Considering the Bible

Let Me Tell You a Story – Priorities

2026-11-03
I was driving to work the other morning when the following passage was delivered through the car speakers.

Exodus 32:25 And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to the derision of their enemies),
Exodus 32:26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the LORD’s side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him.
Exodus 32:27 And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’”
Exodus 32:28 And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell.
Exodus 32:29 And Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for the service of the LORD, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.”

For some context, this passage speaks of the time Aaron “allowed” a calf to come out of the fire, and he had “allowed” the people of God to break loose in idolatrous worship.

Upon hearing of this idol worship, God was ticked. He was about to destroy the people He had rescued from the Egyptians.

Exodus 32:10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”

Moses implored the Lord not to destroy the newly established nation, and was successful in averting a richly deserved judgement. Moses reminded the Lord of His promise to the patriarch’s, and the fury of the Lord was averted. This truth is also applicable today, for we need to be reminded daily, that we must not depend on our works or efforts, but on the promise of God in Christ.

Now when Moses made it down the mountain, and saw what was going on, he blew a gasket!

Exodus 32:19 And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.

He had advocated for the people of God in front of God, but once he saw the condition of the people, all bets were off. And this is where we enter the passage this morning.

As Moses enters the camp, he seeks those who are on the Lord’s side, with the Levites rallying to Moses. He then arms the priests with swords, and commands them to go kill their brothers, companions and neighbors.

For some reason, over the 45 years of reading the Word, this passage had never hit home like it did that morning. Moses was telling the religiously faithful to kill their relatives, their friends and their neighbors.

Consider this command on the Levites! The Levites would have to count the cost of being on the Lord’s side, for they would be using a sword against those they were nearest to. Moses directs them to those they knew, not strangers. This action would leave a permanent impression of the Levites ultimate devotion to the Lord, beyond any family or loved ones within the nation.

When they returned to Moses, he described the extent of their devotion, and the resultant consecration they underwent by their actions.

Exodus 32:29 And Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for the service of the LORD, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.”

Initially, when I heard this, I found confusion entering my thinking.

I have been hearing the message of loving others, of giving in service to those who are in my midst. The Word speaks of loving my neighbor as I love myself. Throughout the New Testament, the Word reminds us to love one another, to serve one another, to sacrifice for the brother or sister.

How critical is it to lay down our lives for our friends? Is this not the Christian life, to consider others more significant than ourselves? I heard Paul as I thought through this conundrum.

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Hours later, in the cool on the evening, as I mentioned my reading of the morning to my wife, and as I voiced my thoughts out l, it suddenly occurred to me.

This is the call of God on each of us! Let me explain.

I have been mixing up the priorities we are to maintain in our lives with the outflow of that priority.

What is the tantamount priority of the believer?

Matthew 10:37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Our top priority in life is to put God first, even over the closest of our friends, siblings, children and spouse. The Levites, through bloodshed, established, or confirmed their priority that day.

For us in the Body of Christ, this is no license to kill those who chew gum, smoke or go dancing! The outflow of our priority of placing God first in our lives is that we serve and love our enemies. We do not place them before God in our devotion, but out of that devotion to the Savior, we sacrifice for them, as He sacrificed for His enemies.

Let us remember our priorities!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion

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What Jesus Probably Didn’t Mean –John 16:16-17

2026-11-02
Matthew 16:16-17 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

Nowadays, to be my flesh and blood is to be of my biological family. My children are my flesh and blood. My parents and grandparents are my flesh and blood.

There is another way we use flesh and blood, and that is in the general sense of humanity. There is no physical lineage between my wife and I, so when I speak of her being of flesh and blood, I may mean it generally as her being a part of my family, but more often it may be understood that she is of the same species, of Adam. This understanding brings with it the idea of physical limitations, or one who is prone to errors.

A typical usage may be as

“But I am only flesh and blood”, communicating that no one should expect perfection from me. (An accurate estimation if I may say so!)

When the Lord speaks of flesh and blood, the idea of frailty, or fallibility may be included, but in this case, Jesus seems to indicate that “the Lord was “flesh and blood” was describing a source for the revelation he had received, not simply a description of Peter’s blood lineage, or the general moral strength of humanity.

When Peter blurted out this amazing truth, Jesus wanted to clarify that Peter had no credit in developing this truth, understanding this truth, or enunciating this truth.

This truth was sourced from the Father above. The implication is that flesh and blood could not produce this truth, that flesh and blood is limited in spiritual understanding, and that flesh and blood does not have the capacity to provide enlightenment regarding who the Messiah is.

Jesus wasn’t speaking of Peter’s bloodline, but may have breached the idea of flesh and blood being fallible. I think the core message was that flesh and blood was not the source of revelation. The Father revealed Jesus to Peter, not as a man that was a good teacher, but the very Messiah promised of old.

Peter may have thought he had figgered it out. Jesus wanted to make sure he understood that he was not responsible for developing or finding this truth on his own abilities.

The truth came from the Father.

It is as such today, for if we understand the Person of the Lord Jesus, it is because the Father is revealing Him to us through the Spirit of God, and not by some intellectual effort or ability. As flesh and blood, we just can’t compete, and we would do well to accept that fact. The better approach is, to ask the Father to reveal the Son in the Word for our good.

I understand He loves to reveal the Son!
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1 Thessalonian Bits – 5:5

2026-11-01
A little while ago, I produced a verse by verse series in Philippians. I really enjoyed that exercise and have been wondering if I should take on another book. Well it turns out that 1 Thessalonians is the victim of my machinations, and hopefully, the thoughts produced by this fantastic book will edify and encourage the reader.

As with Philippians I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.

1 Thessalonians 5:5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.

In our last post, we considered what believers aren’t. We aren’t in darkness. We aren’t as those who are in darkness, blinded to the truth of God, and of His mercy and kindness to us in Jesus the Messiah. We aren’t in darkness.

Now if verse 5 had not been written, my first thought would be that Paul is going to refer to Jesus as the Light of the World, and that since we know Him, we have light, and can see reality as opposed to simply making assumptions, guesses or estimations about life on this earth. What a horrible condition to depend of guesses!

John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

But Paul wrote our verse this morning. My assumptions of where he was going are worthless, and we find that he is speaking of believers – you and me – being the light.

After a few moments considering this statement, the statement begins to reveal in a small way, the genius of Paul, the pastoral heart of Paul, the desire of Paul to see his people walk properly. By identifying the believers as light themselves, Paul is assigning personal responsibility to each believer to transmit light.

Yes, Paul was much like his Master, for the Lord Himself, though He spoke of being the Light of the World, He also looked at His disciples and declared the very same message Paul has to the Thessalonians.

Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world….

But consider one more point. Even with the Lord’s declaration of being the Light of the World, He also spoke of the limitations of this claim. When He ascended into heaven, His direct influence was also relocated to the heavens.

John 9:5 ESV – As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Ok – Final exam time.

Who is the light of the world today?
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Names of God – HIM WHO LIVES FOREVER AND EVER – 322

2026-10-31
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

HIM WHO LIVES FOREVER AND EVER

Revelation 10:6 and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay,

John is recounting his vision of the mighty angel who will eventually provide him a message he cannot reveal and a book that was sweet to his mouth but bitter to his stomach.

And this angel, as he is standing on the land and the sea, raises his hand to heaven and swears by God. It is the name of God that we are considering this morning that deserves a few moments reflection, for the name speaks of the Lords eternality, His existence beyond time. Yes, John speaks of the Lord as One who lives for ever and ever, but it is wise to understand that John is communicating a truth in a way we can understand.

Let me ask you something. Define eternity, and don’t use the terms eternity or infinity. Forget defining it – try to understand the concept of eternity.

This exercise of trying to understand the concept or truth of eternity is a struggle I entered years back, and found no meaningful success but simply more questions, more bewilderment, and eventually a surrender to the unknowableness of the God we serve. (A post of my sparse findings may be found at A Study of Eternal / Everlasting)

Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, ….

He inhabits eternity, and though He enters His created world of time – remember – time is a created “thing” – His throne is in eternity, and His person belongs in the everlasting.

So to recap regarding the name of God this morning, the Mighty Angel swears by the God of eternity, and the message that is sworn to relates to the time of the end.

Revelation 10:7 but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.

The days of the trumpet, and the fulfillment of the mystery of God would be accomplished at a certain time. The time would come. The end was a dated occurrence.

Our God is HIM WHO LIVES FOREVER AND EVER, who is outside of time, Who knows the past, the present and the future, and Who provides us knowledge of His will for our comfort, encouragement and growth.

