Category Archives: Bible study

David’s Prayer for Victory in Battle

Psalm 20 NLT

1 In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry. May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.

2 May he send you help from his sanctuary and strengthen you from Jerusalem.

3 May he remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings.

4 May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.

5 May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the Lord answer all your prayers.

6 Now I know tat the Lord rescues his anointed king. He will answer him from his holy heaven and rescue him by his great power.

7 Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.

8 Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm.

9 Give victory to our king, O Lord! Answer our cry for help.

I wanted to add the King James Version after I looked it up for comparison.

Psalm 20

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

1 The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;

2 Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion;

3 Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice;

4 Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel.

5 We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the Lord fulfil all thy petitions.

6 Now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.

7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.

8 They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.

9 Save, Lord: let the king hear us when we call.

I looked up the above at www.youversion.com

Genesis 1:1-16:16

After a rough start, I can officially check day one off the list. I should know by now that making a commitment like this gets satan all out of whack, so that he then takes it out on me. Well try as he might, he did not win.

I listened to the reading on my phone by using You Version, and after dinner I sat down with a pen and journal to do the reading. I wanted to share a few of the things I jotted down.

-God CHOSE to create heaven and earth because He loves us and wants to fellowship with us.
-By placing the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden, God gave Adam a choice to obey God or not. Without the choice or free will, the obedience is hollow. We have to choose God. The simple disobedience of eating the fruit brought sin into the world, and their family when Cain killed Abel.Shortly thereafter, Lamech also kills a  man.
-Noah was a man that fully loved and obeyed God when the rest of humanity didn’t. “Everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.” Gen 6:5 NLT
-“So Noah did everything exactly as God commanded him.” That is stated twice, in verse 6:22 and again in 7:5. Can I say the same?
-Abram moved in faith when God called him to. God promised to bless him if he obeyed, and through the line of Abram, Jesus was born to save us.
-12:14 Abram lied to Pharaoh about Sarai because he lost faith in God to protect him, and he brought hardship upon them.
-King Melchizedek only ever appears in chapter 14, verses 17-20, yet it is obvious he loved God and he blessed Abram.
-Sarai showed her lack of faith when she gave Hagar to Abram. She had the opportunity to be patient and wait for God to move and give her a child but she took things in her own hands. Once Hagar was pregnant, she changed and Sarai took her frustrations out on her, so much so that Hagar ran away. I chuckled when Sarai looked to Abram for help in the situation and he told her, “look, she is your servant, so deal with her as you see fit.” The angel of the Lord told Hagar to return to Sarai and submit to her authority and he would bless her. I just thought of how I try to control situations sometimes and God still works in the mess that I make.

I would love to share these insights every day, but I’m not going to make a promise.  The next two nights will be filled with Basketball games and practices. I enjoyed digging deeper into the reading today.

Read the BIble in 90 Days

I’m going to be reading through the Bible  in 90 days again. The last time I did this, I read the NIV. Recently though, I have been reaching for the NLT, so that is what I will be using. Specifically, it is the Tyndale Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation.

I have heard people say they read through the Bible in 90 days just to say they have read it, and if that’s you, that is fine. I am going to use this time to dig deep and really use the study guide. I have a journal where I plan to jot down verses that jump out at me, thoughts that I have, and prayers. It will probably take me an hour each day, but I can’t think of any better way to spend it! I’m part of a Facebook group for accountability and support, and really looking forward to it. I’d love it if you would join me too! There is a link to the Reading guide at the top of this page where you will find two versions of reading plans. The second one gives you two “grace” days which may be helpful around the holidays. That is the plan that I will be following this time, so I can be on schedule with everyone else.

Please let me know in the comment section if you want to join us tomorrow, or if you have done this in the past.

P2R-week 3

Philippians 1:12-18
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice.

P2R-end of week 2

Here I am at the end of week 2. I can’t tell you what I had for dinner last tuesday, but I can tell you Philippians 1:1-11!! I know that I cannot do this without the Lord’s help. It doesn’t come easily for me, and there are certain words that I stumble over, but I am sticking with it. I love how His Word is permeating my thoughts.

Philippians 1:7-11
7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

A memorization challenge

My pastor has challenged us to do something beautifully difficult, something that will change our lives. Memorize the book of Philippians by Easter. The WHOLE book, not just a single verse. We just completed a Discipleship Training class where we would memorize a verse each week, along with spending daily time alone with God. I will be honest with you, there were some weeks that I would pick up the verse on the way to class because I just didn’t make it a priority. And if I try to remember those verses now, it doesn’t come easily. And that is SAD! Jesus gave me His Word to live by, and I am not fully utilizing it.

So the first time I read the challenge in an email, I breezed through it and didn’t think much about it. Well, really I thought it was impossible, but that was satan talking. Jesus said all things are possible with Him!! I read through it again and committed to doing it. We are one week in and I am throwing out the challenge to YOU. Yeah, you!! It doesn’t matter that I’m a week ahead of you, I want you to do this with me. I need you to do this with me.

The details can be found here. Partnering to Remember Philippians 2011 will change your life. In one week I’ve found myself quoting scripture while waiting in the car, while walking in a store, and it has been the last thing I think of at night and the first thing I do in the morning. It’s big. It’s difficult. Seek Him for help.

Please send me an email or leave a comment if you plan on taking this huge step towards Christ. I’d love to know about it!

Philippians 1:1-6

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons. 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jusus Christ. 3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you. 4 Always, in every prayer of mine, for you all making my prayer with joy. 5 Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 And  I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

You can do this, I just did!

Chronological reading of the Bible

I had said that I was going to read the Bible in historical order after I completed the 90 day reading schedule.  Well, I let life get in the way of my time with God, and I can sure tell it.  The spiritual warfare is all around me and I’m fed up.  I’m starting today on the chronological reading, and putting God first, just like He does for me!!

After some research, this is what I’ve come up with for a historical or chronological timeline reading plan.  (Read the book as it was written.)  I did find a couple that varied slightly, and this one is broken up into a yearly plan.  Since I completed the Bible in 90 days reading, I’m pretty used to reading around 12 to 15 pages per day.  That’s what I’m going to stick to, especially since it’s summer vacation around here.  I’ll adjust as I read, and can post that schedule if someone wishes.  I miss my daily dose of His Word!! 

To find the schedule, just click on the Chronological Reading of the Bible page.  Remember, that is the yearly plan.