Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Isaiah 3:16


Copyright Ó 2012 J. Neely
Isaiah 3:16

16 Moreover the LORD [Yahovah] saith, ['amar] Because [ya`an] the daughters [bath] of Zion [Tsiyown] are haughty, [gabahh] and walk [yalak] with stretched forth [natah] necks [garown] and wanton [saqar] eyes, [`ayin] walking [halak] and mincing [taphaph] as they go, [yalak] and making a tinkling [`akac] with their feet: [regel]KJV-Interlinear

16 Moreover, the Lord said, "Because the daughters of Zion are proud, And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes, And go along with mincing steps, And tinkle the bangles on their feet, NASB

Moreover, means in addition to, not only this, and so forth.  Not that what has been already stated isn’t bad enough, but there is far, far more to be said about the evil that has consumed the nation.

Isaiah has already mentioned the rulers and leaders and people in general, as having failed in their relationship with God.  Isaiah’s prophecy is primarily targeted at the nation of Judah, a nation that, in form, represents the people of God.

But here, he mentions the daughters of Zion.  But who is this he is speaking of now?

Zion is a hill in the midst of Jerusalem.  Jerusalem is the capital of Judah.  Zion has generally been referred to as the dwelling place of God, or the source of Gods vast truth.

Jerusalem is the city of peace, and Zion is its heart or source.  Therefore, Zion is often times used to refer to mature believers, or those who have advanced in their spiritual lives through doctrine, thus achieving inner peace and thus named, for the city of peace.

Zion, the hill, has no daughters.  That should be obvious.  A hill does not procreate and have children much less daughters.  But the symbolism of the mountain is of mature believers, or offspring of spiritual growth from doctrine.

Since the prophecy is a curse of sorts, against the rulers, leaders, and people of Judah, then the prophecy is against the people of God, who have failed in their spiritual lives.  They failed because they were full of arrogance and selfishness and many other indifferences and sins.  Their spiritual growth, whatever it was, has vanished and has been replaced with indifference and arrogance, and disobedience to God.

Believers can fail.

When society fails, there is a ray of hope, in that God has set aside believers that are the recipients of His blessing, and thus there is a ray of hope for society, in that blessing flows from God to believers, and on through to the rest of humanity.  Humanity is blessed not directly, but indirectly by mean of their relationship with believers.  We all occupy the same planet, breathe the same air, buy and sell the same things, and so forth.

But, when believers fail, then all of humanity is in world of hurt, because the target of blessing has ceased to exist.

In a few verses we will see the words, ‘in that day.’

This has a dual meaning, but for now we will focus on the last days when all of humanity has failed, when believers who remain alive have failed, or have ben removed (with a few exceptions), and when the Tribulation will literally see huge judgments against evil as a result of all of the failures of humanity, both believers and unbelievers.

So, the term daughters, does not refer to the female population, but is a descriptive term that identifies the failure of believers within society.

And the description continues in feminine terms, but these terms, identify arrogance and pride, that have driven society to its own doom.

Haughty relates to pride.  Stretched forth necks relates to arrogance or superiority.  Wanton eyes, refers to the enticements of the eyes as made up with makeup in order to lure in, to deceive, to entrap.

Mincing as they go, refers to the walk or an exaggerated walk, to gain attention, to attract, approbation, also to lure someone into a trap.

Tinkling of the feet, is a reference to jewelry like bracelets wrapped around the ankle, which also are used to attract attention, to entice, or to decorate.  The bracelets make a simple noise, and they are used to decorate the ankles much the same as ear rings or necklaces are used to decorate or accessorize the female appearance.

These terms are used in the feminine sense, but they apply equally to both genders as all members of society have failed within the terms of this prophecy.

So from the previous verse, evil has bashed or ground into dust, those who are the legitimate heirs of Gods blessings, but evil uses enticements, deceptions and false fronts to hide its true identity.

Thinking highly of itself, the evil person walks as though they know all things and/ or are all things to all people, even deceiving themselves into thinking that they are above and better than everyone else.  While at the same time destroying themselves in pursuit of blessings that they will never have, because they have rejected the source of blessing, namely God, Christ, and doctrine.  All of which they are disinterested in, and indifferent toward.

Most believers fail because they do not learn the legitimate purpose and process of the spiritual life.  They fail because they believe that they already know what they need to know, do what they need to do, and thus they fall into the trap of self-purpose and self-indulgent evils.

