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Daybreak Calendar
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AUGUST 26
No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover it's meaning.
Ecclesiastes 8:17
God's Fault?
Despite their similarities, Job and Ecclesiastes reveal important differences. As this verse shows, the Teacher never really expected to solve life's riddles; his attitude of resignation contrasts with Job's combativeness. Also, in his anguish, Job sometimes questioned the character of God himself, demanding a personal explanation. At no time did the Teacher blame God for the unfairness and meaninglessness he saw around him. "God made mankind upright," he concludes, "but men have gone in search of many schemes."
AUGUST 27
These, then are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
Titus 2:15
Foolish Questions
The Cretan church struggled with issues its Jewish members introduced. These trends towards myths and "foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law" resemble the heresies Paul had warned against in the book of Colossians. Titus had to be prepared to deal with problems both of doctrine and of righteous living.
AUGUST 28
My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism.
James 2:1
Play No Favorites
James 2 gives a very pointed example of church members deferring to the wealthy and powerful. This direct application, hitting close to home, characterizes James. He leaves no room for ambiguity.
AUGUST 29
For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.
2 Thessalonians 2:7
Exactly What Will Happen?
Nearly every age has come up with a different interpretation of this passage. No one is certain about the "secret power of lawlessness" or "the one who now holds it back." A British writer, Tom Davies, quite sincerely, proposes television as the lawless one, since it has made violence so popular. This passage is obscure because Paul refers to further information he had taught the Thessalonians in person.
AUGUST 30
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:12-13
Paul's Secret
Shipwrecked, beaten, imprisoned, Paul had seen the down side of life. He had also known prosperity. Both, he suggests, offer temptations. But Paul had discovered a secret for contentment in all situations: his deeply personal sense of living in Christ. In this he found strength to handle anything.
AUGUST 31
For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
2 Thessalonians 3:10
No Work, No Eat
Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians had affirmed that Jesus could return at any time, unexpectedly. Evidently, this anticipation had prompted some to quit their jobs and do nothing but wait for the second coming. (Dozens of times religious sects have followed the same pattern in the United States by heading for remote areas to await Christ's return.) To correct the imbalance, in this second letter Paul stresses that certain events must happen before Christ's return. He also strongly urges against idleness.
Taken from The Student Bible Daybreak Calendar, NIV. Copyright © 1998 by The Zondervan Corporation. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. August 26 - August 31.
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