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10/15/2026

✏️ Side-Notes (Blue Letter Bible):

TRUSTING GOD AGAINST A TREACHEROUS ENEMY

C. Faith: Finding rest in God.

3. (Psalm 55:22-23) Confidently leaving the matter in God’s hands.

a. Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you: There are few greater burdens to bear than a one-time friend who becomes a treacherous and dangerous enemy. David knew that even this was a burden that God could and should bear.

i. “God imposes burdens, to see what we will do with them. We may carry them to our undoing, or we may cast them on Him for his blessed countenance.” (Meyer)

ii. “The word burden is too restrictive: it means whatever is given you, your appointed lot (hence in New English Bible, ‘your fortunes’). And the promise is not that God will carry it, but that he will sustain you.” (Kidner)

iii. He shall sustain: “The experience of suffering was not taken away from the servant of God, but he was sustained, and so made strong enough to resist its pressure, and through it to make his service more perfect. This is how God ever sustains us in the bearing of burdens.” (Morgan)

iv. “If I cast my burden upon the Lord, what business have I to carry it myself? How can I truthfully say that I have cast it upon him if still I am burdened with it?” (Spurgeon)

b. He shall never permit the righteous to be moved: David had hope and confidence because he was persuaded that his fate did not rest in the hands of treacherous men. God was still Lord over all, and God had the final word on whether the righteous would be moved or not.

i. Morgan noted the movement in this psalm from fear to fury and now finally to faith. “Fear leads only to desire to flee. Fury only emphasizes the consciousness of the wrong. Faith alone creates courage.” (Morgan)
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10/14/2026

✏️ Side-Notes (Blue Letter Bible):

CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH

F. What to do about the danger of the certain men.

Significantly, Jude does not tell us to attack the certain men who are a danger to the church. Instead, he tells us to focus on our walk with the Lord, help others affected by the certain men, and to focus on God. We simply are to pay the certain men no attention, except for what is necessary for our warning. God will take care of them.

2. (Jude 1:22-23) Take a look outward, to those around you.

a. On some have compassion: Jude begins here to tell us what we must do with those who have been influenced by these certain men. We need to make a distinction, based on where they are coming from. Certainly, on some have compassion.

i. Using wisdom we approach different people in different manners. By being sensitive to the Holy Spirit, we can know when we should comfort, and when we should rebuke. Christians should not abandon a friend flirting with false teaching. They should help him through it in love.

ii. This means we continue to love them. No matter how bad a person is, or how misleading and terrible their doctrine, we are not allowed to hate them — or to be unconcerned for their salvation.

iii. Compassion often means watching over someone, helping them with accountability. “Meantime watch over others as well as yourselves; and give them such help as their various needs require.” (Wesley)
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10/13/2026

✏️ Side-Notes (Blue Letter Bible):

RESTORATION OF A BROKEN AND CONTRITE KING

…“This great song, pulsating with the agony of a sin-stricken soul, helps us to understand the stupendous wonder of the everlasting mercy of our God.” (G. Campbell Morgan)
…

B. Prayers for restoration.

2. (Psalm 51:10-11) Restoration of heart.

a. Create in me a clean heart, O God: David felt that it wasn’t enough if God simply cleaned up the heart he had. The plea create indicated he needed a new heart from God, a clean heart. In this David anticipated one of the great promises to all who believe under the New Covenant: I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).

i. “The word that begins this section is the Hebrew verb bara, which is used in Genesis 1 for the creation of the heavens and the earth by God. Strictly used, this word describes what only God can do: create ex nihilo, out of nothing.” (Boice)

ii. “With the word Create he asks for nothing less than a miracle. It is a term for what God alone can do.” (Kidner)

b. And renew a steadfast spirit within me: Along with a new and clean heart, David needed a steadfast spirit to continue in the way of godliness. This expressed a humble reliance upon the LORD.

i. Renew a steadfast spirit: “Or, a firm spirit, firm for God, able to resist the devil, steadfast in the faith, and to abide constant in the way that is called holy.” (Trapp)

ii. “‘A steadfast spirit’ is needful in order to keep a cleansed heart clean; and, on the other hand, when, by cleanness of heart, a man is freed from the perturbations of rebellious desires and the weakening influences of sin, his spirit will be steadfast.” (Maclaren)
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10/10/2026

✏️ Side-Notes (Blue Letter Bible):

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

A. Four commandments regarding our conduct before God.

5. (Exodus 20:8-11) The fourth commandment: Remember the Sabbath day.

a. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: The command is to respect the seventh day (Saturday) as a day of rest (you shall do no work). This rest was for all of Israel — for the son and the servant and the stranger — even including cattle.

i. This is an important principle that might be too easily passed over. Here God declared the essential humanity and dignity of women, slaves, and strangers, and said they had the same right to a day of rest as the free Israeli man. This was certainly a radical concept in the ancient world.

