Category: Psalms

April 10, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

Mark 9:1-32. Mark 9 begins with the Transfiguration and gives an explanation regarding Elijah, he had already come. Then a boy with an evil spirit was healed and the disciples asked Jesus why they could not drive out the evil spirit. He answered: “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.” Then Jesus predicted his death and resurrection but the disciples did not understand it.

Judges 10. Things went from bad to worse with Tola, Jair and Jephthah as leaders, so the Israelites were again oppressed. They finally repented and got rid of their false gods.

Judges 11 describes the glorious victory and tragic vow of Jephthah. Jephthah’s Daughter is forever memorialized.

Psalm 33 is a Psalm about the sovereignty of God in creation and history. Here and in many other places of the Bible it encourages us to “sing a new song”.

April 6, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

Mark 7:1-23, Mark 7. Jesus explained what is clean and what is unclean.

Ecclesiastes 11 explains the value of diligence. One advice: Seek God early in life.

Ecclesiastes 12. “Remember now thy creator in the days of your youth“. “Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”

Psalm 31, of David. As was so often the case, David was in trouble. He cried out about his woes to God, and yet, the Psalm ends with praise and total confidence in God.

Psalm 32, of David. “This was Saint Augustine’s favorite psalm. Augustine had it inscribed on the wall next to his bed before he died in order to meditate on it better.” (James Montgomery Boice)

April 4, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

Mark 6:1-13, In Mark 6  Jesus proclaimed ”A Prophet is not without honor, but in his own hometown, and among his own kin.” Jesus sent out the Twelve disciples, and they were amazed they could heal too.

Joshua 20 lists the cities of refuge, three West of Jordan and three East of Jordan.

Joshua 21 lists the 48 towns given to the Levites, they received no land. God’s promise to Israel was finally fulfilled and the land had rest for a while.

Joshua 22. The Eastern tribes returned to their lands. On their way they built an altar by the Jordan. The Western Tribes thought by doing so they were abandoning the LORD. Not so, they were confirming  “it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God.”

Psalm 30, for the dedication of the Temple. Of David. ( An alternate translation : For the dedication of the House of David.) Punctuations are important, but are not in the Hebrew text. You decide the best interpretation. It was written at the time of the completion of building David’s palace, but Charles Spurgeon, among others, thought that it was actually written prophetically for the dedication of the Temple – for which David made the preparations, but the construction of the Temple was left to Solomon to perform.

April 2, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

Mark4:21-41. Jesus spoke in parables He told the parable of the lamp on a stand, not under a bushel, and the parable of the seed in the ground, followed by the parable of the faith of a mustard seed, all parables relating to the Kingdom of God. Finally Jesus calmed the storm while in a boat on lake Genesareth, and chastised the disciples for their lack of faith.

Joshua 14 describes the land west of the Jordan river, and that Caleb, still in his strength at the age of 85 wanted to inherit the hilly land of Hebron.

Joshua 15 defines geographical borders: The land of Judah, Caleb occupies Hebron and Debir and the chapter contains a listing of the cities of Judah.

Joshua 16 describes the land that belongs to the half tribe of Manasseh west of Jordan, and also the land of Ephraim.

Psalm 28, of David. As so often was with David he began with a petition, asking for deliverance, then turned to praise.

Psalm 29, of David. A song of praise. This Psalm gives us a vivid description of a storm, and how the voice of God speaks through it.

March 30, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

Again, in Mark 3:1-19 Jesus did healing on a Sabbath, this time He healed a man with a withered hand. The powers that were hated it, but more and more people followed him. Then Jesus appointed the 12 apostles.

Joshua 5. While camped at Gilgal the second generation of Israelites were circumcised. Joshua met the Commander of the Army of the LORD.

Joshua 6 describes in living detail the Fall of Jericho. (One of the many musical renditions of this event is with the Delta Rhythm Boys from many years ago.) Enjoy!

Psalm 27 of David. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

March 29, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

Mark 2:13-28. Jesus called Levi, the tax collector, also called Matthew. To associate with a tax collector was controversial and the Pharisees objected, since tax collectors were held in disregard, but Jesus assured them he came to save sinners. Then Jesus was questioned about why he and the disciples did not fast as they should, and worse yet, they picked food from the head of the grain on a Sabbath! To this Jesus claimed that he is also Lord of the Sabbath!

In Joshua 3  the Israelites were finally crossing the Jordan.

Joshua 4. After crossing the Jordan Joshua commanded the Israelites to take twelve stones as Memorial Stones to remind them they crossed Jordan on dry ground. (When the Levites fially had passed over the Jordan River with the Ark the waters returned to flood stage.)

Psalm 25, of David. “Unto Thee, o LORD do I lift up my soul.”

Psalm 26, of David. A Psalm where David asked God to judge him on his merits based on faith.

March 28, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

In Mark 2:1-12 Jesus healed a paralytic man, and he also forgave the man his sins. This caused quite a stir, since nobody can forgive sins but God alone.

Joshua 1 tells of  God’s Commission to Joshua. The LORD gave the order to Cross the Jordan, “Only be strong and of a good courage”.

Joshua 2 tells the story of the innkeeper Rahab and the spies. From this story we get the idiom “a scarlet thread”.

Psalm 24, of David. Here the Psalm is illustrated with beautiful pictures. Enjoy!

March 27, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

Mark 1:12-45 . Immediately after Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist, he was tested in the wilderness for forty days. After the temporary victory over Satan, Jesus began calling his first disciples, and went to Capernaum, starting his ministry. Jesus drove out an evil spirit while teaching in the synagogue. As had become his habit, Jesus healed many and many people started following him, and as always Jesus prayed in a solitary place, but continued to teach and heal many, including a man with leprosy. This is a chapter full of action.

Ecclesiastes 9. Death comes to all, and wisdom is better than folly.

Ecclesiastes 10. Yes indeed, wisdom is better than folly.

Psalm 23, of David. Probably the most memorized Psalm of all. Memorize it it if you can.

March 15, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

Matthew 22:34-46  The Pharisees tried to entrap Jesus by asking him which is the greatest commandment. Jesus answered with the first commandment and added another: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Once more they tried to entrap him with the question: Whose son is the Christ? Jesus answered: “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?  If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?” That shut them up.

Deuteronomy 9, Israel’s rebellion is reviewed, but in spite of being a stiffnecked people doing abominations to the LORD like the Golden Calf orgy, God in His mercy  kept His promises.

Deuteronomy 10, take Two Tablets, Fear the LORD and circumcise your hearts,  that is the Essence of the Law. Remember, you too were aliens in Egypt.

Psalm 22, of David. It is also called “The Crucifixion Psalm”. Read it and ponder.

March 8, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

Matthew 19:1-12 is relatively short but contains some of the most important aspects of life, such as marriage and divorce. “What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.”

Ecclesiastes 7. There is value in practical wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 8. Obey authorities for God’s Sake, and yes, this too is in Ecclesiastes: “Eat, drink and be merry.” It fits with the theme of vanity.

Psalm 19, of David. “This Psalm reflects, more than any other, the beauty and splendor of the Hebrew poetry found in the Psalter. C.S. Lewis wrote, ‘I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world.’” (VanGemeren)

Psalm 20, of David. The people’s prayer for the King is heard by the LORD. The most quoted part is: “ Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” The Lord saves, we pray for the King.

Psalm 21, of David. The New Testament references from Revelation 14 seems to fit. When I read the Psalm the battle hymn of the republic kept ringing in my ears.