May 15 Exodus 1-2

Exodus is the second book in the Exodus is the second book in the Old Testament, and continues the history of the Israelites. Brief overview of the end of Genesis. Joseph was sold as a slave to Ishmaelites who took Joseph to Egypt. Joseph became second in command during the fruitful then famine years. He reunites with his family, and they all settle in Egypt. The story continues In Exodus.

Verses 1-7 starts off with a little genealogy. The Jewish tradition is very big into genealogy - tracing your family tree. I know many have taken up this hobby tracing their family roots - but this is serious business for the Jewish faith. We learn that Jacob and his 12 sons have moved to Egypt, their generation has died, and the Israelites have been fruitful, strong, and the land was filled with them. The Israelites on being fruitful and multiplying - this was a commandment of God with Adam and Eve - be fruitful and multiply. So, they were obeying the will of God.

Verses 8-11 A new king is ruler and he doesn't know the story of Joseph. Historians aren't quite sure who this new king is. Joseph died around 1806 b.c., and this may be around 250 years later. The Israelites became friendly with the Hyksos, and the new king may have feared these two nations would be stronger than his nation (from NET Bible). The new king comes up with a plan on how to address this problem. Slavery. The intent was to crush the Israelite nation.

Verses 12-14 The more the Israelites were oppressed in slavery - the more they multiplied. We know that tough times strengthen us. This is what God was doing - strengthening the Israelites.

Verses 15-22 The king of Egypt comes up with a new plan. He meet with the midwives and tells them to kill all newborn boys - but allow the girls to live. The midwives feared God and ignored the King's request. Fearing God - I like to think of it as out of obedience and respect - following God's command. Since the midwives didn't follow the King's orders, God blessed them, the people continued to multiply. When asked why the midwives didn't kill newborn boys - they stated that the Hebrew women were strong and the babies were already born when they arrived. The question needs to be asked - did the midwives lie, and is it ok to lie? It IS possible the babies were born before the midwives arrived, so they could have been telling the truth. And God's law is higher than man's law. The midwives gave logical explanation without going into God's law.

The Pharoah commands that newborn boys be thrown into the river but girls can live.

Chapter 2 The birth of Moses

Verses 1-4 Moses' father is from the tribe of Levi. A little background here :-). Moses is born and his mother saw he was healthy, and hides him for 3 months. When he became too big to hide, she made a basket for him and put the baby in the basket along the edge of the Nile. How many of us would do the same? Do anything to protect our child. Moses' Mother tells Moses' sister to watch over the baby to see what happens to him.

Verses 5-10 Pharoah's daughter finds the baby in the Nile as she is bathing, and has compassion for Moses. His sister suggests that she find a woman to nurse the baby and Pharoah's daughter agrees to this. So, Moses stays with his family until he was weaned. He may have been 2-3 years old at this time. Oh how heartbreaking it would have been to give him up but they did. Oh yes - Pharoah's daughter paid Moses' mother for taking care of him.

Moses is named Moses which means because I drew him from the water, and he becomes the Pharoah's daughter's son.

I found this in my studies - from an early Christian theologian named Origen and he came up with this allegory of the story of Moses' birth. Anyway -is an interesting interpretation of this passage of scripture.

·        Pharaoh represents the devil

·        The male and female Hebrew children represent the animal and rational aspects of the soul

·        The devil wants to kill the rational character of man, but keep alive his animal character

·        The two midwives are the Old and New Testaments

·        Pharaoh wants to corrupt the midwives so that the rational character of man will be destroyed

·        Because the midwives were faithful, God builds houses of prayer all over the earth

·        Pharaoh's daughter represents the church, and gives refuge to Moses - who represents the law

·        The waters of the Nile represent the waters of baptism

·        When we come to the waters of baptism and take the law into our heart - the royal palaces - then the law grows up into spiritual maturity

Verses 12-13 Moses has grown up and become a man. One day he observes an Egyptian beating up one his his own - a Hebrew. So Moses looks to see if anyone is watching and kills the Egyptian.  I have always wondered although he lived with the Pharoah's daughter - what kind of relationship did he have with his family and his people? OK I side tracked here - but I'm still curious. Moses took matters into his own hands - thought no one was looking and killed a man.