ii. “The baser sort of people in Sweden do always break the Sabbath, saying that it is for gentlemen to keep that day.” (Trapp)

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10/09/2026

✏️ Side-Notes:

ABIDING IN GOD AND HIS LOVE

C. The nature of a love relationship with God.

5. (1 John 4:19) The reason for our love to Jesus:

Charles Spurgeon was a man who preached the whole counsel of God’s Word, and was careful to not excessively repeat himself in any one area. Yet, he preached five remarkable sermons on these eight words alone.The following comments draw much from Spurgeon’s work on this single verse.

a. We love Him: In this great statement, John begins by declaring the heart of every true follower of Jesus Christ. Simply and boldly put, we love Him.

i. This is a fact for every true follower of Jesus. “There is no exception to this rule; if a man loves not God, neither is he born of God. Show me a fire without heat, then show me regeneration that does not produce love to God.” (Spurgeon)

ii. It is something that every Christian should be unafraid to proclaim: “I love Him; I love Jesus.” Can you say that? Are you embarrassed to say it? Can you say, “I love Jesus”?

iii. “I cannot imagine a true man saying, ‘I love Christ, but I do not want others to know that I love him, lest they should laugh at me.’ That is a reason to be laughed at, or rather, to be wept over. Afraid of being laughed at? Oh sir, this is indeed a cowardly fear!” (Spurgeon)

iv. “Look through all the pages of history, and put to the noblest men and women, who seem to still live, this question, ‘Who loves Christ?’ and, at once, up from dark dungeons and cruel racks there rises the confessors’ cry, ‘We love him;’ and from the fiery stake, where they clapped their hands as they were being burned to death, the same answer comes, ‘We love him.’ If you could walk through the miles of catacombs at Rome, and if the holy dead, whose dust lies there, could suddenly wake up, they would all shout, ‘We love him.’ The best and the bravest of men, the noblest and purest of women, have all been in this glorious company; so, surely, you are not ashamed to come forward and say, ‘Put my name down among them.’” (Spurgeon)

Continued Below 👇🏾….

10/07/2026

✏️ Side-Notes:

HOW TO JUDGE AN APOSTLE

A. Does Paul walk according to the flesh?

3. (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) Does Paul minister according to the flesh?
…

c. Pulling down strongholds: Strongholds in this context are wrong thoughts and perceptions, contradicting the true knowledge of God and the nature of God. These strongholds are expressed in arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.

i. This reliance on carnal methods and the habit of carnal thinking is a true stronghold. It stubbornly sets down deep roots in the heart and mind, and it colors all of our actions and thinking. It is hard to let go of the thinking that values the things and ways of this world, but God’s power really can break down these strongholds.

ii. In Paul’s native land of Cilicia, some fifty years before he was born, Roman armies destroyed many rocky fortresses to defeat the pirates who had taken refuge in those strongholds. Perhaps Paul saw the ruins and thought of the battle needed to conquer those fortresses.

iii. Redpath writes of a practical way to battle with spiritual weapons and break down a stronghold: “When the thought comes and the person is reported to have said what he has said, and the unkindness has been passed over to us, and the criticism has been made, whereas carnality would say, ‘Counterattack!’ spirituality recognizes that nothing that any person could ever say about any one is really one hundredth part as bad as the truth if he only knew it. Therefore, we have no reason to counterattack, but one good reason to submit and to forget.”

iv. Praise God, strongholds can be pulled down! Clarke recounts with wonder one stronghold pulled down in history: “In like manner the doctrines of the reformation, mighty through God, pulled down — demolished and brought into captivity, the whole papal system; and instead of obedience to the pope, the pretended vicar of God upon the earth, obedience to Christ, as the sole almighty Head of the Church, was established, particularly in Great Britain, where it continues to prevail. Hallelujah! The Lord God Omnipotent reigneth!” (Adam Clarke)

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10/06/2026

✏️ Side-Notes:

PEACE AND JOY IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES

C. Paul comments on the giving of the Philippians.

3. (Philippians 4:19) Paul declares a promise to the Philippians regarding their own financial needs:

a. My God shall supply all your need: We shouldn’t think that the Philippians were wealthy benefactors of Paul who could easily spare the money. As Paul described them in 2 Corinthians 8, it is plain that their giving was sacrificial. This promise meant something to them!

i. “He says to them, ‘You have helped me; but my God shall supply you. You have helped me in one of my needs-my need of clothing and of food: I have other needs in which you could not help me; but my God shall supply all your need. You have helped me, some of you, out of your deep poverty, taking from your scanty store; but my God shall supply all your need out of his riches in glory.’” (Spurgeon)

b. Shall supply all your need: The promise is to supply all your need; but it is all your need (not a promise to go beyond needs) In this, the promise is both broad and yet restricted.

c. According to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus: This is a staggering measure of giving. Since there is no lack in God’s riches in glory, we should anticipate that there would be no lack in God’s supply.

i. “The rewarding will not be merely from His wealth, but also in a manner that befits His wealth — on a scale worthy of His wealth.” (Martin)

ii. Spurgeon thought that this verse was a great illustration of that wonderful miracle in 2 Kings 4:1-7, where Elisha told the widow to gather empty vessels, set them out, and pour forth the oil from the one small vessel of oil she had into the empty vessels. She filled and filled and miraculously filled until every empty vessel was full.

