Month: September 2023

September 20

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  Isaiah 33:10-36:22
  Galatians 5:13-26
  Psalm 64:1-10
  Proverbs 23:23

Isaiah 33:15 — More of the “disciplines of a godly man” – walking right, speaking right, spurning dishonest gain, controlling his hands, ears, and eyes. Self-control is the marks of a man following the Lord!

Isaiah 33:22 — America was born with a split of governing authority. The King of England, on the other hand, could dismiss judges if he didn’t like what they did. The LORD in His theocracy exercises the role of all three branches of government: the judicial (judge), the legislative (lawgiver), and the executive (king). Social critics say that power corrupts, so we in America try to have a “balance of power,” but when the Lord rules, no one can (or needs to) check the power of the King!

Isaiah 34:8 — This is the last reference to the “Day of the LORD” in Isaiah, and the first mention in the Old Testament that ties the Day of the LORD to vengeance. Job and the Psalmist often cry for God to right the wrongs in this world. He will!

Isaiah 34:11 — What’s a cormorant? It’s derived from the Latin for “sea raven.” The bitterns are a subgroup of herons.

Isaiah 34:12-13 — The nobles and princes will be gone, the palaces and fortresses will be abandoned. The powers of today will not stand in the Day of the LORD.

Isaiah 35:4 — Isaiah gives the signs of what will happen when God comes. The blind will see. The deaf will hear. The lame will leap. The mute will sing. Roughly six hundred years after this prophecy, another prophet sat in a prison cell discouraged. He sent some of the few people who would listen to his words to seek an answer to a question he had: “Art thou he that should come?” Jesus told these messengers that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear (Matthew 11:5). Yes, Jesus, the one whose name means “Jehovah is Salvation” is the God who came to save. He’s the One that Isaiah prophesied about. The vengeance will be coming soon, but we’re in a narrow gap of mercy. Peter declared that the gap between Isaiah 35:6a and 35:6b is not millennia, but just a couple of days (2 Peter 3:8). God is just waiting for some sinners to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9)! It’s not until the last sinner comes to repentance that the vengeance will fall (2 Peter 3:10), and the world will be restored (Isaiah 35:6b).

Isaiah 36:1 — This is the third time we’ve read about this incredible miracle. Mat Staver recently talked about this at a VCY rally in Milwaukee. Sennacherib was 46-0 when it came to tallying battles against the fenced cities of Judah. We know this from the Taylor Prism in the British Museum.

Isaiah 36:10 — God doesn’t take kindly to false prophets. Be careful when you say, “God told me.” Deuteronomy 18:20-22 prescribes the death penalty for any who presume to speak for the LORD.

Isaiah 36:18 — The LORD is not the god of Hamath (a town in Syria, just north of modern Lebanon). He is not a god made with hands. He is the Creator of heaven and earth!

Galatians 5:14 — The 613 laws of the Torah are fulfilled in the Second Greatest Commandment. Paul doesn’t say that we’re excused from it. Now, as heirs of Christ, we must by love serve. By love we must reject the lust of the flesh.

Galatians 5:19-21 — Here we read about the “disciplines of an ungodly man!” Fornication is a work of the flesh, even though more and more people think that buying fur is more immoral than fornication! But fornication isn’t a big problem … is it? Better read the end of verse 21!

Galatians 5:24 — There is no middle ground. Have we crucified the flesh with its lusts (Galatians 5:19-21), and are we displaying the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)? The challenge is that Christians today are mixing the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit. A 1994 study on college students, religion, and drinking found that 1 out of every 8 college students who came from a total abstinence Protestant denomination were self-described regular drunks.

Psalm 64:9 — Declare God’s works! Share the testimonies of what He has done in your life!

Proverbs 23:23 — Charles Spurgeon preached on this verse Sunday night, June 26th, 1870.

