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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 341 & 342

Dec8

SUNDAY and MONDAY studies are posted together on Mondays

Day 341 – Reading – Romans 1 – 3

Day 342 – Reading – Romans 4 – 7

Read and believe in Jesus!

  • “Some of those converted on the day of Pentecost founded the church at Rome. Paul had long sought to visit the Roman church, but had been prevented. In God’s providence, Paul’s inability to visit Rome resulted in this masterpiece of gospel doctrine. 
  • The theme of Romans is the righteousness that comes from God: the glorious truth that God justifies guilty, condemned sinners by grace alone through faith in Christ alone.  Chapters 1-11 give theological truths, while chapters 12-16 detail the practical working out of those truths.” (from John MacArthur’s commentary)

SUNDAY – Day 341 – Romans 1.

Paul introduces himself and greets the church in Rome.  He calls himself both a servant (slave) of Jesus and an apostle (sent one).  Paul was called to share the gospel (good news) of God, which God promised through His prophets in the Old Testament concerning His Son, to the nations, including the Romans. He prays for them, the Grace and Peace of God.

Then Paul tells them how he’s been longing to come to Rome, but it has never worked out.  But he has been praying non-stop for them because he so wants to impart a spiritual gift to them to strengthen them… and be strengthened BY them. He knows there is a huge harvest there among both the Jews and Gentiles, just the people God is sending him to.

  • “I am eager to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome!   For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the POWER of God for salvation to EVERYONE who believes.  In the gospel is the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God revealed. 

Next, as is necessary, Paul presents the evidence of man’s overwhelming sinfulness and how man deserves God’s judgment. They have suppressed the truth about God and ignored His attributes and power.

  • “Although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him.  Claiming to be wise, they became fools and worshiped images of man, birds, animals, and creeping things … instead of the immortal, glorious God. So… God gave them up to impurity, to serve the creature rather than the Creator.

Then Paul lists the despicable, gross, unrighteous things that their debased minds prompt them to do. (Not only to DO, but to approve of others doing too!  Ugh!!

(Read this awful list carefully, for in it, we also will see some things that we are/were guilty of at one time.)

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Romans 2.

Paul nails that thought down even tighter.

  • “You have no excuse, O man, EVERY ONE OF YOU who judges. For in passing judgment on another, you condemn yourself.  You, the judge, practice the very same things!!”

Then Paul strikes deeper into the Self-righteous in us all.

  • “Do you suppose, you who practice the very same things, will escape judgment?  Do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?  Don’t store up wrath for yourself when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

Paul (and God) shows no difference between Gentiles and Jews in the matter of sin.

For all who have sinned “outside the law” will also perish “outside the law.  All who have sinned “under the law” will be judged “by the law.”

It is the “doers” of the law who will be justified, not just those who “hear” it.  Gentiles may not know the letter of the Mosaic Law, but the law is “written on their hearts.”

No one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, but inwardly by the Spirit, and not by the letter.

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Romans 3. 

Then Paul asks a question.  What is the advantage then of the Jew?  MUCH!

They were entrusted with the Words of God!  What IF some were unfaithful, did that nullify God’s word?

And then, seemingly, the opposite question. Are we Jews any better off?  No, not at all.  The whole population is under the curse of sin and death…

  • ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God;  ALL have turned aside; together they have become worthless. No one does good, not even one.”

This is a terrible position to be in, to comprehend, but he says it so NO ONE can justify themselves.

  • Yes…. ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…… and are justified by His GRACE as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus….. whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood….. to be received by FAITH.

Oh, what hope he brings to the desperate, soul-sick sinner!

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MONDAY – Day 342 – Romans 4.

Paul then calms the worries of the Jewish believers reading his letter.  Yes, Father Abraham IS included in righteousness by faith alone.  He BELIEVED God’s promises (personal to him as well as about the future Messiah).  And so, God counted that as righteousness for him.  This was BEFORE the law, and even before Abe and his family were circumcised.  Faith alone in the promises of God!

  • “To the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.”

Praise God!  And not to Abraham only.

  • “It will be counted to us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, the One who was delivered up for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.”

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Romans 5.

Then Paul writes those promises that are so sweet to us who have believed. Hopefully we have memorized them.

  • “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
  • “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame … BECAUSE God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
  • a. “For while we were still WEAK, at the right time, Christ died for the UNGODLY.
  • b. “God shows His love for us in that while we were still SINNERS, Christ died for us.
  • c. “For while we were ENEMIES, we were reconciled to God by the death of His son, and saved by his life. 

Weak, ungodly, sinners, and enemies.  Oh, the matchless love, grace, and mercy of God toward us for Jesus’ sake!

Paul then reminds them of how it all happened.

SIN came into the world through one man (Adam), and DEATH came through that sin.  Then death spread to all men because, after Adam, we ALL HAVE SINNED.  (And as we will see in 6:23, the WAGES or PAYMENT for sin is death.)

However, life, eternal life through Jesus, is a GIFT by God’s grace.  If death reigns because of the sin of one man (Adam), Paul says that righteousness reigns through one perfect “man,” Jesus Christ. As the ONE ACT of trespass led to condemnation for all men, so ONE ACT of righteousness (the cross) leads to justification and life for all men.

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Romans 6.

Paul says it gets even closer to Home. 

  • Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised by the dead by the glory of the Father, WE TOO might walk in the newness of life.
  • So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
  • LET NOT SIN REIGN IN YOUR BODY TO OBEY ITS PASSIONS.
  • Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness. 
  • Present your members as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification.
  • “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Amen and amen!

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Romans 7.

Paul then speaks mostly to Jewish believers about the Mosaic Law.  After a lifetime trying to keep the LETTER of that law and failing, failing, failing, it is hard to let it go and simply TRUST in Christ.  Paul compares it to a marriage.  A married woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives.  But if her husband dies, she is released from that marriage.

“Likewise, my brothers, YOU also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead. And so, you are released from the law, so that they can serve in the new way of the Spirit.

Paul isn’t saying the Law is bad – for how could we know what sin is, unless God gave the law against it.   But the law does try to draw him back into sin.  It’s a huge struggle sometimes. for…

  • I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
  • Now, if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good,
  • It is no longer “I” who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
  • For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
  • For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep doing.
  • If I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

 

  • O wretched man that I am!  Who will deliver me from this body of death!!
  • Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!

 

Wow, do you ever feel that way?  I do.  I keep on doing the things I don’t want to, and as for the things I want to do to please God… well often they never happen.

But the VERY BEST NEWS COMES IN VERSE ONE AND TWO OF THE NEXT CHAPTER!  Take a peek at it right now!!

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 340

Dec6

The LAST Month of 2025’s Reading!

Day 340 – Reading – 2 Corinthians 10 – 13

Read and believe in Jesus!

 2 Corinthians 10-13

Chapters 10-13 have a somewhat different tone as Paul prepares the Corinthians for his promised 3rd visit.  In these chapters, he defends his ministry (as opposed to those “super-apostles” trying to turn them away); he “boasts” some about his travails; mentions that amazing vision of Heaven and subsequent “thorn in the flesh;” and gives his final exhortation to them to examine their own hearts.

2 Corinthians 10.

Paul agrees with his accusers that when he is away from the Corinthians, he’s bold in his rebukes, but when he is with them, he’s like a lamb.  It’s because he loves them and want’s sweet fellowship with them when he is there. 

He admits that they are all walking in their “fleshly” bodies, but the war for their sanctification is waged spiritually.

  • “The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God. We take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”

Paul says he doesn’t want to appear frightening to them with his boasts of the authority, but the Lord gave him such authority so to reach them. 

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2 Corinthians 11.

Paul is stern with them because he is divinely jealous of them, as a husband to a wife. He’s afraid they will be led astray from a “sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”  Let any who proclaim another Gospel be accursed.

“Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not unskilled in knowledge. I am not in the least inferior to those “super-apostles” who attempt to sway them. THEY are deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.  And no wonder!  Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, so no surprise that his servants make themselves appear righteous!

Paul’s embarrassed to boast of his credentials, but he feels the Corinthians need it. 

  • He, too, is a Hebrew and Israelite, a son of Abraham, and a better servant of Christ. 
  • He’s done far greater labors, far more imprisonments, countless beatings, and often near death.
  • Five times he received the 39 whips from the Jews, three times he was beaten with rods. Once, he was stoned. Three times he was shipwrecked (with 24 hours adrift in the sea)
  • On frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, robbers, his own people, Gentiles, in the city, in the wilderness, at sea, and from false brothers.
  • In toil and hardships, through many sleepless nights, hungry and thirsty, often without food, in cold and exposure.
  • AND … apart from that, there is the daily pressure on him of the anxiety for all the churches.
  • And once – this seems to be the most humiliating of all to Paul – he was let down in a basket through a window in the wall of Damascus to escape the governor!!!

WOW!! How much have “I” suffered for Christ and the ministry?  Nada.

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2 Corinthians 12.

And then Paul tells of the most amazing happening of all.  He uses the 3rd person to avoid self-aggrandizement. 

  • “Fourteen years ago, ‘this man’ was caught up into Heaven (God’s dwelling place), whether in the body or not, he couldn’t tell. ‘This man’ was in Paradise, and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. On behalf of ‘this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will NOT boast, except on my weaknesses. I refrain from boasting SO THAT no one will think more highly of him than he should.
  • “So… to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. ****
  • “Three times I pleaded with the LORD about this, that it should leave me.  But He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak … then I am strong.”

Then Paul says he’s been a fool, but they forced him to do it.  THEY should have commended him, but he had to do it himself to show he was not inferior to those super-apostles. 

Paul did among them the signs of a TRUE APOSTLE – signs and wonders and mighty works.

Like a parent (which he was to them), he was glad to spend and be spent for their souls.  He LOVED them.

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2 Corinthians 13.

And so, before his third visit, Paul gives them final warnings. He would not “spare” those he’d warned before if they had not repented.

