Tag Archives: Bible

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A Study In Contrasts

I’ve been using a pretty comprehensive plan for reading through the Bible for a few years now. This plan exposes me to every single word of God’s message to mankind at least once per year, and many passages much more than that. In fact, some parts get read once a month, or once every couple of months.

Flowing Stream

When I started using this strategy to read the Bible, I had the foresight to purchase a new Bible at the same time. I did this, because I wanted a good study Bible, with good notes and references, to go along with my reading. An unexpected benefit of this purchase has been seeing how many notes and thoughts I’ve added to the margins since starting this plan.

There is a large amount of my own notes, highlights, underlines, and references that have been added over the past few years. It’s kind of cool to look through this Bible and realize that all of this is from the past three years. It’s amazing to see just how much God’s word has impacted my life as a result.

Looking back through this Bible, one of the most impacting portions of Scripture on my life has been the book of Psalms. There are notes and highlights and scribbles and thoughts scattered all throughout these pages. Simply looking back through my own notes in this one book is somewhat overwhelming.

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Memorize Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:10-11

With this section of the letter, Paul shifts back to a focus on Timothy and his ministry, with some further encouragement. His instructions here are pretty simple. Timothy is to continue to imitate Paul, putting into practice the things he has learned from his mentor, what he has seen played out in Paul’s life, and keep the gospel as his prime priority. Take a look at this week’s passage in 2 Timothy 3:10-11:

2 Timothy 3:10-11

Paul begins this section of exhortation with an emphatic declaration, “You, however…” This sets Timothy’s ministry apart from the false teachers that Paul has spent much of this letter addressing. Their false doctrine and the consequences of it differ greatly from that of Timothy. Paul lists a series of descriptors here, about his own life, that Timothy is aware of and that he can learn from. Timothy knows about…

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Waiting On The Second Coming

One of the things I hear very often, especially when I’m around people who love to study prophecy and the end times, is that it is likely that the Lord will return “within our lifetimes.”

Stopwatch, Second Coming

My personal opinion of this is that it just might be the case. However, we can’t be dogmatic about it, because we simply don’t know. People have been saying the exact same thing for a very long time, since the time of Paul the Apostle. So, while we can’t know the day or the time that Christ will return, there are a few things that we can do to make sure that we are ready.

People have been anticipating the coming of the Lord since Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians, and Christ himself referenced his return several times. Paul had to address believers in Thessalonica who were quitting their jobs. Their reasoning was, “If Christ is returning soon, why work?” In response to this, Paul had to lay down the law, and state that those who don’t work, won’t eat (2 Thessalonians 3:12). Even so soon after the time of Christ, people were looking for the end of days.

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Memorize Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:8-9

Paul’s description of the false teachers needs something to compare it to. He shares a reference to an Old Testament event that most people are familiar with, although these particular names are not mentioned in that account.

You can see this week’s passage, found in 2 Timothy 3:8-9:

2 Timothy 3:8-9

Paul gives Timothy a reference for comparison as he deals with the false teachers in Ephesus. He refers back to the Old Testament account of the Exodus, and Pharaoh’s unwillingness to allow the Israelites to leave Egypt. As Moses struggled to achieve freedom for his people, he was opposed by two of Pharaoh’s magicians or sorcerers, Jannes and Jambres. These two men are the magicians referred to in Exodus 7:11-12, 22, and 8:7. Although their names are not listed in the Exodus account, they are identified in ancient Jewish literature, beginning about the time between the Testaments.

Timothy was faced with false teachers who were opposed to the truth of God just as these two men were in the day of Moses and the Exodus. Simply put, seeking truth from alternative sources is always in opposition to God and his truth. There is no other means by which truth is delivered to us, outside of God, through is Son and his Word.

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Memorize Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:6-7

With the conclusion of a bleak description of the last days, and the false teachers in that era, Paul gives Timothy some insight into how they operate as they try to spread their false religion.

Take a look at this week’s passage, found in 2 Timothy 3:6-7:

2 Timothy 3:6-7

At first glance, you might think that this entire passage describes the false teachers. But that is not the case. These two verses begin with how such teachers operate, but then transitions into a description of those who fall for their traps.

These false teachers infiltrate homes, often under false pretenses. Some commentators suggest that these homes are of people that Timothy knows. These homes may even refer to some of the younger widows in the community, who have enough wealth to give them ample time to listen to and perpetuate such false teachings. These widows would have been “easy marks” for the false teachers, with the extra time on their hands.

These false teachers captivate such minds, gaining control and planting their ideas into fertile soil. Such minds are weak-willed. Take note that Paul is not describing women in general with this statement, but certain women in particular within Timothy’s church or community.

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Memorize Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:3-5

With the beginning of the third chapter, Paul lists a series of descriptive terms, giving Timothy a vivid picture of what ungodly people will look like in the last days. Last week, we saw the first eight of these terms. In this week’s passage, we will look at the rest of the list. You can see the latter half of the list in 2 Timothy 3:3-5:

2 Timothy 3:3-5

Last week, Paul began to describe what characterizes evil people living in the last days. Most of the items on this list seem highly accurate of the times we are living in. Of such people, Paul instructs Timothy to have nothing to do with them. This command is a repetition of 2 Timothy 2:16, to avoid the godlessness of such people and their activities. Paul continues his list, describing these people as being:

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Classic Bible: My Favorite Passages From Daniel

This is part of the Classic Bible: Favorite Stories & Passages series. Read more from the series!

As a kid growing up in church, the events that unfold throughout the book of Daniel are some of the most familiar lessons that I was taught. Along with Jonah, this short book of prophecy contains some of the coolest displays of God’s power in the Old Testament.

Lions

The book of Daniel takes place in Babylon, while the Israelites were held in captivity. Daniel and the other prominent people in this book were taken from their homeland and brought to serve in the king’s court in a land foreign to them.

The author of this book is most likely Daniel himself, writing sometime around 530 BC. That he is the actual author is alluded to by Christ himself in Matthew 24:15.

With so much going on in Daniel’s life, the lives of his friends, his countrymen, and his nation, this is the perfect setting to see God’s faithfulness at work. With that in mind, here are a few of my favorite passages from the book of Daniel: