Considering the Bible

Psalms for Psome – Ps 76.01

2026-06-21

My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.

This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.

I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.

Psalm 76:1 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song. In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel.
Psalm 76:2 His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.
Psalm 76:3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah

Many of the psalms of Asaph are difficult to place historically, and there are reasons to believe that a possible direct descendent of Asaph may have written this particular psalm. In our next post on this psalm, we will find a possible reference to the victory of Israel over Sennacherib, the Assyrian general whose army of 185,000 soldiers was wiped out in one night.

This psalm is a psalm that speaks of the might of the Lord and the proper fear to be granted to our God.

The psalmist speaks of the knowledge of God. This knowledge is not merely the evidentiary knowledge of nature, where the soul who is honest, can see evidence of the God of creation in everything around us.

Romans 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.

No, for in Judah, God is known personally, as He has revealed Himself to the people of God, revealing His nature, His laws, His specific will, His covenant mercy and His protective power. It is the protective power that this psalm displays.

The psalmist continues to identify the One who is God, as to where He is known. He is known in Judah, but the focus becomes tighter, as it is in Salem (Jerusalem) that the Lord has His abode. His temple has been in Jerusalem since the days of David.

But most interesting to this saint is the next description of the Lord. When the psalmist describes the Lord as having a “dwelling place” he is using a word that is often associated with a den of lions.

Job 37:8 Then the beasts go into their lairs, and remain in their dens.
Job 38:40 when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in their thicket?
Song of Songs 4:8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come with me from Lebanon. Depart from the peak of Amana, from the peak of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards.
Amos 3:4 Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing?
Nahum 2:12 The lion tore enough for his cubs and strangled prey for his lionesses; he filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh.

The psalmist is painting an image of the Lord’s “dwelling place” similar to a lions den. With this image, the Old Testament saint could imagine the Lord Himself in Jerusalem, crouching in His “den”, waiting to pounce on the victim.

If this psalm was written during the Assyrian invasion, this picture is very powerful. Before the fateful night, all the power seemed to reside in the Assyrian generals hands. Yet lurking in the city, the city that was on the brink of disaster, a city that was close to starvation, a lion was ready to pounce.

A reading of 2 Kings seems to fit our picture of the lion ready to pounce, and it is instructive to notice the flow of narrative in 2 Kings.

Hezekiah enters the temple in sackcloth 2 Kings 19:1
He appeals to the prophets Isaiah 2 Kings 19:5
The enemies threats increase, defying God’s protection. 2 Kings 19:10
Hezekiah prays 2 Kings 19:15
Isaiah encourages Hezekiah with a message of his prayer heard. 2 Kings 19:20
The Lion of the Tribe of Judah pounces 2 Kings 19:35

Over and over again, the Lord has provided protection for His people as they rely on Him, seeking His face. In this psalm, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah responded to the prayer of the king, pounced on the enemy and delivered His people from certain death.

Our God is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He has delivered us from death by hanging on the cruel cross. And He will deliver us from all of our enemies!

Praise to the Lion of the Tribe of Judah!

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1 Thessalonian Bits – 4:8

2026-06-20

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 4:8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Paul clearly understood he was speaking for God.

It is one thing to encourage in the name of God, to provide comfort in Jesus name, to build up and establish the saints in God’s name. These are activities that all believers can and should take part in, for we are to strengthen each other.

But to speak as Paul speaks in this verse is telling me that Paul, without a doubt, is speaking directly as of from the Lord. He is telling his faithful that though he is speaking the words from his mouth, though his secretary is writing the words on the parchment, the message is to be taken as directly from the Lord.

Paul is not providing his opinion, or the consensus of those with him. His words are the message of God for the sinning brother. Pay attention!

Yet this emphasis of Paul identifying God as the author of the message is not a lone message in the Word. Paul is apostolic, having been granted the authority of the Risen Christ in his message to the world.

Thankfully we have much of his message recorded for our edification, and in this particular instance, for our warning! This message is dire.

To disregard is not the same as to ignore. I think he may have rightly assumed the sinning brother would hear of this letter, and would read it, either on his own or by proxy, through a teacher in the church. Whichever way this brother hears Paul’s message, Paul wanted to make it clear. If this matter isn’t cleared up, it is because the brother has disregarded the matter.

It isn’t as if the brother did not have the conviction, for any saint that has the Spirit must surely have the inner conviction of the Lord in this instance. Beyond that, the written message of Paul would only compound the knowledge this saint had. Internal and external knowledge of his sin.

No restoration and repentance by the sinning brother would equal disregarding the conviction of the Lord, both internally and externally. To “disregard”, according to the Greek dictionaries, is to cast off, despise, disannul, frustrate, bring to naught or to reject.

To reject.

Paul is not mincing words here. He is speaking of the need for holiness in the life of the saint, which includes the abstaining of sexual immorality. If the saint does not respond, Paul is speaking of the rejection of God for his life.

If I understand this passage, Paul is saying much more than I first assumed. Given the synonyms for “disregard”, could not we replace the word disregard with reject, and get a somewhat clearer message?

Whoever rejects this message, rejects not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

As a matter of fact, a number of translations do that very replacement.

NKJV – Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.

NLT – Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

NIV – Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.

CSB – Consequently, anyone who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

NASB20 – Therefore, the one who rejects this is not rejecting man, but the Godwho givesHis HolySpirit to you.

This passage speaks of Paul’s authority to pronounce the oracle of God, a message from God for a sinning brother. A message that indicates the consequence (rejecting God) of rejecting a message (from God)

This is the common refrain of the Word, that to reject the message is to reject the messenger.

Paul is God’s messenger!

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Names of God – HE WHO REMEMBERED US IN OUR LOW ESTATE – 290

2026-06-19

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.

HE WHO REMEMBERED US IN OUR LOW ESTATE

Psalm 136:23 It is he who remembered us in our low estate, for his steadfast love endures forever;

In our psalm this morning, if we were to read the entire 136th Psalm, we would find the psalmist referring to the Lord’s mercy and steadfast love in the past for His people.

Over and over again the psalmist recounted the many acts of the God of Israel for His people. From creation through the deliverance of the exodus, along with battles fought to gain and maintain their time on the promised land, the Lord had proven His steadfast love to the nation in the past.

Our verse this morning speaks of the current time, of the times the psalmist lived in. It was no longer recounting days of old that the Lord proved His love, but the very time the psalmist lived in, the present situation.

And the psalmist claims the Lord remembered.

Now of course the psalmist is not merely referring to the fact that the Lord, who is all knowing, has a set of facts about His people before His eyes. The psalmist isn’t speaking of the Lord’s ability to recall He has a people. Does that even make sense, knowing the God we serve?

When the Old Testament speaks of the Lord remembering, it is not merely that God recalls his people. God never “recalls” a fact or a situation. He is all knowing. When the Old Testament speaks of God remembering, it is telling us that God is acting for His people, delivering them from a trial, or even refraining from a justified discipline. Examples are many.

Noah is a good example.

Genesis 8:1 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.

God remembered Noah and acted. Another example was Rachel, and her childbearing.

Genesis 30:22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.

God remembered Rachel and acted. An example of God remembering not, (or not acting) may be found in Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 34C… For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

God’s act of remembering in this instance, or should I say His active non-remembrance, entailed the death of His Son, the torture and crucifixion of His Only begotten.

