Psalms of Deliverance

After reading for the nth time another psalm (this time it's Psalm 35) that deals with asking God for deliverance, together with a strong plea to destroy one's enemies, I am now officially curious how many of these Psalms there are,and what percentage they make of the other types.  Also quite curious how different this makes these Old Testament worshipers from modern-day Christians.  

Another thing, I am also curious is how they go about singing these type of psalms.  I doubt they are of the contemplative mood type.

Lastly, I seem to notice that most of them have been composed by David, and even those that are not ascribed to him have a feeling of being influenced by him.  Shows a lot for a man that I think is so tough no one in these modern days can stand against him in a brawl.

Lent Devotional in YouVersion

I am currently going through the Lent reading plan of YouVersion, which started last March 9.  I was a day late, so I only knew today that the 46-day plan ending on Easter Sunday will allow me to go through the book of Mark, as well as a considerable amount of readings elsewhere in the Bible.  That will complement my regular reading plan and get me through more of the Gospels.  Since the plan does not have a reading on Sundays (because the counting of Lent days likewise do not include Sundays), you can still catch up if you start it today.  

The concept of Lent is not very familiar to me, particularly because I associate it simply with the "Ash Wednesday" practice.  I didn't understood its real concept of commemorating Jesus' forty days of tempting in the desert.  I guess that's a glimpse of my understanding of the Bible and God as well.  It really is an opportune time of discovery for me.

While I am at it, I find that the 21-day reading plan about fasting also from YouVersion is quite a related area of study.  I am doing both reading plans together, although I picked them up on different days and for totally unrelated reasons.  The reading plan on fast is intended for someone who is going through a fast, but I find that even though I am not doing a fast right now, it can prepare me when I do one.  

One thing to keep in mind when going through a topical reading plan is that you should not neglect your primary reading plan, which should be one that takes you through majority of the Bible in a given period of time, such as one year.  The topical reading plans can add color and variety to your readings, but it should not be a replacement to a read-through-the-Bible reading plan.  

Check out these reading plans at YouVersion, as well as others that may be of interest to you.  Have a blessed Sunday.

A 21-Day Devotional on Fasting

Just signed up with YouVersion for a 21-day devotional on fasting.    I was trying to sign up for either of the two Lent devotionals, but it seems like it's having some problems lately.  In any case, I hope this would be a good devotional to take on.  Already finished the first day reading from the Book of Daniel and the accompanying notes, and I must say it's been informative already, not to mention raising some questions.  Which is a good thing.  


Head on over to YouVersion's website and check out this reading plan and others that they have.

Psalms everyday?

Did some changes in my reading plan.  I just thought it would be better to read the Psalms everyday, rather than just once a week.  So I am reading one chapter of Psalms a day, with no reduction in the required reading for the other categories as well.  That would allow me to read the Psalms more than twice a year, while keeping to the schedule for the rest of the other categories.


Let's see how this goes!  

After Two Months - An Update

It's been almost two months since I started to read the Bible using a personal reading plan that I think will work for me.  As I indicated in another post I've decided to read through the Bible by dividing it into 6 categories.  I should read 3 chapters per day for each category, except for one where I should read 5, for a total of 20 chapters per week.  Since there are 6 categories, Sundays will be used as a way to catch up or simply take a break from the routine.  If all goes according to plan, on average I would be able to finish the whole Bible in about 60 weeks.  Some categories I would have read more than once (like the Gospels and Old Testament history), while the other categories I would have read more than halfway into.  Which means by the next cycle, my weekly readings would be composed of different chapters or books compared to this cycle.  

Now for the update:  I should have read 154 chapters as of yesterday, but I managed to read 159, or 5 chapters more.  This despite of not being able to read the Bible for about a week straight, as I tried to recuperate from some physical stress, plus not being able to read the required number of chapters per day (or at all) in some days.  What compensated for it are the times I read the Bible on Sundays, and reading more than the required number of chapters in a day when my senses are up.

