12/1/22: I just found out that most of the commentaries on the Bible Study Tools website are no longer free. That's where most of the quotes that appear on the "Verse of the Day" and "Previous Verses" pages of my website are taken from, so from now on, many of the "Source:" links that I provide on those pages will not contain the quoted text.

I was disgusted to read about the organization's new "PLUS" membership, and the only thing I can say about it is that the Bible has this warning in 1 Timothy 6:10 for the owner of Bible Study Tools: "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."
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8/8/21: Something is wrong with my Christian forum. Everything seems to be working normally (i.e., the articles are there, and the links work), but for some reason, the forum's format has changed slightly, and I am currently unable to post anything new.

I'm really sorry for the inconvenience. Hopefully, the problem is only temporay and will be fixed soon.

AUGUST 31

After God created Adam and Eve (the first man and woman), he placed them in the garden of Eden and told them they could eat from any of the trees there except one: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Unfortunately, Satan (the devil), disguised as a serpent, told them to eat from the tree anyway, so they could become like gods, and they listened to him (Genesis 3:6,7). The following verse tells what happened to all of us as a result of that act of disobedience.

Romans 5:12: "Wherefore [on this account, referring to the advantages of the plan of justification by faith], as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and [so did] [physical and spiritual] death by [from, due to] sin; and so death passed upon all men [and women and children] [through inheritance], for [the reason] that all [people] have sinned [see note below*]:"
God's remedy for our sin problem is Jesus Christ, the Messiah, who was sent to earth to die on the cross to pay for our sins so we could have the gift of eternal life.

*Because of Adam and Eve, we are all sinners at birth. In addition, throughout our lives, the sin nature that we have inherited from Adam and Eve, through our parents, makes us susceptible to (or likely to be influenced by) temptation and causes us to sin willingly on a daily basis.

I found two articles related to today's verse (specifically, the sin nature and punishment for sin) that you might like to read. They are as follows:

-- "What is the sin nature?"
    (https://www.gotquestions.org/sin-nature.html)

-- "Why did Jesus have to die?"
    (https://www.gotquestions.org/why-Jesus-die.html)

AUGUST 30

Proverbs 30:5: "Every word of God [as recorded in the Bible] is pure [uncorrupted, true, without error]: he [God] is a shield [protector, defender] unto them that [or 'of those who'] put their trust in him [rather than relying on their own resources]."
According to Pastor Delany of Salem Bible Church, "This proverb speaks of the purity of the Word of God and of the security of those who trust in God."
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Since there are two different but related thoughts in the above verse, Pastor Delany has done a Bible study on each one. Their titles and links are as follows:

-- "Every Word of God is Pure"
    (https://www.salembible.org/proverbs-index/proverbs-30-index/proverbs-30_5a/)

Here are some excerpts from the "Every Word of God is Pure" commentary:

"1e. Creation (natural revelation) tells us a few things about Him [God] (i.e., His existence and His power), but it does not and cannot enable us to KNOW Him in a personal way.
"• In fact, with natural revelation of the creation alone one might easily make some wrong conclusions about God.
"• In the natural world we live in today (and in Agur's day), apart from divine revelation [i.e., facts revealed through God's word (the Bible)] one might conclude that God created the world as it presently is.
"• And what is the world like? It is violent -- animals eat other animals; people kill people. It is full of immorality in the sphere [circle] of human life. The creation seems to be working against mankind--with its thorns and thistles, storms, droughts [prolonged dry periods due to no rain], etc. It is full of suffering and death.
• Apart from divine [godly] revelation concerning how the world came to be as it is, fallen men [referring to everyone who descended from Adam and Eve after they sinned] could easily misread and misinterpret what they see in the world and wrongly attribute [credit] it to God [by assuming that it was caused by him]."
"• Some of the pagan deities [false gods] were considered to be evil and cruel and could only be satisfied by human sacrifices to appease their wrath [or 'stop them from being angry']."

"2d. He [Agur, the man who wrote this proverb] has found the answer to all his questions in God's pure Word [i.e., the Bible]."

-- "He is a Shield"
    (https://www.salembible.org/proverbs-index/proverbs-30-index/proverbs-30_5b/)

Here are some excerpts from the "He is a Shield" commentary:

"2i. God is a shield--but only to those who trust in Him. There is no protection offered to those who trust in other things: self, our own wisdom, might [strength], riches, other men, earthly things, etc."

"5b. There are no errors in anything the Bible says on any subject about which it speaks: promises, history, science, origins [beginnings], psychology [study of the human mind], anthropology [the study of human beings and their ancestry], salvation [how to be saved from sin and its consequences], and prophecy [prediction of the future]--when rightly divided [or correctly understood]."

