11 Dec (Hebrews 11-13)

Hebrews 11

(v.1) Here is a great definition of faith...we don't see God physically, but we see His handiwork in His creation, and by how He works in our lives!

(v.6) This is such a great verse! Without faith, we don't enter heaven. Without faith, we don't learn to know God. With faith, we are blessed abundantly!

(v.7) Remember, Noah was building this huge ark when the people had not experienced rain before! He looked like a fool, and was no doubt being ridiculed for his faith. But what did his faith give him? It saved him from the wrath of God! This is the same typology of the last days...those of us who have faith will be removed from experiencing God's Wrath.

(v.12) If we have faith, we are the Seed of Abraham...he was the first Hebrew (which means crossing over) and we are Hebrews in the sense that we have left our love for this life and this world for a new love of Christ and heaven!

(v.13) Before Jesus paid for our sins on Calvary, the faithful were holding in Paradise, or Abraham's Bosom, until that debt for sin was paid. Once Jesus did that, He went to free the faithful and take them to heaven. Every day after that, we who die in faith go immediately to heaven with Jesus!

(v.27) We are all faced with that same dilemma in our lives...obeying God, or obeying man. It's easy when man's laws and God's laws are the same, but when man's laws contradict God's laws (abortion), then we must stick with God and endure the worldly consequences. The reward is far too great to give it up for a moment in eternity for peace.

Hebrews 12

(v.9) God set up the family unit to train us to obey Him. We are to obey and respect our parents, so we can learn to obey and respect God.

(v.11) We never ask for trials to come into our lives, but they always make us better, and we will reap the rewards for overcoming, in heaven.

Hebrews 13

(v.2) This is a heavy verse! God puts angels into our paths to see where our hearts are. Just think of that the next time we see a bum asking for money. Or when we have a person who rankles us, and instead of responding with anger, we show love...that is what God is looking for!

(v.17) We have no idea the work our pastors do for us...they pray for us, they look out for us, and they motivate us. Give them respect, and most of all, pray for them. Satan likes to make pastors sin, so the whole flock will become discouraged. John 18:14

5 Dec (1 Peter)

Peter wrote this letter and 2 Peter to the Jewish believers in Asia, which is modern-day Turkey. Most scholars believe Peter wrote this from Rome, and it's addressing the persecution of the Church by Rome itself.

1 Peter 1

(v.12) Angels were created to serve God, and thus, to serve us, since we are made in His image. Angels are not, and that is one of the reasons for the fall of Lucifer, for he was jealous of the relationship between God and mankind.

(v.19) Peter ties in the importance of the Passover lamb, which Jesus is for all believers. The lamb sheds it's blood in order to save us!

(v.23) What is born again? Our bodies? No, our spirit is reborn, for at birth, we were destined to hell in our sinful nature. It takes a conscious decision to accept Christ in our accountable years, to be reborn. Otherwise, our spirit is still dead.

1 Peter 2

(v.4) Jesus compares His Church, His Bride, to the Pearl of Great Price...we are precious to Him! He gave all of Himself so we could be redeemed! Matt 13:46

(v.9) All believers are not from the tribe of Levi, but all believers are from the seed of Abraham, since we are faithful. God will make us kings and priests in heaven. Rev 1:6, 5:10

(v.10) Jew, Gentile, rich, poor, free or slave...we are all one family in Christ!

(v.11) As followers of Christ, we are not tied to this world. The followers of Satan are called earth dwellers many times in the Bible. Our citizenship is in heaven, not on earth! As such, we are to support one another, not fight each other!

(v.15) We are to obey the laws of the land, in order that we can be a light to the lost. No one will listen to us if we break the law all the time!

(v.25) Jesus is our Good Shepherd, and now that He has brought us into the fold, we should obey His commands and follow Him. John 10:11, 14

1 Peter 3

(v.1) Once again, if we step back and see the template that God had placed for the family, and the relationship between Him and His Church, no one will have problems with these verses that tell us to obey and give ourselves over to another. One of the key things that Jesus showed us, was to stop thinking about ourselves, and to put others' needs before our own.

(v.7) I make sure to point out to my daughters the words, being heirs together, for we are all the same in the eyes of God. He just made a design for the family to function best, and when following God, it works best.

(v.15) This is why we need to read and STUDY the Bible...not just casually read it. We will learn more about God's character, and the amazing plan of redemption He created. Also, we will be able to witness better, and to lovingly debate skeptics.

(v.21) Peter shows us that baptism is a good thing to do, but it's not needed for salvation.

1 Peter 4

(v.1) What a wonderful way to think of this! If we follow Christ by enduring in the flesh, then we will one day be glorified in heaven as He was. To be clear, we will not be equated with Christ, but we will be fellow heirs of the kingdom with Him. Eph 3:6

(v.14) If we are persecuted for our faith in Christ, then we are doing His will. That is why James said it's a time to rejoice for our trials, for they are the work of God, and they help to further the kingdom of God. James 1:2

1 Peter 5

(v.2) Pastors and elders of the Church have a great responsibility...give them respect and support them with service and prayer...most of all prayer!

26 Nov (1 Tim 1-2)

Paul wrote three epistles (letters) to his disciple, Timothy, as a guide to pastor the church. The purpose of Paul's letters was to train and guide Timothy to disciple other pastors and church leaders for the growing Church.

1 Timothy 1

(v.3) Paul is warning Timothy of cults that change the doctrine of the Bible to suit their own power and influence.

(v.15) Jesus' name was His mission...YHWH Saves!

(v.17) Jesus is our King, and He is God!

1 Timothy 2

(v.5) In order for the Father to fully comprehend our pains and hardships, He had to become us, and that is what Jesus did for us!
(v.14) Did you ever wonder where was Adam when Satan was deceiving Eve? He was there, but he went along with the sin to be with Eve. Perhaps in some way, Adam knew that God had a plan of redemption for him and his descendants.

7 Oct (Matt 28:11-15; John 20:2-18)

The Gospels: The Resurrected Jesus!

