Nov 4, 2010 Daniel 1

Today we begin studying Daniel, then Revelations. Both books are steeped with prophecy. I have much to learn, for I haven't studied these books much. Anyone's comments would be appreciated.

To continue 40 days of thankfulness - today I am thankful for my warm home as the days become chillier.

Daniel - some background. Author is Daniel. Date written - approx 536 BC. Background - the Jews had taken captive to Babylon and he served in the Babylon government for 60 years. This book was written for the Jews to remain faithful, and God is in control no matter what our circumstances are in life.

Key verse 2:22 He [God] reveals deep and hidden things, he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.

Daniel Chapter 1 Verses 1-2

Nebuchadnezzar defeated Jerusalem in the 3rd year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar took some of the articles from the temple of God with him and put them in his temple to his god.

Verses 3-4 The king orders Asphenaz - who is his chief of court officals - to bring young male Israelites to him, they must be strong, handsome and without blemish, and intelligent, and they are to be brought to his court. These young men will be taught the language and culture of Babylon.

Verses 5-7 Of the young Isrealite men chosen, the scripture's story revolves around these 4 young men. They are groomed for 3 years, and given a diet fit for a king. At the end of 3 years they will be fit to serve the king. As you can imagine the diet of the king is much different than what these young men ate at home.

I read David Guzik's commentary a lot, and his website is: http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/2701.html
This section David gives the birth names of the 4 young men, and their new Babylonian names.

To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: Daniel tells us of four of these youths, and their new Babylonian names.

i. The name Daniel (meaning God is my judge) was changed to Belteshazzar (meaning Bel’s prince).

ii. The name Hannaniah (meaning Beloved by the LORD) was changed to Shadrach (meaning Illumined by Sun-god).

iii. The name Mishael (meaning Who is as God) was changed to Meshach (meaning Who is like Venus).

iv. The name Azariah (meaning The LORD is my help) was changed to Abed-Nego (meaning Servant of Nego).

Guzik also says in this section that what the king has given these young men aren't much different than what Satan tries to feed us, and they are: Feed on what the world has to offer, identify us in the world, and educate us in the ways of the world. What can I say but yes this is SO right. No different today. We are bombarded with advertisements from the day we are born until the day we die.

Verse 8 Daniel is a man of faith. He resolved not to eat food that was not good for him. So he asked the chief official not to bring him this food. Wow, what a brave young man to follow God to the point of not even eating food that was not pleasing to God. And I don't want to forget Daniel purposed his heart. We need to think through events before they happen. Not the "what if" worry syndrome but how will I act in unusual circumstances.  Again, its reading God's word, prayer, fellowship with fellow believers. This is how we grow and mature.

Nov 1, 2010 2 Peter 3:11-18

I am way behind so sorry. Will wrap up 2 Peter today, Nov 15. This section on 2 Peter encourages us to have hope in Christ. He will return a second time, and those of us who are Christians will be ready for his second coming.

Verses 11-13 Peter tells us to live holy lives in anticipation of Christ's return.  The earth as we know it now will be destroyed and God will create a new earth. If we live holy lives the second return will come faster - we want Christ to reign. Living holy lives will lead others to Christ and when the whole world knows of Christ, this is when he will come again. Verse 13 says we are looking forward to a new earth, a new heaven and a new righteousness.

Verses 14-16 Be diligent in our walk with God. Be without sin. That is tough but day by day we can strive to be more like Christ. Paul wrote of these things too. Both Peter and Paul's teachings can be hard to understand at times, but God gives us wisdom to understand as we grow in the faith. Our church motto is "His word our Walk" and I have discovered this to be so true. We read his word and walk in his path, and as we mature we come to more fully understand Christ.

Verses 17-18 The conclusion - be on guard against evil doers and false teachers, and grow in grace and  knowledge of our Lord. Amen.

David Guzik from Enduring Word has 4 definitions of amen and I am sharing them with you.

·       It expresses the desire of the heart.

·       It expresses the affirmation of our faith.

·       It expresses the joy of the heart.

·       It expresses the declaration of resolution.

http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/6103.htm

I think this is a good way to end 2 Peter with an amen.

Father God,  I thank you for the wise words of Peter. I have strayed a little from my daily blog and I am sorry for that. I don't always understand what the bible has to say so I avoid it. This is not wise. I know that. I don't pray any less but I don't push myself to learn more about you Lord. I am thankful for a new day a new week that I can get back on track. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Nov 3, 2010 Jude 1:17

Today, Nov 2nd - my daughter in law's grandmother died this morning. I don't know much about her, except my daughter in law loved her very much. It's also election day in the USA.

