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.
"Verse of the Day"
Bible Verses
"Verse of the Day"
Bible Verses
Current Month
February 2025
FEBRUARY 13-15
Having a "Love of Money" Can Wreck Your Life
1 Timothy 6:8: "And having food[things to eat and drink]and raiment[clothing and shelter]let us be therewith content[or 'let us be satisfied with those things']."
1 Timothy 6:9: "But they that will [or 'those who have a strong desire or craving to'] be rich fall into temptation [to do wicked things] and [fall into] a snare [or trap], and into many foolish and hurtful lusts [desires], which drown men [and women and children] in destruction and perdition [ruin--of their happiness, virtue (moral excellence), reputations, and souls (lives)]."
1 Timothy 6:10: "For the love of money is the root[source, basic cause]of all[kinds of]evil[things]: which while some [people, including professing Christians] coveted [lusted] after [it (i.e., money), because they were greedy and had an insatiable (uncontrollable) desire to be rich], they have erred [wandered away, departed] from the faith [of Christ, or the Christian religion], and pierced themselves through with many sorrows [by causing themselves much heartache, pain, and sadness]."
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A Bible commentator named Mark Dunagan went into great detail explaining 1 Timothy 6:9. He wrote:
"6:9 'But those who want to get rich': Here is the danger of seeking wealth [money, riches] as the prime end [or main goal] of life …
"6:9 'Fall into temptation and a snare': All men [and women and children] are tempted, but this is [referring to] the person who has fallen into a state of temptation, that is who is yielding to one temptation after another. The term 'snare' means a 'trap'. The word 'fall' is also in the present tense, suggesting a continual falling. This desire to be rich at all costs brings one temptation to compromise after another. Thus they [i.e., the people who have fallen into a state of temptation] are tempted to sacrifice morality [good behavior], principles [basic truths], honesty, kindness and friendship to get ahead. 'When top priority is given to amassing [accumulating] riches, such things as honesty, generosity, and helpfulness have to take second place, or third or fourth place!' …
"6:9 'And a snare': 'The idea here is that they who have this desire to become rich become so entangled [twisted, confused] that they cannot easily escape. In their efforts to make money, they can no longer be free men. They find themselves entrapped in temptation to lie, cheat, steal, to sell products they know to be harmful' … Please note also that many people who desire to get rich-never reach the goal. For every greedy person who reached the top there are thousands who found themselves entrapped in one bad business deal after another, or falling for one scam after another. There are many people in our current society who are willing to take advantage of and exploit [treat unfairly] the person who wants to get rich quick.
"6:9 'And many foolish': Greed will move a person to make unwise choices, and such desires are foolish in the sense that they do not yield the happiness they promised. In addition, people infected by greed often live in an unreal world, a world in which they demand that every desire they have be fulfilled and that the things they possess bring them happiness. It is foolish to believe that money can make us happy and it is equally foolish to believe that we deserve that every desire we have be fulfilled in the exact way in which we demand. Added to this, greed creates the false illusion that material possessions bring with them security and safety.
"6:9 'And harmful desires': Greed is often very harmful to oneself and others. 'They do great damage to one's character and spiritual life … [and] they destroy relationships that are rich and full' …
"6:9 'Which plunge men into ruin and destruction': The term here rendered 'plunge' or 'drown' refers not merely to a person drowning, but of a wreck, where the ship and all that is in it go down together … The terms 'ruin' and 'destruction' refer to utter [complete, absolute] ruin. Some believe that the distinction here is between the ruin in this life, that is, the total ruin of happiness, virtue, reputation, marriage, family and the destruction that awaits in eternity. 'It gives the picture of these lusts overwhelming the man, like the waves covering a sinking ship, and plunging him into perdition [eternal punishment, hell]' …
"The ruin mentioned in the above verse also would involve personal unhappiness and misery, for the person who desires to be rich above all else, is never satisfied even if they become rich … In reaching this goal they often have sacrificed everything else that is of true and lasting value … Life is tragic [very sad] for the person who has plenty to live on but nothing to live for."
Also commenting on 1 Timothy 6:9, Matthew Henry wrote:
"… It is not said, those that are rich, but those that will be rich, that is, [those] that place their happiness in worldly wealth, that covet [crave] it inordinately [excessively], and are eager and violent in the pursuit of it. Those that are such [referring to people who 'will be rich']fall into temptation and a snare, unavoidably; for, when the devil sees which way their lusts carry them, he will soon bait his hook accordingly …"
John 1:3: "All things[in the universe]were made[created. formed from nothing]by him[Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God (or God the Son) and the second Person of the Trinity--see note below*)]; and without [or apart from] him [Jesus] was not any thing made that was made [which means that nothing came into existence without the exertion of Jesus' power]."
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*The Godhead consists of three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This concept, which is called the Trinity, is explained in the article entitled "What does it mean that the Trinity is God in three Persons?" If you want to read it, here's the link: https://www.gotquestions.org/God-in-three-persons.html.