John 20

(v.2) My kids love it when I read from this gospel...it seems that John likes to have fun with Peter! John likes to mention that he is the disciple whom Jesus loved.

(v.4) My kids laugh again as we see that John likes to mention that he runs faster than Peter!

(v.6) Here we see how the personalities are here...John is hesitant to go into the tomb, and Peter just comes barreling in!

(v.12) Don't let skeptics trip you up with how many angels are at the tomb...it's all about timing and perspective. We know that two people can see the same event and remember different things. The facts are the same, but the details are remembered differently. This is not an example of Scripture contradicting itself.

(v.14) Why didn't Mary recognize Jesus? There are three possibilities, and I believe all three are true:

1. Mary was so sad, her eyesight and focus could have been blurred, thus, she didn't recognize Him.

2. Remember, Jesus was brutally beaten and whipped, and they plucked out His beard from His face. Isaiah 50:6 He didn't have a normal looking beard, and looked scarred.

3. Jesus was in His resurrected body, that is different than our earthly bodies. He must have looked similar, but through human eyes, it was different enough to not recognize Him right away.

(v.16) However Jesus looked, when He said, Mary, she recognized it was Him! Remember, the sheep hear the voice of their Good Shepherd! John 10:27

Matthew 28

(v.15) The Jews didn't want the people to believe that Jesus was resurrected, so they had the guards lie and make up a story. Unfortunately, many people didn't come to faith because of this lie.

5 Sep (John 10)

The Gospels: Jesus the True Shepherd

John 10

As we have seen already through the Old Testament, God used shepherds quite a bit to illustrate His points and also to use for His purposes. Moses and David were shepherds, and God used them for multiple reasons.

(v.1) When reading this chapter, I take time to illustrate the way shepherds take care of their sheep. For instance, at night, when the sheep are to sleep, they don't stand in the fields, where wolves can sneak up in darkness and take a sheep. What the shepherd does, is find a cave (or something like it) that only has ONE entrance. Matt 7:17 So the shepherd puts the sheep in the cave and sleeps in the doorway. That way, if a wolf comes up, it will awake the shepherd, and he can keep the wolf from taking his sheep!

(v.3) Sheep aren't the brightest animals in the kingdom, but they are loyal and keen to know their Master's voice...this is also a picture of us with God. For those of us who know what God did for us, and we are walking with Him, we hear His voice in His Word and in prayer. John 10:14

(v.4) Can't you hear Jesus saying "Follow Me" to His disciples, and to us, right here?

(v.9) Jesus explains the illustration He is telling them, and it also alludes to John 14:6 where He says that NO ONE comes to the Father, but through Him!

(v.10) I also share with my kids that being a follower of Christ doesn't mean we will live sinless and problem-free lives...we will have peace and joy, for we know who we belong to, and where we will ultimately be!

(v.11) Jesus again reminds the disciples that He will give His life for the believers.

(v.18) We shall see that Jesus was not a victim...He was a conqueror!!! He came for the sole purpose to die for our sins, then He will return to gather His own. We all are saddened to picture the pain that Jesus suffered for us, but we must look at His love for us with great gratitude, not shame.

(v.28) For those that try to say that we can lose our salvation, they need to read this part of the gospel of John again! If we are truly saved, then we can't fit through God's hands and be lost. We may rebel and sin, but we are still His. When we become saved, we don't become sinless, but we sin less.

(v.30) Here is another instance where Jesus proclaims Himself to be God.

28 Jul (Zechariah 13-14)

Zechariah 13

(v.2) After the Day of the LORD, Jesus will put an end to idol worship once and for all. He will reign for 1,000 years with His people, and they will worship Him!

(v.6) What are these wounds? They are the holes in His wrists that show of His crucifixion! His brothers, and His people betrayed Him, and it all started in the Temple where He was falsely arrested and accused!

(v.7) When Jesus was arrested and crucified, all His disciples (except John) scattered and fled for fear of their lives! It's so neat to see things click with our kids, when they see that Zechariah was writing about the crucifixion of God...hundreds of years before crucifixion was even invented!

Jesus is our Good Shepherd, and His wounds and death saved us from death to sin. John 10:11

(v.9) God will judge with fire...for the unbeliever, it will be eternal torment. For the believer, it will refine us and make us beautiful in the Father's eyes! All because of our faith in His Son!

Zechariah 14

(v.3) Jesus will make all the unbelievers fight against Israel, and He will personally fight the battle for them! Take time to stress to your kids that Jesus fights our battles for us every day...if we let Him!

(v.5) ...and the saints with Him...

This is another proof that the Rapture will happen BEFORE the Great Tribulation. We who are His will come with Jesus, but Jesus will do all the work...just like He did all the work for our salvation! 1 Cor 15:23

(v.7) When Jesus returns, the whole universe will be affected...night will seem like day. Many scholars believe this is what Adam and Eve enjoyed while basking in the glow of the LORD in the Garden of Eden.

(v.9) Again, the word for LORD is Elohim...which means one, in the plural...this is the Trinity!

(v.16) During the Millennium, Jesus will oversee the Feasts and the people will observe them with their whole hearts...like it should have been the first time He came. But, God knew that sin had to be vanquished first, so He sent His Son to die for us before He came to take us home! Rom 5:8

27 Jul (Zechariah 11-12)

Zechariah 11

(v.12) This is an amazing chapter! I make sure to spend quite some time on this chapter, because it gives me goosebumps when I see how prophecy was fulfilled in every detail!

We need to compare this chapter with Matthew 26 and 27...

The price of a slave was 30 pieces of silver. If we remember the significance of silver, it is associated with blood. This is critical because Jesus was betrayed by Judas for 30 pieces of silver in Matt 26:15

(v.13) I now go through methodically the events here in Zechariah:

~ 30 pieces of silver is the cost for the slave

~ The silver is to be cast down to the ground of the Temple

~ The potter who owns the field gets the money in the end

So if we go forward to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, we see the prophecy fulfilled perfectly!

