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Showing posts from October 20, 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 — Reflections: What Was Taken Will Be Restored

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Closing Reflections What belongs to God does not become ours to control because we have received it, carried it, spoken about it, or attached His name to our work. Throughout this study, we have returned to the difference between receiving and claiming. We have examined what appears before us, what is hidden, and what our response reveals. As we close, those questions must remain directed toward ourselves. Who Took—and Who Bears? Psalm 69 contains a striking distinction: “That which I took not away I have to restore.” — Psalm 69:4, ASV, excerpt. Read Psalm 69:1–9. The person facing the demand to restore is distinguished from the person responsible for taking. Leviticus provides another comparison. The people’s iniquities are confessed and placed upon the live goat, which carries them away. The bearer and those whose sins are borne remain distinguishable. Read Leviticus 16:20–22. These details help us examine what we see. A burden associated with someone does not automatically identify ...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Reflections: What Does the Mirror Reveal?

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What Was Taken Will Be Restored Throughout this study, we have examined voices, appearances, garments, names, and claims. We have followed people who received understanding and people whose confidence concealed what they had failed to recognize. Now the examination returns to us. Have I read these passages mainly to identify someone else—or have I allowed them to reveal something within me? Looking Is Only the Beginning James describes a person looking into a mirror, walking away, and forgetting. He places that image beside hearing the word without doing it. The contrasting response is to continue in what has been examined and act upon it. Read James 1:22–25. For our reflection, consider the difference between a person and an image. An image can resemble someone, but it cannot do the work of responding for them. Am I using what I see to examine my life—or maintaining an appearance while leaving my conduct unchanged? Knowing how to describe patience does not practice patience. Speaking ...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Revealing 8: What Can Remain?

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Part Three: Revealing — What Was Taken Will Be Restored We have followed what is heard, what is seen, and what becomes revealed. Each part has returned us to a question of response. What happens when an appearance no longer agrees with what is being practiced? When a claim is exposed, will we examine it—or defend it because we have built our belonging around it? Babylon brings these questions together. Her Claim Does Not Determine Her Outcome Babylon describes herself as secure, yet the judgment announced against her contradicts that confidence. Her description of herself does not determine what follows. Read Revelation 18:7–8. This returns us to the mirror. Do I examine what is present, or look for confirmation of the image I want to maintain? Can the name I use for myself become a reason to dismiss what my conduct reveals? The same questions apply when we examine a gathering, a teacher, or an institution. A claim must be considered alongside what is done. Support Does Not Establish T...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Revealing 7: What Does Taking Actually Establish?

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Part Three: Revealing — What Was Taken Will Be Restored Someone can possess a garment and still give a false account of how it came into their hands. Someone can exercise power over another person without establishing that the treatment is right. Joseph’s account brings these distinctions before us. We must follow what was entrusted, what was seized, what was said, and what continued afterward. Entrusted Authority Has Boundaries Potiphar places his household under Joseph’s care. When Potiphar’s wife approaches him, Joseph recognizes both the trust given to him and the boundary he must not cross. His responsibility within the house does not make everything in it his to take. Read Genesis 39:4–9. This returns us to the distinction between service and ownership. Does access make something mine? Does being entrusted with responsibility give me permission to claim another person’s place, relationship, or authority? The Garment Is Taken Joseph refuses her repeated advances. When she catches ...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Revealing 6: What Was Given—and What Was Claimed?

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Part Three: Revealing — What Was Taken Will Be Restored When understanding exposes a claim we have made, what happens next? It may concern something we knowingly sought. It may also concern an identity or position we were taught to accept without questioning. Before we can relinquish a mistaken claim, we must first recognize that it needs examination. Receiving Comes Before Claiming When John’s disciples bring him news of people going to Jesus, his response begins with what is given from heaven. He then reminds them of his testimony concerning his own role. Read John 3:25–28. John does not treat another’s growing recognition as a reason to enlarge his own claim. What happens when attention moves away from me? Can I rejoice in work entrusted to someone else, or do I feel that their recognition diminishes my worth? The Friend Hears and Rejoices John distinguishes the bridegroom, the bride, and the friend. The friend stands, hears the bridegroom’s voice, and rejoices. His joy is fulfilled...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Revealing 5: What Comes to Light?

