Author’s Journal 2023 – Jan 1 through Aug 22

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Tuesday, August 22, 2023

  • Today’s BRP chapter readings with links to help:
  • At long last, I have finished the book.
  • The greatest lie in the world is that God has not spoken through Jesus Christ.

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Monday, August 21, 2023

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Sunday, August 20, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 2 Corinthians, and Judges.
  • With the completion of chapters seven and eight, “the” book is now two-thirds done.
  • Luke 24:26 “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”
    (We suffer with Him on earth that we might be glorified with Him in heaven. This is delayed gratification, which Wikipedia describes as follows: “Delayed gratification, or deferred gratification, is the resistance to the temptation of an immediate pleasure in the hope of obtaining a valuable and long-lasting reward in the long-term. In other words, delayed gratification describes the process that the subject undergoes when the subject resists the temptation of an immediate reward in preference for a later reward. Generally, delayed gratification is associated with resisting a smaller but more immediate reward in order to receive a larger or more enduring reward later. A growing body of literature has linked the ability to delay gratification to a host of other positive outcomes, including academic success, physical health, psychological health, and social competence.” Sometimes Wikipedia is helpful in spite of itself.)

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Saturday, August 19, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Judges.
  • With the completion of chapters five and six, “the” book is now half done.
  • OT: Is 33:22 For the LORD is our judge,
    The LORD is our lawgiver,
    The LORD is our king;
    He will save us–
    NT: James 4:12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?
    (Note that “There is only one.”)

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Friday, August 18, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Judges.
  • Phil 3:14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
    (It’s an “upward” call, meaning this earth is not our home – it’s only our temporary dwelling place. A baby is conceived in a woman’s womb, but is not destined to stay there.)

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Thursday, August 17, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Judges.
  • I have now completed the first four chapters of “the” book. This latest one is titled “The Rest of the Story.” Each chapter takes about five minutes to read.
  • Luke 24:25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
    (Jesus’ guiding light was the Old Testament. How much brighter is our path with two testaments!)

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Wednesday, August 16, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Judges.
  • OT: Is 33:6 And He will be the stability of your times,
    A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge;
    The fear of the LORD is his treasure.
    NT: Col 2:5 …rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ.
    NT: Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

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Tuesday, August 15, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Judges.
  • I have finished the first three chapters of “the” book. This latest one is titled “The Forgotten Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Each chapter takes about five minutes to read.
  • Phil 3:12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
    (Are you pressing on? Make sure it’s a full-court press.)

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Monday, August 14, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Judges.
  • I have finished the first two chapters of “the” book. The latest one is titled “Whatever Became of Jesus Christ?” Each chapter takes about five minutes to read.
  • Luke 23:46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.” Having said this, He breathed His last.
    (“Now I lay me down to sleep…” Under the old covenant, the faithful viewed death as sleep in Sheol below; under the new covenant, death is entering heaven above wide awake. Either way, we have a Creator who is a loving Father to us.)

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Sunday, August 13, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Judges.
  • Is 30:20 Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher.
    (Beholding the teacher from Nazareth was beholding the temple of the living God…though no one was expected to realize it at the time. All they had to realize in the moment is that they were beholding a man of God. However, we who look back on it from the perspective of history are expected to realize that this erstwhile carpenter was indeed God in the flesh. There can be no other reasonable conclusion given the things He said and did and the prophecies that preceded Him.)

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Saturday, August 12, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Judges.
  • Phil 3:8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,
    (Matt 13:45-46 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”)

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Friday, August 11, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Judges.
  • Having completed Bible Study Notes (BSN), I’ve now returned to revising the chapters of “the book.” In the process, I’ve re-shaped, renamed, and shortened it for easier digestion. I’ve also completed the first chapter. (Start here.) Going through this process has also allowed me to re-envision the appendices and all the other resources (other books, essays, etc.) on the site as a library, which should make them more accessible and digestible (See here.) While this re-organization might initially seem disorienting to those of you who already come to this site, I think you’ll appreciate the need for it as the word count on the site now exceeds a million words. (BSN Notes alone is more than ten times the size of an average nonfiction book.) Reading the short book will give readers the vocabulary to recognize all the words on the “library” page. If I’ve done this reorganization and simplification properly, it will now be of greater help to you and your family in getting even more out of your daily Bible reading. I’m only providing table, chairs, placemats, dishes, and eating utensils – His word is the food.
  • Matt 4:3-4 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

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Thursday, August 10, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, 1 Corinthians, and Judges.
  • Is 28:16 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD,
    “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone,
    A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.
    He who believes in it will not be disturbed.”
    (To lay this cornerstone cost Him His life. That’s costly! It doesn’t get more expensive than that.)

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Wednesday, August 9, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, 1 Corinthians, and Judges.
  • Phil 2:10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
    (In this verse, I see no knees excluded – do you? It’s only a matter of time, folks.)

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Tuesday, August 8, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, 1 Corinthians, and Judges.
  • Luke 22:20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
    (In that one sentence, Jesus Christ brought to an end forty centuries of animal sacrifice as a proper way for human beings to approach God.)

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Monday, August 7, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, 1 Corinthians, and Judges.
  • Is 25:8 He will swallow up death for all time,
    And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces,
    And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth;
    For the LORD has spoken.
    (I ask you: Does this sound like only some are going to heaven? Is the Lord like a conniving vendor who gives in the headline but then takes away in the small print?)

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Sunday, August 6, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, 1 Corinthians, and Judges.
  • Phil 2:8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
    (We should remember this the next time we don’t feel like humbling ourselves.)

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Saturday, August 5, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, 1 Corinthians, and Judges.
  • Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
    (God is the initiator. He didn’t wait around for us to come to Him; He came to us! All we have to do is be receptive to His overtures and not frustrate His proposals. In other words, when you’re drowning, it makes no sense to fight the lifeguard who’s come to pull you out of danger.)

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Friday, August 4, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, 1 Corinthians, and Judges.
  • Is 22:24 “So they will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, offspring and issue, all the least of vessels, from bowls to all the jars.
    (At Jesus’ ascension into heaven to the right hand of God they were hanging on Him some of the glory of His Father’s house, but at His Second Coming they hung on Him all the glory of His Father’s house. All!)

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Thursday, August 3, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Romans, and Judges.
  • Phil 2:4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
    (God “did not merely look out for His own interests, but also for the interests of others.” It’s that attitude that led Him to become one of us. Immanuel!)

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Wednesday, August 2, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Romans, and Judges.
  • Luke 18:27 But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” (Secularists cannot appreciate this statement because they already believe that all things are possible without Him; otherwise, they wouldn’t be trying to turn men into women. To believe that all things are possible without God is exactly what the builders of the tower of Babel thought; therefore, there is nothing innovative about such thinking. As it is written, “There is nothing new under the sun.)

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Tuesday, August 1, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Romans, and Judges.
  • Is 22:23 “I will drive him like a peg in a firm place,
    And he will become a throne of glory to his father’s house.
    (#FJOT)

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Monday, July 31, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Romans, and Judges.
  • Phil 2:3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;
    (God always practices what He preaches. He regarded us as more important than Himself. Why else would He endure a cross? All Paul is calling us to do in this verse is imitate God’s example.)

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Sunday, July 30, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Romans, and Joshua.
  • Luke 18:8 “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
    (God’s faithfulness is unquestionable; it is our faith that is in question.)

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Saturday, July 29, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Romans, and Joshua.
  • Is 22:22 “Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder,
    When he opens no one will shut,
    When he shuts no one will open.
    (#FJOT)

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Friday, July 28, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Romans, and Joshua.
  • Phil 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
    (To a great extent, colonial America believed this; to a great extent, modern America does not. This discrepancy is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.)

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Thursday, July 27, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Romans, and Joshua.
  • Luke 17:20-21 Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
    (The kingdom of God is a spectator sport only for those who dwell in heaven; as long as we’re on earth, we’re participants on the field. Let’s give those in the stands something cheer about!)

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Wednesday, July 26, 2023

  • Is 22:21 And I will clothe him with your tunic
    And tie your sash securely about him.
    I will entrust him with your authority,
    And he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
    (#FJOT)

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Tuesday, July 25, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Romans, and Joshua.
  • Eph 6:24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.
    (The apostles – and those who supported them through thick and thin – have shown us what an incorruptible love for Jesus looks like.)

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Monday, July 24, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Romans, and Joshua.
  • Luke 17:10 “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'”
    (A person of any age doing what he ought to do is so beautiful a thing that it needs no embellishment.)

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Sunday, July 23, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Romans, and Joshua.
  • Is 11:10 Then in that day
    The nations will resort to the root of Jesse,
    Who will stand as a signal for the peoples;
    And His resting place will be glorious.
    (This is that day! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!)

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Saturday, July 22, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Romans, and Joshua.
  • Eph 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
    (…as opposed to strong in self.)

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Friday, July 21, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Romans, and Joshua.
  • Luke 16:15 And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.

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Thursday, July 20, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Romans, and Joshua.
  • Is 11:1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
    (Jesse was King David’s father; David was Jesus’ ancestor. Everything Jesus said and did was a fulfillment of what Isaiah and all the other prophets of the Old Testament had promised on behalf of God. God is faithful; that is, He keeps His promises. We should, too.)

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Wednesday, July 19, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Romans, and Joshua.
  • Eph 5:1-2 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
    (For far too long, scriptures like this have been taken as exhortations to people who call themselves Christians; but these exhortations apply to the whole world since the whole world has been Christ’s ever since His Second Coming. The Bible is not a guidebook for Christians; it’s a guidebook for human beings.)

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Tuesday, July 18, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Acts, and Joshua.
  • Luke 16:10 “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.

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Monday, July 17, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Acts, and Joshua.
  • Is 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
    And the government will rest on His shoulders;
    And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
    (Who could be all of those things?)

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Sunday, July 16, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Acts, and Joshua.
  • Eph 4:32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

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Saturday, July 15, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Acts, and Joshua.
  • Luke 12:47-48 “And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more. (Jesus is a fair and wise judge. He expects of us no more or less of us than we are capable of doing.)

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Friday, July 14, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Acts, and Joshua.
  • Is 9:2 The people who walk in darkness
    Will see a great light;
    Those who live in a dark land,
    The light will shine on them.
    (If ever there was a dark land, Lord Jesus, this is it. Let Your light shine, and let it shine on us!)

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Thursday, July 13, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Acts, and Joshua.
  • Eph 4:29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. (This is the way Jesus spoke.)

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Wednesday, July 12, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Acts, and Joshua.
  • Luke 12:15 Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”

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Tuesday, July 11, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Acts, and Joshua.
  • I’ve completed 60 of the 66 books of the Bible for the BSN Notes. It should take me another couple of months to finish the remaining books plus the other BSN components. This will allow me to get back to work on filling out and completing the main chapters of the main book.
  • Is 8:14 “Then He shall become a sanctuary;
    But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over,
    And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
    (Jesus polarizes; look around you and see the truth of this. He’s a cornerstone for one person, but a stumbling block for another. In my case, He was a stumbling stone…until the day He became the cornerstone.)

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Monday, July 10, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Acts, and Joshua.
  • Eph 4:25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another. (Paul is quoting Zechariah 8:16, which was part of Zechariah’s prophecy of God’s great blessing on Israel in the last days. Paul’s quotation is therefore another indication that the NewTestament church was spiritual Israel and the last days were New Testament times.)

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Sunday, July 9, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Acts, and Joshua.
  • Luke 11:13 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (The Holy Spirit is for holy living.)

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Saturday, July 8, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Acts, and Joshua.
  • I have completed the BSN History Index. You may recall that earlier this year I began building a list of all the Bible stories in the Old Testament. My goal was to provide a searchable list that would allow parents to trace a character or event mentioned in a children’s Bible story book to where it is located in the actual Bible. An adult can also scroll the list to gain a sense of the flow of history from Adam and Eve to the time of Jesus. There are 364 OT stories indexed, some very short, but I wanted the history to be comprehensive and I wanted any name that might be in a children’s Bible story book to show up. I added over a dozen key NT events, but I don’t think a comprehensive index for it is as necessary since the BRP has us reading through the NT four times a year. I’m still on track to complete the entire BSN – of which the BSN History Index is just a part – this year.
  • Is 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. (The Hebrew word “Immanuel” means “God is with us.”)

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Friday, July 7, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Acts, and Joshua.
  • Eph 4:15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, (Calling a man Caitlyn is neither truthful nor loving.)

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Thursday, July 6, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Acts, and Deuteronomy.
  • Luke 10:41-42 But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (The “one thing” that Mary chose was “listening to His word.” To that, another Mary would add, “Whatever He says to you, do it” – John 2:5.)

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Wednesday, July 5, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Acts, and Deuteronomy.
  • Is 6:9-10 He said, “Go, and tell this people:
    ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive;
    Keep on looking, but do not understand.’
    Render the hearts of this people insensitive,
    Their ears dull,
    And their eyes dim,
    Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
    Hear with their ears,
    Understand with their hearts,
    And return and be healed.”     (What does it mean to “Render the hearts of this people insensitive” except to “harden their hearts”? The same sun that melts wax hardens clay. The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. Make sure that the word of God you read or hear every day is softening your heart and not hardening it. That’s within your control.)

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Tuesday, July 4, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Acts, and Deuteronomy.
  • Gal 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.

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Monday, July 3, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Acts, and Deuteronomy.
  • Luke 10:27-28 And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.” (2 Cor 11:3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.) (Let us heed Paul’s warning to not let Satan craftily lead us away from the simple and straightforward ways of the Lord.)

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Sunday, July 2, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Acts, and Deuteronomy.
  • Is 4:2 In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel. (Our pride is in the humble Person Isaiah was prophesying in this verse.) (I capitalized the “p” for the same reason that the translators of the NASB capitalized the “b.” #FJOT)

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Saturday, July 1, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Acts, and Deuteronomy.
  • Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.)

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Friday, June 30, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Acts, and Deuteronomy.
  • Luke 8:17 “For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.

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Thursday, June 29, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Acts, and Deuteronomy.
  • Is 2:11 The proud look of man will be abased
    And the loftiness of man will be humbled,
    And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.     (Pride has no future.)

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Wednesday, June 28, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Acts, and Deuteronomy.
  • Gal 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (The old life was mine; the new one is His. Why do I keep falling back into trying to live the old life when I know from experience that it is only the new one that will work?)

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Tuesday, June 27, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Acts, and Deuteronomy.
  • Luke 8:11 “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. (All seeds are groundbreaking, but none more so than the word of God.)

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Monday, June 26, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Acts, and Deuteronomy.
  • Prov 30:4 Who has ascended into heaven and descended?
    Who has gathered the wind in His fists?
    Who has wrapped the waters in His garment?
    Who has established all the ends of the earth?
    What is His name or His son’s name?
    Surely you know!
    (How much of this Old Testament passage could anyone have understood before Jesus came and went? I don’t know. What I do know is that He is the answer to this riddle.)

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Sunday, June 25, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Acts, and Deuteronomy.
  • 2 Cor 11:3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. (As they say, “K.I.S.S. – Keep It Simple, Stupid!”)

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Saturday, June 24, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Acts, and Deuteronomy.
  • Luke 7:47 “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” (Let’s repent of ALL our sins – not just some of them. That way, we can love Him with ALL our heart – not just some of it.)

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Friday, June 23, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Acts, and Deuteronomy.
  • Prov 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Who is “the Lord”? And who is “the Holy One”?)

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Thursday, June 22, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Acts, and Deuteronomy.
  • 2 Cor 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

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Wednesday, June 21, 2023

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Tuesday, June 20, 2023

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Monday, June 19, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Revelation, and Deuteronomy.
  • 2 Cor 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (Did you become more like Him yesterday?)

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Sunday, June 18, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Revelation, and Deuteronomy.
  • Luke 6:45 “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

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Saturday, June 17, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Revelation, and Deuteronomy.
  • Prov 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. (“fear of the Lord” = reverence for Jesus Christ)

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Friday, June 16, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Revelation, and Deuteronomy.
  • 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

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Thursday, June 15, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Revelation, and Deuteronomy.
  • Luke 6:40 “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher. (“When you’re up to your waist in alligators, it’s hard to remember that your original purpose was to drain the swamp.” When we’re swamped with life, let’s be sure to remember that the purpose of our being down here is to become like Jesus.)

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Wednesday, June 14, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Revelation, and Deuteronomy.
  • Ps 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

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Tuesday, June 13, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Revelation, and Deuteronomy.
  • 2 Cor 5:16 Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.