John Bunyan pictures the pilgrims as passing at one time through Vanity Fair, and in Vanity Fair there were to be found all kinds of merchandise, consisting of the pomps and vanities, the lusts and pleasures of this present life and of the flesh. Now all the dealers, when they saw these strange pilgrims come into the fair began to cry, as shopmen will do, “Buy, buy, buy—buy this, and buy that.” There were the priests in the Italian row with their crucifixes and their beads. There were those in the German row with their philosophies and their metaphysics. There were those in the French row with their fashions and with their prettinesses. But the one answer that the pilgrims gave to all the dealers was this—they looked up and they said, “We buy the truth; we buy the truth,” and they would have gone on their way if the men of the Fair had not laid them by the heels in the cage, and kept them there, one to go to heaven in a chariot of fire, and the other afterwards to pursue his journey alone. This is very much the description of the genuine Christian at all times. He is surrounded by vendors of all sorts of things, beautifully got up and looking exceedingly like the true article, and the only way in which he will be able to pass through Vanity Fair safely is to keep to this, that he buys the truth, and if he adds to that the second advice of the text, and never sells it, he will, under divine guidance, find his way rightly to the skies. “Buy the truth and sell it not.”

WWW.ROMANS45.ORG/SPURGEON/SERMONS/3449.HTM

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TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  Isaiah 30:12-33:9
  Galatians 5:1-12
  Psalm 63:1-11
  Proverbs 23:22

Isaiah 30:18 — The LORD will be gracious to those who refused His rest and confidence. The ones who resisted God (Isaiah 30:15), He will have mercy upon.

Isaiah 30:22 — Mercy is associated with repentance, the turning from idols!

Isaiah 31:1 — Eight hundred years earlier Moses warned about this exact same issue (Deuteronomy 17:16) – Egypt and horses. God wants us vulnerable so we can trust the Holy One of Israel!

Isaiah 31:3 — Isaiah points out the obvious!

Isaiah 33:2 — Take some time to wait for the LORD. Don’t run ahead of Him or behind Him but wait for Him. The LORD will deliver you!

Galatians 5:2 — Nothing! Paul says that the highest value of the Jews (circumcision) was worth nothing! Not even Jesus values circumcision (Galatians 5:6)!

Galatians 5:12 — The KJV uses a euphemism for Paul’s wish for the Judaizers.

Psalm 63:1 — As we shared 6 months ago, here is John Zimmer’s song based on these verses:

Proverbs 23:22 — While only children are commanded to obey their parents, all are commanded to honor their parents.

Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  Isaiah 28:14-30:11
  Galatians 3:23-4:31
  Psalm 62:1-12
  Proverbs 23:19-21

Isaiah 28:15-16 — Note the contrast. Even though we’re in the prophetic books, it’s really poetry. The imagery of a human boast as a “covenant with death” and an “agreement with hell” versus “a sure foundation” is striking. There are only two sides; it’s time to choose which one you want to be on!

Isaiah 28:18 — Remember yesterday (Isaiah 25:28) where death for the believer is swallowed up in victory? Today, the covenant with death for the unbeliever is disannulled. Those who thought they had a non-interference pact with death have lost.

Isaiah 28:22 — A warning similar to that from Proverbs but with added caution – those who mock will be punished worse than those who just ignore.

Isaiah 29:13 — This chapter (and most of Isaiah) is not easy to read. But this is the material that our LORD drew from when arguing with the Pharisees (Mark 7:13).

Isaiah 29:16 — This is the start of God’s argument across the Bible, comparing man to pottery. He’ll have Isaiah reiterate this point in Isaiah 45:9-11 and Isaiah 64:8. He’ll send Jeremiah to the potter’s house (Jeremiah 18), and He’ll use this as the key point of Paul’s argument for God’s sovereignty in Romans 9:19-21.

Isaiah 29:18 — The deaf shall hear, the blind shall see, and the poor will rejoice! Isaiah is teasing a prophecy that will be very significant (Isaiah 35).

Isaiah 30:1 — Great poetry (not that it rhymes, but that it expresses a unique thought in a few words)! Woe to them “that take counsel, but not of me.” They “add sin to sin.”

Isaiah 30:11 — Good thing we’re not like those Israelites who wanted the Holy One of Israel to depart. Right? But how much better are we when we spend just 2.4 minutes per day on religious activity?

Galatians 3:24 — The Law is our schoolmaster. From Ray Comfort:

God’s Law acts as a schoolmaster to bring us to Jesus Christ that we might be justified through faith in His blood. The Law doesn’t help us; it just leaves us helpless. It doesn’t justify us; it just leaves us guilty before the judgment bar of a holy God.