~ Judas receives 30 pieces of silver for telling the Pharisees where Jesus can be captured Matt 26:15

~ Judas later regrets his betrayal, and throws the money on the floor of the Temple Matt 27:5

~ As Judas says in Matt 27:4 it is is blood money, and the Pharisees can't put the money back into the treasury according to the Law.

~ But they can use the blood money for future expenses, and they buy a field nearby to bury strangers who die in town. The owner of the field is a potter!

This is another of many examples that the Bible MUST have been written outside of our time constraints, for God knows the beginning and the end at the same time!

(v.15) The Antichrist is the Foolish Shepherd...he will lead people away from Christ. If we don't know God's Word, then we will be easily fooled to follow counterfeits.

(v.17) In Rev 13 the Coming World Leader (the Antichrist) will do signs and wonders and fool many people. We also see that he will be wounded in the head and right arm. Is this why the people who worship him will have his mark on their foreheads and right arms?

Zechariah 12

(v.2) Any time we see nations and people who go against Israel, we know that Satan is behind it. Conversely, God makes Israel to be such a sore spot with the ungodly, that they hate Israel and the Jews. This hatred will eventually lead up to the final battle, and God's judgment upon the world.

(v.4) In the Day of the LORD, God will bring great confusion upon the enemies of Israel, and they will kill each other and run around aimlessly.

(v.8) God is in control, and He will defend Jerusalem...not because they are holier than others, but because He promised Abraham and David that He would. There is at least one thing that God cannot do...LIE!

(v.10) ...and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced...

Again...crucifixion was not invented when this book was written...how did Zechariah know this? He did because God's Spirit told him to write this!

Jesus will return to His people when they recognize that their unbelief pierced their Messiah!

26 Jul (Zechariah 9-10)

Zechariah 9

(v.3) For our kids, the historical aspects of this chapter aren't as relevant as the moral lessons. Tyre was a fortified and proud city. The Assyrians tried for five years, and the Babylonians for 13 years to conquer it, but never could.

We may know people who seem strong on their own power for a while, but sometime later, they will fall harder since they tried so hard to withstand life and reality. God will destroy Tyre (which is modern day Lebanon) in their pride...just like Satan.

Alexander the Great eventually conquered Tyre, and in only seven months!

(v.9) This verse should sound familiar to most Christians, since this is the prophecy of Jesus riding into Jerusalem as their King. In Dan 9:25 is the prediction of 173,880 days from the decree of the building of the temple to the Messiah entering Jerusalem...that happened to the VERY DAY as Jesus finally allowed the people to worship Him as their King in what we call the Triumphal entry...Palm Sunday!

(v.17) Jesus will return and save Israel from the Great Tribulation, and peace and joy will fill the earth!

Zechariah 10

(v.2) Parents...make sure you're in a church that teaches ALL of God's Word...verse by verse, book by book. Too many churches cherry pick what they want to teach, and leave out much of God's Word...the people are not being fed properly. It's like the four basic food groups...if we only get one or two, we are malnourished and ineffective...it's the same with God's Word!

(v.3) Lambs and sheep are good symbols in the Bible, but goats are not. Jesus is our Good Shepherd, and He will separate the sheep from the goats in the end. The goats are the ones who refused to accept God's gift of grace on the cross. Matt 25:32

(v.4) Jesus is our Cornerstone...the piece of the Church that holds it all together. Without Him, it will eventually crumble. Matt 21:42 & 1 Peter 2:6

(v.12) We who are His walk in His strength...not our own. If we ever think we are mighty warriors FOR God, then we're being proud...we need to be mighty warriors OF God, in His strength.

3 Jul (Ezekiel 31-35)

Ezekiel 31

As God warns us now to learn from history, God told Egypt to learn from what happened to Assyria. It is up to us to take God's Word seriously, and to let it guide our lives.

Ezekiel 33

(v.7) In order to be a watchman (or woman), we need to be on the lookout for things that God has prophesied in His Word. We can see what God said would happen, and if we have our eyes open, we can see it come together in front of us! In the next few chapters, we'll see this more clearly.

(v.25) I make a point to cook our meet so there is no blood in them anymore. Not only is that Biblical, but its better for our health. There are so many parasites and dangerous things that we can catch if we don't cook our meat properly. God gave us these rules so we can live healthier and more joyful lives.

Ezekiel 34

(v.12) God is our Good Shepherd. John 10:11, 14 He guides us and protects us, and will bring us back to Him if we let Him.

Ezekiel 35

(v.13) I don't know why, but some people openly rebuke God and boast that they don't believe in Him, or that they don't need Him. It's up to us to let the Spirit move us to reach out to them, and tell them that God is loving and wishes for them to know Him personally.

25 June (Jeremiah 48-52)

Jeremiah 48

(v.10) Those that use the Name of the LORD in vain are cursed. This goes back to the Third Commandment, where we are to represent God righteously, not use His Name as a means to gain power or attention. Of course, it's not good to use God's name in a curse word, but the Third Commandment goes further than that...if we say we are God's children, then we must represent our Father correctly and with love. Hatred and hypocrisy are not the ways of God.

(v.38) Vessels are used in Scripture to show us how God views us. We are empty at birth, and we will be the rest of our lives unless we allow God to have His Spirit enter us. We need to daily ask God to fill us up with His Spirit, so we can be used by Him.

Jeremiah 49

God uses Israel's enemies to mete out His wrath upon Israel, but He never wants them to think that they are greater than His people, nor does He like when they boast of their conquests. After all, it was God who allowed them to conquer Israel, and one day, they will try to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, but God will show the world that He is in charge and save them!

Jeremiah 50

(v.6) God uses sheep and shepherds to illustrate His purposes for us...we are sheep, and highly vulnerable to the evil one, unless we have a Shepherd who will protect us and even die for us. John 10:11

The Jews forgot who God is and where He really should reside...in their hearts. God wants to be in our daily lives, not just in some church that we go to every Sunday. He wants to have an intimate relationship with Him, and that requires us to speak with Him daily, multiple times a day.

(v.39) We know that God is speaking about the last days, since Babylon is still inhabited today...it is in modern-day Iraq. In fact, Saddam Hussein was rebuilding a palace in Babylon, for he thought He was the reincarnated King Nebuchadnezzar!

Jeremiah 51

(v.1) Persia rose up and conquered Babylon, but they didn't destroy it. Also, God is talking about His wrath upon Babylon, and His actual hand in it. This event takes place in the last days, and the Apostle John describes it well in Revelation 14.

(v.53) God is using metaphors here, since He's speaking of the future, but He's also referencing the source of all this earthly evil...the Tower of Babel. If you look at all of man's organized religions, they can be traced back to Babel. When Satan lost at the cross, he tried to kill the Church, but it flourished because of the persecution. So Satan isn't stupid, and he then infiltrated the Church. That is why we see so many cults and denominations around...it's Satan's hand in corrupting the Church, and moving men to act on pride instead of the original purpose for the Church.

Jeremiah 52

God's prophecies come true, and Jerusalem falls. God is patient, but He is also just. If we won't listen to Him, He will get our attention through calamity.

20 June (Jeremiah 21-25)

Jeremiah 21

(v.7) Here is one of the verses that skeptics of the Bible cite as conflicting. They say that the Bible does have errors. They claim that in Eze 12:13 God told Ezekiel to prophesy that King Zedekiah would NOT see Babylon, and here God tells Jeremiah to tell King Zedekiah that he would be taken captive and taken to Babylon. This seems like an error, but it's not!

Zedekiah escaped Jerusalem through a tunnel to the outskirts of the city. They were found out, and Babylon killed Zedekiah's sons in front of him. Then, they gauged Zedekiah's eyes out and took him to Babylon.

So, both Ezekiel and Jeremiah were correct...Zedekiah was taken captive to Babylon, but he never saw Babylon, since his eyes were gone! God's Word is true, but when we come to parts that seem contradictory, that's when we see amazing truth come out!

Jeremiah 22

(v.9) Here is the answer to the age-old premise that the God in the OT is mean...He exacted judgment because His people were evil. God can't abide in that, and after numerous warnings, He used Israel's enemies to mete out His wrath.

(v.30) This is a great concept to teach your kids, and if I explain it well here, your kids will see the amazing detail of God's work for our salvation!

There was an evil King of Judah called Coniah, (but he's also called Jeconiah or Jehoiakim in other parts of the Bible), and God declared that none of his descendants would sit on the Throne of David. Well, Jesus was a direct descendant of Coniah, so is God's Word broken here?

In the words of the Apostle Paul, "Certainly not!"

In Gospel of Matthew, in chapter one, the genealogy of Jesus is given. The key to look for is verse 6, where it says that David begot Solomon. Of course, Solomon was the next king of Israel, and his descendants were kings as well...this includes King Coniah.

However, if we look in the Gospel of Luke, in Luke 3:31 we see that the other son of David, Nathan is listed...why?

In God's anger at King Coniah, it seems that He negated his royal line to the Messiah! But if we look at the difference of the sons of David, we see how God thought of everything.

The royal, kingly bloodline from David through Solomon was cursed when it came down to Coniah. Joseph, the husband of Mary, who gave birth to Jesus, is a direct descendant of Coniah! So how did God keep from cursing His own path to the Messiah?

The key is David's other son, Nathan, who is listed in Luke's account of Jesus' genealogy. If we track the list to verse 23, we see that Heli is listed...Heli is the father of Mary! Mary has the kingly blood in her as well as Joseph!

So the neat thing is this...Joseph's blood was cursed due to his direct bloodline to Coniah, but Mary's wasn't since her blood came from David as well, but not Solomon...it came from David's other son, Nathan!

Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, so not one drop of Joseph's cursed blood was in Jesus. However, Jesus had David's blood in Him from Mary!

Also, the Jewish custom was if a man didn't have any sons, and his daughters married, then he would adopt legally the son-in-law, and consider him to be his own son. This is exactly what Heli did with Joseph!

So Jesus has David's blood in Him from David's son Nathan, and it's not the cursed blood from Coniah. Also, Jesus is a direct descendant from Solomon, since Joseph has Solomon's blood. With the adoption of Joseph by Heli, the deal is sealed, and Jesus is in the kingly line but His blood hasn't been tainted by the cursed blood of Coniah!

Isn't that amazing? I recommend you go through this with your kids so they understand this...it's key to understanding the virgin birth of Christ! Our Heavenly Father adopts us as His children because of His Son!

Jeremiah 23

(v.1) Who are the shepherds? They are the leaders, especially spiritual leaders, who lead the people away from God. This applies to all the people who have revised or perverted God's Word for their own power, and taken the focus off of Jesus, and had the people's salvation be essential to go through them and their cult.

Do not be deceived...God's Word is our light...not any groups or denominations that insist that they are the way to God! We all have a direct line to God in prayer and in our faith...we don't need any church's approval or mandates to do that for us!

(v.6) There are some great names that Israel calls God:

YHWH Tsidkenu ~ The LORD Is Our Righteousness

YHWH Jireh ~ The LORD Will Provide

YHWH Shalom ~ The LORD Is Our Peace

YHWH Nissi ~ The LORD Is My Banner

YHWH Mekoddishkem ~ The LORD Who Sanctifies You

YHWH Raah ~ The LORD Is My Shepherd

Jeremiah 24

(v.5) Daniel and his three friends were taken away in the first siege. They were a part of the good figs, and as God said, He will set His eyes upon them for good. As we will see later in the book of Daniel, God did amazing things for Israel and the whole world! Rom 8:28

Jeremiah 25

(v.11) Daniel read this verse, and he knew that Israel would be held captive for 70 years. God's Word was accurate to the day, and Babylon was conquered 70 years later by the Persians!

30 May (Isaiah 8-10)

Isaiah 8

God is telling Isaiah what will happen to Syria from the confederacy of Assyria and Israel. It brought great fear and terror into a nation to find out that two or more nations were coming against her. Even though confederacies of men are intimidating, fearing God is much more practical. As Jesus tells us in Luke 12:4-5

Don't be fearful of those that can kill your body, and after that have no power. But rather fear Him who after the body is dead is able to cast both soul and spirit into hell.

(v.19) Going to palm readers and fortune tellers is the fad in many areas of our culture, but that is just man's wisdom...if you can call it wisdom. Why not go directly to the Creator of the universe, who loves you and wants you to live?

Isaiah 9

(v.6) This verse is quoted during Christmas time, and it should be, but I believe we need to read it throughout the year. We need to remind ourselves who Jesus is...God in the flesh, and our Creator and part of the Holy Trinity of God.

For unto us a child is born

~ As we saw in Isa 7:14 this is a unique birth, it's supernatural

Unto us a Son is given

~ This Son already existed in eternity. His mission was to free us from sin

And the government will be upon His shoulder

~ This is prophecy of Jesus' reign during the Millennium

And His name will be called Wonderful

~ In Judges 13:18 we see Jesus in a theophany

Counselor

~ Jesus is our High Priest and Counselor Heb 6:20

Mighty God

~ Jesus is God, and we see this in the next chapter Isa 10:21

Everlasting Father

~ Jesus said He and the Father are one John 10:30

Prince of Peace

~ Jesus is our High Priest, and He during His reign there will be peace

The text goes on to show us that Jesus came from eternity, and He will reign for eternity. He came the first time as a child to be like us. He came to die for us. But one day soon, He will return as a conquering King, and He will bring justice upon the wicked and unbelieving. Make sure you are His, and ask Him into your life...your eternal salvation depends upon it!

Isaiah 10

(v.5) The rod is used often in Scripture, and it makes sense since shepherds are commonly used to describe God, for He is the Good Shepherd. John 10:11

The shepherd protects and guides the sheep, and if the sheep disobey, He uses his rod to correct them. He uses His staff to steer us and guide us. Psalm 23:4

So the rod and staff are His tools to guide us and correct His own, but to unbelievers, the rod will be dreadful and severe. To those who are rebellious, the rod will seem scary, but to us who know Him, it will be comforting.

(v.12) Assyria is the area we know today as Iraq. The Antichrist is called the Assyrian, and it's believed that the Tower of Babel was in this area. God uses Assyria as the symbol for evil and for where He will bring His judgement upon when He returns.

24 May (Amos 1-4)

Amos was from the Southern Kingdom, Judah, but was called by God to prophesy in the Northern Kingdom at the same time as Micah and Isaiah.

Amos was a farm boy, who had no formal ministry training...he had good farm boy common sense, and a love for God. This is encouraging to us, since most of us feel quite ordinary, yet, God uses the ordinary for big purposes!

Like all other prophets, Amos is speaking harshly to those who are doing evil things. We don't like to hear that we're not acting godly, and especially those who are in power, don't like to hear others criticize or rebuke them...it goes back to pride.

Amos 1

(v.1) Amos was a shepherd, and as we know, God loves to use shepherds in His Word. The type is useful, since like sheep, we are lost, and the shepherd devotes himself to caring and protecting his sheep. This is like our Good Shepherd, who dies for His sheep. John 10:11

(v.11) Edom is the place where Esau resided after he and Jacob split. The descendants of Esau have always been at war against the sons of Jacob. I believe this constant is because Satan has used these people to torment and persecute the Jews. Not until the Prince of Peace returns, will the descendants of these two warring brothers be stopped.

Amos 2

This chapter seems like God is keeping score...and He is! God is righteous and just, He is the arbiter of our lives. If we want to live without Christ, then we are subject to this measure of our deeds compared to the Law. However, if we are in Christ, then we are free from the penalty of breaking the Law...we are saved by grace through our faith! Eph 2:8

Amos 3

(v.3) The imagery here is important...if we walk with Christ, we are walking side-by-side with Him. We are not to be trailing behind or out in front...we are to be in agreement with His will for us, and walking right with Him. I remind my kids that we don't walk out ahead or fall behind when we're walking with our friends...we walk with them...it's the same with God.

(v.7) To most people, God doesn't exist to them since they don't know Him. They figure that if He doesn't part the Red Sea for them, then He must not be real. This is so sad, since if they actually sought out God, they would see His presence all around them! He keeps revealing Himself in His Word, and in our daily lives if we have our eyes open!

Amos 4

(v.1) This verse strikes me, since I love Psalm 22, and the Bulls of Bashan are mentioned there. Bashan is always linked to Satan in the Bible, and it's interesting to do a study on this. Many scholars believe that the ancient monuments in that area are satanic and still inhabit demonic entities today.

(v.6) Yet you have not returned to Me.

We see this five times in this chapter...do you think God is trying to tell us something? God demands repentance from our sins. He wants us to rely upon Him, and show gratitude for His provision of salvation for us. I remind my kids that God came into His own creation, and willingly suffered torture, humiliation, extreme pain and shame, in order to provide the way to redeem us to Him. One is not saved unless he or she realizes this, and has a grateful heart. If we have gratitude, we are energized and wish to worship Him and share Him with others!

(v.12) Prepare to meet your God.

Our lives should be centered on this...we are only here for a short while on earth, so our minds should be focused on serving Him, and returning to Him in heaven!

Mar 31 (Psa 93, 94, 97-100)

Songs of Joy

Psalm 93

This psalm speaks of the eternal throne of Jesus. Before He made the universe, He planned out His death and reign of mankind. He made us, to love us...that's why He died for us. His power is greater than the strongest storm, since He commands the weather by His voice. Mark 4:39

Psalm 94

(v.3) As we have seen before in these psalms, the psalmist wonders why the wicked prosper and triumph in this world. I teach my kids that this may happen for a time, but in the end, they will be miserable and lost without Christ. We are better off to obey God and live for Him.

(v.9) I love this verse, since it makes us think of how incredible the human body is! I can't understand how someone could think that we came from ooze and are descendants of monkeys. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, in the likeness of our Creator. Praise God for His work!

(v.22) God fights our battles if we let Him, and who better to take care of our problems? He is our foundation, our stronghold...He delights in our reliance upon Him!

Psalm 97

(v.6) What we think of today as reading the stars, Astrology, is a pagan practice. But Astronomy is real and very interesting. Check the link at the bottom of the page, where it shows the danger of astrology.

(v.10) It is right to hate evil. If we are His, we hate it when we sin, and when others sin. However, we are to pray and let God take care of our sins, or others' sins. With the Holy Spirit in us, we desire good and the bad things we used to do, don't satisfy like they once did.

Psalm 98

(v.1) The right hand here is Jesus, who gained God victory at the cross!

(v.2) God has revealed Himself through the nation of Israel, and in His Word...the Bible. Today, with television and satellite communications, we are without excuse if we reject the Gospel of Jesus.

All of creation is waiting for the return of Christ, so once again, the whole of creation can be made right, and the curse of sin be lifted. Romans 8:22

Psalm 99

(v.4) I stress to my kids, that God is love and mercy, but He is also justice. If we sin and repent, we are once again in tune with God, but that doesn't mean there are consequences for our actions. I remind them of David, who sinned and repented, but he still lost his child as a consequence. 2 Samuel 12

(v.9) God is holy and pure, that is why we must be redeemed from our sins in order to be with Him in heaven. No man could fulfill the Law totally, so it took God Himself, Jesus, to fulfill the Law for us, and die for us. There was a consequence for sin...the death of the Son of God, to have His blood wash us clean.

Psalm 100

(v.2) Worship by song is Biblical and right. I used to be reserved about my singing and worship at church. Now, I sing and lift my hands when moved to do so. I like to close my eyes and picture us singing to Jesus on His throne in heaven! If we think of what God did for us, and all the blessings He has given us, we should lift our hands or get on our knees in worship to Him!

(v.3) This is a great verse...we are His sheep and He is our Good Shepherd. We need direction and guidance in this sinful world, so let's daily seek His face in prayer and the reading of His Word.

(v.5) God's Word endures for all generations, all cultures, and all movements. God is unmovable, so let's stop trying to change Him and His Word, and let Him change us for good!

Mar 25 (Psa 91, 95, 108, 121,143-4)

Songs For Times of Trouble

Psalm 91

This is a comforting song of David that stresses to us where our focus should be when faced with hardships. We have a safe place to go...God!

I tell my kids that I used to play the game "Tag" a lot in grade school. When someone was chasing me, I was filled with excitement and some trepidation, since I didn't want to be caught and be "it." But once I touched safely to home base, I was immune to becoming "it" and I had a great feeling of relief come over me.

This is much like what David is describing when he realizes that God is our home base...our refuge and safe zone. If we turn our troubles over to Him, we can abandon fear and trust in Him to handle our problems.

Psalm 95

This psalm is encouraging us to worship and praise the LORD! If we are His, and we have His Spirit in us, we should be worshipping Him in many ways, and in many instances during each day.

We worship the LORD in church through songs, tithing, prayer and teaching. We worship the LORD by encouraging others, helping others and comforting fellow believers. We also worship the LORD by living more Christ-like and being His ambassadors on this earth.

There is an old saying that exhorts us to live a life of worship to the LORD:

Preach the Gospel, and if you have to, use words!

Our lives need to be evident of salt and light to the world. Not only are we to study the Word and come to know Him better through it, but we are to live the Word, by loving and serving others.

Psalm 108

(v.1) This is what we need...a steadfast heart towards God! If we focus on Him in good times and in bad, we will be under His mercy and love, and He will see us through.

(v.8) Judah is My lawgiver...this is another reference to the Messiah and King of Kings coming from the tribe of Judah.

(v.13) It is so hard for us to remember to let God lead our battles. We are so wired by our sinful nature to do things on our own. But when we are born again, we realize that we are empowered by the Almighty, and He can fight our battles for us, and He will win!

Psalm 121

(v.4) This is a very important verse! God made an unconditional covenant with Abraham and the nation of Israel in Genesis 12. God is not through with His covenant! He will see Israel through its troubles in the last days after He has called His Bride home in the rapture.

God doesn't sleep or take time off. He is outside time, where He can see the beginning and the end at the same time. The best way for us to understand this, is to picture a helicopter hovering over a parade. Compared to us on the street, seeing the parade pass by, the helicopter can see the front and back of the parade at the same time.

(v.7) Once we become born again by accepting what Christ did for us, and allowing Him to be our LORD and Savior, our souls are sealed and untouchable by Satan. We are justified to the Father by the blood of His Son! Once we are justified, we are free from the penalty of sin. To illustrate further, here are the stages of salvation:

Justification ~ Free from the PENALTY of sin by Christ's blood

Sanctification ~ Free from the POWER of sin by the Holy Spirit

Glorification ~ Free from the PRESENCE of sin in heaven with our Father

There is the Holy Trinity...the Elohim...in action for our salvation!!!

Psalm 143

(v.5) David gives us the secret to times when we are overwhelmed with fear and grief...meditate upon the love and mercy of God! By remembering what God has done in the Bible with all the people in it, we can have faith that He will do the same for us now.

(v.8) It's good practice to pray first thing in the morning, to start your day in prayer and worship. It's also good to read some of His Word before we face the day...He speaks to us this way, and we often come upon situations that His Word has spoken to us that morning.

(v.11) God saves us because that is His name...Yeshua (Jesus) means God Saves! He saves us because that's who He is. If He were to do anything else, it would be against His character.

Psalm 144

David sung this song to the LORD before going out to battle. He references God as his Rock, and his shield.

