Category: Study Bible

Article from the Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition

Several psalms shock those familiar with New Testament teachings. The psalmists didn’t hesitate to demand God’s justice and make vivid suggestions on how he might carry it out. Apparently, no subject was unsuitable for discussion with God, but our tendency is to avoid the subjects of anger and vengeance in the book of Psalms.

To understand the psalm writers’ words of anger and vengeance, we need to understand several things:

• The judgments asked for were to be carried out by God and were written out of intense personal and national suffering. The people were unable or unwilling to take revenge themselves and were asking God to intervene. Because few of us have suffered intense cruelty on a personal or national level, we find it difficult to grasp these outbursts.
• These writers were intimately aware of God’s justice. Some of their words were efforts to vividly imagine what God might allow to happen to those who had harmed his people.
• If we dared to write down our thoughts while being unjustly attacked or suffering cruelty, we might be shocked at our own bold desire for vengeance. We would be surprised at how much we have in common with these writers of old. The psalmists did not have Jesus’ command to pray for one’s enemies, but they did point to the right place to start. We are challenged to pay back good for evil, but until we respond to this challenge, we will not know how much we need God’s help in order to forgive others. There is a helpful parallel between the psalms of anger and the psalms of vengeance. The“angry” psalms are intense and graphic, but they are directed at God. He is boldly told how disappointing it is when he turns his back on his people or acts too slowly. But while these thoughts and feelings were sincerely expressed, we know from the psalms themselves that these passing feelings were followed by renewed confidence in God’s faithfulness. It is reasonable to expect the same of the “vengeance” psalms. We read, for example, David’s angry outburst against Saul’s pursuit in Psalm 59, yet we know that David never took personal revenge on Saul. The psalmists freely spoke their minds to God, having confidence that he could sort out what was meant and what was felt. Pray with that same confidence—God can be trusted with your heart.

Selected psalms that emphasize these themes are 10, 28, 35, 59, 69, 109, 137, 139, and 140.

by Joni Eareckson Tada, from the Beyond Suffering Bible

This is what God wants—hearts burning with a passion for future things, on fire for Kingdom realities that are out of this world. God wants his people to be aflame with his hope and to have an outlook of pure joy that affects the way they live their lives. God wants each of us to be “like a city on a hilltop” (Matt 5:14) and “a lamp . . . placed on a stand” (Matt 5:15) so that everyone around us will be encouraged to look heavenward.

A perspective like this doesn’t happen without suffering. Affliction fuels the furnace of heaven-hearted hope. People whose lives are unscathed by affliction have a less energetic hope. Oh, they are glad to know they are going to heaven; for them, accepting Jesus was a buy-and-sell agreement. Once that’s taken care of, they feel they can get back to life as usual—dating and marrying, working and vacationing, spending and saving.

But suffering obliterates such preoccupation with earthly things. Suffering wakes us up from our spiritual slumber and turns our hearts toward the future, like a mother turning the face of her child, insisting, “Look this way!” Once heaven has our attention, earth’s pleasures begin to pale in comparison.

What has suffering taken away from you? Don’t allow your heart to dwell on such earthly disappointments. God permits suffering to draw our attention to heaven where that which was lost—and more—shall be restored. Suffering forces us to look forward to the day when God will close the curtain on all disease, death, sorrow, and pain (Rev 21:4). Until then, we have work to do! Jesus says, “We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work” (John 9:4),

Lord of heaven, turn my heart toward you this day.
I set my mind right now on things above.

I can’t think of a neighbor without picturing the kindest man in a zip-up sweater singing “Won’t you, please. Please, won’t you be my neighbor?” Fred Rogers understood being a neighbor and turned the world into his neighborhood, because he knew the author of community. God is all about relationships. The Bible is filled with stories of relationships and helps guide in us in how to respond to our neighbors.

Let’s read from the HelpFinder Bible to learn more about being a good neighbor.

Most of us think of our neighbors as the people who live next door or across the street. Jesus’ teachings expand our neighborhood to involve anyone around us who needs his love. This means not only the people who live near us but also the people next to us on a plane, our coworkers, or the people in our town who are homeless. It is also important to expand our neighborhood to people around the world who need the love of Christ.

When we begin to view people we see or meet or even hear about as our neighbors, we can begin to establish the kind of relationships that allow us to share the love of Christ by offering a helping hand. How will you treat your neighbors today?

Who is my neighbor?
LUKE 10:29-37 | The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. . . . A priest came along . . . and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. . . . he took care of him . . . Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

Your neighbor is anyone around you who needs help, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, or friendship.

What are my responsibilities to my neighbors? How am I to love my neighbors?

ROMANS 13:9-10 | For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.

JAMES 2:8 | Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Love your neighbors, regardless of your differences.

DEUTERONOMY 22:1, 3 | If you see your neighbor’s ox or sheep or goat wandering away, don’t ignore your responsibility. Take it back to its owner.. . . Do the same if you find your neighbor’s donkey, clothing, or anything else your neighbor loses. Don’t ignore your responsibility.

PROVERBS 3:28 | If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.”

Help your neighbors in times of need.

EPHESIANS 4:25 | So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.

Be honest with your neighbors, even when it is painful.

LEVITICUS 19:18 | “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” Never try to get back at your neighbors for something wrong they have done to you. Let the Lord deal with them.

LEVITICUS 19:16 | “Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.”

1 TIMOTHY 5:13 | And if they are on the list, they will learn to be lazy and will spend their time gossiping from house to house, meddling in other people’s business and talking about things they shouldn’t.

Don’t gossip about your neighbors.

DEUTERONOMY 5:21 | “You must not covet your neighbor’s wife. You must not covet your neighbor’s house or land, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”

Don’t covet what your neighbors have.

PROVERBS 27:14 | A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning will be taken as a curse!

Respect your neighbors’ time and privacy.

PROVERBS 3:29 | Don’t plot harm against your neighbor, for those who live nearby trust you.

Don’t break your neighbors’ trust by planning against them.

Taken from the Africa Study Bible

“Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names: Daniel was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach. Azariah was called Abednego. But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods.” Daniel 1:6-8, NLT

When Daniel and his friends were taken into Exile, they risked losing their national identity and their faith. The king tried to make them Babylonians by giving them names that mentioned Babylonian gods and training them in Babylonian culture.

The king tried to feed them food that would defile them, perhaps the meat of unclean animals God had forbidden the Israelites to eat. Should these four young men disobey the king or disobey God? They bravely found a solution. Together they ate vegetables and water for ten days and were a witness to God’s power. At the end of the test, they “looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king” (Daniel 1:15).

The Ovimbundu of Angola say, Kuatoko lokuene likaliove cikupōla, meaning, “Hold onto a thing together. By yourself it is very heavy.” Alone in a foreign land, Daniel and his friends easily could have become Babylonians, and we would never have heard of them. But they stood together to hold onto their faith.

If you are in a situation where there are many pressures to conform to worldly standards, pray for God to send you a fellow Christian to encourage you and walk alongside you. When you face a tricky situation, pray for God to reveal a solution that will allow you to honor him.

Article from the Every Man’s Bible

“Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.” Ephesians 5:3-5, NLT

EVER SINCE GOD gave the Ten Commandments, some have been tempted to think he enjoys making people miserable and taking away their happiness by denying them earthly pleasures.

The truth is, God wants to give us something much better. But in order for us to receive it, we need to clear some room in our lives. Often, that means getting rid of sins or bad habits that are using up the space God wants to claim. Instead of filling our lives with sexual immorality, impurity, greed, and obscene stories (Ephesians 5:3-4), God wants us to be full of thankfulness. Instead of drunkenness (5:18), God wants us to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Suppose you’re walking along the beach and find an old treasure chest. But when you pry it open, it’s full of sand, not gold coins. Now suppose someone else comes along and offers to give you as much gold as you can fit into the chest. Sounds great, right? Except for one problem: The chest is already full. In order to accept the gold, you’d have to dump out the sand. You’d need to make as much room as possible for the more valuable treasure. Unless you get rid of the sand, the chest will never hold anything of value.

The same goes for the sins in our lives—the sand in the treasure chest. They may provide temporary pleasure, but they won’t deliver lasting fulfillment. Sexual promiscuity may provide an immediate thrill, but the long-term results are catastrophic—it will never provide real happiness. On the other hand, true love for another person and for God can fill us up to overflowing.

Drunkenness provides a temporary giddiness or forgetfulness, but it’s nothing like the true peace and joy that come from knowing and loving God. It’s our choice. We can fill up our lives with whatever silly or sinful things we choose, or we can let God fill us up with the things that will bring ultimate fulfillment.