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Monday, June 12, 2023

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Sunday, June 11, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Revelation, and Deuteronomy.
  • Links in a chain of truth:
    • OT: Ps 118:22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone.
    • NT: John 1:11-13 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

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Saturday, June 10, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Revelation, and Deuteronomy.
  • 2 Cor 5:14-15 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. (The pivot from “no longer live for themselves, but for Him” is a change most people who call themselves Christians never seem to accomplish; thus they are still narcissists.)

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Friday, June 9, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Revelation, and Deuteronomy.
  • Luke 6:35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

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Thursday, June 8, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Revelation, and Deuteronomy.
  • Ps 118:17 I will not die, but live, And tell of the works of the LORD. (As this scripture was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, may it be fulfilled in us as well.)

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Wednesday, June 7, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Revelation, and Deuteronomy.
  • 1 Cor 16:22 If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha. (“Maranatha” is Aramaic for “O [our] Lord come!” Because they believed He was coming before they all died, we believe He did. (Jesus Christ Has Already Come Again) And it’s still true that if anyone does not love the Lord, he is living under a curse instead of a blessing.)

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Tuesday, June 6, 2023

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Monday, June 5, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, Revelation, and Deuteronomy.
  • Ps 117:1 Praise the LORD, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples! (This ancient Jewish conception of God blossomed fully in the coming of their Messiah. Its meaning is so much richer and deeper since Christ came than it was when originally written about 1000 BC.)

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Sunday, June 4, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, Revelation, and Deuteronomy.
  • In mid to late March I told you I was starting a BSN Concordance for key words in the Bible. I gradually built it up to about 70 entries but then hit a wall. The wall wasn’t because I lacked words to add, but rather that I didn’t feel that I had the right focus for the concordance. What focus I had was fuzzy or meandering. Then it came to me that it should be a concordance of words that Jesus spoke. A Christ-centered concordance goes well with a Christ-centered Bible Reading Plan! Based on this thinking, I started over and rebuilt it all over. It’s now back up to about 70 entries and I have a lot more that I want to add. It’s a red letter focus – and I really like it. I use it for my own meditation and prayer. Jesus Christ should be the center of all things.
  • 1 Cor 16:14 Let all that you do be done in love.

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Saturday, June 3, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, Revelation, and Deuteronomy.
  • My goal is to get men to sign up to read the Bible every day…to themselves and to their families. With this book (that is, this website), I’ll help you with the reading; but the person you sign up with is Jesus Christ, not me.
  • Luke 6:27-28 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

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Friday, June 2, 2023

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Thursday, June 1, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, Revelation, and Numbers.
  • 1 Sam 30:6 Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

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Wednesday, May 31, 2023

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Tuesday, May 30, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, Revelation, and Numbers.
  • Ps 110:1 The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” (King David wrote this verse about the Messiah about a thousand years before Messiah’s time. After Messiah’s resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven, this verse became a rallying cry for the New Testament generation; reference to it is made over 20 times in the pages of the New Testament. Another way David could have written it is, “The Father says to the Son…” which would carry the same meaning. The Son served the Father, but we serve the Son. The Father was always going to be unreachable for us; that’s why He became the Son. Jacob’s ladder was not about us going up as much as it was about His coming down.)

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Monday, May 29, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, Jude, and Numbers.
  • 1 Cor 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. (It’s just the stuff we do for ourselves that’s vain; the stuff we do for Him isn’t.) 2 Cor 5:15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

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Sunday, May 28, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 3 John, and Numbers.
  • Mark 12:17 And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him. (Over my lifetime, Caesar seems to have grown discontent with the things that are his, and now wants the things that are God’s, too.)

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Saturday, May 27, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 2 John, and Numbers.
  • Ps 109:25 I also have become a reproach to them; When they see me, they wag their head. (People claim to want to see God and that they’d believe in Him if He’d present Himself, but when He showed His face they wagged their heads. He told them this in advance, but they didn’t believe that either.)

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Friday, May 26, 2023

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Thursday, May 25, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 1 John, and Numbers.
  • Mark 8:38 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” (I know that Jesus has already come, but it remains forever true that if I am proud of Him, He’ll be proud of me. What a deal that is!)

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Wednesday, May 24, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 1 John, and Numbers.
  • Connect the dots:
    • Old Testament: Ps 107:20 He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.
    • New Testament: Rev 19:13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

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Tuesday, May 23, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 1 John, and Numbers.
  • I haven’t made much progress on the Table of Contents (that is, writing new chapters), and I’m disappointed about that, but work on the BSN, the BSN History Index, and other BSN components continues on schedule to be completed this year.
  • Consider how each of these verses informs the other:
    • 1 Cor 13:13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
    • Matt 24:12 “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.

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Monday, May 22, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 1 John, and Numbers.
  • Matt 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. (Then if we let them pass away in our families, we will be living by lies. His words are life; the absence of His words is death. Secularism is the absence of His words. You are not strong enough to drive the darkness of secularism out of the world, but He can make you strong enough to drive it out of your family.)

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Sunday, May 21, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 2 Peter, and Numbers.
  • Jesus Christ is the “Been There, Done That” God.
  • Heb 9:26 Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. (And following His example, we put away sin by the living sacrifice of ourselves.)

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Saturday, May 20, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 2 Peter, and Numbers.
  • 1 Cor 10:24 Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor. (A husband and father seeks the good of his wife and his children because they are the closest neighbors he has.)

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Friday, May 19, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 2 Peter, and Numbers.
  • Matt 24:12 “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. (I can certainly sense this dynamic at work in these days. Can’t you?)

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Thursday, May 18, 2023

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Wednesday, May 17, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 1 Peter, and Numbers.
  • 1 Cor 6:7 Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?

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Tuesday, May 16, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 1 Peter, and Numbers.
  • Manhood: The Masculine Virtues America Needs by Josh Hawley, Regnery Publishing, 2023. (I haven’t read this book, but I’m encouraged when politicians are writing such books; and based on the two videos of his I’ve linked over the last two days, it sounds like this man would have good things to say.)
  • Heb 11:37-38 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. (If we seek the approval of the world, we’ll never be “men of whom the world is not worthy.”)

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Monday, May 15, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 1 Peter, and Numbers.
  • “The Biblical Revolution“ (video: 28:28) Josh Hawley, YouTube, September 13, 2022
  • 1 Tim 4:16 Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. (Fathers, let these words occupy prime real estate in your minds.)

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Sunday, May 14, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 1 Peter, and Numbers.
  • “The Future of the American Man“ (video: 26:46), Josh Hawley, YouTube, November 2, 2021
  • 1 Cor 1:9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (Many more people know the identity of the president of the United States than who have a relationship with him; we are called to have a relationship with the One who presides over the universe.)

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Saturday, May 13, 2023

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Friday, May 12, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, James, and Numbers.
  • “The Culture War Isn’t The Most Important Issue Of 2024, It’s The Only Issue,” by John Daniel Davidson, The Federalist, May 9, 2023
  • John 5:39 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; (You read the Bible every morning so that your heart can be quiet enough to hear the still small voice within you. That voice is the Holy Spirit speaking for Jesus; that Jesus is the One who spoke the red words in your Bible.)

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Thursday, May 11, 2023

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Wednesday, May 10, 2023

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Tuesday, May 9, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, James, and Numbers.
  • “Don’t Forget Men In The Abortion Debate,” The Federalist, May 8, 2023
  • Today, I completed the Bible Study Notes on the five books of Moses. (I completed them for the New Testament on April 25.) And, so far, I remain on schedule for completing the Old Testament by the end of the year.
  • John 13:13 “You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.” (His second title means His teachings are not optional.)

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Monday, May 8, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Hebrews, and Numbers.
  • Matt 23:8 “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.” (There’s only one teacher; the rest of us are just calling attention to Him and His textbook.)

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Sunday, May 7, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Hebrews, and Numbers.
  • Matt 11:27 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
    Matt 11:28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (It’s because Jesus said “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father” in verse 27 that He said “Come to Me” in verse 28. Otherwise, Jesus would have said “Go to Him” in verse 28.)

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Saturday, May 6, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Hebrews, and Numbers.
  • Ps 46:10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (He’s not being exalted among the nations now – but He will be. The humble will rejoice, and the proud will wail.)

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Friday, May 5, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Hebrews, and Numbers.
  • Heb 9:26 Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. (The way I put away sin in my life is by the sacrifice of myself.)