Even in His promise to not remember, God acted.

So for our passage this morning, the psalmist speaks of the Lord remembering His people. For us today, we need the Lord to act on our behalf, to bring to life the Body of Christ that is dormant, quiet and self satisfied.

The psalmist speaks to us today, for if we are to see God “remember” us, it will be due to our lowly state, a time of humility, of lowliness.

A people of God that is proud, self sufficient and haughty will not see God remember them, acting on their behalf.

Yes it is likely the psalmist was speaking of an inflicted lowliness for God’s people, a difficult time for the people of God due to outer forces being unleashed on them. They had been humbled, and in the humbling, God acted.

The humbling of the people of God continues to be the playbook of the Lord, that those who are humbled are ready for grace, they are open to God “remembering” them. It is a consistent truth we would do well in remembering!

James 4:6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

The psalmist may have spoke of an inflicted humbling, yet for us today, we have the command to humble ourselves.

James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

In both of the verses above, the humbling comes with an exaltation, with the Lord remembering and acting on behalf of the humble.

Our God hasn’t changed. He is the God Who remembers us in our lowly state. May we experience the exaltation, understanding it is through humility and seeking the low estate!

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 – 10

2026-06-18

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

Prayer Leads to Persecution

Daniel 6:11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God.
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.”
Daniel 6:16a Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions.

John 18:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.
John 18:3 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

Daniel prayed every day, in the direction of Jerusalem, to the God who sustained him, directed him and protected him. For decades, he had established this habit, and as his enemies had witnessed this man of God live his life, they had found one activity that they could make illegal.

We have spoke on how it was envy of Daniels peers that fueled this persecution, that the king was unwilling to prosecute the judgement, and that the death sentence was completely unjust. In all of this unfairness, this contradiction of righteousness, Daniel did not abandon his practice of reaching out to the God he served.

He could have adjusted his time to pray, prayed in his “closet”, or justified a break in his prayers due to this act of persecution. After all, it was simply for 30 days this law was in effect. In allowing a break in his faithful duties in prayer, he would be succumbing to the persecutors more devious plot. They were seeking death, either by his obedience or disobedience/

In Daniel’s obedience, he would be gulped by the lions. In his disobedience, the plotters would successfully compromise Daniel. His God was not the primary motivator in his life, and the plotters found a way to manipulate him.

Persecution seeks death or control. Nothing else. Daniel’s prayer provided the strength to enter persecution, and triggered the persecution to commence.

Jesus also entered the garden, knowing His time had come. He, like Daniel, knew that the time of prayer He was to enter into would provide His plotters the opportunity to execute their plot to destroy.

Both men, in their prayers, would enter persecution. Both men, as they sought their God, knew their prayers would lead into persecution and death.

And both men prayed!

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 – North or South

2026-06-17

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.

North or South

Many who have followed this blog realize I am a transplanted Canadian, settled deep in the heart of Texas. All my siblings remain in the Great White North, and at times I think they don’t quite understand our desire, determination and delight in living in the Lone Star state. But this isn’t about Texas! This post is about the timing and kindness, and the evident direction provided by the Father above for a drifting saint.

We had been in Texas for over a decade when I began to wonder if we were to remain. You see, the economy had soured and though we had attained a green card, allowing me to work anywhere in the states, career opportunities for yours’s truly were few and far between. The rare interview that I did gain, I found I was woefully unprepared for. My previous skill set was not matching the employment opportunities in the region, and my times of unemployment were extending into months. Things were become strained.

During a scouring of employment sites, I tripped over an opportunity in Canada, in the province of Alberta. In my desperation to provide for my loved ones, (and understanding that Alberta is basically a Texas wannabe culture), I reached out and provided my resume.

And then I was convicted.

Carl – you have fought to stay in Texas, and now you are loosing patience? Can you not trust God, and lean on Him? Thoughts swirled in my mind, swinging my attentions from a need to provide to a need to trust. If you have been in a similar situation, I am sure you can relate.

But I was convicted. I knew that even if the position in Canada was promising, and the position in Canada was perfect, the position in Canada would be a wrong move! Or at least I hoped it would be a wrong move. (I wanted to stay in Texas!)

It felt like I was between a rock and a hard place. But what am I going to do. I have to provide. I have to support my family. No matter what I did, I felt I would be disappointing God. Stay here and not provide. Move back to Canada and give up on the direction we had received.

So, as you may have expected, because the subject of the blog is prayer, I began to ask for direction. Specific direction. If I needed to go to Canada, I could work there and have my family follow after I was established in the position. If I was to stay in Texas, I needed to have that direction provided also.

I just wanted to have direction from the Lord.

In the background of all my worrying, a little woman started throwing out my resume to firms in the area that were not associated with the headhunters I was leaning on. It has been over a decade ago, but if I recall, I think she simply scoured the area for engineering firms and sent my resume off in a shotgun approach. This little woman sent my resume off to a particular firm in the city just days prior my prayer. And lo and behold, a day after my prayer, an email popped up in my inbox asking me to come for an interview.

The timing of the Lord in His answers to prayer is such a blessing. How is it that in the midst of all that was going on, I had a Father who was actively orchestrating a situation even before my will was bent to His.

I was at that firm for close to seven years, met many good folks, learned much, and never looked back.

God is good, even to those who are slipping in their trust!

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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Calvin’s Concerns – Who Does God Show Mercy to – Short

2026-06-16

I hope all is well in your world.

A few days back I discovered some additional shorts from Dr Leighton, teacher at Soteriology 101.

As I may have spoken of earlier in my posts, I spent many years consumed with the Calvinistic teaching, only to break free because of men like Dr. Flowers, who offer alternative views that make more sense and glorify God, making Him purer, and more loving.

I do hope you will consider the teaching with an open mind.

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Names of God – HE WHO RAISED CHRIST JESUS – 289

2026-06-15

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.

289

HE WHO RAISED CHRIST JESUS

Romans 8:11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Notice how clear Paul is in his description of the God who gives us life. He brings to the believer’s attention a number of clarifications that may be worthy of considering.

First, Paul speaks of the God who raised Christ Jesus as Spirit. His emphasis is on the person of God, not any moral codes, regulations, rules, bylaws or religion that we may be associated with. It is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus, dwelling in each of us that Paul speaks of.

Which brings to our attention a second point to consider, that is the dwelling of the Spirit of God in the believer. Some may refer to this as the indwelling, and is an emphasis of the apostle Paul in this passage. His first reference to “dwelling” is in 7:17, where he speaks of sin dwelling in the body.

Romans 7:17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

For the remainder of chapter 7, he speaks repeatedly of sin dwelling in the body, but shifts gears in chapter 8.

Now in chapter 8, we are not considering death and sin in the body, dwelling and destroying, but the Spirit of God dwelling and enlivening the body.

Paul had laid a framework in our minds regarding the concept of dwelling in the previous chapter, helping us identify a parallel condition. Sin dwelled in our bodies. Dwelled throughout our lives, deeply in our innermost being, permanently in our actions and thoughts (seemingly), and without any respite or rest from it’s ravages.