Taken from the HelpFinder Bible

Humility is the honest recognition of our own worth—our worth as God sees us. It is the delicate balance between humbly recognizing our sin yet knowing how much God loves and values us. While pride elevates us above others, and often above God himself, degrading our sense of self-worth is also unacceptable, for it denies the value God placed upon us when he created us in his image and when he sent his Son to die for us. Jesus did not die for worms but for people he loves very much, and those people have great value in God’s eyes. To see ourselves as God sees us—that is our goal.

What is true humility?
• 1 CHRONICLES 17:16 | Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and prayed, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?”
Humility is not thinking too highly of yourself.

• MATTHEW 18:4 | “So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Humility is childlike. It has an attitude of total trust in a great God.

• TITUS 3:2 | They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone.
Humility is truly caring about others and looking out for their best interests.

• PSALM 51:3-4 | For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you,and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.
Humility is the willingness to admit and confess sin.

• PROVERBS 12:23 | The wise don’t make a show of their knowledge, but fools broadcast their foolishness.
Humility is refraining from proving what you know, how good you are at something, or that you are always right.

• MARK 10:45 | “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Humility is the pathway to serving God and others.

• PROVERBS 13:10 | Pride leads to conflict; those who take advice are wise.
Humility allows you to ask for advice.

Women in Prison Unlock Hope and Healing with The Life Recovery Bible

By Stephen Arterburn, Editor, The Life Recovery Bible

I was raised in Bryan, Texas, so I did not think it was unusual to be opening a letter from a woman who lived in Brazos County near Bryan. What follows was anything but usual. She wrote:

“I am filled with joy to inform you that your Life Recovery Bible has changed about twenty lives filled with different kinds of addiction in my community. I regret to inform you that the women (including me) are all locked up in The Brazos County Detention Center in Bryan, Texas.

I was incarcerated on the 29^th of March, 2018

Twenty-five years ago, I held the first Life Recovery Bible in my hands and quickly passed it on to a woman who was addicted to crack and headed for prison. She went home and, rather than allow her Life Recovery Bible to take on the role of most Bibles as Chief Dust Collector, she actually opened it up and started reading it. Through her drug addicted, half on and half off, cracked brain, she discovered that God could help her out of her addiction and that the path involved 12 steps based on and found within that Bible. The impact was so great and the transformation so radical that she was not incarcerated, and within six months she was helping other young women in their recovery.

Twenty years later I found myself in the midst of some very normal everyday housewives who just happened to be in the Polk County Florida prison after being arrested for making, selling, or being in possession of methamphetamines. These meth addicts, in a weak moment of desperation or a curious moment of living on the edge, decided to try using meth, just once, and never again. But that one time became a lifetime of using and finding ways to make stuff or sell stuff, including themselves, to be able to feed the addiction that seemed to develop instantly with that first hit.

I was invited to join these women, who looked and talked like anything but a hardened criminal, in their daily Life Recovery Bible study. This Bible was a reward for those entering the drug rehab program offered by a group of women who were once addicted and also had been incarcerated in the same prison. They loved this Bible because it was unlike anything they had ever experienced. Up until then, the Bible was just something that was old, difficult to understand, and even more difficult to apply to your life in any meaningful way. But this Bible is different, and there is a reason why.

When Dr. Dave Stoop and I developed this Bible we included many helpful features not found in other Bibles, including devotionals for each of the 12 Steps, The Serenity Prayer, and Recovery Principles. While those provide deep insights and spiritual inspiration, they are not the feature that make The Life Recovery Bible so amazing to anyone in recovery. The most valuable and unique feature is the study notes found at the bottom of each page. Why? Because they are written by recovering Bible scholars who teach at Universities and Seminaries all over the world. They not only have PhDs in Theology, but every one of them has had a problem that involved them in 12 Step Recovery. Rather than a study note having to do with some remote or abstract theological construct, the note speaks to the struggle for freedom within the heart of anyone imprisoned by the power of addiction, incarcerated or not.

The Life Recovery Bible does not bring the Bible into the recovery process. It brings the recovery process back to the Bible where it began. Bill W. and Dr. Bob worked together to develop the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous after they had found victory over an illness that rarely spared the life of anyone who contracted it. Both men had been members of the Oxford Group, which had purported 4 Absolute Truths: Absolute Honesty, Absolute Purity, Absolute Un-selfishness, and Absolute Love, which were all based in Scripture. In the transcript from the last talk ever given by Dr. Bob, he tells where he and Bill found the 12 Steps. He said “We got them from the Good Book. Especially the Book of James, the Sermon on the Mount and 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter.” So The Life Recovery Bible brings the 12 Steps full circle and identifies the true higher power of the 12 Steps as the God of the Old and New Testaments.