HIM WHO LIVES FOREVER AND EVER is One Who is beyond our wildest imaginations, existing in a world we know nothing of (yet) and has entered our world to bring about a salvation for rebels and sinners.

It is impossible to understand His Person or His place of residence. It is also impossible to understand His pursuit of us. But let us not be sidetracked. Understanding isn’t the issue. Accepting the truth of an Ultimate Being, God in the eternities, trusting in His Savior, the Crucified One, and following is the issue.

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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Let Me Tell You a Story – The Fear I Hate

2026-10-30
As some may know, my wife and I have a weekend project and as I tell a story, I sometimes relate lessons of life I experience on the farm.

As we are retiring, we have taken on a project of expanding a cabin in the woods for our retirement home. Currently we have built an addition on the cabin, and are in the process of building the shell for a 500 sf “tiny home” for those who may need shelter in the future. (I’m thinking of you Katy.)

I tell you that because this story is directly linked to the tiny home construction.

It was a few months ago, when my wife and I were discussing the design for the tiny home that she latched on the idea of a loft in the shelter. I thought it was brilliant and began to draw up plans for the floorplan and wall elevations.

Back in May, the foundation was put in, floor beams and joists came along soon after. Floor decking took a bit of time, but it is good shape now. As for the walls, since it is only my wife and I out here, we typically build the wall on the floor, sheathe it and then lift it in place. First floor under the loft was a bit of a challenge, especially when we decided we could lift a 20′ wall. Twelve foot side walls were a breeze, and the floor joists for the loft were completed. Easy peasey.

Oh, by the way, did I mention I had a fear of heights? Even on the first floor, with the one corner being a mere three foot off of grade, my stomach flipped as I got within the a few feet of the edge. Now I got to lay flooring on joists that are eleven feet above ground. Let me tell you that there was a lot of nailing while on my stomach!

Next came the loft walls, which of course, we built on the loft floor. Remember the loft floor? That floor which is eleven feet above the terra firma? Again, the 20 foot wall for the loft was lifted, pinned and braced in place, all the while my gut running laps, and my mind swirling. The fear was irrational. It took hold of my mind and body. Periods of sweating like a pig washed over me. It was as if someone was pouring buckets of anxiety over my head.

This morning, my wife and I were putting up the last side wall on the loft, and a 20 minute job turned into 3 hours of avoidance, distractions, excuses and delays. Once we got on the loft floor, and began to lift the wall, I was shaking like a leaf. Eventually, we pinned the wall to the back, pinned the plate to the floor and braced the wall.

During this fiasco of fear, I let it out.

“I hate this fear”.

It is irrational, ridiculous, debilitating and all consuming. And very real.

During my 3 hours of avoiding the task I feared, I asked for courage (and safety) to complete this task. And then I simply began to do it. Did the fear disappear? Not at all. I described the stress I entered into earlier. Did the Lord forsake me in this prayer? Not at all. He gave me enough strength to match the fear, and accomplish the task.

Two take aways.

Courage and Fear

Fear can be a crippling condition. And for many of my days on this earth, I thought of courage as being the opposite of fear, but I am not convinced anymore. Of course in those areas where we are placed in a position to preach, with the Spirit of God in control, the fear is replaced by the boldness He provides.

At other times, when day to day fears come up, courage is the strength to exist despite the fear, even though the fear seems so dominant and pervasive. Almost paralyzing.

Compassion and Fear

As my dear wife has reminded me, we each have our fears, and many of them are irrational but very real to the victim. Her fears are completely different than mine. This “lofty” experience has humbled me, and hopefully provided my with one more ounce of compassion for those who confess of a fear they endure, and that I don’t suffer from.

My friends, we are a broken people, laden down with fears and worries and envies and grumblings and gossips and hatred and …. You get the idea.

To walk with the Lord is to find strength in our weakness, to find courage though the fear is rearing it’s massive head.

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion

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Prayers of an ol’ fool – Covid Courage

2026-10-29
Psalm 34:6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.

As many who follow may know, I have had the privilege to know the Lord for over 40 years. During those decades, He has proved Himself to be a faithful, kind and loving Savior. And as I have learned to lean on Jesus, He has shown Himself to be a merciful Savior, never wavering, even in some very dark times.

This topical series will try to provide a snapshot of an ol’ fools prayers, the weakness and selfishness of his prayers, and the ever increasing goodness of God in His responses the those prayers.

I hope my witness to the goodness and faithfulness of God will be an encouragement to those reading, and will spur us all on to a deeper, more consistent time of being in the Lord’s presence.

Please visit with me as I tell the story of a faithful God and His care for an ol’ fool. Though David considered himself a poor man, I freely admit, I am just an “ol’ fool” looking to the Lord.

covid courage

My son called his mom and I in late 2019, telling us of a new disease that had broke out in China, and that it was going to become a world shattering pandemic the likes of which the modern had never experienced. Now my son is not one taken to speculation or wild imagination, so both my wife and I took the news seriously.

As the pandemic grew, it seemed to become a media frenzy, and the reaction of those in power also seemed to reveal a desire to control as opposed to protect. But this general feeling was not apparent to us in the early stages. The initial attitude we took was that this would have a major impact on our family.

And we prayed.

Reports became regular that the Covid 19 disease was the culprit of millions of people dying throughout the world. No medical intervention could be provided those struck by the Covid 19 virus, and massive quarantines were implemented. Initial government lock downs of mom and pop stores were required, and need to work designations were distributed to the population. Both my wife and I were allowed to continue work, and for that were were thankful.

But as the months passed, something seemed off. At one point, my wife and I viewed a commercial where a government leader offered a free hamburger to those who would take the miracle healing vaccine. What? Another report spoke of free “lap dances” for those who would take the vaccine. I kid you not! What in the world is going on? Yet the march to get everyone vaccinated was passionate, and seemingly all consuming.

Now, what ever you think was going on, I will leave to you, but the prayer that I want to witness of is the prayer I shot up when my boss came into my office and told me I would be required to take the shot if I was to remain working.

I want to admit that particular prayer was the quickest, shortest prayer I think I have ever lifted to the King. Give me courage.

I simply told him I will not take the vaccine.

My wife and I had chatted about this very potential challenge and we agreed that the Lord is good, that He has always protected us, and that the vaccine had too many unknowns to be considered safe.

Dang, the last vaccine my family had taken was over 40 years ago in Canada. We are a family that considers the occasional cold or virus caught can be fought off with the immunity system the Lord has provided us.

Back to my story though. My boss, a good man, was under pressure, and came back to my office a couple of times with sound, logical, arguments that from his position made sense. The Lord provided the courage and I continued to politely decliine.

The Lord protected my position, and I continue working in the same office, for which we are very thankful.

Regarding the Covid 19, it was a year and a half later, after the birth of little Theodore, my 9th grandchild, that I fell sick with the Covid. I sincerely believe it was the visit to the hospital that provided my contact with the virus.

This was no simple cold or virus. I was out sick for two weeks, lost close to 30 pounds, and was taken care of my wife, who studied and researched possible treatments.

In the end, the Lord provided courage to accept a possible unemployment due to convictions, and the strength of body to fight off a terrible virus. For all His mercies, I want to thank Him and praise Him for His goodness.

By the way, I found that 30 pounds again.

Thanks for joining and Considering The Bible with me. Your thoughts are always welcome, and I look forward to hearing of the faithfulness of God in your lives.
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1 Thessalonian Bits – 5:4

2026-10-28
A little while ago, I produced a verse by verse series in Philippians. I really enjoyed that exercise and have been wondering if I should take on another book. Well it turns out that 1 Thessalonians is the victim of my machinations, and hopefully, the thoughts produced by this fantastic book will edify and encourage the reader.

As with Philippians I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.

1 Thessalonians 5:4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.

In our previous post, we tried to understand the metaphor Paul uses of the woman in labor and I suggested two conditions for those related to a woman in labor. The end result of a woman’s labor – that is a child being born – is both anticipated and inevitable. Anticipated by the woman in labor much more passionately than the old husband, but that is beside the point!

For our passage this morning, Paul speaks his message directly to the believers, reminding them that they are not in darkness, as those outside of the church are. In our verse this morning, we have the beginning of Paul’s description of who these believers are. In our next verse, we will see the positive description, but for our verse this morning, Paul provides what these believer are not.

They are not in darkness.

Darkness can come about in various ways.
- One born blind has only experienced darkness.
- Those with perfect eyesight experience a blindness, or darkness (to a degree) every 24 hours.
Both of these conditions produce an ignorance of the surroundings due to the darkness each experience.

Paul is not referring to a physical blindness though. Yet the similarities of spiritual darkness carries over into the believers life.

We all were born blind, in a darkness that was common, and easily accepted. We knew no better. And there were some who sought to keep it that way.

2 Corinthians 4:4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Paul is specific in defining the light we were provided while in darkness, and as believers, our eyes have been opened, the light has been provided, and we can now see. Ignorance of our surroundings has instantly evaporated and we are able to begin comprehending the true nature of our surroundings, our situation in this life.

Yet there is a darkness that even those with perfect eyesight can experience. It is that darkness that is imposed on us by an obstruction of light, possibly obscuring our surroundings. That is a condition that some, if not all believers, sometimes experience. I confess that though the Lord has provided this ol saint light and the sight to see it, I retain an ignorance that is somewhat astounding at times. (The paradoxes of being a Christian!)

Yet Paul tells us we are not in darkness.

Even at times when we don’t quite understand the specific will of God for our lives, we are not in darkness. We know who the Savior is, that He is coming back, and that He has rescued us from our sin, and will soon rescue us from this fallen world.

That light alone is blinding, and has opened our eyes. But Paul has more than that to teach us in our next verse.

Hope to “see” you then.
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Names of God – HIM WHO IS TO BE FEARED – 321

2026-10-27
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

HIM WHO IS TO BE FEARED

Psalm 76:11 Make your vows to the LORD your God and perform them; let all around him bring gifts to him who is to be feared,

There are many Hebrew words in the Old Testament that translate to fear in the English Bible. As a matter of fact, there are 25 Hebrew words interspersed throughout the Old Testament that are translated as fear.

So when we try to understand an Old Testament authors use of the general term of fear, we have a range of understandings that may apply.

Everything from an understanding of awe and dismayal, through to trembling and horror.

For our name this morning, “Him who is to be feared”, we find the Hebrew word מוֹרָא môwrâʼ. This word typically speaks of a dread, terror or a terribleness.

Just a couple verses earlier, the Psalmist uses a different word for fear.

Psalm 76:7 But you, you are to be feared! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused?

This term is the Hebrew word יָרֵא yârêʼ. It also speaks of a dread, but tends to communicate an awe inspiring act that brings fear.

Why the word study Carl?

Well my friend, I think the Psalmist is making a point that our God is to be feared. The background to this psalm is generally associated with the great deliverance of the City of Jerusalem from the Assyrian attack, where the Angel of the Lord swept through the Assyrian forces one night and killed 185,000 soldiers.

That is awe inspiring. It is also fear inducing! There is a power, better described as the All Powerful God that can wipe out close to 200,000 soldiers during the night. Consider that for a moment.

If those in the City of Jerusalem were not in a right relationship with this power, this All Powerful God, what makes them think they are safe? Yes, they are in covenant with God, but would you not agree that the Assyrian army coming this close to capturing the nation is a sign of the nation’s rebellion against this All Powerful Person?

Remember the Psalmist questions who can stand before the Him, implying that no one can stand before Him.

Psalm 76:7b ..Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused

As believers, we know this too well, for our sins and rebellion caused us to become enemies to Him, and our old man is continually raging against Him.

So how can we explain the fear of dread, rightly described for those who have no right to stand before Him, and then hear the Psalmist speak of those “around Him” bringing gifts to Him.

…..let all around him bring gifts to him who is to be feared.

Is He to be feared, with the result being our hiding and running from such a fearful, dreadful powerful God? Or is there a place of safety that provides us the opportunity to be “around Him”

My friends, there is One who is worthy, One who can stand before God, One who is “around HIM WHO IS TO BE FEARED”.

His name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the God Man, in heaven for us before the throne. There is no other, for He is our only Hope. In Him is life, and even the most vile sinner can approach Him, for His arms are wide open for all.

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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Conditional Security – Matthew 10:24-28

2026-10-26
Matthew 10:24 A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.
Matthew 10:25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.
Matthew 10:26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
Matthew 10:27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

At first glance, with a cursory review of the Scripture provided, my reader may be concluding that Carl is simply not paying attention. Do you even know what you are talking about Carl? This passage has nothing to do with conditional security Carl, but more with the topic of how those outside of the church will treat His followers, and the correct Person the disciples are to fear.

That may be accurate.

Or the teaching may be multileveled, providing some truth that is applicable to this subject. What I would like to offer my reader is to provide an edited passage, following the Lord’s teaching, trying to identify who He is referring to in our passage this morning. For the sake of this exercise, any inserts I add to the passage will be italicized.

Matthew 10:24 A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.
Matthew 10:25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they (those outside the church) have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they (those outside the church) malign those (disciples/servants) of his household.
Matthew 10:26 “So have no fear of them (those outside the church), for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
Matthew 10:27 What I tell you (disciples/servants) in the dark, say in the light, and what you (disciples/servants) hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those (those outside the church) who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him (GOD) who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Now as we read through this passage, with the inserts as seem obvious to me, we find that Jesus is speaking towards His disciples of the correct person to place their fear in. God alone is the One to fear. But I find it curious that the Lord defines the God whom the disciples are to fear as the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Of course Jesus may be speaking to the disciples/servants of the fate of those outside the church. This is a possible interpretation, especially if we are committed to a once saved always saved position.

But I wonder. Might He be speaking of the fear of God to the disciples as a possible reality for them? Might this reference to the destruction of both body and soul in hell be directed to the believer who may bow out, may walk away, may apostacize?

No – of course not Carl – You don’t know what you are talking about.

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Pay for Pew – 2 Chronicles 31:5-6

2026-10-25
As believers, we are called by God to follow after Jesus in all our actions and attitudes. How we relate to money in included in our following after Him.

As mentioned in my introduction to this series, my family and I have been impacted a number of times in our church attendance by what appears to be the pull of money on church leadership. During our Christian pilgrimage, a number of churches, through thier leadership, have made decisions that directly impacted our status within the body of believers.

Some of these instances provided us reason to dig into the Word, to find correction in our own personal relationship to money, to try to understand the wisdom of a church leader’s decision, and in the end to apply God’s will for our own finances.

Little did we know the tremendously corrosive power the love of money has over our own hearts, and by extrapolation, the church as a whole. This should not surprise the believer for Paul provided a harsh truth on this topic.

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Alternately, the writer of Hebrews also provided no better command, (and for some believer’s no harder command) than found in Hebrews 13.

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Many of our experiences have included the topic of tithing in the church. Personally, our denominational background considers tithing to be Biblically mandated on the New Testament believer. I understand many denominations consider tithing to be an important commmittment of the believers relationship to the church body.

Let’s take a look at this topic, and consider each passage that contains a reference to tithing.

This post will consider 2 Chronicles 31:5-6

2 Chronicles 31:5 – As soon as the command was spread abroad, the people of Israel gave in abundance the firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field. And they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything.
2 Chronicles 31:6 – And the people of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of cattle and sheep, and the tithe of the dedicated things that had been dedicated to the LORD their God, and laid them in heaps.

From the time of Moses, which we considered in our last post, until the time of Hezekiah, as we read in our passage this morning, we do not find any reference to the tithe in the life of the nation of Israel.

Even during the times of David, the tithe is conspicuously absent in any description of the nations life, or any reiteration of the command to tithe. Out of this general observation, it would be unfair to think the tithe completely disappeared out of the life of the faithful Israelite. After all, it is a common truth that the Lord has continued a remnant throughout the ages, even in the most dire apostacy of the surrounding culture.

But the fact remains, the Scripture does not provide any teaching regarding tithing between Deuteronomy and 2 Chronicles. That is an astounding thousand years between Moses to Hezekiah. One thousand years!

And when we next see the topic of the tithe come up in the Scripture, it is during Hezekiah’s re-establishment of the Passover, and the restoration of the priestly support through the tithe. (Maybe some of the faithful were not as faithful as required for supporting the priests.)

Hezekiah couldn’t wait to reestablish the Passover, for as soon as he ascended to the throne, he sent out invitations to the norther tribes to join in the celebrations. He provided 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for the celebrations. In his fervor to obey the Lord in keeping the Passover, he allowed the celebration to occur one month after the defined time commanded, instead of waiting the required 11 months. And when those of the northern tribes arrived, they did not have time to perform the ritual cleansing to partake. Hezekiah prayed for them, and they were forgiven.

I provide this quick snapshot of Hezekiah to describe the spiritual health of this king. He was seeking God with a passion, and his passion initiated a response from the people.
- the people of Israel gave in abundance
- they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything.
- Those who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of cattle and sheep,
- Those who lived in the cities of Judah brought in the tithe of the dedicated things that had been dedicated to the LORD their God,
Amazing.

Hezekiah’s command to obey the Passover brought a religious system that was suffering from a lack of priestly support, to a vibrantly supported system, even to the point where the goods brought in were “laid in heaps”. The image I see in my mind is that so much was brought in by the people, that an orderly receiving of the goods were abandoned, and the people simply shoved the goods into piles!

The people tithed. Abundantly. Piling up goods that could not be contained.

It is instructive that each of the tithes were livestock or the fruit of the field. Even those in the cities of Judah brought the tithe of cattle and dedicated things to the celebration. And it is also good to see that this expression of worship to the God of Israel included goods beyond the tithe. The passage speaks of the people giving in abundance, and then speaks of the tithe. These people were ripe for revival, and the giving of tithes was the outgrowth of the three following experiences.

The experience of Joy in Obedience

2 Chronicles 30:23 Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast for another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with gladness.
2 Chronicles 30:26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.

Hezekiah oversaw a people who came together in obeying the Lord’s command of keeping the Passover. Upon this obedience, great joy broke out, and the people didn’t want it to end.

The Experience of Tearing down idols

After this Passover celebration, the nation entered a period of idol destruction. This is the natural outgrowth of meeting the true God. After worshipping the true God, all idols appear repulsive, for they truly are worthless waste of time, effort and devotion, false gods who destroy a those committed to them.

The people spread out and destroyed the idols.

2 Chronicles 31:1 Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and broke down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, and in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the people of Israel returned to their cities, every man to his possession.

The experience of Listening to a Godly Leader

After the celebration of the Passover, remembering the goodness of God in their deliverance, and after the pulling down of the idols, proving they had understood the goodness and mercy of the Lord, at that time, the people listened to the command of the godly King in relation to tithing. The result? They gladly gave, even in abundance, in their tithing and in their offerings, as an expression of their worship of the God of Israel.

This is as it should be. Any giving to the Lord is to be an expression of how we understand the Lord of Glory, and not be degraded to a religious act of compulsion, or the reluctant sacrifice of a soul seeking to pay off a deity.

He is so much more than some god we can pay off. He is the Lord of Glory who suffered for our salvation. He is worthy of our devotion, even in the manner of our giving.

Thanks for joining and Considering The Bible with me. Your thoughts are always welcome, and I look forward to hearing of the faithfulness of God in your lives.
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Jesus in the Old Testament – Daniel – 24

2026-10-24
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

Daniel

Fate of the Enemies Families

Daniel 6:24 And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions–they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

Matthew 27:25 And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”

Luke 21:20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.
Luke 21:22 for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.
Luke 21:23 Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people.

This is a sobering topic, for it speaks of what we may consider an injustice, a judgement falling on those who may not have taken part in any wrongdoing.

For the enemies of Daniel, the judgement was swift. Being related to political counsellors carried with it inherent risks, for the position was linked to the one in authority, and if that authority, the king that is, was assassinated, those associated with him may also fall under judgement.

Given the tendency of family members seeking justice for the death of their elders, it was common for the entire family to be put to death to remove any risk of retaliation on the new king. Such was the risks of one choosing a political life. It wasn’t simply a job to earn a paycheck, but a commitment to a specific king and his family.

Daniel’s enemies did not consider the risk of failure, for they were blinded by envy, and their families suffered the consequence of their treason against the kingdom.

As for the enemies of the Lord, they were so desperate to kill the Messiah, they willingly offered up the lives of their children. This is an incredible window into the desperation of these men who fought against the truth.

Eventually, the offspring of those who sought the Messiah’s death would be swept up into a judgement unimaginable. Yet in the midst of this judgement, the Lord’s mercy was extended for forty years to the descendants of those who hung Him on the cross!

Forty years for the families to consider the death of the Messiah. Forty years for those who heard the stories of a resurrected Savior, to decide to follow or reject. Forty years of miracles, signs, and the witness of many believers for those to get right with God.

Jesus provided a time frame – a generation – for judgement to fall. Even the severe mercy of the Lord allowed judgement to fall on the nation, but for individuals who considered the Messiah’s claims and trusted in Him, they found safety and security when Israel fell. The story goes that just prior to the siege of Jerusalem, the church was directed by God to leave the city. Those who did not know the Lord, and did not trust the apostles message, remained in the city and were doomed to a judgement beyond imagination.

The family members of Daniel’s enemies died due to their relation to the plotter. This was the common practice of a monarchical society, where nations leaders would protect their bloodline by exterminating the enemies bloodline.

The descendants of Jesus’ enemies were provided time, the message of the gospel, miracles, the witness of the apostles and the Spirit of God to decide for Jesus, and to escape the rash and foolish commitments of the Messiah’s enemies.

They did not have to suffer “His blood on them” as the outcome of their parents rash statement. Each could escape the coming judgement on the nation by their faith in the blood of the Crucified One.

Such is the kindness of the Lord, that even as His enemies confessed their commitment to His death by offering up their children, the Lord would look beyond this sinful act and provide salvation to those who would follow Him.

He is good and He is good all the time.

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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Names of God – HIM WHO IS PERFECT IN KNOWLEDGE – 320

2026-10-23
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

HIM WHO IS PERFECT IN KNOWLEDGE

Job 37:16 Do you know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge,

Job has suffered. He has suffered at the hands of man, at the hand of God, and at the hands of his counsellors. At this time, he is being upbraided by Elihu, a young man who has been quiet up until now, but during his discourse with Job, addresses him with counsel that at times rings true.

Our verse this morning is one of the shining examples of Elihu’s wise counsel, for he asks a question to Job, not unlike the Lord does in the final chapters.

Do you know…?

As a matter of fact, when God begins his talk with Job, he continues the very topic of challenging Job about his knowledge of the heavens.

Job 38:33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth?

Let’s be honest about our knowledge.

As men and women in the 21st century, with technology providing massive amounts of facts concerning the physical universe at our fingertips, with the ability to search for facts and figures at the touch of a keyboard, we are being lulled into a feeling of all knowing.

What is actual is that our knowledge is infinitely small.

With the many tools we use to access information, we all should admit that the information we have access to is fraught with error, is outside of us, and is creating a false sense of independence in our lives.

Consider a world without the tools we have access to. We surely should begin to realize that our knowledge is incredibly limited. We also may begin to realize that the so-called knowledge we depend on is factual, cold and limited.

Now don’t get me wrong. The knowledge gained over the centuries through the efforts of men and women toiling in study, experimentation and reflection has provided us a life of tremendous prosperity, ease and temporal blessing. But this knowledge has blindsided us, giving us a confidence that has left the Lord out of the picture.

The knowledge of God is the only truly valuable knowledge each of us may seek, and Elihu has approached Job in a manner that we need to accept. It is a knowledge admittedly that we will never fully attain to, yet in the seeking, we encounter the Creator and Redeemer of all.

Elihu addresses Job in the arena of nature, in the topic of the heavens, even the clouds above. To consider the heavens above us is a worthy effort for all.

As a personal witness, I have recalled two recent instances in my life (Montana & Blue Skies) when the heavens have humbled me, when I have understood in a tiny way, that whatever knowledge I may claim to own is infinitesimally small. And in these humbling times, I found a peace, a comfort in knowing that the One who created all, even the clouds that are full of mystery, (though we can explain them scientifically).

He is the One who is perfect in knowledge. He is the One who created all, and not simply compiled and organized facts, calculating the properties of clouds and their movements. He created all, with purpose and understanding, establishing the laws of nature.

Elihu directs Job to the balancing (or layers) of the clouds, to introduce the “wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge”.

We in the modern age, have an attained knowledge, a knowledge that puffs us up, inflates our ego, and often distracts us from the One who is all knowing. With the Lord, all knowledge is resident in Him, and in this knowledge of all, in this infinite and complete knowledge, He in His understanding and wisdom sought us, rebels against Him, to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Is that a knowledge of God that you have? Is that not a knowledge worthy of seeking?

As Elihu asked Job in our verse this morning,

Do you know of HIM WHO IS PERFECT IN KNOWLEDGE?

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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1 Thessalonian Bits – 5:3

2026-10-22
A little while ago, I produced a verse by verse series in Philippians. I really enjoyed that exercise and have been wondering if I should take on another book. Well it turns out that 1 Thessalonians is the victim of my machinations, and hopefully, the thoughts produced by this fantastic book will edify and encourage the reader.

As with Philippians I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.

