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Showing posts from October 2, 2026

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Browse at Your Own Pace

Begin wherever your curiosity leads. The studies will be here when you’re ready. When I shared my first Matthew study on Facebook today, I mentioned that I planned to post daily, though I might not share every post on Facebook. As I continue setting up this blog, I’ve realized that what matters most to me is making my past studies available for anyone who wants to explore them. For now, I’ll be adding posts to my heart’s content as I work through those studies. Some days that may mean one post; other days it may mean several. I’ll continue reading through and preparing each one before sharing it. There is no need to keep up with everything as it appears. This blog is becoming a place you can browse at your own pace—begin with a book, a question, or a study that interests you, and follow from there. The Bible Books page gathers studies by book, while Study Threads helps connect topics that travel through more than one book. The labels on individual posts also bring related material to...
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Am I Following God—or Defending What I Believe?

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Before I move further into the commandments, I need to pause over something foundational: Who is the God I am being told to put first? As I completed the first ten posts in this series, I realized I still had more to examine within the First Commandment. The previous post brought those reflections to a close, but some questions deserved more time before I moved on. One question kept bringing me back: Am I allowing God’s Word to shape what I believe, or am I reading it through an understanding I already hold? So, I’m remaining with the First Commandment a little longer. Putting God first includes being willing to examine—and, when necessary, surrender—our own understanding. I cannot answer that simply by repeating what I have always been taught. I must examine what Scripture actually says—and distinguish it from what I assume it means. Jesus is called God. But does that designation, by itself, identify him as the Almighty? Being called mighty or great does not automatically mean almig...
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10. Ten Commandments: Putting God Before My Own Understanding

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As we close this part of the God’s Image study , I want to return to the command that has guided these posts: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” — Exodus 20:3, ASV We have taken time with this command because understanding whom we worship involves questions of identity, relationship, authority, and faithfulness. Now I want to ask what putting God first requires of me when Scripture challenges something I believe. The One Who Speaks The command begins within a declaration of identity and deliverance. YHWH (יהוה) identifies Himself as the One who brought Israel out of bondage. Exodus 20:1–3 Keeping that opening visible led us to examine the distinction between the Source and those who receive authority. In 1 Corinthians 8:6 , Paul distinguishes the Father, from whom all things come, and Jesus Christ, through whom we exist. We followed that alongside Jesus’ received authority and his relationship to the Father. In my understanding, honoring the Son includes preserving the Father’s...
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9. Ten Commandments: What Have I Received—and What Am I Teaching?

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As we continue the God’s Image study , our examination of the first commandment brings us to the teachings we receive and pass on. We have considered testing spiritual guidance, remaining open to correction, and looking to the Father to lead us to Jesus. Now I want to ask: Which understanding of Jesus have I accepted, and how have I examined it? If my understanding of the Son misrepresents his relationship to the Father, that affects how I understand the Father as well. This is why I want to take Paul’s warnings seriously. Another Jesus, a Different Spirit, a Different Gospel In 2 Corinthians 11:3–4 , Paul connects his concern for the Corinthians with the serpent’s deception of Eve. He fears that their minds may be drawn away from faithful devotion to Christ. He then speaks of someone preaching “another Jesus,” their receiving “a different spirit,” or accepting “a different gospel.” That connection deserves time. The people Paul addresses have already received teaching about Jesus. Y...
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8. Ten Commandments: Testing What Guides Me

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As we continue the God’s Image study , the first commandment brings me to another question: What am I allowing to guide me? We have examined the Father’s place as Source, Jesus’ relationship to Him, and the responsibility to remain teachable. Now I want to consider how we examine something we understand as spiritual guidance. This question is personal for me. I had not picked up a Bible since my teens. At forty-nine, someone spoke to me about Scripture. At fifty, I experienced what I understand as the Father calling me, before I had returned to reading the Bible. That sequence matters to my story. My experience prompted questions that I would bring to Scripture and examine there. But describing something as a call also brings a responsibility: How have I tested my understanding of it? The Spirit God Gives Ecclesiastes speaks of death and describes the body returning to the earth. It then says: “the spirit will return to God who gave it.” — Ecclesiastes 12:7, LSB Numbers also identifies...
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7. Ten Commandments: Have I Allowed God to Lead Me?

