September 30 :: Isaiah 9-10; Ephesians 3

Intro to Ephesians

Author: Paul

Date: 61

The Prison Epistles: Ephesians is considered to be one of the Prison Epistles, because it was written during Paul's imprisonment in Rome.

The City of Ephesus: Asia Minor - the gospel was spread throughout here; Christianity most likely came to Ephesus first through Aquila and Priscilla when on his second missionary trip, Paul stopped there. Ephesus was a large city and a center for commercial trade, politics, and religion (great temple of Artemis). 

Contents: "The great theme of this letter is God's eternal purpose to establish and complete His body, the church of Christ. In developing this theme, Paul discusses predestination (1:3-14), Christ's headship over the body (1:22-23, 4:15-16), the church as the building and temple of God (2:21-22), the mystery of Christ (3:1-21), spiritual gifts (4:7-16), and the church as the bride of Christ."

Information retrieved from Moody's Ryrie Study Bible, page 1875

September 29 :: Isaiah 7-8; Ephesians 2

Ephesians 2:1-10 - The Gospel in a Nutshell

Past: 

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

Present: 

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

Future: 

...in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

 

September 28 :: Isaiah 5-6; Ephesians 1

Intro to Isaiah

Author: Isaiah

Date: 740-680 B.C.

The Prophet: Isaiah was born into a well-off and influential family, putting him in a position to advise higher-ups on not only spiritual affairs but of foreign affairs for the nation. Tradition says that Isaiah was martyred horrifically by being sawed in half inside of a hollow log during the reign of Manessah.

The Times: Along with many prophecies, Isaiah prophesied that because of idolatry, the Babylonian captivity would take place, but also that the Lord would set aside a remnant for Himself to restore. 

Contents: Isaiah is considered to be the "evangelical prophet," for so much of what he prophesied had to do with the redemptive work of Christ. You will find more information about the Messiah in Isaiah than anywhere else in the Old Testament.

Information retrieved from Moody's Ryrie Study Bible, page 1044 

September 27 :: Isaiah 3-4; Galatians 6

September 26 :: Isaiah 1-2; Galatians 5

 

Galatians 5:1-6

Freedom in Christ

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."

September 25 :: Song of Solomon 6-8; Galatians 4

Song of Solomon 8:6-7

Place me like a seal over your heart,
       like a seal on your arm;
       for love is as strong as death,
       its jealousy unyielding as the grave.
       It burns like blazing fire,
       like a mighty flame. 

 

Many waters cannot quench love;
       rivers cannot wash it away.
       If one were to give
       all the wealth of his house for love,
       it would be utterly scorned.

September 24 :: Song of Solomon 4-5; Galatians 3

Our culture today tells us "get as much pleasure as you can, for if you are happy in this moment, then your life is worth living."

Oftentimes...no...most times, what our culture means is...get physical pleasure, all you want, and lots of it. It's true - just look around at advertisements or watch a TV show, guaranteed, it'll center somehow around this. But...what does the the Word have to say about this?

SOS 2:7 

"...do not arouse or awaken my love until she pleases."

SOS 4:12 

"A garden locked is my sister, my bride, a rock garden locked, a spring sealed up."

Solomon delights in the fact that his bride has not been out in the world to experience all she could - while she could. He in no way wants for her to have "opened her garden" to whomever, whenever. Her romantic passion is precious to him and he knew that to awaken it before the proper time was not of God. I pray that we would know this too, despite the enemy's constant attempts to make us believe otherwise.

September 23 :: Song of Solomon 1-3; Galatians 2

Intro to Song of Solomon

Author: Solomon

Date: 965 B.C.

Ways to Interpret: 

A) The Song of Solomon is historically interpreted to be a record of the love, courtship, marriage, and romance between Solomon and a Shulammite woman, giving us a glance into their life during this time. Their love avoids the extremes of asceticism and of lust, while honoring physical love within marriage only.

B) The Song of Solomon can also be interpreted as revealing the love of God/Christ for His people and can be very powerful in this way as well. 

Romantic Ideas: 

A) 1:9 "To me, my darling, you are like my mare among the chariots of Pharaoh" - Solomon LOVED horses, aka, when the Shulammite walked into a room, Solomon was distracted by her.

B) 1:13 "My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh which lies all night between my breasts" - closeness.

C) 1:14 "My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of Engedi" - the person is an ideal location, a place to "get away to."

D) 2:1 "I am the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys" - she says she is normal, he says she is anything but normal, nothing short of spectacular - he tells her just how he feels about her.