And the tragedy of modern evangelism is that, around the turn of the century when it forsook the Law in its capacity to convert the soul, to drive sinners to Christ, modern evangelism had to therefore find another reason for sinners to respond to the gospel. And the issue that modern evangelism chose to attract sinners was the issue of life enhancement. The gospel degenerated into “Jesus Christ will give you peace, joy, love, fulfillment, and lasting happiness.”

https://www.livingwaters.com/hells-best-kept-secret/

Galatians 4:7 — We who were servants are now sons, heirs of God. GotQuestions.org says:

Think of all that means. Everything that God owns belongs to us as well because we belong to Him. Our eternal inheritance as co-heirs with Christ is the result of the amazing grace of God.

https://www.gotquestions.org/co-heirs-with-Christ.html

Galatians 3:9 — The heirs of God – which is far better than being heirs of Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos – want to return to chains! Paul argues so vehemently that he’s afraid he’s become their enemy (Galatians 3:16).

Galatians 3:23 — Those who wanted to leave salvation by faith for salvation by Moses prided themselves on being an Israelite (the recipients of the blessings of Abraham). To those who claimed works, Paul says you’re related to Abraham, but not how you think! You’re the son of Hagar, not the son of Sarah! Those who are under salvation by grace are the children of promise, i.e. Isaac (Galatians 3:28)!

Psalm 62:1 — Salvation is a theme of the Bible. Count how many times the Psalmist uses the word. (vv. 1, 2, 6, 7). Like Paul just told us, trust only in the LORD, not in your ability to be spiritual on your own. May He alone be your rock (Psalm 62:2, Psalm 62:6)!

Psalm 62:12 — A portrait painter was told by an old woman, “Do me justice!” The painter replied, “What you need is mercy!” Thank God we get mercy in addition to what we get for our work!

Proverbs 23:20-21 — What does the Bible say about drinking?

• “Be not among the winebibbers.”
• “The drunkard shall come to poverty.”

The US National Institutes of Health’s statistics tell us that 1 out of every 3 people who have ever sipped a glass of alcohol was drunk in the last 30 days. Be careful; if you let someone think that it’s okay to drink, they have a 1 in 3 chance of ending up drunk. Unfortunately, the statistic doesn’t refer to just once in their lifetime, but to once this month! Romans 14:21 – don’t let your brother stumble!

Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  Isaiah 25:1-28:13
  Galatians 3:10-22
  Psalm 61:1-8
  Proverbs 23:17-18

Isaiah 25:1 — Isaiah is a unique book. We move from visions of heaven to visions of destruction. Today we have a psalm-like chapter!

Isaiah 25:4 — We see that the defensed cities are ruins (Isaiah 25:2), but the needy are defended by the omnipotent LORD. This is a running theme we’ve noticed throughout the Old Testament.

Isaiah 25:8 — We just read this verse quoted in 1 Corinthians 15:54, and we’ll see the second part of this verse quoted in Revelation 7:17 and Revelation 21:4. As we go through Isaiah, we’ll notice the connections between Old Testament and New Testament prophecy. In the Church Age we tend to think that all of our familiar prophecies were first found in John’s Revelation, but he was given revelation by the same God that revealed His plans to Isaiah. What’s amazing is that in Israel we have a scroll where a scribe records this promise of the resurrection and eternal comfort 125 years before the birth of Jesus! For your friends who think the Old Testament God is a god of wrath and that love doesn’t come until the New Testament, this promise came in the BC/OT part of history: “… the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces …” What a day that will be!

Isaiah 26:3-4 — Mac Lynch recorded a song based on this passage.

Isaiah 26:7 — I Googled “uprightness”, and the definition and example is interesting …

Isaiah 27:1 — Who is the dragon of the sea? Cambridge Bible says Egypt:

Assuming that they are distinct the “Dragon that is in the sea” is almost certainly an emblem of Egypt (ch. Isaiah 51:9; Ezekiel 29:3; Ezekiel 32:2; Psalm 74:13).

https://biblehub.com/commentaries/isaiah/27-1.htm

Isaiah 28:13 — This is the verse that gives Precept Ministries (Kay Arthur) its name.

