Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Job 31:13-22 KJV
13 If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me; 14 What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him? 15 Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb? 16 If I have withheld the poor from [their] desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail; 17 Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof; 18 (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as [with] a father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb;) 19 If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering; 20 If his loins have not blessed me, and [if] he were [not] warmed with the fleece of my sheep; 21 If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate: 22 [Then] let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) As Job continues to defend his integrity, how did he treat his servants who contended with him? Why? (v.13-15)
2) How did Job treat the poor, the widow, the hungry and the fatherless? (v.16-18)
3) What did Job do for those who did not have enough clothes to wear? (v.19-20)
4) What affliction did Job invite upon himself if he had not helped the fatherless? Why? (v.21-22)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) What have you done to help those who are less fortunate than yourself?
6) Does it trouble you to think that you can do good for others and still face calamity, as Job did? If so, why?
LIFE LESSONS
7) If the Lord allows His people to suffer, despite our righteous deeds, it is because He wants to reveal another aspect of His character (nature) to us that we did not otherwise know.
Monday, June 29, 2015
Job 29:7-17 KJV
7 When I went out to the gate through the city, [when] I prepared my seat in the street! 8 The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, [and] stood up. 9 The princes refrained talking, and laid [their] hand on their mouth. 10 The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth. 11 When the ear heard [me], then it blessed me; and when the eye saw [me], it gave witness to me: 12 Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and [him that had] none to help him. 13 The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. 14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment [was] as a robe and a diadem. 15 I was eyes to the blind, and feet [was] I to the lame. 16 I [was] a father to the poor: and the cause [which] I knew not I searched out. 17 And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) How did people treat Job before calamity befell him? (v.7-11)
2) How did people who heard Job and saw him respond to him before disaster struck his life? (v.12)
3) What did Job do before suffering hardship? (v.13-17)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Have you, or anyone else you know, suffered tragic losses after living to serve the Lord's people?
LIFE LESSONS
5) The Lord allows "good" people to endure tragic situations to prove their character.
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Amos 8:1-6, 9-10 KJV
1 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit. 2 And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more. 3 And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: [there shall be] many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast [them] forth with silence. 4 Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, 5 Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? 6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; [yea], and sell the refuse of the wheat? ... 9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day: 10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only [son], and the end thereof as a bitter day.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did the Lord show the Prophet Amos? (v.1)
2) What did the Lord ask the prophet and how did Amos respond? (v.2a)
3) What did the Lord tell Amos? (v.2b-3)
4) What did the Lord know about those who oppressed the needy? (v.4-6)
5) What were the Lord's warnings to those who rebelled against Him? (v.9-10)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
6) What, if any, wickedness is prevalent within you, your church, and/or this nation?
7) Have you, or anyone you know, acted wickedly toward the less fortunate?
8) If so, what if anything, did you (they) do to right your wrong?
9) Do you believe that the end of the age is soon to come? If not, why not?
LIFE LESSONS
10) The end of this age will happen when wickedness in the earth is greatest.
Saturday, June 27, 2014
Jeremiah 14:1-10 KJV
1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth. 2 Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. 3 And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, [and] found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads. 4 Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads. 5 Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook [it], because there was no grass. 6 And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because [there was] no grass. 7 O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou [it] for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee. 8 O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man [that] turneth aside to tarry for a night? 9 Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man [that] cannot save? yet thou, O LORD, [art] in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not. 10 Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did the Lord tell the Prophet Jeremiah about the dearth (famine) and its effects on His people? (v.1-4)
2) How would the famine effect the animals? (v.5-6)
3) What did the people say to the Lord about His chastening? (v.7-9)
4) What did the Lord say in response? (v.10)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Have you, your church, or this nation ever been chastened by the Lord?
6) If so, please describe one such time and what the transgressor(s) did, if anything, to receive the Lord's mercy and forgiveness.
LIFE LESSONS
7) The Lord chastens (judges) His people when we have not confessed and/or repented of our transgression(s) against Him.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Hosea 11:1-7 KJV
1 When Israel [was] a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. 2 [As] they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images. 3 I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them. 4 I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them. 5 He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return. 6 And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour [them], because of their own counsels. 7 And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt [him].
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) How did the Lord feel about His people and what did He do as a result? (v.1)
2) What did the people of God do after He delivered them? (v.2)
3) What else did the Lord do for His people and how did they respond? (v.3-4)
4) How did the Lord punish His people and why? (v.5-7)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Do you know of anyone who has backslidden, or rejected, the Lord after being saved?
