Psalm 37

Greetings!

Of David.
1 Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.

God wins in the end, and 2nd place won’t even be close.  Tough times and evil people seem like such [...]

Colossians 4

Greetings!
4     Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
Further Instructions
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

There is so much I could say about prayer.  Sometimes I think it gets over-analyzed.  I read a book called Prayer by Philip Yancey, who [...]

Colossians 3

Greetings!
Rules for Holy Living
3     Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When [...]

Colossians 2

Greetings!
2     I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2 My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that [...]

Colossians 1

Greetings!  Let’s dive in to the short but terrific letter from Paul to the Colossians. 

Colossians
1     Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 We [...]

Who can understand the Bible?

Beware of churches or denominations the insist that you can’t understand the Bible without them giving their official interpretation of it to you.  Some churches actually discourage people from reading it on their own. 
But remember that the letters in the New Testament, for example, were written to real people.  They didn’t have to get a priest [...]

Colossians introduction

Greetings!  Today we begin the Book of Colossians. 
The Apostle Paul wrote this short letter (4 chapters) around a.d.60-62 while imprisoned in Rome.  It was written to address a heresy that had arisen in the church at Colosse, where Paul had apparently not visited.  The heresy was the teaching that Jesus was not God. 
He also explained how Jesus [...]

Proverbs 14

Greetings! 
Verse 1 should convict us all.  If we are not careful our words and deeds can destroy the things we worked hard to build.  How many times have we seen a few careless words destroy long term relationships?  Or critical spirits or misplaced priorities damage relationships permanently?

14     The wise woman builds her house, but with her [...]

Psalm 36

Greetings! 
Those who don’t fear the Lord have no reason not to sin - other than avoiding human consequences if caught. 
I like how it describes God’s love, faithfulness, righteousness and justice in such grand terms. 

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord.
1 An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness [...]

Psalm 35

Greetings!  This is an “imprecatory” (cursing) Psalm.  I wrote more about them here.  These Psalms sound harsh, but keep in mind that the Psalmists are often just calling for God’s perfect judgment.  They are not taking vengeance themselves.  They are also expressing their honest feelings in crying out to God.

Of David.
1 Contend, O Lord, [...]

Psalm 34

Greetings!
There are many promises in this Psalm: He answers us, delivers us from fear, being unashamed, saving us, and more!

Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left.
1 I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.
2 My [...]

Exodus 39-40

Greetings!

The Priestly Garments
39     From the blue, purple and scarlet yarn they made woven garments for ministering in the sanctuary. They also made sacred garments for Aaron, as the Lord commanded Moses.
The Ephod
2 They made the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. 3 They hammered [...]

Exodus 37-38

Greetings!  These chapters describe the furniture for the tabernacle.  My Life Application Study Bible notes and my Bible software commentary had almost nothing to add to these chapters!  I couldn’t think of much either. 
The Ark
37     Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a [...]

Exodus 35-36

Greetings!
Sabbath Regulations
35     Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, “These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do: 2 For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it must [...]

Exodus 33-34

Greetings!
33     Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ 2 I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, [...]

Exodus 31-32

Greetings!
Bezalel and Oholiab
31     Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts— 4 to make artistic designs for work [...]

Exodus 29-30

Greetings! 
Consecration of the Priests
29     “This is what you are to do to consecrate them, so they may serve me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams without defect. 2 And from fine wheat flour, without yeast, make bread, and cakes mixed with oil, and wafers spread with oil. 3 Put them in a [...]