Twenty-five years ago, I couldn’t have imagined the impact The Life Recovery Bible would have on those around me both in Brazos County and many thousands of miles away from where I grew up. God has blessed this Bible and the people who read it, teach it, and share it, and for that I am thankful. He alone is the true source of recovery and the author of transformation—always has been, always will be.

Taken from the Illustrated Study Bible

“I walked by the field of a lazy person, the vineyard of one with no common sense. I saw that it was overgrown with nettles. It was covered with weeds and its walls were broken down. Then, as I looked and thought about it, I learned this lesson: A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.” Proverbs 24:30-34, NLT

 Proverbs pokes fun at lazy people. They are sarcastically compared to a door that swings back and forth (26:14), and lampooned for their empty excuses (e.g., 22:13). Proverbs equates lazy people with the foolish; their lack of productivity leads to poverty and death (6:6‑10; 10:26; 15:19; 18:9; 19:15, 24; 20:4; 21:25; 22:13; 24:30‑34; 26:13‑16). By contrast, diligent people are seen as wise; their activities lead to wealth and life (10:4‑6; 12:11; 13:4; 14:4; 20:13; 31:10‑27).

The theme of laziness arises in the contrast between the two women, Wisdom and Folly (ch 9). The virtuous woman of ch 31 reflects the industriousness of Wisdom (31:16‑18).

While it is true that ultimate meaning and fulfillment do not come from hard work (Eccl 2:17‑26), the lazy are still condemned (Eccl 4:5‑6). God created Adam and Eve and put them in the Garden to tend it, not just to sit back and enjoy it (Gen 2:15). Proverbs and the whole of Scripture support the truth that work is not a result of the Fall but rather is a dignified and important part of creation.

The Book of James is a short, but powerful book. Learn a bit more from The Swindoll Study Bible about who wrote the book, the original audience, and why it’s important.

“So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”

James 2:17, NLT

Taken from The Swindoll Study Bible

Who Wrote the Book?
While he does not specifically identify himself as Jesus’ brother in the letter, the author of the book of James is widely thought to be the James who was the brother of our Lord. It appears that James was not a follower of Jesus during the Savior’s time on earth (Mark 3:21-35), but eventually he became an apostle after seeing the Lord post-Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:7; Gal. 1:19). Upon witnessing the Lord in His resurrected body, James came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah and later became one of the leaders of the church in Jerusalem. Peter singled him out among the other Christians there after Peter’s own miraculous release from prison (Acts 12:17). In addition, James made the deciding speech at the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:13-21), and Paul called him one of the “pillars of the church” (Gal. 2:9).

Where Are We?
As one of the chief leaders in the church at Jerusalem, James wrote from that city prior to the meeting of the Jerusalem Council, the account of which is recorded in Acts 15. At that council, James, along with Peter and Paul, affirmed the decision to take the gospel message to the Gentiles. This council met in ad 49, meaning that James likely wrote his letter between ad 45 and ad 49. Such a significant event as the Jerusalem Council would have warranted comment from James, especially because he was writing to a Jewish-Christian audience. But in the letter James makes no mention of Gentile Christians at all, so an early date for the letter seems most likely.

Why Is James So Important?
The book of James looks a bit like the Old Testament book of Proverbs dressed up in New Testament clothes. Its consistent focus on practical action in the life of faith is reminiscent of the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament in the way that it encourages God’s people to act like God’s people. The pages of James are filled with direct commands, and he makes no excuses for those who do not walk their talk. In the mind of this early church leader, Christians evidence their faith by walking in certain ways and not others. According to James, faith must produce real life change (Jas. 2:17).

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star.” Revelation 22:16, NLT

Taken from the Wayfinding Bible

In Revelation 22:16, Jesus clearly identifies himself and ties the past to the future. Long ago God promised his people that a star would come from Jacob (Numbers 24:17). To Isaiah he promised that a shoot would come from “the stump of David’s family” (Isaiah 11:1). When Jesus walked the earth, people knew he was the son of David (Matthew 22:42). What was promised so many centuries before has come true. In one statement, Jesus unites thousands of years of prophecies and history.

John’s thinking and writing were steeped in the Old Testament. The book of Revelation adopts imagery that appears everywhere from Genesis to Malachi. Understanding the meaning of these images in the Old Testament can help make sense of what John meant in Revelation. Check out the graphic below from the Wayfinding Bible to see the connection of Revelation imagery to the Old Testament.