From these two months I learned a couple of things that I would like to share to maybe help you out or encourage you:

1.   Have a plan that fits you.
2.  Don't get side-tracked by questions that may arise.  Take note of them and spend    time studying them.  But keep moving in your reading plan.
3.   If you missed a day (or even a week), just resolve to get back on track.
4.   Read the Bible whenever and wherever it's possible. 
5.  Read thoughtfully, but don't be bothered if you don't seem to recall much.  It will come eventually.  
6.   Pause to consider what you are reading.  This is not a speed-reading contest.
7.   Don't push your limits just to keep to the schedule.  The plan is not your master.
8.   Most importantly, discuss it with the Author as you are reading and throughout the day.

Have a blessed day everyone!

The Infallibility of Bible Translations

The concept of the infallibility of the Bible is founded on the belief that the men who penned the words were guided by God so that they will not err.  I wouldn't have any problem with that, otherwise there is really no reason to even consider the Bible as the Word of God. The more important question for me is:  can we say the same for translations?

First, some basic principles.  The most obvious one here is the fact that God is God, and as such, He can use circumstances and people who are intending to do something to end up doing what He intended to accomplish in the first place.  In short, His purpose will be accomplished no matter what.  But is that security enough that you can take your pick from any of the available Bible translations and believe that somehow as you are reading it, you will be able to winnow that which is "incorrectly" translated?  Or is that scenario even possible, considering that whatever they may have intended to do, God would have overridden?

I found this article related to this topic when I did a Google search.  In a nutshell, it concluded that no translation can be considered infallible. Similar articles basically say the same thing.  

This is a major flaw to some, considering that other belief systems actually have the text of their own scriptures in its original language available to everybody.  Which, as a matter of course, requires their believers to know the language/s well.requires every believer to know the language/s to read it for themselves.  

But I pause at this stage to consider something.  If I consider for one moment that I have a copy of the original manuscripts and I am able to read it in its native tongue, is that any better than having a translation that is the product of years of painstaking work of hundreds of people?  Maybe yes, maybe no.  The only thing I know that is better than that for sure is to know the mind of God  himself, meaning, to be taught by Him directly.  And since the illumination of the Word is a prerequisite to actually understanding it, then it is not different altogether from being directly taught by God.  Of course, one may argue that it would be better to have that and have the original manuscripts as well, but how much is lost insofar as the achievement of the purpose of 

God in one's life, which is one's salvation and sanctification?  Even within the Bible, Jesus made it clear that the relationship with God is personal, not academic (John 5:39-40).  The Bible, for all its worth in studying it and mining it, does not give salvation and personal relationship.  It is, for lack of a better metaphor for me, a door to which we enter into.

(This is an uncomplete post.  I know I will get back to this topic and related ones again and again.  But feel free to comment and join me in this journey)

Matthew 10:29 - God's protection and destiny

Everything that happens, happens with God's permission.  It's a comfort because of the feeling that someone is in control.  And yet I wonder how it impacts on free will. One way to look at it is that the purpose of God for creation will be accomplished no matter what.  Of course you can also view it as a form destiny, but being brushstrokes, it does not have respect who will be the players.  


Is it possible that God, in the fulfillment of His plans, takes away certain people's free will for a time?  For example, in the case of Egypt during the time of Moses.  Is the heart of Pharaoh hardened for the duration of the time that God would show His power through the plagues?  Or is repentance available for Pharaoh in between the plagues?  If I simply read the account, it appears that the latter is not the case.  Plus the fact that the Passover must come to pass.  And without the deaths of the firstborn, how would the symbolism of Passover be made? 

Job 1- 3

6:19 PM 1/9/2011


Job 1


For someone who is bent on the destruction of mankind, it sounds awkward, even absurd, to allow Satan to appear before God.


The series of tragedies that came to Job in one day is a combination of natural disasters and violence.  And yet, all of these were allowed by God, since when He allowed Satan to do harm to Job, it was not specified how or in what manner.


Is it possible that Job had considered how all of these can happen in one day if not for something supernatural happening? Hence his reaction.




Job 2


I am wondering what is the nature why the "sons of God" needed to present themselves.


I am also wondering how long it has been since the disasters that happen to Job's life and this period.


These passages also show the extent of power that Satan has, in terms of controlling nature as well as human will.


To accept adversity from God may be such a strange concept to modern Christians who are sees God thru the lens of a generous Father.  


Job's friends did not went out to see Job during the first set of tragedies that happened to him.  Either he did not went so far as to make too much news of it.  Or his friends have come to realize how serious things now are.  




Job 3


I wonder what is the purpose of Job's speech.  Maybe it's a simple way of finding consolation, of reaching out to people who are now there to possibly listen to him.

Isaiah 4 - 6

5:55 PM 1/8/2011


chapter 4


The concept of being destined is once again seen in verse 3.


Isaiah 5


on verse 10, it would be more helpful for me if I am aware of how much should the planting area mentioned normally yield.  


Quite interesting that excessive wine/beer drinking is associated with lack of discernment of God's actions, and even worse, of evildoing.


Isaiah 6


What made Isaiah heed the call of the Lord?  Is it the knowledge that he now stands righteous before God?

Ephesians 4 - 6

Ephesians 4


Ephesians 5


v. 32 - something profound happens around us everyday.  It remains to be profound, and yet we take it for granted as it is common. But its profoundness is not reduced one bit by its commonness.


Ephesians 6

Matthew 4 - 6

1:33 PM 1/9/2011


Matthew 4


Led to be tempted.


In contrast to the Israelite's experience (Deut 8:3) where they did not have a choice in the desert but to rely on God's provision, Jesus' action to fast is a deliberate one of reliance. I supposed the same effect have been brought upon to Jesus as it is to the Israelites for this experience. 


Jesus only started his ministry after the temptation, and not immediately after his anointing.  But of course it was two events immediately happening after one another.
Matthew 5


verse 11 - are those who are following Jesus already experiencing some form of persecution, or is this more of a prophetic statement?


v. 17 - Jesus mentions The Law and The Prophets as two categories of Scriptures in what we know now as Old Testament.  So I guess the rest of the non-Prophet books are also categorized together with The Law, which is more than the first 5 books attributed to Moses?


It is quite interesting how the laws that the people has been taught either omits something or adds something, the effect of which becomes legalistic or even contrary to the Bible.


Matthew 6


5 - How is prayer supposed to be?  You approach a God who already know what you want, and in addition knows what you need, which can be the same thing or two entirely different things.  


13 - Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted, and yet in the prayer He taught it includes a request not to led to temptation.  

Psalms 4-6

Psalm 4 


Psalm 5 




Psalm 6


Sounds like this man needs help, and he has been receiving some righteous punishment from God.  And it seems like some of his enemies are gloating over his situation. 


There is no remembrance of you in Sheol - does this represent the viewpoint in OT about the afterlife?  Or is this simply a rhetorical comment?

Joshua 2

A promise is not an excuse to be careless.

Joshua 1

Slowly finding out that 5 chapters a day can be too much to read attentively with moderate speed.  I'll probably cut down to 3 chapters for those that I intend to read up to 5 (Moses' books and History books in OT). 

Joshua 1

God's promise of conquest remains dependent on the actions that the Israelites would take.  It is as far and wide as they are willing to tread upon.

Seems like that by the time Moses died, the instructions he received were already in written form, and in a format that facilitates handling and dessimination.

Exodus 9

Seems like at this point, pride has engulfed Pharaoh completely.


The plague of boils and hail are the first of the plagues where direct damage to a human being can happen.  


It appears that some Egyptians, even court officers, are already taking account of the power of God's Israel.  But then you have to wonder if they consider God in the same way they consider their other gods.  


It was mentioned that several crops were not destroyed because they were "late".  Were they spared as a sign of God's graciousness, so that the whole land may not be destitute?