E) 2:4 "And his banner over me is love" - everything he does shows his love for her (*banner* was a military term used to regroup troops, to show them where they belonged...she belonged with him)

F) 2:6 "Let his left hand be under my head and his right hand embrace me" - she completely trusts him.

September 22 :: Ecclesiastes 10-12; Galatians 1

Intro to Galatians 

 Information retrieved from Ryrie's Study Bible by Moody, pg 1863

Author: Paul

Date: Either 49 or 55 A.D.

Galatia: Both a geographical location in north-central Asia Minor as well as a political Roman province founded in 25 B.C.

Problem Addressed: "How can men (sinful by nature) come to God (holy by nature)?...Forget about merit-salvation through obedience to the law of Moses. Man is too weak by nature to accomplish self-salvation or self-sanctification. Certain Jewish Christians (Judaizers) were teaching that such works are necessary, that Paul's gospel was not correct, and that he was not a genuine apostle. Paul's answer was to proclaim the doctrine of justification by faith plus nothing, and of sanctification by the Holy Spirit, not the Mosaic Law." (emphasis added)

Sure did.

September 21 :: Ecclesiastes 7-9; 2 Corinthians 13

2 Corinthians 13:14

"May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."

Paul always approaches and leaves people by blessing them. Just an interesting thought.

September 20 :: Ecclesiastes 4-6; 2 Corinthians 12

This section is titled in my bible as regarding "False Worship." It refers several times to the words in which we communicate to others as being a form of worshiping God. Solomon warns us to seriously listen to God before speaking, as for our words to not be...well...foolish. Do you know what he's talking about? Because I sure do! In essence, God doesn't want us to be like these guys below, which is rightfully titled, "Talking Bollocks." He wants our words to rather be lights unto peoples paths...leading them to Him.

Ecclesiastes 5:1-2

"Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. 

Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few."

September 19 :: Ecclesiastes 1-3; 2 Corinthians 11:16-33

Intro to:

Information retrieved from the Moody Ryrie's Study Bible, page 1016

Title: In Hebrew, the title is "Qoheleth," which in general means the same thing as "preacher."

Authorship: In Jewish tradition, the author is explicitly stated as Solomon for various good reasons. However, post Martin Luther, many believe the language to be postexilic, meaning someone wrote this post Exile, using Solomon as their main character of focus.

Message: "The message of the book may be stated in the form of three propositions: (1) when you look at life with its seemingly aimless cycles (1:4ff.) and inexplicable paradoxes (4:1, 7:15, 8:8), you might conclude that all is futile, since it is impossible to discern any purpose in the ordering of events; (2) nevertheless, life is to be enjoyed to the fullest, realizing that it is the gift of God (3:12-13, 3:22, 5:18-19, 8:15, 9:7-9); (3) the wise man will live his life in obedience to God, recognizing that God will eventually judge all men (3:16-17, 12:14)."

September 18 :: Proverbs 30-31; 2 Corinthians 11:1-15

September 17 :: Proverbs 27-29; 2 Corinthians 10

2 Corinthians 10:3

For though we live in the world,

we do not wage war as the world does.

The weapons we fight with are not

the weapons of the world.

On the contrary,

they have the divine power to demolish

strongholds. We demolish arguments

and every pretension that sets itself

up against the knowledge of God,

and we take captive

every thought

to make it obedient to Christ.

September 16 :: Proverbs 25-26; 2 Corinthians 9

September 15 :: Proverbs 22-24; 2 Corinthians 8

If any of you have been like me, sinning and falling into a trap of utter meaninglessness through the abuse of alcohol - you will very much understand this next scripture and just how accurate it is to the life that comes along with it. Do you connect with this?

  

Proverbs 23:30-35

Those who linger over wine,
       who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.

Do not gaze at wine when it is red,
       when it sparkles in the cup,
       when it goes down smoothly!

In the end it bites like a snake
       and poisons like a viper.

Your eyes will see strange sights
       and your mind imagine confusing things.

You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,
       lying on top of the rigging.

"They hit me," you will say, "but I'm not hurt!
       They beat me, but I don't feel it!
       When will I wake up
       so I can find another drink?"

September 14 :: Proverbs 19-21; 2 Corinthians 7

On Repentance:

2 Corinthians 7:8-10

Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while—yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

“Repentance is the way to deal with the next thing that God would change in you… How willing we are to repent reveals our sincerity in following Christ.” 