The result?  Failure, disaster, loss of blessing and huge disappointment when, after too late, they discover their error.

Unfortunately, most folks won’t be reading this study, and of those who do read this, will sooner or later, fall into this failed category.  When a person is unteachable, it is very difficult to turn them around. 

That is something that they have to do themselves.

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Daily Bible Study Links – Tues. 1-31-2012


Daily Bible Study Links – Tues. 1-31-2012
Today’s Daily Bible Study:  


Today’s Study

Tuesday – Daily Bible Study – Isaiah 3:16  – Who are the daughters and what is their crime 

Prior studies of the past week and month:


Daily Bible Study E-Books
(For your e-book reader or computer)

Parables of Christ

Revelation  /  Psalms / 1 Timothy / 1 Peter
Isaiah / Jude




Important links:
Main Daily Bible Study web site:  http://www.DailyBibleStudy.Org  
Daily Bible Study Library:  http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/library.html
Daily Bible Study News on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/jneelyranch 
How to prepare for your daily study:  http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/how-to-prepare.html
Two Year Bible Reading Plan:  http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/biblestudy/two_year 

Blog and Feed Subscription Links:  http://www.neelyranch.com/contactus.html

Daily Bible Study is written by John Neely:  http://www.NeelyRanch.Com


Monday, January 30, 2012

Daily Bible Study Links – Mon. 1-30-2012


Daily Bible Study Links – Mon. 1-30-2012
Today’s Daily Bible Study:  


Today’s Study

Monday – Daily Bible Study – Isaiah 3:15  –  What is the question, why don’ t folks know the answer http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/biblestudy/monthly/today-monday.html  

Prior studies of the past week and month:


Daily Bible Study E-Books
(For your e-book reader or computer)

Parables of Christ

Revelation  /  Psalms / 1 Timothy / 1 Peter
Isaiah / Jude




Important links:
Main Daily Bible Study web site:  http://www.DailyBibleStudy.Org  
Daily Bible Study Library:  http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/library.html
Daily Bible Study News on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/jneelyranch 
How to prepare for your daily study:  http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/how-to-prepare.html
Two Year Bible Reading Plan:  http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/biblestudy/two_year 

Blog and Feed Subscription Links:  http://www.neelyranch.com/contactus.html

Daily Bible Study is written by John Neely:  http://www.NeelyRanch.Com


Sunday, January 29, 2012

Isaiah 3:15


Copyright Ó 2012 J. Neely
Isaiah 3:15

15 What mean ye that ye beat [daka'] my people [`am] to pieces, [daka'] and grind [tachan] the faces [paniym] of the poor [`aniy]? saith [na'um] the Lord ['Adonay] GOD [Yahovih] of hosts. [tsaba'] KJV-Interlinear

15 "What do you mean by crushing My people, And grinding the face of the poor?" Declares the Lord God of hosts. NASB

What do you mean, poses a question.  What is your intent?  What is your objective?  What advantage do you gain by this?  And more importantly, by what right do you do this?

To beat the people, is an action of cruelty, of trampling, of oppression.

To pieces, indicates that the oppression carries a great deal of violence and hate and cruelty.

Grinding the faces, means to grind as in grinding with a stone, a substance that is reduced to virtually nothing, even less than dust, until nothing is left.

This then is the action and result, or intended result, of evil against Gods chosen people.

Gods people are all believers, but principally mature and productive believers. 

Those who reject God, or even those who have believed, but reject doctrine and thus imitate the actions and thoughts of unbelievers, are all that set themselves in opposition to God.

By rejecting God, people default to their own devices and plans, which is to take that which does not belong to them, away from those to whom it does belong.

God created all things for Himself, and for His own family.  Those who are obedient to truth are the rightful heirs of Gods possessions.  Those who reject God, are not the rightful heirs, and thus have to take that which does not belong to them.

And so, human history records the actions of evil against truth, of unbelievers or negative believers, against positive and/or mature believers. 

Evil seeks to crush all that is right.  Evil is pure greed and hate, and is no better than the worst of the worst of thieves.

So, by what right?  What is the objective?  What is the reason that evil attempts to crush good?  And the answer is that evil comes from Satan and from no other source.  It is Satan and evil that wishes to be like and even better than, the most high, namely God the Father.  But in order to do that, Satan must destroy God.  Something that is an impossibility.