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Part Three: Revealing — What Was Taken Will Be Restored Revelation brings understanding, but it also brings exposure. Something we trusted may need to be examined. Something we defended may not withstand the testing. What happens when the light reaches what we would rather leave hidden? Why Avoid the Light? John connects resistance to the Light with the exposure of deeds. He also describes the person practicing truth coming to the Light, where the source of those deeds becomes evident. Read John 3:19–21. The response to light matters. Am I willing to examine something only while it concerns another person? What happens when the same examination reaches my choices, my loyalties, or an explanation I have repeated? If I discover that something is wrong, does protecting my reputation become more important than correcting it? What Have We Been Building? Paul identifies Jesus Christ as the foundation and calls for care in how someone builds upon it. He then describes different materials and ...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Revealing 4: What Is Revealed Through Our Response?

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Part Three: Revealing — What Was Taken Will Be Restored Receiving understanding brings responsibility. What happens when the next thing revealed concerns our own conduct? It can be easier to recognize another person’s error than to examine a practice we have defended. Yet our response to correction belongs within this study just as much as our response to an unfamiliar passage. Do we want understanding even when it requires something to change within us? A Recognized Role Does Not Remove the Need for Correction Galatians 2 describes the recognition of Paul’s and Peter’s entrusted work. Later in the same chapter, Paul recounts confronting Peter over his conduct at Antioch. Recognition of his role did not place his behavior beyond examination. Read Galatians 2:7–14. Keep both parts together. Someone may have received understanding and carried out important work, yet still need correction. Remembering what God has done through a person should not prevent us from examining what that person...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Revealing 3: When Christ Is Revealed

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Part Three: Revealing — What Was Taken Will Be Restored What happens when the person convinced he is defending truth discovers that he has been persecuting those who belong to Christ? Paul’s account brings that question close to home. His former certainty, his encounter with Jesus, and the work that follows must be considered together. Certainty Before Recognition Paul recalls his zeal for inherited traditions alongside his persecution of God’s gathering. Advancement and conviction existed together with conduct he later acknowledged as wrong. Read Galatians 1:13–14. How carefully do we examine the connection between what we defend and how we treat people? Can loyalty to an understanding make harmful behavior feel justified? If others approve of that behavior, does their approval make it right? Who Was Being Persecuted? Acts introduces Saul seeking authority to bind men and women belonging to the Way. On the road, light surrounds him, and Jesus identifies himself as the one Saul is pers...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Revealing 2: What Does the Spirit Reveal?

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Part Three: Revealing — What Was Taken Will Be Restored Daniel directed attention to the God who revealed what others could not explain. Receiving understanding did not make Daniel its source. Paul brings us to the same question from another direction: Where does our faith rest, and how do we come to understand what God gives? Where Does Our Faith Rest? Paul describes arriving in weakness, fear, and trembling. His purpose was that the Corinthians’ faith would rest in God’s power rather than human wisdom. Read 1 Corinthians 2:1–5. That asks something of both the speaker and the listener. Am I persuaded because someone speaks confidently? Does their reputation make their explanation feel beyond examination? And when I speak, am I helping someone seek God—or encouraging them to depend on me? Authority Does Not Guarantee Recognition Paul speaks of God’s hidden wisdom and the rulers’ failure to recognize it. He connects that failure with their crucifixion of the Lord of glory. Read 1 Corint...
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Hearing ~ Seeing ~ Revealing — Revealing 1: Who Reveals What Is Hidden?

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Part Three: Revealing — What Was Taken Will Be Restored We have followed hearing into seeing, examining the difference between an outward appearance and what is present within. Now we turn to revealing. When something hidden becomes understood, where does that understanding come from? Does receiving it make someone its source? And what happens when the attention given to a messenger begins to overshadow the One who supplied the message? Daniel 2 brings these questions before us. When Position Cannot Supply the Answer Nebuchadnezzar demands that his wise men disclose both his dream and its interpretation. Their position before the king cannot supply what he requires. They acknowledge their inability, and the resulting decree threatens Daniel and his companions as well. Read Daniel 2:1–13. What happens when we reach the limit of what we understand? Do we acknowledge that limit—or feel compelled to provide an answer because others expect us to know? Seeking Before Speaking Daniel brings t...
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