It is that type of dwelling that we carry over into the next chapter, yet all the negative aspects of this dwelling will be turned on it’s head. It is not death dealing sin that dwells in our body as believers, but life giving Spirit permeating our lives.

Easy to say Paul, for you surely are using flowery words to build up your teaching. Au contraire, mon ami, Paul is not one to make a claim and then hope for the best. Paul is linking the life giving Spirit in our lives with the Life giving Spirit that RAISED JESUS from death. He refers to the most astounding, historically proven, evidentiary phenomenon ever witnessed on earth. The raising of the Son of God from a cruel torturous death.

Story Time

We had our grandsons out on the farm this weekend and as I was reading the Word to them as a bedtime story, I so happened to be in John 11, with the story of Lazarus.

As I provided more and more expression to the story of Jesus amongst those crying at the death of His friend, I ended the story as Lazarus came out of the grave, and then closed the Bible. I looked at my oldest grandson, and emphasized that no one has done this before. A man was dead and Jesus simply said to come forth. And he did!

His eyes expanded a wee bit, and though he has not experienced death in his young life, his expression reinforced the wonder of this miracle.

Yet as I considered the Messiah’s resurrection, I was reminded again that it is unlike Lazarus in many ways. Lazarus was raised to die again. It was as if he was resuscitated from death. Now I do not want to make light of the miracle of Lazarus, but in comparison to the raising of Jesus from the dead, it was a mere shadow of the reality.

Jesus was raised from the dead, never to die again. Never. Death has been killed, dying by the hand of God as the Messiah was called forth from the tomb!

This is the God we serve.

HE WHO RAISED CHRIST JESUS is the Spirit that resides in us, dwelling in our lives and providing guidance, compassion, strength and love.

He is good!

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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Psalms for Psome – Ps 75.04

2026-06-14

My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.

This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.

I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.

Psalm 75:9 But I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
Psalm 75:10 All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

Our psalmist closes his thoughts with these last two verses on a psalm that speaks of the judgements of the God of Israel. Our psalmist speaks of his thankfulness that the Judge of all the earth is a righteous Judge, a Judge who is equitable.

We often hear of the goal of equity in our word today, of the need to have “social equity”, of developing a fairness and justice that is to be provided to each person in our society. Many times the message is that all are to have the same position in life, the same experience in life, the same opportunities in life. Sounds good a face value, but the outworking of such a lofty goal seems fraught with danger. But this post is not intended to discuss the serious problems with an approach to equity for all, but possibly the reason for such an emphasis.

When a nation, country, society or culture walks away from God, (which is abundantly clear we are in the midst of doing), there remains in the culture a desire for some sort of justice. With God, the administrator of all equitable justice being rejected, the culture needs to fill in that gap. We all seek some form of justice in our lives, and without the knowledge of God, we are destined to find a replacement, a “cheap knock-off” that will give the illusion of justice.

This is an impossible pursuit. Any form of justice that removes the One who is Just, the One who is equitable, the One who is Righteous in all His acts and pronouncements is doomed to failure.

Judgement will be handed out by the Judge, for He will not be mocked. But in every case, as the Psalmist expresses his thankfulness, we too can be thankful that our God is not One who considers favorites, or accepts false evidence in His pronouncements. He is truly equitable, a word in the Hebrew that speaks of straightness of way, sincerity, justice.

The term “equity” we find in this Psalm is also used elsewhere in the Word. One interesting find is in Daniel 11:6

Daniel 11:6 After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supported her in those times.

The translators of the NASB have provided an expanded translation of the term below

Daniel 11:6 NASB95 – ….. the king of the South will come to the king of the North to carry out a peaceful arrangement….

Notice the intent of the word. There is a goal of peace in the use of the word here.

I would like to remind my reader that equitable judgement is not averse to the offer of peace and reconciliation. Is it not true that the Judge of all the earth is a Judge who is seeking peace, who has laid down His very life for the pursuit of peace with those who reject Him?

Yes, as the Psalmist closes this psalm, he teaches us that God will cut off all the horns of the wicked. Yet there is still time for those who have chased after a “cheap knock-off of equity”. Realize the futility of seeking justice apart from the true Judge, understand that He is seeking peace with us, turn to the Savior for forgiveness (not justice!) and the Judge suddenly becomes your Father, your Guardian, your Protector and Guide.

Yes – He is a Judge who provides equitable judgement on the nations, and for that we can and should be thankful. But far greater blessings are available as He seeks to provide peace, reconciliation, and restoration to all who look to the Savior for forgiveness.

To those who seek equity, may I suggest your chase will end in frustration and bitterness if you reject the True Judge. To those who will admit justice can only be administered by the Judge of all the earth, I have good news. He seeks a “peaceful agreement” with us. He has sought us, bought us and provided forgiveness instead of justice.

Don’t be frustrated chasing after equity. Be forgiven in Jesus, the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world.

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1 Thessalonian Bits – 4:7

2026-06-13

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 4:7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

We have just waded through a passage speaking of the believers call to a life of sexual purity, of abstaining from sexual immorality. It appears that Paul had a message to provide the church, and it may have been related to a known incident in the church.

This is incredible, given his high praise for the church at the beginning of the epistle, how it had such a great witness amongst the unbelievers, and that even the believers far away spoke highly of this church’s faith.

1 Thessalonians 1:7-9 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,

Yet there seemed to be a dark spot in the Body, and Paul wanted to make sure they understood the severity of it.

Our verse this morning reminds us of the general truth of God’s call on our lives, specifically in the realm of sex. At first glance, purity seems to be the call of God on our lives. Note that is not specifically Paul’s message. Paul’s term of reference in opposition to impurity is holiness. He speaks of impurity as that which is to be avoided, but holiness as the goal.

Paul went from a specific arena of potential sinful behavior and expanded it to the whole of the believers life. He does not limit the goal of the believer as simply purity in the sexual realm, but holiness. A complete setting aside of a life to God, including, but not only, sexual purity.

As the life is set aside for the Lord, sexual purity will become one area of life the Lord can minister to. If the believer is consecrated to the Lord, the door of opportunity for the Lord to work in the believers life is wide open.

For some this morning, sexual impurity may be the issue that has to be addressed in your life. For others, it may be gluttony, or tardiness, or foul thoughts.

Fighting one sinful area, while ignoring other areas will only provide the saint a frustrated life. A willingness to bend the knee to Him in our lives, not just a specific part of our lives, is the secret to overcoming any particular sinful action. Of course, by this I mean a continual, repetitive giving of our lives to Him, repenting of our sinful actions and thoughts.

A single decision for Him decades ago is not His calling for His child. I must remember that!

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Names of God – HE WHO OPENS AND NO ONE WILL SHUT, WHO SHUTS AND NO ONE OPENS. – 288

2026-06-12

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.

288

HE WHO OPENS AND NO ONE WILL SHUT, WHO SHUTS AND NO ONE OPENS.

Revelation 3:7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

The concept of control is emphasized in this verse, of access to opportunities, to privileges and to greater blessings by the use of this terminology. It is somewhat common in the Word to find this over explanation of the authority over a situation.

Consider the Old Testament passage in Job

Job 12:14 If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open.

Centuries later, Isaiah picked up on this saying, expanded the emphasis and described the Messiah and His authority to provide access (or restriction) to the kingdom.

Isaiah 22:22 And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

This passage is the very passage John was referring to in our verse this morning. Isaiah is initially speaking of His “servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah”, and of how this man would be a “peg in a secure place”. It is a wonderful passage, speaking of the steadfastness and security of the Lord, that all the promises of God hang on God’s “Peg in a secure place” – that is the Lord Jesus in His ministry to His people.

A reiteration of a similar truth, that is of one having complete authority over a situation is recalled in Matthew when the Lord speaks to Peter this amazing promise.

Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

For our passage, the Lord is describing Himself with this name in the context of the Philadelphians being rejected from the synagogue. These young believers were being barred from the only religious community they had known, that they had grown up in, and that may still had many of their loved ones in.

Man, and any religion he is controlling, have just a few tools to influence their adherents. Peer pressure, fear and guilt are common, but their most powerful weapon is exclusion.

Take it from one who has been asked to leave a church body, a church body that we served in, we taught in, we gave to and we prayed for. People that we loved and prayed with, joined together under the church leadership and asked us to leave. It was heartbreaking, destructive and painful.

For these Philadelphians, they were rejected due to their allegiance to the Suffering Savior. The Jewish synagogue was committed in their denial of their Savior, and pain was the result.

Pain for the the Philadelphians, for they lost connections with loved one. Yet in the midst of this pain, they maintained a faith in the One who has the keys to the Kingdom, and not merely power over membership in a religious “club”. The Body of Christ is the greater good, the greater blessing, the greater connection. He is the One we need to look to for access that matters.

It is good to remember that the Body of Christ is a living organism that is not dependent on man’s rules, laws or organizations.

All of man’s religions have no authority like HE WHO OPENS AND NO ONE WILL SHUT, WHO SHUTS AND NO ONE OPENS.

Let’s be so thankful, that though we may pass through some rejection from those around us, He who is above us has provided us access!

May God’s name be praised.

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 – The Lord’s Supper and A BBQ

2026-06-11

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.

THE Lord’s Supper and A BBQ

The topic for this morning includes a somewhat convoluted application of my favorite story of the great missionary Adoniram Judson. The story goes that he was in prison, with little hope of ever being let go, and was allowed to receive an article from his wife on her next visit.

What did he request? The utensils to perform the Lord’s supper. The plate for the bread, and the holder for the wine. He was in a terrible prison, with little sustenance provided. Yet he had the faith to request the utensils for the church the Lord had called him to establish in Burma.

That is the story this prayer is based on.

Now to give you some background on how my twisted little mind works. Warning – this application of the story was honored by the Lord, but it may not have been the wisest use of the great missionaries example. The Lord is good.

Nevertheless, as I have mentioned earlier in my posts, our family were guests in the USA for many years, and in our efforts to attain citizenship, we encountered many disappointments. I have mentioned how three of our children were placed in deportation for periods of time, with one deported to Canada. This story is about my third son, and our experience during his time in the federal deportation prison.

His was a lengthy stay, as the legal system was exceptionally slow, with judges being transferred, lawyers dragging their feet and prison systems seeking to keep paying customers. Months and months passed, and with every visit, we became a little less hopeful. My second son had already been removed from the county, and we knew it was very possible for it to happen again.

Each visit, we were allowed to bring some books, writing tools, and funds to transfer into his account for phone calls, and treats from the commissary.

As mentioned, his stay was lengthy, and in my readings, I saw my son in a somewhat similar condition as Mr. Judson. A hopeless situation from all appearances. And then it occurred to me in my prayers, that we had to provide a physical anchor for my son to cling to for when he got out. Not if, but for when he got out.

Ok – so what would be appropriate for my son. He was not a believer, and to provide him the utensils for the Lord’s supper would make no sense, but the spirit of Adoniram’s request could be followed. So what to do? What to do?

My son has always been a cook. He has worked the kitchen since he was eight years old, providing a thanksgiving meal for the family. Yes – at 8 years old!

So, knowing our background, our mental state of being worn down, our concern over loosing another son to a bureaucracy, and having read the story of a great missionary, our prayers went from discouragement to hopeful.

What was the anchor that we provided to our son?

I brought a picture of a fancy bbq in on a visit, held it up to the glass and told him it was being delivered this week. I told him he would be using it when he got out. He somewhat made fun, and I understand that, but as he went away from that visit, I would like to think he had some hope.

The sausage he smoked on that BBQ the first weekend he enjoyed his freedom were some of the best ever.

Thankyou Lord for working in the prayers of an ol’ fool.

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 – 41.01

2026-06-10

David’s Victories

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 8:1-14
1 After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines.

As soon as David reunited the kingdom, the Philistines gathered together for a visit.

2 Samuel 5:17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. But David heard of it and went down to the stronghold.

The most troublesome people group of the region were not going to let David get away with uniting the people of God, and becoming more of a threat to their dominance. This could not be, so they gathered their forces and marched to Israel, just like every other time in the past.

At that time, David sought the Lord for guidance, and soundly defeated the enemy.

Our passage this morning is short but indicates a turning of the tide for the nation of Israel. No longer was Israel the Philistines water boy, existing in the area under threat of another attack.

Yes David has shown defensive moves that effectively gave notice to the Philistines in chapter 5. Since then, he has taken Jerusalem as his city, and received the promise of his Son ruling forever, his family becoming a dynasty under God.

It is time to give notice that the kingdom of Israel is about to explode in the region, and the first (of many) recorded victories were against the Philistines.

There is a subtle but important item to notice in this verse that shows a mindset change in the Israelite army, and their commander.

David did not simply defend, he aggressively took a Philistine city.

David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines

Methag-ammah. I had never heard of this location during my readings, and assumed it was a small hamlet on the edge of the Philistine territory. A good first step in David’s dominance over Israel’s enemies.

But alas, I was wrong again. Methag-ammah, meaning “the chief city” was no small victory for David. As a matter of fact, according to a parallel passage in 1 Chronicles, the city was also known as Gath. A principle, arguably the most important city of the Philistines.

1 Chronicles 18:1 After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Gath and its villages out of the hand of the Philistines.

This was no small victory. In one campaign against the Philistines, the Israelites dominated the entire people group of the Philistines, turning the tables and becoming the nation tribute would flow to. Influence, authority and respect had landed in the nation.

Israel was on the march.

For us today, this small verse has a challenge for us. Are we in a defensive position regarding some sinful attitude, or weakness in our Christian life?

David, knowing the promise of God, took the offensive stance toward his enemies. He overcame the resistance that had plagued the Israelites since they entered the land. David did not let the past dictate the future.

How about us? Are we excusing something in our life because that is how we have always done it? It is just the way it is?

I have been in a defensive mode with a certain behavior, and with David’s example and the help of David’s Greater Son, I want to turn the tides.

May we all find a habit or attitude we can consecrate to the Lord, commit to attacking the problem instead on simply asking forgiveness, and move on to more victories.

David did.

Remember, as believers, we only have one offensive weapon. To find the victory in any battle, we need a passage, portion or verse that will be the weapon to use against any sin.

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 – HE WHO MADE THE PLEIADES AND ORION – 287

2026-06-09

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.

287

HE WHO MADE THE PLEIADES AND ORION

Amos 5:8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens the day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the LORD is his name;

Amos is struggling with the people of Israel. He is pleading for them to repent, to consider the God they have abandoned.

