Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Ephesians 2:6

Copyright Ó 2012 J. Neely
Ephesians 2:6

6 And [kai] hath raised us up together, [sunegeiro] and [kai] made us sit together [sugkathizo] in [en] heavenly [epouranios] places in [en] Christ [Christos] Jesus: [Iesous]KJV-Interlinear

6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, NASB

Raised us up, means from our context in this chapter, that God has raised us up from the dead, to now having eternal life.  For prior to our salvation, we were dead and separated from God and destined for the Lake of Fire.

But now, because of Christ and His work on the Cross, we are raised up to eternal life.

Both you and I are still here on this earth right now.  We have not been raised physically from this planet, into heaven or to anywhere else. But we have been raised from a lower status of eternal condemnation, to eternal life.  And that occurred because of, and through, Christ.

Sit together in heavenly places, is an expression for our having and enjoying the status of an association with Christ.  He is the only person who is physically sitting at Gods right hand in heaven.  Again, neither you nor I are currently in heaven and we are certainly not sitting there with Christ.  But positionally, we possess a relationship with God through Christ, such that we have received the highest of honors that otherwise we would not have as unbelievers.

You can review the blessings list in the special studies section of the Bible study web site online library, to see all of the many honors that we received automatically when we believed in Christ.

In heavenly places, also recognizes that since Christ has gone there, and since we are in union with Him, we too will go there one day.  Our future is not in or of this world, but in heaven, where Gods ultimate divine plan will replace not only this planet, but this entire universe, with yet a new and improved and far better universe that will combine with heaven into one single and vast realm that will stretch into infinity and beyond.

In Christ Jesus, is a phrase that is repeatedly mentioned throughout the Bible.  There is nothing in existence that would even exist were it not for Christ.  He is the sum total and foundation of all that is.  Without Christ there is nothing.  With Christ, there is everything.

This final thought should be something that you should ponder and consider the next time you decide to pass up on a daily study.  Your investment in Christ will yield you spiritual profits beyond your imagination. To ignore Him means phenomenal loss.  Which outcome do you think is the better?

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Daily Bible Study Links – Wed. 2-29-2012


Daily Bible Study Links – Wed. 2-29-2012
Today’s Daily Bible Study:  


Today’s Study

Wednesday – Daily Bible Study – Ephesians 2:6   –  Name two great things we have received  

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


Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Isaiah 3:24


Copyright Ó 2012 J. Neely
Isaiah 3:24

24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell [besem] there shall be stink; [maq] and instead of a girdle [chagowr] a rent; [niqpah] and instead of well set [ma`aseh] hair [miqsheh] baldness; [qorchah] and instead of a stomacher [pathiygiyl] a girding [machagoreth] of sackcloth; [saq] and burning [kiy] instead of beauty. [yophiy] KJV-Interlinear

24 Now it will come about that instead of sweet perfume there will be putrefaction; Instead of a belt, a rope; Instead of well-set hair, a plucked-out scalp; Instead of fine clothes, a donning of sackcloth; And branding instead of beauty. NASB

And now Isaiah pronounces the prophecy of judgment against not only individuals who pursue ornaments that portray their arrogance, pride and vanity, but the nation of Israel as it has gone negative against God and truth, and of the entire world, when one day it too will succumb to the desires of the sin nature.

All of the symbols of beauty and glory, which symbols will have been misused through wickedness, will be stripped away, and the people will be left with the calamities of trauma and grief and sorrow.

The perfumes will be replaced with the stench of decaying rot.

Instead of the belts and accessories of wealth, there will be the bare necessities of poverty.

Instead of well groomed hair, there will be the bald look of punished traitors.

Instead of fine clothes, there will be the dress of mourning and sorrow.

Instead of the pampered body of fine oils and lotions and scents, there will be the affects of a concentration camp victim.  Burning, ‘kiy,’ is a reference to one who has wandered out in the open sun, dehydrated, starving, parched, blistered with ugly scars and so forth.

In short, anything of value, or anything that was perceived as valuable will be stripped away, and only the shell of emptiness will remain.

For individuals. This is the end of their life.  They live and they die, and after death, they end up with nothing.

For the country, the opposition toward God and Christ and doctrine, result in a country suffering in one or all of the five cycles of destruction that come to a country, Lev. 26, ending with its total collapse.

Those five cycles follow the pattern of negative volition and the resulting poor decisions, the traditional family format is destroyed and attacked, degeneracy in many forms becomes the norm, economic collapse, and finally the overthrow or collapse of the nation.  There are many degrees within each of these cycles, and each may continue for many years, and many may overlap others.  But when it is all said and done, the horror and suffering is beyond description.  It is not short lived, and not easy to recover from, if at all.

The unfortunate thing about all of this, is that it is not a mere storybook story, but the reality of a society that has repeatedly chosen the wrong path in life.  People bring destruction upon themselves.

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Daily Bible Study Links – Tues. 2-28-2012


Daily Bible Study Links – Tues. 2-28-2012
Today’s Daily Bible Study:  


Today’s Study

Tuesday – Daily Bible Study – Isaiah 3:24  –  What is gained and what is lost 

Prior studies of the past week and month:


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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 

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


Monday, February 27, 2012

Isaiah 3:23

Copyright Ó 2012 J. Neely
Isaiah 3:23

23 The glasses, [gillayown] and the fine linen, [cadiyn] and the hoods, [tsaniyph] and the vails. [radiyd]KJV-Interlinear

23 hand mirrors, undergarments, turbans, and veils.  NASB

Glasses, ‘gillayown,’ means to make apparent, to reveal, a mirror or reflection. This can apply to a hand mirror which is used to correct or to check ones appearance.  It can also apply to the image of fine clothing, a shining, or glistening so as to draw attention with bright colors or even reflective material.

Fine linen, is just that.  These are fine clothing made from the best of the best of materials, be it silk or some other linen of high quality, and especially the clothing that is worn underneath the outer clothing, and worn next to the skin or directly in contact with the skin of the individual.  This material provides a comfort both physically and psychologically.

Turbans are hats or hoods.

Veils, refer to scarves or clothing that is worn about the head and neck to protect or to hide or to conceal the persons head and face.

Throughout this chapter, Isaiah has shown that evil people turn to things that enhance the outward appearance of themselves, to other people.  The inward or the soul or the actual person is virtually ignored.

And yet people will ignore truth and the quality and nature of the content of their soul and trade that away for the quality and content of things, or things as they perceive their quality.  Emphasis is placed on things that are external to the person, rather than on the substance of the individual.

Self-perception is not limited to clothing and jewelry, but also is reflected in ones work or career or abilities or status in society.  And, inevitably your self-perception comes down to comparing oneself to others, meaning that you are better than they, in a variety of ways.

In reality you are made up of several things, namely dust, a soul, imputed human life into that soul, a human spirit (if you are a believer) with eternal life imputed into that spirit, and then information.  Information is what you have learned throughout your life from experience, from academics and so forth. 

And, if you really think about it, none of these things originated from you.  You did not form yourself.  You did not create yourself, and you did not originate any information that you have perceived.  Even your volition that enables you to do or not do, to learn of not learn, to choose or to not choose, did not come from you.

So, people really do not have any basis for boasting.

In life there is truth, which simply means the correct matching up of facts with reality. 

And then there are the lies of life, which is the misapplication of facts to reality.  That is where the many philosophies and theories and religions come into play.  They all create an obscure and ambiguous and invented view of life.

The ability to perceive truth requires the mechanism that allows the accurate perception of truth, and that mechanism is found in the spiritual life or the spiritual apparatus that, again, only God provides, not you.  That apparatus is found in salvation first, for that enables the spiritual apparatus within you, and then the fellowship sphere, which is obtained by means of confession, and that makes the spiritual apparatus operational and functional. To this you need only add your positive volition and desire to study and learn, and that leads to growth and eventually to the production of ones life. A very simple process.

And yet people will choose the lies or misinformation over truth.  And the result means disaster for ones life.  And that is what is covered in the last three verses of this chapter.

