Tag Archives: Read the Bible in a year

Daily Bible Study

December 17, 2020 Bible Study Jesus, Fully Human, But Greater Than The Angels

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Hebrews 1-5.

The writer of Hebrews first establishes that Jesus is greater than the angels.  I am not going to spend any time on that right now, since I have not come across anyone who overemphasizes angels recently.  Having established that Jesus is greater than angels, the writer goes on to show that Jesus was fully human.  The writer goes on to explain why that is important.  Because Jesus was fully human, He experienced temptation and suffering just as we do.  He also suffered death as a human being, a death which allows Him to free us from the fear of death.  Since God raised Jesus from the dead, we know that He is willing and able to do the same for us.

Daily Bible Study

December 16, 2020 Bible Study Church Leaders Must Be Hospitable

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Titus and Philemon

I have skipped over the other places where Paul speaks about the qualifications for Church leadership, but I will touch on it today  Church leaders are managers of God’s household and therefore must be men who lead a blameless life. Paul goes into detail on what that means, but there is one qualification he mentions which is not summed up in “blameless life”.  Church leaders must enjoy having guests in their own home.  They must like being around people.  Paul tells us that all of these qualifications are necessary because there are many rebellious people who engage in useless talk and thus deceive others.  I find it interesting that being a good host leads to one being good at countering those who deceive others.

Paul goes on to say that Believers should submit to the government and its officers.  We should be obedient and always ready to do what is good.  It should be noted that this was written by a man who was imprisoned by the government for preaching about Jesus Christ, and who continued to preach even so.  We should not slander anyone.  Actually, I am going to bring up a story about my Mom here.  My Mom was a firm believer in the saying, “If you cannot say anything nice about someone, do not say anything.”  The worst thing I ever heard her say about someone was, “He dresses nice.”  This was in response to me asking her opinion of a man prominent in the Church community (not someone who held any Church offices that I can remember) about whom I had heard some rumors (just rumors that people were spreading rumors about him).  I knew that my Mom knew the man personally, and had likely heard whispers of something inappropriate regarding him.  Hearing my Mom say that about the man was the most devastating put down of the man imaginable, and my Mom had no intention of putting him down when she said it.  “He dresses nice,” was the only nice thing she could say about a man she had known for more than 20 years.  The point of this story was that my Mom always sought to see some good in everyone

Daily Bible Study

December 15, 2020 Bible Study Living In The Last Days, But Knowing That The One Whom We Trust Is Able To Keep Us Safe

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Timothy 1-4

Paul writes two closely related thoughts early in this letter.  If we, like Paul, know the One in whom we have put our faith, and are sure that He is able to guard that which we have committed to Him, we will be prepared to suffer for the Gospel. There is a hymn based on that idea (chapter 1 verse 12).  That hymn echoes a theme which I see throughout the New Testament.  We may not, and often will not, know why things work out the way they do, but we can be confident that they are happening according to God’s plan.  And we know that God will take care of us and bring us home to Him.

Paul goes on to tell Timothy, and us, the importance of working hard to do God’s will, correctly explaining the word of truth.  We need to pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace, while avoiding that which stimulates youthful lust.  Especially now in the last days.  How do we know it is the last days?  Paul tells us what things will look like in those days,  Look around and tell me his description does not fit.  “For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.  They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.  They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.“

Daily Bible Study

December 14, 2020 Bible Study Guidelines For Caring For Those In Need

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Timothy 5-6

Here Paul gives Timothy instructions for caring for widows.  I am convinced that these instructions can be easily extended to how we as Christians should care for all of those in need.  First, we definitely should care for those who have no one else to care for them who cannot care for themselves.  However, we should ask the relatives of those who cannot care for themselves to care for them before we, as the Church, get involved.  Also, those who are able to care for themselves should do so.  Further, those who we provide care for need to be respectful and kind to others.  If you are one of those who need help, you need to be grateful to those who give you that assistance. Further, while some among us have the gift to care for those who are ungrateful, none of us are obligated to care for those who treat us poorly.   I am tempted to write more here to try to clarify my points, but instead I am going to ask you to read the passage and see how Paul said it.

Daily Bible Study

December 13, 2020 Bible Study Pray For People Instead of Arguing With Them

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Timothy 1-4

Today’s passage begins and ends with Paul warning Timothy against false teachers who fill their time with meaningless discussions.  He speaks of how they spend time on discussions of myths and genealogies (the context seems to suggest that some people were claiming to have special insights into God’s will because of who their ancestors were, but it may also apply to those who claimed authority because they had been students of particular people).  Paul warns us against getting caught up in such meaningless discussions.  Instead of getting caught up in meaningless discussions we should pray for people, especially those in positions of government authority.  In times like these that last bit will help us avoid getting caught up in meaningless discussions which do nothing to help us, or others, live a life of faith in God.

