Tag Archives: Religion

March 24, 2014 Bible Study — We Will Be Judged By the Standard We Judge Others

    I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I write this daily blog because it helps me pay closer attention to the Scripture as I read it. Before I started writing this blog I had trouble disciplining myself to read the Bible regularly, let alone every day. I hope that by posting my thoughts I can encourage others to regularly read the Bible (and perhaps my thoughts will give someone encouragement in their walk with Christ). In order to make it possible for others to use my blog as part of their daily Bible Study (the hubris of that idea never ceases to amaze me), I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more. 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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Proverbs 11:27

    Those who seek good will find both it and favor with others. Those who seek evil will find it, to their own loss. If you seek evil, you will suffer evil.

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Psalm 67:1-7

    This psalm reminds us to praise and bless God because He has blessed us by providing for our needs. Yet it also carries the reminder that as we praise and obey God, we will be blessed by Him even further.

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Luke 6:12-38

    Luke tells us that people came from all over to hear Jesus preach and to be healed by Him. In addition, he puts a phrase hear which reminds me of the woman who was healed when she touched the hem of his robe. “Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.” (verse 19) Then we have Luke’s take on the beatitudes. These are more troubling than Matthew’s version. Jesus said that those who were poor, hungry, and sorrowful are blessed because they will inherit the Kingdom of God, be fed, and experience joy. The scary part is that Jesus then goes on to tell those who are experiencing the good life will experience sorrow and misery in the future. I do not think this second part is a promise, but rather it is a warning (at least I hope so) because of what He says next.
    Jesus transitions from His warnings of sorrow by saying, “But to you who are listening…” He tells us to love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless and pray for those who treat us badly. We are to do to others as we would like them to do to us. It is not enough to do good things to those who can/will return the favor. We need to be nice, do good things for, those who will not and/or cannot be nice and/or do good things in return. God has been merciful to us, as undeserving as we were, and are. If we expect God to reward us, we must be merciful to those who do not deserve it, and will not deserve it. Let us work to imitate God’s goodness. Jesus tells us that we should not hold others to a higher standard than we wish to be judged by ourselves. If we wish to be forgiven, we need to forgive others. I just realized that there is an implicit understanding of human nature here. Those who are unwilling to forgive others are those who think of themselves as not needing forgiveness. The measure by which we give to others (in forgiveness, good will, and material goods) is the measure by which we will be rewarded. Let us give to others generously.

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Deuteronomy 2-3:29

    Moses continued his account of the time the Israelites spent in the wilderness. He recounts how God instructed them to avoid conflict with both the Edomites and the Moabites (descendants of Esau and Lot respectively). Moses then told of how he sent messengers to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, requesting permission to pass through his lands as they had through the lands of the Edomites and the Moabites. Sihon rejected Moses request and attacked the Israelites. I am reminded as I read this that God will provide for us. There will be obstacles in the path that God sends us on, but God will remove those obstacles. Let us not become hostile towards those who do not share our goals until they take action against us. Even then, we need to rely on God to defeat them for us.

March 23, 2014 Bible Study — Why Do You Eat and Drink With Sinners?

    I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I write this daily blog because it helps me pay closer attention to the Scripture as I read it. Before I started writing this blog I had trouble disciplining myself to read the Bible regularly, let alone every day. I hope that by posting my thoughts I can encourage others to regularly read the Bible (and perhaps my thoughts will give someone encouragement in their walk with Christ). In order to make it possible for others to use my blog as part of their daily Bible Study (the hubris of that idea never ceases to amaze me), I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more. 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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Proverbs 11:24-26

    Those who are generous and give freely to those in need prosper. Generosity brings about its own reward (and usually leads to greater material wealth).

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Psalm 66:1-20

    Today’s psalm is on the same theme as yesterday’s psalm. I love reading psalms like today’s, they make me want to sing (which is not necessarily a good thing, as those who have heard me sing are aware).

Come and see what our God has done,
what awesome miracles he performs for people!


I cried out to God for help and he answered me. I confessed my sins and He rescued me from my troubles. God listened to me when I cried for help. He has tried me and put me through difficult times. God will purify me like silver and I will praise Him.

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Luke 5:29-6:11

    Levi, the tax collector become disciple, held a banquet for his friends to meet Jesus. The religious teachers asked Jesus’ disciples why He hung out with such low-lifes?
Jesus answered them by telling them that He had not come to reach the righteous, but rather He had come to reach the sinners. There are two questions we need to ask ourselves. Do we consider ourselves the righteous, or the sinners? The second is, are we Levi, introducing sinners to Jesus? Or are we the Pharisees, condemning Jesus for hanging out with the sinners?
    Luke follows this up with three more stories which show us ways in which the religious teachers did not understand how God desires that we behave. They were more caught up in following the “rules” than in caring for their fellow-man.

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Deuteronomy 1:1-46

    Here at the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy, or “Second Law”, Moses summarizes the events that happened from when the people of Israel left Mt Sinai until they attempted to invade the Promised Land after initially refusing to enter. First, Moses recounted how he appointed judges over sections of the people in order to distribute the load of governing the Israelites, because it was too big of a task for one man to do by himself. This is an important lesson for leaders of any group as it grows in size, there needs to be leaders over subsets of the group. Notice that these judges were not just subordinates who took part of the load. They were each responsible for a specific group of people.
    Moses then tells of how when they arrived at the border of the Promised Land, he encouraged them to invade immediately. However, they asked him to send scouts in to scout out the land first. Moses recounts that this seemed like a good idea to him, so he did sent in twelve scouts, one from each tribe. The scouts reported back that it was a good land, but they also reported that the people of the land were powerful. Moses recounted here how the people were afraid to enter the land despite all that God had done for them starting in Egypt. How often are we afraid to do what God calls us to do?

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Numbers 36:1-13

    This passage reminds us that marriage is an economic partnership. We need to teach our young people this fact and encourage them to consider the economic factors when they are choosing a spouse. There are other factors which they must be taught to take into account, but the young do not naturally think about the economic consequences of their decisions.

March 22, 2014 Bible Study — Levi Got Up, Left Everything, and Followed Him

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

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Proverbs 11:23

    I prefer the NIV translation of this proverb. The righteous desire only things which lead to good for themselves and others. The wicked on the other hand hope for things which bring about wrath and judgment.

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Psalm 65:1-13

    Praise belongs to God for His greatness. God faithfully answers our prayers with mighty deeds. I do not deserve the things which God has done for me. I have sinned beyond any legitimate expectation of forgiveness. Yet God forgives me. He offers me redemption and calls me into His arms. I will praise God every day of my life and look forward to living in His presence. God inspires shouts for joy in all of the earth.

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Luke 5:12-28

    I was going to talk about the faith of the leper mentioned in this passage and about the paralyzed man whom Jesus forgave, but it is the call of Levi, the tax collector, which struck me. As Jesus left town, He passed Levi the tax collector. Tax collectors were known for using their position to extort excessive payments from people and for their sinfulness. Yet when Jesus passed Levi all He saw was a child of God who desired to serve God. Jesus told Levi to follow Him and be His disciple. Levi, the sinner, immediately left everything and followed Jesus. This is just two verses, but it contains a powerful message. Are we willing to leave everything to follow Jesus? Perhaps more importantly, are we willing to follow Jesus’ example and extend His invitation to follow Him to those we pass who are deep sinners? Do we call the “tax collectors” of today to follow Jesus? Or do we think that they are too steeped in sin to respond to His call?

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Numbers 33:40-35:34

    This passage emphasizes the importance of justice. First it emphasizes that it is just to take the life of someone who intentionally kills someone. Then it sets up a system whereby those who kill someone by accident pay a price for that mistake, but are able to avoid being executed for it. Finally, it emphasizes the importance of being positive that a person is guilty of the crime before taking their life for it.

March 21, 2014 Bible Study — Fishing For People

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

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Proverbs 11:22

    The message in this proverb is for us both in considering ourselves and in considering our companions. Someone who possess beauty, but lacks discretion is of no value to anyone. When reading this proverb I often overlook the fact that to the writer of this proverb, pigs were not even a food source. Putting a gold ring in its nose would not change that. In the same way, beauty does not make a person who fails to be discrete someone with whom it is beneficial to spend time.

