Isa 1-6

So here I am again, have had some technical issues that are now all worked out and up and ready to continue with the study.

In Isaiah, we see how angry the Lord is at His people for how far they have strayed from the ways of the Lord. Reading about the kinds of sin they were committing, I was very  much reminded of how the passages could very well be talking about today's society. These people were attending the "services" of worship and bringing their sacrifices and for all appearances, they were being the dutiful children, following God's laws and putting on a good show of faithfulness. But it is much like when we Christians put on our Sunday "Church-hat" and attend services. We say the words of prayer, of praise, we take communion when it is time, we sings songs of worship...then we go home and fight with our neighbor over who owns the fence in the back yard. We cheat on our taxes, after giving our tithe to God. We take advantage of someone or a situation to gain for our own benefit regardless of someone else's expense. We concern ourselves to such a degree with dressing in the 'right' clothes and accessories to maintain an image that we want to portray, worrying more about what people are thinking of us than what God is thinking of us. All this we do while God sits patiently waiting for us to remember our love for Him. He responded to the people in Isaiah with a righteous wrath. He condemned their vanity and selfishness and punished them by withdrawing His Blessings from them until such a point as there would be nothing left of them or their cities. Only the seed of the Lord's Word would remain as a stump is left when a tree falls. This is very significant and applicable as instruction to our lives today. For God allows us to be brought to ruin in this life rather than leave us go on our merry way in a sinful life and ways that are not pleasing to Him. Not so much as punishment but to teach us and remind us of our bond and commitment and connection to Him. That nothing is worth interfering with the relationship He desires to have with each of us.

Job 1-2

Hello and welcome to Job! Wow, this is a book about a guy who served God with every fiber of his being and in doing so he pleased the Lord very much with his devotion and reverence. the first two chapters open up with Job having the world by the tail, so to speak. He was very prosperous, he had a large family although it tells how his children were kind of party animals, for which Job would regularly offer sacrifices to God on their behalf for any wrong doing they may have done.

I think the whole point of this is to say that faithfulness to God should always come first. Job was no doubt in much pain, first for the loss of all ten of his children, then as if that's not enough, every beast and livestock that he owned was either killed or stolen along with all his servants and caretakers. That is a lot of tragedy or one person but Job refused to allow his pain to turn him away form his love of God.

I found it interesting that Satan accompanied a group of angels who went before the Lord in what sounded like a sort of staff meeting. I'm just not sure why Satan was in attendance, obviously he couldn't fool God.

Satan had nothing but contempt for the love that God had for His faithful servant, Job, claiming that its easy for one to be good when everything in their life is great and they have more than everything they could need in abundance, he submitted that Job's love was false because it was based on this. He accused God of spoiling Job with prosperity and protecting him from any troubles. Satan claimed that all men were the same, when things are good and they are happy, they are loving and faithful because it is easy but when trouble hits they are quick to turn on God.

God believed and trusted Job's faithfulness as sincere, as He would have known Job's true heart. God gave Satan permission to take away everything Job had, just not to harm Job. Satan was quick to carry out his task and he devastated Job's life but Job remained faithful to God.

In chapter two we see Satan back in another meeting among the angels before God. Again God asks where Satan has been ( note that in both cases God know exactly where Satan has been, however He asks and the reply is the same), Satan says he has been walking the earth. Again God questions Satan about what he thinks of Job, gain Satan shows contempt for Job's faithfulness, saying that he would not be if it were himself that were in pain. Again God gives permission for Satan to do his worst, but not to kill him. Again Satan strikes Job, this time with horrible, painful sores all over his body. Even Job's wife says he should curse God and jsut die to get it over with. But Job understands that God is good and that He gives and takes away, we don't always understand why but Job is okay with not knowing the why, he doesn't even complain, he just trusts that God is God and holds to his faith.

These first two chapters are good lessons for today. How many times have I been so faithful in my worship of God when things are going smooth in my life? Only to be hit with a tragedy or trauma? Was my response always as faithful as Jobs? I would like to say yes but in all honesty I cannot. I know that there have been times when I wallowed, first, in my misery in one way or another before coming to my senses returning to  my worship of God. Something I would like to think that I am better at today than I was before but I still doubt that I could compare myself to Job.

It was interesting to see not only Satan in attendance with angels before God, also how God pointed out that all Job had on earth was in his (Satan's) power, reminding us that here on earth it is Satan's playground to do what damage he can while here.