Daily Bible Study

December 12, 2020 Bible Study Those Unwilling To Work Will Not Eat

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Thessalonians 1-3

Once again, Paul tells the Believers to pray, and challenges me to improve my prayer life.  In particular, he asks them to pray for himself and those with him.  While asking for their prayers Paul writes that the Lord is faithful and will strengthen us.  There is a link between our praying for others and God strengthening us.  God strengthens us, and rescues us from the evil one, through our prayers.  Perhaps I am reading this wrong, but Paul transitions directly from talking about prayer to talking about the importance of working to meet our needs.  Not only does Paul tell us that we should work to support ourselves, he tells us to stay away from those who claim to be followers of Christ who do not do so.  Elsewhere Paul instructs Believers to take care of their fellow Believers who cannot take care of themselves.  Here he makes clear that we have no obligation to care for those who could care for themselves, but do not.  I truly believe that Paul intended for us to make a connection between working hard and prayer.  As we work to take care of ourselves and provide for those unable to provide for themselves, our prayer life will become stronger and more impactful.  As we pray more we will be more inclined to find additional ways to work in order to provide for ourselves and others.

Daily Bible Study

December 11, 2020 Bible Study

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Thessalonians 1-5

I am not sure I realized how much Paul emphasized that we should stay away from sexual sins until I started reading through the Bible every year to do this blog.  I knew it was something he wrote about, but my recollection was that I thought Paul mentioned it almost in passing.  However, that is not the case.  In each of his letters which I have read so far this year, Paul makes a strong point on the importance of staying away from sexual sins.  In fact, he contrasts living a holy life with living a life filled with lust.  Further, Paul writes that, contrary to what our society teaches today, sexual sin violates God’s command to love each other.  Paul is telling us that polyamory is not love.

Daily Bible Study

December 10, 2020 Bible Study Pray To God For His Wisdom and Understanding

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Colossians 1-4

Once again I am challenged by Paul’s reference to prayer.  I know that I do not pray nearly as much as I should.  Paul writing about how he prayed continuously for the Colossian Believers reminds me that I do not pray enough.  However, what he prayed for is just as important as the fact that he prayed.  He prayed that God would give them complete knowledge of His will along with spiritual wisdom and understanding.  We should seek these things ourselves, as well as praying that other Believers receive them. Then towards the end of his letter, Paul tells them, and us, to devote themselves(and ourselves) to prayer.  So, let us devote ourselves to prayer so that we may live wisely among those who are not believers.

Daily Bible Study

December 9, 2020 Bible Study Are We Up To The Challenge?

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Philippians 1-4

I was trying to figure out where to put my focus on the things Paul writes in this passage when I came to chapter 3, verse 17.  There Paul writes that we should pattern our lives after his and learn from those who follow his example.  Reading that should challenge each and every one of us.  I know it challenged me.  Have we lived our lives in such a manner that we can tell others to pattern their lives after ours?  Can we confidently state, as Paul does, that it will be better for others for us to go on living?  While at the same time living our lives with the knowledge that things will be better for us when we die?  Do we live clean, innocent lives, seeking the well-being of others more than our own? I challenge you to live your life as an example of how those who seek to follow Christ can follow.

Daily Bible Study

December 8, 2020 Bible Study Unity In Christ Comes When We Allow The Holy Spirit To Transform Our Thoughts and Attitudes

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ephesians 4-6

Paul continues discussing the unity those who follow Christ should seek and experience.  He goes on to explain how we can truly enter into that unity and avoid the divisiveness which the world is constantly trying to inject into Christ’s Body.  He begins by pointing out that Christ has only one Body, and the Spirit which binds it together is One being.  Christ has given the Church, His Body, apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers for the purpose of building us up in unity, knowledge, and faith.  As we are built up in Christ, we will become more mature.  That maturity will lead us to avoid living in lust and deception.

That transition happens when we allow God’s Spirit to transform our thoughts and attitudes.  I find it interesting that even though Paul wrote of the destructiveness of lust and immorality, he starts the list of behaviors which we must allow to be transformed by telling us that we must stop lying to our neighbors.  He follows that immediately by telling us not to allow anger to control us.  If we allow anger to control us, we will sin.  It is only after reviewing several other behaviors that Paul comes back to reminding us that sexual immorality, impurity, and greed will create division in the Church. We must carefully examine our lives and do what please God, rather than allowing those things to fester within us.  Our human tendency is to attempt to rule over each other.  We must resist that tendency and allow God’s Spirit to transform us into those who submit to one another out of service to Christ.  Above all, we must recognize that our enemies are not human foes.  In fact, humans are never the enemies of those who serve the Lord.  Rather, the enemies of those who are members of Christ’s Body are the unseen rulers and spirits of this world.  They cannot be defeated using human weapons and methods.