6) If so, describe what happened to one such individual?
LIFE LESSONS
7) The Lord God saves us for His own purposes.
8) We will never know the Lord's purpose for our lives if we reject Him after being saved.
9) When we reject the Lord, He removes His hand of protection from us and allows our enemies to consume us.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Hosea 10:1-8 KJV
1 Israel [is] an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images. 2 Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images. 3 For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the LORD; what then should a king do to us? 4 They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field. 5 The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof [that] rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it. 6 It shall be also carried unto Assyria [for] a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel. 7 [As for] Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water. 8 The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) The Lord God had blessed His people. Though their blessings had dwindled, because of their transgressions, what were the people doing with their abundance? (v.1)
2) Why and how would God's people be judged? (v.2-4)
3) Bethaven means "house of wickedness." How would the people of Samaria respond when their calves (idols) would be carried to Assyria? (v.5-6a)
4) What would become of the people of God and their place(s) of worship? Why? (v.6b-8)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Have you, any one you know, trusted in the works of your (their) hands more than you (they) trusted in God?
6) if so, what has happened to that which you (they) revered more than the Lord?
LIFE LESSONS
7) The Lord gives us the power to get wealth, but not to trust in more than the Lord.
8) The Lord will diminish or destroy whatever we rely upon more than Himself.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Hosea 9:5-9 KJV
5 What will ye do in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the LORD? 6 For, lo, they are gone because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them: the pleasant [places] for their silver, nettles shall possess them: thorns [shall be] in their tabernacles. 7 The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know [it]: the prophet [is] a fool, the spiritual man [is] mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred. 8 The watchman of Ephraim [was] with my God: [but] the prophet [is] a snare of a fowler in all his ways, [and] hatred in the house of his God. 9 They have deeply corrupted [themselves], as in the days of Gibeah: [therefore] he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) After telling His people, through Hosea, that He would no longer allow them to worship Him, what did the Lord ask them? (v.5)
2) What did the Lord plan for His people and for their land? (v.6)
3) What was to come (note: "visitation" means judgment or punishment) and why? (v.7-9)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Have you, your church, or this nation ignored the Lord's prophets? If so, why?
LIFE LESSONS
5) The Lord does not punish His people without first warning them through His prophets.
6) The Lord's prophets are often ostracized and/or belittled by God's people.
7) Prophets are God's spokesmen in this earth to warn God's people of impending judgment for unconfessed sins.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Hosea 8:7-14 KJV
7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up. 8 Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein [is] no pleasure. 9 For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers. 10 Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes. 11 Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin. 12 I have written to him the great things of my law, [but] they were counted as a strange thing. 13 They sacrifice flesh [for] the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat [it; but] the LORD accepteth them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt. 14 For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What had the people of God sown and what would they reap? (v.7)
2) What would become of the people of God? Why? (v.8-14)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
3) Have you, or anyone you know, forgotten who created you and the purpose for which He created you?
4) What, if anything, were the ramifications of your irreverence for the Lord?
LIFE LESSONS
5) The ramifications of refusing to reverence the Lord are severe.
6) As His children, we must examine our hearts and our ways and depart from whatever opposes the Lord's will and His word.
7) Calamity awaits those who forget our God and choose our way over His.
Monday, June 22, 2015
Amos 8:11-14 KJV
11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find [it]. 13 In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst. 14 They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What type of famine will the Lord allow to take place among His people? (v.11)
2) What will become of His people, as a result? (v.12-14)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
3) How do you feel spiritually when you have not studied, meditated upon, or read God's word (the Bible)?
4) What will you do if you are no longer able to read, or hear, God's word?
LIFE LESSONS
5) The word of God (the Bible) is nourishment for the believer's spirit.
6) Our spirit is weakened when we do not spend time daily reading, meditating upon, and/or studying God's word (the Bible)
7) The Bible is "food" for the Christian's soul.
8) Just as the natural body will faint without food, so too will the believers spirit grow weak without reading or hearing the word of Truth (the Bible).
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Amos 6:4-8, 11-14 KJV
4 That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; 5 That chant to the sound of the viol, [and] invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David; 6 That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. 7 Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed. 8 The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.... 11 For, behold, the LORD commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts. 12 Shall horses run upon the rock? will [one] plow [there] with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock: 13 Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? 14 But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What else did the Lord say about those who are at "ease in Zion" and "put off the day of doom"? (v.4-6)
2) What would happen to those people, according to the prophet? (v8)
3) What did the Lord declare (command) and do to His people? Why? (v.11-14)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Do you know of any individual(s) or church(es) that have (are) not grieving as a result of all the trials this nation has faced, since the end of last year?
LIFE LESSONS
5) As children of God, we should be concerned, and prayerful, about any calamity that befalls our brothers and sisters in the Lord, our church(es), and our nation.
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Psalm 37:14-22 KJV
14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, [and] to slay such as be of upright conversation. 15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. 16 A little that a righteous man hath [is] better than the riches of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous. 18 The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. 19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD [shall be] as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away. 21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth. 22 For [such as be] blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and [they that be] cursed of him shall be cut off.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What have the wicked done to slay the righteous and what will become of them, as a result? (v.14-15)
2) What is better than the wealth of the wicked? Why?(v.16-17)
3) What does the psalmist write concerning the ways and heritage of the righteous and of the wicked? (v.18-22)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Name one righteous individual that you (have) know(n). What did (do) they do that you consider to be righteous?
LIFE LESSONS
5) The Lord upholds the righteous, but the ways of the wicked will perish.
Friday, June 19, 2015
Psalm 119:31-38 KJV
31 I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame. 32 I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart. 33 HE. Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it [unto] the end. 34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with [my] whole heart. 35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. 36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. 37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; [and] quicken thou me in thy way. 38 Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who [is devoted] to thy fear.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What has the psalmist kept? Why? (v.31)
2) What seven (7) things does the psalmist ask the Lord to do? Why? (v.32-38)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
3) What, if anything, do you desire from the Lord concerning your walk of faith?
LIFE LESSONS
4) The Lord has given us His word so that we may live the abundant life that He has for each us.
5) The Lord has also given us His Holy Spirit to remind us of His word and to empower us to live more abundant lives.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Luke 12:15-21 KJV
15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. 16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, [and] be merry. 20 But God said unto him, [Thou] fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So [is] he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did our Lord warn His disciples of? Why? (v.15)
2) Describe what happened in the parable that Jesus told His disciples? (v.16-20)
3) What lesson did our Lord teach His disciples through this parable? (v.21)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) How do you spend the wealth that has been entrusted to your stewardship on this earth?
LIFE LESSONS
5) The Lord blesses us to bless others.
6) When we hoard our temporal wealth we forfeit the eternal blessings of the Lord.
7) True wealth is acquired from heaven.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Philippians 1:12-20 KJV
12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things [which happened] unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; 13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other [places]; 14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: 16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: 17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. 18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. 19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 According to my earnest expectation and [my] hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but [that] with all boldness, as always, [so] now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether [it be] by life, or by death.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) To what did the Apostle Paul attribute the sufferings of his life? (v.12-14)
2) Why did others preach Christ? (v.15-17)
3) What did the apostle surmise about the two motives for preaching the gospel and how did he respond to each? (v.18-20)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) If you preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus, what is your motive for doing so?
LIFE LESSONS
5) Our only motive for preaching Christ should be to magnify the Lord rather than ourselves.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Proverbs 16:1-11 KJV
1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, [is] from the LORD. 2 All the ways of a man [are] clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits. 3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. 4 The LORD hath made all [things] for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. 5 Every one [that is] proud in heart [is] an abomination to the LORD: [though] hand [join] in hand, he shall not be unpunished. 6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD [men] depart from evil. 7 When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. 8 Better [is] a little with righteousness than great revenues without right. 9 A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps. 10 A divine sentence [is] in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment. 11 A just weight and balance [are] the LORD'S: all the weights of the bag [are] his work.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What is man responsible for and what does the Lord do in response? (v.1)
2) What does the Lord weigh? Why? (v.2)
3) How are our thoughts established? (v.3)
4) What has the Lord made? Why has He created the wicked? (v.4)
5) What is an abomination to the Lord and how does he respond to the proud? (v.5)
6) How is iniquity purged and what causes men to depart from evil? (v.6)
7) What becomes of the man whose ways please Him? (v.7)
8) What is better than wealth gained through unrighteousness? (v.8)
9) What does a man do in his heart? How does the Lord respond? (v.9)
10) What words come forth from the lips of those in authority over us? (v.10)
11) What measures does the Lord use when weighing the thoughts and intents of the human heart? (v.11)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
12) Do you commit all that you say, think and do to the Lord?
