Chad Bird

09/05/2026

God's Address Change, John 1. Head to www.1517.org/oneyear for the reading guide and to catch up on previous posts from the Bible in One Year series.⁠
Happy Studying!

09/05/2026

Long before the Word became flesh, the Word of God was already appearing to his people.

In the Old Testament, the Son appears as the Messenger of the LORD, the Wisdom of God, the Son of Man, the Commander of the LORD's hosts, and the Word of the LORD.

The Hebrew word davar (דָּבָר) usually means "word," but it can also mean "thing" or "matter." That double meaning becomes fascinating when Scripture describes the "word of the LORD" not merely being spoken, but actually appearing and acting.

In Genesis 15, "the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision" (15:1). This Word speaks with Abram, but then does something surprising: "he brought him outside" to look at the stars (15:5). The Word is not merely heard. He is seen, moving and interacting with Abram.

Something similar happens with Samuel. We are told that "the word of the LORD was rare" because "there was no frequent vision" (1 Sam. 3:1). Then Yahweh "came and stood" before Samuel (3:10). The chapter concludes that "the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD" (3:21).

Then consider Jeremiah. "The word of the LORD came" to him (Jer. 1:4), but this Word does more than speak. "The LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth" (1:9). The Word is heard, seen, and even touches Jeremiah.

These passages prepare us for what we read today in Bible in One Year: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:1, 14).

John's language did not come out of nowhere. He didn't invent it. John was a faithful student of the Torah and Prophets. He knew that long before the Word became flesh permanently in the incarnation, the Word had already appeared temporarily in human form to many believers in the OT.

As Christians in the Scottish Highlands used to say to David Murray, "Christ enjoyed trying on the clothes of his incarnation."

These OT appearances of the Son were dress rehearsals for Bethlehem.
_______
For more on the Old Testament appearances of the Son of God, see my book, The Christ Key, https://a.co/d/01NXZ282

09/04/2026

Examine Yourselves? 2 Corinthians 13. Head to www.1517.org/oneyear for the reading guide and to catch up on previous posts from the Bible in One Year series.⁠
Happy Studying!

09/04/2026

In a riveting scene in the movie, “Saving Private Ryan,” an American soldier named Jackson is firing on German troops from inside a church’s bell tower.

His back against the wall, he begins praying a psalm, “Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight….” (144:1 KJV). He pauses, fires twice, then continues, “My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer…” (144:2 KJV). Again, he pulls the trigger, then continues, “My shield, and he in whom I trust” (144:2 KJV).

Moments later, as he sees a tank about to fire on his location, his dying words are a shout to a friend, “Parker, get out!”

That cinematic use of Psalm 144 by a soldier in World War II is a powerful reminder that the psalms are not old. Every day they are a “new song,” as fresh and potent now as when they were written.

The God who trained David’s “hands for war” and “fingers for battle,” and who did the same for Jackson in the movie, has not retired. The Lord teaches us all how to fight, for there are no noncombatants in the kingdom of God, though how and where we fight is unique for each of us.

When a father walks into church, holding the hand of his little girl, his own hands and those of his daughter are trained for war and fingers for battle. This outwardly simple act is done in defiance of hell’s rabid hatred of truth, love, family, and worship.

When we pray, labor, and serve; when we feed the poor and stand up for the innocent; when we “take up the whole armor of God” to “stand against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11), Psalm 144 is our prayer.

When I pray these words, I also picture Jesus on the cross, stretching out his hands to rescue and deliver us (144:7). He looks left then right, at his hands and fingers, impaled and bloody, going to war, to win for us the fight of all fights.
_____
From my book, Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of Psalms, https://a.co/d/07kzVw4V

09/03/2026

Our Story vs. God's Story, 2 Corinthians 12. Dive into the Bible in One year series at www.1517.org/oneyear for the reading guide and to catch up on previous posts.

09/03/2026

A man walks into an interview for a prestigious job. When asked about his qualifications, rather than highlighting his strengths and accomplishments, he begins to list his scars, weaknesses, and all the ways life has beaten him down and humbled him.

Would he be hired? Um, no.

But that is basically the kind of "interview" Paul gives the Corinthian church. Rather than boasting of his strengths, in 2 Corinthians 11–12 he documents the suffering he endured as an apostle.

He boasts of his weaknesses because, for Christ's sake, he is content with "weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities." For when Paul is weak, then he is strong (2 Cor. 12:10).

In the middle of this discussion, Paul says that to keep him from becoming conceited, "a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me" (12:7).

In Greek, the word for "messenger" [ἄγγελος] is also the word for "angel," and "harass" [κολαφίζω] means to strike, slap, or beat, such as when Jesus was "struck" (Matt. 26:67). We are also reminded of Job, whom Satan himself smote (Job 2:7).

Paul's experience echoes Psalm 140, where David speaks of evil men who "plan evil things," stir up wars, sharpen their tongues like serpents, and have "the venom of asps" under their lips (140:2–3). They have mouths from hell, perfectly at home in the face of a messenger of Satan, where lies reign supreme.

What David suffered, what Job suffered, and what Paul suffered was not good. But God used it for good. God does not get nervous when evil happens, wondering if he can somehow, someway, possibly bring good out of it. He knows he can.

He is the good God who has never met an evil he cannot turn around for the good of his people.

So let us boast not in ourselves but in our weaknesses, pointing instead to our gracious Savior, who endured the attacks of Satan, insults, lies, thorns, striking, and suffering to redeem us. The boast of the Christian life is Christ, not the Christian.

And remember: "the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Rom. 8:18).
_____
We read both 2 Corinthians 12 and Psalm 140 today in Bible in One Year.

09/02/2026

As Jesus' disciples, we do not face an uncertain future. Granted, we do not know what will happen to us tomorrow or next week or over the next few years. Nor do we know when or how our lives will end. We’re not prophets or soothsayers.

But our future is far from uncertain. We know what will happen at the end of the world. We can open up the Bible any time we choose, and read about the last chapter of world history. It’s right there in Revelation, in black-and-white.

And the message? Jesus wins! And in Jesus, we win. The resurrection is coming. All tears will be wiped away. All cancer will die. All abuse will cease. All hatred will end.

That is not a wish or a good guess or a probable eschatological forecast. It’s a divine fact, grounded in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus from the grave. His ultimate victory at the end of time—which is also our victory—is as solid and certain as is the glory of his resurrected flesh.

09/02/2026

09/02/2026

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, Psalm 139. Head to www.1517.org/oneyear for the reading guide and to catch up on previous posts from the Bible in One Year series.⁠
Happy Studying!

09/02/2026

The most "infamous" Psalm verse is this: "Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!" (137:9).

What? Why is this there?

What today would be classified as war crimes were often standard operating procedure in ancient warfare, like ripping open pregnant women or dashing in pieces their little ones (e.g., 2 Kings 8:12; Isa. 13:16). If just imagining that violence sickens us, try to fathom being forced to watch this nightmare happen to those you love.

Israel did. The Babylonian soldiers seized Israelite babies and smashed them against rocks, while their Edomite allies cheered on the mayhem and murder in the city, gloating over it all (Ps. 137:7, 9; Obadiah 10-14).

A ravenous pack of flesh-tearing hyenas had more humanity in it than did the destroyers of Jerusalem on that day of diabolical horror.

So, Israel cried out to the God who says, “Vengeance is mine” (Deut. 32:35), to avenge, to repay, an eye for an eye: “O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us! Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!” (137:8-9).

Unless you have seen your child murdered before your very eyes, do not stand in judgment against those who prayed this red-hot prayer. It was written in agony, prayed in heartbreak, and handed over to the Judge to do with as he saw fit.

Some are troubled by prayers such as these. I am not.

I am grateful they are recorded, for there are times in life when we all want, and need, to pray them. We need volcanically to explode in molten petitions that capture emotions for which prim and proper verbiage would never suffice. We hand our pain, in the form of untamed prayers, to God. His are the only hands tough enough to hold such burning lines. He will hear. He will know what is best.

Revenge is taken from us, and judgment falls in the heavenly court, where it belongs, with our God and our Savior, who always knows and does what is best.

*For more thoughts on the Imprecatory Psalms, see my YouTube video, "Should Christians Pray the Imprecatory Psalms?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuDpfaezuJA