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Showing posts from October 19, 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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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Seeing 13: What Does Seeing Require of Us?

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What Was Taken Will Be Restored What have we actually seen? Throughout this part of the study, we have examined appearances, houses, clothing, names, and the difference between recognizing something outwardly and understanding what it reveals. The questions now return to us. Has examining these passages changed how we listen, how we judge a claim, and how we treat the person before us? Seeing Does Not End the Examination John 9 begins with a question about a man born blind. As the account unfolds, his healing leads to questioning, disagreement, and his eventual expulsion. Jesus later addresses the responsibility attached to claiming to see. Read John 9:1–3, 24–41. A confident claim does not settle whether someone understands. Can I acknowledge what I do not yet know? When something challenges my explanation, do I examine it—or reject it because accepting it would require a change? Zechariah sees the lampstand and olive trees but still asks what they mean. Seeing the image does not remo...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Seeing 12: What Happens After We Look?

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What Was Taken Will Be Restored A mirror can show us something without changing how we live. Throughout Seeing, we have examined appearances, clothing, houses, and what is concealed within them. But if our attention remains entirely on other people, we can overlook the person who also needs examination: ourselves. What happens after we recognize something that needs to change? The Person Who Walks Away James compares hearing without doing to someone looking at his face in a mirror, leaving, and forgetting what he was like. The contrast is someone who continues attentively and acts upon what has been heard. Read James 1:22–25. The examination does not end with recognition. Have I mistaken understanding a passage for following it? Can I explain what another person should do while avoiding the same instruction when it reaches me? The mirror comparison asks us to consider what happens beyond the moment of looking. How Do We Receive Correction? Before introducing the mirror, James addresses...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Seeing 11: What Is Being Carried?

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What Was Taken Will Be Restored Seeing requires attention to more than an object’s appearance. We must also ask what it contains, what it does, and where it is being taken. Zechariah’s next vision begins with another invitation to observe. He sees a flying scroll, and an explanation follows. Read Zechariah 5:1–3. Are we allowing the explanation to guide our understanding—or assigning a meaning before hearing it? The Word Enters the House The scroll is identified with a curse concerning stealing and swearing. The next verse specifies swearing falsely by God’s name. The curse enters the offender’s house, remains there, and consumes its timber and stones. Read Zechariah 5:3–4. This brings our examination back to the commandments. Taking what belongs to another and falsely invoking God’s name are addressed together. Does using the name of YHWH (יהוה) place a claim beyond examination? Or does claiming His authority make truthful representation especially important? The house does not shelte...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Seeing 10: What Supplies the Light?

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What Was Taken Will Be Restored Seeing something does not mean we understand what we are seeing. After the account of Joshua’s changed garments, Zechariah is awakened and asked what he sees. A golden lampstand, its bowl and lamps, and two olive trees come into view. When asked whether he understands, he acknowledges that he does not. Read Zechariah 4:1–5. That admission belongs within our examination. Can I describe an image, recognize familiar words, and still need understanding? Am I willing to ask—or does familiarity make me assume I already know? The Source Is Named The answer directs attention to the word given to Zerubbabel: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts.” — Zechariah 4:6, ASV The explanation places God’s Spirit at the center. Read Zechariah 4:6. What do I regard as evidence that a work belongs to YHWH (יהוה)? Its size? Its resources? The number of people supporting it? Those questions also belong within us. Do I rely on force, influence, o...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Seeing 9: Who Removes the Garments?

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What Was Taken Will Be Restored Our previous post examined clothing, claimed identity, and what is exchanged. Zechariah now brings us before someone whose garments are filthy—and an adversary standing beside him. What will happen to the person wearing those garments? Will the accusation determine his future, or will God’s response reveal something the accusation does not? Who Is Standing Before Whom? Joshua the high priest stands before the angel of YHWH (יהוה), while Satan stands at his right hand to oppose him. The opening scene distinguishes the person being opposed, the adversary, and the angel before whom Joshua stands. Read Zechariah 3:1. The answer to the adversary follows: “Jehovah rebuke thee, O Satan; yea, Jehovah that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” — Zechariah 3:2, ASV The response draws attention to choosing and rescue. Joshua’s filthy clothing is then described, but the adversary does not determine the outcome. Read Zechari...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Seeing 8: What Are We Wearing—and What Are We Trading Away?

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What Was Taken Will Be Restored A garment can be seen. A name can be spoken. A position can be claimed. But do these things establish who someone is—or can they influence us to accept an identity without examining it? Our previous post considered whose name we bear. Now we look at clothing, recognition, and what someone may surrender to obtain an immediate satisfaction. The Voice and the Clothing Before Jacob and Esau were born, their differing futures were announced. At birth, Esau came first, with Jacob following and holding his heel. Later, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob, who gave him bread and lentil stew. The account ends by saying that Esau despised his birthright. Read Genesis 25:23–34. What did he receive—and what did he surrender? The food satisfied an immediate appetite. The birthright concerned something beyond that moment. Do I recognize the value of what I have received, or does a present desire make it seem expendable? The later account of Isaac’s blessing brings cloth...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Seeing 7: Whose Name Do We Bear?

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What Was Taken Will Be Restored Scripture describes signs, seals, and names associated with belonging. These details appear alongside instruction, worship, conduct, and following. As we compare them, we must ask more than where a mark is placed. Who gives it? Whose name does it bear? What does the passage reveal about those receiving it? The Word upon the Heart Deuteronomy begins this instruction with love for YHWH (יהוה). His words are to remain upon the heart, be taught to the children, and accompany daily life. They are also to be bound as a sign upon the hand and placed between the eyes. — Deuteronomy 6:4–9 The hand and the place between the eyes do not appear apart from the words, the heart, and the way of living described around them. Have I separated an outward sign of belonging from the instruction it is meant to keep before me? Do I display agreement while living by another direction? The chapter also warns against forgetting the Giver after receiving provision and against fol...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Seeing 6: What Resembles the Light?

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What Was Taken Will Be Restored What if deception presents itself as the very thing we believe will lead us toward God? Paul describes false apostles presenting themselves as apostles of Christ. He then speaks of Satan disguising himself as an angel of light and his servants as ministers of righteousness. The appearance being adopted is one the hearer might welcome. — 2 Corinthians 11:13–15 Would I recognize deception if it spoke in familiar religious language and appeared to support what I already believe? The Claim and the Direction Earlier in the chapter, Paul warns about another Jesus, a different spirit, and a different gospel being received. He compares the danger with the serpent’s deception. — 2 Corinthians 11:3–4 The familiar name does not remove the need to examine what is being taught. Am I listening carefully to what someone says about Jesus—or accepting the message because his name is used? Have I examined the spirit being followed as carefully as the claim being made? Our...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Seeing 5: What Is Dwelling Within?

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What Was Taken Will Be Restored Our examination of Ezekiel brought us inside the house. What appeared outwardly did not disclose everything practiced within. Glory, the house, and the corruption surrounding it had to remain distinguishable. Paul brings the examination directly to those receiving his letter: they are God’s sanctuary, and God’s Spirit dwells in them. That statement carries a warning concerning the holiness of the sanctuary and its destruction. — 1 Corinthians 3:16–17 When I examine a house, a teacher, or an institution, do I also allow that examination to reach within myself? God Gives the Growth The surrounding chapter addresses jealousy, strife, and identification with particular teachers. Paul distinguishes the servants who plant and water from God, who gives the growth. — 1 Corinthians 3:3–7 The work of a servant does not make that servant the Source. Have I allowed gratitude toward a teacher to become dependence on that person’s approval? Am I directing others towar...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Seeing 4: What Is Hidden Within the House?

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What Was Taken Will Be Restored A house can appear sacred from outside while concealing practices that contradict the One whose name it bears. Ezekiel is brought into visions of Jerusalem and shown what is happening within. The account repeatedly directs his attention: look, enter, see. What he is shown requires more than judging the house by its outward identity. — Ezekiel 8:3–16 Am I willing to examine what happens within—or does the appearance of the house make me reluctant to look further? Glory Is There Early in the vision, Ezekiel identifies Glory of the God of Israel as present. The account also shows the image provoking jealousy and the practices condemned within the sanctuary. — Ezekiel 8:3–6 Keep both details. The presence of Glory and the wrongdoing occurring there are not the same thing. This preserves our earlier distinction: what belongs to God must not be confused with the corruption surrounding it. Have I mistaken God’s presence for approval of everything people do arou...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Seeing 3: The House and the Presence

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What Was Taken Will Be Restored A house can bear God’s name while those entering it refuse His instruction. A sacred object can be carried into battle without securing victory. It can even be captured without giving its captors control over God. These distinctions bring us beyond the outward appearance to a question we must examine carefully: what does possessing a place, object, or name actually establish? — Jeremiah 7:1–15; 1 Samuel 4–5 A Warning at the Gate Jeremiah is sent to the gate of the house of YHWH (יהוה), where people are entering to worship. The instruction addresses their ways and actions. They are warned against trusting repeated claims about the temple while neglecting justice and mistreating others. — Jeremiah 7:1–8 The location of the warning matters. These are people entering a place associated with God’s name. Have I allowed belonging to a religious place to become reassurance that my conduct must be acceptable? When wrongdoing is exposed, do I examine it—or defen...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Seeing 2: Beyond the Outward Appearance

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What Was Taken Will Be Restored What we see can shape what we expect. A person’s appearance, position, or reputation may influence our judgment before we have heard them. Scripture brings that tendency into view even through Samuel, who had been sent by YHWH (יהוה). His first impression still required correction. — 1 Samuel 16:1–7 Have I mistaken an impression for understanding? Does someone’s appearance—or the fact that they differ from me in any way, including their beliefs—make their words easier for me to dismiss? Samuel Sees Eliab When Samuel sees Eliab, he thinks the anointed one is before him. YHWH (יהוה) directs him away from Eliab’s appearance and height, distinguishing human attention to the outward appearance from His knowledge of the heart. — 1 Samuel 16:6–7 Samuel’s assignment was real. His initial judgment was still corrected. This continues the distinction we examined with Peter: being used by God does not make every personal conclusion correct. Can I receive correction ...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Seeing 1: Do We Recognize What Is Before Us?

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What Was Taken Will Be Restored Our Hearing section followed words spoken, instruction received, and understanding that sometimes came afterward. Those connections remain with us as we begin Seeing. John 9 brings us to a man born blind. His sight is restored, yet the event produces disagreement among those examining it. The chapter eventually turns toward another question: what does it mean to claim that we see? — John 9:1–41 Am I willing to examine what is before me—or have I already decided what God’s work must look like? An Assumption Is Questioned The disciples ask whether the man’s blindness resulted from his sin or his parents’ sin. Jesus redirects their attention to God’s works being manifested in him. — John 9:1–3 Their question begins with an assumed explanation. Have I asked a question that allows only the answers I already consider possible? Could my starting assumption prevent me from recognizing another explanation? This is why careful examination includes the question its...
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