13) If not, why not?
LIFE LESSONS
14) The Lord judges the thoughts and intents of every human heart and orders all that we say, think and do, accordingly.
Monday, June 15, 2015
Luke 11:37-42 KJV
37 And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat. 38 And when the Pharisee saw [it], he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner. 39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. 40 [Ye] fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? 41 But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you. 42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Who asked Jesus to dine with him? (v.37)
2) Why did he marvel about our Lord? (v.38)
3) What did Jesus say to him? (v.39-42)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Has anyone ever questionned your salvation or sancification because of something your did, or did not do? If so, please desccribe one such time and your response, if any.
LIFE LESSONS
5) The religious are fixated on externals, but our Lord weighs the motives of our hearts.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Amos 5:14-15, 18-27 KJV
14 Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. 15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. ...
18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end [is] it for you? the day of the LORD [is] darkness, and not light. 19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. 20 [Shall] not the day of the LORD [be] darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it? 21 I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. 22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept [them]: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. 23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. 24 But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. 25 Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? 26 But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. 27 Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name [is] The God of hosts.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What does the prophet of God counsel the people to do and what may happen if they obey? (5:14-15)
2) What does the prophet tell those who desire "the day of the Lord"? Why? (5:18-19)
3) What does the Lord say about the offerings of His people? Why? (v.20-23)
4) What does the Lord proclaim about judgment and righteousness? (v.24)
5) What transgression had the people of God committed against Him? (v.25-26)
6) How would He judge them? (v.27)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
7) Do you know of an individual, church, or nation that rebelled against the Lord to worship idols? If so, how has the Lord judged the idolater(s)?
LIFE LESSONS
8) The Lord chastens those who willfully exalt anything or anyone above Himself.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Amos 5:7-13 KJV
7 Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, 8 [Seek him] that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD [is] his name: 9 That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress. 10 They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. 11 Forasmuch therefore as your treading [is] upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. 12 For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate [from their right]. 13 Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it [is] an evil time.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) "Wormwood" is a metaphor for "sorrow" or "bitterness." What else does the Lord say to those who have turned from Him? (v.7-8a)
2) What does the Lord say about Himself? (v.8b-9)
3) What does the Lord say about those who have turned from Him? (v.10-12)
4) What does the Lord tell the "prudent" to do during such times? Why? (v.13)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Have you ever encountered a professing believer who rebels against the ways and will of the Lord?
6) If so, what did you do in response?
LIFE LESSONS
7) When the hearts of God's people are set on rebellion, it is best to say nothing.
Friday, June 12, 2015
Amos 5:1-6 KJV
1 Hear ye this word which I take up against you, [even] a lamentation, O house of Israel. 2 The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; [there is] none to raise her up. 3 For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out [by] a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth [by] an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel. 4 For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live: 5 But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought. 6 Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour [it], and [there be] none to quench [it] in Bethel.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What does the Lord implore His people to hear? (v1)
2) What will become of the Lord's people? (v.2-3)
3) How will the Lord's people continue to live? (v.4)
4) What does the Lord warn His people against? (v.5)
5) What does the Lord reiterate that His people do and why? (v.6)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
6) What, if anything, are you doing that has distanced you from the Lord?
7) How will you return to Him?
LIFE LESSONS
8) The Lord judges His people in righteousness, but He will relent when we turn from wickedness to seek His will for our lives and do it.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
1 Samuel 15:17-23 KJV
17 And Samuel said, When thou [wast] little in thine own sight, [wast] thou not [made] the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? 18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. 19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? 20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. 22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion [is as] the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from [being] king.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did the Prophet Samuel remind King Saul of after the king disobeyed the Lord? (v.17-18)
2) What question did the prophet ask King Saul? (v.19)
3) How did the king respond to Samuel? (v.20-21)
4) What else did the prophet say to Saul? (v.22-23)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Have you ever willfully disobeyed the Lord?
6) If so, what were the consequences for your rebellion?
