Thurzo Gizella Bible Study

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Psalm 30:5 KJV

A Christian’s goal should be to create the Kingdom of God here on earth, as it is in Heaven. Not only, to get to Heaven.

To finish the Bible in one year, Read Isaiah 3-4 and Acts 10.

To view all previous blogs click here.

Verses for today – Listen here: For explanations

Reflection for Today.

My other websites:

Also read the verses, if you like.

Isaiah 3

For now the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts,
    is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah
support and staff—
    all support of bread
    and all support of water—
² warrior and soldier,
    judge and prophet,
    diviner and elder,
³ captain of fifty
    and dignitary,
counselor and skillful magician
    and expert enchanter.
⁴ And I will make youths their princes,
    and children shall rule over them.
⁵ The people will be oppressed,
    everyone by another
    and everyone by a neighbor;
the youth will be insolent to the elder
    and the base to the honorable.

⁶ Someone will seize a relative,
    a member of the clan, saying,
“You have a cloak;
    you shall be our leader,
and this heap of ruins
    shall be under your rule.”
⁷ But the other will cry out on that day, saying,
“I will not be a healer;
    in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;
you shall not make me
    leader of the people.”
⁸ For Jerusalem has stumbled,
    and Judah has fallen,
because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord,
    defying his glorious presence.

⁹ The look on their faces bears witness against them;
    they proclaim their sin like Sodom;
    they do not hide it.
Woe to them,
    for they have brought evil on themselves.
¹⁰ Tell the innocent how fortunate they are,
    for they shall eat the fruit of their labors.
¹¹ Woe to the guilty! How unfortunate they are,
    for what their hands have done shall be done to them.
¹² My people—their oppressors extort them,
    and creditors^[a] rule over them.
O my people, your leaders mislead you
    and confuse the course of your paths.

¹³ The Lord rises to argue his case;
    he stands to judge the peoples.
¹⁴ The Lord enters into judgment
    with the elders and princes of his people:
It is you who have devoured the vineyard;
    the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
¹⁵ What do you mean by crushing my people,
    by grinding the face of the poor? says the Lord God of hosts.

¹⁶ The Lord said:
Because the daughters of Zion are haughty
    and walk with outstretched necks,
    glancing wantonly with their eyes,
mincing along as they go,
    tinkling with their feet;
¹⁷ the Lord will afflict with scabs
    the heads of the daughters of Zion,
    and the Lord will lay bare their scalps and heads.

¹⁸ On that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents; ¹⁹ the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarfs; ²⁰ the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; ²¹ the signet rings and nose rings; ²² the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; ²³ the garments of gauze, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.

²⁴ Instead of perfume there will be a stench;
    and instead of a sash, a rope;
and instead of well-styled hair, baldness;
    and instead of a rich robe, a binding of sackcloth;
    instead of beauty, shame.^[b]
25 Your men shall fall by the sword
    and your warriors in battle.
²⁶ And her gates shall lament and mourn;
    desolate, she shall sit upon the ground.

Isaiah 4

4 Seven women shall take hold of one man on that day, saying,

“We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes;
just let us be called by your name;
    take away our disgrace.”

The Future Glory of the Survivors in Zion

² On that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel. ³ Whoever is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, ⁴ once the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. ⁵ Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over its places of assembly a cloud by day and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night. Indeed, over all the glory there will be a canopy. ⁶ It will serve as a pavilion, a shade by day from the heat and a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.

Acts 9

Peter and Cornelius

10 In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, as it was called. ² He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God. ³ One afternoon at about three o’clock he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius.” ⁴ He stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” He answered, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. ⁵ Now send men to Joppa for a certain Simon who is called Peter; ⁶ he is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.” ⁷ When the angel who spoke to him had left, he called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks of those who served him, ⁸ and after telling them everything he sent them to Joppa.

⁹ About noon the next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. ¹⁰ He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while it was being prepared he fell into a trance. ¹¹ He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. ¹² In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air. ¹³ Then he heard a voice saying, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” ¹⁴ But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.” ¹⁵ The voice said to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” ¹⁶ This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven.

¹⁷ Now while Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had seen, suddenly the men sent by Cornelius appeared. They were asking for Simon’s house and were standing by the gate. ¹⁸ They called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was staying there. ¹⁹ While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Look, three^[a] men are searching for you. ²⁰ Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation, for I have sent them.” ²¹ So Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for your coming?” ²² They answered, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous^[b] and God-fearing man who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish people, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” ²³ So Peter^[c] invited them in and gave them lodging.