His refrain throughout the first portion of chapter 5 is for Israel to “seek God and live”. Amos refers to Pleiades and Orion, major constellations referred to a number of times in the Old Testament and he speaks of the Lord making these two constellations. His hope is that the nation will understand the mighty Creator they have abandoned.

I’m afraid Israel did not “seek God and live”. Amos’ ministry was between 750 and 760 BC. Israel fell to the Assyrians, never to rise again, in 722.

They did not seek the One who made Pleiades and Orion, but another saint was challenged with these two constellations in his confrontation with the Creator God. That man was Job, and his encounter is worth considering, as we think of the Creator who made Pleiades and Orion.

God, in His response to Job’s whining, asks questions. A lot of questions. For our purposes, lets dwell on Job 38:3.

Job 38:31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion?

Notice that God is asking Job if he can “bind” Pleiades, or “loose” the cords of Orion? In my imagination, these were simply poetic declarations of the Lord when speaking of Job’s inabilities. Simply a statement regarding Job’s inabilities when compared to the Creator of all.

I understood that no further details were intended for Job. But thousands of years later, astronomers have found that Pleiades, a grouping of 7 stars sometimes called the seven sisters is considered a “gravitationally bound” grouping of stars. These seven sisters are always together, always in the same position with each other. They are a stable constellation.

Now when I read that verse in Job, and consider His question to Job, I no longer simply think He was demonstrating Job’s inabilities. He was provided Job information that that he may not have understood. Did the ancients know of this trait of Pleiades?

Well, sit down, for the loosing of the cords of Orion also has additional truths revealed to Job and his friends they may not have known.

For you see, Orion with it’s seven stars, is unlike Pleiades, for it is a constellation that is drifting away from itself, gradually “falling apart” from its form. It is as if the cords keeping the seven stars together are being loosed.

Now doesn’t that make you thank God for being the Great and Awesome Creator that He is. He not only made the great constellations, but has revealed to his saints details beyond our comprehension.

For our Savior, the One who bled and died for us, is HE WHO MADE THE PLEIADES AND ORION.

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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Psalms for Psome – Ps 75.03

2026-06-08

My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.

This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.

I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.

Psalm 75:6 For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,
Psalm 75:7 but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.
Psalm 75:8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.

I woke this morning, not knowing what topic was on my schedule to blog about. As I readied my black vitamin (my coffee) and prepared for my time with you, I was impressed about the topic of competition, and how the proverbs direct the saint to enter into competition.

Unexpected? Very much so. Yet I appreciated the nudge towards the topic, and scheduled the blog to be published tomorrow.

I then opened up my scheduled topic and found I was to be in Psalm 75. The verses to be considered this morning, after I had detoured into the proverbs on the topic of competition, were…

Psalm 75:6-7 For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.

How appropriate. I referred to the New Testament in my discussion on competition, when all I had to do was turn one book back in the Old Testament, and find our verses for this day.

Do we see the connection. It is from the hand of the Lord that even the saint is elevated or is put down. Granted, this psalm is global in its descriptions, for the psalmist is discussing the rising of one nation and the downfall of another nation, but is not the truth is applicable to the individual.

Effort, drive and desire are key elements in the success of the saint in pleasing the Lord. That cannot be denied. Yet the passage above defines the source. The Lord elevates and reduces nations and individuals.

In the midst of this discussion, it is important that remember that any humbling of the saint, whether by choice, or by circumstance, (which admittedly must be from the Lord), is to be taken with a thankful heart, for we know that the path of humility is the path to be taken for the saint.

For the nations, this is not so. Every kingdom, country and nation which has rose from obscurity has fallen. Great kingdoms have fallen in as little as one night – I’m thinking of Babylon, and some have taken centuries to fall – I’m thinking of the Roman empire.

Only one nation will endure forever, the kingdom of the Lord Jesus, and all other kingdoms must fall, simply because they are not the Lord’s kingdom. The righteousness of all other kingdoms are as wickedness when compared with King Jesus, and though each nation/kingdom will eventually take of the dregs of the cup of foaming wine, and the saint may be caught up in the trials of the fall, we can rest in the assurance that the eternal kingdom of the Lord is established on a firm foundation.

Let us be thankful for the King, and His righteous reign, and cling to the promises He has given us in the midst of any trials we shall endure.

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Proverbial Thoughts on Competition

2026-06-07

Thoughts on the topic of competition from the book of wisdom.

It was years ago, during a team building get together, when a Sunday School superintendent suggested a competition between Adult Sunday School teachers for certain goals within a certain time period.

As an adult Sunday School teacher, I walked out of that meeting somewhat confused about the entire message I had heard from a church leader. The topic of competition was one topic that took a back seat in my mind until I had wrestled with the bigger subjects of the night.

But the topic of competition rose it’s head again very soon, for it wasn’t many weeks later that we heard rumblings of some Sunday School teachers complaining of the conditions of their classroom, or the time slot they had been granted. If I recall, there were some who expressed concerns of fairness, of level playing fields and disadvantages they had to suffer.

Obviously, this should have been expected, for to set a brother against a brother (or a sister against a sister) in a competitive stance is to invite strife, conflict and dissension.

I can hear the leadership even today. But Carl, this is just a friendly competition. We need to exercise this competition with grace and kindness. Why introduce a topic such as competition that breeds an unhealthy relationship between brothers and sisters?

May I suggest that the Proverbs address competition by NOT mentioning it in a positive light. Topics related to competition such as envy, boasting, pride and selfish ambition are easily tripped over in the proverbs, but I couldn’t find any Old Testament proverb that encouraged or directed the saint to enter into a competitive relationship with a brother or sister in the Lord, or even with those outside of the household of faith.

As mentioned earlier, the proverbs address those emotions and motivators that erupt from a competitive stance. The New Testament is awash with guidance in how we as believers are to relate to one another. I leave my guests with the following passages to consider.

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

Romans 12:16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

Galatians 5:26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

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1 Thessalonian Bits – 4:6

2026-06-06

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 4:6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.

Ok – lets get this straight. Paul is talking to believers, and he is bringing up the subject of the Lord being an avenger.

An avenger!

Before we dig into this verse, let’s remember the context. It has been a week since I have considered this passage, and the old memory glands (or whatever holds my memories these days), is kinda leaky.

So let’s review.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-6a For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter…

Ok so we have reestablished that Paul is addressing believers, that his concern is their sanctification, and this consecration/being set apart for God includes staying away from sexual immorality.

Now when Paul brings up the topic of sexual immorality (πορνεία porneía), he uses the broadest term available. This term is used when describing illicit sexual intercourse, adultery, fornication, incest, harlotry, bestiality and more. In my mind, any sexual activity outside of the bond of marriage would fall under this description.

This restriction was a massive challenge for the Greeks, as the culture they were saved out of reveled in this debauchery. Another example of this behavior was in the Corinthian church, a church which Paul continually expressed his amazement by their immoral sexual “freedoms”

For the Thessalonians, Paul had addresses this concern early on, warning them of the consequences, and that the Lord is the avenger.

Now it is important for the believer that all sexual immorality is to be abstained from. This is the base, or a foundational truth Paul has taught them, and that believers know is true. But in this passage, Paul adds a wrinkle we should take note of.