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As we continue the God’s Image study , I want to pause within our examination of the first commandment and turn the questions toward myself. We have considered the Father, the Son, and the importance of honoring their roles. We have examined titles and the difference between Scripture’s wording and our conclusions. Now I want to ask: Have I allowed what I am reading to guide me? Jesus gives us a passage that makes this question especially important. “I Never Knew You” In Matthew 7:21–23 , Jesus describes people who address him as Lord and appeal to the remarkable things they have done in his name. Yet his response is: “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” — Matthew 7:23, LSB The surrounding words matter. Jesus identifies doing his Father’s will as essential, while the people speaking point to their claimed prophecy, exorcisms, and miracles. That makes me pause over the difference between what someone claims about a relationship and how Jesus recognizes it. T...
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6. Ten Commandments: Jesus’ Words—“My God”

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As we continue examining the first commandment within the God’s Image study , I want to stay with Jesus’ own description of his relationship to the Father. We have considered titles, appointed roles, and the distinction between the Source and the one through whom the Father works. Another important detail belongs beside those comparisons: Jesus speaks of someone as his God. I want to give those words the same attention we give the passages in which Jesus is called God. After the Resurrection Speaking to Mary Magdalene, Jesus instructs her to carry this message to his brothers: “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.” — John 20:17, LSB The setting matters. Jesus has been raised from the dead and is speaking about ascending to the Father. He identifies the Father in relation to himself and to those receiving the message. The words My and your preserve those relationships. What is explicit here is that Jesus calls the Father his God. I understand this as an impo...
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5. Ten Commandments: Following the “I Am” Passages

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As we continue the God’s Image study , I want to examine another connection often brought into discussions about the Father and Jesus: the words “I am.” In Exodus, God speaks these words to Moses. In John, Jesus uses them while speaking about Abraham. Many readers understand Jesus’ statement as identifying himself with the God who spoke in Exodus. My understanding is different: Jesus is revealing his existence before Abraham. I do not understand that statement to mean he is Jehovah. To explain why, I want to look at the wording and the setting of each passage. God’s Answer to Moses When Moses asks what he should say concerning God’s name, the ASV records: “And God said unto Moses, I am that I am” — Exodus 3:14, ASV The Hebrew expression is ehyeh asher ehyeh . The form ehyeh comes from the verb commonly translated to be , and translations reflect different ways of understanding it. Alongside “I am who I am,” we find the alternative “I will be who I will be.” The NET translation note on...
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4. Ten Commandments: Moses— “As God to Pharaoh”

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As we continue the God’s Image study through the first commandment, Moses gives us an example worth examining closely. We have been considering how Scripture uses titles and how the relationships surrounding them help us understand their meaning. Within Exodus itself, YHWH (יהוה) assigns Moses a role described with the word God . What does that appointment mean? The passage gives us more than the title alone. “I Have Made Thee” “And Jehovah said unto Moses, See, I have made thee as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.” — Exodus 7:1, ASV I want to notice who speaks, who receives the appointment, and toward whom the role is exercised. Jehovah appoints Moses. Moses stands in this position toward Pharaoh. Aaron serves as Moses’ prophet. The relationship remains visible even as Moses is described as God to Pharaoh. His position comes from the One speaking to him. For me, this is a clear example of why we need to examine a title together with the role and authority at...
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3. Ten Commandments: The Son over the House

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As we continue examining the first commandment within the God’s Image study , I want to stay with the distinction between the Father and Jesus Christ. In the previous post, we considered those called gods and the importance of identifying their roles. The title Lord also requires that care. When Jesus is called Lord, what does the passage tell us about his authority? Who gives it? And how does his position relate to the Father? The Father and the Lord Jesus Christ In 1 Corinthians 8:6 , Paul identifies the Father as the one God and Jesus Christ as the one Lord. The LSB describes the Father with the words “from whom are all things” and Jesus with “by whom are all things,” concluding that “we exist through Him.” In our previous post, the ASV used through whom where the LSB uses by whom . As we move between translations, I want to keep the relationship visible: the Father as the Source, and Jesus as the one through whom all things are. That is how I understand Paul’s distinction. The ...
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2. Ten Commandments: Distinguishing the One from the Many

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As we continue the God’s Image study through the Ten Commandments, we begin with the One who speaks: “I am Jehovah thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” — Exodus 20:2, ASV Then comes the command: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” — Exodus 20:3, ASV To understand this command, I believe we need to examine something that can easily be passed over: Scripture uses the word god for more than one recipient. Who are the many? How are they related to YHWH (יהוה)? And how do we honor each role while preserving His place? “Gods Many, and Lords Many” Paul addresses this language while discussing food sacrificed to idols. He affirms that there is no God but one, then writes: “For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth; as there are gods many, and lords many” — 1 Corinthians 8:5, ASV We need to keep both statements in view. Paul speaks of one God while acknowledging the language of many gods and many lords. His next...
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1. Ten Commandments: Returning to the Words

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This study continues the questions we began exploring in God’s Image : receiving the Spirit, living in relationship with YHWH (יהוה), and how that relationship is expressed through love, faithfulness, and obedience. As we turn to the Ten Commandments, I want to carry those questions with us and examine the words in order. Some passages become so familiar that we can recognize them without stopping to examine them. The Ten Commandments can be like that. We remember their place on stone tablets. We recognize many of the instructions. But familiarity can leave questions unnoticed: Who is speaking? What has already happened? What relationships do these words describe? And where do those same words lead when we encounter them elsewhere in Scripture? In this study, I want to return to the passage and follow it carefully, in order. Where the Words Begin Before the commandments unfold, YHWH (יהוה) identifies Himself and reminds Israel of their deliverance: “I am Jehovah thy God, who brought th...
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