So, even the questions being posed demonstrate the futility and foolishness of the policies of evil.  Evil has no right, no power, no purpose by that which is evil and destructive.  Its goal is to take an inheritance that it cannot even hold on to, even if it could gain possession of it.

Satan cannot control the universe.  Certainly man cannot control the universe.  Man cannot even control the weather or his own world around him.

All efforts of evil are futile.  All efforts and positions in evil, namely rejection of God, Christ, doctrine and so forth, will yield nothing, zip, zero.  So why pursue them?

Evil presumes itself as wise.  Rejection of Gods will, presumes itself as wise.  Disobedience to Gods will, presumes itself as wise.  Presumptions of the wisdom of ones own pretenses, defined life, better ways, is nothing short of evil and therefore stupidity.  So why do it?

That is the question.

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Free Stuff

Copyright Ó 2012 J. Neely
Free Stuff


The following was sent to me via email:

‘The folks who are getting free stuff, don't like the folks who are paying for the free stuff, because the folks who are paying for the free stuff can
no longer afford to pay for both the free stuff and their own stuff.

The folks who are paying for the free stuff want the free stuff to stop, and the folks who are getting the free stuff want even more free stuff on top of the free stuff they are already getting!

Now... The people who are forcing the people to pay for the free stuff have told the people who are RECEIVING the free stuff, that the people who are PAYING for the free stuff, are being mean, prejudiced, and racist.

So... The people who are GETTING the free stuff have been convinced they need to hate the people who are paying for the free stuff by the people who are forcing some people to pay for their free stuff, and giving them the
free stuff in the first place.

We have let the free stuff giving go on for so long that there are now more people getting free stuff than paying for the free stuff.

Now understand this. All great democracies have committed financial suicide somewhere between 200 and 250 years after being founded. The reason? The voters figured out they could vote themselves money from the treasury by electing people who promised to give them money from the treasury in exchange for electing them.

Thomas Jefferson said it best: "The democracy (Republic) will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

The United States officially became a Republic in 1776. That was 236 years ago. The number of people now
getting free stuff outnumbers the people paying for the free stuff.’

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Daily Bible Study Links – Sun. 1-29-2012


Daily Bible Study Links – Sun. 1-29-2012
Today’s Daily Bible Study:  


Today’s Study

Sunday – Daily Bible Study – Free Stuff  –  What principle does this teach 

Prior studies of the past week and month:


Daily Bible Study E-Books
(For your e-book reader or computer)

Parables of Christ

Revelation  /  Psalms / 1 Timothy / 1 Peter
Isaiah / Jude




Important links:
Main Daily Bible Study web site:  http://www.DailyBibleStudy.Org  
Daily Bible Study Library:  http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/library.html
Daily Bible Study News on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/jneelyranch 
How to prepare for your daily study:  http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/how-to-prepare.html
Two Year Bible Reading Plan:  http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/biblestudy/two_year 

Blog and Feed Subscription Links:  http://www.neelyranch.com/contactus.html

Daily Bible Study is written by John Neely:  http://www.NeelyRanch.Com


Saturday, January 28, 2012

Psalm 17:1


Copyright Ó 2011 J. Neely
Psalm 17:1

1 A Prayer [taphillah] of David. [David]
Hear [shama`] the right, [tsedeq] O LORD, [Yahovah] attend [qashab] unto my cry, [rinnah] give ear ['azan] unto my prayer, [taphillah] that goeth not [lo'] out of feigned [mirmah] lips. [saphah] KJV-Interlinear

A Prayer of David.
1 Hear a just cause, O Lord, give heed to my cry; Give ear to my prayer, which is not from deceitful lips. NASB

David was a king.  He was selected by God Himself.  He was the Lords anointed. And yet he humbled himself to prayer when far too many other kings thought themselves too great for prayer, but wished to be prayed to by their citizens.

And far lesser people who are not kings won’t even lower themselves to prayer, as they too do not see any value or power in prayer.

However, as stated here by David, God hears all just causes.  However, just causes must be defined by God, not you.

God has one important objective for you, and that is for you to be saved and advance to spiritual maturity.

Everything else in life is logistical filler designed to get you through life, and maintain your life, so that you can fulfill that objective.

To disregard Gods purpose for you, is the attitude of a fool.

You must not approach God with deceit.  You cannot fool God, you cannot convince God of doing something for you that is less than honorable, or dishonest.

So long as you approach God with honor, and a life based on doctrine, then He will hear your cause and He will answer.

But remember, doctrine first, spiritual growth first, and the world way down the list somewhere.  If you are pursuing your spiritual life as God has defined the spiritual life, then your circumstances of life should make no difference.  God is able to carry you through any situation, and your spiritual life will succeed.

After all, the successful spiritual life will result in blessing and reward that is far more valuable than the entire worlds wealth throughout all of the ages, combined.

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Daily Bible Study Links – Sat. 1-28-2012


Daily Bible Study Links – Sat. 1-28-2012
Today’s Daily Bible Study:  


Today’s Study

Saturday – Daily Bible Study – Psalm 17:1  –  State one prayer that God will always hear and answer

Prior studies of the past week and month:


Daily Bible Study E-Books
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Parables of Christ

Revelation  /  Psalms / 1 Timothy / 1 Peter
Isaiah / Jude




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Main Daily Bible Study web site:  http://www.DailyBibleStudy.Org  
Daily Bible Study Library:  http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/library.html
Daily Bible Study News on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/jneelyranch 
How to prepare for your daily study:  http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/how-to-prepare.html
Two Year Bible Reading Plan:  http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/biblestudy/two_year 

Blog and Feed Subscription Links:  http://www.neelyranch.com/contactus.html

Daily Bible Study is written by John Neely:  http://www.NeelyRanch.Com


Friday, January 27, 2012

Ephesians 1:16


Copyright Ó 2011 J. Neely
Ephesians 1:16

16 Cease [pauo] not [ou] to give thanks [eucharisteo] for [huper] you, [humon] making [poieo] mention [mneia] of you [humon] in [epi] my [mou] prayers; [proseuche] KJV-Interlinear

16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; NASB

Prayer is one of, if not, the most powerful tool you can possess.  Its power comes not in the words used, but in the power of the doctrine that stands behind the words.

You and I are nothing more than a pile of dust, with life imputed into that dust.  Alone we are nothing more than useless and powerless.

And into that essence of nothingness, God places doctrine.  And therein is the real power placed at our disposal.  However, with all freedoms and privileges comes responsibility and obligation. Abuse or disregard your  responsibilities, and you lose the privileges.

Prayer becomes effective only as a result of the doctrine or power behind that prayer.  And that doctrine must first be learned and understood, and assimilated into something useful, before it can be applied.

Without the proper use and application of prayer, it will be no more useful than talking to the wind.

First, all prayer belongs to believers only.  One must be inside of the family of God, before you can speak with God.  No unbeliever has access to the power of prayer, with one exception, and that exception is when they believe in Christ.  That belief is in effect a prayer to God for salvation, which is automatically granted when a person believes in Christ.

After salvation, the door for more effective prayer is blown wide open.

Second, all prayer must be offered to God while in fellowship.  Confession of sin is a form of prayer as well, which gets you back into fellowship when you have sinned and have been out of fellowship as a result of that sin.  Confession is granted automatically as well.

After that, all prayer becomes potential.  God may or may not grant your request.  God does grant all requests that will contribute to your spiritual growth.  Confession is one of those types of prayer.

Third, all prayer must be offered to God the Father. No prayer is ever offered to people, ancestors, angels, planets, fish, rocks, idols of any sort, and so forth.  Those folks or things do not have the power to grant much less hear your prayers.

Fourth, all prayer must be submitted to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ.  Christ is the only means of access to the Father.  No one can approach the Father except that they approach through Christ. That is His plan and mandate, and will.  Anything else means that you reject His plan, and authority and process, thus insulting Him and promoting your own arrogance, in presuming that you can do things your way and not Gods way.

Fifth, all prayer must be in conformity with Gods planned ages for history.  You cannot go against the overall plan of God for history.

Sixth, all prayer must be in conformance with Gods plan for your specific life.  Even though you may not become the next president or lottery winner, there are certainly things that you can accomplish in your life, namely through an education and/or effort of some sort. 

But most importantly in your life, Gods will is that you advance to spiritual maturity, and that option too is granted, when you comply with Gods process for spiritual growth.  And that process is clearly spelled out in the scriptures, namely through daily study, learning, understanding, application and so forth.  Comply with these mandates and your growth to maturity will succeed.