The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the brothers and sisters from Joppa accompanied him. ²⁴ The following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵ On Peter’s arrival, Cornelius met him and, falling at his feet, worshiped him. ²⁶ But Peter made him get up, saying, “Stand up; I am only a mortal.” ²⁷ And as he talked with him, he went in and found that many had assembled, ²⁸ and he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is improper for a Jew to associate with or to visit an outsider, but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. ²⁹ So when I was sent for, I came without objection. Now may I ask why you sent for me?”

³⁰ Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock, I was praying in my house when suddenly a man in dazzling clothes stood before me. ³¹ He said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms have been remembered before God. ³² Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is called Peter; he is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ ³³ Therefore I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. So now all of us are here in the presence of God to listen to all that the Lord has commanded you to say.”

Gentiles Hear the Good News

³⁴ Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, ³⁵ but in every people anyone who fears him and practices righteousness^[d] is acceptable to him. ³⁶ You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. ³⁷ That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: ³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. ³⁹ We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, ⁴⁰ but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, ⁴¹ not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit

⁴⁴ While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. ⁴⁵ The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the gentiles, ⁴⁶ for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, ⁴⁷ “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” ⁴⁸ So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.

Sermons by various teachers about these verses.

Catholic Daily Readings and Reflections

Reading 1, Wisdom 9:13-18

¹³ ‘What human being indeed can know the intentions of God? And who can comprehend the will of the Lord?

¹⁴ For the reasoning of mortals is inadequate, our attitudes of mind unstable;

¹⁵ for a perishable body presses down the soul, and this tent of clay weighs down the mind with its many cares.

¹⁶ It is hard enough for us to work out what is on earth, laborious to know what lies within our reach; who, then, can discover what is in the heavens?

¹⁷ And who could ever have known your will, had you not given Wisdom and sent your holy Spirit from above?

¹⁸ Thus have the paths of those on earth been straightened and people have been taught what pleases you, and have been saved, by Wisdom.’

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14-17

³ You bring human beings to the dust, by saying, ‘Return, children of Adam.’

⁴ A thousand years are to you like a yesterday which has passed, like a watch of the night.

⁵ You flood them with sleep — in the morning they will be like growing grass:

⁶ in the morning it is blossoming and growing, by evening it is withered and dry.

¹² Teach us to count up the days that are ours, and we shall come to the heart of wisdom.

¹³ Come back, Yahweh! How long must we wait? Take pity on your servants.

¹⁴ Each morning fill us with your faithful love, we shall sing and be happy all our days;

¹⁵ let our joy be as long as the time that you afflicted us, the years when we experienced disaster.

¹⁶ Show your servants the deeds you do, let their children enjoy your splendour!

¹⁷ May the sweetness of the Lord be upon us, to confirm the work we have done!

Gospel, Luke 14:25-33

²⁵ Great crowds accompanied him on his way and he turned and spoke to them.

²⁶ ‘Anyone who comes to me without hating father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, cannot be my disciple.

²⁷ No one who does not carry his cross and come after me can be my disciple.

²⁸ ‘And indeed, which of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it?

²⁹ Otherwise, if he laid the foundation and then found himself unable to finish the work, anyone who saw it would start making fun of him and saying,

³⁰ “Here is someone who started to build and was unable to finish.”

³¹ Or again, what king marching to war against another king would not first sit down and consider whether with ten thousand men he could stand up to the other who was advancing against him with twenty thousand?

³² If not, then while the other king was still a long way off, he would send envoys to sue for peace.

³³ So in the same way, none of you can be my disciple without giving up all that he owns.

Reading 2, Philemon 1:9-10, 12-17

⁹ I am rather appealing to your love, being what I am, Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus.

¹⁰ I am appealing to you for a child of mine, whose father I became while wearing these chains: I mean Onesimus.

¹² I am sending him back to you — that is to say, sending you my own heart.

¹³ I should have liked to keep him with me; he could have been a substitute for you, to help me while I am in the chains that the gospel has brought me.

¹⁴ However, I did not want to do anything without your consent; it would have been forcing your act of kindness, which should be spontaneous.

¹⁵ I suppose you have been deprived of Onesimus for a time, merely so that you could have him back for ever,

¹⁶ no longer as a slave, but something much better than a slave, a dear brother; especially dear to me, but how much more to you, both on the natural plane and in the Lord.

¹⁷ So if you grant me any fellowship with yourself, welcome him as you would me;

Dr. Myles Munroe

I am including a video by Dr. Myles Munroe, I’ve listened to him back in the nineties, and rediscovered him recently. Now his perspective seems to be a good way to also look at scripture. In Pursuit of Purpose – Book Highlights