Happy Sunday! It’s looking to be a beautiful day. And with church today, any day in church is a great day.
Our lessons really meld together well. We start with this Psalm that reflects on our Lord as our refuge and strength. He is our rock. He is steady. He is strong. He is immoveable. We can run to Him any time we are in trouble. We probably wouldn’t have gotten in trouble in the first place if we were constantly by His side. But when we find ourselves in trouble, we can run to Him for help.
This Psalm matches up so well with the account of David and Goliath. David’s whole strength is his trust in the Lord. He is angered at Goliath because he defiled the Lord. David does not trust in armor or weapons, he trusts in the Lord.
Paul’s speech before Festus and Agrippa comes to an end. Both agree that Paul has done nothing deserving death or imprisonment, but since Paul has appealed to Caesar, they send him on to Rome. Couldn’t Paul call do-overs at that point? Couldn’t he take it back and be let go? Maybe, but Paul has been told by Jesus that he would speak before Caesar and so he shall.
Like I said, these lessons work so well together. God’s people being bullied and picked on by others and yet, they remain strong because the Lord is their rock.
It’s crazy, the accounts are broken up into these segments. It’s such easy reading. I want to read more and more. That’s a good thing.
Anyway, almost time to get going before church. Have a blessed day!
I was singing at the house the other day and my daughter told me to stop singing. So I can’t even sing in my own house. And yet, we are called upon to sing to the Lord. He is a wonderful God, “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows.” My parents were here this past weekend. It was good to see them. Anyway, our Lord is good to us. He watches over everyone, the fatherless, widows, the solitary, prisoners. He is the God of the unfortunate. So when things go wrong for us, we can run to Him. Like the whole section there on rain, we need rain (I don’t mind it not raining because I don’t have to cut my grass). But when we need it, our Lord will produce rain and protect us – just like He did with David.
Finally, we get to read of David killing Goliath with just a sling and a stone. Some suggest that David was left handed (because of his musical ability and more). They suggest that the physics of using a sling lends itself to work much better with the left hand. I don’t know why, but that’s what they suggest. The point of the matter is that David trusted in God and God helped him defeat Goliath.
Then we have David and Jonathan becoming close friends, “the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David.” Some liberals suggest that there was a sexual relationship between David and Jonathan, but with the way the scriptures speak of homosexuality, I really doubt that was true. They were just like brothers, very, very good friends. It doesn’t mean that there was anything sexual involved.
But, just as it looks like we are going to have a happy ending, trouble brews. Saul gets jealous of David. This jealousy goes on until Saul’s death. When David is playing music to ease the evil spirit in Saul, he’s fine. But almost anything else David does arouses Saul’s jealousy. As the text says, “Saul eyed David from that day on.” And yet, Jonathan and David remain good friends.
So, who do you listen to, the owner of the boat, the pilot, or some stranger who is actually a prisoner? Obviously, you listen to the owner of the boat and the pilot, unless the stranger has connections to God. If he has connections to God, listen to him. It’s a rough trip with lots of wind and waves, but Paul assures them that they will be fine. Everyone will live. They just lose the boat. We just get to wait and see.
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” says Romans 8. That is a great passage. I can’t imagine someone oppressing me “all day long.” Oh, everyone has their problems from time to time. Try losing your job. You feel like no one wants you. You feel worthless. And yes, I guess you would feel like you are being oppressed all day long.
But during those times, we put our trust in God and focus on Him. Believe me, it’s a lot easier to type that and say that than it actually is to do that. But as David says in the Psalm, “What can flesh do to me?” God is the one we put our trust in and no one can do permanent harm but Him. And He loves us and sent His Son to die for us, so that’s what we focus on.
So David gets married. Good for him. Congratulations. I guess it makes sense now. David murdered Bathsheba’s husband by sending him to the front lines. He learned the trick from Saul who tried to have David killed at the hands of the Philistines. Why would anyone want 100 foreskins as any type of gift or payment? I guess it was just a different culture.
The Lord was with David and David prospered in everything he did. But the Lord sends a harmful spirit upon Saul. The notes from my NIV Concordia Study Bible say, “This statement and similar ones in Scripture indicate that evil spirits are subject to God’s control and operate only within divinely determined boundaries.” They then site, Jdg 9:23, 1 Kings 22:19-23, Job 1:12, 2:6. I wish Concordia had finished a Commentary on 1 Samuel, this would be very interesting to read about. I guess the comforting thing is that God is in control and He loves us. Never get on God’s wrong side like Saul did.
But it is apparent that Paul is on God’s good side. God protects a whole ship load of people on Paul’s behalf. God feels it is important that Paul share the Gospel with Caesar and goes to unusual measures to see that it happens. Notice, the Centurion who didn’t take Paul’s advice to stay in the last port is not listening to Paul and taking steps to protect him. It would have been common practice to kill the prisoners so they didn’t escape. They would not have batted an eye at that. But the Centurion doesn’t want Paul harmed. This is the stuff that movies are made of. We will have to talk to Mel Gibson about making one. “The Life of Paul.”