They are to “Examine themselves, to see whether they are IN THE FAITH.  They should test themselves to see if Jesus Christ is IN them.   “We pray to God that you may not do wrong, that you may have met the test and are doing what is right.”

THIS IS WHY he was writing to them.  Their restoration is what he prays for.  He doesn’t want to be so severe when he comes, using the authority the Lord gave him to build up the churches.

  • “And so, rejoice!  Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace;  and the God of love and peace will be with you.”

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**** NOTE:  There have been many speculations as to what that “thorn in the flesh” was.  Yes, it was “a messenger of Satan,” but it was GOD who sent it.  Like Job, God allowed Satan to afflict Paul’s body in some way to keep him humble.

Some believe it was a continual eye problem, a gradual blindness, perhaps.  Paul mentions that the Galatian churches would have gladly gouged out their own eyes and given them to him. (Galatians 4:15)

Some believe this “thorn” was a demonized person, a demon indwelling the ringleader of the Corinthian conspiracy, the leader of those “false apostles.”  Paul says the “thorn” was sent to “harass” him. “Harass” always refers to ill-treatment from other people. And in the O.T., Israel’s opponents are described “thorns.”

However you view Paul’s thorn, I think the identity was kept vague, so that we, too, might see an evil person, a condition, or an experience as a warning from God or a way to keep us humble.  AND to be assured that God’s GRACE is sufficient in whatever situation.  We can trust Him.

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 310

Nov6

A NEW MONTH!

Day 310 – Reading – Mark 13

Read and believe in Jesus!

Mark 13.

Today’s reading is another account of the dire predictions we read about yesterday in Luke 21, and what we will read about again in Matthew 24 tomorrow.  The setting is Jerusalem, mid-week before the horrible time of Jesus’s suffering leading up to His crucifixion on Passover. He has had several encounters with Jewish leaders, who are even angrier now. 

Jesus also spoke some dire things about the future that have made His disciples curious.  When they leave the Temple, one of His disciples comments, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”

Jesus answers him cryptically, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”  

As they walked through Jerusalem and out the gates, through the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives, I’m sure they were thinking about what Jesus had predicted.  From their viewpoint, they could see the Holy City across the Western horizon, with the Temple prominently standing. All the enormous stones were “golden” in the setting sun.  It was hard to imagine it all in rubble.  (But hadn’t that very thing happened centuries before when Babylon attacked and destroyed the city and temple, taking Israel into exile?  Would that happen again?  (Sadly, yes.)

Sadly, this first part would happen in less than 40 years after Jesus’ warning. The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple buildings by the Roman General Titus occurred in 70 A.D., and thousands of Jews were killed or taken as slaves.

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As they rested on the Mount of Olives – possibly in the Garden of Gethsemane – the four fisherman brothers (Peter & Andrew, James & John) approached Jesus privately. “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”

They wondered if this would happen very soon, not-so soon, or not for a long while. Should they start preparing? 

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His answer may have been confusing. 

Jesus begins with warnings, “Beware that no one leads you astray.”  “Don’t be alarmed.”  “Be on your guard.”  “Don’t be anxious.”  “The one who endures to the end will be saved.”

This first section seems to refer to the near future, and the persecution they will suffer after He has departed.  However, it could refer to any suffering by believers throughout the centuries.  There will be “false Messiahs” coming that try to fool believers into believing that He has returned.  There will be earthquakes, famines, and wars between nations, but these are just the beginning.

They are to expect persecution from the Jews and governments (think of all that happens in the book of Acts) as they spread the Gospel.  They will be brought to court to give their testimony.  In those times, the Holy Spirit will show them what to say. 

And they are to expect persecution even from their own families, including being put to death (possibly out of fear for their own lives).

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In the next section, Jesus seems to be warning believers IN THE END TIMES. (see verse 14, “let the reader understand.)  The Antichrist of the Great Tribulation will act and appear like that historical Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria in the second century B.C., who raided Jerusalem, killing 80,000 Jews, and then set up a statue of Zeus in the temple and sacrificed pigs on the holy altar. 

Jesus, “For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be.  And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved.  (Read Revelation for further details.)  But for the sake of the elect, whom God chose, He shortened the days.”

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I’m sure the disciples were thoroughly scared by then (I would be).  But Jesus has a little more to reveal.

“After that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.”  (As if they were not fearful enough!)  

“And THEN they will see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send out the angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.”

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And as for their “When?” question, Jesus gives an example of the fig tree.  When it begins to leaf out, you know that summer is near. “So, also, WHEN YOU SEE THESE THINGS TAKING PLACE, you know that he (and the Kingdom of God) is near, at the very gates. 

Then, before they can ask further, Jesus answers. “But concerning the DAY and the HOUR… no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”  Only those alive in that final generation will live to see the return of Christ.

And some final warnings, “Be on guard. Keep awake. Stay awake.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 268

Sep25

Day 268 – Reading – Ezra 7 – 10

We are picking up the book of Ezra after studying the book of Esther in the Bible’s chronological order.  Now, in Ezra 7, it is about 60 years later than Ezra 6.  The current Persian king is Artaxerxes, who is Ahasuerus’s son and Esther’s stepson. (Perhaps the x-queen Vashti was his mother.)