We too are in a battle...the battle for the hearts of mankind. Satan and his demons are fighting the angels of God and us for the hearts and minds of the lost. The Apostle Paul tells us to gird ourselves with the Armor of God:

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

~ Ephesians 6:11

~ waist of truth

~ breastplate of righteousness

~ feet with the Gospel

~ shield of faith

~ helmet of salvation

~ sword of the Spirit

~ protection of prayer

Mar 22 (Psalm 23)

Psalm 23

(v.1) I begin with my kids, telling them that the word "want" here, doesn't mean that we don't want our Shepherd. Rather, it means that with our Shepherd looking out for us, we shall not be lacking anything we need. We won't be for want of anything.

Jesus is our Good Shepherd who will guide us, correct us and even die for us.

(v.2) My Shepherd shall provide for me comfort and rest Ruth 1:9 & Matt 11:28

(v.3) He will guide my paths and lead me to His ways Prov 3:5-6 & Luke 1:79

(v.4) He will give me courage Deut 31:6 & Rom 8:31

(v.5) He will give me honor and a crown of righteousness Isaiah 62:3 & 2 Tim 4:8

(v.6) He will provide mercy and a heavenly home for me Prov 3:33 & John 14:2

The symbolism of a shepherd is key here. God used shepherds to save his people:

~ Moses

~ Joseph

~ David

A shepherd guides his sheep, and they come to know his voice John 10:4 and obey. When they sleep at night, the shepherd would move them into a cave and sleep at the mouth or door John 10:9 of the cave to protect them. If evil comes, the shepherd would protect his sheep and even give his life John 10:11 for his sheep.

Jesus is our Good Shepherd, who has already given His life for us, that we may hear His voice and obey, and He will lead us to the Promised Land of heaven!!!

Mar 5 (1 Sam 22; Psa 57, 142)

1st Samuel 22

(v.1) David has escaped to the cave of Adullam. He will use this cave as a place of refuge a few times. In the Bible, caves served the people in many ways:

~ to bury the dead in (Abraham, Sarah, etc)

~ to find shelter from the weather

~ to pray (Elijah)

~ to hide (David, five kings of Joshua)

A cave can be anything in our lives...a place where we are alone with God. I could be our bedroom, our car, or a solitary place in the woods. When we are alone with God, that's when He speaks to us the most clearly.

But on the other hand, as Jon Courson's Commentary points out, caves can be places of darkness and discomfort. We often call these times in our lives as "storms" but caves can be the same thing. However, as Paul says in Rom 5:3-5, we don't grow near as much in comfort, as we do in times of discomfort.

(v.2) All these men who have nothing to give but their devotion to David remind me of us with Jesus. David the shepherd takes them in for his purposes, much like Jesus our Good Shepherd takes us in for His purposes!

(v.3) Even though David is not surrounded at the time, why does he want his mother and father to stay in Moab? Perhaps it's because David's great-grandmother was Ruth, who was a Moabite. David must have felt that the Moabites would treat his family well under the circumstances.

(v.18) The men of Saul would not kill the priest for helping David. But this other shepherd, Doeg, was willing to kill everyone in the city of Nob as well. I remind my kids that Jesus warned us of a bad shepherd that would deceive and kill. This shepherd is an example and type of the one to come. (Zech 11:17)

(vv.22-23) David realizes that he was the reason the priests and the city of Nob was destroyed by the sword. At the time, David thought he was being clever in his act of insanity, but for every action there is a reaction. David learned this the hard way. I point this out to my kids and stress that all we do has meaning to God and those around us.

Psalm 57

David wrote this psalm while in the cave of Adullam. So here was David, in a dark cave, hiding from death. Normally, we would be crying and fearful, but David writes a song of praise to God!

This is another example of how God works in us...when we are feeling helpless, we can turn to the One who has the power to help us. I read James 1:1 to my kids to remind them of this.

Psalm 142

David is crying out to God for protection and guidance...we all need to do this daily! We have many trials and problems to deal with, but with God in charge of our lives, we can leave those problems at the cross, and He will deal with them!

Feb 28 (1 Sam 17)

1st Samuel 17

The Philistine army is on one hill, and the Israeli army is on the opposite hill. Goliath comes down to the valley between them, and taunts the men of Saul's army, and they hide in fear. It's no wonder...remember, a cubit is about 18 inches (measured from your elbow to the tip of your fingers). If Goliath was over six cubits, then he was at least 10 feet tall! And we know Goliath wasn't a skinny guy...the armor, helmet and spear he carried were very heavy...his strength must have exceeded at least three men!

So here is this young shepherd boy, who was only supposed to play the harp for the king to have his "bad spirits" go away. As we've already seen, God uses the weakest and least likely people to do great things! I stress this with my kids, since everyone has talents and limitations. But with God, we are strong!

All the books of the Bible relate to each other, and tell the same story...God's glory and plan of redemption for all of us! If we recall in Genesis 6:4, there were mysterious giants who were "mighty men of renown" and of great strength. There are different opinions as to what these giants were (descendants of Seth, or hybrid offspring of the Nephilim). I think the latter makes more sense, since we see in 1 Chr 20:6-8 that these giants were not only huge, but they had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot. This is a good example of what an abnormal union between angel and man would do.

(v.29) We as Christians and ambassadors of Christ, we are to be loving and kind. But God does call us to defend His name and especially His Word. Here, David is outraged that this Goliath is taunting and blaspheming the LORD, and no one will do anything about it! He utters a classic question:

"Is there not a cause?"

David knows that evil will win if good people don't stand up to them. He is given Saul's armor and sword, but they don't fit him. This is equivalent to the gifts of the Spirit...we all have our talents from the LORD, and if we try to do things that He hasn't gifted us with, we aren't successful. David knew this, and he went with what he was good at...the slingshot. As a shepherd, he used it to ward off wolves, lions and bears.

So with faith that God will have him slay Goliath, he goes to the river and gets five smooth stones for his slingshot. Why five stones? Why not just one, or ten? We don't know for sure, but 2 Sam 21:20 and 1 Chr 20:6-8 tell us that Goliath had four brothers! Perhaps David was determined to kill all five giants that day!