Well, that's all I have for today. Please leave your thoughts on this reading by clicking directly on the word "comment" below.

Ps 1-2

Welcome to Wednesday, day three of our study. As for me, I have already started feeling the difference of the growth that has begun through this walk and I am looking forward to the changes in me that God will make through His Word as I continue to go deeper.

As for today's reading; Psalm 1-2, I was a little surprised that it was only the 2 chapters...until I read it in all three versions (KJV, NASV, and the Amplified). There really a lot going on in these two little chapters. First it says that those Christians who mind the company and council they keep, blessed and that they are the ones who are content and love God's law and practices their faith in actions and devotion to God regularly.

The chapter goes on to talk about how God is well pleased and sustains these devoted ones and how different they are from the non-believers who are wicked and practice their own ways instead of God's. These people are basically specks that will be blown away into nothing and what they want will mean nothing because God knows the righteous from the wicked and will bless one and curse the rest.

Chapter two goes on to pose the rhetorical question of why do the wicked bother to scheme and make empty and more importantly, FRUITLESS, plans based on their own foolishness. It's obvious that an answer is not required because in the next verse the answer is given in how those people are wasting all their efforts and energy and only those who follow the Lord's ways will prosper and the wicked will be destroyed by the wrath of God.

As I look at these chapters and have spent a little time looking into the background of these verses, I find that I want to do a little more studying on them as they are actually very in depth and I feel like I am still missing the mark. There fore forgive my lack of understanding or insight in these. It has occurred to me that i have never actually really studied the Psalms before, I have gone to them for comfort, for reassurance and even strength but I realize that I don't have a good working knowledge of them. This is proof of why this study is so necessary for me and it confirms the purpose of going deeper into God's Word, to put that Word into me in a way that I carry it with me in every thing I do and say always.

So, as we continue onward, hopefully, I will become more fluent in my understanding and appreciation of the Psalms.
Bye for now, please leave your own thoughts and insights by clicking on the word "comment" below.

Josh 1-5

Hello and welcome to the second day of walking deeper through the Bible. today we have read through Josh 1-5. At first glance one might think that there isn't really all that much going on here. Okay, so God gives Joshua instructions to prepare to go into another land and start the process of taking it over to claim the inheritance that the Lord had previously promised to Moses and the children of Israel.

When I reread these verses a couple of times, trying to discern what God might be saying here, I realized several points; God is in essence passing the torch to Joshua and the next generation of those whom He brought out of Egypt, as He had told them they would never set foot into the promised land for the wickedness they had perpetrated in the wilderness. The Lord firstly gives reassurance to Joshua in that He will never leave him. God is basically reminding him of all His previous promises of protection and care. Right behind this, God then gives both a warning and a directive to be strong and brave and follow what they know to be the right way of the Lord. Three times God tells him to be strong and brave in the space of only a few verses. This is so like a parent talking to his child, the child claims to have heard the instructions and conveys their intention to obey. However, anyone who is a parent knows that although the child may intend to be obedient, they do not have the experience, insight nor wisdom of the parent to see the bigger picture of the situation they are facing. God knew that things were going to get intense once they crossed over into the promised land, He knew that they were going to need to be reminded of God's assurances, and in order to stay in the good will of God, they were going to need to remain obedient in everything they did: it was the only way they would succeed in everything they did, no matter where they went.

As I continued through these chapters, listening as God was preparing Joshua to convey to the people His words, I noticed some familiarity. For one, the woman who helped the spies. God would allow His people to spare her and her family not because she helped the two spies but because she was a believer in their God as the God of Heaven and Earth, with this realization she made the choice to commit herself to Him. She knew that the Lord they served was the real deal and she didn't waste time begging or stating her case, or crying for them to have mercy. She stated with confidence that they should spare her and her family, almost as if she also believed that their God was a God of love and mercy, and most importantly of forgiveness also. As all of us, this woman came from a sinful past, but was renewed in character and in her life as she went on to have an important role in the ancestry of Jesus. This is true as we have seen in other situations such as Lot and his family, Noah and his family. God has demonstrated His willingness to show mercy on a mere few even when the majority is wicked. This shows that God looks at the individuals, He doesn't just clump everyone into the same basket.


This first part of Joshua is very important for a number of reasons; God show His support to Joshua to the people on the day they cross the Jordan by stopping the waters while they cross. This brings the people of Israel into a following of Joshua as the leader and it is conveyed that he is God's highest ranking servant. It's almost as though the entire tribe of Israel establishes its relationship and covenant with God, like starting new. The young men had not been being circumcised while the wondered in the wilderness, until they were upon the ground that the Lord had promised Abram so long ago. Once all were circumcised, they had the first passover ever in Canaan, while the manna also was stopped because God was now preparing them to be supplied in form this point on by the land which He had given them, they would now be able to live off of it.

After all is said and done, once the people of Israel have been thoroughly spiritually prepared for what was soon to come, the Scripture says that a prince (or captain or commander, depending on which Bilbe version you look in) of the host appeared to Joshua. The fact that this person accepted Joshua's worship, and also instructed him to remove his shoes because the ground was sacred, all this suggests and it it generally agreed among Bible scholars, that this man was indeed the Son of God, Himself. Another example that God is not only in everything we do but He actually has a very "hands on" attitude when it comes to His children.

These chapters have been a real stretch for me in that I am still getting used to the in-depth-ness of this study. It took several readings for me to start getting into what was really going on in such a short time. Once I did begin to get a glimmer, I found it just kept opening before me. I believe these chapters are about renewing and starting fresh. God told Joshua that the reproach of Egypt was now removed, Rahab commited with her actions herself to God and the children of Israel left their wondering through the wilderness behind and entered into the promise land. These people had spent the last 40 years living a certain way, they were accustomed to getting their food delivered every day, and all of their needs being met in a way that was suddenly over. It would have been a lot to adjust to in a short time. But God firmly re-established His original covenant with His chosen people with the careful attention, supportive instruction and the firm reassurance that only a perfect parent and loving Father could do, effectively accomplishing this without the people freaking out of fear. Pretty impressive.

So, until tomorrow...blessings and goodnight.

Comments are welcome and encouraged. To leave a comment, click on the word "comment" below.

Gen 1-3

Well, hello and welcome to the first day of our walk through the Bible. As we go through today's reading, we see how God brought everything into existence, the beginning of Adam and Eve's life as well as their fall from grace and expulsion from the Garden.

Every time I re-read these chapters it never ceases to amaze me how great the task that He accomplished in a mere six days! I must say, too, that I am very impressed so far with this Bible site and the way it has topics and questions posed down the side of the readings that you can explore into different verses even further. Great way to really broaden your understanding of the scripture.

I used to be kind of angry with Eve, lol, thought I would like to meet her in Heaven some day and give her a piece of my mind. Funny how my own spiritual growth has changed my perception of her actions. I see now, however, she was merely human and I sometimes wonder how she must have suffered with her own misery for what she had done. Women tend to hang on to their guilt and shame even when we know that God has forgiven us, our sense of regret can run very deep.

I do find it so interesting to see both Adam's and Eve's behavior surrounding the fall. There they were  in the Garden of Eden, enjoying direct fellowship with God, no worries, no troubles of any kind and then they make this mistake. They disobey and when questioned by God about it, their responses to the whole situation is really no different than what we often see ourselves doing today! Adam blamed Eve and even insinuated that God might share in the blame because He was the one who gave her to Adam. Then Eve blamed the serpent, neither of them actually stood and allowed themselves to be accountable for their actions. This is something that is running rampant in today's society, in fact, it may be the single most biggest thing that is wrong with the world today, as far as behavior goes. Everywhere you look, someone is blaming someone or something else for why they act the way they do or did. It leaves no room for being accountable for our own actions if everything we do is always someone else's fault.

I don't believe God expects us to be perfect, obviously, but I believe He does wants us to own our mistakes and behavior more. I believe the whole story of what happened in the Garden gives us a great lesson in that. When I mentioned, earlier, how I used to be kind of mad at Eve, part of my spiritual growth was in how God showed me that what I was doing was in fact the very thing I was angry with her for! I was only angry with her because I am a sinner and basically blamed all my mistakes on her actions. Ridiculous, right? The whole notion seemed pretty silly when I really saw it for what it was. So I repented and with a sincere heart prayed for a better attitude for my own actions and accepted God's forgiveness, then I put on that same attitude of forgiveness and re-read those chapters only to discover Eve in a whole new light. Now, I try to always be accountable for my own actions and behaviors, although, if I am to be brutally honest...sometimes it is very difficult not to rage against the behavior or actions of another, spewing blame onto them for what they made me do; and there are times when I need a reminder (which God is quick to do), after the fact.

So that's my take on the first 3 chapters of Genesis, what's yours?

Please feel free to share your thoughts on today's reading by clicking on the word "comment" below.