Tag: Bible

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

In John 10:22-42 Jesus claimed to be one with his Father. This is of course blasphemy unless it is true, so for that the Jews wanted to stone him.

In Genesis 27 Jacob deceived Isaac to get the blessing of the firstborn instead of Esau. Esau got one too, but just the regular blessing, and to avoid more trouble Jacob fled to Laban.

In Genesis 28, Jacob went to Paddan Aram to get a wife. On the way he had a dream, commonly known as “Jacob’s Ladder”. Meanwhile, Esau took yet another wife, the daughter of Ishmael. The promise of Jacob’s dream was that God was to give the land to Jacob’s descendants. Jacob made a vow to God and named the place Bethel.

Psalm 5 is a prayer extolling the joy of praising God and praying towards Jerusalem, but is also an urgent prayer to do away with and destroy all wickedness and wicked people.

January 12, read the Bible in a year in PowerPoint; with comments.

 John 8 begins with a sinful woman who was about to be stoned for adultery. Jesus last words to her was “Go and sin no more”. Jesus did not condemn her for the past but forgave and pointed to the future. Then he got into an argument with the religious powers about his and their ancestry. They claimed to be descendants of Abraham, and they questioned the legitimacy of Jesus. Jesus answered “Before Abraham, I am”. Jesus claimed to be God. This was of course blasphemy, unless it is true.

Genesis 21 tells about the birth of Isaac and when Ishmael made fun of it, Sarah got angry and Hagar and Ismael were sent away to die in the desert, but God protected them. The chapter also features the treaty between Abraham and Abimelech at Beersheba. This was the first treaty between men in the Bible and it was about water rights.

In  Genesis 22 Abraham was told by God to offer up his son Isaac to be sacrificed on Mount Moriah, the same mountain where Jesus was to be crucified. Obeying God he did what he was told, but at the last moment God provided a substitute sacrifice in the form of a ram.

These three chapters are significant. Read them through twice and ponder their importance: Jesus claiming deity, The birth of the Ishmaelite nation, later becoming the Islamic nations, the importance of water (The Bible begins and ends with water and a healing river in the middle) and Abraham’s faith being severely tested.

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

Today we read about circumcision and its importance; in John 7 and one of the four chapters in Genesis selected for today. But that is just one part of the story.

John 7:1-24. Jesus pointed out that according to Jewish law, circumcision is more important than keeping Sabbath, so, if the eighth day is on a Sabbath, it must be performed on that day, but healing on a Sabbath is not permitted.

In Genesis15 God promised Abram a son. Abram believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.

But in Genesis 16 Abram badly wanted an heir, so Sarai, being too old, gave her handmaiden Hagar to be the mother of Abram’s son, Ishmael. Sarai regretted what she had done, and Hagar was sent away with Ishmael into the wilderness.

Thirteen years later, in Genesis 17, Ishmael was back with Abram,  God  promised Abram his seed of promise, changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name became Sarah, established with an eternal covenant, the covenant of Circumcision, and it was performed on Abraham, Ishmael and all Abraham’s male servants.

Which brings us to Genesis 18 with Abraham still waiting for his promised offspring. He was visited by three angels that promised him he will have a son within a year. Sarah heard it and found it laughable, but God confirmed this promise, and was also proclaiming the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham tried to bargain with God at no avail.

The question to ponder: Why is circumcision important for Jews and Muslims, but not for Christians? Hint: read the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 15.

January 9, read the Bible in a year in PowerPoint; with comments.

The four chapters chosen for today are thought provoking and begins with

John 6:25-71. Jesus had fed the five thousand and been seen walking on water. In spite of these miracles the Jews demanded a sign. Jesus responded in kind by saying he is the bread of life, and if people want to have eternal life they must come to him and eat of his flesh and drink of his blood. When hearing this, many abandoned Jesus, but Peter said: To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

Then in Genesis 12 Abram was called to leave his home in Ur. He obeyed and traveled to a land he did not know, promised by God, but when a famine came he went to Egypt and acted deceitfully rather than trusting God completely.

In Genesis 13 Abram and his sidekick Lot went back from Egypt and their paths separated . Lot chose the fertile plain of Jordan, and Abram went to the hills of Mamre.

Finally in Genesis 14 Lot got in trouble and was taken captive by a local Mafia. Abram rescued Lot, and on the way back gave a tithe to Melchizedek, king of Salem – (later to become Jerusalem), after God had given him success in battle.

Question: Who was Melchizedek, and why is that important? He is mentioned again in Psalm 110 and in Hebrews 5-7.

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

The common thread for today is Jesus redefining the meaning of the Sabbath and Noah being part of the new beginning. Psalm 2 defines Jesus as the Son and God the ruler of all, and mankind still trying to do it all by themselves at no avail.

John 5:1-30, describes how Jesus healed a man at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath, which offended the Jews. In addition Jesus claimed to be equal with the Father, for which the Jews sought to kill him, but Jesus defended His testimony.

Genesis 7 tells of Noah, having completed the ark, took with him seven (pairs) of clean animals and one male and one female of each specie of unclean animals, and also birds. The aquatic life did just fine. After the animals had entered, God shut the door and it rained forty days and forty nights.

