Dave Dishman

Guidance from Overlooked Men and Women of the Bible

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Know Them To Use Them

March 16, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness in ways I can’t fully comprehend. Satan is the master tempter – he knows how to prod for weaknesses, sow doubts, and make you believe your bad decision is your best decision.

Satan twisted scripture to entice, and Jesus spoke scripture to counter. Jesus, intimately knowledgable, defended against the lies of Satan by quoting truth from the Bible.

The scriptures on my shelf wait as a powerful resource – the only effective weapon available to me – as I attempt to resist Satan and follow the Lord.

However, I have to know them to use them.

Luke 4 in week eleven of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Growing With Storms In Mind

March 15, 2021 / / 0 Comments

A major storm slowly moved through Colorado this weekend, dropping eighteen inches of snow at our house.

The trees in our yard respond to snow in different ways. One set, like the tree on the left, are non-native to Colorado and break under a load of heavy, wet spring snow. After a big storm, I often spend the next couple of weekends trimming off broken branches.

The other set of trees are evergreens native to the mountains. Spruce and pine, like the tree on the right, understand snow. These trees shrug heavy piles off with hardly a notice. I won’t find a broken branch among them.

Spending time in the Scriptures helps me shoulder the heavy, wet snows that blow into my life, hopefully resembling a mountain pine rather than a flowering crabapple.

As an added bonus, understanding more about the Lord, and trusting the Holy Spirit, prepares me for the storms on the horizon.

Week eleven of reading the Bible cover to cover.

Thank You, King James

March 14, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Certain passages sound better in the King James Version of the Bible. Published in 1611 under the sponsorship of James, king of England, Scotland and Ireland, the KJV grew into the most widely used English text in the world.

These days I read from a variety of newer versions, preferring the New International Version (NIV) for reading and the English Standard Version (ESV) for textual accuracy. But today, reading the story of the birth of Jesus in Luke, I turned to King James.

When confronted by angels, my modern version tells me the shepherds watching their flocks by night were filled with great fear (Luke 2:9). The KJV uses rather archaic language to describe them as sore afraid.

Sore. The word in this context carries a violent meaning. Intense, painful fear. So terrified the shepherds hurt. Fear that pushed them to the ground in abject terror.

Not exactly what I think of when I imagine being touched by an angel. I dimly recognize, from this and similar passages, that I really have no clue about the heavenly realms surrounding us – which is both terribly frightening and terribly exciting.

The angels calmed the shepherds and announced the greatest news ever told: Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11 KJV).

Good tidings of great joy for King James of England, Scotland and Ireland, and good tidings of great joy for me and you.

Week eleven of reading the Bible cover to cover

Disappointment, Bitterness, & Gratitude

March 13, 2021 / / 0 Comments

As I’m reading through the Bible this year (see the link on the sidebar for the reading plan), Saturdays have become a catch-up day. I look back over the passages from the week where, no surprise, something unexpected stands out.

This morning I noticed Psalm 113:9. He (the Lord) settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children. I flipped next to Luke 1 and the story of Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, a childless woman well into her old age.

Elizabeth certainly knew this psalm. A devout woman, married to a priest, she thought about these words and prayed them and hoped in them and cried over them.

Then, a mile past hope, God fulfilled this particular promise for her. Elizabeth’s response: The Lord has done this for me.

I struggle with disappointments as I pray and ask the Lord for what seems to me good things for me and for those I love. Sometimes those things come, and sometimes not. So it’s helpful to read about Elizabeth and her response to this long-delayed gift.

Gracious, not bitter. Rather than spin on what I think I’m missing, Elizabeth helps me look with gratitude on what the Lord has done for me, and hope for what is yet to come.

Week ten of reading the Bible cover to cover

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About Dave

Hi, I'm Dave Dishman

I find the people of the Bible fascinating. I love digging into their stories and navigating the world guided by their wisdom. I read through the Bible every year, and always unearth something unexpected. Along with being a reader, I'm an author, teacher, traveler, husband, father and grandfather. I’ve worked in ministry for 39 years. Along with a degree in Biology, I also hold Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees. In my free time I enjoy the outdoors, working in the garden, playing golf, and reading good books.

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