1 Thessalonians 5:3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

It was years ago when our family attended a small church just down the road from our home, when a young high school student preacher got the opportunity to speak on a Sunday night service. This church was very good at getting the youth involved with the adults, and for challenging them with out of the box ministry.

This young man, whom I will call Joe, for I forget his name, delivered a message that I have not forgot. In that regard, he was very successful, for how many of us want the message to be more memorable that ourselves?

Nevertheless, he used this verse as a jumping off passage for a topic that was near and dear to him. He wanted each believer to know the Lord was coming back very soon, and this verse was timely, for it was the early 90’s and Russia had shown it’s weakness, the West had won the cold war, and great things were on the horizon.

Surely this was the peace and safety Paul referred to. Surely this was a harbinger of the Lord’s return. I gulped this revelation down like a starving man, having never considered Paul had the 1990’s in mind when he wrote to the Thessalonians in the first century.

As mentioned before, Paul was careful not to identify a time or season, little lone a specific year or decade, but this young man’s heart was burning, and I relished the thought of the Lord’s return.

But in the following days and weeks, I started to consider what Paul was trying to communicate to the Thessalonians. He was talking to a first century church when he said

While people are saying, “There is peace and security,”

What did the Thessalonians hear when Paul mentions “peace and security”? Was Paul saying something to them that we might not catch in the 21st century.

I would suggest he was referring to the Roman propaganda of pax et securitas. The Roman empire promised it’s citizens peace and security through the intimidation and domination of different people groups, strict compliance to the Almighty Caesar and the never ending presence of military power within their society.

It was a promise that had been kept by the empire for decades. The people who trusted in Caesar had reaped the benefits of this worldly peace the empire promised. Might I correct myself when I say the empire did not provide peace, but simply held back destruction and war by their military power.

Nevertheless, when the Day of the Lord comes, so will sudden destruction. Per Paul’s metaphor of a woman in labor, he may have tried to teach his church of two aspects of the Lord’s coming.

Inevitable

His coming will be inevitable, like the birth of a child. When i hear this metaphor, I automatically think of my wife and her labor with each of our kiddos.

When my lovely wife was pregnant with our first child, we did not understand the complete loss of control we had over the delivery. When Josh was to come was when Josh was to come. My dear wifey could not have delayed, put of or ignored the inevitable. How much more powerless will we be at the time of His coming. Nothing will stop His coming!

Anticipated

Some may think this metaphor speaks of the unexpected aspect of His coming, but again, I would relate to the last few weeks of my wife’s days with child.

We witnessed the belly moving, and the early Braxton Hicks contractions, the sudden energy burst, and the eventual burst of water. It was obvious we were on the cusp of one of the greatest events a couple can experience. A child was about to enter this old world.

I would suggest Paul is describing to the Thessalonians the inevitable and properly anticipated Day of the Lord. In this declaration, Paul is clearly revealing that the pax et securitas boasted of by the Caesar, and by many nations today, will be shown to be the farce that it truly is.

Isaiah 48:22 “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.”

I remember Joe and his message, and though I tend to think Paul was primarily speaking locally and of his time, I still love his zeal and excitement. And I will admit that Paul’s message to the Thessalonians is also for us, even in the 21st century.

For there are many who trust in world governments. They trust in the power structures of men who wield earthly power to provide an earthly temporary peace. Sadly, they look to those who domineer over them for protection from other’s and are content with the false peace provided.

As believers, in peaceful or difficult times, we can and do experience the peace of God, and as we wait for the Son, we are to remember that this old world provides a false peace and security that will fail.

But He will not fail, nor forget, for our God is good and He is good all the time!
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Song Squawk – The Water is Fine

2026-10-21
In the mid nineties, I had a little red Buick and a big ol’ bass box in the trunk, and would listen to “Christian Rock”, cranked to 11.

(What did you say? Huh? Can you say that again, I didn’t hear you….)

I have gotten away from that genre for many reasons, the least of which may be a loss of hearing, but some songs have stuck with me over the decades.

The artist’s I listened to sought to reflect Scriptural teaching for the most part. They ranged from “preaching” pop culture religion to significant theological teaching. As I listened to the lyrics, I found some to be quite challenging.

To be honest, I listened because I could justify the rock beat with “sanctified lyrics”.

Occassionaly I will post a song, supply the lyrics and make a comment or two. If you decide to listen to the tune, turn the speaker down unless you are already deaf. Some of the songs tend to have a certain “volume” about them!

This post will consider the song

The Water is Fine – by Guardian

Talk about a song that speaks on the reluctance to commit. This is the one that I remember when someone is making excuses!

You know he’s somewhere
But you don’t know if he cares
About the way you live
So you throw him up a prayer

You hope he hears you
But the odds are even split
That when he answers
You’ll be ready to commit

You’ve got a hobby and you play it every Sunday
A little fire insurance keeps you coming back for more
Nice man in the suit says you should live it every weekday
You forgot by Monday
Who knows, maybe someday
You know he’s somewhere
But you don’t know if he cares
About the way you live
So you throw him up a prayer

You hope he hears you
But the odds are even split
That when he answers
You’ll be ready to commit

Afraid to tell your friends
You know what they’d be saying
“Lost another buddy to the Jesus Lover’s Club
We knew him when he used to hurl at all our parties”
Factory liquidation
What a reputation
You know he’s somewhere
But you don’t know if he cares
About the way you live
So you throw him up a prayer

You hope he hears you
But the odds are even split
That when he answers
You’ll be ready to commit
One foot in the ocean and the sand is getting hotter
Do you need a “JUMP” sign?
Come on in, the water’s fine
You know he’s somewhere
But the odds are even split
That when he answers
You’ll be ready to commit

These guys were a favorite of mine, and when this album/cd came out, I played it till the grooves wore out!

Take a listen!

Let me know what you think of the lyrics, and of the tunes!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion

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Life of David – 44.04

2026-10-20
David Defeats Ammon and Syria

As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.

Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.

2 Samuel 10:15-19

15 But when the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together.
16 And Hadadezer sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the Euphrates. They came to Helam, with Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer at their head.
17 And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan and came to Helam. The Syrians arrayed themselves against David and fought with him.
18 And the Syrians fled before Israel, and David killed of the Syrians the men of 700 chariots, and 40,000 horsemen, and wounded Shobach the commander of their army, so that he died there.
19 And when all the kings who were servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them. So the Syrians were afraid to save the Ammonites anymore.

So Joab defeated the Ammonite threat, but out of this defeat another threat rose against the nation of Israel.

Though the Ammonite mercenaries were pushed back by Joab, those pushed back included the Syrian armies paid by the Ammonite’s.

At this time in the nation of Israel’s history, the Syrians were a serious threat in the region. If we recall, back in chapter 8 of 2 Samuel, we met Hadad-ezer, king of Zob, an Aramean nation within the Syrian coalition of nations.

2 Samuel 8:3 David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to restore his power at the river Euphrates.

Hadad-ezer was a man who wanted to dominate Israel, and after this last fiasco with the Ammonites, was going to try again.

In this chapter, we found him trying to defeat David through a coalition with the Ammonites, but he simply found failure. Pulling back and regrouping with additional Syrian related forces was his only hope, and having been recently defeated by David’s men must have goaded this king. He had to have victory, though he had yet to see any success.

There is much to consider in this passage for the New Testament believer.

First off, our enemy, as Hadad-ezer was, is relentless. Though our enemy has been defeated at the cross, he has not given up. There is much damage he desires to inflict on the believer, and he is relentless, much like this king of Zobah.

We see this very attitude in the days of Jesus, when his enemies sought to enter battle with Him, even though His wisdom defeated them over and over again.

Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.

Secondly, there is the danger for the believer to think that one victory provides respite from vigilance. Joab crushed the Ammonite resistance, and drove back the Syrian threat. Surely they had learned the lesson of dealing with Israel but this was not the case. The Syrian forces, though still licking their wounds, rose up to challenge Israel again. And David responded, even as the enemy was preparing. David didn’t wait, but took the battle to them.

Much in the same way we should move forward in our faith, taking the battle to the enemy as opposed to simply waiting to be attacked, even after a great victory is a strategy that continues successful Christian living. Though our battles are not with flesh and blood, we can apply this attitude to the battles we have in the spiritual world, even as it appears the evil is gaining strength.

Let us not fall into compliance and spiritual satisfaction. It may come back to bite us! We may witness this very condition in our next chapter, as we see David letting others lead his army.