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Daily Bible Study Links – Mon. 2-27-2012


Daily Bible Study Links – Mon. 2-27-2012
Today’s Daily Bible Study:  


Today’s Study

Monday – Daily Bible Study – Isaiah 3:23  –   What is the wrong emphasis, what is the right emphasis  

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, February 26, 2012

Psalm 17:9

Copyright Ó 2012 J. Neely
Psalm 17:9

9 From [paniym] the wicked [rasha`] that [zuw] oppress [shadad] me, from my deadly [nephesh] enemies, ['oyeb] who compass me about. [naqaph] KJV-Interlinear

9 From the wicked who despoil me, My deadly enemies, who surround me.  NASB

Oppress, ‘shadad,’ describes a city that has been ravaged and laid to waste, made desolate, destroyed  as when having lost a total war.

Deadly, ‘nephesh,’ means against the life, or against my life.  Enemies that are set against the soul.

Compass means to be surrounded as a city that is under siege, surrounded with no way in or out, with no access to resources except that which is already within the city.

Therefore from the previous verse, the cry for protection, for keeping oneself as the apple of Gods eye, is a prayer for preservation from any and all enemies. 

Enemies are all who promote opposition to God and Gods truth.  This includes all social or work related adversaries, regardless of their nature.  Whether from office politics, social or professional competitiveness, inordinate ambitions, social gossip, and so forth.  This includes all criminal activity, all categories of sin, all types of violence, all philosophies, all religious or irreligious activities, and so forth, such that they are in opposition to truth.

All opposition to truth regardless of its type, is evil and nothing more.  It seeks to promote itself and destroy truth.

The world is saturated with evil and therefore, each and every believer is surrounded completely by evil while living in this world.  This is the devils world.

The objective of evil is the attack on and the destruction of the soul, both of its host person who possesses and promotes the evil, and of their target.

Wickedness is the activity of evil.  All people who do not subscribe to truth, by default promote evil.  Their actions are categorized as wickedness.

They attempt to make a place in this world, which does not rightfully belong to them, but rightfully belongs to God and His designated heirs.  Namely mature believers.

Unbelievers and negative believers are not the recipients of Gods blessings, except through common grace. They are all allowed to remain here in this life pending their change of attitude toward truth.  But since arrogance resists truth, then arrogance presumes that it has the same rights and privileges that everyone else has.  Actually arrogance presumes that it has more rights than anyone else.

And so evil struggles to hold on, to that to which it has no right.  It will destroy if possible, those who have the rightful place, in order to get its possessions or rights of its desires.  God, however, protects those who belong to Him.  He protects believers in general, as to their salvation, and He protects mature believers as to their inheritance and beyond grace rewards.

If you are a spiritually positive believer, then all the world will oppose you.  If you pursue your life in the activities of evil, then you are an enemy and oppressor of truth.

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Daily Bible Study Links – Sun. 2-26-2012


Daily Bible Study Links – Sun. 2-26-2012
Today’s Daily Bible Study:  


Today’s Study

Sunday – Daily Bible Study – Psalm 17:9  –  What do believers need protection from 

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, February 25, 2012

Psalm 17:8


Copyright Ó 2012 J. Neely
Psalm 17:8

8 Keep [shamar] me as the apple ['iyshown] of the eye [bath], [`ayin] hide [cathar] me under the shadow [tsel] of thy wings, [kanaph] KJV-Interlinear

8 Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Thy wings, NASB

Keep, ‘shamar,’ means to guard, defend, protect as one would do so for something that is the most valuable and precious.  To go to any and all lengths with no limit, even to the point of ones own death, to maintain and retain a highly valued possession.

Apple of the eye, is an expression consisting of the first word for apple, ‘iyshown,’ which means little man.

Eye, ‘bath,’ means the pupil or the little opening in the center of the eye, the lens through which the rays of light carrying the image of the object seen, through the eye and reflect it as on a mirror into the mind.

This then means the object seen, the little man, becomes the image seen through the opening of the eye and is reflected as on a mirror and so the person sees his own image reflected in the miniature.  So it is the symbolism of seeing oneself in the image of the object being seen. 

That is, God seeing Himself in us.  And how is that possible?

In the previous verses we know that the mature believer is the object being described.  The mature believer is one who maintains his life in fellowship, and in which doctrine has been taught, and thus learned, and thus understood, and thus utilized in the daily life.  This usage develops into divine production, which is the accessorizing of a soul built with doctrine.

Therefore, God seeing Himself in us, means God seeing His truth and His production which has been developed in us.  For, of our own self, we have nothing that would impress God, but God is impressed by the vastness of truth and that is the object in which we have come into possession by means of our daily commitment to the study of doctrine.

This is nothing that we do, nothing that we accomplish on our own, but the work of doctrine that accomplishes all within us.

Your value, resides in the doctrine that you possess.  No study, no doctrine, no value.

To hide under the shadow of the wings, likewise is an expression of protection.  Taken from the actions of birds.  The birds take their young and gather them under their wings for the purpose of their protection.  And so God takes believers under His protection and preserves and guards them against all enemies.

Both expressions are taken from Deut. 32:10-12.  Other relevant passages are, Ps 36:7; 57:1; 61:4; 63:7; 91:1,4.

Therefore, as a mature and/or growing believer, you are extremely valuable to God.  God makes you the single most valuable object above all other things, because of the doctrine in you, which is made possible because of your attitude in pursuing doctrine in a legitimate fashion, not one by means of selfish or self-centered motivation.

As an unbeliever, you have no value because you have no spiritual life.  Your destiny is eternal disposal via the Lake of Fire.  Garbage is thrown out.

However, once you have believed in Christ, then your value begins and only increases as you grow up spiritually.

Believing in Christ, simply means that you recognize who and what Jesus Christ actually is.  You believe Him to be God, designated as the Son of God.  You believe Him to be the Savior, that He went to the Cross and paid the price for the sins of humanity, that He died and was resurrected and ascended into heaven and is now sitting at the right hand of the Father, in the place of highest honor and authority and sovereignty and power.

Unbelievers do not believe any of this, reject all of this, or make Jesus out to be something less than God, such as just another historical figure or some sort of prophet, or they reject Him altogether.

Once you have believed in Christ, then you simply know His true identity and believe it.  Your salvation is secure, even if at some time in the future you have doubts and decide to reject Him for whatever reason.  Once saved, always saved.

When you believed in Christ, that first instance of faith occurred in a moment of time.  Most folks most probably do not know when that exact first moment was, even though they at some later time made a conscious decision to believe in Christ and believe that the later time was their moment of belief.  It really makes no difference.  Saved is saved and reinforcing that concept is more of an emotional reinforcement in the individual and that is certainly ok.

When you were saved, God created a human spirit in you and imputed eternal life into that human spirit.  That is what is termed as being born again.  The birth or creation of the human spirit.  It was not felt, nor can it be measured nor detected by any human means.  It is just there.  You typically learn about this at some time after your salvation, perhaps years after.  Just as when you were born physically, you knew nothing then and did not know much of anything until many years later, perhaps in grade school or later in life when you began to process life's experiences and awareness within your own mind.

But likewise, after your physical birth, you have to grow up.  And that takes time and knowledge and experience.  The same is true with doctrine and your spiritual life.  But in the spiritual life, your growth is totally dependent on your attitude toward God, doctrine and your obedience to His will and process for that growth.  And in this regard, most believers fail because they get caught up in the emotional aspects of life rather than in the procedural process of spiritual growth.

Spiritual growth leads to maturity.  No growth means continued immaturity.  The apple of the eye, the wings of protection are directed at the mature, or the growing believer.  For it is their destiny to receive, to inherit the vast rewards of eternity.  The immature believer is still in heaven and the recipient of phenomenal blessings, but the spiritually mature individual will be the recipient of much, much, much more.

Just as a child lacks confidence and wisdom due to their immaturity, so too the spiritually immature believer will have difficulty in their spiritual life with regard to confidence and reassurance.

However, the growing believer, develops confidence through knowledge and awareness through doctrine, and sooner or later develops confidence which becomes the muscle and strength and foundation of their faith. 

You pursue doctrine, you support doctrine, you share doctrine.  Your life's meaning and purpose grows and blossoms.  And all thanks to the grace of God, who now is able to see Himself in you.

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Daily Bible Study Links – Sat. 2-25-2012


Daily Bible Study Links – Sat. 2-25-2012
Today’s Daily Bible Study:  


Today’s Study

Saturday – Daily Bible Study – Psalm 17:8  –  What is meant by the image of the little man   

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


Friday, February 24, 2012

Ephesians 2:5


Copyright Ó 2012 J. Neely
Ephesians 2:5

5 Even [kai] when we [hemas] were [on] dead [nekros] in sins, [paraptoma] hath quickened us together with [suzoopoieo] Christ, [Christos] (by grace [charis] ye are [este] saved; [sozo]) KJV-Interlinear

5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), NASB

Even when we were dead in sin.  This is a reference to the status of the unbeliever. 

Before you were saved, you were classified as an unbeliever and dead to God.  Dead means separated such that there was a permanent separation that you yourself could not repair.

Our context here is Gods work, Gods effort, Gods grace, not yours.

Sin is the despicable, abominable, degenerate disgusting, putrid, and rotting thing that God despises.  Sin is deceit, lies, rejection of truth.  And is the thing that leads all who are a part of it, to total ruin and self-destruction.

In sin, means you have hit the bottom of the bottom and can go no higher.

Quickened means to be made alive again.  We studied that in verse one.  But we were not made alive again in the same fashion as in the old way, or in sin, but made alive again in Christ.  Christ is truth and Christ is life, not death.  Again, God did this, not you.

For it was by grace, ‘charis,’ Gods favor, Gods intention, Gods purpose, that you were saved, not by means of anything you can do or even intend for yourself.

Therefore, despite that which God despises the most, namely sin, that which people pursue and that which sends its followers into corruption and destruction, but despite this, despite mans preoccupation with sin and mans own effort, and mans own effort to gain some sort of credit for mans results, despite all of this, God in His matchless grace, set forth a plan to save all of humanity.

Even though all of humanity will not be saved, because many will reject Gods gift of salvation, but still God put together a very detailed plan for salvation.

Humanity is by nature very arrogant and selfish and self-centered.  Humanity tries to gain credit for himself for whatever he has.  And yet it is God who makes all of the provisions for everything, even every breath that you have or ever will have.

In salvation, people have come up with many plans of their own.  People seek to work for their salvation, they try to come up with many descriptive terms, such as yield or surrender or raising of the hands or submit and many other terms.  Most of these terms are ambiguous or marketing tools but very subtly imply doing something in order to earn something.  Most of them are distractions away from the real spiritual life and therefore traps for failure.

And yet the Bible teaches in very clear and lucid language, that salvation is not of mans doing, but totally from Gods doing.

Too often people get the event of salvation confused with the spiritual life that follows, and they are two very distinct and different events. 

The first, salvation is an even that lasts a single moment, just as your own physical birth lasted but a few moments when you exited from the womb. 

And then there is the rest of your life which lasts perhaps for several decades.  The rest of your life follows your birth, it is not a part of your birth but only began with your birth.  So too, salvation is the beginning of your spiritual life not the sum total of it.  Your spiritual life follows in the years and decades and forever, really, after you were born again.

In salvation, you but believed in Christ.  That took a moment in time.  But after your spiritual birth, then you are faced with that daily decisions of maintaining and growing up in your spiritual life, and that is where many of those ambiguous terms come into play.  They imply a ‘doing’ of something, but do not specify what that ‘doing’ is.

And again, the Bible is very clear.  Your ‘doing’ is your daily Bible study, your learning, your growing, your confessions that help you maintain your fellowship status so that you can study and learn and grow up.

But then again, people get things mixed up and try to define their own spiritual growth process, and again despite mans confusion and self-righteous efforts, God still maintains His perfect plan for mans benefit, even when Gods plan is rejected.

Therefore, man cannot earn or deserve anything in life.  Man is but a speck of dust into which God placed human life. So there is no room for boasting of any kind, regardless of who you are, or what you can do, or what you think of yourself.  For without God, you would not be even that tiny speck of dust.  And what can dust boast about?

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