Exodus 8

Exodus 8

It's quite curious that despite the fact that Pharaoh's magicians can still duplicate the miracles being done by Moses and Aaron, Pharaoh is now more inclined to let them go.  Possibly it's out of necessity, since the frogs are a major disturbance to the life of the nation.  As verse 15 says, Pharaoh again hardened his heart once he got some relief.  And then, just several verses later, Pharaoh remain hardened despite his magicians admitting defeat to another plague brought by Moses and Aaron.

Just wondering if the plague of flies is the first among the plagues where a distinction is made between the Israelites and the Egyptians.

Exodus 5 - 7

By this time, all actions being done by Moses and Aaron seems to be futile, as Pharaoh refuse to listen or even care, primarily because his own court of magicians can duplicate the miracles being performed.  What is not clear though is whether they are really able to make the same miracles and wonders, or it's just "magic" as in tricks and sleight of hand.

The amusing thing is that for the reader, they are made aware that the reactions of Pharaoh are actually part of God's plan, as God had already determined judgment over Egypt.  In the same way, it is already determined that the Israelites will get out of Egypt regardless of their reactions.  Can you actually say that this is a type of predestination, with one group marked for salvation and the other marked for destruction.

Ephesians 3

I often wonder how the revelation to Paul was made.  At his time, what he would have as Scriptures would be the Old Testament as we know it.  I can imagine that in addition to God illuminating the Word to him as he meditate on it, God is also verbally instructing him, in the same way that He spoke to people of old.  So in a way it would be different from how modern-day self-proclaimed prophets style themselves as having a revelation from God, even if it contradicts Scriptures.  Whatever revelation Paul would have received, it would be in the form of a confirmation or understanding of Scriptures.  Which would probably became clear to him in the light of current events.

Ephesians 2

To be saved by faith requires that it is fully from God.  In a sense, even the initiative or desire to seek God must have come from God.  This seems to be the essence of the Bible, since even the slightest idea that some effort was from us would invalidate the fullness of Jesus' sacrifice.  The efforts only come after the salvation.  In a way that's the only way it would make sense if we really believe that we are "dead in our trespasses", because how can the dead even make an effort?

Ephesians 1

Ephesians 1

Predestination is quite a complex topic, but one that Paul seems to articulate very easily here.  It almost carries the notion that it is expected.  What is undeniable is the fact that God controls everything that happens.  What isn't so clear is how predestination can exist side by side with free will.  In a way, predestination is also counterintuitive to the Great Commission.  And yet, this is a topic that one should be very careful in not reading in one's own intentions.

I am actually getting inclined to dig deeper into this topic, but I am deciding that if I ever do so, it should not be to the detriment of the daily readings.


I'm curious how much the Old Testament has to say about predestination.    In this particular passage, Paul is not even analyzing how predestination is possible. He is merely stating the fact of what a Christian is predestined to be.

Matthew 1 - 3

Matthew 1

What is the significance of the 3 14-generation counts?  Some resources suggest it is merely intended as an aid to memorization.

If Mary became pregnant before being married to Joseph, is this not considered a sin?  And isn't the correct response would be to bring her to judgment?  But of course, it's understandable that he still loved her despite of what he thought happened, hence the reaction of not wanting to put her under punishment.

Dreams seems to have a place in Jewish theology as a legitimate means for God to communicate with man.

Matthew 2

I'm wondering if the same Jewish priests that Herod asked for the probable location of the Messiah's birth are also the same ones that demanded Jesus' crucifixion years later.

Joseph was again given instructions through a dream.  All in all, he received instructions in four dreams.  For every instance that a dream was mentioned, Matthew makes mention that the instruction is in fulfillment of a specific prophecy.  However, I don't think that Joseph was actually contemplating this as he follows the instructions in his dream. 

Matthew 3

John the Baptist seems to have come out from nowhere to start preaching, and it seems he was immediately famous. 

The difference in water baptism and Holy Spirit baptism is such that although John is highly regarded by the people, he considers himself less than nothing to the one who can baptize with the Holy Spirit. 

Isaiah 1 - 3

Isaiah 1 - just reading through these verses, it's kind of hard to imagine the degree of sinfulness that the nation of Israel has immersed themselves in.  I guess reading some of the related chapters in the history section of the Old Testament would help, but for now I am limiting myself to the information I can glean from this chapter and the succeeding ones (though I won't mind to be pointed to some resources I can use that can shed more light and understanding).  Some of the things I noticed:


1.  The land is desolate
2.  The people continue to follow the rituals and the ceremonies
3.  Despite of no. 2, it seems that the people are no longer doing the things mentioned in verses 16 - 17.  Likewise the leaders are guilty of the things mentioned in verse 23.

Psalms 1-3

These chapters do not seem to be related to each other in any way.  I guess the Psalms are simply a compilation of what came to be used in temple services and religious gatherings.  Not that they were gathered in some haphazard way.  One thing to note is how some of them are actually prophetic in nature, like Psalm 2.  The people who sang them probably were thinking of something else when they were singing it.  Still others, like Psalm 3, provides a sort of alternate history, taking one inside the heart of the person involved in that particular time in history.

My Plan for a Reading Plan

As far as I can remember, I've always been trying to follow a Bible reading plan. It was the same old story: I will try one, get along with it for a while, then lose steam. You can say I pretty much know how it's NOT supposed to be done. The latest attempt I can recall was when a friend sent me a link from Grace to You about a 9-week reading plan to jumpstart a person who is either new to the Bible or have not been reading it regularly. It is designed as a weekly schedule, which should allow a person to catch up within the week should he missed a day or two of reading. I've gotten through 2 weeks before I ended up a week late and ultimately I dropped off the system.

It was around this time that I discovered Youversion. It's essentially a site that provides a couple of Bible versions that one can use in one or more of its recommended Bible reading plans. Once more it kindled the spark in me, and after trying one or two plans, I settled with a plan that would take me through the Old Testament in the order of the books as they are arranged (the plan is for one year but I intend to finish in two years). I managed to finish Genesis before I, once again, got myself behind and behind that I eventually lost interest in continuing.

By this time I was beginning to understand some things. My idea of going through the books as the original readers might have gone through it (meaning, finishing one before proceeding with the next) might not be actually the real case. Regardless, going through one book after the other gives me a feeling of monotony. I then start to wish to go through the other parts of the Bible. Which makes me even less inclined to proceed with my current reading plan. Until I realize I'm already behind too much that I need to restart or try something else.

And so it was around this time that I learned of a reading plan by Professor Grant Horner. It calls for reading 10 chapters a day, with one chapter for one of the ten books for the day. The premise behind the reading plan is to have an interplay of the different books and through that provide a clearer picture and interpretation of what one is reading.

The reading plan makes sense, but I think that for myself 10 chapters a day might be too much to chew. A weekly reading plan like that of Grace To You also makes sense, but I feel I need to improve on it by providing some sort of a daily goal, with a way to catch up within the week should I have some backlog. Plus I need one that provide some variety.

Since Bible books can be categorized into different type of materials, I thought of a plan to go through the Bible. My plan calls for reading 3-5 chapters per day for 6 days, from one of these categories:

1. The Law - from Genesis to Deuteronomy

2. History books - from Joshua to Esther

3. Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs

4. The Prophets

5. The Gospels

6. The Letters

Since Revelation doesn't exactly fit or feel like one of the Letters, I can choose to include it with the Psalms.

The minimum should be 3 chapters a day for all categories except for History books at 5 chapters per day. The 7th day is intended to help me catch up. That would allow me to go through all the books in at least a year, and most of the books I will be able to read more than once during the year.

Of course, there's a lot more than a system and human will to go through the Bible in any given length of time. Even more the ability to understand it. May God bless me with the knowledge and understanding of His Word this year.


p.s. check out here how I improved my reading plan..