He speaks of transgressing and wronging his brother in this matter.

What? It is bad enough if there is a believer that is involved in sexual immorality, but Paul is speaking of a brother sleeping with another brother’s wife. Sexual immorality with a brother’s wife, a brother that he worships God with.

Consider the brother who is wronged.

Is it not incumbent on the Lord to deliver that brother justice for the wrongdoing? The betrayal this man felt must have been deep, and the Lord’s message to love his enemy placed him in an even deeper challenge.

Sometimes being a Christian is exceptionally difficult.

Consider the brother who sinned.

Now he has the hound of Heaven chasing him down, the Lord Himself being the wronged brothers avenger. The term used when Paul describes the Lord as an avenger is describing the one who exacts a penalty from the wrongdoer. The term also includes the concept of punishment.

Consider the only other time this Greek term is used in the New Testament.

Romans 13:4 ……But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.

The avenger in this case is the government, the civil authorities that use punishment as their management tool of the masses. When describing this avenger, the wrath of God is linked to the avenger. This is heavy stuff!

And what a mess! This one act, (if it was only one act by the sinful parties), has the capacity of completely destroying the work of the apostle, of decimating the church and of providing offence to so many in and out of the church,

The damage is great, and the Lord Himself is the avenger. This isn’t going to turn out well! The best possible solution is the complete repentance of the sinning party and full reconciliation of the damaged marriages. If this is possible, through the Lord’s mercy, there may be some recovery of church body.

But I surely would not want to be in the sinning brother’s boots. He has some hard times coming to visit him!

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Names of God – HE WHO MADE GREAT LIGHTS – 286

2026-06-05

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.

286

HE WHO MADE GREAT LIGHTS

Psalm 136:7 to him who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures forever;

We are visiting Psalm 136 again, and it is fitting that we do, for the psalm is a repetition of God’s great love for His people.

Throughout this psalm, the author has a refrain for every act of the Lord He has performed for His people.

That refrain is “His steadfast love endures forever.”

This must surely, I thought be the same psalm that in other translations speak of “His mercy endures forever”. But I am mistaken! The psalm I am thinking of is Psalm 118, where the psalmist picks up the same refrain, praising God for His steadfast love (again!)

Throughout the Old Testament, the scoffer and unbeliever focus on tragic history that occurs in the narrative, some of which occurred to accomplish God’s plan. This is a common, (and somewhat justified) complaint of those who have never met the Messiah. It is a method of deflecting blame from their own sin problem, blaming God for something they (and I) don’t fully understand!

Yet, it is repeated over and over again, not only instatements, but in His actions, that the Old Testament describes our Master as the One who is steadfast in His love for His people. Once the soul has tasted that the Lord is good, all complaints of prior history fades, for He suffered more than any, and He suffered for all.

We must remember that those who may have seemed to have died prematurely in a battle, in a war, or in fights that extended an earthly theocracy, were souls that belonged to God, that He is sovereign, and though I personally have struggled with some of the stories revealed in the Old Testament, it is of the will of God that has not only allowed or directed difficult times, but the same God who has revealed these actions to His people.

It is wise to not sit in judgement on the Creator!

Nevertheless, to Him who made the great lights, the great lights are referring to the sun, moon and stars as the following verses describes.

Psalm 136:8,9 the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures forever; the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever;

I could speak of the sheer magnitude of His creation of the lights, especially the sun. How massive in size, and critical for our existence is the sun. Yet the sun is simply one of a hundred billion million gazillion (alot!) stars spun out into space, that the psalmist could not have known of, yet the Creator provided.

This alone should stop us in our tracks, considering the incredible, unimaginable vastness of the creation! Yet the psalmist speaks of these creations, these great lights as they relate to the day to day order for lowly men and women on the earth.

Each day, the sun provides light, heat, and specific time periods for mankind to have order and experience a consistency of expectations. Each day, the sun will provide light, each night the stars will provide guidance and beauty. God’s people can rely on the Lord’s creation, and this provides a comfort to the saint, knowing God has provided a faithful creation, reflecting a faithful God.

But the psalmist speaks of steadfast love being the reason for this faithfulness in the performance of the great lights. It is the motivation of the Lord that the psalmist highlights, and that which we might do well to dwell on this morning.

His intention to us is fuels by a great steadfast love through creation, through our daily lives, through the food He supplies and the rest He provides. God has made the great lights because of His great love for us, even though we go about without recognizing this great blessing

Take a moment this day, in your travels, in the quiet, in that alone time and consider the great lights, whether daytime or nighttime, and give the Lord the recognition He so richly deserves.

For He is the God who made the Great Lights, and has given us the Light of Life to know Him.

Thank you Jesus.

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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Proverbial Thoughts on SLEEP

2026-06-04

Thoughts on the topic of sleep from the book of wisdom.

Scientists have studied sleep and have yet to come to a conclusion as to what it exactly is. In my brief research, I find references to the mystery of sleep.

Most, but not all studies, suggest sleep is for the brain, and not necessarily the body, which surprises me, but then again many things surprise me!

One of the current findings is that sleep impacts cognitive abilities, or the brains abilities to process the acquiring of knowledge and understanding through thought, experience and the senses.

Whatever sleep is, it is spoken of in the proverbs as to it’s benefits and it’s possible abuse. As one who abuses this blessing, by taking an afternoon nap occasionally, I find the following passages worthy of considering.

3:24 If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

This is the only verse in the book of Proverbs that addresses sleep without a warning attached. It is good to see that the context of this verse is Solomon’s exhortation to keep sound wisdom and discretion. A fearlessness and a sweet sleep are the partners of a soul that seeks the Lord’s wisdom and direction.

This may be an indicator of why the sleep industry is so large in the modern world, for we must admit that some who suffer from a deprivation of sleep are those who have abandoned the wisdom of God for their lives. Many factors may come into play regarding a short term lack of sleep, but if we seek the wisdom of God, a sweet sleep will be one of many rewards.

Have I mentioned how I love a good nap! So sweet!!!

Proverbs 6:10-11 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

And yet that love of sleep can be easily abused.

There have been times when I have known a task was required but the call of the comforters took me away. I cannot claim I know of any specific poverty that has taken me over, for the Lord is a Merciful and Kind Master, but I do realize if I succumb to the sweet, sweet horizontal position too much, many time sensitive tasks will be lost, goals will be missed, and things may simply fall apart, allowing poverty to pounce on our lives.

Our verse speaks of poverty, and the Word speaks of slothfulness in similar manner. For those interested, I have provided a discussion on that topic in four previous posts (See Proverbial Thoughts on Sluggards – A, B, C and D)

Back to the topic of sleep. To be drawn into a deep sleep, even now, sounds so tempting, and yet the day has been a busy one, one filled with tasks taken on and completed. I do not consider my day as characterized by slothfulness, but on the occasional day when I have few tasks ahead, (or purposedly avoid tasks), I will confess to the sweet allure of a nap.

Yet I sense this verse is not speaking of the occasional down day, when a nap may be a simple blessing of the Lord. Rest is an important gift the Lord has provided. No, this verse is speaking of a soul that is characterized by slothfulness, a sluggard, a man who works hard avoiding work!

