Laura J. Davis
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What are The Best Bibles for Bible Study?

2/26/2021

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Have you ever wondered which Bible is the most reliable? There are so many translations on the market today, it's hard to know which one remains true to the original Hebrew/Aramaic/Greek text. At the same time, you want something good for inductive study, with margins wide enough to write in and comprehensive notes that can add to your study times. There are all "kinds" of Bibles, from Women's Study Bibles to Men's Study Bibles to Family Bibles. But for my purposes here, I will be evaluating which Bibles are best for general inductive study. If you are serious about Bible study and want to dig deeper into the Word of God, then I hope this post helps.

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How Did Satan Get the Name Lucifer?

2/10/2020

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How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit (Isaiah 14:12-15, KJV).

Have you ever wondered why in the middle of a taunt about the King of Babylon, a rant about Satan (aka Lucifer) was suddenly there? I did. Mainly, when in other translations, it reads "star of the morning" or "morning star" (rather than Lucifer). I started to wonder about it while writing my book He Who Has an Ear, Who the Seven Churches of Revelation are Today.

You might think that's a strange thing to think about when writing a book on the seven churches of Revelation. But not really. Not when you come across this verse in Revelation:

He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star  (Revelation 2:26-28, NASB, emphasis mine).

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Here's how my brain works - right away, I see "the morning star" and think about Satan because he was called that in Isaiah 14:12, and I ask the question, "Why would Jesus give us Satan? That doesn't make sense!" So, of course, I did a word search and then a little more searching, and the following is what I found out. This is an excerpt from my book He Who Has an Ear.

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Did Christians Get This One Wrong?

5/30/2018

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Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. (Romans 13:1-7, NKJV)

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A Lesson from the Prophet Jeremiah

2/21/2017

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Read Jeremiah 20:1-18
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Jeremiah has been through a lot. He has been obedient to God. He has done everything he was told to do and say. Now, he is paying the price for it. But something happens. Depression grabs hold of Jeremiah and he regrets the day he was even born. ​If you are in ministry or are a Christian who has ever been depressed, this chapter of Jeremiah will likely speak volumes to you and hopefully bring you great comfort. 

In this chapter we meet Pashhur, a priest, who 
was also chief governor in the house of the Lord (the Temple in Jerusalem). He decided he didn't like all the things Jeremiah was hearing from God, so he struck Jeremiah and placed him in the stocks overnight. This was quite possibly the worst decision Pashhur ever made in his life.

Jeremiah was born a priest, but consecrated by God before his birth to be His prophet (Jeremiah 1:5). He was known as the son of Hilkiah, not only to distinguish him from others of the same name, but to prove that he was of priestly origin. He came from the priestly town of Anathoth, a name meaning, “answered prayers.” So to have Pashhur, the priest who was also chief governor in the house of the Lord, commit such an act against him, was unheard of, because Jeremiah’s heritage itself designated him as one set aside for God. In other words, he had a holy calling. For Pashhur to attack one of God's prophets so publically not only showed his pride in his position, but his total disrespect for God. As far as he was concerned, Jeremiah wasn’t “towing the line” so to speak, and he deserved to be publically humiliated. Instead, Jeremiah while in the stocks, received yet another word from the Lord. This time for Pashhur, "You shall go to Babylon, and there you shall die, and be buried there, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied lies" (Jeremiah 20:6). Jeremiah was called by God to speak for Him and was punished for it by those who “thought” they represented God. Little did they know how far away from God they really were.

God defends Jeremiah for Pashhur’s mistreatment of him. Yet, Jeremiah doesn’t see it that way and falls into a great depression. He accuses God of deceiving him or “persuading” him to pronounce judgments upon Judah which has resulted in him being persecuted. He says in Jeremiah 20:7 that “everyone mocks him.” Like those who suffer from depression, Jeremiah goes from praising God to cursing the day he was born. He has been humiliated by suffering the shame of spending a night in the stocks in a very visible place for all to see (Jeremiah 20:2). He has spent the night mourning his choices in life (something Pashhur was hoping he would do) and yet even though he was persecuted in this way, and even though he thought it would be better if he’d never been born, he still praised God in the midst of it.