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Thursday, May 4, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Hebrews, and Numbers.
  • When your Bible reading starts feeling dull and lifeless, remind yourself that…The Treasure Map Is Not the Treasure: We treasure the treasure map, and with good reason! For without the treasure map, we cannot find the treasure. But the treasure map is not the treasure, and we must never forget that. For if we forget it, the treasure map is doing us no real good and we are wasting our time. (The treasure map is the Bible, and the treasure is Jesus Christ. He is Lord of heaven and earth and He’s as close as your next breath!)

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Wednesday, May 3, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Hebrews, and Numbers.
  • Matt 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” (And here we are, just as He said, two thousand years after He died, still studying His words. He spoke these words within a week of His death – when everyone, including His family and closest followers gave Him up for dead. Something must’ve happened after He died to change the complexion of things.)

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Tuesday, May 2, 2023

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Monday, May 1, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Hebrews, and Numbers.
  • There is definitely more action and clear-cut #FJOT‘s in the book of Numbers than we saw in the book of Leviticus. That said, there are still dry chapters in Numbers – including today’s. I did add a paragraph about dating of the book’s events to the Introduction which you may find helpful as we work our way through the book. As I’ve said before, do not spend long on dry chapters of Bible reading; just skim them. Devote most of what time you have to the chapters that are most helpful to your walk with X. The vast majority of the time, these will be the New Testament chapters (except for large parts of Revelation).
  • Matt 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'” (This is why a secular man is so lifeless. Without this daily bread, we are zombies – the walking dead. We think we are alive but we don’t even know what life is. Eat this morning… so that you may live.)

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Sunday, April 30, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Hebrews, and Numbers.
  • Mark 10:5-9 But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God ‘MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE. FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH;’ so they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” (We should have realized that Satan would not be content with destroying marriage and therefore that his next move would be destroying male and female.)

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Saturday, April 29, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Hebrews, and Numbers.
  • Eph 4:29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

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Friday, April 28, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Hebrews, and Numbers.
  • Zech 14:9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one. (If the Lord was laying the foundation for a trinity doctrine, this was a terrible choice of words by the Holy Spirit and Zechariah.)

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Thursday, April 27, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Hebrews, and Leviticus.
  • Warning: I think a lot about your Bible reading every day, and especially when the OT chapters are as dry as they have been in Leviticus lately. Obviously, they are dry for me, too, and this shows in the reduced quantity and quality of what I write about them compared to what I write about the NT chapters on those days. Do not dwell on chapters that do not teach about X; I don’t. I don’t avoid them entirely though because I never know when God might open my eyes to something…and I don’t want to miss it. Therefore, I merely scan unedifying chapters and use the time I save to think more about the chapters I better understand. And I would avoid unedifying chapters altogether when it comes to children. One of the reasons I started the BSN History Index is to give you a way of finding action in the Old Testament because it will hold children’s attention and give you more occasions to teach. Plus, children love for good stories to be repeated.

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Wednesday, April 26, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Hebrews, and Leviticus.
  • James 2:8 If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,” you are doing well.
  • If my neighbor says he is a dog or a tree or a woman, how am I showing him love if I lie to him by confirming him in his delusion?

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Tuesday, April 25, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Philemon, and Leviticus.
  • Yesterday, I completed the Bible Study Notes for the New Testament. And, so far, I remain on schedule for completing the Old Testament by the end of the year.
  • Luke 6:40 “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.”

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Monday, April 24, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Titus, and Leviticus.
  • 2 John 1:9 Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.

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Sunday, April 23, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Titus, and Leviticus.
  • When the other side asks, “Why do you engage in culture wars?” the truth of it is that they are asking, “Why, when we attack your values, do you try to defend them?”
  • Eph 5:14 For this reason it says,
    “Awake, sleeper,
    And arise from the dead,
    And Christ will shine on you.”

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Saturday, April 22, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, Titus, and Leviticus.
  • I’ve changed the name of the BSN Story Index to BSN History Index, added some New Testament dates, and gotten the overall number of stories cataloged to over 150. One of the uses of this index is to help get children to transition from Bible story books to the Bible itself. I think Bible story books for children are a good idea – colorful pictures, age-specific vocabularies, etc. I would hate it if we didn’t have them. However, there comes a time when a child needs to transition to the Bible itself. This index will help you help them find their favorite Bible stories in the Bible.
  • Col 3:24 …It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

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Friday, April 21, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, 2 Timothy, and Leviticus.
  • Rom 14:17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

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Thursday, April 20, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, 2 Timothy, and Leviticus.
  • Understanding the Spiritual Climate of 1950’s America: Further to what I wrote about this yesterday, there is nothing essentially Christian, and certainly not essentially Protestant Christian, about adding the phrase “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance, the adoption of “In God We Trust” as the national motto, or the placing of that motto on our currency – all things that happened in the 1950’s. These are all expressions of a simple monotheism. A Jew or Muslim could be as happy about those 1950’s changes as a Christian because none of those moves confess Christ. The 1950’s are in living memory for me. It was, among other things, a time of great fear about “godless communism.” Therefore, these political moves toward a generic “God” were a reaction to Soviet, Chinese, and other expressions of communist expansionism around the world. Politics requires compromises and coalitions. By the 1950’s, Protestant Christianity was no longer the dominant worldview in America as it had been since its founding. That view had been gradually losing its grip on the American mind for some time. Focusing on monotheism in those three moves was a capitulation to this political reality. Thus, the political and social developments of the 1960’s – such as approval of the Pill, the removal of prayer from public schools, no-fault divorce – were signs of a continuing decline in America’s spiritual vitality rather than a reversal of “a godly 1950’s.” The 1950’s were just less Christian than the 1960’s, which were less Christian than the 1970’s, which were less Christian than the 1980’s and so on. When that long term steady decline began, I cannot say; what I can say is that Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman were the last two American presidents to speak often and without reservation about America being a Christian nation. From Eisenhower onward, no president could describe America as a Christ-confessing nation with confidence that a clear majority of voters would say, “Amen.”
  • Hos 6:3 “So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth.”

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Wednesday, April 19, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, 2 Timothy, and Leviticus.
  • Added entry to top of Quotations about the Bible.
  • Understanding the Spiritual Climate of 1950’s America: America was not just founded as a Christian nation, it was founded as a Protestant Christian nation. Another way of saying this is that it was founded as a non-denominational Christian nation. This speaks to the fact that, in breaking away from England, the founding fathers did not want a “Church of America” as there had been a “Church of England.” That’s all that “separation of church and state” was ever intended to mean – that there should not be an official church for the whole nation. But the broader point that I’m wanting to emphasize is that if we perceive the American founding as a Christian founding, we are not seeing it as clearly as we could or should. It was a Protestant Christian founding – clearly distinguished from Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Judaism as well as from all other forms of theism, atheism, and agnosticism. I make this point because once we understand it, we can see that changes made in the 1950’s – the addition of “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance, the adoption of “In God We Trust” as the national motto, and the placing of that motto on our currency – were not returns to, or even reinforcements of, our national identity as a Protestant Christian nation, or even as a Christian nation, but rather signs of our retreat from it. For those changes identified America only as a monotheistic nation and did not tie it to Jesus Christ or the Bible as had been the case from the country’s founding until the 1950’s. I’ll say more about this tomorrow.
  • 1 John 3:23 This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.

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Tuesday, April 18, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, 2 Timothy, and Leviticus.
  • George Washington wanted his fellow Americans to have Christian character even more than he wanted them to be patriots. (Quotations about Righteousness)
  • 2 Cor 5:14-15 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

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Monday, April 17, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, 1 Timothy, and Leviticus.
  • 2 Cor 4:5 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. (Whose reputation matters more to us – ours or His?)

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Sunday, April 16, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Matthew, 1 Timothy, and Leviticus.
  • Patrick Henry leaves no room for doubt that the founding fathers gave us a Christian nation. Where is it now? (Quotations about the Gospel)
  • Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ–this Jesus whom you crucified.”