Those who are lazy, are drawn to sleep to avoid many things, to escape the reality of their own choices. Slothfulness degrades the soul, and the soul wants to avoid this reality. Sleep provides this escape.

20:13 Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.

I leave this short post on sleep with wise words for those who may love sleep just a bit too much. As a lover of naps myself, this short verse reminds me that sleep has a purpose for us, but to be satisfied in life, sleep cannot be the focus of our being. It is simply a blessing from the Lord to enjoy, to reinvigorate our bodies and brains and to provide a fresh start in honoring the Lord the next day.

It is late tonight, and I will leave my gentle reader with those thoughts. I am off to visit with my wifey, to have a chance to review the day, and to nod off for a few hours before one more day.

Have a great day in the Lord, and enjoy the rest he provides!

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Life of David – 40.03

2026-06-03

David’s Prayer of Gratitude

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.

Prayer of GRATITUDE – David’s God

2 Samuel 7:25-29

25 And now, O LORD God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken.
26 And your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The LORD of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you.
27 For you, O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.
28 And now, O Lord GOD, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant.
29 Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord GOD, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”

David has been informed he is to be the recipient of one of the greatest promises made to a mere mortal, a sinful man under the law, a man who has a heart for God but who has slipped into sin a number of times, and sadly will slip into egregious sin again.

At this point in his life, may I suggest, he understands his nature to sin, his propensity to wander and his ability to go against the God he loves. At times, David seems to be a man out of touch with his own time!

His prayer concludes with a focus on the Lord Himself, with the Lord’s abilities to perform the Word He has declared to His servant. David, after being told he will be the father of a dynasty, a man whose name will be remembered forever, since his Son will be on the throne for all eternity, speaks not of himself, but of the Lord’s name being magnified.

David repeats truths back to the Lord, speaking of God’s relation to His people Israel, and of His revealing the dynasty of God through David. But again, as a servant, David is taking the back seat, a passive receptor of the Lord’s goodness and mercy, of the Lord’s unbridled grace to a man who sees himself as a servant.

David had consistently taken the position of a servant in this prayer, not unlike that which the Lord described in Luke 17.

Luke 17:7 “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’?
Luke 17:8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’?
Luke 17:9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded?
Luke 17:10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

In taking this position of servant, David is now experiencing the greatest of gifts, and proves his commitment to a servant life by his humble reaction to this revelation.

In the last two verses, as David seeks to please the Lord in his prayer, he refers to himself as a servant three times.

David was a servant of the Lord, and the Lord’s name will be magnified in David, and even more so in the greater Son of David! For the house of David was to be established by the Word of God in this promise, and is blessed forever through the Son of David! Jesus the Messiah has fulfilled all the promises of the Word, and this promise to David is clearly fleshed out in the Son of Man, the promised Messiah.

May we also take the position of servant to the Most High, and seek to please Him in our daily efforts, walking in the Spirit, resting in His provisions and trusting His promises.

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 – 9

2026-06-02

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

Sentenced to Death Unjustly

Daniel 6:4 Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him.

Mark 14:1 It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him,

For the last two posts, we have considered the sentencing of Daniel to the fate of death in two different aspects. First was the sentencing to death by an unwilling judge, and secondly the sentencing to death by envious enemies. Both foreshadowed the Messiah’s experience.

This post will consider the legality of the sentencing and not necessarily the connected emotions of those involved in the dastardly deed.

Now when I speak of the legality of the sentencing for Daniel, it just so happened in Daniel’s case that his life long practice of prayer became illegal though the passing of a temporary injunction. Yes formally, Daniel was sentnenced to death “legally” but in all appearances this was simply a method to exact the desired out come of an evil group of government ofificials.

Of course, for the Lord, the illegality of the sentencing is shocking. As I ventured through my research, I found a list of 21 of the Sanhedrin’s laws broken in order to condemn and crucify their Messiah. (Thanks to By Faith for this summary)

1. No arrest by the religious authority was to be arranged by a bribe.
2. No criminal proceedings were to be taken after sunset.
3. Judges and Sanhedrin members must not participate in an arrest.
4. No trial could take place before the morning sacrifice.
5. No secret trial was allowed – only in public.
6. Charges are not to be sought from a man after his arrest.
7. Trial procedure – first the defence, then the accusation.
8. All may argue for acquittal – all may not argue for a guilty verdict.
9. Any two witnesses must agree on every detail.
10. No allowance is made for the accused to witness against himself.
11. The High Priest is forbidden to rend his garments.
12. No charges are to originate from the judges.
13. A charge of blasphemy must involve the name of God.
14. No condemnation of the accused is allowed on the basis of his words alone.
15. A verdict could not be announced at night.
16. In cases of capital punishment, the trial and verdict cannot occur on the same day.
17. Voting for the death penalty is by individual vote – from the youngest to the eldest.
18. A unanimous verdict for guilt shows innocence.
19. The sentence for a guilty verdict must be given three days after the verdict.
20. The judges are to be humane and kind.
21. The person condemned to death must not be first beaten or scourged.

My friends – though Daniels sentencing was formally legal, the trap that was laid for him was not unlike that of the Messiah. Both men were brought before a wicked ruler and condemnation was declared unjustly.

Both men suffered though they did nothing illegal. The laws were ignored or twisted to gain the result of a wicked group of men!

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 – HE WHO KEEPS WATCH OVER YOUR SOUL – 285

2026-06-01

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.

285

HE WHO KEEPS WATCH OVER YOUR SOUL

Proverbs 24:12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?

Feigning ignorance is so common. In this world of knowledge, access to knowledge, abundant facts and figures, calculations, methods of analysis and data accumulation, to claim ignorance is a difficult sell.

Yet the argument can easily be made that with the abundance of knowledge available to the modern man, two results can occur.

With the flood of data pouring into our eye sockets, we may be numb to the impact of any specific piece of knowledge. We often do not have the time to consider the data, the impact of the data of our lives, and the proper response, if any. By the time we have consumed that morsel of information, another piece of information is knocking at the door of our minds, screaming to get in.

It is all a bit of an information overload!

Beyond the sheer over-abundance of information available to the modern man, we have an additional problem. Crappy data.

Information that is simply worthless, merely a distraction at best. I would suggest this is the bulk of information that is available today, and the motive is to gain the attention of a consumer, that soul who may not discriminate the data or the claims of the salesman, and simply be led into an agreement that will cost them more than the purchased product is worth.

Now, don’t get me wrong on this point, as the worthless data that I refer to is not simply associated with goods and services in the practical, physical world. Worthless data may also be information that is intended to distract the reader from better, wholesome, spiritual information.

Of course worthless data may be lumped in with data that is intended to deceive, to lead astray or to destroy.

Nevertheless, to feign ignorance in this modern age is a hard sell for the average person. Too much information is available, and our problem nowadays is sifting through to find the correct, factual and edifying information to build a correct and godly life upon.

Of course the data we can rely on is the Word, but as we read this passage above, I do not think Solomon is addressing scientific facts, mathematical equations or general truths all who breathe can know.

Solomon is talking of the responsibilities we have to live properly in relation to those around us. To love those whom we know, to care for those we may not know well, and to relate properly to those who may be our enemy.