Galatians 3:10 — Paul outlines the failure of works. The curse of Deuteronomy 27:26 was part of the responsive reading of curses on Mount Ebal. One failure to obey brings a curse. But One has redeemed us from the curse (Galatians 3:13)!

Galatians 3:17 — Paul is saying, “You’re following works because that’s an old tradition, but I have one that’s even older (by 430 years)! My God doesn’t back out of any promises that He’s made.” If God made a promise to Abraham, I’m claiming that promise today!

Galatians 3:22 — What is the purpose of the Law? Not to give life (otherwise God would not have had to sacrifice His Son). It was to show that we need life from someone else! The Law came to point us back to the Promise given to Abraham! Who was that Promise? Jesus (Galatians 3:16)!

Psalm 61:4 — Under His wings, I am safely abiding.
  Though the night deepens and the tempests are wild,
  Still I can trust Him – I know He will keep me.
  He has redeemed me, and I am His child.

Under His wings, under His wings,
  Who from His love can sever?
  Under His wings, my soul shall abide,
  Safely abide forever.

William Cushing

Proverbs 23:17-18 — Solomon is echoing Asaph’s Psalm of Slipping Steps (Psalm 73).

Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  Isaiah 22:1-24:23
  Galatians 2:17-3:9
  Psalm 60:1-12
  Proverbs 23:15-16

Isaiah 22:11 — You stockpiled water, but you haven’t looked to the Maker of the water!

Isaiah 22:16 — Shebna, the treasurer, was chided by the LORD for making a fancy tomb for himself. We may have found his tomb marker!

In Isaiah 22 the prophet rails in God’s name against the excesses of the officials in King Hezekiah’s palace. In 1870 the famous French diplomat, scholar and archaeologist Charles Clermont-Ganneau excavated a partially destroyed tomb high up on the cliff overlooking the Kidron Valley and the City of David in Jerusalem. Over the entrance to the rock-cut burial chamber was an inscription that, unfortunately, he was unable to decipher. Was this the tomb of Shebna the high court official mentioned in Isaiah who is, literally, “over the house” or in charge of the palace (often identified as the treasurer) and who was castigated by the prophet for building himself such an elaborate tomb on the cliff?

Dr. Robert Deutsch

They’ve even found a seal impression of a document Shebna wrote:

Isaiah 22:20 — We’ve met Eliakim before in 2 Kings 18:26 when Rabshekah threatened Hezekiah’s people in Hebrew.

Isaiah 23:15 — Matthew Henry notes the interesting fact that both Jerusalem and Tyre were in captivity for 70 years.

Isaiah 24:23 — This verse is key to understanding the passage. When will the moon be confounded and the sun ashamed? When the events of Revelation 6:12 occur.

Galatians 2:20 — Phil Johnson of “Grace to You” preached on this verse, declaring it “The Key to Everything in a Single Verse.” Johnson notes that we share in and benefit from all of Christ’s virtues. Faith brings us into vital union with Christ, i.e. we participate in His death and resurrection.

Galatians 3:1 — Paul is concerned about his beloved Galatians. Yesterday we read his pronouncement of “anathema” upon those who teach another Gospel. Today, he calls the believers of another Gospel “foolish” and their teachers “witches.” Paul is greatly concerned about the purity of the Gospel.

Galatians 3:6 — This is one of the most quoted texts in the Bible. Genesis 15:6 tells us how Abram believed God, and his faith was logged into God’s accounting book as righteousness. James quotes this verse (James 3:23); Paul writes extensively to the Romans about justification in Romans 4.

Psalm 60:1 — The Psalmist acknowledges his condition, accepts His anger, and asks for His arrival.

Psalm 60:12 — “Valiant” is a beautiful word that is falling out of favor in the English language. Google will now tell us how often a word is used over time, and its usage has dropped significantly over the last two centuries. But let’s take a look at Pilgrim’s Progress and meet a character by the name of Valiant:

Then they went on; and just at the place where Little-faith formerly was robbed, there stood a man with his Sword drawn, and his Face all bloody. Then said Mr Great-heart, “What art thou?” The man made answer, saying, “I am one whose name is Valiant-for-truth. I am a Pilgrim, and am going to the Celestial City. Now as I was in my way, there were three men did beset me….”

Great-heart. But here was great odds, three against one.