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Saturday, April 15, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, 1 Timothy, and Leviticus.
  • Gal 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

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Friday, April 14, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, 1 Timothy, and Leviticus.
  • I added a couple of quotes from American founding fathers in Quotations about the Bible.
  • Speaking of quotations about the Bible, what kind of sign might it be when a foreign president speaks about God and the Bible more like a traditional American president than the current American president does – especially when that foreign president’s country has been an enemy of America’s for 70 years and remains so to this day?
  • John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

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Thursday, April 13, 2023

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Wednesday, April 12, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, 1 Timothy, and Leviticus.
  • The March 22, 2007 issue of Time magazine said, “Simply put, the Bible is the most influential book ever written.”  I wonder what it’s saying now.
  • Phil 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

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Tuesday, April 11, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, 2 Thessalonians, and Leviticus.
  • Wait ‘til you see what President Woodrow Wilson said about Christianity in his last public address! (Quotations about the Gospel)
  • 2 Cor 11:3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

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Monday, April 10, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, 2 Thessalonians, and Leviticus.
  • Given what President William Howard Taft said about Christianity and democracy, his statues may be at risk…if they haven’t been toppled already. (Quotations about the Gospel)
  • Eph 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

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Sunday, April 9, 2023

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Saturday, April 8, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, 1 Thessalonians, and Leviticus.
  • There are now over 100 stories cataloged in the BSN Story Index. And, by the way, these are all historical stories. I’m not putting any parables or allegories in there. I want the children to know they’re reading history.
  • Would you believe that not just Herbert Hoover but even Lyndon Baines Johnson are among the presidents who have described America as a distinctly Christian nation? (See the top two entries in Quotations about the Gospel.) I don’t remember any of the schools I attended – parochial and public – teaching me how Christian America was; history was one subject I did pay some attention to, so I think I would have remembered. The censorship we’ve seen in recent years must’ve begun long ago with the secularizing of American history books – and world history books, for that matter. I say this because Jesus of Nazareth is without question the most influential human being who ever lived. To avoid covering him in a book of world history because he’s religious is educational malpractice.

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Friday, April 7, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, 1 Thessalonians, and Leviticus.
  • Some of these US presidents were – whether consciously or not – uncanny in their ability to understand America’s spiritual posture…and what would happen to the country if that posture were ever abandoned. Consider, for example, what Theodore Roosevelt said about what would happen to us if the Bible were ever removed from America’s civic and social life. (Quotations about the Bible)
  • Matt 15:11 “It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

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Thursday, April 6, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, 1 Thessalonians, and Leviticus.
  • The total number of stories in the BSN story index is now up to 88.
  • For sharply contrasting views of what a nation’s devotion to the Bible would lead to, compare what the author of The Handmaid’s Tale said by means of her book (and therefore the tv series) with what John Adams said at the top of Quotations about the Bible.
  • Ps 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

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Wednesday, April 5, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, 1 Thessalonians, and Leviticus.
  • Woodrow Wilson makes a statement that would cause him to lose an election for president if he were running today. (Quotations about the Bible)
  • Rom 8:6-8 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

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Tuesday, April 4, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, 1 Thessalonians, and Leviticus.
  • I found a neat Bible phone app called “Literal Word.” It’s free. It uses the NASB 1995. It has a very sophisticated search feature, returning search results by sections and books of the Bible. It also has built-in Greek and Hebrew dictionaries. There are downsides; one is that it doesn’t provide audio. I use “YouVersion” for that. I’ve used “Bible Gateway” in the past but their audios were buggy the last time I tried them. By contrast, Bible Gateway’s website is very useful and it may be the fastest website I’ve ever used for Bible searches. I still use Lockman.org’s website as shown in the videos, mainly because it has a Strong’s concordance built in, even though its speed is sluggish and its uptime not 100%.
  • A word for today and always: Matt 13:45-46 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (The pearl talking about a pearl.)

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Monday, April 3, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Colossians, and Leviticus.
  • I decided to change the BSN Story Index from alphabetical order to chronological order, because 1) the chronological order helps us learn the overall history in the process, and 2) an alphabetical search can be still achieved by using the Control/Command F function on the keyboard. There were some other benefits to this change, but those were the main two. Also, the story count is now up from the original 17 to 40. But there are still many more to add. For one thing, I want to make sure that every OT character mentioned in the NT is included.
  • Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

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Sunday, April 2, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Colossians, and Leviticus.
  • Most Bible readers would be shocked to learn how little time seminarians spend studying the Bible. A seminary is run exactly like a college. You pay your tuition, you buy your books, and your professors teach you from those books. You would think a seminary would require very few books besides the Bible, which itself is the equivalent of more than a dozen average-length non-fiction books. Instead of reading and studying the Bible at seminary, you read and study books about the Bible. You would think that a seminary class would consist of the professor telling you to open to such and such section of the Bible and then he would start explaining it, or at least answer questions about it – but there’s none of that. In fact, the professors’ reading assignments for the books you have to buy are so demanding, there’s hardly any time left over for reading the Bible itself. And what I am describing applies not just to theologically liberal and lax seminaries, but also to those seminaries that proclaim themselves as most devoted to the Bible. It’s only the books on the reading list that are different for “Bible Thumper” seminaries; the lack of Bible reading is practically the same at all seminaries. When you spend time reading and reflecting on your Bible every single day and trying to practice it, you are getting a more biblical education than if you were to go to seminary. That is no exaggeration. Going to a seminary would be a spiritual step backward for you. That means it would be worse than a waste of time and money (which it would also be). Why do you think the Lord chose as His apostles fishermen and tax collectors rather than Pharisees and Sadducees?

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Saturday, April 1, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Colossians, and Leviticus.
  • Today we enter Leviticus in the OT portion of the BRP.
    • We’ve reached a point in the OT portion of our daily Bible readings where, unfortunately, there is not a lot I can do to help you. The last 15 chapters of Exodus, with the exception of the golden calf incident and its immediate aftermath, was about construction of the tabernacle. I don’t find such chapters very edifying so my comments have been limited. And now that we’re into Leviticus, things get even drier for me. I believe it’s important to expose you to the entire Bible and that’s why I ultimately decided on a plan that had us read every single chapter of it. Just because something is dry for me doesn’t necessarily mean it will be dry for everyone else. And just because it’s dry for me this year doesn’t necessarily mean it will be dry for me next year. So we plow through. However, unless you have your own reasons for wanting to read difficult chapters from Leviticus and Numbers, I would recommend you substitute other passages on difficult days. One suggestion for you is the BSN Story Index I’ve started.
    • The BSN Story Index is right now a fraction of what it will be. I’ll keep you posted on the progress.
    • Please consider this story index in light of the first of many Bible Reading Tips I intend to write.

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Friday, March 31, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: Mark, Colossians, and Exodus.
  • The Lord sees, and He will watch over you and yours. Be faithful to Him who let Himself be hung on a cross for us.
    • John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
    • Ezek 13:19 “For handfuls of barley and fragments of bread, you have profaned Me to My people to put to death some who should not die and to keep others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies.””‘
    • 1 Pet 4:18 AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER?

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Thursday, March 30, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Philippians, and Exodus.
  • As I’ve said before, the primary purpose of a presidential quote about the Bible or Christianity is not what it might tell us about that man’s faith, but rather what it tells us about his perception of the country’s faith at that time. A politician is not going to say something that he thinks will give offense to the majority of voters. Take, for example, this quote from a June 28, 2006 speech by Barack Obama. I’ve queued it to start at 1:05 and you only have to listen to 1:20 (a total of 15 seconds). This excerpt tells us that Obama believed America was a pluralistic nation 2006. He was not rejected for making this statement; on the contrary, he was elected president – twice! That’s why I wrote yesterday that America’s shift from Christian nation to pluralistic nation occurred between Harry Truman and Barack Obama – that is, between the 1950’s and the 2000’s. Therefore, we are not on the verge of losing the nation, as some people are saying; rather, we lost it between 25 and 75 years ago – between the 1950’s and the 1970’s. Given that Harry Truman left office in January 1953 and the Supreme Court decided 7-2 that abortion was a woman’s Constitutional right in January 1973, I think we can narrow down the time range of when the scales tipped for America’s faith to those 20 years. Yes, the drift had been going on for some time, and a nation doesn’t change its mind on a single day, but we are talking about narrowing down a range of time that a line was crossed. A Christian nation would not have accepted a Supreme Court ruling favoring abortion. When the Supreme Court upheld slavery in its Dred Scott decision of 1857, the country was engulfed in a Civil War within four years. If America had still been a Christian nation in 1973, either Roe v Wade would not have gone the way it did, or else the country would have been at war with itself within a few years. No Christian nation could or would allow its most vulnerable children to be legally massacred; a pluralistic nation could or would allow anything.

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Wednesday, March 29, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Philippians, and Exodus.
  • When you see the series of statements given at various times and places by Franklin D. Roosevelt on the subject of Christianity (at the top of Quotations about the Gospel), it will refute any claim that the US was ever a secular nation before the last half of the 20th century. Further to that point, I also posted excerpts of FDR’s statement about the 400th anniversary of the English Bible (at the top of Quotations about the Bible), including a link to the full text of the statement. Harry Truman spoke of biblical Christianity with the same clarity and vigor as his predecessor, so it was some time after the mid-20th century that the nation decided it was pluralistic and therefore no longer Christian.

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Tuesday, March 28, 2023

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Monday, March 27, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Philippians, and Exodus.
  • I know you’re encountering a lot of redundancy in the Bible Study Notes (BSN). For example, you’ve come across many references to Chapter and Verse Divisions, and you might have thought, “Why does he keep mentioning this – doesn’t he realize we’ve gotten the point by now?” I feel bad about repeating many points in this way, but the redundancy is intentional for two reasons: 1) My hope is that people will start reading the Bible and the BSN daily, but I can never know what day an individual will start the process; this means every chapter of BSN has to be written almost as if it’s the first one one a person has ever read, and 2) I want the BSN to serve as a reference work like a dictionary or encyclopedia that can be accessed randomly and not have to be read sequentially or in its entirety to get benefit. Therefore, those of you who are strong are bearing the burden of redundancy for the sake of those who are weaker. (Rom 15:1 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.) Thank you for doing so.

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Sunday, March 26, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Ephesians, and Exodus.
  • Ulysses S. Grant, 18th president of the United States, said, “The Bible is the anchor of our liberties.” Well, that would explain a lot about current American views of the 1st and 2nd Amendments and the rest of the Bill of Rights.

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Saturday, March 25, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Ephesians, and Exodus.
  • See what the 12th US president said about the Bible at the top of Quotations about the Bible. Even after years of having collected these quotes of presidents and other notable Americans from the past, I continue to be amazed at the clarity and forcefulness of the positive things they said. As I’ve mentioned before, the importance of such quotes is not what they might or might not say about the person’s faith, but what they say about the person’s perception of what the American public wanted to hear at that time. For most of its history, the majority of Americans wanted leaders who acknowledged the God of the Bible as the one true God. By contrast, no politician quoting these quotes to Americans today could hope to be elected president. Whenever politicians do speak this way today they are considered fringe candidates.

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Friday, March 24, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Ephesians, and Exodus.
  • The son of John Adams – the sixth president of the US, John Quincy Adams – wrote letters about the Bible to his son. See a half dozen of the things he said at the top of Quotations about the Bible. America truly was a Christian nation at one time. In fact, most of its time. But not now. It is drunk on its own power.

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Thursday, March 23, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Ephesians, and Exodus.
  • I learned about Charles Dickens in high school, but I don’t ever remember anyone teaching me that he said, “The New Testament is the very best book that ever was or ever will be known in the world.” I wonder why not? Apart from any religious implications, it seems worthy of mention what one of the world’s best writers thought was the world’s best writing. Censorship is nothing new. It is the essence of secularism.

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Wednesday, March 22, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Ephesians, and Exodus.
  • As for the BSN Concordance, I now have at least one entry for every letter of the alphabet. (The only exception to this is the letter “x,” and that is because there is not a single word in the entire NASB that begins with that letter.)

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Tuesday, March 21, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Ephesians, and Exodus.
  • See what a co-author of The Federalist Papers and first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court had to say about the Bible at the top of Quotations about the Bible. I do not have the email address for John Roberts, so, if you do, please forward to him.
  • I have added to Bible Study Notes a BSN Concordance. This selective concordance will be a tool you can use in your own Bible study, but also can use in teaching your children. It allows you to do word studies that strengthen your understanding of words that the Bible uses. I’ve only just begun building it, but it already contains the 9 fruit of the Spirit and the 15 deeds of the flesh. These can be word studies you do in addition to your personal daily Bible reading, on the weekend if not during the week. And/or can also be used for discussion to introduce some variety into your family devotional times. Besides simply consulting a dictionary, one of the best ways to understand the meaning of a word is to examine two or three instances – occasionally four – where the Bible uses it.

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Monday, March 20, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Galatians, and Exodus.
  • This man has put his finger on something important for us to recognize. When he says, “It just seems like the country is against the Christian way of life, and it’s for everything else,” he’s describing a spirit of antichrist – which simply means “against Christ.” And he rightly sees that by simultaneously being “for everything else,” the country is only emphasizing how much it is really against Christ. This means that even if we could rid the government and all our institutions of Critical Race Theory, transgenderism, and every other malignant ideology that is found in them today, there would just be more bad ideas ready to take their place. This is because the issue is not what the country is for – it’s what the country is against. And what it’s turned against is Christ. That’s why they keep coming up with new strange things to be for – they’re not really for anything, they’re just against Him. Their list of bad ideas will be endless. There’s only so much we can do about this state of affairs. Mainly, we must 1) not take it personally that the country hates this man or us because it’s really God they’ve come to hate, 2) pray that the Lord will send laborers into the harvest (Mt 9:37-38; Lk 10:2) – that is, true and courageous preachers of the gospel – and 3) resolve in our hearts that we will remain true to Christ no matter what anyone else does or doesn’t do. In these three things we will find great help in all our times of need. He will not forsake us.

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Sunday, March 19, 2023

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Saturday, March 18, 2023

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Friday, March 17, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Galatians, and Exodus.
  • The readings in Exodus have become tedious because of all the minutia about the tabernacle and its furnishings. Things will get worse when we get to all the minutia about sacrifices and offerings in Leviticus. Do not let such chapters bog you down; skim them lightly. On days like today, spend the majority of your devotional time on the New Testament readings. That’s where our primary focus should be anyway. Become more like Jesus today and every day! That’s the goal. Therefore, always feed most on passages that communicate the most about Jesus. If it’s an FJOT day, then wonderful! But if not, give even more time that day to the New Testament.

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Thursday, March 16, 2023

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Wednesday, March 15, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, Galatians, and Exodus.
  • See the way US Senators used to talk at the top of Quotations about the Bible.
  • The Bible claims to be the word of God. Therefore, men ought to either love it or hate it. That is, men ought to love it if the claim is true…or hate it if the claim is false. But to be indifferent toward the Bible is to be completely irrational about it. There’s nothing harmless about a false claim to be the word of God.

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Tuesday, March 14, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, 2 Corinthians, and Exodus.
  • Ex 21-31 is some pretty rough reading for people who aren’t Israelites living on the other side of the world 1,500 years before Christ was born. When you come across difficult Bible chapters that don’t offer you much that’s understandable, don’t spend too much time on them. Be at least as smart as a cow, as they say: that is, eat the hay and spit out the sticks. And if it’s mainly sticks to you, don’t worry about it and don’t linger long over it. Maybe one day you’ll understand more, but, until then, just spend more time on the New Testament readings for that day.

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Monday, March 13, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, 2 Corinthians, and Exodus.
  • Added a John Adams quote to Quotations about the Bible. When I survey quotes about the Bible from the US presidents from Washington until now, it is amazing how consistently reverent they have been – up until the post-WW II period. Beginning with Kennedy, presidential quotes about the Bible have been decreasing in reverential deference – with but a few exceptions here or there. In other words, using presidential quotes as a way to measure the degree of respect that America has had toward the Bible throughout its history, that respect was consistently strong for almost 200 years, but has been decreasing in strength for the last 60. It’s as if America becoming the strongest nation in the world, and especially since it became “the world’s only remaining superpower” with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, has been its downfall.

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Sunday, March 12, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, 2 Corinthians, and Exodus.
  • I eliminated the Gospels Dictionary from the Bible Toolkit by moving all its content to the appropriate places in the BSN Glossary (People, Places, Things).

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Saturday, March 11, 2023

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Friday, March 10, 2023

  • BSN notes for today’s BRP chapter readings: John, 2 Corinthians, and Exodus.
  • I added an item to the top of Notes on Righteousness.
  • I want to make the book’s contents more digestible. Therefore, I’m simplifying the Table of Contents by reducing the number of “Parts” from seven to four. I’m not discarding any of the existing content, just rearranging it. Specifically, I’ve moved the “Quotes” and “Notes” of the last three parts – The Holy Spirit, Prayer, and Preachers – to the “Essays” section of “Part Three: Righteousness.” I want the Table of Contents to give a succinct overview of the book so that readers can drill down where their interest is greatest. I now have the drill down links in place, but what I’m missing is the 10-12 chapters I want to show up in the Table of Contents for first-time readers. I have to write them. The wait for that shouldn’t keep any of you familiar with the book’s contents from accessing them. It’s just people showing up for the first time who may be confused by the way the table of contents looks right now.
  • Between this book and the other ten books I’ve written and included on this website, there are a total of probably well over half a million words. When the Bible Study Notes (BSN) book is completed later this year, the total words will probably be over a million. Therefore, continuous improvement in organizing the material is in order. That’s what’s behind the efforts to simplify, mentioned above. As part of those efforts, I’m simplifying the title of the book, too. I have tinkered with this title many times over the last few years. I really liked the one had before this change. Every word of it meant something important, but I think this new title is less burdensome to the browser who’s wondering whether it’s worth his time to even start reading the book. And that reader’s view of the title matters more than mine.

