouting this because they were afraid that the Romans would interpret it as the beginning of an insurrection against their rule and would respond with military force. They were afraid to stir things up and upset the authorities. They did not want to upset the status quo. They were afraid of stirring things up and disrupting their comfortable life. Jesus’ answer was that if the people did not cry out their disruptive message, the very stones along the road would do so. The Pharisees’ comfortable life was about to be disrupted whether the people cried out to praise Jesus or not. Are willing to be the voices that disturb the status quo today? Or do we wish they would keep quiet so that we can go on living our comfortable lives?

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Joshua 19-20:9

    Today’s passage continues to describe the lands given to each of the tribes. For someone with an interest in it, these descriptions could be an interesting study in what would represent stable borders for modern Israel. However, what I want to comment on is the cities of refuge. These were places where someone who accidentally caused the death of another person could flee to avoid be killed in revenge for that death. They would need to stand trial when they arrived at one of these designated cities in order to establish that they had not intentionally killed the other person. If the trial found that such was indeed the case, those seeking vengeance for the death would not be allowed to take it, as long as the person responsible for the death stayed in the city of refuge to which he had fled. If, however, he were to leave that city before the death of the current high priest, the family would be allowed to take revenge. This system applied a punishment on the one who had killed another, even though by accident, without allowing an escalation of vengeance.

Daily Bible Study

October 18, 2014 Bible Study — Strive to Qualify For Church Leadership

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have been convicted over the last few weeks to seek to develop a disciplined prayer life. It is still a work in progress. Please pray for me, that the Holy Spirit may show me how to pray in a disciplined manner.

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Proverbs 25:20-22

    Singing cheerfully and otherwise expressing your own joy in the presence of someone grieving and/or sad is like rubbing salt in an open wound. This is something to remember when attempting to cheer someone who is feeling down.
    The proverb writer reminds us that the best revenge upon those who do us wrong is to do right by them in every way that we can think of. If our enemy is hungry feed them, if they are thirsty, give them a drink. If we do so, we show everyone else that any enmity between us is on the part of the other person. Do not do wrong because the other person did so first. If we do what is right to and for those who have done wrong to us, we need not fear being misunderstood by those who matter.

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Psalm 88:1-18

    The psalmist declares that he faces many troubles and feels overwhelmed by them all. He feels that he has been abandoned by all and cut off from God. Yet even in this pit of despair he calls out to God, praying for God to come to his deliverance. He acknowledges that God is his salvation and prays to Him day and night, despite being justly punished by God for his sins. Will we do the same? Will we throw ourselves on God’s mercy when we know that we deserve whatever terrible things may happen to us? Will we trust Him to deliver us?

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1 Timothy 3:1-16

    Those who aspire to be an elder or a deacon desire a noble task. There are standards they must meet. Whether we desire such a role or not, we should all seek to fulfill most of the requirements of the role (Paul mentions that those who aspire to the role of elder should be able to teach, and not all have that gift). The literal translation says that those considered for these roles must be the husband of one wife. Church leaders should be selected from those who demonstrate self-control, are respectable and hospitable. I will not go into the whole list, but it is worth going over to see how we each measure up. One important point Paul makes is that we should not tap new believers for leadership positions. Give them time to grow and mature in the Lord before giving them authority in the Church. Whether or not I am ever called to a leadership position in the Church, I will strive to measure up to the standard laid out here.

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Jeremiah 31:27-32:44

    As I noted yesterday, Jeremiah prophesied death and destruction. Unlike Isaiah, Jeremiah spends very little time calling people to repent. He tells them that he knows that they will not do so (although he also tells them that if they would, God would still turn aside the coming judgement). In today’s passage he tells the people that God is going to institute a new covenant. God will introduce this new covenant because, despite His love and faithfulness, the people broke the original covenant.
    I like the way the NIV describes this new covenant,

“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.”

If we are willing to be God’s people, we do not need to be taught to know God because He will live within us. God will write His law in our minds and in our hearts. We are no longer dependent on others to teach us God’s will. His Spirit will dwell within us.
    Jeremiah goes on and gives a prophecy which I believe is spiritually fulfilled in the Church, but which I also believe will be literally fulfilled to the Jewish people. The day is coming, perhaps modern Israel represents that day, when Jerusalem will be rebuilt and the people of Israel will dwell there once more. When that day comes, Jerusalem will never be captured or destroyed again. I know there are those who believe this refers to the heavenly Jerusalem, but I believe it applies to Jerusalem on this earth.

Daily Bible Study

April 19, 2014 Bible Study — The Lord Needs It

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 13:12-14

    Refusing to listen to instruction will lead to frustration and failure, respecting commands given by those in positions of authority results in success and rewards. Seek advice and instruction from those who are wise, by doing so you can avoid taking actions with dangerous consequences.

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Psalm 88:1-18

    Let us come to God by day and by night. Let us pray all of the time. Every time I read the last line of this psalm I am reminded of the song by Simon and Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence.” That song begins with the line, “Hello darkness my old friend…” Further in the song refers to “people hearing without listening.” That song so reminds of how people react to the words of God. They hear, but they do not listen. They would rather bow to the “neon god they have made.” Let us listen to God when He speaks to us. Let us seek Him out when times are good, so that He does not need to do drive our friends away to get our attention. I will not wait until times are bad to seek God both day and night.

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Luke 19:28-48

    Am I willing to act as the owners of the colt acted in this passage? Will I surrender the use of my possessions because, “the Lord needs it?” Look what resulted from their willingness to allow Jesus to use their colt. As Jesus rode along, the people began to shout and sing His praises. There was such an outpouring of joy and worship that Jesus said if the people did not cry out, the very stones would have done so. Have you ever been filled with praise for God such that you felt that if you did not cry out the rocks and trees would do so?
    As Jesus entered Jerusalem, He wept over the city. He wept because He knew that the people of the city had rejected their opportunity to be saved from the coming destruction. God had offered them an opportunity for salvation and they did not accept it. Do we feel a similar passion for bringing salvation to those we meet? Do we weep over the possibility that they will miss their opportunity to be saved?

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Joshua 19-20:9

    The passage lays out how the land not yet conquered was to be allotted among the tribes which had not yet received and allotment of land. The passage ends with the designation of the cities of refuge. These were established so that those who had caused the death of another could receive a fair and just trial. Those who caused the death of another could escape to one of these cities and request a trial to establish that they had done so by accident. The authorities of these cities were obligated to protect them from being killed in revenge until they had received such a trial.

Daily Bible Study

October 18, 2013 Bible Study — Requirements For Leaders

     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 in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Jeremiah 31:27-32:44

     Jeremiah has been given a prophecy of coming destruction for Jerusalem, but now he is given a message of hope for the future. God promised to make a new covenant. One in which He would put His instructions within His people and write His laws on their hearts. Those who wish to follow God will not need to be taught to know the Lord. Any who wish to know the Lord will be able to come to Him and know Him without anyone teaching them because God will make Himself known to them. God has done this great thing, if we look within ourselves we will see what He desires.
     Earlier in this book, Jeremiah recorded several illustrations which God had told him to carry out to illustrate the coming judgment. Now, when the fall of Jerusalem was imminent, God told him to give an illustration of His promise to bring the people back from exile. God instructed Jeremiah to buy a plot of land. Jeremiah had been preaching and prophesying that Jerusalem would fall to Nebuchadnezzar. Now, when it was clear that this was about to happen, Jeremiah was telling the people that they would be restored to the land. To show that he believed what he said, Jeremiah bought a piece of land and sealed the deed in a pottery jar. Jeremiah reminds us that nothing is too hard for God. Just as God had brought about the calamities which He promised, so too would He bring about the good things which He had promised. Let us remember that we may face troubled and difficult times, but God has promised to care for us and bring us through them to better times as well.

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1 Timothy 3:1-16

     Paul here lays out the requirements that someone must meet in order to be selected as an elder and as a deacon. There has been much debate about the importance of these instructions and the meaning of Paul’s statement that an elder must be faithful to his wife. However, what struck me today is that these standards are those which I should strive to meet, whether I am called to be an elder (or other leadership role in the Church) or not. These are things which an elder is called to be so that they can be a model to others in the Church. However, we are all called to be above reproach, faithful to our wives (spouse), temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. The only one of the requirements which Paul lists for an elder that is, perhaps, not one all Christians should aspire to is being able to teach (well, those who God calls to lead a single life do not need to be faithful to the spouse they do not have). In addition, we should seek to have a good reputation among those outside of the Church so as to be good witnesses for Christ.

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     Sometimes we get so caught up in discussing the meaning of this passage in deciding who should be a leader in the Church that we forget why our leaders are to have these characteristics. They are to have these characteristics so as to model them for us. Which means that those of us who are not called to leadership positions are to strive to have these same behaviors and characteristics.

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Psalm 88:1-18

     The psalmist cries out to God from deepest despair. Even when overwhelmed by depression, he calls out to God. This psalm is a model for us. When we are troubled, no matter how severe our depression, we need to call out to God. We may not see God’s answer to our prayers, but we need to come before him with persistence. When this world’s trouble threaten to overwhelm me I will do as the psalmist:

O Lord, I cry out to you.
I will keep on pleading day by day.

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Proverbs 25:20-22

     This proverb suggests that the best way to respond to those who are your enemies is by being kind and caring to them. There are two benefits to this. The first is that you will make them look bad when they attack you. The second is that God will reward you for your kindness.