Verse 14-15 BUT someone was watching Moses when he killed the man, because the next day when Moses asks 2 Egyptians why they are fighting - the ask him if he will kill them. Moses becomes afraid when he realizes he was seen killing a man.  When Pharoah hears about it he wants to kill Moses, so Moses flees to Mdian. Moses was 40 when this happened.

May 15,2011 just catching up

I haven't written anything in a very long time, mainly because I began working full time late last year and found it more and more difficult to commit to writing daily in my blog.  And I haven't been studying the bible like I should. Thank goodness God is faithful and forgiving, and loves us unconditionally.

I have also had some health issues - my thyroid levels got low, and my medication needed changed. I also  began taking vitamins. Both of these changes have helped a lot!  Our bodies are complex and when one little gland doesn't work right it throws the whole body off. I became a little depressed, didn't do much except work and housework. Unfortunately the changes were so gradual I don't notice how bad it is until I get a medical check up. Now I have more energy, and a more positive outlook on life. Whew, hope I stay this way!

Today is Sunday. It is not a pretty spring day here in Indiana. It has been drizzling since last night and it is almost 6 pm. Last Sunday, Mother's Day, my daughter helped build me 2 more square foot gardens!   Yesterday, Saturday, I had some top soil delivered for the new gardens. The dirt is now in the boxes but it has been drizzling all day long, so I will have to wait for another day to plant tomatoes. I think this is lesson in patience. My little gardens are small but I get much pleasure tending them. I have two gardens that are 3 by 4 feet in diameter, and one garden is 3 by 3 feet. The 3 by 3 foot garden will be for rhubarb, and the other two are vegetable gardens. In the one garden I have lettuce, peas, radishes, and carrots planted. Carrots are slow growing and I haven't seen them peak through the ground yet, but the others are growing nicely. The new one will have mostly tomatoes. Its been a very cool spring here in Indiana - even the farmers are behind planting corn.

I added pictures of my twin granddaughters! Wow - what an answer to prayer!  They are 7 months old now, as healthy as can be, and perfect in every way! They are soooo cute! And they know it :-).  As you can imagine though, they are a lot of work. When I come home from babysitting them along with their brother and sister, I'm exhausted. I don't know how my son and daughter in law do it, but they do :-). I have two other grandchildren - two boys ages 4 and 8. These are the good years raising children I think. Past the baby stage not yet teens. Still love to visit Grandma's house :-). As a parent we don't notice day by day how fast our children grow and change, and as a Grandparent, I cherish each moment I spend with all my grandchildren because I know how fast they grow up!

I bought a Nook Color reader device New Year's Eve. I have enjoyed reading books this way. I have three versions of the bible on my nook, and I have to say the Bible and Cook Books - its easier to read the old fashioned pick up a book and read that way. You can create notes and highlight in books so that is plus. However - reading books LOVE IT! Many books on my nook I have gotten through free downloads.  One good resource is called vessel project, and they list free Christian books you can download. You can download and read on your computer too without a nook.  I have enjoyed reading these books. I have also learned just cause a book is free, it doesn't mean its worth reading. I have tried new authors, different venues than I would ordinarily read. Some of them are good, some I delete after reading a few pages. Its like tv, garbage in garbage out. If there is a lot of swearing and sex - delete!  Maybe those books have violence in them too, I just never get that far. What I really like about the Nook is I can download books from the library, and when the three weeks are up, they just go away. No more late fees!

OK - when am I going to get back on the bible study bandwagon??? My 3 year bible study guideline - Exodus - started yesterday. I will do some double duty and catch up. We will read Exodus 1-13 by May 27th, then pick up in Acts on the 28th in Acts 12:25 through the month of June.

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.

Oct 31, 2010 2 Peter 3:1-10

Today is Reformation Sunday for those who follow the liturgical church year. In 1517 the Catholic Pope wanted to build a new cathedral and in order to do so, wanted to collect extra money from its parishioners. The Catholic Church's theology states that active faith means doing good works, and giving money to the church is considered a good work. Martin Luther protested this thesis and wrote the now famous 95 thesis regarding this. Martin Luther's intent was not to break away from the Catholic Church but he questioned the reasoning of the church. Martin Luther's thesis is that we are saved by grace. Marting Luther states that there is no justification without sanctification.

And what is justification and sanctification? I'm glad you asked!

Justification means that Christ when died on the cross for our sins  - our sins were forgiven. A gift from God to those who have faith in Christ.

Ephesians 2:8–9 (NAS)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Sanctification means that we are saved by only by our good works. And this was Martin Luther's argument - that people were saved only by good works. Once we are saved we DO want to do good works to continue the kingdom of God, so we are not off the hook of living the easy life once we are saved. These two go hand in hand. I think - in my humble opinion - that Luther's argument was that we should willing want to help the church not be told you will go to hell (eternal life without God) if you don't give to help build the church. I do not want to pit one church against another.  However that being said - no matter what church you belong to - or what particular minister preaches from the pulpit - arm yourself with the knowledge of the bible. KNOW what God's word is. And if after prayerful consideration you discern that the church's teaching does not match what you believe to be what God has written, then ask questions, open dialogue with your minister. Do this in a godly manner.

This is heavy stuff but important. When we read Romans we will dig deeper into all of this.

One other fact about Martin Luther - through the invention of the printing press - Martin Luther transcribed the bible from Latin into German - he was German - so that the common man could read and understand the bible for themselves.

And because it is Reformation Sunday - I am providing the hymn A Mighty Fortress is our God. This hymn is taken from Psalm 46.This youtube rendition is unique and good. My friends who know me will be surprised with my selection - this is a contemporary version of this wonderful old hymn. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V31kdmhJmbM

1 A mighty Fortress is our God,

A Bulwark never failing;
Our Helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

2 Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing;
Were not the right man on our side,
The man of God's own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth His Name,
From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

3 And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us;
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us:
The prince of darkness grim, -
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo! his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

4 That word above all earthly powers,
No thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Through him who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill:
God's truth abideth still,
His kingdom is for ever.

Amen

And now on to our daily bible reading 2 Peter 3:1-11. Did I get off track or what?  But it's all good.

Verses 1-2 Peter reminds us again to keep our minds wholesome and to remember what the prophets so long ago, and what Christ spoke through the apostles.

Verses 3-4 In the late days the scoffers will mock the truth. They are more concerned with themselves than Christ's return.

Verses 5-7 They forgot about God, and he caused water to flood and destroy man. Now he saves the fire for judgement when the ungodly will be destroyed.

Verses 8

Oct 28, 2010 II Peter 1:1-11

Today we radically switch gears and read a letter by Peter, an apostle. II Peter is a small book near the back of the New Testament.  Peter is the author and he wrote it to Christians, to tell us to learn and grow and be wary of false teachers, and lastly talks about Christs return.

Chapter 1 Verse 1 - 'Simon Peter, a servant and apostle' - he includes his old name Simon and his new name Peter in his opening comment. He lets us know he hasn't forgotten his past. Peter is writing this letter to those who share the same precious faith he has. Our faith is precious, in fact its priceless! Our faith was freely given to us through Jesus Christ.

Verses 2-4 Peter hopes those who read this letter - grace and peace will grow in abundance - peace and grace occurs as we learn more about Christ. We need to read, pray and worship together to grow in our faith.

God's glory and virtue draws us to him. God's divine power gives us everything we need to lead a godly life. And when we come to know him we are given the gifts of peace and grace.

Verses 5-7  ^'5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, ⁷and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.' NLT version. I like the way the NLT reads. I have Romans 5:1-5 written in my bible,  which is a similar scripture as this. These verses lay down the foundation for living a godly life. As we grow in faith these things will come to us. And it isn't always easy. 