I am thankful today for my grandmothers of whom I am a part of. One grandmother I didn't know well because she lived in another country but my Grandma who lived near me when I was growing up - I loved her dearly and I know she loved me. My Grandma's house was always spotless and everything in her home had a place. My home sometimes gets messy and out of control and I wonder how Grandma kept her house so neat and tidy :-). I think of her often - she loved God, loved her family. Her ministry was sending cards to sick people.

And now on to Jude - and he continues to warn against certain people, those who turn from God.

Verses 17-18 Jude tells us not to be like these certain people. Stay focused on God.  There will always be mockers.

Verses 19- These certain people are sensual people - not necessarily sexual but selfish - live in the moment.

Verses 20-21 How can we avoid these people? The next few verses helps us. 20-21 we should look inward,  Keep loving God, build each other up, and pray with the holy spirit.

Verses 22-23 Outwardly we should view certain people with compassion, befriending them, walking along side them in hopes we can bring them back to the Lord.

Verse 24 Jude ends with a doxology  - praising God.

Father God - we thank you for giving us discernment - warnings against certain people, and how to live and we give you the glory.  In Jesus name we pray Amen.

Nov 2, 2010 Jude 1:1-16

Today is election day in the USA. I will be voting today.  I try to vote for the person who has good moral character first and usually along the party line I generally vote for second. May the best person win.

I saw on facebook that people are posting what they are thankful for 40 days before Thanksgiving. I'm not sure which day it started, but thought I would try to share what I am thankful for daily.  Today - I am thankful that in our country anyone who is a citizen can vote. No strings attached.

Jude is only one chapter long, and it will take us just two days to read this book. Then we will read Daniel then Revelations. I don't know much about prophecy so these will be tough books for me to read through. But we will read through and learn what God has to say.

Some facts about Jude. Jude - the author - is a half brother of Jesus. The purpose of this book is to warn of false teachers, and apostasy. Apostasy is turning from God's truth and follow false teachings. False teaching leads followers away from Christ.

Verse 1. Jude begins with a salutation. Jude is the half brother of Christ but more importantly he is a follower of Christ. Jude is short for Judas, which was a fairly common name in Jesus' day. After Judas betrayed Christ many went with the nickname Jude to distance themselves from the person Judas. One commentary I read said Jude didn't believe Jesus was the messiah until after his resurrection. Interesting!

Verse 2 Jude offers peace mercy and love to all of us who read this, in abundance.

Verse 3 Jude is writing to defend our faith. We have been saved now we need to hold on to our faith and we also need to support the church - believers in Christ. Jude was going to write about our salvation but felt compelled to write about defending our faith.

Verse 4 Much like 2 Peter that we just finished reading, Jude begins his warning about ungodly men who say it is alright to live immoral lives and do not believe Jesus is Lord.

Verse 5 Jude reiterates this by saying God rescued the Jews from Egypt and later punished those who did not remain faithful.

Verse 6 Jude writes about the angels who fell away from God. They are in darkness waiting for judgement.

Verse 7 Next Jude writes about Sodom and Gomorrah - these cities were destroyed because of all their sinful behavior. Their sins were sexual immorality and perversion.

Verse 8 - continues certain people who defy authority and live according to their dreams. They speak evil towards - NIV uses the word dignitaries and NLV uses the word supernatural beings. I wonder if it means they think of themselves as a god and turn their back at God - one who is more powerful than them.

Verse 9 this verse I do not understand.  Jude talks about the angel Micheal and the devil as they argue about Moses' body. Even Michael doesn't blaspheme the devil. He asks the Lord to rebuke the devil. Maybe the point here is even the angels dare not utter any words against God.

Verse 10 This somewhat explains verse 9. These certain evil people don't understand what they are saying, they are like animals that have know conscience. Their evil thoughts and deeds will destroy them.

Verse 11 Jude comments on the sorrow evil people will encounter - and he mentions Cain who kills his brother Abel, and Balaam. Balaam's story is in Numbers 22-25. Greed led to Balaam's demise. Last is Korah, a man who was jealous that he didn't have the priestly authority that Moses and Aaron had (Numbers 16).  These old testament stories may mean nothing to us - but those in Jesus day knew these stories well. The point here is no matter where man comes from - a poor farmer or a rich man or a preacher, all can be evil.

Verse 12 -13 love feasts - Christians would come together for a meal - like a potluck today. Jude says these certain people come only to eat- stuff themselves full without any regard for others. The analogy of clouds is a good one. They float in the air blocking the sun and don't produce any life giving water. Their works will produce nothing

Verse 14-15 God will judge all of us. Some may not take this seriously but we should.