FEBRUARY 11
Proverbs 11:17: "The merciful[kind]man[and woman and child]doeth[does]good to his[or her]own soul[i.e., to himself (or herself)]: but he[or she]that is cruel[mean][to other people]troubleth[troubles]his[or her]own flesh[and blood, meaning himself (or herself) and/or his (or her) family members]."
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In his commentary, Pastor Jim Delany of Salem Bible Church summarizes the above verse as follows: "Blessed and happy are the merciful. Miserable are the mean!"
According to Pastor Delany, it's a good thing to help others because it also gives us joy, plus blessings and mercy from God. However, we must be careful to do it (help others) for the right reasons.
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In paragraph 3 of his commentary on the merciful part of Proverbs 11:17, the pastor says:
"a. We ARE to show mercy to others.
"b. And the giver gets a bigger blessing than the receiver.
"c. BUT--we are not to give IN ORDER to get!
"d. In other words, we are not to give to others SO THAT God will give to us 7 fold!
"e. I [Pastor Delany was referring to himself] have heard charismatic preachers tell their listeners to give generously to their ministry SO THAT God would bless them 7 fold!
"• The idea was, if you give me $100.00, God will send in $700.00 to you!
"• He [the charismatic preacher] was encouraging people to give in order to get more back!
"• The motivation in that kind of giving was not mercy. It was pure greed! Covetousness! Selfishness!
"• The charismatic preacher called it 'faith giving.' I call it a religious scam!
"• While I [Pastor Delany] do not know any individual's heart--it is hard for me to believe that those men [the charismatic preachers] do not know exactly what they are doing--twisting scripture for their own advantage!
"• Jude would say [in Jude 1:11], 'Woe unto them! For they have gone in the way of Cain and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward!'
"• And not only are THEY greedy, but they are promoting greed.
"• Nothing could be further from the kind of mercy… selfless [unselfish] giving… the Scriptures describe!"
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In the cruelty part of the commentary, we find some examples of people who are mean-spirited:
-- Bullies at school, at work, and in the government
-- People who express prejudice and bigotry
-- Those who harm the innocent and helpless, as in abortion
-- People who spread gossip and rumors
-- Scam artists who take advantage of the elderly
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People who are mean to others will usually:
-- Be tormented by guilt, or have guilty consciences.
-- Incur the wrath [anger] of God and man (i.e., punishment by God, revenge by other people).
-- Bring trouble upon themselves and their families.
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And here are two word definitions, according to online dictionaries:
-- Prejudice: unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, especially of a hostile [unfriendly] nature, regarding an ethnic, racial, social, or religious group.
-- Bigot: an obstinate [stubborn] or intolerant devotion to one's own opinions and prejudices.
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Another Bible commentator, James Burton Coffman, summarized Proverbs 11:17 like this:
"… You do yourself a favor when you are kind. If you are cruel, you only hurt yourself …"
Hebrews 9:27: "And as it is appointed[by God]unto men[and women and children, with few exceptions--see note below*]once to die[or 'to die only once'], but after this [occurs, then comes]the judgment[by God, in heaven; i.e., at the Great White Throne Judgment for those who are not saved, and at the Judgment Seat of Christ for those who have been born again according to the Bible--see note below**]:"
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Please don't gamble with eternal life. If you want to go to heaven when you die, you must be saved now (while you are still alive)--before it's too late.
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*In the Bible, a few people didn't die at all, and some died more than once (such as Jesus' friend, Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead). Regarding this fact, Matthew Poole wrote:
"… No man [no person] can keep himself [or herself] from this [penalty (or punishment) for sin; i.e., dying once], it being the general rule of God's proceeding with all persons. The Supreme Legislator [God] may make what exceptions and provisos [conditions] to his law he pleaseth [pleases]. Those [people] that were translated [taken to heaven] by him [God], did suffer [experience] a change proportionable [proportional, corresponding, comparable] to death, as [did] Enoch, [per] Hebrews 11:5; Genesis 5:24, and Elijah, [per] 2 Kings 2:11,12; and those [Christians] that shall be changed at [Jesus] Christ's coming [during the rapture] must undergo the like [or 'the same'], as [per] 1 Corinthians 15:51-54; 1 Thessalonians 4:17 …"
In addition to the above quote, you may want to read GotQuestion.org's answer to the question "Why did God take Enoch and Elijah to heaven without them dying?" Here's the link: https://www.gotquestions.org/Enoch-Elijah.html.
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**The Great White Throne Judgment and Judgment Seat of Christ are described in the article entitled "What does the Bible say about when God will judge us?" It can be found here: https://www.gotquestions.org/judgment.html.
FEBRUARY 1
Jesus Promised Christians a Home in Heaven
During the Last Supper (just before his crucifixion), Jesus told his disciples:
John 14:2: "In my Father's[God's]house[in heaven]are many mansions[dwelling places]: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go[there]to prepare a place for you."
John 14:3: "And if I [Jesus] go [to heaven] and prepare a place for you, I will come [to earth] again [referring to the rapture and/or the second coming of Christ--see note below*], and receive you unto myself; [so] that where I am [either on earth or in heaven], there ye [you disciples, and all other born-again Christians] may be also."
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*The rapture and the second coming of Christ are described in the following articles: