Today's Scripture - 1 John 5:3

"This is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments." - 1 John 5:3

Is is only right that we express our love for God by being obedient to his commandments.  Our attitude should be like the 24 elders seen by the apostle John is vision:  They exclaimed "You are worthy, Jehohah, even our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, because you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created." - Revelation 4:11 New World Translation

Love is the basis for all divine laws governing mankinds relationships.  Romans 13:8-10 outlines the law code and sums up with "You must love your neighbor as yourself."  Wow, if we loved God and obey his commandments, what a wonderful world this would be!

Today's Scripture - Zephaniah 1:14

"The great day of our LORD [Jehovah] is near.  It is near, and there is a hurrying [of it] very much."  - Zephaniah 1:14

If you have ever been in a rainstorm or hailstorm, you know you must get to safety!  The "great day" of God is near, it will affect all mankind. 

Where can we find safety during this time of the end?  Spiritual safety comes from thinking upon God's name and serving him zealously.  For further reading see:  Malachi 3:16-18, Romans 10:13,  Zephaniah 3:12,13 and Psalms 91:1.

Today's Scripture - Proverbs 8:31

"being glad at the productive land of his earth, and the things I was fond of were with the sons of men." - Proverbs 8:31

Next to God, Jesus has the most comprehensive knowledge of all creation, including humankind.  As God's master worker, he shared in all aspects of creation.  Hence he understands every detail of the entire universe.  During his prehuman existence, he discerned God's attitude toward humans by observing his dealings with them.  Jesus love for mankind was to such an extent that he could say the above statement.  Do you find it comforting to know that Jesus is fond of mankind? 

The Name Of God Replaced - "LORD"

Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.”

“Lord” is used as a title of deference for various gods or deities says Wikipedia.  “LORD” refers to “the name of God,” in Hebrew his name is YHWH.

The Tetragrammaton (YHWH) is consistently rendered as “the LORD” in the Bible.   When commenting on the New Testament, the recently revised 2004 edition of the New Living Translation says:  “The Greek word kurios is consistently translated ‘Lord,’ except that it is translated ‘LORD’ wherever the New Testament text explicitly quotes from the Old Testament, and the text there has it in small capitals.” Therefore the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) should be represented in these New Testament quotes.

Interestingly, under the heading “Tetragrammaton in the New Testament,” The Anchor Bible Dictionary makes this comment: “There is some evidence that the Tetragrammaton, the Divine Name, Yahweh, appeared in some or all of the O[ld] T[estament] quotations in the N[ew] T[estament] when the NT documents were first penned.” And scholar George Howard says: “Since the Tetragram was still written in the copies of the Greek Bible [the Septuagint] which made up the Scriptures of the early church, it is reasonable to believe that the N[ew] T[estament] writers, when quoting from Scripture, preserved the Tetragram within the biblical text.”

Yahweh is considered to be the proper name of God, alternatives like:  YHWH, YHVH, JHVH and JHWH, are all correct - the common English translation is Jehovah.

Bible Question Answered - Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

Our authority is always the Bible, so let's take a look at why bad things happen.  Let's examine three reasons.

First, the Bible clearely states at 1 John 5:19, "The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one."  Many mistakenly blame God because they think he is ruling the world.  But according to this scripture its "the wicked one" that is ruling the earth.  That makes sense because in heaven, where God rules, there is peace and here on earth the wicked one is ruling and we have much wickedness. 

The second reason is found at Ecclesiastes 8:9, in part is says, "...man has dominated man to his injury."  Yes, man's struggle for dominace, money,  and greed has resulted in war, oppression, and much suffering!  The third reason is also found in Ecclesiastes chapter 9  the last part of verse 11 reads, "....because time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all."  Simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Sometimes when a question has been answerd it leads to more questions, like: Why does God allow suffering?  When will he step in and end suffering?  I offer a FREE BIBLE STUDY course that will answer these quesstions and others you may have.  Please use the comment section below to request information.

Today's Scripture - Matthew 6:10

"Let your kingdom come, Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth."  - Matthew 6:10

What comes to mind when you visualize God's will taking place in heaven?  Many picture peace,  harmony,  and beauty.  What picture comes to mind when you think about earthly conditions today?  Well, far from peaceful!  According to Jesus' words, God's kingdom will bring heavenly conditions to earth!

Would you like to know more?

Today's Scripture - Psalms 83:18

"That men may know that you, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, are the most high over all the earth."  - Psalms 83:18

 American King James Version

As a child you probably recited the Lords Prayer many many times.  It starts out..."Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified."  I laughed while writing this because we name everything!  Our children, our pets, some even name their cars!!  Astronomers estimate that there are over 100 billion stars in our Milky Way galazy alone.  Isaiah 40:26 reads, "Raise your eyes high up and see.  Who has created these things?  It is the One who is bringing forth the army of them even my number, alll of whom he calls even by  name."  If God has named all the stars and we name our cars, does it make sense that God has a name?  He wants his "name" sanctified.  Not his title, God or Lord.

Post YOUR Bible Question!

 

What's YOUR Bible Question?  Post it here in the comments section, I'll answer it in the following weeks.

 

Today's Scripture - Colossians 3:20

"You children, be obedient to [your] parents in everything, for this is well-pleasing in [the] Lord."  Colossians 3:20

The Living Bible says, "always obey your parents."  I use this scripture alot with my children.  It proves that God has role for them in the family arrangment, and its very simple.  Obey.  As parents, we can demonstrate to our children the benefits of obedience by being obedient to God's principles.  Reading the account of Eli of Israel, his sons were "good-for-nothing men" due to Eli's lack of teaching them proper obedience.  (1 Samual 2:12-17, 22-25, 34 & 35 and 4:14,18)

Bible Question Answered - Is God Different In The Old Testament Than He Is In The New Testament?

Is God different in the Old Testament than he is in the New Testament?

Have you heard some say, "the God of the Old Testament is a God of war (or wrath) and the God of the New Testament is a God of love?  They are indicating that he has changed his standards of love and justice.

When you read both the Old Testament and the New Testament, it becomes evident that God is not different from one testament to another.  Both wrath (or war) and love are revealed in both!

For example, throughout the Old Testament, God is referred to as a "compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness."  At Exodus 34:6 it says "a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth."  Numbers 14:18 mentions again God's loving-kindness, "pardoning error and transgression" then is adds, "by no means will he give exemption from punishment."  (also read: Deuteronomy 4:31, Nehemiah 9:17, Psalms 86:5,15, 108:4, 145:8 and Joel 2:13) In the New Testament, Gods loving-kindness and mercy are manifested even more fully through the fact that "God loved the world so much that he have his only begotten Son...." John 3:16.

The Bible is not only our history book, it's also a guidebook from God.  He has given us many examples of how he has dealt with our ancient ancestors for our benefit.  We learn what God hates, what he requires, and we learn from thier example how God dealt with disobedience and repentance.  A great example of this is the Israelites, they willfully sinned against God by worshiping idols.  God punished them, yet each time he would deliver them once they repented.  God showed fatherly love towards them, just as you do when your child is disobedient and needs discipline.  At Hebrews 12:6 we read that God disciplines those he loves.

What do you think, is God loving, compassionate and gracious throughout the Bible?

Sometimes when a question has been answerd it leads to more questions, like: What does God require of us?  I offer a FREE BIBLE STUDY course that will answer these quesstions and others you may have.  Please use the comment section below to request information.

Today's Scripture - Prov. 15:1

"An answer, when mild, turns away rage, but a word causing pain makes anger to come up"  - 

Proverbs 15:1

A cutting or aggressive remark would add fuel to the fire even if it is delivered in a gentle voice.  When a situation tries your self-control, be "slow about speaking," it may help to walk away form the situation allowing time to settle high emotions. 

Five Minute Bible Study - Bible Trivia

The King James Bible is used for the following facts.  The Bible has:

773,692 words

31,173 verses

1189 chapters

3294 questions

approx. 1000 pages

 

The Shortest verse is John 11:35 "Jesus wept"

Longest verse is Esther 8:9

The exact middle of the Bible is Psalms 118:8

The longest sentence in the Bible is Eph. 1:3-14

The Bible has been translated into 600 languages

 

If  you read 3.2 chapters every day you will finish reading the Bible in one year. Or read 2.7 pages everyday. 

The shortest prayer is Matthew 14:30 Peter says: "Lord save me!"

 

God's name is commonly found at Psalms 83:18, Exodus 6:3, Isaiah 12:2, and Isaiah 26:4

January Bible Reading Schedule - Five Minute Bible Study

In case you missed it last week, here is the Bible reading schedule for January.  Enjoy!

Daily Bible Reading Schedule 2013

 

January 5th...........Genesis chapter 1-5

January 12th........Genesis chapter 6-10 

January 19th.......Genesis chapter 11-16

January 26th........Genesis chapter 17-20 

   

Today's Scripture - James 3:17

"But the wisdom from above is first of all chaste, then peaceable, reasonable, ready to obey, full of mercy and good fruites, not making partial distinctions, not hypocritcal"  - James 3:17

There are many scriptures referring to God as merciful.  This emphasizes that mercy is a large facet of God's love and part of his personality.  Mercy is a lesson that is often difficult for imperfect humans to learn, yet a quality that is worth the effort to develop in dealing with each other.

Bible Question Answered - What Does The Bible Say About Women Ministers?

What does the Bible say about women as ministers?  

What does the word "minister" mean in the Bible?  Let's look at the example of Phoebe.  At Romans 16:1 Paul introduced her as "our sister, who is a minister of the congregation."   Some read this to mean that she stood in front of the congregation taking the lead over religious services.  Is that how you picture this?  Let's look at the Bible (our source of guidence).  The Contemporary English Version at Philippians 4:2,3 Paul writes about certain women "worked together with me....in spreading the good news."  And in Acts 20:20 the Bible describes how this good news was done, "publicly and from house to house."  The Bible has other examples of woment fulfilling this type of  ministry work.  Paul also spoke of "aged women" to be "teachers of what is good, that they may recall the young woment to their senses to love their husbands, to love their children." - Titus 2:3,4  So these women were given the assignment to teach the younger women in gaining maturity.

It is noteworthy that nowhere in the Bible are women to take the lead in standing before a congregation to teach.  In fact, Paul instructed women to "keep quiet in the meetings."  What did he mean by that?  Did he mean women are really not to speak?  NO.  It's simply that God assigned men adn women different roles.  The Bible clearly sets out qualifying standards that must be met to teach the congregation (with God's blessing).  Those are found at 1 Timothy 31-13 and Titus 1:6-9.  God has ordained that only men are to serve in position of spiritual teaching authority in the congregation.  Women are not to have spritual authority over men.

Headship is set out in the Bible at 1 Corinthians 11:3.  "The head of every man is the Christ; in turn the head of a woman is the man; in turn the head of the Christ is God."  There are circumstances in the Bible that describe the arrangement when a woman prays or prophesies in the congregation, occupying a position God as arrigend to the man, she should have on a head covering.  This is a temporary assignment only when there were no dedicated, qualifiet male christian present. - 1 Corinthians 11:5-16.

This would logically then preclude women from serving as pastors to men.  This does not make woment less important, but rather gives them a ministry focus under God's arrangement to preach the good news as ministers, not pastors. - Psalms 68:11.

Sometimes when a question has been answerd it leads to more questions, like: What does God require of us?  I offer a FREE BIBLE STUDY course that will answer these quesstions and others you may have.  Please use the comment section below to request information.

Today's Scripture - Rev. 12:12

"On this account be glad, YOU heavens and YOU who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down you YOU, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time." - Rev. 12:12

The book of Revelation portrays Jesus riding on a white horse and being given a crown, chapter 12 details the establishment of God's Kingdom in heaven, that is followed by a time of "woe" on earth.  Satan knows his days as world ruler are running out.  Bible prophecy and world events indicate that we are living near the end of this "short period of time."

Today's Scripture - Isa. 30:21

"And your own ears will hear a word behind you saying: "This is the way.  Walk in it, YOU people," in case YOU people should go to the right or in case YOU should go to the left. - Isa. 30:21

That "word" behind us comes from the Word of God.  Every time we read God's Word, we hear the voice of our God, so to speak.  The more we study God's Word the Bible, the more familiar his "voice" becomes to us.  And the more recognizable his requirements, commands will be so that we are not fooled by a "strangers" voice.  Reasoning on the term "Walk in it" we are being told to apply and obey!

Today's Scripture - Matt. 28:19

"Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit"

The disciples knew they were to preach the good news and "make disciples of people of all the nations."  In view of this command of Jesus Christ, all Christians should endeavor to become teachers.

January Daily Bible Reading Scheule

Daily Bible Reading Schedule 2013

 

January 5th...........Genesis chapter 1-5

January 12th........Genesis chapter 6-10 

January 19th.......Genesis chapter 11-16

January 26th........Genesis chapter 17-20 

   

Announcement - change in schedule

The "Daily Bible Reading Schedule"

is being re-designed.  Up till now, it has been uploaded daily along with the "Daily Scripture" and was a random Bible chapter.  

This feature will now be loaded once a month and is designed not only for daily reading, but also as a goal of reading the entire Bible.

2013 schedule will take you from Genesis through Joshua.

5 Minute Bible Study - Book of Jude

I chose the book of Jude because it's a warning to the ungodly.  

 

There is a standard that our Creator wants us to live by, it's for our own good - after all he knows best since he, created us.

Meditation again is focused on how to apply this to our lives today in order to benefit form the warnings given to this ancient people.

Today's Scripture - Gen. 3:4

"You positively will not die"

The Devil said these words to Eve in the Garden of Eden.  This is the first lie ever told, which is why the Devil is often referred to as "the father of the lie." Applying this to ourselves, it's important to be truthful in everything we do.  Also realizing that the Devil is still "lying" to us by promoting false teachings.

Bible Question Answered - What Does The Bible Say About Dinosaurs?

What Does The Bible Say About Dinosaurs?

This is not a "deep" subject of Bible truths however, it does come up from time-to-time, especially if you have children or if you're fascinated by these HUGE reptiles.

Answer:  The Bible does not specifically provide an answer to this question.  So we have to use our power of reasoning.  Before 1824, dinosaurs were unknown to humans.  It was in that year that bones of several kinds of fossilized reptiles were unearthed in England.  Since then dinosaur fossils have been discovered on every continent!

So when did they live?  The rock layers containing human fossils consistently occur above the layers where dinosaur fossils have been found, from this scientists generally conclude that humans came later, after the dinosaurs were gone.  According to the Genesis account, animals were created during the fifth and sixth creative days.  Genesis 1:21 says "And God proceeded to create the great sea monsters and every living soul that moves about, which the waters swarmed forth according to their kinds, and every winged flying creature according to its kind.  And God got to see that [it was] good."  If the Hebrew expression translated "great sea monsters" included dinosaurs, which often inhabited swampy or watery areas, this would mean that dinosaurs were created on the fifth day.

It is after the sixth day that the Bible talks about God creating man.  This would be consistent with scientific findings.  Hence it is reasonable to conclude that dinosaurs had a purpose that they fulfilled.  We can only speculate that purpose to have been some kind of preparation of the earth for human habitation, 

Was this helpful?

5 Minute Bible Study - Jeremiah 1

5 Minute Bible Study for today is Jeremiah chapter 1.  

There are some people that refer to Jeremiah as a minor prophet, however there is nothing "minor" about him!  He is also referred to as "a man with feelings like ours" see if you agree!

Don't forget this schedule is just to encourage daily Bible reading.  I suggest reading for 2-5 minutes then meditating for 3-5 minutes on what you've read, paying close attention to how you can apply what you've learned.

Today's Scripture - Gal. 6:8

"He who is sowing with a view to the spirit will reap everlasting life from the spirit"

We do this by living in a way that allows God's spirit to operate freely on us.  Doing this wholeheartedly no mater where we are: at home, vacation, in public or in the privacy of our  homes.  And keeping this in mind when deciding what activity's to participate in, including what we choose to read or watch on TV.

5 Minute Bible Study - John 14

In the 5 Minute Bible Study today, try and read John chapter 14.  

Its recommended that you read for about 2-5 minutes (depending on how much time you have).   Then meditate on what you've read for 3-5 minutes.  

I think of meditation like a good stretch, when you exercise you get the full benefit only after you've stretched. 

Meditation questions to consider:  How can I apply what I read to my daily life?  What was the main point?  In what area can I imitate Jesus?  How can I use this information to help someone else?

Today's Scripture - John 3:4

"My food is for me to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work"

Jesus never took personal credit for his teachings or healing.  He humbly directed all praise to God, "to him that sent me."  We can imitate Jesus by directing attention to God's word when we are teaching others about the Bible, making sure to give him the praise, not ourselves.

5 Minute Bible Study - Proverbs 10

Wisdom

Another feature of this blog is to provide a "5 minute" Bible Study program to encourage daily Bible reading and meditation.

It's been said that reading the Bible for as little as 5 minutes a day can help us fight off negative thoughts, temptation and bring us closer to our Creator.

Today's reading is Proverbs chapter 10. After reading it be sure and mediate on what you've read.  I suggest reading for 2-5 minutes then spend 3-5 minutes on meditation.  I try to answer questions during meditation like:  How can I personally apply what I just read?  What are the benefits or blessings I could enjoy from applying this passage?  Can it provide encouragement to someone else?

This particular passage King Solomon of Israel provides answers to questions like: How can we walk in the path of uprightness?  What blessings can we expect form doing so? And how may others benefit from our conforming to God's righteous standards?  He answers by contrasting the righteous with the wicked.  In doing so, notice he uses the expression "righteous ones" 13 times.  Nine of these occurrences are in verses 15-32.
Enjoy.

Today's Scripture - Ps. 119:101

"From every bad path I have restrained my feet" - Ps. 119:101

When was Jesus tempted to change stones into loaves of bread?  After he had fasted for 40 days and nights and was hungry!  We need to be determined now, before temptation, what path we will take. 

Bible Version Discussion

For this discussion about Bible Versions, my source is Wikipedia.

Do you know how many Bible versions there are?  I thought I owned a lot of Bibles till I found the answer.  There are over 450 versions!

I personally own five:

1. The King James Version
2. The Living Bible
3. The New World Translation
4. New International Version
5. Interlinear Bible

The King James version began in 1604, and is written using words we don’t use in our everyday language.  If you have the opportunity to purchase the 400^th Anniversary edition, I recommend you do that!

The Living Bible was first published in 1971.  I call this one the poetic version because its easy to read and often the words are poem like.  However it is an interpretation of the Bible and has many verses that are not accurate, caution needs to be used when quoting from this one. 

The New World Translation began in 1947.  This Bible uses modern English, easy to read and understand.  This is the Bible I default to in my personal reading and blog quoting, unless otherwise noted.  If you’re a book reader and familiar with goodreads, this Bible has 5 out of 5 stars for easy reading and accuracy.

New International Version originally published in the 1970’s.  It went through a “major” revision in 1984 due to inaccuracy's.  However it is easy to read and in modern English.

Interlinear Bible is a combination of the original Hebrew and Greek with its literal English translation written underneath.  This makes it easy for deep study and accuracy questions.

I'd be happy to send you a free PDF Bible, please comment below with your email address.

I offer a FREE BIBLE STUDY course that will answer your Bible questions.  Please use the comment section below to request information.