Verse 16 These certain people are not happy - they grumble and complain. When we are apart from God we lose joy and peace in life.

Father God - these are sobering words today. May we avoid certain people who will steer us from you, if we cannot bring them to you.  Please protect us from falling away from you Lord. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Oct 30, 2010 2 Peter 2

Today's bible reading is a warning about false teaching. False teachers were around in Peter's day and they are here today in the 21st century. Lets read and learn how to know a godly teacher from a false teacher.

Verse 1 False teachers teach lies, they make up stories. They even doubt the things Christ did.

Verse 2- False teachers may be popular.  Some are charismatic, charming, they know the right words to say to draw people to them. Today we have TV evangelists and books and the internet.  These false teachers know what people want to hear so they preach to the choir.

Verse 3 - the strategy of a false teacher - NLT says "in their greed they will get ahold of your money." That pretty much sums it up well doesn't it? But God will condemn them.

Verses 4-6 God will judge the ungodly. God put the angels who sinned in a dungeon, in the pit of hell, where they will sit until judgement day. They will sit in gloomy pits of darkness. God destroyed the world except for Noah and his family, for they alone were holy. The ungodly people perished in the flood. God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. And God continues to judge today.

Verses 7-9 God saves the righteous. God saved Lot from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot was sickened by what he saw, and God delivered him.

Verses 10-11 Peter gives a description of false teachers in the next few verses. They are proud and arrogant. God is tough on those who are corrupt and despise authority. Even the angels do not slander God. And angels are more powerful than man.

Verses 12-13 False teachers are like animals, they scoff at things they don't even understand, and they will be caught and destroyed. False teachers may say all the right words but they don't live what they teach. They do evil in broad daylight.

Verses 14-17  False teachers commit adultery with their eyes, and they may physically commit sexual sins too. Their sinful desires are untamed and they bring unstable people with them. False teachers are like Balaam  - who had to be kicked like a donkey to bring him back to his senses. These people are useless.

Verses 18-19 Reading the few verses up to this point I'm thinking these people are easy to spot, no problem staying away from them. But verses 18-19 brings me back to reality - I have to be careful and watch out for false teachers for they can lure us into their sinful ways. They promise freedom but really bring slavery. Slavery is anything that controls you. We all are slaves to something.  For me - I struggle with weight. I eat healthier these days - have lost some weight but just can't get motivated to lose what I need to lose.  And then I feel bad about myself, and that means I am thinking of ME not God. I am a slave to my fat body. Being brutally honest here. I know God loves me anyway :-).

Verses 20-22 And this is like a yo-you diet (fortunately I have never dieted much). It is worse to know Christ then fall away than to never have known him at all. Proverbs say a dog returns to his vomit and a sow that has been washed returns to wallowing in the mud.  I think (I hope) this is for a person who knows about Christ but hasn't yet asked Jesus into his heart.

Father God  - this is heavy stuff. Some false teachers we can see a mile away and we can say no way won't follow them - but then there are the teachers who know how to appeal to us and say all the right words, and we fall under their spell. We ask for protection today from these false teachers. We ask that you give us major road blocks so that we can tell who the false teachers are. We know that you will deal with false teachers on judgement day. We ask that we stay righteous in your word and I especially ask that I am not blogging any false teachings God. I ask for your blessing and approval as I write what I understand about your word Lord.  In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Oct 29, 2010 2 Peter 1:12-22

Today we continue Peter's letter - Peter is setting down the basics of the Christian life and we continue on today finishing up chapter 1.

Verse 12 Peter wants those who read his letter to remember the truth of Jesus Christ even though they already know it.

Verses 13-14 Peter knows his life will end soon because he will be persecuted for his faith.

Verse 15 - Peter's desire is that his words will carry on after he has died. Wouldn't you want to hang on to every word that Peter spoke - after he sat at the feet of Christ for 3 years?  He wants to pass on what he has learned to future generations.

Verses 16-18 Peter recounts the transfiguration of Christ. Peter and many others were eyewitnesses to this event. This proves the creditability of Christ. And the proof that Peter wasn't just seeing things.  Many heard God say from heaven "this is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Verse 19 Prophecy - old testament prophecies came true and we should take heed about future prophecies.
There are over 300 accounts of Christ's prophecy that came true in the old testament.

Verses 20-21 Prophecy is not man made but came from God, made evident through the Holy Spirit.

Father God, We thank you for the words of Peter as he writes to fellow believers. He knows his time on earth is ending soon, and wants others to know what he learned sitting at the feet of Jesus. For those who don't believe he provided accounts that others saw too including the transfiguration of Christ. We thank you for this documentation for those who may doubt your word. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.