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Let Me Tell You a Story – I’m So Special

2026-10-19
Exodus 19:5 ESV – Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;

I tend to sarcasm at times. It comes out of me at times of tiredness or frustration. So I must have been tired last Monday as I was on my way to work. I found my mind wandering a bit, and as the narrator was reciting Exodus 19, he came to verse 5, (in the Message translation below) and as he recited the verse, I repeated, in a sarcastic manner – “But your special”

Exodus 19:3-6 Message – Moses went up to meet God, God called down to him from the mountain: “Speak to the House of Jacob, tell the People of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to me. If you will listen obediently to what I say and keep my covenant, out of all peoples you’ll be my special treasure. The whole Earth is mine to choose from, but you’re special: a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.’

The phrase “you’re special” reminded me of the common message heard in the modern church of how each believer is so special to the Lord. That every believer is very special to the Lord. Each of us is so very special to the Lord. Each individual believer, apart from any devotion or commitment, any acts of obedience or sacrifice is just soooo special.

The term actually becomes meaningless in my mind!

Am I saying that individual believers are not special?

Sort of, for this passage does not speak of individual believers, but of the nation of believers, of the community of believers before God. The church in the wilderness before the Lord was a community God saved out of the prison of Egypt, and that was the only community that had seen the works of God in their salvation as described in the passage.

This group of believers saw what God did to Egypt and how God carried them on eagles’ wings and brought them to Him. This group of believers were the generation that witnessed the works of God that following generations only heard of.

May I suggest this group were special at least for that reason, but there may be more.

Note that the Lord speaks of His ownership of the entire world and that this group of people had been culled out of the world population by a promise to a man many, many years previously, which would provide the ultimate blessing of the Messiah to the world.

They were chosen by God, and that alone is what made them special. Was it due to their obedience to the Lord? Duh – think again, for they were a rebellious stiff necked people. Was it due to their inherent specialness? Again, that story doesn’t sell!

Note that even within our passage, the Lord speaks of their required decision to follow, of their ongoing commitment to the Lord, when He speaks

….if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, (ESV)

…If you will listen obediently to what I say and keep my covenant, out of all peoples you’ll be my special treasure. (Message)

Can you see the if/then argument provided in this passage?Their specialness is dependent on their obedience.

Sometimes the message I hear in the modern church is that there is something in our lives, in our soul, in our personality or character, independent of God, that make us so special to God. Let us remember that we were enemies of God when He delivered us from the selfish life, and that our “self”, (especially the polished up religious self) is not appealing to the Lord, but actually set against the Lord. Paul makes this abundantly clear in Romans.

Romans 8:6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
Romans 8:7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
Romans 8:8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Yet the Scripture speaks of His love for us, even despite ourselves. The Lord chose a group of ragtag men and women millennial ago that would rebel and rebel and rebel. His love was steadfast, constant and faithful. Their commitment to Him was sometimes thin, sparse and occasionally convenient.

Moses gives us additional input, correcting our thinking in Deuteronomy 7, defining our specialness, not based on our talents, character, personality, sacrifice, or nice perfume.

Deuteronomy 7:6 “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Deuteronomy 7:7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples,
Deuteronomy 7:8 but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Nothing we do, nothing we are, nothing we own can attract the Lord to us. We are dependent only on the love that is resident in Him alone. It is simply because the Lord Almighty loves us. This is the bedrock of our relationship with the Everlasting God!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Daniel – 23

2026-10-18
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

Daniel

Time Constraints of the Enemy

Daniel 6:10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.
Daniel 6:11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God.
Daniel 6:12 Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.”

Mark 14:53 And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together.
Mark 15:1 And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate.

Consider the speed of condemnation. Once the decision was made to perform an unrighteous act by the enemy, those same enemies sought to “get it over with”. It is as if they knew it was evil and did not want to slow down and consider any options, alternatives or the justice of the action.

They wanted something, and rushed headlong into the act.

Consider Daniels enemies. Within the 24 hours of the law passing, Daniel was before the king, hearing of his condemnation. Of course, Daniel provided his enemies the opportunity, due to his fearless faithfulness to the God of Israel as he prayed daily, but that is not our topic this morning.

The enemies of Daniel rushed to the king without any delay to inform him of Daniel’s “treachery” against the king. Take note how each verse begins with “then”, as each action in the previous verse provided the impetus to follow through with the plan to condemn Daniel.

Daniel’s enemies wasted no time.

Is it not also the same for the Lord as He was taken from the garden, dragged before those who hated Him, charged and condemned at night – a highly illegal action against a Jewish man – and was before the Romans within the day. Even after the kangaroo court of the Sanhedrin, these men who hated the Lord hounded Him, even as the Roman governor was deliberating His judgement.

His enemies were relentless, and like the enemies of Daniel, were successful in attaining their goal quickly. Within 24 hours they had taken the Prince of peace, praying in a quiet garden, convicted and condemned Him, ad watched as He was nailed to a vile cross.

Jesus’ enemies wasted no time.

Both Daniel’s and Jesus’ enemies quickly entered into their sin. Once the decision was made, there was no turning back.

There is great wisdom in taking time to consider our decisions prior to entering into actions that may pull us into difficult, or even sinful acts before the Lord. Many times in my youth, I have moved on decisions in my Christian life that were not considered, not prayed over, and without the time of waiting before the Lord.

A word of caution to those who may be on the cusp on making a big decision. Ensure you have the Spirit of God directing you. Ensure you have taken the time to allow Him to speak to you. Ensure you have considered the Word’s eternal wisdom to guide you.

Remember – No decision, or a delayed decision, is often better than a bad decision. May God and His Spirit guide us as we seek to follow after the Prince of Peace.

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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Pay for Pew – Deuteronomy 26:12

2026-10-17
As believers, we are called by God to follow after Jesus in all our actions and attitudes. How we relate to money in included in our following after Him.

As mentioned in my introduction to this series, my family and I have been impacted a number of times in our church attendance by what appears to be the pull of money on church leadership. During our Christian pilgrimage, a number of churches, through thier leadership, have made decisions that directly impacted our status within the body of believers.

Some of these instances provided us reason to dig into the Word, to find correction in our own personal relationship to money, to try to understand the wisdom of a church leader’s decision, and in the end to apply God’s will for our own finances.

Little did we know the tremendously corrosive power the love of money has over our own hearts, and by extrapolation, the church as a whole. This should not surprise the believer for Paul provided a harsh truth on this topic.

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Alternately, the writer of Hebrews also provided no better command, (and for some believer’s no harder command) than found in Hebrews 13.

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Many of our experiences have included the topic of tithing in the church. Personally, our denominational background considers tithing to be Biblically mandated on the New Testament believer. I understand many denominations consider tithing to be an important commmittment of the believers relationship to the church body.

Let’s take a look at this topic, and consider each passage that contains a reference to tithing.

This post will consider Deuteronomy 26:12

Deuteronomy 26:12 – “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled,

We have been looking at tithing with each verse in a very focused, verse specific manner, but there may be benefit for us to take a bit of a broader view, a more general tack to the topic for context at this time.

I suppose I need to do this due to the phrase “year of tithing” we find in this verse. Were not all years the year of tithing? Why the specific reference to the third year as the year of tithing?

A very general view of the tithing system the faithful Israelite performed is provided below.

Regarding the question of the “year of tithing”, it appears that it is to be understood as referring to the topic of the third tithe being discussed.

You might notice that this verse introduces the obedience of the Israelite that is to be continued in the next verses. I would like to include these here as it makes sense to complete the thought.

Also, though the ESV is a super translation, they did insert the term “tithe” as a substitute for the pronoun “it”. The Hebrew does not specify the tithe here but the assumption is that this is referred to.

Let’s read what the faithful Israelite was to do in order to complete the giving of the tithe

Deuteronomy 26:13-15

13 then you shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them.
14 I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the LORD my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me.
15 Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.’

After the provision of the tithe for the third year, the Israelite was to recite his dedication to the Lord, his obedience in the tithe command, and concludes this offering with a prayer for blessing on the children of Israel and the land God gave them..

Note the progression
- Verse 12 – When you have finished paying all the tithe
- Verse 13 – Then you shall…
This passage speaks of the link between the faithfulness of the Israelite and the blessing of God on the land. Yet this blessing was not an automatic blessing if the Israelite simply paid the tithe. In the recitation of the Israelite, he was to confess his faith, his attitude in the giving of the tithe, and his dependance on the Lord for future blessing

Is it not true that the Lord owns the cattle on a thousand hills and does not require our offerings for His sustainment. Any offering to be sacrificed to the Lord was to be given in a humble, thankful spirit. Though the recitation of the statements may have become rote repetition for some during Old Testament, it did provide an avenue of true confession and dedication to the Lord for His faithfulness and goodness to the faithful Israelite.

Today, we do not have recitations to announce. The emphasis on the New Testament believer when giving to the Lord is to give a self determined amount of offering, whether that be of time, talent or treasure out of a thankful and willing heart.

Thanks for joining and Considering The Bible with me. Your thoughts are always welcome, and I look forward to hearing of the faithfulness of God in your lives.
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Names of God – HIM WHO IS AND WHO WAS AND WHO IS TO COME – 319

2026-10-16
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

HIM WHO IS AND WHO WAS AND WHO IS TO COME

Revelation 1:4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,

Four verses after our chosen passage, we find the same name referred to.

Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

The Lord God is declaring His name as Alpha and Omega, who is and who was and who is to come. It is apparent that this name of God applies to the Risen Savior, as some of the last verses in the the Revelation assign the same name to Jesus. (Check the context of the verses)

Revelation 22:12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.
Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

Present

The Revelator refers to the present first, reminding us of His presence with us, His active participation in the time creation of His. Let us remember that He created time and entered into it to relate to His people. Time is not a restriction for our Savior and we should not limit Him to the constrictions of time that fall on us.

Take a moment to consider the Lord as the One who is always in the present.

Past

The Revelator speaks of the past, and of course this is in relation to our experience, our time frame. Throughout history, the Lord has been Sovereign in all.

But let me ask a pointed question.

Does the word sovereign speak of control, or authority? I ask this question, for I was linked to a teaching that assumed sovereignty was synonymous with control. This thinking necessitated that all things past were in the will of God, and forced the assignment of sin to the will of God. This caused no small storm of confusion in my mind, until I reconsidered the term sovereign.

To exercise sovereignty, One is in the place of the Ruler, the King, the Sovereign. Do Kings control all the subjects they rule over? Or do Kings generally set limits, policies, rules and laws for their citizens to come under.

Does a King over a nation of law breakers make Him less of a King? Do the actions of those in the kingdom reflect the King’s character or wisdom?

A bit of an aside, but as we consider the Lord as the One who was, it is good to consider that His character while reigning over His Kingdom is not sullied though His people may be rebels.

Take a moment to consider the Lord as the One who ruled over His people with wisdom and righteousness.

Future

The last phrase in this name is “who is to come”, and it speaks of the return of the Lord. For those receiving this revelation in the first century, is it possible the recipients understood the One to come as appearing at least two thousand years later? Possibly. There do not seem to be any time limits implied on the timing here.

Or are there?

One passage that speaks of His coming is found in Revelation 16:15. It is interesting that the future coming is now described as a present reality for those who received the letter.

Revelation 16:15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”)

Also, as I researched for this blog, I came across a resource that challenged my understanding of His future coming. (See Sunday Morning Greek Blog.) In summary, the author speaks of this phrase as being in the present tense, and may be translated as “Who is already coming”.

He is actively coming for the church, even as a thief in the night as Rev 16:15 declares.

Take a moment to consider the Lord as the One who is at the door, on the cusp of history, ready to break through into our lives in a very real way.

O Lord, help us be awake and ready for when You appear!

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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Prayers of an ol’ fool – Cool car

2026-10-15
Psalm 34:6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.

As many who follow may know, I have had the privilege to know the Lord for over 40 years. During those decades, He has proved Himself to be a faithful, kind and loving Savior. And as I have learned to lean on Jesus, He has shown Himself to be a merciful Savior, never wavering, even in some very dark times.

This topical series will try to provide a snapshot of an ol’ fools prayers, the weakness and selfishness of his prayers, and the ever increasing goodness of God in His responses the those prayers.

I hope my witness to the goodness and faithfulness of God will be an encouragement to those reading, and will spur us all on to a deeper, more consistent time of being in the Lord’s presence.

Please visit with me as I tell the story of a faithful God and His care for an ol’ fool. Though David considered himself a poor man, I freely admit, I am just an “ol’ fool” looking to the Lord.

Cool car

I have spoke of our decision to re-enter school to provide for the family in a previous post, and may have forgot to mention that the commute between our home and the school was over 85 kilometers, or about 54 miles.

Our current vehicle at the time was an old Buick, on it’s last legs, but it was all we had, and I would have to depend on it as I travelled the 170 km each day to school and back, until the lease was up at our apartment.

When I originally went to the school for the initial visit, a kind lady by the name of Sophie, seeing our car had broke down one more time, offered me her vehicle to make the trip. Our family had befriended her and her son, and my wife had become quite close to her.

In the ensuing days coming up to my first day at school, it was apparent that the ol’ Buick may not be up to the task. I think I took her the first day, but by the time I got back that night, my wife told me that Sophie wanted us to use her car until we moved to Kirkland Lake.

What a provision! And to be honest, I was simply praying that God keep us moving with the ol’ Buick. Never did I ask for a provision such as this!

Oh – you ask what the cool car was? A Volkswagen Rabbit! Remember what I had to compare with!

He is good, and is the Great Provider, sometimes way beyond our limited prayers.

Thanks for joining and Considering The Bible with me. Your thoughts are always welcome, and I look forward to hearing of the faithfulness of God in your lives.
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Life of David – 44.03

2026-10-14
David Defeats Ammon and Syria

As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.

Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.

2 Samuel 10:7-14

7 And when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the host of the mighty men.
8 And the Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the gate, and the Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the open country.
9 When Joab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and in the rear, he chose some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Syrians.
10 The rest of his men he put in the charge of Abishai his brother, and he arrayed them against the Ammonites.
11 And he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you.
12 Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to him.”
13 So Joab and the people who were with him drew near to battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him.
14 And when the Ammonites saw that the Syrians fled, they likewise fled before Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.

As Joab, the commander of the armies of Israel, was sent into battle by David, and as he entered into battle at the gates of the city of Ammon, he faced a difficult situation. He found he was about to be attacked from behind by Ammons mercenaries.

It must have seemed to be an inevitable defeat, being surrounded by forces that would overwhelm him and his men. But Joab did not voice this seeming situation. He did not enter battle, considering a possible defeat, but provided two options to his leadership.

You help me if I am in trouble. I will help you if you are in trouble.

In the ensuing battle, he took some of the best men of Israel to fight the Syrians. I assume the Syrians were the greater threat. The remaining army were to continue the fight at the gate of the enemy. This was a time of a great (and unexpected) challenge for Abishai his brother, for the forces fighting at the gate were essentially stripped of their best men, and their leader Joab would be focused on a fight elsewhere.

Abishai was propelled into a situation he may not have been prepared for, but Joab saw no other option. Abishai would have to step in and lead a reduced fighting force. But Joab, as all good leaders, provided three motivations for the fight.

Be of good courage

Courage is a funny thing. We sometimes think it is a feeling of strength that allows others to ride through life without fear. What courage actually is, is a decision to not allow fear to overtake your life. The most courageous times I have lived through was with the realization of failure, and the occasional feeling of fear rising in my heart. Yet by the mercy and strength provided by the Lord, the fear did not overtake me. But let me tell you, the fear was dang near close to the surface at times!

Be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God

Joab reminded the armies for the reason to be courageous. There was much to be lost if victory wasn’t secured. Not only the loss of loved ones who may fall under the domination of the enemy, but entire cities of Israel may be destroyed if the armies of Israel are defeated, weakened and not able to defend the nation. This was serious stuff, and Joab laid it on the line. Buck up men – this is a big event!

May the LORD do what seems good to him

In the battles of David, and as Joab led the armies, the Lord was depended upon to continue the expansion of the nation, for He had already proven Himself to be leading David into greatness. Success upon success feeds on itself, and with the Lord providing the leadership, Joab could provide this encouragement, reminding the men of the One who was orchestrating the nations rise into power.

This passage speaks of the mutual encouragement believers are to have for each other. As Joab spoke of helping when half his army seemed to be weak, we too are to look about in the Body of Christ for those who are struggling in the battle.

This passage speaks of the possibility of great responsibility coming at an unexpected time on one in a time of emergency. Abishai was thrust into a very difficult position. He led a small army that held the battle at the gate at bay until Joab had his way with the Syrians. Abishai took the responsibility and held his position!

This passage speaks of the attitude of victory, and as Joab would not consider a defeat, it is instructive for us to remember. We are on the winning side, even when things look very dire. Defeat was not in Joab’s playbook!

Finally, this passage speaks of the importance of flexibility in a time of emergency. Joab rearranged his entire battle plan to face a changing battle situation. As a living organism called the Body of Christ, we too have a Leader looks for those who are flexible in their service to His calling. Although the principles of service to the King never change, arena’s of service, or responsibilities of service may change. Flexibility in those changes are to be considered a great strength.

This passage speaks of the Christian life in many more ways than first considered!

In what way does it speak to you?

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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1 Thessalonian Bits – 5:2

2026-10-13
A little while ago, I produced a verse by verse series in Philippians. I really enjoyed that exercise and have been wondering if I should take on another book. Well it turns out that 1 Thessalonians is the victim of my machinations, and hopefully, the thoughts produced by this fantastic book will edify and encourage the reader.

As with Philippians I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.

1 Thessalonians 5:2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

This is not what we want to hear Paul. We want specific dates so we can prepare.

In the last 2000 years, the church has sought to provide it’s members dates and times that Paul refused to give. Attached at the end of this post is a partial list of times the Body of Christ was informed that our Savior would arrive to take us home, or at least to bring judgement on the earth. It is quite an amazing list.

Nevertheless, Paul did not succumb to this temptation, or provide to the church any specific date. And the church has been struggling to find this date for 2000 years. Quite an amazing circumstance.

Paul simply provides the first characteristic of the coming day of the Lord. He, along with the Lord, describes the day of the Lord coming as a “thief in the night”

How does a thief come in the night? This metaphor is implying that those who will be visited, will be completely surprised by the visit. But who are they who will be surprised? Might it be the church who will be surprised? Paul emphasizes that the Thessalonians are fully aware of this truth, so it seems those who are asleep are those outside of the church.

Those who are looking for the coming Day of the Lord are looking for the Son to return, and if I understand this correctly, dates and times are not of concern. It is a Person we wait on, not a date we prepare for.

But there is a term that Paul uses that raises questions in my mind. The Day of the Lord. For Paul to use this phrase provides us another indicator that Paul is speaking of those outside of the church as those surprised by the return of the Lord.

The Old Testament is rife with the prophets using this term, referring to judgement falling on a nation as the Day of the Lord.

Consider

Destruction of Babylon

Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come!
Isaiah 13:9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.

Destruction of Egypt

Jeremiah 46:10 That day is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, to avenge himself on his foes. The sword shall devour and be sated and drink its fill of their blood. For the Lord GOD of hosts holds a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.

Destruction of All Nations

Obadiah 1:15 For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head.

Destruction of Judah

Zephaniah 1:14 The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there.

Destruction of Israel

Joel 1:15 Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.

The Old Testament speaks of the Day of the Lord as a bitter day. Zephaniah provides such a dark descriptive of that day.

Zephaniah 1:14 The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there.
Zephaniah 1:15 A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
Zephaniah 1:16 a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements.

This particular phrase carried with it much suffering, and as the Jewish population was steeped in this understanding, it is note worthy that in Peter’s first sermon, he makes reference to the Day of the Lord!

Acts 2:20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

What is Peter talking about? That was 2000 years ago he spoke these words!

In his second epistle, he also describes the Day of the Lord, and I have always understood it as a catastrophic global desolation. There are some who consider Peter to be referring to 70AD, describing the nation of Israel, sometimes described as the sun, moon and stars, as being destroyed by Rome. Could Peter be describing the fall of Israel as the Old Testament prophets described the fall of a nation?

2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

But let us get back to Paul and our verse in First Thessalonians. Paul is beginning to describe the coming day, and will be outlining the characteristics of the church as opposed to the world at that day.

As believers, we are to be fully aware of the coming day of the Lord, and for the believer, because of the Son’s sacrifice for our lives, will not take us by surprise. It is to be a hopeful day, a day of expectation for the believer. In that hope and expectation, let us communicate to those who are unaware, those who are asleep, of the Savior who will rescue His people from this dying world.

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Names of God – HIM WHO IS ABLE TO STRENGTHEN YOU – 318

2026-10-12
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

HIM WHO IS ABLE TO STRENGTHEN YOU

Romans 16:25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages

In our last post we emphasized that when the Scriptures speak of God’s ability, it is speaking of the available resource we have in God, and is not necessarily describing our response to the resource.

His strength is available to us. It is for us to avail ourselves of His power.

There is a caveat! Paul describes the availability of receiving strength as being “according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ”.

Paul is not flippant in his description of Who the ultimate power is. He does not simply provide a general reference to some god who is not well defined, or a nebulous power of the universe. Paul clearly directs us to the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and no other.

God is able to provide strength through the Lord Jesus Christ.

I often hear of people speaking of God in the generic sense, not referring to the Lord Jesus Christ. I assume it is a common occurrence for my reader also, for I fear the culture is slowly accepting a homogenous generic boring religious faith. One that quietly excludes any reference to Jesus, God’s sacrifice for sinners and the Lord of Glory. Paul will not allow the Roman believers to understand this thinking as acceptable.

Jesus made this point also, when speaking to the Jews, making it clear that knowing Jesus is knowing God. If you do not know Jesus, God is unknown also.

John 8:19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

And simply referring to God without acknowledging Jesus shouts out to the believer that they know neither God nor Jesus. He is the only name given amongst men whereby we might be saved. This truth reaches into every aspect of the believers life, for we have life in the Son, and in Him only.

My friend, if you refer to God only in your life, freely speaking of God this, and God that, step back and consider the Word. Without confessing Jesus, any god you speak of is suspect. Jesus is the sum total of all access to God, and is the only Mediator between man and God.

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

Back to our verse. In this passage Paul is wrapping up one of the most glorious epistles ever penned, declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ and of His sacrifice for all, to these Roman believers.

Throughout this epistle to the Romans, Paul hints at, and eventually teaches these believers of unity in the church. It seems the believers in this church were divided by cultural and religious opinions.

Paul is closing this book, directing the believers to look to Jesus for strength. Is it to much to assume the strength they needed was to fuel a love and care for others in the church in the unity of the Spirit?

Maybe, but even if this wasn’t Paul’s intent, it surely is a desire of the Lord to have unity under the Son. In the Son we can find the strength of resolve to seek unity under His Lordship, instead of fighting over cultural and religious opinions! May God give us the strength we need through the Lord Jesus as we conform to the life we have in Jesus.

God is able through the Son to do this.

Are we availing ourselves of this power?

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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Jesus in the Old Testament – Daniel – 22

2026-10-11
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

Daniel

Powerless Enemies

Daniel 6:8 Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.”
Daniel 6:13 Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”

John 18:31 Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.”

As we have discussed in previous posts, the one condemning the righteous man (Daniel or Jesus), was sentenced to death by an unwilling judge (see Jesus in the Old Testament – Daniel – 7)

Out time this morning will consider the ones using this poor man. For both of these injustices were initiated and fueled by the envy of powerless men.

Consider Daniel’s enemies.

They could not find anything wrong with Daniel and had to deceive the king, the ultimate and only authority in the nation that could complete their plans. These men were powerless to accomplish their desires. Though they were powerless in authority, they found opportunity to achieve their plans through flattery and an appeal to the king’s ego.

Consider Jesus’ enemies.

These men also could find no sin in Jesus, other than the breaking of their own religious man made laws. This forced these religious men to appeal to the occupiers of their nation, the Roman governor, for the nation had been stripped of the right of capital punishment by the Romans.

Though the motivation of envy was similar for both of these powerless groups, with Jesus enemies, they were not on friendly terms with this authority they had to appeal to. Though powerless, they gained their objective of killing Jesus (at least for a couple days!) through political blackmail and threats. For Pilate to be threatened with not complying with Caesar, was equal to extreme punishment from the supreme ruler of Rome.

Both groups of men were powerless, yet were able to steer the one who could exercise authority over their enemy. For both of these powerless groups, they were ale to temporarily achieve their goals, but consider the cost they both suffered. But that will be for a future posting!

Both groups of men seeking the death of their enemies were powerless in and of themselves. They achieved their goals through reluctant authorities, manipulating them through a feigned loyalty to the king or to Caeser.

It is much better to have a real loyalty to the only King of Kings. Let us look to Jesus as our King, and in this trust, realize where the only power that counts resides!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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Courage and Fear

Compassion and Fear

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covid courage

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The experience of Joy in Obedience

The Experience of Tearing down idols

The experience of Listening to a Godly Leader

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SEEING JESUS IN

Daniel

Fate of the Enemies Families

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Inevitable

Anticipated

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SEEING JESUS IN

Daniel

Time Constraints of the Enemy

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Present

Past

Future

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Be of good courage

Be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God

May the LORD do what seems good to him

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Destruction of Babylon

Destruction of Egypt

Destruction of All Nations

Destruction of Judah

Destruction of Israel

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SEEING JESUS IN

Daniel

Powerless Enemies

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