Proverbs 17

Greetings!

17     Better a dry crust with peace and quiet
than a house full of feasting, with strife.

That speaks volumes about how important wisdom is in decision making.  You can marry all sorts of people and be within God’s moral laws, but there are many ways to choose unwisely.  Several Proverbs point to the folly of [...]

Psalm 45

Greetings!  This is a Psalm for a king about to be married.  It seems to portray the ideals of a king, or to be pointing towards traits of Jesus, the King of the universe.

Psalm 45
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil. A wedding song. [...]

Psalm 44

Greetings!  This is a unique Psalm in that the people are crying out under oppression but don’t know why.  Often they would face the consequences of breaking their covenant with God.
They remind themselves of past victories where God led them.  They declare their faith even though they don’t understand the situation, as Job did (Job [...]

Psalm 43

Greetings!  The author thought he was being unfairly treated and asked God to intervene - yet he feels rejected by God. 
How often do you think of God as a joy and a delight (v. 4)?  He praises God despite his troubles and tells himself not to be downcast.  Sometimes just reminding ourselves of who God is [...]

3 John

Greetings!  This is one of only 2-3 personal letters included in the Bible. 

The elder,
To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. 3 It gave [...]

2 John

Greetings!  This is one of the shortest books of the Bible - only one chapter.  Study it then congratulate yourself on reading a whole book of the Bible today!  He mainly reiterates themes he expressed in the Gospel of John and in 1 John.

2 John
The elder,
To the chosen lady and her children, whom [...]

1 John 5

Greetings!
When teaching some Bible study tips to an adult Sunday School class I had them pick a chapter at random.  Then we performed the following exercise I had picked up from a sermon by James MacDonald on Walk in the Word.  The chapter was 1 John 5, and it was a perfect example.

Read 1-3 chapters at [...]

1 John 4

Greetings!

Test the Spirits
4     Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is [...]