Beyond the obvious, God will hear prayers for needs and desires to a certain degree, but realize too that you cannot interfere with Gods plan for other people.  Prayer for their help is legitimate, but a great deal of their benefit is determined by their attitude toward God and doctrine.

God has an overall plan for history.  All of mans desires and efforts cannot change that plan.  God has a plan for your life, unfortunately your attitude can derail that plan if you are indifferent or simply non-compliant.

In the next few verses, Paul spells out the details of his prayer.

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Daily Bible Study Links – Fri. 1-27-2012


Daily Bible Study Links – Fri. 1-27-2012
Today’s Daily Bible Study:  


Today’s Study

Friday – Daily Bible Study – Ephesians 1:16 –  Define specifically how prayer works 

Prior studies of the past week and month:


Daily Bible Study E-Books
(For your e-book reader or computer)

Parables of Christ

Revelation  /  Psalms / 1 Timothy / 1 Peter
Isaiah / Jude




Important links:
Main Daily Bible Study web site:  http://www.DailyBibleStudy.Org  
Daily Bible Study Library:  http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/library.html
Daily Bible Study News on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/jneelyranch 
How to prepare for your daily study:  http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/how-to-prepare.html
Two Year Bible Reading Plan:  http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/biblestudy/two_year 

Blog and Feed Subscription Links:  http://www.neelyranch.com/contactus.html

Daily Bible Study is written by John Neely:  http://www.NeelyRanch.Com


Thursday, January 26, 2012

Ephesians 1:15


Copyright Ó 2011 J. Neely
Ephesians 1:15

15 Wherefore [dia] [touto] I also, [kago] after I heard [akouo] of [kata] your [humas] faith [pistis] in [en] the Lord [kurios] Jesus, [Iesous] and [kai] love [agape] unto [eis] all [pas] the saints, [hagios] KJV-Interlinear

15 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you, and your love for all the saints, NASB

Paul has been absent from Ephesus for several years now.  News in the region, back in those times, took weeks and even months to travel from one locality to another, unlike today where we have almost instantaneous access to news and events around the entire world.

Today we expect almost near instant response when we call or text someone.  Back then, you would be lucky to hear news from a far off place, even a couple of times a year.

Times were tough.  Rome was placing more and more pressure on the Middle East.  Jerusalem and Judea was becoming more and more of a problem region.  Christianity was growing by leaps and bounds, but then so was the persecution of Christianity growing in intensity.

We have already seen in previous studies that many of Pauls so called friends, fell away due to the intense risks that came with being a Christian.  And yet, here is a place that was far from Rome, by their standards, and people, although temptation was all around, were sticking with their studies and advancing in their individual spiritual lives.

Today we have the internet and social networks and cell phone texting, and many other things that can easily distract us away from doctrine.  Not exactly threats to Christianity as in Pauls day, but threats just the same to individual advancement, because the material things of today, are held in higher esteem, than doctrine.

In this world the vast majority of people seem to be drifting away from doctrine, and yet there will be little pockets, always, of positive volition and good news of spiritual victories.  Not the sort of news that will make it into the media, but it will definitely make the news in heaven.  And that is where the most important notice occurs.

Do not be distracted by the world, but instead, be distracted and preoccupied with Gods opinion and attention. Your life will be far, far better off.

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Daily Bible Study Links – Thurs. 1-26-2012


Daily Bible Study Links – Thurs. 1-26-2012
Today’s Daily Bible Study:  


Today’s Study

Thursday – Daily Bible Study – Ephesians 1:15  –  In dark clouds you can still find what  

Prior studies of the past week and month:


Daily Bible Study E-Books
(For your e-book reader or computer)

Parables of Christ

Revelation  /  Psalms / 1 Timothy / 1 Peter
Isaiah / Jude




Important links:
Main Daily Bible Study web site:  http://www.DailyBibleStudy.Org  
Daily Bible Study Library:  http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/library.html
Daily Bible Study News on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/jneelyranch 
How to prepare for your daily study:  http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/how-to-prepare.html
Two Year Bible Reading Plan:  http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/biblestudy/two_year 

Blog and Feed Subscription Links:  http://www.neelyranch.com/contactus.html

Daily Bible Study is written by John Neely:  http://www.NeelyRanch.Com