Valiant. ‘Tis true, but little or more are nothing to him that has the Truth on his side. Tho’ an Host encamp against me, said one, my heart shall not fear; tho’ War should rise against me, in this will I be confident, &c. Besides, saith he, I have read in some Records, that one man has fought an Army; and how many did Samson slay with the Jaw-bone of an Ass?

Proverbs 23:15 — What does a godly dad want for his son? That he would win at Fortnite? Rather, that he would be wise!

Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  Isaiah 19:1-21:17
  Galatians 2:1-16
  Psalm 59:1-17
  Proverbs 23:13-14

Isaiah 19:2 — From Enduring Word:

I will set Egyptians against Egyptians: Isaiah prophesies a coming civil war in Egypt, which was indirectly the hand of God’s judgment against them. “Not many years after this time it was divided into twelve several kingdoms, between whom there were many and cruel wars, as is related by the historians of those times.” (Matthew Poole)

Isaiah 19:18 — There is a possible historic fulfillment and a probable future fulfillment of this prophecy (Jimmy DeYoung). Likely it refers to both. Here’s Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible:

There would even be an altar erected unto Jehovah (Isaiah 19:19) in Egypt. Such an altar was erected by a Jewish high priest named Onias in the reign of Ptolemy VI; and this was an earnest of the later conversion of Egyptians to Christianity. And God here promised to send them a savior (Isaiah 19:20). Historically, this was first fulfilled when Alexander the Great freed the oppressed peoples from their yoke of Persian submission; but in the higher dimension, it stands for the coming of the divine Savior who would free them from their sins.

Regarding this temple (including an altar, of course) that Onias built in Alexandria, Josephus has this:

This Onias resolved to send to king Ptolemy and queen Cleopatra, to ask leave of them that he might build a temple in Egypt like that in Jerusalem and might order Levites and priests out of their own stock. The chief reason why he was so desirous to do this, was, that he relied upon the prophet Isaiah who lived about six hundred years earlier and foretold that there was certainly to be a temple built to Almighty God in Egypt.

Isaiah 19:25 — Israel was God’s chosen people, but here God is saying that Egypt is His people as well. Isaiah is foreshadowing when under the next dispensation God will be revealing His love for the world (John 3:16).

Isaiah 20:1 — At the University of Chicago you can see the giant lamassu (winged bulls) from Sargon’s palace. His famous son Sennacherib declared war on Hezekiah.

Isaiah 20:3 — Three years Isaiah walked naked? Does this mean that God repealed his recommendation of clothing (Genesis 2)? The Pulpit Commentary lends some guidance:

The supposed “impropriety” of Isaiah’s having “gone naked and barefoot” for three years arises from a misconception of the word “naked.” which is not to be taken literally (see the comment on ver. 2). The costume adopted would be extraordinary, especially in one of Isaiah’s rank and position; but would not be in any degree “improper.” It would be simply that of working men during the greater part of the day (see Exodus 22:26, 27).

Isaiah 21:9 — We’ll read something similar in Revelation 18:2.

Isaiah 21:16 — From Enduring Word:

Poole on according to the year of a hired man: “An exact year; for hirelings diligently observe and wait for the end of the year, when they are to receive their wages.”

Galatians 2:1 — We didn’t read about these fourteen years in Acts. Where do they fit? From Redeemer Church PCA:

Paul’s purpose in recalling the timeline is to defend himself against the accusations of the false teachers, which most likely sounded something like this: “Paul was a disciple of the Apostles, such that his gospel is dependent upon theirs – yet, he has changed it without their authorization! Therefore, Galatians, don’t listen to him… Listen to us instead – we are preserving the true gospel.” Against their charges of him preaching a gospel with a dependent origin on the Apostle’s, and divergent content from the apostles, Paul is establishing the independent origin of his gospel from the Jerusalem apostles (it came directly from Jesus), along with the consistent content of his gospel with theirs (when they finally examined his gospel they did not correct him or add anything to it). His gospel isn’t his gospel at all, nor a gospel from any human but directly and immediately from Jesus Christ. So, it must be held to as such.

Paul plants the churches of Galatia during his first missionary journey (Acts 13-14). False Teachers enter Galatian churches sometime after Paul’s departure. Paul writes the letter to the Galatians around 48 AD, prompted by this news of false teaching.