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Psalm 64:1-10

    The evil plot and plan in secret. They are careful to make sure that no one can discover what they are up to. However, no matter how careful they are, no matter how well they hide their plans, God will hold them accountable. He will strike them down and use their own words against them. It may look like the wicked will get away with their wicked deeds, but God will strike them down. He will not do it in secret, but in plain view for all to see. We will see God bring justice to the wicked and all will realize His great power.

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Luke 4:31-5:11

    Luke tells us that Jesus was preaching in Capernaum and that the people there begged Him not to leave. However, He told them that He needed to preach the Gospel in other towns. Luke then tells us that He traveled around preaching in synagogues throughout Judea. This seems strange since, the very next story takes place in Galilee. However, it strikes me that Luke’s readers were probably familiar with Judea, but not with Galilee. I think Luke saying “Judea” is sort of like someone using “Washington” to refer to someone spending time in Bladensburg, MD, Hyattsville, MD, and other towns in Maryland inside the Beltway. In the same way, I think that many people living distant from the land of Jesus’ birth would view Galilee and Judea as “Judea”, the territory where Jews lived.
    Luke then gives his account of how Simon Peter, James and John came to be Jesus’ disciples. It is clear that this was not the first time Jesus had met Simon because a few verses earlier Luke told the story of Jesus healing Simon’s mother-in-law. On this occasion Jesus asked Simon to allow Him to preach from the boat a few feet away from the shore. When Jesus was done speaking, He asked Simon to put out into deeper water and catch some fish. From the context it appears that Simon was merely humoring Jesus when he put back out to fish. Simon did not expect to catch anything, they had been fishing all night and caught nothing. Since they had caught nothing during the best time for fishing, Simon was sure they would not catch anything now, and said so. However, not only did they catch fish, they caught so many that the nets began to tear and, when James and John joined them with their boat, both boats were at risk of sinking.
    Simon’s response to this was to ask Jesus to leave him, because he, Simon, was too sinful to be around Jesus. I am trying to put into words what I see in this story. First, Peter did not believe that anything would come of what Jesus asked him to do, but he did it anyway. Sometimes what God asks us to do seems pointless, but we need to be like Peter and do it anyway. Second, when Peter saw the results of doing what Jesus asked, he did not take credit for them. Peter realized that he had just been going through the motions, yet God had rewarded him far beyond his desserts. Am I willing to give God credit for the results He produces in my life? The final thing in this story is that Jesus called Simon, James and John to a new career. Am I willing to change the path of my life at God’s call?

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Numbers 32-33:39

    When Moses was preparing to divide up the land that they were about to invade among the tribes of Israel, the tribes of Reuben and Gad requested that instead of land west of the Jordan, they be allowed to claim the land which Israel had just conquered east of the Jordan River. Moses was concerned that they were afraid to join the rest of the tribes in invading the land. Moses was afraid that if he allowed them to stay east of the Jordan, it would discourage the rest of the people from invading. However, the tribes of Reuben and Gad assured Moses that they would join the rest of the people of Israel in conquering the land west of the Jordan, even though they already had the land they wanted. I see in this passage the importance of working with others to fulfill God’s will, even after our “part” of the task is “finished”.

March 20, 2014 Bible Study — Oh God, You Are My God

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

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Proverbs 11:20-21

    God detests those who wallow in perversity, whether it be sexual or otherwise, no matter how much they claim to love Him. On the other hand, God loves those who serve Him with integrity.

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Psalm 63:1-11

    I want to make this psalm my own. This psalm gives great advice for seeing our way through this life. I will praise God as long as I live. I desire Him with all of my being. Let me not become distracted by the pleasures this life brings. When I lie awake at night, I will bend my thoughts to God. I will meditate on His will through the night. I will cling to God because it is only by His strong arm that I can make it through this life.

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Luke 4:1-30

    There are no shortcuts to serving God. We do not spread the Gospel by feeding the poor. We do not advance God’s will in this world by compromising/working with those who oppose the Gospel. We do not perform wondrous acts in order to bring attention to ourselves. I am not sure where I am going with this because one can take this lesson too far. Feeding the poor is something we should do in service to God. We should be willing to work with any who will work towards advancing God’s will (“Anyone who is not against us is for us.”). God has given us the power to perform wonders in order to spread His Word. However, this passage reminds us that all of these can be temptations. We can become caught up with feeding the physical hunger of the poor and forget to feed their spiritual hunger. We can get caught up in our attempts to make the world a better place and start to worship the powers of this world. We can allow the attention that comes to us when we perform God’s wonders to go to our heads and forget to turn that attention away from ourselves towards God. Let us never forget that our first mission in this life is to introduce those around us to Jesus.

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Numbers 30-31:54

    When we last saw Balaam he was blessing the people of Israel even though his employer desired him to curse them. He refused to say anything other than what God commanded him to say. Yet now, when God sends the Israelites to extract vengeance against the Midianites for leading the Israelite men into worshiping false gods and other sins, we find Balaam still among the Midianites. We discover that it was Balaam who had advised the Midianites to have their women seduce Israelite men into worshiping the Midianite idols. How did Balaam go from being a man who would only say what God commanded him to say to a man who advised Israel’s enemies in ways to defeat them? This passage does not tell us, but we have hints from the earlier passage. He was tempted by the wealth offered him. When he could not gain that wealth by cursing the Israelites outright, he came up with a plan to get it by other means.

March 19, 2014 Bible Study — Let All That I Am Wait Quietly Before God

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

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Proverbs 11:18-19

    The rewards which the wicked gain seem great, but they have no lasting value. However, righteous behavior results in righteous, lasting rewards. Righteousness provides life, wickedness leads to death and destruction.

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Psalm 62:1-12

    I will wait quietly before God because that is where my hope lies. Oh, how difficult that is to do when troubles seem to be all around. I want to place all of my trust in God, but that is hard when I do not see the way out. Yet, I do find refuge in Him. I pour my heart out to Him. I have been in similar situations and God has been faithful to guide me through. I have faith that He will do so once more. I cannot comprehend how those who do not share my faith and knowledge of God face similar difficult times. When God sees me through to the other side, I will not allow wealth to become the center of my life.

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Luke 3:23-38

    I came across an interesting thing for those reading this who may be Star Wars fans. As some may know, Hebrew does not have a sound that is equivalent of the English “J” sound, the sound that gets transliterated as “J” in English Bibles is actually closer to the “Y” sound. I could go into the explanation of how that happened, but I don’t remember it in full and that is not important for what I am writing. What I noticed is that Luke lists one of Jesus’ ancestors as being Joda. That’s right, Yoda is an ancestor of Jesus.
    There are those for whom the study of Jesus’ ancestry brings spiritual insight. Generally I am not one of them, although it is worth mentioning that Jesus is the descendant of Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth, three women whose stories play significant roles in the Old Testament.

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Numbers 28:16-29:40

    There is a lot of rich symbolism in the feasts and assemblies described in today’s passage. Unfortunately, I know that I do not have a full appreciation for this symbolism. Passover occurs at the beginning of Spring with the Feast of Weeks (or Pentecost, or Shavuot) being held seven weeks later. The other three Feasts/Assemblies are held in the fall and follow the fall harvest. I think that we miss something by not practicing something like these feasts and assemblies, but I am not sure how we could implement them in our congregations in our modern societies.

March 18, 2014 Bible Study — Change The World For Someone

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

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Proverbs 11:16-17

    The key to gaining long-term respect and reward is kindness and graciousness. Those who are cruel and ruthless will gain only wealth and in the long-run their cruelty will cause their downfall.

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Psalm 61:1-8

    This psalm resonates with me now. I am calling out to God for help. I am confident that He will lead me through this time of trouble to His strong fortress. I will sing His praises each day, even now as trouble surrounds me.

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Luke 3:1-22

    According to Luke, John the Baptist called the crowds who came to hear him preach a brood of vipers and asked them who warned them to seek an escape from God’s coming wrath. Different groups asked John what they should do. John gave them answers that applied to their specific places (tax collectors, soldiers, general populace). His answer to all of them can be easily summed up, “Do what you can to help those in need.” A fiction author whom I like, Lois McMaster Bujold, put words into the mouth of one of her characters which I think applies to what John was telling these people. I am going to paraphrase what she wrote here. When the character was told that his effort would not make any difference in the long run, that the bad guys would just pick up the pieces and go back to doing what they had been doing, he replied that it made a difference for those few he helped. People make the excuse that they can’t help everybody in need, so they don’t help anyone. John’s message here is to help those you can. We may not be able to change the world for everyone, but we can change the world for someone.