The Temple of God has been finished under Zerubbabel’s leadership, and a second wave of exiles is about to return under the leadership of a 22-year-old Torah scholar (scribe), Ezra.  This young man traces his line back through a group of notable priests, including Zadok (in David’s time), Phinehas, Eleazar, and Aaron.  But Ezra is not a priest (at least not yet, not yet 30).

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Ezra 7.

Ezra had “set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach His statutes and rules in Israel.”  King Artaxerxes had given him all he asked for, for the task (people and any funds or supplies he needed), “for the hand of the LORD his God was upon Ezra.”

This great crowd of Israelites, with some priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants, departed from Babylon with literally tons of money and supplies.  Four months later, they entered Jerusalem, having walked nearly 1,000 miles. 

Ezra carried a letter from the king, verifying their journey, with all the people, and all the money. (If they required anything else, it was available through his treasury.) Artaxerxes wanted to be sure the God of the Jews, “who lived in Jerusalem,” would be pleased with the king and his sons.  Ezra was also commissioned to appoint magistrates and judges to keep the law in this “province Beyond the River.”

Ezra praised God in all this, for he could see “the hand of the LORD his God” working for him.

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Ezra 8.

Again, we find a list of genealogies of the Jewish heads of houses with Ezra. If women and children are included, this wave of exiles numbered 7,000-8,000. (Still, so many Jews remained in Babylon. There would be one more wave returning under Nehemiah.) 

Before Ezra set out with all these people, he proclaimed a fast, “that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and our goods.”

Ezra was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect them on the way, since he had told the king that “the hand of our God is for good on all who seek Him, and the power of His wrath is against all who forsake Him.”  (Now, Ezra really had to trust God, and God listened to his prayer and “delivered them from ambushes on the way”.)

Ezra divided all the valuables among the priests to guard and keep them on the journey.  On arrival, all was safe, and the new returnees joined those who had rebuilt the temple and offered offerings to the God of Israel..

Ezra 9.

All joy and thanksgiving… then Ezra gets the bad news. The officials (leaders) came to him and said,

  • “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have NOT separated themselves from the people of the lands and their abominations. They have taken some of their daughters to be their wives and their sons’ wives … so that the “holy race” has mixed itself with the pagan.“

(You are kidding, right??)

When Ezra heard this, “he tore his garment and his cloak and pulled hair from his head and beard and sat appalled.”  (This is how it all started!  This was the root of why they were exiled!!)  Others, who “trembled at the words of the God of Israel because of this FAITHLESSNESS, sat with Ezra, appalled until the evening sacrifice..  Then Ezra fell to his knees, spread out his arms to God, and interceded.

  • “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.”
  • From the days of our fathers to this day, we have been in GREAT GUILT. 
  • For our INIQUITIES, we have gone to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame.

 

  • Now, for a brief moment, favor has been shown us by the LORD our God.  … to leave us a remnant and to give us a “secure hold” within His holy place.
  • We are slaves. But our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but extended to us His Steadfast Love before the kings of Persia to return us to this place.

 

  • AND NOW, O OUR GOD, WHAT SHALL WE SAY AFTER THIS?
  • For we have forsaken your commandments.
  • After all that has come upon us, You, our God, have not punished us less than our iniquities deserved.

 

  • Shall we break Your commandments again???
  • Would You not be angry with us until you consumed us?
  • O LORD GOD OF ISRAEL, YOU ARE JUST.  WE STAND BEFORE YOU IN OUR GUILT….”

(Wow, what a prayer. It reminds me of the prayer of confession of sin that Daniel prayed.)

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Ezra 10.

While Ezra wept bitterly before the LORD, a great assembly of men, women, and children gathered around him and also wept bitterly.

Then a representative confessed, “We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women.  But even now, there is hope for Israel in spite of this.  Let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children according to the counsel of the commandment of our God, according to the Law.”

Ezra arose and made the leading priests, Levites, and all Israel take an oath that they would do as had been said.  Then he withdrew from before the Temple and spent the night fasting and mourning over the faithlessness of the exiles.

Then a proclamation went out that ALL the returning exiles should assemble at Jerusalem within three days.  If they didn’t, they would lose their property and be banned from the congregation.

WHOA!

All the men of Judah and Benjamin complied. All the people sat down in the square before the House of God.  They TREMBLED because of this matter.

(and because it was raining hard)

Ezra is now called a priest, although he has not yet been initiated. He has interceded for them before God and been recognized as the chief spiritual leader.

Ezra gave them the two essential parts of repentance:

  1. Confess your sin to the LORD your God, and
  2. Do His will. (Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, from foreign wives.)

It was recognized that the task was huge (and it was raining), so it was agreed that the priests would set up court dates for each unlawful marriage, when the participants would come and formally “be separated” and offer their sin offering.  

It took THREE MONTHS, but it was done. 

Think of the heartbreaks involved. (Husbands who loved their wives; children who needed their daddies.) Sin always has nasty, horrible results that can taint us for a lifetime.

(Appropriate provision was probably made for the divorced wives and any children.)  

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**** O LORD, there is so much to learn from Ezra. His absolute trust and dependence on God. His desire to be a spiritual teacher and leader. His intercessory prayer for the people and confession of sin. His determination to get rid of any sin “in the camp.” 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 141

May21

Day 135.  Reading 2 Samuel 22 – 23, Psalm 57.

 
Read Today’s Scriptures.
 

(We are still in the book’s epilogue, and review of David’s past history, glory, and praise.)

2 Samuel 22.

This chapter contains a PSALM!  

The chapter begins by telling us this psalm was spoken to God on the day He delivered David from the hand of Saul.  So we know this was before he was King, before his sin, and before Absalom’s disastrous coup.

Look at all the things that David says God is like to him — “my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold, my refuge, my savior!”  In this way, David “called upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised.”

  • In my distress, I called upon the LORD; to my God, I called.   From His temple, He heard my voice, and my cry came to His ears.

Then comes an amazing picturesque description of God – showing in David’s imagination – the power and fury (as a mama bear?) as he comes to David’s defense. (Verses 8-16) Read it!!!

  • He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He rescued me from my strong enemy; from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me.  They confronted me on the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support. He brought me out into a broad place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.”
  • This God – His way is perfect; the Word of the LORD proves true; He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him.  The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation!

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2 Samuel 23.

This chapter has the heading, “the last words of David.”  But it is not actually his LAST words.  This is the last literary “oracle” and final song-speech.  (We’ll read more of David in 1 Kings and 1 Chronicles.)

Note the ways he identifies himself and the honor he gives to God.

  • The oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the “sweet psalmist of Israel.”  
  • The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me; His word is on my tongue.  The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: “When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, He dawns on them like the mourning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.“
  • For does not MY HOUSE stand so with God?  For He has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. For will HE not cause to prosper all my help and my desire?

Then Samuel reviews the names of David’s mighty men and their deeds. (It is pretty much the same as 1 Chronicles 11:10-41.)  These are the men who helped David to become king.  Interestingly, the very last one mentioned is … Uriah the Hittite.

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Psalm 57.

As with 2 Samuel 22, this psalm was written when he fled from Saul in the cave.

  • Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in You my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge till the storms of destruction pass by. 
  • My soul is in the midst of lions, I lie down amid fiery beasts – the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way….. but……. they have fallen into it themselves!

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  • Awake my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!  I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.  Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let You glory be over all the earth!

Amen, LORD!!

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Hey! Today is my 80th birthday. God has been so faithful to me. Praise Him!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 66

Mar7
Day 66.  Reading Numbers 28-30. 
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn about God’s goodness?

Who can you share that with today?

Numbers 28-29.

The LORD has Moses review some important things for this new generation as they are poised to enter the Promised Land. The first thing is the offerings He requires daily, weekly (on Sabbath), and annually, as well as those on the special holy days. Why so many, you might ask. Doesn’t this deplete their herds and flocks?  

First, remember that these offerings, except for the sin and guilt offerings that were burned totally, were for the priests and Levites.  Their total service was to the Lord. They would not have their own flocks and herds.  This is the way Israel would support them and at the same time, acknowledge their thanksgiving and worship to God.

Numbers 30.

This section on men and women and making vows may seem patronizing, but it actually protects women who are usually (but not always) more emotional.  First, when a man makes a vow to God, it is binding. Period.  But, if a woman makes a vow to the LORD, binding herself by a pledge, her father (if she is single) or her husband (when married) can nullify that vow. 

The LORD – knowing women very well – sometimes calls these vows “thoughtless utterances of her lips.”  (We might say, frivolous, and you know exactly what He means. Women are women and sometimes nasty!)  In such a case, the man in her life could cancel those vows, and she would not be held to them before the LORD. (And I might say, to her relief most of the time!). But a husband or father, seeing an earnest heart, may also NOT void her vow.   

I think of Hannah, years later, who had no children. She went to the Tabernacle and VOWED that if the LORD would give her a son, she would give him back for all of his life.  Her husband, Elkanah, learned of her pledge and did not cancel it.  The LORD heard Hannah, saw her heart, and gave her a son whom she named Samuel. When he was weaned, she took him to the Tabernacle and gave him up for his lifetime.  God honored her vow and fulfillment by giving her other children. (1 Samuel 1 and 2)

(Of course, men make foolish vows too, often in the heat of battle or boasting!  See Judges 11:29-40, Jephthah’s tragic vow, and  1 Samuel 14:24-48 King Saul’s rash vow.)  (I bet these men wished someone had stopped their vows!!)

  • LORD, help me to never begrudge the offerings I give to You, in whatever ways you use them.   May my heart and hand be always “open.”
  • And LORD, may I always think before I speak. Help me to consider your Word and ways before I say something foolish. And when I do spout something I regret, lead me to confession and your forgiveness.

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 15

Jan15

Day 15. Reading in Job 40 – 42. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and write “in the comments” what was meaningful to YOU. We can encourage each other in Him.

Job 40.

.This is a terrifying moment for Job.  He’s been calling to God to answer his questions, to come and hear his case, but now it is God asking the questions. And now, God faces Job directly with severity.

“Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?  He who argues with God, let him answer.“

Can you see the fear in Job’s eyes as he begins to speak? Perhaps he cleared his throat and swallowed hard.  “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer You? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further.”

  • Yes, our God loves us and is patient with His children. But sometimes, I just think I NEED to see Him as the Eternal, Almighty God of the Universe, who holds the whisper of my life in His hands. I need to tremble sometimes. 

Then, beginning again as He did in chapter 38, God speaks out of a whirlwind and tells Job to stand up straight and answer.  He asks Job if he thinks he’s like God, “Have you an arm like God? Can you thunder with a voice like God?”  I can picture Job, his hand still across his mouth, wide-eyed, shaking his head.

Job 41.

God then showcases two magnificent creatures He’s made, the Behemoth and the Leviathan.  They truly ARE wonders that probably (thankfully) don’t exist today. 

The grass-eating Behemoth, with iron-like legs and cedar-like tail, bones like bronze, must be a dinosaur of some kind, maybe a brontosaurus. (You know, the beasts with long, thin necks chomping on treetops and a massive body with a huge muscular tail.)  It could “swallow” the Jordan River with no problem, God says!!  He also states it was the foremost (biggest) of His works. 

Next, God reminds Job of Leviathan, another of His massive creatures, only this one “plays in the sea.”  With the descriptions, you really must consider it a fire-breathing, scaled sea serpent dragon. Tell me what YOU think.

No fisherman or whaler could harpoon this creature. “His back is made from rows of shields, tightly fit together.” “His “sneezings” flash forth light.”  “Out of its mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap forth. Out of his nostrils come forth smoke as from a boiling pot and burning rushes. His breath kindles coals, and a flame comes forth from his mouth.”  WOW!

“Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail, nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin. He counts iron as straw and bronze as rotten wood.”  (Arrows, stones, and clubs are like stubble.)  God says there was none like Leviathan on earth, a creature without fear.

SO GLAD these creatures do not exist now, but God must have had fun making them!

Job 42.

Job is genuinely shaken and put in his place, and he voices his contrition. “I know that YOU can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” (You are Sovereign.)  “I have uttered what I did not understand.”

  • Job says, “I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my “eyes” see You; therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.“
  • God has been so patient with me when I’ve cried out (okay, demanded) answers to my questions, but as I review these scenes in Job, I tremble at my gall.  Wow.  HE IS God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth.  How dared I?  I, too, repent and confess my sin.

Job had not sinned in the ways Satan or his “friends” had accused him.  But he HAD sinned in presuming on God, accusing Him of unfairness, and demanding that He come and answer him.  At this realization, Job hated himself and confessed profoundly and honestly.  He had a “broken and contrite heart,” and God will not “despise” these. 

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THEN, GOD TURNS TO Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.  (Ah-oh!)  “My anger burns against you, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as my servant Job has.”

He tells them to take seven bulls and seven rams to Job and offer up a burnt offering (sin offering) for themselves.  “My servant Job will pray for you. I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly.  You have not spoken of Me what was right.” 

They obeyed, Job prayed, and God accepted Job’s prayer.

  • (Father, please keep me from speaking about You wrongly, here in these studies, or anytime in my life.)

Job never discovers WHY he experienced such suffering, pain, loss, and verbal abuse. He never found out what WE know from the first chapters of how Satan was “allowed” to afflict him for a purpose.  He had held steadfast in his faith in God’s character.  

Now, God restored Job’s fortunes – the ones Satan was allowed to strip from him.  The LORD gave Job twice what he had before in possessions.

All his family came to him again and fellowshipped with him. They (NOW) showed him sympathy and comforted him. And – perhaps out of guilt that they had not supported him before – each gave him a piece of money and a gold ring. (Huh!)

God gave Job twice as many sheep, camels, oxen, and donkeys as before.  God blessed Job with his once complaining wife, by giving him SEVEN sons and THREE daughters.  Also, HIGHLY UNUSUAL is the fact that he NAMES his three beautiful daughters – Jemimah, Keziah, and Keren-happuch – and gives them each an inheritance along with their brothers. 

Job lived 140 more years and saw his grandchildren and great-grandchildren for four generations.  Then he died, old and full of days.  Did he EVER imagine all this in those weeks of sorrow and pain?

 

It’s a bit of a picture of our devilish struggles on Earth and then our future home and joy in Heaven. 

  • Lord, thank You once again for this study in the Book of Job. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 9

Jan9

Day 9. Reading in Job 21 – 23. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and write “in the comments” what was meaningful to YOU. We can encourage each other in Him.

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Job 21.

Job’s turn.  All along, his mocking friends have claimed that his suffering is caused by his wickedness and that he should repent. 

Job (perhaps) clears his  throat and says, “Bear with me, and I will speak, and after I have spoken, mock on.” He describes wicked people from his point of view.  They DO NOT suffer (like Job).  They…

  • live to an old age and grow mighty in power
  • their offspring are established
  • their homes are safe from fear
  • no “rod of God” is upon them
  • their livestock multiply 100%
  • their children dance, play, rejoice, and sing to the tambourine, lyre, and pipe
  • they spend their days in prosperity 
  • they go to the grave in peace
  • they boldly say to God, “Depart, we don’t want Your knowledge, why should we serve You? What profit do we get if we pray?”
  • One day, they die in full vigor, being wholly at ease and secure, with their “pails full of milk” and their bone marrow moist. 

Does this look like me? Job seems to ask.  “How then will you comfort me with “empty nothings”? There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.”

Job 22.

Unable to stay silent, Eliphaz arises to speak a third time. And he gets rather nasty with Job.  “God doesn’t really care about you at all, Job!  He takes no notice of you.“

Then, he lists various sins against humanity as the reason for Job’s trouble, saying that he’s treated his brothers, the needy, the widows, and the orphans foully, sending them away empty and crushed.

Next, Eliphaz gives Job advice that is good in itself but not in the way he says it. “Agree with God about your sin. Receive instruction from His mouth and keep His Words in your heart. Return to the Almighty, delight yourself in the Almighty, and lift your face to God.  Make your prayer to Him, and He will hear you.” (vss. 21-23, 26-27

Eliphaz seems to relate these good things as acts of penance or as good works done to appease God, INSTEAD of heart acts of love towards a Heavenly Father. 

Job 23.

It’s almost in meekness that Job answers.  It’s as if he’s talking to his own heart.

  • “Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His seat! I would lay my case before him.”   “I would know what He would answer me and understand what He would say to me.”  “Would He contend with me in the greatness of His power?  No, He would pay attention to me.”  “I would be acquitted forever by my Judge.”

I love Job’s confidence in God. He’s obviously had a sweet relationship with Him before all this happened, and he KNOWS he stands “acquitted” before God. 

  • In Christ, we can have that same confidence when we stand before God in “the final courtroom.” (“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life…” 1 John 5:11-12)

Job may be in a humbled state right then. It may seem he can’t find God to talk to Him how he desires.  But in faith, he can say, “He knows the way I take; when He has tried me, I shall come out as gold.”   “I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my portion of food.” (vs.12)

Yes, Job knows God is sovereign in all His ways (“He is unchangeable, and who can turn Him back? What he desires, that He does. For He will complete what He appoints for me…” vs. 12-14)  Job may be “terrified at His presence,” but he stands in the knowledge that “though God slay him, yet will he trust Him.”

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Sadly, tomorrow, we will see Job back in his former mood. “The unrighteous prosper.”  That leads to a terse comeback from Bildad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 352

Dec18

   Day 352—We are in the LAST month of Bible reading for the year, studying the LETTERS of the Apostles.

Day 352 – 1 Timothy 1 – 6 (Paul’s letter to Timothy, warnings, the gospel, gifts, overseers/deacons, church instructions/warnings, the good fight.)

This is one of two letters Paul wrote to his “beloved son in the faith.”  After being released from house arrest in Rome, Paul & Timothy (and others) traveled to Ephesus. When Paul went on to Macedonia, he left Timothy in Ephesus to oversee the church. Now, Paul writes encouragement & instructions to him.

1 Timothy 1.

Paul reminds Timothy that he left the young missionary in Ephesus to clear out any false teachings that had begun there, especially by legalists who emphasized keeping the law of Moses. “The law is good if one uses it lawfully, for the ungodly and sinners.”

1 Timothy 2.

Paul urges Timothy to pray (in supplications, intercessions, and thanksgivings) for all people, kings, and those in high positions so that they may lead peaceful and quiet lives.  He reminds Timothy that Christ Jesus Himself is the ONE mediator between God and men. “I desire that in every place that men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling.”

1 Timothy 3.

Paul then lays out the qualifications for overseers and deacons who lead in the church. “They must be “above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, NOT a drunkard, NOT violent, but gentle, NOT quarrelsome, and NOT a lover of money.  He must be able to manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive. He must NOT be a new convert. He must be well thought of by outsiders.” 

WOW!!

Paul assures Timothy that he hopes to come there soon, but in case of delay, he might know how they ought to behave in the household of God, the church of the Living God.

1 Timothy 4.

He warns Timothy that some will depart from the faith, devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teaching of demons.  If he warns the brothers to beware of these things, he will be “a good servant of Christ Jesus.”

He urges Timothy to train himself for godliness, for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and the life to come.  

“Command and teach these things. Let no one despise your youth. Set the believers an example in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.  Until I come, devote yourself to public reading of Scripture, exhortation, and teaching.  Don’t neglect the gift you have by prophecy and the laying on of hands.” 

1 Timothy 5.

Paul instructs him further. “In the church, do not rebuke an older man, but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters in all purity. And honor true widows.” 

“As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all so that the rest may stand in fear. Keep yourself pure.”

1 Timothy 6.

Paul reminds them, “There is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and cannot take anything out of it.  If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For, the LOVE OF MONEY is a root of all kinds of evil.”

“But you (Timothy), O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.” 

Then Paul bursts into doxology!  “He, who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who ALONE has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom NO ONE has ever seen or can see. TO HIM, be honor and eternal dominion!  Amen.”

Paul ends his letter by urging his son, “O, Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Grace be with you!

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 348

Dec14

   Day 348—We are in the LAST month of Bible reading for the year, studying the ACTS of the Apostles and the LETTERS of the Apostles.

Day 348 – Acts 27 – 28 (Paul to Italy, shipwrecked, Malta, preaching in Rome)

Acts 27.

King Agrippa’s final words, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.” (Acts 26:32)

And so Paul, with some other prisoners, was delivered into the custody of a  Centurion named  Julius to catch a ship to Rome. Paul’s friend, Aristarchus, the Thessalonian, was allowed to go with him. They sailed as far as Sidon, where Julius allowed Paul off the ship to visit fellow believers and receive care.

It was late in the year, and the winds were unfavorable.  They sailed past Cyprus and Cilicia and stopped at Myra, where Julius found an Alexandrian ship bound for Rome.  Slowly and with great difficulty, they sailed past desirable ports and came to Fair Havens on the island of Crete.  It was very late in the season, and the winds were fierce. 

Paul, who had sailed many times on the Mediterranean, advised the Centurion to stay put, for he feared the ship, its cargo, and all passengers would be lost in the winter storms.  But Julius paid more attention to the harbor pilot and the ship’s owner. Fair Havens was not a desirable place to spend the winter. They decided on a chance run to Phoenix, further around Crete. When the winds let up, they took a chance and sailed westward, close to shore.

But they soon encountered the “Northeaster,” a tempestuous wind, and the ship was blown out to sea. The wind and waves battered the ship mercilessly. With great difficulty, they used rope supports to undergird the ship. Then they lowered the gear and let the boat run where she would.  The next day, they tossed all the cargo overboard, and the following day all the ships tackle.  For many days, they were at the mercy of the tempest and lost hope of ever being saved.

Paul, “You should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete. But, take heart, for there will be NO LOSS OF LIFE among you…..only the ship.” This was not good for the ship’s owner, but perhaps the passengers felt somewhat relieved.  Paul then told him how he knew this truth, “This very night there stood before me an angel of God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and He said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you ALL those who sail with you.'”

Paul told them he had FAITH in God that they would all be saved, but they had to run the ship aground on some island.

About two weeks after leaving Crete, somewhere in the Adriatic Sea, the sailors took soundings and discovered they were nearing land. They let down four anchors off the stern and prayed for daylight. Some of the sailors secretly put the dingy overboard with plans to escape. But Paul caught them. “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” The soldiers cut the dingy free.

As the day was breaking, Paul urged them all to eat. He took bread, thanked God in the presence of all of them, and began eating. Everyone was encouraged as they ate food, too. 

When it was light, they saw land but didn’t recognize it. But they did see a bay. Quickly, they cut the anchors, hoisted the foresail, and made for the beach.  The ship’s bow hit a hidden reef and stuck while the stern began to break up.  The soldiers planned to kill all the prisoners lest they escape, but Julius, wishing to save Paul, stopped them. He ordered all who could swim to jump overboard and make for land.  The others were to grab a plank from the ship and ride it ashore. (No, not surfing!)

And so it was that ALL were brought safely to land! (Just as God had promised Paul.)

Acts 28, the last chapter.

Once on the island, they learned they had shipwrecked on Malta. The native people were kind, welcomed the weary passengers, and kindled a fire because it was raining and they were cold.  Paul grabbed some firewood, and out popped a viper which had been hiding there.  It sunk its fangs into Paul’s hand.  Everyone gasped in horror and expected Paul to fall down dead, for the snake was very poisonous. But Paul shook it off and continued to stoke the fire.  

At first, the people thought him a murderer and said the viper was meting out justice. But when Paul showed no signs of illness or death, they changed their minds and thought he was a god. 

The chief guy, named Publius, showed them hospitality. When Paul learned that his father was very sick, he went to him and prayed, laying his hands on the man. When he was healed, the rest of the people on the island brought their sick, and they were cured, too.

After about three months on Malta, the winter storms were done with their terror. Julius secured a ship from Alexandria that had wintered on Malta. The islanders help to stock the ship with provisions for them.

They sailed to Syracuse on the island of Sicily and stayed three days. From there, they went to Rhegium on the southern tip of the Italian peninsula and then on to Puteoli (Naples) where Paul disembarked and was met by fellow believers.  He stayed there for a week, and then, together, they traveled along the Appian Way to Rome. 

Paul made it to Rome, just as God had told him. 

In Rome, under house arrest, until he was seen by Caesar, Paul preached from morning to night to Jews and Gentiles alike about “the hope of Israel,” the Messiah, Jesus.   Some were convinced, but others disbelieved.  (Just as scripture foretold. Isaiah 6:9-10) 

He lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

End of Acts.