Flashback of Paul’s Story in the letter to the Galatians:

• Paul’s conversion (Galatians 1:12-17; Acts 9)
• Paul’s first visit to Jerusalem (Galatians 1:18-24; Acts 9:26-30)
• Paul’s second visit to Jerusalem (Galatians 2:1-10; Acts 11:27-30)
• Paul’s confrontation with Peter in Antioch (Galatians 2:11-14; not recorded in Acts)

Galatians 2:15 — Peter, regarded by some as the father of the Roman church, was confronted by Paul correctly. Peter got the Gospel wrong, and Paul had to remind him three different ways that it’s not by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:16).

Psalm 59:16-17 — Three times the Psalmist says he is going to sing. Let’s sing of God’s power!

Proverbs 23:13-14 — Solomon is not talking about child abuse in this passage (beating a child uncontrollably resulting in damage), but about corporal punishment or “to sting the child with the spanking so as to administer a physical response to disobedience” (Calvary Chapel Jonesboro).

Life Bible-Presbyterian Church contrasts this command with Eli, a negative example:

The Bible also provides us with a negative example of father who did not discipline his sons at all. This is found in the account of Eli the high priest. Eli had two sons, Hophni and Phineas, who followed their father’s footsteps in serving as priests at the Tabernacle in Shiloh. But both of them were evidently not disciplined when young and they grew up to be wicked priests, who abused their privileges and took advantage of worshippers who came to the Tabernacle to worship the Lord. The sad thing is that their father, Eli did not have the heart to stop his sons and discipline them, although he was grieved by their sins. The awful result is that God judged the house of Eli: 1 Samuel 3:13 “For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.”

Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  Isaiah 15:1-18:7
  Galatians 1:1-24
  Psalm 58:1-11
  Proverbs 23:12

Isaiah 16:6 — Pride brings judgment. If God judged Moab for their pride, how much more will He judge us for our pride?

Isaiah 17:7-8 — Judgment is to point man to his Maker. Amazing that man can make objects with his fingers, and then put his trust in those objects. We’ve seen in Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles example after example of kings (even good kings like Hezekiah) not turning to God until all else had failed. Especially what we saw in Isaiah 7 with Ahaz refusing Isaiah’s declaration of deliverance.

Isaiah 17:10 — How soon we forget the LORD! The Children of Israel who walked through the Red Sea started murmuring almost as soon as the waters returned. America itself has seen waves of revival, but then it returns to apathy soon after.

Isaiah 18:1 — What land is this? From Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers:

A new kingdom, hitherto unnamed by Isaiah, comes now within his horizon. The movements of Tirhakah, king of Cush or Ethiopia, from the upper valley of the Nile, subduing Egypt, and prepared to enter into conflict with the great Assyrian king (Isaiah 37:9), had apparently excited the hopes of such of Hezekiah’s counsellors as put their trust in an arm of flesh. To these Isaiah now turns with words of warning.

Galatians 1:1 — Paul starts out jumping right into his thesis – the gospel is not from man but from Jesus Christ, risen from the dead!

Galatians 1:6 — Paul has been declaring the attributes of Jesus:

• risen from the dead (Galatians 1:1)
• the vicarious sacrifice (Galatians 1:4)
• the deliverer (Galatians 1:4)

These people have abandoned the power of Jesus for something else.

Galatians 1:7 — Paul clarifies his statement in the previous verse. The English word “another” in vs. 6 is “heteros” (referring to something completely different, like apples and oranges); the English word “another” in vs. 7 is “allos” (referring to something that’s of a different sort, like McIntosh vs. Granny Smith).

From Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words:

Allos expresses a numerical difference and denotes “another of the same sort”; heteros expresses a qualitative difference and denotes “another of a different sort.”

Galatians 1:8-9 — “Accursed” in Greek is “anathema.” It sounds “tolerant” to say that all roads lead to heaven. It may seem “intolerant” to declare that there is only one way to God, but that’s what the Bible teaches (Acts 4:12). Even more so, it is unkind and unloving to not warn someone of the curse coming (Ezekiel 33:6).

Galatians 1:12 — Paul is declaring that the Gospel is superior to any other teaching. Greater than anything given by any other man or even an angel from heaven. The Apostle says he was the least likely convert (Galatians 1:13-14) to the message revealed by the Father through the Son (Galatians 1:16). Paul went three years before even seeing Peter once (Galatians 1:18).