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Numbers 26:52-28:15

    When God told Moses that his day had come and the he would die soon, Moses’ response was to ask God to appoint his successor. Moses had led the people of Israel for 40 some years and as he faced death his concern was that they should have a good strong leader after he was gone. Joshua had been Moses’ assistant for most of the last 40 years, yet Moses was concerned that he was not the man for the job. Therefore Moses gave Eleazar, Aaron’s son, a greater role in leading the people of Israel beside Joshua than either he or Aaron had held while Moses was alive. Moses had groomed a leader to replace himself. Joshua did not follow his lead on this and the people of Israel suffered for it.

March 17, 2014 Bible Study — I Have To Be About My Father’s Business

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

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Proverbs 11:15

    If you put up security for a stranger’s debt, you should figure on paying it back yourself. Guaranteeing another person’s debt is a risk that is likely to cost you.

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Psalm 60:1-12

    We may suffer when God chooses to correct us for our errors, but He will raise a banner for us to rally around. If we fear God and gather to His call, He will provide us with the support we need to overcome our troubles. With God’s help we will overcome our troubles and do mighty things.

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Luke 2:36-52

    Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem each year for Passover. When Jesus was twelve He stayed behind in Jerusalem when His parents headed home. When they returned to Jerusalem it took them three days to find Him. When they did find Him He was in the Temple among the religious teachers, listening and asking questions. When Jesus’ mother faulted Him because they had searched all over, He asked her why they had to search? Did they not know He would be about His Father’s business? Which raises the question which we must ask ourselves. When others are looking for us, will they find us about our Father’s business? And, do they know to look for us doing our Father’s business?

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Numbers 26:1-51

    As a result of some of the men of Israel having relations with women of Moab and worshiping Moab’s gods, there had been a plague among the people of Israel. When the plague was over God told Moses to once more conduct a census of the men of fighting age among the Israelites. When they had finished the count, the number was a little over 600,000 men. This number was very close to the same as the number of fighting men in the census Moses had taken when they were at Mt. Sinai, 40 years earlier. This census was taken for the same reason the census was taken at Mt. Sinai, in order to organize the fighting men for the invasion of the Promised Land. After the first census, the people of Israel were afraid to invade. This time, God had shaped this generation to do His will. Have we allowed ourselves to be shaped to do God’s will?

March 16, 2014 Bible Study — Blessed Are Those Who Bless Israel, Cured Are Those Who Curse Israel.

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

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Proverbs 11:14

    A nation which does not have leaders wise enough to take good advice will fall. The same holds true of companies and organizations. No one person can know enough to make the decisions needed to guide a large group of people without a multitude of wise advisers.

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Psalm 59:1-17

    The psalmist asks God to rescue him from his enemies, but he requests that God not kill them. He asks that God trap them with their sins and the evil things that they say. The psalmist asks God to cause them to be captured by their pride and their lies so that the entire world can see and learn from their fate. The wicked say evil things at night when they think that no one who might hold them to account can hear. Yet God hears them and will hold them to account. I will not be like those who speak evil and despise God. I will sing about God’s power every morning (well, perhaps the word “sing” is inappropriate for the sounds I make, but I will praise God every morning). He has been my refuge (and still is) when troubles have arisen.

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Luke 2:1-35

    At the beginning of chapter 2 we have a statement by Luke that is both problematic and indicative of his attention to detail. Many biblical scholars find Luke’s reference to the census that occurred during the time that Quirinus was governor of Syria to be a problem because the other records we have indicate that Quirinus was not governor during the reign of Herod the Great. I will not go into the full set of arguments that can be used to deal with this problem. I will merely point out that the word used by Luke which is translated “governor” is elsewhere used to refer to several positions. There is another point I want to make. Later in this letter and in the Acts of the Apostles, Luke makes detailed descriptions of places and travel between places which many scholars used to believe were fictional or impractical. As time went on and more was learned about the time period, it was discovered that Luke’s account of those details was accurate after all. So, while I will not rule out that Luke got his facts wrong (this did happen before he would have been old enough to actually know what was going on and he had to rely on other sources), I tend to believe that he was more likely correct than our alternate sources who suggest that he was wrong.
    I have always been a fan of the story of the angels announcing the birth to the shepherds for various reasons (not least being the fact that my father read the story every Christmas Eve before we began opening our presents). I love these words spoken by the angel, “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”(NIV) That is the message we have to spread today. It is good news and a source of great joy to those who heed it, no matter who they are or where they live. I need to be reminded of this on a regular basis. When I a book, or a TV show, or a movie, or…well you get the idea…that gives me joy, I can’t wait to tell others about it, especially when I think they will get pleasure and/or joy from it as well. Yet, all too often I am reluctant to share the Gospel with those whom I know need to hear it.
    God, please forgive me for my lack of enthusiasm for telling others of your wondrous grace and give me the courage to do so more going forward.

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Numbers 24-25:18

    Yesterday I discussed the first two times Balaam looked out over the Israelites in order to attempt to curse them for Balak, the king of Moab. Balak took Balaam to a third place to try to find a curse for Israel from there. Balaam had realized by now that God would not allow him to curse Israel. So, this time Balaam did not bother with conducting his normal divination routine. Nevertheless the Spirit of God came upon him and gave him a message for Balak. Balaam warned Balak that those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who curse Israel will be cursed. Balak was furious with Balaam, but Balaam reminded him that he had warned Balak that he could only speak the words which God gave him.
    While the Israelites were still camped at this location, some of the Israelite men began sleeping with Moabite women. The women invited them to the sacrifices which they had to their pagan gods, and these men went with them. This passage is a reminder about the dangers of getting into a sexual relationship with someone who does not share your belief in God (whether it is a marital relationship or otherwise). It is all too easy to allow our sexual desires to lead us away from worshiping God.

March 15, 2014 Bible Study — God Has Blessed and No Once Can Reverse 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. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Proverbs 11:12-13

    We find it tempting to make fun of our neighbors and talk about how stupid their actions are. However, we would do better to keep our mouth’s shut and just listen because they may know something we don’t (or they might just be lucky enough to be right this time). The next proverb goes right along with that, telling us that a gossip betrays those who have confided in them. If you want people to trust you, don’t tell them the latest gossip (or any gossip).

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Psalm 58:1-11

    When those who are in a position of authority no longer know the meaning of the word justice, violence spreads through the land. They are like deadly snakes spitting venom on everyone around. Such is the result of not teaching children to be truthful. However, it is only a matter of time until God will sweep them away. Injustice will be avenged and people will see that there is value in obeying God.

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Luke 1:57-80

    Zechariah was unable to speak for over nine months (from time he served in the Temple before Elizabeth was pregnant until she gave birth). Yet, when he got his voice back the first thing he did was praise God. He did not praise God for just a little bit, but to such a point that all of his neighbors began to wonder exactly what type of person John would turn out to be.

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Numbers 22:21-23:30

    Yesterday we saw that rather than send the messengers from Balak on their way with what he knew to be God’s answer (“No”), Balaam had them stay the night and went to God once more. Today, God delayed Balaam’s trip to Balak so that He could make it clear to Balaam that he was not to curse the people of Israel. When Balaam got to Balak, Balak was angry that he had delayed in coming. Balaam replied that now he was there, but he would only be able to say what God told him to say. Balaam had Balak prepare sacrifices to God, then went and petitioned God for His message. When Balaam returned to Balak his message was essentially, “How can I curse those whom God has not cursed?” Let us remember that we are called to the same thing. We have been called to bless the people of this world, not curse them.
    Balak was not happy with the message which Balaam gave him, so he took him to another place where he asked Balaam to curse just part of the people of Israel. Once more Balaam had Balak prepare sacrifices and then went off to petition God for an answer. When he returned, in some ways his message for Balak was worse. The message which God gave Balaam for Balak was that He does not change His mind. Balaam told Balak, “God has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.” Despite Balaam telling him that he could not curse the people of Israel, Balak took Balaam to yet another place. God’s message to Balak this third time is in tomorrow’s passage.