Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Bible Quote Aug 31st Ephesians 2:19

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,”Ephesians 2:19 
===
Ephesus is the city in modern day Turkey where John is thought to have written his Gospel, and where Paul spent a few years. The inhabitants at the time were Greek ethnically. Paul does not give characteristically personal greetings in this letter, suggesting to some that he did not write this in 62 AD from Rome, but it was written in his name between 80 and 100 AD.

Here, we have Jew and Gentle reconciled through Christ

The surrounding verse reads

"Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands) remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."






Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Bible Quote Aug 30th Galatians 3:28

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28 
===
Excellent food from Turkey may be attributed, in part, to some Gauls from Thrace who settled there around 300 BC. Romans called that area Galatia. Paul wrote to the Galatian churches some time from the late 40's to early 60s.

Here, Paul describes how Christians are Children of God. 

The surrounding verses read 
"Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise."

Read David Daniel Ball's answer to What is the background to, and meaning of Galatians 3:28? on Quora

Monday, August 29, 2016

Bible Quote Aug 29th John 6:29

“Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”” John 6:29
===
John and Peter, of all the disciples had a special relationship with Jesus. Jesus even allowed them time to commune with Elijah and Moses. John writes in a particular style that is also evident in his letters and in Revelations. Earlier, John had written that Jesus was the Word made flesh. That flesh was sacrificed by God, as a gift to those whom God loved, so that God could abide them Because eternal life is close proximity to God. And to perish is to be utterly riven from God.

Here, Jesus tells his disciples He is the Bread of Life.
The surrounding verse reads
"When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signsI performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the willof him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, 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 them 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 them. 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 ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum."

Read David Daniel Ball's answer to What is the background to, and meaning of John 6:29? on Quora

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Bible Quote Aug 28th Isaiah 26:3

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3 
===
Via Wikipedia 
"Isaiah was the 8th-century BC Jewish prophet for whom the Book of Isaiah is named.
Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the prophet", but the exact relationship between the Book of Isaiah and any such historical Isaiah is complicated. The traditional view is that all 66 chapters of the book of Isaiah were written by one man, Isaiah, possibly in two periods between 740 BCE and c. 686 BCE, separated by approximately 15 years, and includes dramatic prophetic declarations of Cyrus the Great in the Bible, acting to restore the nation of Israel from Babylonian captivity. Another widely-held view is that parts of the first half of the book (chapters 1–39) originated with the historical prophet, interspersed with prose commentaries written in the time of King Josiah a hundred years later, and that the remainder of the book dates from immediately before and immediately after the end of the exile in Babylon, almost two centuries after the time of the historic prophet"

Chapters 24-27 of Isaiah constitute one continuous poetical prophecy, sometimes called the "Isaiah Apocalypse". Here, despite apocalypse, followers find clarity. 

Read David Daniel Ball's answer to What is the background to, and meaning of Isaiah 26:3? on Quora

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Bible Quote Aug 27th Romans 12:4-5

“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4-5
===
Paul was writing to Rome from Corinth. He had Tertius of Iconium write this while he dictated. Paul had established a number of churches around the Greek seas in the decade leading up to the letter. Rome was the then undisputed capital of the 'known world.' 

Here, Paul writes of humble service in the body of Christ

The surrounding verse
"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully."

Read David Daniel Ball's answer to What is the background to, and meaning of Romans 12:4-5? on Quora

Friday, August 26, 2016

Bible Quote Aug 26th Psalm 119:165

“Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.” Psalm 119:165 
===
Psalm 119, at 176 verses, is the longest Psalm, and the longest chapter in the Bible. The author did not include their name in the text. It is a prayer of one who delights in the (Torah) law. After all, it is good to back a winner. 

Here are the verses for Sin and Shin
"Rulers persecute me without cause,
    but my heart trembles at your word.
I rejoice in your promise
    like one who finds great spoil.
I hate and detest falsehood
    but I love your law.
Seven times a day I praise you
    for your righteous laws.
Great peace have those who love your law,
    and nothing can make them stumble.
I wait for your salvation, Lord,
    and I follow your commands.
I obey your statutes,
    for I love them greatly.
I obey your precepts and your statutes,
    for all my ways are known to you."

Read David Daniel Ball's answer to What is the background to, and meaning of Psalm 119:165? on Quora

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Bible Quote Aug 25th Psalm 116:1-2

“I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.” Psalm 116:1-2 
===
This is a Hallel Psalm, a jewish prayer of thanksgiving. In Hebrew, it is an acrostic poem. The psalm draws heavily from other psalms so much so that Hupfeld called it a `patched-up psalm'
Via Wikipedia
"Theodoret applies this psalm to the distresses of the Jews in the times of the Maccabees under Antiochus Epiphanes while a small minority ascribe it to Hezekiahs, sickness recorded in Isaiah 38
However, most commentators today ascribe it to King David. If David were the author, it is not certain whether it was composed upon any particular occasion, or upon a general review of the many gracious deliverances God had wrought for him, out of six troubles and seven The Syriac Church hold it was written on the occasion of Saul coming to the cave where David was hiding"

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Bible Quote Aug 24th Psalm 94:18-19

“When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” Psalm 94:18-19 
===
This is part of a Royal Psalm, praising God as king of his people.

The surrounding verses
"Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
    Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?
Unless the Lord had given me help,
    I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
When I said, “My foot is slipping,
    your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me,
    your consolation brought me joy."

Read David Daniel Ball's answer to What is the background to, and meaning of Psalm 94:18-19? on Quora