Galatians 1:23 — Only God can change a heart like that! Paul’s testimony encouraged others to glorify God!

Psalm 58:6 — When the wicked are surrounding you and it seems hopeless, do not seek for personal vengeance. Give it to the LORD (Deuteronomy 32:35, Romans 12:19)!

Proverbs 23:12 — The message of Proverbs. Unfortunately, too many fail to apply it.

Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  Isaiah 12:1-14:32
  2 Corinthians 13:1-14
  Psalm 57:1-11
  Proverbs 23:9-11

Isaiah 12:1 — What a great picture of salvation! God was angry with us, but He turned away His anger toward us. Those who God was once angry with are the ones that God now comforts! What changed? God is my salvation!

Isaiah 12:2 — Note that it says LORD JEHOVAH. In Hebrew that’s “YAH-YAHWEH.” This is the first of two uses; the other is Isaiah 26:4. “Yah” is found in Psalm 113:1 where the KJV renders it in English as “Praise ye the LORD”. That’s a literal translation of the Hebrew phrase “Hallelu-Yah”

From Barnes’ Notes:

In this place, and Isaiah 26:4, “the repetition” of the name seems to be used to denote “emphasis;” or perhaps to indicate that Yahweh is the same always – an unchangeable God.

Isaiah 13:8 — Notice the similarity between this and 1 Thessalonians 5:3. Both are talking about the Day of the LORD compared to childbirth.

Isaiah 13:10 — The plague of darkness is spoken of many times (Ezekiel 32:7, Joel 2:31, Matthew 24:29, Mark 13:24, Revelation 6:12). Exodus 10:22 foreshadows what God will do in Egypt.

Isaiah 13:11 — Why will God judge the world? Evil must be punished! God is too just to excuse sin.

Isaiah 14:1 — From Jimmy DeYoung:

The Lord promised to have “mercy” on Jacob, the nation of “Israel”. The Lord had chosen these people in the past, Deuteronomy 7:6-8, and will “yet choose Israel” and “set them in their own land”.

It really doesn’t matter what the rest of the world may say about the land, God will set His chosen “Israel”, the Jews of today, back in the land of their forefathers, the land He has given them for the future, as well. From the sidelines we today can see the Lord beginning that process, the process that will move to completion after the Rapture and culminate at His Second Coming.

Isaiah 14:12 — It’s hard to keep up with Isaiah. He’s bouncing from millennia future to millennia past! You wonder just how magnificent the vision was that made him struggle to keep up. We now see what happened to Lucifer, now known as Satan. He fell from heaven for these 5 “I will’s.”

Isaiah 14:13 — From Jimmy DeYoung:

Please notice the last “I will” in verse 13, “I will sit also upon the Mount of the Congregation, in the sides of the North”. According to Psalm 48:2 this is describing the city of Jerusalem. Satan said he will be worshiped in Jerusalem, actually on the Temple Mount. 2 Thessalonians 2:4 is the prophecy of when the Antichrist, energized by Satan, claims to be God, from the Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

2 Corinthians 13:1 — For the past few days we’ve seen Paul pouring out his heart to the Corinthians. You can feel the hurt that he has in his heart from how the Corinthians have dealt with him.

2 Corinthians 13:14 — While the word “trinity” isn’t in the Bible, we see Paul making the LORD Jesus Christ equivalent to the Father and to the Holy Ghost. Since some religions teach that Jesus is not co-equal to the Father, this is an awkward verse for them to deal with.

Psalm 57:2 — Does this sound like your prayer life? In America we are tempted to make prayer into a passing phrase before a meal or a vain repetition before bed. But the Psalms show the depth of a relationship we can have with our Father in heaven! We can cry to Him because He performs all things for us!

Proverbs 23:9 — Solomon’s saying was condensed by Jesus into Matthew 7:6.

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TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  Isaiah 10:1-11:16
  2 Corinthians 12:11-21
  Psalm 56:1-13
  Proverbs 23:6-8

Isaiah 10:2 — God has active concerns for how we act here on earth, and for how we deal with the needy, the poor, the widows, and the fatherless. Note that He is not advocating equality of outcome (redistribution), but equality of access (e.g. I do not have a right to a “Not Guilty” verdict, but I do have a right to a fair trial). Laws that hurt the poor and needy are bad laws. The Heritage Foundation has an interesting report on big government policies that hurt the poor and how to address them.