This chapter is perfect for pastors, missionaries, or any Christian proclaiming the Word of God today, who are becoming discouraged or facing outright persecution because of it. It shows, very clearly, that the truths Jeremiah had to proclaim were not welcome in a society that believed itself to be in the “right”. In today’s politically correct world we can take courage from this chapter to be faithful to God when He calls us to speak, no matter what the consequences might be.

We live in a volatile society where just stating your opinion (let alone speaking God’s word) can get you in trouble. Christians, for the second year in a row, were the most persecuted faith group on the planet and we know this is going to get worse. Today, spend some time thanking God, as Jeremiah did in the midst of his depression, and take comfort in the fact that God is on your side.
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Are You Allowing God to Shape You?

10/20/2016

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Read Jeremiah 18:1-11

Many times when we see the verse above we are drawn to the beauty of knowing that God is shaping us into the people He wants us to be. Philippians 1:6 affirms that "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."
This is something that gives me great comfort, because despite all my flaws and my sins, my Heavenly Father has committed to making me into the person He knows I can be. He has designed each of us with a purpose in mind. In the picture above, the potter is designing a vessel that has a purpose. Whether it is to be a decoration or a jug to hold flowers and water, only the potter knows. When it is complete, the potter will make the necessary finishes that will decide how it is to be used.

We are much the same way. Our heavenly Father knows our purpose and He knows when we will be completed for that purpose. He also, like the potter, realizes when something needs to be fixed. We are either not learning, growing in our relationship with Him, obeying Him, or simply not hearing Him, and like the potter, He has to take drastic measures with us and start over again. Sometimes, the moulding and shaping is for our benefit. He sees the end result. He knows our future and we have to trust that whatever happens in our lives is ultimately according to His purposes.

This is what happened to Jeremiah's people. They had forgotten their purpose, that they were chosen by God to be an example to the nations of how a holy people are supposed to live. But instead, they exchanged God for the false idols of the nations that surrounded them and they forgot about God and fell into sin.

The following verses show us that God doesn't just deal with individuals but He deals with nations the same way.

"Oh, house of Israel can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. Look, as the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it."

Jeremiah 18:6-8, NKJV

Notice that while these verses are concerning Israel and their coming judgment (they would go into captivity in Babylon for seventy years), God also addresses any nation or kingdom. The Bible tells us that it is God alone who puts people in positions of power (Romans 13:1-2; Daniel 2:21) and as the verse above suggests, because He is the potter, if a nation does not repent of its evil He will pluck it up, pull it down and destroy it - IF it is a nation He has spoken against to destroy. The key is that He will relent of any disasters He intends to bring upon them if only they will repent.

While the verses above resonate with many individuals in that we recognize God is our "Master Potter" and we are the clay, imagine what could happen to our great nation if our leaders recognized God's sovereignty as well. At least one very special and significant nation is currently doing that today. Israel's leaders are urging the Jewish people to read through the Bible, the whole Bible, verse by verse, chapter by chapter. They are returning to the Word of God and recognizing God's sovereignty over them as a nation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu kicked off the new school year in Israel by encouraging children to rediscover the Word of God and Biblical roots of their Jewish heritage.

“First of all, the study of the Bible,” he said in August. “Knowledge is a critical word. We want to give it [knowledge of the Scriptures] to every child in Israel, Jews and non-Jews as one, religious and secular. This is the basis of the new world, and the basis of Israel as a strong nation in the world.”
Will the people of Israel listen to her leaders? I pray they do and as a nation submit themselves once again to the Master Potter. Imagine the blessings that God will pour out on them if they did so. Imagine how great our nation could be if our leaders humbled themselves before God as well and acknowledged God's sovereignty over them. One day every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. May it be so! Come Lord Jesus come!
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© 2014 Laura J. Davis. All Rights Reserved.
Photos used under Creative Commons from Michael Vadon, Valerie Everett, spbpda, One Way Stock