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Thursday, March 9, 2023

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Wednesday, March 8, 2023

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Tuesday, March 7, 2023

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Monday, March 6, 2023

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Sunday, March 5, 2023

  • At the following links you’ll find the comments I’ve added to BSN for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 2 Corinthians, and Exodus. (If I fail to properly update any of these three links, you can always find the BSN notes to any Bible book you’re looking for in the BSN table of contents on the BSN home page.)
  • 1920’s Calvin Coolidge explains 2020’s America in Quotations about the Bible.

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Saturday, March 4, 2023

  • At the following links you’ll find the comments I’ve added to BSN for today’s BRP chapter readings: Luke, 2 Corinthians, and Exodus. (If I fail to properly update any of these three links, you can always find the BSN notes to any Bible book you’re looking for in the BSN table of contents on the BSN home page.)
  • Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus?

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Friday, March 3, 2023

  • At these links you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible chapter readings in Luke, 2 Corinthians, and Exodus. (If I fail to properly update any of these three links, you can always find any Bible book you’re looking for in the BSN table of contents on the BSN home page.)
  • Added a current statistic to the top of Notes on Righteousness.

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Thursday, March 2, 2023

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Wednesday, March 1, 2023

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Tuesday, February 28, 2023

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Monday, February 27, 2023

  • At these links you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible chapter readings in Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Exodus.
  • Oxford says that “to exhort” means “to strongly encourage or urge (someone) to do something.” It goes on to say that “exhortation” is “an address or communication emphatically urging someone to do something.” In Heb 13:22 Paul says, “But I urge you, brethren, bear with this word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.” And in Acts 20:2 Luke says of Paul, “When he had gone through those districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece.” In this case, what is true of the book of Hebrews is true of the whole Bible, and what is true of Paul is true of all the men of God who wrote it – that is, they are exhorting us to do right while we live on this earth. Moreover, every parent knows that without regular exhortation to do right, children will lapse into things that are not righteous. Therefore, let us go to the Bible every day looking for exhortation to righteousness, knowing how much we need it to stay on track.

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Sunday, February 26, 2023

  • At these links you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible chapter readings in Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Exodus.
  • It is interesting that the book of Exodus begins with a story regarding midwives – interesting because Moses fills the role of midwife in the birthing of Israel as a nation. Israel came out of slavery to Egypt as a baby comes out of dependency on the mother’s womb. There is even a breaking of water (parting of the Red Sea) as the infant nation is brought into the world. Moses couldn’t have seen himself as the father of the nation of Israel, for that distinction belonged to Abraham. And he couldn’t have seen himself as the mother either. But he was certainly present at the birth…and he helped. So it is not difficult to imagine Moses as identifying with midwives as he wrote about them.

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Saturday, February 25, 2023

  • At these links you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible chapter readings in Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Exodus.
  • Usually, I rejoice anytime I hear someone talking about Jesus without worrying about the person’s motive, but the “He Gets Us” campaign (Super Bowl commercial and all) presents a Jesus I cannot find in the Bible. I’m still not worried about their motives; it’s their message that’s the problem. It seems like way more tares than wheat. It’s the message about Jesus that matters – not the motives of the ones expressing the message. May the true – which is to say, the biblical – Jesus Christ be proclaimed!
    • Phil 1:18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,
    • Gal 1:8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!

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Friday, February 24, 2023

  • At these links you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible chapter readings in Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Exodus.
  • I’ve heard only bits and pieces about the Asbury revival in Kentucky, and now other places. I suppose it’s like any movement of God among people in that there are wheat and tares (Matt 13:24-30, 36-43). Thus I am reminded that, as the old adage says, we should try to be at least as smart as cows who know to eat the hay and spit out the sticks. I feel the same way about the new movie from the Erwin brothers, Jesus Revolution. It chronicles another move of God, the “Jesus Movement” of the 1970’s. I know more about the movement than about the movie. In that movement, too, there were wheat and tares. May God do all the good He can in all the movements He can, and may each of us be wheat and not tares. And may reading three chapters of the Bible a day in order to follow Jesus become a movement, too.

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Thursday, February 23, 2023

  • At these links you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible chapter readings in Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Exodus.
  • Came across this today: “According to Lifeway Research, published in 2017, only 11% of Americans have ever read the Bible. Only 9% have read it more than once.”

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Wednesday, February 22, 2023

  • At these links you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible chapter readings in Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Exodus.

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Tuesday, February 21, 2023

  • At these links you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible chapter readings in Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Exodus.

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Monday, February 20, 2023

  • At these links you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible chapter readings in Luke, 1 Corinthians, and now Exodus.
  • (Sorry that I linked you to Exodus a day early yesterday. I momentarily forgot that I’m writing the BSN notes one day ahead of your reading. I just corrected yesterday’s note to say Genesis instead of Exodus.)
  • I’ve been working extensively on Bible reading plans for the last few months. I’ll spare you the many details and just report the results of that work:
    • I’ve reformatted the BRP so that the full year will print in two pages instead of nine.
    • We’ll be covering the entire OT over a three-year period, rather than the “Readers Digest” version I’d originally planned on for this year. This doesn’t change anything we’ve read for the OT so far this year – only for what we’ll be reading in the OT after March 11.
    • I’ve updated the link – Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan – and you can now print your two pages for this year from there. Whatever you’ve printed before today will be the same through March 11.

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Sunday, February 19, 2023

  • At these links you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible chapter readings in Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Genesis.

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Saturday, February 18, 2023

  • At these links you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible chapter readings in Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Genesis.
  • Jesus made amazing first-person claims about Himself in the Gospel of John (e.g. “I am the light of the world”), but He also made amazing claims about Himself in the other three Gospels by speaking of Himself in the third person (e.g. “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath”). A person who speaks of himself in the third person is normally considered egotistical, just as a person who says “I am [this or that great thing]” is normally considered egotistical. Yet Jesus would be lying if He didn’t acknowledge these amazing truths about Himself. As they say, “It ain’t braggin’ if it’s true.”
  • I try to get you reading the Bible every day because I believe that if I can just get you in front the Teacher with His textbook in front of you, He’ll do the rest.

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Friday, February 17, 2023

  • At these links you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible chapter readings in Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Genesis.

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Thursday, February 16, 2023

  • At these links you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible chapter readings in Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Genesis.
  • I’ve heard many people make the statement “Perception is reality” as if it’s a wise thing to say. Have you ever thought about how stupid that statement is?

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Wednesday, February 15, 2023

  • At these links you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible chapter readings in Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Genesis.

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Tuesday, February 14, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.

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Monday, February 13, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.

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Sunday, February 12, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.

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Saturday, February 11, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.

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Friday, February 10, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.

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Thursday, February 9, 2023

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Wednesday, February 8, 2023

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Tuesday, February 7, 2023

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Monday, February 6, 2023

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Sunday, February 5, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.
  • Added item to Notes on the Gospel.
  • I’ve moved all the chapters that were listed in the Table of Contents to the “Essays” linked in each of the seven parts of the book. Therefore, for the time being, there are no chapters listed in the Table of Contents. What’s going on is that I had originally written the chapters of the book so that they could work as stand-alone essays. I did so because I wanted a man to be able to read the chapters according to his circumstances, needs, and interests and not have to read them sequentially. However, I’ve come to see that this is suboptimal. There are several reasons that approach didn’t work as well as I had hoped, but they’re not worth detailing for you. By moving the existing chapters to “Essays,” I’m classifying them appropriately by moving them to “Essays.” My intention is to write new chapters which will be written to be read in sequence as is normally the case with the chapters of a book. I expect there will be 2-3 chapters in each part of the book, meaning there will be somewhere between 14 and 21 chapters in all. I intend to write them so that they can completed by an average reader in an hour. Therefore, if a man will give me an hour of his time, I’ll be giving him a summary of everything I have to say to him. Then, if he’s drawn to what he’s read, there’ll be all those “Resources” there linked for him…and then it will be appropriate for him to continue his reading according to his circumstances, needs, and interests. I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to complete the new chapters because I’m already on a demanding schedule of trying to complete Bible Study Notes this year. That said, I’m hoping to get the new chapters finished in the next couple of months. For those of you familiar with my work, they won’t contain anything new. It will just be a summarization of everything else on this site.