Genesis 8. The water receded and Noah sent out a raven and later a dove that returned empty. The second time the dove was sent out, it returned with an olive branch in its beak. The dove has since become the universal peace symbol. After exiting the ark Noah built an altar and sacrificed from the clean animals. God made a promise to Noah: “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

Psalm 2 tells of what happens when “the heathen rage” and this psalm speaks of the fight that is going on even today.

January 1, read the Bible in a year in PowerPoint; with comments.

The Holy Bible is the most influential book ever written. According to Wikipedia it has been translated in its entirety into 724 languages, and the New Testament has been translated into 1617 languages. At least one part of the Bible has bee translated into 3,589 languages, and more translations are coming every year, especially from the Wycliffe translators.

Both the New Testament and the Old Testament begin with the words “In the beginning”.

John1:1-18 deals with creation spiritually.

Genesis 1 deals with the physical creation with spiritual emphasis, laying the groundwork for spiritual understanding of how and why we exist.

We are existing in time and space. The question is: What was there before time and space existed, before the beginning?

Answer: God, existing in three persons, God the Father, God the Son (the Word) and God’s Spirit, (the Holy Ghost).

The Three-in-one God alone are eternal, everything else, including time and space, is created.

Another Question: Why did God say “it was good” for day 1,3,4 and 5 but not for day 2 and it was very good after day 6?

Answer: The ecosystem is a work in progress and will function differently for each phase and finally come to completion when all parts are set in place, which includes people. We are responsible to God to be good stewards of the earth and leave it a better place than we found it. The main regulator of temperature on earth is the clouds. They cool by day and warm by night. The time of day they appear is also very important, and there is no risk for the earth to overheat.

December 9, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

Revelation 2:12-29 continues the message to the seven churches, church three and four: Pergamos, a church that looked good but compromised itself, and the church of Thyatira, a corrupted church, but with hope of repentance. These can be seen as seven historical churches; which they were, but also as seven types of churches as they exist today and throughout history. They can also be taken as seven states of the individual believer. Whichever way you take it, there is something in it for every believer, even today.

Habakkuk 1 begins with the prophet’s first complaint and the LORD’s reply. After that the prophet poured out his second complaint.

Habakkuk 2. The LORD answered the prophet to his second complaint. It contains this gem, just as valid today as it was then: “The just shall live by his faith“.  On the other hand God promised more woes to the wicked.

December 3, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

1 John 5. Being born of God and believing in the son of God means exercising obedience by Faith. The certainty of God’s witness is : “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” There is  confidence and compassion in prayer, We must follow the true one and reject the false. And so the letter ends: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”

Micah 1. The prophet told of the coming judgment on Israel with mourning for Israel and Judah.

Micah 2. The prophet proclaimed woe to evildoers and lying prophets. After that Israel will be restored.

Micah 3. There was wicked rulers and wicked prophets. Micah still had full confidence in God.

Micah 4 speaks of the LORD’s future reign in Zion and Zion’s triumph.

November 3, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

Hebrews 11:23-40 is called “the great faith chapter”. The writer of Hebrews continues his history of faith with Moses’ parents, Moses, the people crossing the Red Sea, the fall of the walls of Jericho and the friendly innkeeper Rahab. Then the author ran out of time to mention Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets. “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”

Proverbs 18, Proverbs of Solomon. God looks at the heart, take heed and do what is right in the eyes of the Lord, not men.

Psalm 106 is a follow-on of Psalm 105. While Psalm 105 tells of the story of God’s people from Abraham to Moses, Psalm 106 continues from the crossing of the Red Sea (or Sea of Reeds) to the sins committed ,even to the child sacrifices to the gods of Canaan. The psalmist prayed for deliverance from the heathens and return and restoration of the promised land. The Psalm begins and ends with a Hallelujah (praise the LORD).

The Hebrides’ revival in 1949, What has that to do with this year’s presidential election?

I have been praying for a revival for a few years, This time it is critical, and when it comes it will be worldwide thanks to the power of internet and what it means for both good and evil. It has enabled the spiritual warfare to increase to unprecedented levels. There was a time not long ago when people communicated with each other, went to church on Sunday and endured yet another sermon they had heard three years ago and it was time to preach it again according to the three year cycle, and not much happened, but there was a few people who preyed for a revival, such a one that had happened before in their youth. Such it was on the island of Lewis in the inner Hebrides, and this short video will tell the story vividly:

This is the day of the one and only presidential debate, and 28% of the people want to know more about Kamala Harris, but only 9% want to know more about Donald Trump. I didn’t know this about him until a few days ago, when I looked up Duncan Hines and the Hebrides revival, a fact he vehemently denied. He claimed the revival had already started when he arrived, thanks to the two old women and the young Donald Smith.

Anyhow the Bible given to Donald Trump by his mother was used at the 2017 presidential. inauguration together with the 1861 Bible used by Abraham Lincoln at his taking the oath of office.

This is an example of the synergy of the ages .Two elderly shut-in ladies prayed for years for a revival, and nothing happened, but suddenly it did, and the effects goes down for generations

Pray for the revival. God uses the most unlikely characters to accomplish His purposes.

Check out https://www.baptist.org.uk/Articles/608089/The_Hebrides_Revival.aspx