After all, Solomon mentions our soul and heart, those containers of our lives that hold the important “stuff”, the stuff that we cannot feign ignorance of if we care about God and men.

If we are honest with ourselves, and avoid the distracting relentless barrage of data, we can know what Solomon is referring to. I suggest the Word provides guidance in this area through a prophet called Micah.

Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

We know inside and the Lord provides the external data to confirm our responsibilities before Him and His people.

He is the God who keeps watch over our soul, and though we know the best, He is the One who provides strength, guidance and external verification of our internal data, so we may be sure before Him.

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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Psalms for Psome – Ps 75.02

2026-05-31

My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.

This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.

I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.

Psalm 75:2 At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity.
Psalm 75:3 When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah
Psalm 75:4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;
Psalm 75:5 do not lift up your horn on high, or speak with haughty neck.’”

Even at the start of our discussion on the judgement of God which is the force and topic of this psalm, is God’s determination (judgement) of the appropriate time, of a set time that He appoints.

We have nothing to do with the timing of this judgement. God will pick the time, at His discretion and to His glory.

Before I get very far into this psalm, let me ask a question. Is it possible that the “set time” the Psalmist speaks of refers to the final judgement of all mankind? Although he may be referring to an immediate judgement in this Psalm (Sishak’s invasion of Rehoboam’s kingdom), as with many of the Psalm’s, a bigger picture may rise out of the immediate prophecy.

This is something to consider. If so, this speaks of His patience and willingness to wait (for millennia) for those who need to hear. It is good to remember that He will set a time when all our work is done, and we stand naked before Him.

Back to the Psalm though. As mentioned, He is described as the One who determines the time of judgement, and for verses 3-5, He speaks of His work of stabilizing a tottering creation. We do well to remember this creation is on a collision course with ultimate death, that the curse is a very real truth none can escape from. Yet as all of creation is careening towards the end, tottering and crumbling, the Lord is the One who steadies it’s pillars. He steadies the pillars!

Not only is He extending the existence of creation for His peoples sake, He is also extending the time for those who are wicked and boastful. He provides wise counsel, counsel that will be of benefit to them. He is not bringing any to judgement too early, but pleading with those headed to judgement to “not boast” and “not to lift up their horn”, or “speak with a haughty neck.”

Consider – He extends the time for repentance by supporting a dying world, ravaged by sin, pleading for those in rebellion to turn from their wicked ways.

When I first read this passage, I was somewhat reluctant to jump in, but as I read, I was enlightened by the mercy of God towards those He will ultimately judge.

I came away from this short passage, seeing our God as the One who seeks our best, as the God who set’s aside immediate judgement in order to provide opportunity for His creation.

A little later in the Psalm, the author speaks of a cup of foaming wine, with the wicked draining it to the dregs! What a horrible, terrifying picture of judgement.

John 18:11 But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?”

The wicked will drink the foaming wine, drinking it down to the dregs, drinking down the foulest portion of an already bitter wine. The wicked will drink it and what a horrible day that will be. But One Righteous Servant also drank the bitter wine, the cup of suffering, interrupting the wicked’s march to destruction.

The wicked will drink it. Don’t be fooled. But for now, there is time – Don’t be of the wicked. Turn to the One who drank the cup of suffering for you. Follow after Jesus, for He is the only hope we have in this toppling, crumbling world. He has set up a kingdom with foundations, setting the pillars right!

Hebrews 11:10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

God is the Judge and we, as the Psalmist spoke in the first verses, should be thankful for such a merciful and kind God!

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1 Thessalonian Bits – 4:5

2026-05-30

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 4:5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;

In our third verse of this chapter, Paul’s introduced the will of God for these believers, and the first topic was that of sex. How is a Christian to live honorably towards God in the arena of sex in his life. First off, Paul speaks of abstaining from sexual immorality. Don’t sin.

It is somewhat obvious that a Christian is not to sin, but Paul reminds us of this requirement in our calling. But he simply does not give us a negative, without providing a replacement for the bed. Enter verse 4, where he speaks of being self controlled, and as mentioned earlier, the core idea is to rest in the Lord, to dwell in Him in order for the fruit of the Spirit, which contains self control is provided as we walk in the Spirit.

Now in verse 5, we find he is dealing with the Thessalonians regarding their specific background or history prior to salvation.

Remember, the Thessalonians were primarily a church of converted gentiles, and when converted, many if not all of the church, had been steeped in the culture of the Gentiles, living in the passion of lust.

This condition is prevalent in our modern society, and the modern church has somewhat abandoned this demand upon new converts. If a new convert is in a compromising relationship with someone, it is not dissuaded or condemned. It might simply be ignored.

In some cases it is encouraged, as if the church was never to make any judgement on the life choice of the convert. This is foolishness, and the death of the church.

To live in the passion of lusts, is to be controlled by feelings and cravings, to be led about by desires that are dictated by an unregenerate heart. This is not the condition a believer lives in, and Paul reminded the Thessalonians they had been called out of that life.

Paul tailored his message to the needs of the congregation he was dealing with, and when he was teaching the Thessalonians, the lustful passions of their prior existence came to the forefront of the discussion.

This verse is the beginning of a harsh warning to the church. It is not a light subject, and Paul loved them enough to challenge those he cared for.

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Names of God – HE WHO IS MIGTHY – 284

2026-05-29

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.

284

HE WHO IS MIGHTY

Luke 1:49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

Grade 4, and Lyle was my bully. As a matter of fact, he was everyone’s bully. As I try to remember the times of grade 4, I can’t remember a time when Lyle actually proved his might, to establish this bully persona. He was all talk and never exercised any of the bravado he spoke.

What a great talker, and the threats he made to keep his people in order were poetic, majestic and terrifying. Remember – I was in grade 4 and Lyle was my first bully, (other than my two big brothers).

In that little mind of grade 4 Carl, Lyle was mighty. He had the power , the authority and the right to rule over all the kids in Miss Claxton’s class.

But was he mighty? Or is the secret of the bully fear induced submission? I think so, and there are a multitude of religions that are based on this model. Fear induced submission, from a bully type God.

The problem for the bully is that when push comes to shove, the bully usually collapses. His reign of fear begins to crack, and eventually those under him realize it was a might not based on fact but on fear!

Not so with the God of Israel, for He is mighty, and He proves it. The write of this verse confesses that God has “done great things for me”.

There are some in the Christian community that would view God as a bully type of deity, one who demands rule keeping, using threats to create obedience in his people. Is this the God we serve? Is this the message we see in the Messiah as He walked amongst us?

In this verse the Lord is one who is doing great things for his people. No hint of threatening, or danger of “being beaten up” if not compliant to his wishes. Nothing like that is mentioned in this verse. It is not the Lord who is speaking great swelling words, seeking to induce a fear based obedience, but the recipient of God’s goodness declaring the might of God because of God’s actual work the saint experienced.

So different than Lyle. Bullies have no might other than fear. God’s might is actual, experiential and evident.

We need to understand He who is Mighty is the God who shows His might by providing for His people, doing mighty things for those who love Him and even for those who don’t know Him.

He who is Mighty is better than Lyle. So much better, in so many ways!

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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North or South

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Story Time

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THE Lord’s Supper and A BBQ

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Prayer of GRATITUDE – David’s God

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