I got distracted before writing today. As we are reading about David in 1 Samuel, I checked to see if Psalm 21 was written by David. It only makes sense that as we read about David in Samuel we should be reading his Psalms in our Psalms. And yes, Psalm 21 was written by David. So then, I started checking the Psalms for the next few days and paging through my Bible to see if they were Psalms written by David and it was getting to be laborious. Finally, I started with Psalm 1 and paged through my Bible and wrote a list of the Psalms that were written by David for quick reference. I’ll bring it to class Wednesday (if I remember).
Obviously David was in a good mood when he wrote this Psalm. He praises God for giving him the crown, keeping him safe, answering his prayers, and just blessing him in general. As Christians, this is a good example for us. We give God credit for the good stuff He does in our lives. It is a good practice to list out to God, two or three things a day that He has done for us. Giving us a wonderful spouse, decent children, a job, a home, food, clothing, all that we have. Authorities also say it helps fight depression. Maybe that’s why David wrote this Psalm, to help with depression.
Things between Saul and David just keep getting worse and worse. Everyone else can see the good in David except Saul. Maybe Saul was manic/depressive and just didn’t have experts to diagnose it. Or maybe, more people with that type of “disease” have “a harmful spirit” and we don’t give the “harmful spirit” credit. It would certainly change the way we deal with those situations and how we approach a “cure.”
Jonathan protects David. Michal, Saul’s daughter, David’s wife, protects David. The only one who seems to be against David is Saul. But the king is one person you don’t want against you.
Eventually, David escapes to Samuel and together with the other prophets, they prophesy. When Saul arrives, he even starts to prophesy. I was very surprised by verse 24, “And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night.” I would have suggested that while drinking and driving do not go together, that prophesying and laying naked would not go together either. Don’t worry, we won’t be trying this in church any time soon.
So, finally, we read of the shipwreck. And as promised, everyone arrives safely. Paul is even bitten by a snake and survives much to the surprise of the natives. He ends up healing lots of people and to make a long story short, he arrives safely in Rome. We will finish Acts tomorrow.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 2, 2009
PSALM 71:1-8
1 SAMUEL 17:20-47
ACTS 26:24-27:8
Happy Sunday! It’s looking to be a beautiful day. And with church today, any day in church is a great day.
Our lessons really meld together well. We start with this Psalm that reflects on our Lord as our refuge and strength. He is our rock. He is steady. He is strong. He is immoveable. We can run to Him any time we are in trouble. We probably wouldn’t have gotten in trouble in the first place if we were constantly by His side. But when we find ourselves in trouble, we can run to Him for help.
This Psalm matches up so well with the account of David and Goliath. David’s whole strength is his trust in the Lord. He is angered at Goliath because he defiled the Lord. David does not trust in armor or weapons, he trusts in the Lord.
Paul’s speech before Festus and Agrippa comes to an end. Both agree that Paul has done nothing deserving death or imprisonment, but since Paul has appealed to Caesar, they send him on to Rome. Couldn’t Paul call do-overs at that point? Couldn’t he take it back and be let go? Maybe, but Paul has been told by Jesus that he would speak before Caesar and so he shall.
Like I said, these lessons work so well together. God’s people being bullied and picked on by others and yet, they remain strong because the Lord is their rock.
It’s crazy, the accounts are broken up into these segments. It’s such easy reading. I want to read more and more. That’s a good thing.
Anyway, almost time to get going before church. Have a blessed day!
MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2009
PSALM 68:4-10
1 SAMUEL 17:48-18:9
ACTS 27:9-26
I was singing at the house the other day and my daughter told me to stop singing. So I can’t even sing in my own house. And yet, we are called upon to sing to the Lord. He is a wonderful God, “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows.” My parents were here this past weekend. It was good to see them. Anyway, our Lord is good to us. He watches over everyone, the fatherless, widows, the solitary, prisoners. He is the God of the unfortunate. So when things go wrong for us, we can run to Him. Like the whole section there on rain, we need rain (I don’t mind it not raining because I don’t have to cut my grass). But when we need it, our Lord will produce rain and protect us – just like He did with David.
Finally, we get to read of David killing Goliath with just a sling and a stone. Some suggest that David was left handed (because of his musical ability and more). They suggest that the physics of using a sling lends itself to work much better with the left hand. I don’t know why, but that’s what they suggest. The point of the matter is that David trusted in God and God helped him defeat Goliath.
Then we have David and Jonathan becoming close friends, “the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David.” Some liberals suggest that there was a sexual relationship between David and Jonathan, but with the way the scriptures speak of homosexuality, I really doubt that was true. They were just like brothers, very, very good friends. It doesn’t mean that there was anything sexual involved.