All our need is like the empty vessels.

God is the one who fills the empty vessels.

According to His riches in glory describes the style in which God fills the empty vessels — the oil keeps flowing until every available vessel is filled.

By Christ Jesus describes the how God meets our needs — our empty vessels are filled by Jesus in all His glory.

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10/05/2026

✏️ Side-Notes:

THE PATH OF THE JUST AND THE WAY OF THE WICKED

B. Keeping the heart away from the path of the wicked.

4. (Proverbs 4:23) Keep your heart:

a. Keep your heart with all diligence: Since wisdom belongs in the midst of the heart (Proverbs 4:21), it also is necessary to keep the heart in the sense of guarding it. In the sense Solomon meant here, the heart should be kept for wisdom, guarding it against the way of the wicked (Proverbs 4:19).

i. Especially from the perspective of the new covenant, which promises a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26), we can say that keep your heart implies a heart worth keeping — a new heart, one worth guarding.

ii. The heart is the reservoir, and change must begin there. If the reservoir is polluted, it does no good to fix the pipes and the valves.

iii. “The Bible warns us to avoid a double heart (Psalm 12:2), a hard heart (Proverbs 28:14), a proud heart (Proverbs 21:4), an unbelieving heart (Hebrews 3:12), a cold heart (Matthew 24:12), and an unclean heart (Psalm 51:10).” (Wiersbe)

b. With all diligence: This implies that it isn’t easy to guard or keep one’s heart. There will be many opportunities to give our heart to a person or a path that wisdom would warn against.

i. “As Satan keeps special watch here, so must we keep special watch as well. If the citadel is taken, the whole town must surrender. If the heart is captured, the whole man — affections, desires, motives, pursuits — will be handed over.” (Bridges)

Continued Below 👇🏾…

09/28/2026

✏️ Side-Notes:

🔑 Blue Letter Bible:

A NEW AND WONDERFUL LIFE IN THE SPIRIT

A. Life in the Spirit contrasted with life in the flesh.

4. (Romans 8:9-11) Christians are empowered to live in the Spirit:

c. And if the Spirit of Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin: Because Jesus lives in us, the old man (body) is dead, but the Spirit lives and reigns, and will live out His salvation even through our mortal bodies through resurrection.

i. Not only are we in Christ (Romans 8:1), but He also is in you, and because God cannot abide a sinful home, the body (old man) had to die when Jesus came in.

09/27/2026

✏️ Side-Notes:
🔑 Blue Letter Bible:

KINGDOM PARABLES AND KINGDOM POWER

A. The parable of the soils and the purpose of parables.

1. (Mark 4:1-9) Presentation of the parable of the soils:

a. He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea: Jesus often used a boat as His “pulpit” (Mark 3:9). It gave Him a place to speak away from the press of the crowds, it provided good acoustics, and it was probably a nice backdrop.

i. When Jesus taught from a boat, surely it was a new thing. We can imagine some critic saying, “You can’t do that! Teaching belongs in the synagogue or in some other appropriate place.” It would be easy to come up with objections: “The damp air might make people sick” or “There are a lot of mosquitoes down at the shore” or “Someone might drown.” But Jesus knew that teaching from a boat suited His purposes well enough.

b. Then He taught them many things by parables: The word parable comes from the idea of “to set along side.” As Jesus used parables, the idea was to set a spiritual truth along side a daily truth of living.

c. A sower went out to sow: In this parable, Jesus described something they were all familiar with — a farmer casting seed on the ground and the seed falling on different types of soil.

d. And it happened, as he sowed: The seed fell on three areas without lasting success: on the pathway (the wayside), on the rocky ground (on rock), and on the thorny ground (among thorns). But some of the seed fell on good ground.

i. It wasn’t that the farmer stupidly or carelessly sowed the seeds. Some seed fell on the pathway by accident (some fell by the wayside), but most of the seed was sown on ground that was plowed after the seed was cast. Therefore, you didn’t know where rocks were or where thorns might grow.

ii. Though this is commonly called the parable of the sower, it should really be called the parable of the soils. The difference is never the seed, but on the kind of soil it falls on.

e. Some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred: Of the seed that fell on the good ground, all of it produced — but not all produced to the same degree.

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