Isaiah 10:21 — What is the point of all this judgment? That the remnant of Israel returns to the Mighty God! While this is Old Testament, we see parallels in the New Testament. Many Christian families have mourned their children going astray. Yet, those children who experience not only the pleasures of sin for a season but also the chastening of the LORD, will return to the Father.

Isaiah 11:1 — Who is this Branch? We read about the Branch in Isaiah 4:2. The Branch is beautiful and glorious and sanctifying Israel. Now we read that this is the descendant of David (Jesse’s son), who shall have a special spirit – judging the poor, smiting the earth, and slaying the wicked.

Isaiah 11:6 — When has the wolf lain down with the lamb? Not in my lifetime, but in the Millennial Kingdom we will see this era of peace (Isaiah 11:6-9). This is the time spoken of in Isaiah 2:4 as well. Obviously, this time hasn’t come yet.

Isaiah 11:16 — A new Red Sea Highway? This will be interesting to see!

2 Corinthians 12:15 — The woes of many a pastor! The more love you show to people sometimes the less you are loved.

2 Corinthians 12:17 — Paul has been emphasizing throughout this chapter that he sought nothing from the people. He wasn’t a televangelist raising money for a new Gulfstream G650. He spent and was spent for them (2 Corinthians 12:15).

2 Corinthians 12:20-21 — How many of these things do we find in our lives? No, Paul wasn’t going to house-search for “envyings” and “strifes”, but Jesus was! He’s always with the believer (He indwells them), so let’s examine our lives and live for God!

Psalm 56:3 — Here’s an easy way to memorize from Mr. E!

Psalm 56:13 — The Psalmist thanks God for his soul’s salvation from spiritual death, but now he asks for deliverance from physical death. If God has saved our soul, He can save our body!

Proverbs 26:7 — Guarding your thoughts is so important because thoughts determine actions, and your actions determine your character.

Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  Isaiah 8:1-9:21
  2 Corinthians 12:1-10
  Psalm 55:1-23
  Proverbs 23:4-5

Isaiah 8:1 — Mahershalalhashbaz is the longest name in the Old Testament. The name means, “Hurry to the spoils!” Soon the Northern Kingdom of Israel would be wiped out.

Isaiah 8:12-13 — Military alliances would not deliver Judah, but the LORD Himself would!

Isaiah 8:19 — Under the Mosaic code, what was the punishment for wizards (Luke 20:27)? Why try to communicate to the dead? Seek the Living God!

Isaiah 8:20 — An Old Testament warning to search things according to the Law. Deuteronomy 13:2-3 says that even if the wizard does wonders, do not listen.

Isaiah 9:2 — Who is this light? It comes from one who is faithful to the Law (Isaiah 8:20). It is the glory of the LORD (Isaiah 60:1).

Isaiah 9:6 — What kind of child is this that is called “The Mighty God?” “The Everlasting Father?” This same child will sit on the throne of David. If a child is the Mighty God, then He is “God with Us,” Immanuel. This is the promise of Isaiah 7:14 … the child of a virgin would be the Everlasting Father!

2 Corinthians 12:1 — Paul is very personal in this letter. Not so much doctrine and teaching but humbly imploring his beloved Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 12:2 — If there is a third heaven, there must be a first heaven and a second heaven. You can see the first heaven in an airplane, this is where our weather comes from (Genesis 7:11). You can see the second heaven in a spaceship, this is where the planets and stars are located (Nehemiah 9:6). But to see the third heaven, you must go with Jesus, this is where God the Father is.

2 Corinthians 12:7 — What was the thorn in the flesh? Whatever it was, he besought the Lord that it might depart (2 Corinthians 12:8). Interestingly, the only other time Paul uses the word “depart” in his epistles to the Corinthians is in relation to a wife departing her husband (1 Corinthians 7:10-11).

Psalm 55:17 — How often does God hear your voice?

Proverbs 23:4 — What is your goal in life? Riches are fleeting (Proverbs 23:5).

Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.