This is a lesson to us all...we can face our "giants" in life with God on our side!

Feb 27 (1 Sam 15-16)

1st Samuel 15

This is an important chapter for many reasons. First of all, God directed Saul to kill every man, woman, child and all livestock of the Amalekites because they fought against Moses and God's people when they were leaving Egypt (Deut 25:17-19).

Also, they had remnants of the giants with them, and God wanted those satanic hybrids to be destroyed. This is the main reason for killing all the people, instead of just the men. There was an evil culture in those people, both in their blood, and in their customs. They were pagan and satanic, and God didn't want them to influence His people away from Him. My kids ask, "Couldn't God control that?" I tell them He would've, but He did give us free will, so in order for the Jews to truly follow Him, they needed to obey and strive to be holy.

God has His reasons and purposes, and if we look into this, we catch a glimpse of why God wanted Agag and his people destroyed. We will see later, that the Amalekites took credit for the death of Saul, and during the time of Esther, Haman was a descendant of Agag. Haman killed many Jews and wanted to kill all of them.

(v.11) Much like in Gen 6:6, God was saddened by His people. He so wanted them (and wants us now) to love and follow Him. Samuel was sad as well, and we see here that Samuel actually loved Saul.

(v.13) Saul digs his own grave by building a monument for himself, and telling Samuel that the reason he got the livestock, was to offer to God!

(vv.15,21) I take notice with my kids that Saul, when speaking to Samuel, referred to God as Samuel's God...not "our God." This is quite telling of Saul's spirit. He went along with things, but he truly didn't believe in God. We can all think of friends and family who are like Saul. They may go to church, but there is no intimacy with God and passion that comes from one who is born-again.

(v.22) This is very telling to all of us...God wants us to live for Him by His commandments, than rather live a worldly life and go through the confessions and rituals without repentance. God forgives if we repent...He doesn't forgive before we repent.

This is another opportunity to teach my kids the meaning of repentance. It doesn't mean that you feel bad, and ask for forgiveness. It is a literal turning your back on your worldly actions of the past, and facing God again. Repentance is returning to God.

If there is a lifestyle or sin that keeps us stumbling, then we just can't feel bad and do it again thinking that God will forgive. He will forgive, but only if we change and turn away from that sinful lifestyle or deed.

I remind my kids that we all stumble back into our old ways now and again, but it will happen less frequently, and will not control us if we have His Spirit in us.

(v.33) This is how bad it got...a priest, Samuel, had to do the job king Saul should have done. Samuel shows an example of righteous anger here, and obeys God.

1st Samuel 16

(v.1) Samuel mourned for Saul, but God tells him that He has a true king to rule over His people. Jesse is a grandson of Boaz, and a descendant of Judah. As Jacob prophesied in Gen 49:10, the kings shall rule from the tribe of Judah. Jesus is to be in this line of kings.

(v.4) Along with Micah 5:2, we see that Bethlehem is the little town that would produce two kings...the first David, and then the King of Kings, Jesus!

Once again, God uses the little things and little people for big purposes! The firstborn status was given to the youngest of the sons, David. Like Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses...God uses the least likely sons to do great things.

I love how both Moses and David were shepherds...they both are types of Christ...our Great Shepherd.

(v.14) Here we see that God's Spirit left Saul...what a tragic thing to read! In the OT, God had not sent His Spirit to indwell amongst believers, but to come upon them. His Spirit was done with Saul, and never again came upon him...how sad and tragic.

(v.21) David knew that God was going to make him king, but he still showed respect and love for Saul...the current king. This is a great example to us today...we may have a boss, a politician or some other authority that we don't like, but we are still to respect and obey all that God puts into authority.

Jan 19 (Exodus 1-2)

The word Exodus means "exit" or "way out" in Hebrew. This book is also written by Moses, but unlike in Genesis where he wrote down what God told him happened before he lived, here, Moses is documenting his life. I point out to my kids that it will be very interesting and telling when Moses writes down his own failures...for millions to read in the future! I point out that if Moses made the five books of the Torah up, he would have definitely deleted the parts where he lost his temper and looked vulnerable, but it was the Holy Spirit who told Moses to write these five books of the Torah.

Moses lived about 400 years after Abraham, and we left Genesis with Joseph dying in Egypt, where the family of Abraham thrived in the land given to them by the Pharaoh.

Exodus 1

However, in (v.8) we see that there was a new king, and he didn't like the family of Jacob. Scholars believe this Pharaoh was not Egyptian, but Assyrian (Isaiah 52:4). This is a prelude to the Assyrian described as the Anti-Christ in (Micah 5).

I like to remind my kids of Genesis 12, where God says He will bless those that bless Israel, and in (v.17) we see the midwives, who feared (respected in awe) God, were blessed because they spared the Isreali sons.

Exodus 2

Moses is a descendant of the tribe of Levi...this tribe will produce the line of priests for Israel.

As with the midwives, we see the hand of God at work with Moses in the basket (ark) in the river. I point out a couple of things here:

~ Isn't it odd that the daughter of the man who orders the murder of all Jewish sons, takes one into the very house of that man? My kids like to talk about how that all worked out in that household!!!

~ We see the second time God saves His people through water:

~ The ark of Noah in the flood
~ The ark (basket) of Moses in the river
~ The whole nation of Israel in the Red Sea fleeing from Pharaoh

Moses flees the Pharaoh to go into the mountains and fields of Midian. Scholars locate Midian to be in what we call today, Saudi Arabia...not Egypt.

We also see a parallel between Moses and Jesus:

~ In defense and leadership of Israel, the people would reject Him the first time

~ After being rejected, he marries a Gentile Bride (the Church)

~ He comes back again with His Bride and becomes their Deliverer

Another thing my kids like, is the subject of wells. As expected, in arid areas, wells and places of water were common gathering places. We like to explore the importance of wells:

~ Isaac (through Eliezer) met his Gentile Bride at a well
~ Moses met his Gentile Bride at a well
~ Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at a well, and she proclaims who He is