LIFE LESSONS
7) The blessings of obedience to the Lord are great, as are the consequences for disobedience.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Matthew 23:23-28 KJV
23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier [matters] of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24 [Ye] blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 26 [Thou] blind Pharisee, cleanse first that [which is] within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead [men's] bones, and of all uncleanness. 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) For what three (3) reasons did our Lord refer to the religious elite as hypocrites in this passage of Scripture? (v.23-28)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
2) Are you more concerned with appearting to be righteous than you are with actually being righteous?
LIFE LESSONS
3) The ultimate test of our righteousness is whether we do "good" to earn the approval of others, or of God.
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Job 13:7-12 KJV
7 Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him? 8 Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God? 9 Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do ye [so] mock him? 10 He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons. 11 Shall not his excellency make you afraid? and his dread fall upon you? 12 Your remembrances [are] like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What questions does Job ask his "friends" about God? (v.7-9)
2) What does Job tell his accusers that the Lord will do if they show partiality toward others? (v.10)
3) What other questions does Job pose to those who accuse him and what does he remind them of? (v.11-12)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Have you ever falsely accused anyone based upon your own limited understanding of that person's situation? If so, what happened as a result?
LIFE LESSONS
5) Human beings (saved or unsaved) only have limited knowledge of what any person is going through, or why. Leave all judgment to God (the only righteous Judge).
Monday, June 8, 2015
Psalm 14:1-7 KJV
1 [[To the chief Musician, [A Psalm] of David.]] The fool hath said in his heart, [There is] no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, [there is] none that doeth good. 2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, [and] seek God. 3 They are all gone aside, they are [all] together become filthy: [there is] none that doeth good, no, not one. 4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people [as] they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD. 5 There were they in great fear: for God [is] in the generation of the righteous. 6 Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD [is] his refuge. 7 Oh that the salvation of Israel [were come] out of Zion! when the LORD bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, [and] Israel shall be glad.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) According to David, what has the fool said in his heart and what does the psalmist think of fools? (v.1)
2) What has the Lord done and found? (v.2-6)
3) Who, or what, will come out of Zion and what will be the result? (v.7)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) What is your typical response to those who do not believe that God exists?
LIFE LESSONS
5) The Lord loves all people, even those who do not believe that He exists.
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Amos 2:4-8 KJV
4 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked: 5 But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem. 6 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; 7 That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the [same] maid, to profane my holy name: 8 And they lay [themselves] down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned [in] the house of their god.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) For what reason(s) would the Lord judge His people? (v.4, 6-8)
2) What judgment(s) did the Lord declare over the people of God? (v.5)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
3) In what ways have you rebelled against the Lord?
4) What, if anything, will you do to right the error of your ways?
LIFE LESSONS
5) When we refuse to obey the will (the word) of God, and do not confess and repent of our sin(s), the Lord will chasten us.
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Amos 4:7-13 KJV
7 And also I have withholden the rain from you, when [there were] yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered. 8 So two [or] three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. 9 I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured [them]: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. 10 I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. 11 I have overthrown [some] of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. 12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: [and] because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. 13 For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what [is] his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, [is] his name.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What else did the Lord God do to His people when they would not receive correction? (v.7-11)
2) What did the people of God refuse to do after each act of correction? (v.8-11)
3) Who did the Lord God tell His people to prepare to meet because they refused correction? (v.12-13)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Have you faced one hardship, or trial, after another, in recent years?
5) What do you attribute those difficulties to?
LIFE LESSONS
6) The Lord God often uses hardships, or trials, to draw us back to Himself.
7) When we refuse to return to the Lord, our destruction is inevitable.
Friday, June 5, 2015
Amos 4:1-6 KJV
1 Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that [are] in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink. 2 The Lord GOD hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks. 3 And ye shall go out at the breaches, every [cow at that which is] before her; and ye shall cast [them] into the palace, saith the LORD. 4 Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, [and] your tithes after three years: 5 And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim [and] publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. 6 And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Who is to hear the word of the Lord in this passage and what are the hearers to bring? (v.1)
2) What has the Lord God sworn? (v.2-3)
3) What does the Lord God encourage His rebellious children to continue to doing? (v.4-5)
4) What had the Lord allowed His people to go through and how did they respond to Him? (v.6)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Have you and/or the members of your church family oppressed the poor and needy or otherwise been disobedient to the Lord?
6) Has this nation oppressed the poor and needy or otherwise been disobedient to the Lord?
LIFE LESSONS
7) The Lord God will judge us as individuals, as a church family, and/or as a nation when we do not place Him first in our lives.