"5f. When we trust what God says in His Word [the Bible] and act upon it, GOD Himself will be our shield, protector, and shelter."

Note: In addition to explaining how God acts as a shield in Christians' spiritual battles, the "He is a Shield" commentary has interesting information on shields and bucklers.

AUGUST 29

In a letter to the church of the Thessalonians, the apostle Paul (with Silas and Timothy) wrote:

1 Thessalonians 2:18: "Wherefore we would have come unto you [sooner], even I Paul, [would have visited you] once and again [or 'several times']; but Satan hindered us [which means that the devil prevented or stopped them from doing so]."
As the "prince of the power of the air" (see article listed below for explanation), Satan currently has much power on earth. If he can stop an apostle of God from doing his job, he can surely prevent Christians from doing things that they want or need to do.

GotQuestions.org has an article that answers the question "What does it mean that Satan is prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2)?" If you want to read it, here's the link: https://www.gotquestions.org/prince-power-air.html.

AUGUST 3-28

Due to computer problems for almost four weeks, I was unable to update my website. I'm really sorry.

AUGUST 2

We're Saved by Faith, Not Works

While preaching to Jewish people in the synagogue at Antioch, the apostle Paul said:

Acts 13:38: "Be it known unto you therefore [see note below*], men and brethren [brothers] [referring to everyone he was preaching to, regardless of their ages], that through this man [Jesus] is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins [by God … because Jesus willingly shed his blood (or 'died') on the cross, sacrificing his life, to pay for their sins--and also for the sins of everyone else in the world]:"

Acts 13:39: "And by him [Jesus--through his suffering and death] all that believe [or 'everyone who believes'] [the gospel; i.e., that Jesus died to pay the penalty (or fine, or punishment) for our sins, was buried, and rose again (came back to life) the third day, as stated in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4] are justified [made righteous in God's sight] from all things [sins], from which ye [you] could not be justified by [obeying] the law of Moses [see note below**]."

Note: According to Acts 13:39, we're saved by faith, not works (good deeds). Ephesians 2:8-9 has a similar teaching.
*In his commentary, Albert Barnes said:

"… Paul [the apostle], having proved his [Jesus'] resurrection, and shown that he [Jesus] was the Messiah, now states the benefits that were to be derived [received, obtained] from his death …"

(Source: https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/acts-13.html, "Verse 38")

**"What is the Law of Moses?" is answered in the GotQuestions.org article by the same name. If you want to read it, here's the link: https://www.gotquestions.org/law-of-Moses.html.

AUGUST 1

Everyone Should Praise the Lord

1 Chronicles 16:23: "Sing [praises] unto the LORD [God Almighty], all [of you inhabitants, or people, of] the earth; shew [show] forth from day to day [or 'each day'] his [God's] [promised] salvation [through his Son, Jesus Christ] [which means that, when given the opportunity to do so, we should try to spread the gospel message (the plan of salvation) by telling others that Jesus died on the cross to pay for their sins--see Note 1 below]."

1 Chronicles 16:24: "Declare [make known] his [God's] glory among the heathen [referring to unbelievers, or unsaved people--see Note 2 below]; [declare] his [God's] marvellous works [all of the wonderful things that he has created and done] among all nations."

1 Chronicles 16:25-26: "For great [in importance, power, strength, wisdom, etc.] is the LORD [God] and greatly to be praised [i.e., because God is greater than anyone or anything in the universe (see Note 3 below), he deserves to be worshiped and adored]: he also is to be feared above [more than] all [other] gods. For all the gods of the people are idols [false gods]: but the LORD [Yahweh, or Jehovah--the one true God] made the heavens [i.e., the universe, sky, atmosphere, etc.]."

Note: The above verses are similar to the ones found in Psalm 96:1-3,4-5.
NOTE 1:

How we spread the gospel and show God's salvation is explained in the following article: "What is the Christian doctrine of salvation?" If you want to read it, here's the link: https://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-doctrine-salvation.html.

NOTE 2:

Definition of heathen, according to the KJV Bible Dictionary (https://www.av1611.com/kjbp/kjv-dictionary/heathen.html): "A pagan; a Gentile; one who worships idols, or is unacquainted with the true God. In the Scriptures, the word seems to comprehend [include] all nations except the Jews or Israelites, as they were all strangers to the true religion, and all addicted to idolatry. The word may now be applied perhaps to all nations, except to Christians and Mohammedans [and Jews]."
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For additional information on heathens, see the GotQuestions.org article entitled "What is a heathen?" Here's the link: https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-a-heathen.html.

NOTE 3:

"What does it mean that God is great?" is answered by GotQuestions.org in their article by the same name. If you want to read it, here's the link: https://www.gotquestions.org/God-is-great.html.