Day Four

Psalm 85, Exodus 30-31, Nehemiah 11:1-12:26; 1 Corinthians 3

Here are the notes that I added to my study Bible today.

Psalm 85

Ps. 85:4-5 -Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us!5Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations? - Aren't you glad that our God is a God who forgives? He desires for us to live in a covenant relationship with Him. As human beings we are prone to wander, but as God, He is faithful to forgive. His love is never ending. When I think about the Children of Israel, I think about my own stubbornness. How many times will I choose to ignore God's statutes to satisfy my own desires? When I do, God is not pleased. I hurt God. And, I hurt myself. May God restore us and as David said, may he restore to us the joy of our salvation. That happens when we live in fellowship with Him.

Ps. 85:9 - Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Salvation is near to those who fear God. This verse comes immediately after the warning to not turn back to folly. Salvation only comes when we fear the Lord.

Ps. 85:12 - Yes, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. - Is it possible for our God to give a gift that is bad? Even hardships that He allows to come into our life are ultimately for our good and His glory.


Exodus 30-31

Ex. 31:12-17 - God was passionate about the Children of Israel observing the Sabbath. So passionate was he, that to break the Sabbath was a law punishable by death. So, why is it that Sabbath is something that we take so lightly. God put it in the laws of the Jews that they should rest. Six days work and then a day of rest. We all need rest. We need time to focus and refresh. We need time to set aside our normal routines and worship God. How are you doing on that?

Nehemiah 11:1-12:26

I added no notes in this section. This part of Scripture is a listing of people and where they lived. It gives historical context to the book of Nehemiah, and includes many names such as King Darius, Zerubbabel, Jeshua and others that we see in other books of the Bible.

1 Corinthians 3

1 Cor. 3:2-3 - The Corinthian believers had been following Christ for some time now, but they were still acting like spiritual babies. For them, it was jealousy and strife. For others it can be something else. What would Christ say our life is producing? What kind of food would he feed us; milk or solid food?

1 Cor. 3:5-6 - Have you ever been a part of a church and heard people at your church talk about another church like it was a rival? What a shame. Churches ought to view other churches as partners in the task of reaching our world for Jesus Christ. We ought to be praying earnestly for the growth of other Bible preaching churches in our community. As churches grow, so does the Body of Christ. Unfortunately petty arguments about which church is better, or what preacher is better, or what Sunday School class is best go all the way back to the days of Paul, as these verses so aptly show.

1 Cor. 3:16-17 16Do you not know that youare God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 17If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.- It's an awesome thought that the Spirit of God dwells within the believer! We are the temple of God. No longer does His Spirit dwell in the Holy of Holies of a temple in Jerusalem. Our lives should reflect Christ wherever we go. He calls us to live holy lives, and we can do that because He is holy and equips us to live that way.