But, just as it looks like we are going to have a happy ending, trouble brews. Saul gets jealous of David. This jealousy goes on until Saul’s death. When David is playing music to ease the evil spirit in Saul, he’s fine. But almost anything else David does arouses Saul’s jealousy. As the text says, “Saul eyed David from that day on.” And yet, Jonathan and David remain good friends.
So, who do you listen to, the owner of the boat, the pilot, or some stranger who is actually a prisoner? Obviously, you listen to the owner of the boat and the pilot, unless the stranger has connections to God. If he has connections to God, listen to him. It’s a rough trip with lots of wind and waves, but Paul assures them that they will be fine. Everyone will live. They just lose the boat. We just get to wait and see.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2009
PSALM 56:1-4
1 SAMUEL 18:10-30
ACTS 27:27-44
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” says Romans 8. That is a great passage. I can’t imagine someone oppressing me “all day long.” Oh, everyone has their problems from time to time. Try losing your job. You feel like no one wants you. You feel worthless. And yes, I guess you would feel like you are being oppressed all day long.
But during those times, we put our trust in God and focus on Him. Believe me, it’s a lot easier to type that and say that than it actually is to do that. But as David says in the Psalm, “What can flesh do to me?” God is the one we put our trust in and no one can do permanent harm but Him. And He loves us and sent His Son to die for us, so that’s what we focus on.
So David gets married. Good for him. Congratulations. I guess it makes sense now. David murdered Bathsheba’s husband by sending him to the front lines. He learned the trick from Saul who tried to have David killed at the hands of the Philistines. Why would anyone want 100 foreskins as any type of gift or payment? I guess it was just a different culture.
The Lord was with David and David prospered in everything he did. But the Lord sends a harmful spirit upon Saul. The notes from my NIV Concordia Study Bible say, “This statement and similar ones in Scripture indicate that evil spirits are subject to God’s control and operate only within divinely determined boundaries.” They then site, Jdg 9:23, 1 Kings 22:19-23, Job 1:12, 2:6. I wish Concordia had finished a Commentary on 1 Samuel, this would be very interesting to read about. I guess the comforting thing is that God is in control and He loves us. Never get on God’s wrong side like Saul did.
But it is apparent that Paul is on God’s good side. God protects a whole ship load of people on Paul’s behalf. God feels it is important that Paul share the Gospel with Caesar and goes to unusual measures to see that it happens. Notice, the Centurion who didn’t take Paul’s advice to stay in the last port is not listening to Paul and taking steps to protect him. It would have been common practice to kill the prisoners so they didn’t escape. They would not have batted an eye at that. But the Centurion doesn’t want Paul harmed. This is the stuff that movies are made of. We will have to talk to Mel Gibson about making one. “The Life of Paul.”
Who would play Paul?
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2009
PSALM 21:1-7
1 SAMUEL 19:1-24
ACTS 28:1-15
I got distracted before writing today. As we are reading about David in 1 Samuel, I checked to see if Psalm 21 was written by David. It only makes sense that as we read about David in Samuel we should be reading his Psalms in our Psalms. And yes, Psalm 21 was written by David. So then, I started checking the Psalms for the next few days and paging through my Bible to see if they were Psalms written by David and it was getting to be laborious. Finally, I started with Psalm 1 and paged through my Bible and wrote a list of the Psalms that were written by David for quick reference. I’ll bring it to class Wednesday (if I remember).
Obviously David was in a good mood when he wrote this Psalm. He praises God for giving him the crown, keeping him safe, answering his prayers, and just blessing him in general. As Christians, this is a good example for us. We give God credit for the good stuff He does in our lives. It is a good practice to list out to God, two or three things a day that He has done for us. Giving us a wonderful spouse, decent children, a job, a home, food, clothing, all that we have. Authorities also say it helps fight depression. Maybe that’s why David wrote this Psalm, to help with depression.
Things between Saul and David just keep getting worse and worse. Everyone else can see the good in David except Saul. Maybe Saul was manic/depressive and just didn’t have experts to diagnose it. Or maybe, more people with that type of “disease” have “a harmful spirit” and we don’t give the “harmful spirit” credit. It would certainly change the way we deal with those situations and how we approach a “cure.”
Jonathan protects David. Michal, Saul’s daughter, David’s wife, protects David. The only one who seems to be against David is Saul. But the king is one person you don’t want against you.
Eventually, David escapes to Samuel and together with the other prophets, they prophesy. When Saul arrives, he even starts to prophesy. I was very surprised by verse 24, “And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night.” I would have suggested that while drinking and driving do not go together, that prophesying and laying naked would not go together either. Don’t worry, we won’t be trying this in church any time soon.
So, finally, we read of the shipwreck. And as promised, everyone arrives safely. Paul is even bitten by a snake and survives much to the surprise of the natives. He ends up healing lots of people and to make a long story short, he arrives safely in Rome. We will finish Acts tomorrow.