1 Corinthians 10:10 And do not complain, as some of them did — and were killed by the destroyer.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
In a previous reading we read that some were "Burnt to death by God for complaining." Is this what Paul was referring to here? If so, is he referring to God as "the destroyer?"
1 Corinthians 11:3 Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
LITERAL INTERPRETATION
1. Head of woman is man
2. Head of every man is Christ
3. Head of Christ is God
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
This passage gives a hierarchy to the universe.
1. God
2. Christ
3. Man
4. Woman
I'm sure there are many women who won't appreciate being at the bottom of the totem pole.
Matthew 5:32b ...and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
(See also Matthew 19:9)
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
If your wife was previously divorced, you're in a perpetual state of adultery.
I'm not sure what to recommend to those in this situation. Please don't attempt to divorce your wife to free yourself from this sin. We'll show later that God hates divorce (which could be also considered a sin). This is truly being between a rock and a hard place.
Matthew 5:29-30 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
1. If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out
2. If your hands cause you to sin, cut it off
Of course, if you read this as a principle, it can be applied to any body part. Guys, please be careful.
1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Let women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
1. Women are to keep silent in church
2. Women are not permitted to speak [in church]
3. Women should instead be submissive
4. If a woman wants to learn something [in church], they should not ask the question there but wait until they get home and ask their husband
5. It is shameful for a woman to speak in church.
When it comes to following verses from the Old Testament, the argument can be made that we are now under the "New Covenant" (even though that would then also make the 10 Commandments null and void). However, this is a scripture located in the New Testament that we totally ignore every Sunday.
John 6:53-60,66 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"
..From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
Put yourself in the shoes of these disciples. Would you leave also?
Happy Easter!
Ephesians 5:22-24 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
Everything? Honey.......
Acts 12:21-23 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
This sounds very "Old Testament."
Acts 5:1-11 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet.
Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."
When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?"
"Yes," she said, "that is the price."
Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also."
At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
So far, most of the killings attributed to God have all been from the Old Testament under the Old Covenant. This is the first one listed in the New Covenant era.
Matthew 13:10-15 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.’
In public speaking, one may share a story to bring home a point. In most cases, it is in order to make the point easier to understand. Preceding the above passage, Jesus told the parable of the sower. When asked why he spoke in parables, his response leads you to conclude that he does not want certain hearers to understand what he's saying. In other words those with dull hearts, whose ears are hard of hearing, and whose eyes have been closed, are intentionally confused. Otherwise, they may see, hear, understand, have a change of heart and be healed.
This does not make sense since preaching should yield the result of a changed heart. Jesus also said "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Why would he now state that those who are healthy should understand but the sick should not lest they be healed? Why would he now more or less say that those who are healthy will become healthier but those who are sick will become sicker? There's obviously something I'm missing from this passage.
[Read Today's Reading in The Brick Testament - An Illustrated Bible]
Matthew 15:22-28 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession." Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said. He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." "Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
Many people think that it was offensive for Jesus to call this Canaanite woman a dog. However, I looked up the explanation for this on the Christian Apologist site christian-thinktank.com.
Here is one of their explanations:
The image Jesus has chosen is an image of endearment, not insult. The picture of supper-time, with little kids at the table, and their pet "puppies" (the Greek word for 'dog' here is not the standard, 'outside' dog--which MIGHT BE an insult--, but is the diminutive word, meaning 'household pets, little dogs'...) at their feet, maybe tugging on their robes for food or play. The puppies, dear to the children and probably so too to the master (cf. 2 Sam 12.3f: but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.), were to be fed AFTER the children (notice: not DENIED food--there was no "NO" in Jesus image--only "WAIT"). But the temporal order is clear--Jesus must take care of His disciples FIRST, and if meeting her need involved interrupting their rest and GOING SOMEWHERE, then it was going to have to wait.I guess the woman's reaction was unmerited when she responded "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." She must have misunderstood Jesus' "image of endearment."
Matthew 19:9a And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery;
(See also Matthew 5:32)
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
The only reason for a MAN to divorce his WIFE is sexual immorality on the part of the wife or he should never remarry. If he does remarry, he commits adultery (which would be violating one of the 10 commandments).
This is one of those commands that is conveniently ignored because it applies to a growing number of Christians. However, it does seem unfair that individuals who divorce and remarry or who marry a divorced woman (see link below) can simply pretend these commands do not exist but homosexuals are not allowed to ignore the commands that apply to their lifestyle.
The same ferver we have as we stand against gay marriage should be applied to these marriages also. We should organize marches, rallies, and make sure everyone who receives our vote do not support marriages under these prohibited circumstances. In fact, I believe we should all support the institution of a constitutional ban against these marriages, which violates the family values as defined by the Word just as gay marriages do.
Matthew 10:34-36 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
1. Jesus did not come to bring peace on earth.
2. Jesus did not come to bring peace but war.
3. Jesus came to set a man against his father.
4. Jesus came to set a daughter against her mother.
5. Jesus came to set a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
This is a very confusing verse especially since the angels heralded "peace on earth, good will towards men" regarding the birth of Jesus.
1 Timothy 5:20 Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
1. If someone is sinning they need be be reprimanded in front of the entire church.
Please don't let this keep you from church this Sunday. The purpose of this is to help others not sin since they will "fear" the same fate. In essence, you will be helping others.
1 Timothy 2:9 In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing,
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
1. Women should dress modestly
2. Women should NOT braid their hair
3. Women should NOT wear gold
4. Women should NOT wear pearls
5. Women should NOT wear costly clothing
(see also 1 Peter 3:3)
This is one of my favorite scriptures. It sure saves me a lot of money.
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
1. ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God
2. ALL Scripture is profitable for doctrine, reproof, and correction
3. ALL Scripture is profitable for instruction in righteousness
Please note that according to the scripture, ALL Scripture is inspired of God. How do we know this? Because it is written in the Scriptures - which is inspired of God and accurate. Of course, Scripture is ONLY those books voted to be a part of the canon.