Verses 8-9 continues '⁸ The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.' NLT. Its a comfort know that we will become more productive and useful. This reminds me of Thomas the Tank stories - the useful engine. The author of Thomas is a minister - he writes good moral stories for children to learn to live by. Young children are drawn to Thomas. He is quiet and simple and helps his fellow train.  God meets us where we are and gently leads us to living a godly life. And Peter gives us a warning for those of us who fail to develop.  This is why we need to pray, read and be with fellow Christians. 


Verses 10-11. Peter continues to tell us to do all these things eagerly, faith,virtue, knowledge, self control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly affection and love - we will enjoy eternal life in heaven.


Father God, there is a lot of theology in today's reading. We ask today that we accept your grace and peace, and that we will be open to the knowledge you give us to lead a godly life. We have the law of the old testament as our foundation and the heart side -  faith, virtue, knowledge, self control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly affection and love to be more like you and encourage others to walk along side us. We ask that our faith does not become complacent but an active daily walk with you. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Oct 27,2010 Song of Songs Chapter 8:5-14

Good morning! We finish up Song of Songs today.  But first - my son - my baby - is 32 years old today! He has grown in to a fine young man. Daddy of 4, loves his wife, has his own business. Next - it was a stormy day in the midwest. We had a bad storm system roar through Indiana and other states. There were 3 small tornadoes in the area - fortunately no one was hurt but there was building damage done.  Unusual weather here for November. Lets finish chapter 8. Tomorrow we begin in II Peter.

Verses 5-14
Verses 5-7 discuss saving oneself until they are married. This is a precious gift of love to give to your spouse. There are four points to love in these verses.

1. Its a seal to our heart
2. Love as as strong as death - it is permanent
3. Love cannot be extinguished
4. Love cannot be bought or sold, its a precious gift.

We can equate this to both our spouse and with God.

Verses 8-9
These verses discuss protecting a young girl and prepare her for marriage, and keeping pure until her wedding day.

Verses 10-14 finishes the lover for one another, to be freely given not forced. And they both desire each other. I love a good love story and this the best.

Father God today we thank you for the pleasures of marriage. We ask that you keep our marriages safe from all temptation. We ask too that our youth stay pure until they marry, both our sons and our daughters. We ask that you give us wisdom to help instruct our children how to stay pure in this today's society.  And we ask for your mercy and healing grace for any past sexual sins or abuse. In Jesus name we pray, amen.

Oct 26, 2010 Song of Songs 6:4-8:4

Tomorrow will be our last day in this book of the bible. On the 28th we will begin to read II Peter, then Nov 2 and 3 Jude, then back to the old testament - the book of Daniel for a couple of weeks.

Chapter 6

Verse 4 - the lover speaks to his bride as being as beautiful as Tirzah, and this is a city 35 miles northeast of Jerusalem and its name means pleasure or beauty.

Verses 5-9 and again more visuals about how beautiful the lover was to him. Solomon had many wives but she seemed to be his favorite, his first wife.

Verses 10-13 He is continually drawn to her.

Chapter 7 This is beautifully written about two lovers enjoying each other sexually. Mandrake is a fragrant rare plant.

Chapter 8

Verses 1-4 In Solomon's era it was not proper to display affection in public, but she wishes she could.

Father God, it is good to know that we can enjoy our partner for a lifetime. On a spiritual level we ask that our relationship with you will be just as passionate, that we will never take our focus off of you and seek earthly ways. In Jesus name we pray, amen.

Oct 25,2010 Song of Songs 5:2-6:3

Good morning! Today we move on from discovering our lover in the honeymoon phase of the relationship, to the day in and day out routine of life.

Chapter 5

Verses 2-8 The spark of passion may be fading away. I have read over the years that when people have been married a few years the rose colored glasses come off and they wonder why they chose this person to marry?
I think this is where the lovers are now in this section. We can see this in verse 6. But in verses 6-8 the beloved seeks her husband and returns to him. They overcome their problems. Verses 10-16 appears that they have rekindled their love for each other.

Chapter 6

Verses 1-3 - Verse 3 we saw back Chapter 2 verse 16 "I am my lover's and my lover is mine." As with Christ he will never desert us and we will never desert him.

Father God, we read today that the honeymoon phase of marriage has ended and the couple has problems, but they find their way back to each other. I ask today for anyone who is reading this today who is married, that if they are having problems to seek you and I ask for restoration of their marriages. I ask that their hearts turn to one another again, and if necessary to seek godly counsel to restore their relationship. For those of us who are divorced I ask for forgiveness, and move on to be the person you desire us to be. We know you will always comfort and love us no matter where we are. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Oct 24, 2010 Son of Songs 3:6-5:1

This will be short and sweet today. This is truly a love poem for lovers. I am not much of a romantic so I have to admit my eyes just roll when I see this stuff. Just being honest. But on a more serious note - as my friend commented the other day, Christ is the bridegroom and we are his bride.  He will always love us.

Father God, we thank you for giving us passion and we ask that we keep our passion pure - save it for our spouse and only have eyes for our spouse. In Jesus name we pray.

Oct 23, 2010 Song of Songs 2:8-3:5

This will be short and sweet today. Yesterday I thought I was supposed to read all of chapter 2 and I commented on the whole chapter - which really wasn't very much.

Chapter 2:16 - Chapter 3:5 - my bible has this split out as Beloved. And my notes say that we should be kind and loving to one another, looking out for them, sacrificing ourselves to meet their needs. They can be simple things like when you get up to get a glass of water ask your spouse if they would like one too. I think this is easy to do when madly in love but we become complacent and begin to neglect these little things. Staying in love is like anything else in life. Its work :-). But the rewards are sweet. One couple in our church was married 70 years, that is not a typo!  When the husband was dying his wife said he was leaving her too soon. Wow to be married 70 years and can't fathom life going on without our spouse. Now that is true love.

Father God, we thank you for marriage and family. We ask that we are always attentive to our spouse, kind and loving, not thinking of only ourselves. You created us to be relationship creatures. We ask for a right relationship with you and a right relationship with our spouse. We ask that you bless our families today, keep them together on good days and bad. In Jesus name, Amen.

Oct 22, 2010 Song of Songs 1:1-2:7

The bible covers every topic - including sex. God created sex between a husband and wife to bring pleasure and intimacy between them. When we set our minds to being faithful to our spouse, it is a beautiful thing. In today's society we are bombarded with all kinds of sexy images. The ads and tv programs, movies, books, the Internet even the way we dress. And yet sex is a basic need. So how do we channel our sex drive in a God honoring way? By being faithful to our spouse.  So - I have been single 20 years - I was married for 15 years. I miss the sex part of my marriage. As a young person it was a thrill just to hold hands but once you have experienced sex holding hands is no longer a thrill. We want it all. And that is what makes dating so difficult. We know the pleasure sex brings but it is for a fleeting moment. And I as a woman don't want to be lover number 5 or 50 or 500, I want to be that special one person for one man. Well, at 54 that isn't going to happen anymore. I wonder if men think the same way. Men - if you are reading this - would welcome your comments. I can keep your name anonymous, and of course any comments that are offensive will not be published.

A little background - there are 3 characters in this book. The girl who is the beloved, Solomon, and friends. In the opening of Song of Solomon, Solomon sees a beautiful young woman while he is traveling his kingdom.
He goes to her but she is embarrassed and runs away. He can't get her out of his mind, so he disguises himself as a peasant like her and wins over her love.  My bible notes also say the book may not be written in chronological order.

Chapter 1

Verses 1-17. God created love and it is to be enjoyed.  When we are/were dating we loved everything about our beloved. We yearn to be with our lover all the time.

Chapter 2

Verse 1 - Solomon is telling his beloved he loves her. We can never hear I love you often enough.

Verse 16 My lover is mine and I am his. I think that should be the reader's digest version of Song of Songs. Delight in our one and only lover, only have eyes for each other. And we can live knowing that they are our one true lover for ever.

Father God - you created sexual passion between a husband and wife, to be shared exclusively between them. And its a wonderful thing you created. For those who are married I pray that they only see their spouse as a sexual partner. For those who are single I ask that you give us self control to enjoy only with a future spouse. We are bombarded with sexual images all the time, sex sells, its a powerful drive that we all have. We ask for strength to remain faithful to our spouse.  In  Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Oct 21, 2010 Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:14

Today we finish up Ecclesiastes.  Solomon received wisdom and wealth from God when he became king. He had all that he could ever want but he sought after what the world had to offer him. At the end of his life he realizes that God's wisdom is wiser than mans. This book has been written so future generations won't make the same mistakes he has. It is never too early or too late to turn to God.

Chapter 11
Verses 9-10 Solomon's advice to young people - be happy, enjoy life in a good and wholesome way.  Follow your heart, with God's help.  Don't worry. Youth and vigor eventually go away but God is with us forever.

Chapter 12

Verses 1-5 When we are young it is good to have God in our lives, for when we walk with God we will avoid many pitfalls in life. Yes, we will still face adversity but our attitudes will be different. We all become old and weak, and we die. When we walk with God we will rest in our eternal home.

Verses 6-8 Life without God - everything that happens in our lives is useless, meaninglessness.

Verses 9-14  The conclusion

The teacher was wise, and he sought wisdom, sought proverbs - searched for just the right words to tell his students - us. What he wrote was upright and true.

A Goad is a sharp metal tip attached to a handle and used to keep oxen or cattle moving. These words are like a goad to keep us moving in the right direction in life.

The conclusion - Fear God and keep his commandments. For God will judge every deed we have done whether it is good or evil.

Father God, Solomon was brutally honest in this book of the bible, searching God's way and searching Man's way. We may think that way back in biblical times they didn't have the same sufferings we do, but they do. We may have more technology but our life is still difficult. We have relationship problems, temptations, wealth, not enough wealth, good and bad rulers/employers, sickness. The list goes on. But with your help Lord you arm us with wisdom, grace and dignity to endure whatever happens to us. We thank you for wanting us to be with you. I am having trouble putting the right words on paper. I know you know what is in my heart. I love you. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Oct 20, 2010 Ecclesiastes 10:8-11:8

I changed the blog picture today. And I am trying to figure out how to upload my pictures. Many of mine are too big so I have to make the file smaller, etc etc. I believe this is called "procrastination". In the end I picked a pretty fall scene off the blog picture page.

Today is also my oldest granddaughter's birthday. No big birthday bash this year - her month old twin sisters need to stay home and away from potential sick people. Abby helped me bake cookies last weekend and I gave her present to her on Saturday. It was nice to spend a little one on one time with her.

We are nearing the end of Ecclesiastes - in fact tomorrow will be our last day in this book then we go to Song of Solomon. That should be an interesting book to read through together.

Chapter 10

Verses 8-9 If you do a dangerous project you might get hurt. So what does this mean? We should plan wisely? There are some who use any excuse not to do anything for fear of getting hurt and I call that being lazy.

Verses 10-16 lots of words of wisdom. Reading these verses it is easy to see others foolish ways but do we see our own foolish ways? I want to focus on verse 10 sharpening the blade. We need to daily read God's word, pray and worship with others. If we don't do these things we slowly drift away from the wise counsel of God.

Verses 17 finally - what happens when we do good things. We feast when the time is right - like at the end of the harvest.

Verses 18-20 Again don't be lazy and don't say bad things about others even in the privacy of your own bedroom. I had no idea the phrase "a little bird told me..." was in the bible!

Chapter 11

Verses 1-4 Planning - divest your earnings to lessen the risk. If you wait for the perfect time to invest it will never come. Sometimes you just have to do it. Risk and opportunity. Some are fearful some just jump right in.

Verses 5-8 We do not understand many things. We do know that God is all knowing and all powerful and we should take comfort in that. We should cherish each day given to us. I am in my 50s and I am seeing my days slowing down, a few more aches and pains here and there. I am thankful for an alert mind. I'm also glad my children are raised and I don't have to chase after them anymore :-).

Father God, thank you for your words of wisdom. We hope and pray that we are wise in all our decision making - slow to point fingers at others and quick to see our own foolish ways.  We also ask for your guidance in making difficult decisions.  Knowing when it is ok to move forward and when to wait. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Oct 19, 2010 Ecclesiastes 9:1-10:7

I am a couple days behind, so sorry. I will try to catch up here. Its really the 21st. Its the first chilly day of the season - I think I saw its in the mid 50s, brrr. In March we will think this is a heat wave :-), I am glad God created the seasons. And it makes me think. A creatures lifetime can be just a few days - like an insect. A flower blooms for a few days or weeks then it dies. Man lives 80 or so years, Man can't decide how old the earth is. But we do know one thing - God lives forever.  This ties in with what we are reading in Ecclesiastes.  

Chapter 9 

Verses 1-2 All of us share a common destiny - the good  and the bad. And what do we all share? Death.

Verses 3-6 These are tough verses, after we die, we can change nothing. Not our hate nor or our love. Solomon tends to focus on evil here, not sure why. 

Verses 7-10 So we are to enjoy life, eat and drink with a joyful heart. Enjoy your wife. Enjoy goodness as God would intend - for verse 8 says to wear white and anoint your head with oil. 

Verses 11-12 The race of life comes to all of us. We all eat, work, sleep, play.  And we do not know when our time comes to die.

Verses 13-18 Wisdom is better than folly but we do not recognize it. Many times we ignore wisdom. Maybe it makes us uncomfortable, maybe we fear standing up for what is right instead just doing what everyone else does.  One man's wisdom may save a city but we don't recognize the man because he is poor. Not loud. Not calling attention to himself. Hmmm, now that is something to think about.

Chapter 10 Verses 1-3 A dead fly can ruin the smell of expensive perfume. This just came to my mind - salmonella poisoning forced the recall of half a billion eggs a couple months ago.  I can't imagine half a billion of anything!  I heard Dr. Phil say one time that for every negative comment you say to your child, you have to praise a child 1000 times to make up for the bad comment. So yes, foolishness and evil causes great harm even in little doses. 

Verse 4 - Don't quit if your boss gets mad at you. Just be calm and eventually he will calm down. And of course strive not to make the same mistake again. On the other side of the coin - we shouldn't fly off the handle at others mistakes because we all make them.

Verses 5-7 Solomon discusses another evil - leaders give fools leadership positions and people who should be in leadership positions are given nothing. And I thought that was just a 20th century phenomenon. And the point is - man's wisdom may not be a wise decision.

Father God, these verses were tough for me to understand today. We all live, we all die, we all make foolish mistakes. We thank you that Jesus died on the cross to save us from eternity without you. We thank you today for the changing seasons. We enjoy the cooler weather, watching the farmers harvest their crops, and providing us with another season of food to nourish us. We thank you for the bible that was written many years ago but still relevant to us today. Amen.

Oct 18, 2010 Ecclesiastes 7-8

I am enjoying the cooler fall weather and the beauty of the fall trees :-).
I haven't read Ecclesiastes in a long time and I am finding it somewhat like proverbs.  The theme through out this book is that without God live is meaningless. Our lives are very short in the big scheme of things. I think as a child and young person we never give thought to being a mere mortal but as we age, we do tend to look back and wonder how the time flew by. If you are young you will wisely take heed to the author's writings and if you are old, today IS a new day, we CAN change our ways it's never too late to have a relationship with God and he will guide you to a new better life with him. The journey will still be hard but you will live with a different perspective.

Chapter 7 This chapter's theme is on wisdom

Verses 1-7 discusses the contrast between the fool and the wise. I think in the book The Purpose Driven Life the beginning of it has us think about the end in mind, the end of our lives. Or am I thinking of the 7 habits book? Homework for me to get back with this! (I looked in both books later and it was in neither). Anyway if we were to write our obituary what would we want people to know about our life?  I don't mean to be morbid but at the end of our lives, what WILL others say about us. I knew one woman who when her mother died - person after person came up to her and told her her Mom lied a lot. She was not well liked. Another friend - I went to her Mom's funeral and it was more like a celebration. In this little country church person after person shared what her Mom had done to help others. Both of these women lived similar lives, both went to church every Sunday, but LIVED with totally different mindsets. One lived and loved the Lord, one lived and just went through the motions. I like verse 7 - like the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of fools. What a visual picture isn't it?

Verses 8-10 The end is better than the beginning.  All summer long I stressed and worried about my unborn twin grandchildren. I had the hope that God was in charge but it didn't stop me from worrying about them. They are a month old old now, home and doing great! Was an awful lesson in patience though. This situation did have me in prayer a lot so maybe that was a good thing? And verse 10 don't look back at "the good old days." Maybe they weren't so good after all. We can't look back we need to look forward.

Verses 11-12 Wow powerful words about wisdom! One good thing about talking three years to read the bible is you get to spend more time READING the bible. Taking time to smell the roses. What a nugget of truth about wisdom. Wisdom like an inheritance is a good thing .....Wisdom is a shelter .... Wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.

Verses 13-14 Consider what God has done .... In our marriage vows we promise to be together in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, until in death do we part. We promise this to one another. God is our perfect partner - his promise is more enduring than our marriage vows. He will never leave us. He will be there through thick and thin.

Verses 15-18 The author recounts what he has seen both of: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness and a wicked man living long in his wickedness. We see this happening today! We al wonder why bad things happen to good people and why the wicked seem to get away with murder.  The verses go on to say do not be over righteous or over wicked but have balance. As for being too righteous - oh yes it does happen! People think they are better than others because they don't do that awful sin.

Verse 19 - one man with wisdom is more powerful than 10 rulers in a city.  Oh to have one tenth the wisdom would be great.

Verse 20 There is not one man who doesn't sin. That is humbling. We should not think we are too righteous not to stumble and fall.

Verses 21-22 Don't listen too closely to what everyone says. I wonder if he means we shouldn't listen in order to get hear worth gossiping about. Or our feelings may get hurt. Like everything else - keep it in moderation. People have shared confidences with me and it is difficult at time not to say something to someone else. And ditto for us - there are some things in our lives that others don't need to know. Be discerning what we tell others.

Verses 23-25 Solomon sought wisdom and the foolishness of wickedness and folly.

Verses 26 This is a difficult verse to figure out. I did a little searching on the Internet and a couple people think he was referring to Eve or an adulteress woman. My thought is this is like anything else - to avoid temptations and seek wisdom from God. A person filled with wisdom is rare, whether it is a man or a woman.

Verses 27-29 Solomon found it difficult to find a wise person.

Chapter 8

Verse 1- Wisdom brightens a man's face and changes its hard appearance. Wondering how my face looks today. This almost goes with the end of chapter 7.  Do you ever wonder why bible verses were split like they were? This is one that I wonder what the reason was behind it.

Verses 2-6 Well, I find these verses confusing. We are to obey the king but verse 3 says do not stand up for a bad cause. No harm will come to those who obey the king's commands, but the wise (godly?) will know what to do.

Verses 7-8 We do not know the future nor when we will die. We live for today doing our best for God.

Verses 9-13 - another difficult passage. I think what has been written is this - just be cause we didn't get punished for doing evil at the time it happened doesn't mean it won't be remembered on our judgement day.

Verses 14-15 Again we can't judge what others do - we should focus on Jesus and the good works he has given us to do.

Verses 16-17  Even the wisest man can not comprehend the wisdom of God. For God never sleeps but he knows us all one by one.

Father God This is so hard to understand. I understand Solomon warning against wickedness and seeking wisdom and righteousness. I ask that when we wake up in the morning our goal is to focus on you.  Many days we slip and fall but can start over the next day.  And let us not assume we are better than others too. We thank you that you are our wise counselor, comforter, father of all of us. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.