- Walk in the Word Ministries Newsletter

September 13 :: Proverbs 16-18; 2 Corinthians 6

September 12 :: Proverbs 13-15; 2 Corinthians 5

September 11 :: Proverbs 10-12; 2 Corinthians 4

September 10 :: Proverbs 8-9; 2 Corinthians 3

Proverbs 9

 

9:10

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, 

and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

 

September 9 :: Proverbs 6-7; 2 Corinthians 2

Intro to Proverbs

Information retrieved from Moody's Ryrie Study Bible, pg 966

Authorship: Solomon is known to have written about 3,000 proverbs and is the author of Proverbs 1-22 and 25-29 in this book, 25-29 having been selected from Solomon's collection by King Hezekiah and his committee. Agur wrote Proverbs 30 and Lemuel wrote Proverbs 31, but we know nothing of them. 

Date: 950-700 B.C.

Characteristics: In Hebrew, the term "proverb" means "a comparison." The collection of these creates a library of instruction for godly living and "are not so much popular sayings as they are a distillation of wisdom from those who knew the law of God."

Contents: "Though the theme running throughout the book is wisdom for living, the specific teachings include instruction on folly, sin, goodness, wealth, poverty, the tongue, pride, humility, justice, vengeance, strife, gluttony, love, lust, laziness, friends, the family, life, and death. Almost every facet of human relationships is mentioned, and the teaching of the book is applicable to all people everywhere."

Also from tonight's reading - in 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 it reads:

"But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes."

The insight I see here is that FORGIVENESS is a great weapon against the enemy...

September 8 :: Proverbs 3-5; 2 Corinthians 1

Intro to 2 Corinthians

Author: Paul

Date: 56 A.D.

Third Letter to the Corinthians: the second letter was delivered by Titus, but was lost

The Purpose of the Letter: 1) to express the gladness of the Corinthians taking to heart the concerns of Paul in previous letters, 2) to remind the Christians of their commitment to give to the Christians in Judea and 3) to defend Paul's authority as an apostle.

 

Mark Lawrence

2 Corinthians 1:18-20

But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No." For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes." For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ.

September 7 :: Proverbs 1-2; 1 Corinthians 16

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 

 

The New American Standard Version translates it this way:

"Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love." 

I went to a sermon this year in March regarding these very verses. Here are my notes on the pastor's message: "Our culture has feminized men and made women masculine. It's OKAY for men to act like men and women to act like women. To be taught as a woman that you must be an independent, strong and powerful leader by the measurements of this world to be worth anything...is to be rejected. You may be independent and strong, and these things are very necessary sometimes, but it is also good to not always be the "in control, dominant" one (personally a hard lesson). Women want to be lead, so men, be their leaders. Lead them straight to God --> straight to green pastures. Take your kids, take your wife to worship. You won't regret it." 

"The Christian faith is for men, not for boys." 

- Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill church, Seattle

September 6 :: Psalms 148-150; 1 Corinthians 15:29-58

Psalm 148:7-12

Praise the LORD from the earth,
       you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,

lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
       stormy winds that do his bidding,

you mountains and all hills,
       fruit trees and all cedars,

wild animals and all cattle,
       small creatures and flying birds,

kings of the earth and all nations,
       you princes and all rulers on earth,

young men and maidens,
       old men and children. 

September 5 :: Psalms 146-147; 1 Corinthians 15:1-28

"He sends forth His command to the earth; 

His word runs very swiftly."

- Psalm 147:15

This is lovingly bundled into a series of verses that speak to the blessings of God. It seems as though this scripture could be interpreted in a variety of ways. As I read this initially, I envisioned the Word of God, sweeping across the ground quickly, racing an evil substance, but being much much quicker - as though the Word was running to redeem something...or someone. What do you think about this verse?

September 4 :: Psalms 143-145; 1 Corinthians 14:21-40

September 3 :: Psalms 140-142; 1 Corinthians 14:1-20

Psalm 141:5-6

Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; 

let him rebuke me—it is oil on my head. 

My head will not refuse it. 

Yet my prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers;

their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs, 

and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken. 

September 2 :: Psalms 137-139; 1 Corinthians 13

Wow! This verse has really been sticking out to me today, even before I knew it was the reading for tonight. Praise the Lord for when He works His Word in our hearts and in our readings together :)

"If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing." 

- 1 Cor 13:2

"Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away." 

- 1 Cor 13:8

And also, if you haven't read Psalm 139 yet tonight, give it a look - you won't be disappointed!

September 1 :: Psalms 135-136; 1 Corinthians 12

1 Corinthians 12:27

 

The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" 

And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!"

- 1 Corinthians 12:21