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Saturday, February 4, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.

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Friday, February 3, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.
  • Added item to Faith Nuggets.
  • I’ve changed the name of “Nuggets” to “Notes.” This now separates my writings in each part of the book into three categories of size – which is “Notes,” (small) “Essays (medium),” and “Books” (large). In the Table of Contents, leading each part will be “Quotes” from others on the subject of that part of the book. Thus what used to be “Nuggets” has now been broken up into “Quotes” and “Notes” – the “Quotes” being written by others, and the “Notes” being written by me (as are the “Essays” and “Books” that follow the “Notes.”

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Thursday, February 2, 2023

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Wednesday, February 1, 2023

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Tuesday, January 31, 2023

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Monday, January 30, 2023

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Sunday, January 29, 2023

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Saturday, January 28, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.

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Friday, January 27, 2023

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Thursday, January 26, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.

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Wednesday, January 25, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.
  • “Nuggets” previously included quotations of others as well as very short writings of my own. Going forward, these will be split. That is, each of the seven parts of the book will have both a “Quotes” section and a “Nuggets” section. The “Quotes” section will contain the quotations of others, while the “Nuggets” section will contain my own words. The items I write for “Nuggets” are ideas that I can convey in a single bite-sized chunk; that is, they do not require an essay, book chapter, or book in order to explain them.
  • Added an item to the top of Bible Nuggets.

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Tuesday, January 24, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.
  • Contrary to my expectations, I found a quotation from President Lyndon Johnson that I could add to Righteousness Quotes.

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Monday, January 23, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.
  • I’ve added some excerpts from President Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural address to Righteousness Quotes.

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Sunday, January 22, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added to the BSN for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.
  • I’ve added a small collection of three Dwight Eisenhower quotes to Bible Nuggets. (The inclusion of these sorts of quotations in Bible Nuggets is not necessarily a sign of what the person believed, but it is a true sign of what that person thought the majority of voters believed.)

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Saturday, January 21, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.
  • This man speaks for me: “It’s a special privilege being the head of a household, teaching and guarding my flock. It’s not always easy, but it’s an important position that God has placed me in. Our church is our family and my role, through God, is to be their shepherd. I wasn’t prepared for this role however. No one talked to me about it before marriage, explaining what my duties would be and how to guide a family. It wasn’t until I opened the Bible and read the play book that I truly understood the privilege that was bestowed upon me and the responsibilities that went with it.”
  • I added two lengthy but amazing Harry Truman quotes to Bible Nuggets and Righteousness Nuggets.

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Friday, January 20, 2023

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Thursday, January 19, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.

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Wednesday, January 18, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.
  • Improving your Bible literacy will, as a byproduct, improve your general literacy. You’ll read more productively, think more clearly, and write more understandably. Reading the Bible sincerely and regularly will make you better educated. You’ll also become a more alert and effective communicator – listening and speaking with increasing skill. You’ll even spell better. And these are just the byproducts of an increasing biblical literacy!

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Tuesday, January 17, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.
  • A sign of the times: The Mall of America hosts drag queen shows but will not allow a shopper to wear a “Jesus Saves” t-shirt. (article including cell phone video)

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Monday, January 16, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.

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Sunday, January 15, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.
  • I added an extensive quote from Christopher Columbus to the top of Bible Nuggets. Because Columbus bears clear witness in this quote not just to the Bible, but to the ongoing activity of the Holy Spirit in post-biblical times, I also added it to Spirit Nuggets.

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Saturday, January 14, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.
  • Added a George Washington quote to the top of Bible Nuggets.

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Friday, January 13, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.

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Thursday, January 12, 2023

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Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.

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Tuesday, January 10, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.
  • Up until today, I’ve had a link in the Table of Contents to “Previous Books by This Author.” I figured out an alternative way to link each book in the section (Part One on the Gospel, Part Two on Faith, etc.) to which it pertains. This should be more useful to readers.
  • I’m going to do the same thing with the 69 videos I have as I described above with the 9 other books. I began the process today. As I removed the link to all previous books from the Appendices, I also removed the link to all videos. Although I placed links to all 9 books in the appropriate parts of the book, it will take me a lot longer to distribute the 69 videos, but I did begin today by assigning 3 of them to Part Two (Faith).

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Monday, January 9, 2023

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Sunday, January 8, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.

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Saturday, January 7, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.
  • God’s life on earth as Jesus proves many things, but one of the most fundamental things it proves is that even when life is hardest, it’s still worth living. The increasing number of despairing people in the world is a natural consequence of the gospel of Jesus Christ being heard less and less. Secularism is carbon monoxide displacing oxygen.
  • I’ve added 20 more readings to 200+ Reasons to Worship Christ and Not a Trinity, bringing the total to 250.

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Friday, January 6, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.
  • “One of the fascinating things about our ongoing political realignment is the massive political incentive Democrats have to keep women unmarried.” – Mollie Hemingway Incentivizing child-bearers to go it alone is societal madness.
  • I’ve added 75 more readings to 200+ Reasons to Worship Christ and Not a Trinity, bringing the total to 230. (That’s why I’ve now updated the title from 100+ to 200+.)

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Thursday, January 5, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.
  • Fathers, the next time you feel discouraged because you don’t think you’re succeeding with your children, consider these extensive statistics which demonstrate how much good just you’re doing your children just by living in the same house with them. Maybe Woody Allen was having one of his more sensible moments when he said, “Eighty percent of success is showing up.”
  • I’ve added 30 more readings to 100+ Reasons to Worship Christ and Not a Trinity, bringing the total to 155.
  • I added link to my videos in the Appendices at the bottom of the Table of Contents. There are 70 of them, recorded and uploaded to YouTube 2014-2016.

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Wednesday, January 4, 2023

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Tuesday, January 3, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.
  • It appears that India will overtake China as the world’s most populous country this year (source). This astounds me because 20 years ago when I was in India, its population was about 1 billion compared to China’s 1.4 billion. The differential in the two countries birth rates has allowed India to close a gap of 400 million people in just two decades! Replacement birth rate is 2 (a mother and father replacing themselves). Current birth rates (Source: Google):
    • India – 2.18
    • China – 1.70
    • US – 1.64 and dropping
  • Remember the following command we read on Sunday and contrast it with our current national behavior: Gen 1:28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
  • Therefore, we in the US are not multiplying – we are subtracting. Moreover, we are not subduing the earth and its animals, but rather giving them dominion over us. I sure am glad God has consolations for the righteous and can show mercy in the midst of judgment to those who look to Him! To be specific:
    • Habak 3:2 LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
  • I added 13 more readings and decided to modify the title to read 100+ Reasons to Worship Christ and Not a Trinity. The current total is 113.

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Monday, January 2, 2023

  • Here you’ll find the comments I’ve added for today’s Bible readings: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.
  • We American men have more reason than ever to focus on teaching our children. Apparently, “The US has the highest rate of children living in single-parent households of any nation in the world.” As if that’s not enough, “Even for children with a father present in the home, the average school-age boy only spends about 30 min per week in one-on-one conversations with his father. For comparison, the same boy, on average, will spend about 44 hours per week watching television, playing video games, and surfing the internet.” (Source)
  • Added a quote from, believe it or not, Machiavelli to Life Nuggets.
  • I’ve added 25 more readings to Reasons to Worship Christ and Not a Trinity today, bringing the total up to 100.

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Sunday, January 1, 2023

  • On the BRP readings for today: BRP1, BRP2, BRP3.
  • As for the comments on today’s Bible readings linked to above, I’m beginning a project of building a companion resource to the audio recordings. It’s called A Written Bible Reading Companion and you’ll find a brief explanation of it there.
  • I’ve added 15 more readings to Reasons to Worship Christ and Not a Trinity today, bringing the total up to 75. I also added a brief explanation at the top of the list about why it is so long.

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Question or Comment