I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

Job 34-36:33

     Elihu challenges Job for claiming to be innocent and for saying that it is a waste of time trying to please God. He tells us that God does not sin and cannot do wrong. Elihu tells us that God watches how people live, there is no way to hide anything from Him. It is God who determines when we will come before Him for judgment. When the poor and needy cry out, God hears them, but if he chooses to remain quiet, who are we to criticize Him? God is a god of justice, but He will not tailor His justice to our standards. It is up to us to meet His standards. Elihu tells Job that he was in the wrong for failing to show respect to God and for speaking angrily against Him.
     Elihu tells us that Job asked what was in it for him to behave righteously. However, Elihu points out that God gains nothing when we live righteously and loses nothing when we sin. Whether we live righteously or sinfully has no impact on God. There is nothing that we can give God that He does not already have. Nevertheless, when we cry out to God, He hears and will bring justice in His time. God makes an effort to get our attention and to show us when we do wrong. If we listen and turn from our sins, God will reward us. The godless are full of resentment towards God and refuse to cry out to Him when they are in trouble.
     Elihu condemns Job for being obsessed with whether or not God will judge the wicked. He tells Job, and us, that we should not concern ourselves with that. Instead, we should seek to do right and avoid being seduced into doing evil. God is greater than we can understand. Rather than blame Him for not doing things as we think He should, we are to praise His mighty works and sing of His glory.

2 Corinthians 4:1-12

     Paul tells the Corinthians that since God, in His mercy, has given Paul this ministry to this new covenant, he does not and will not lose heart, no matter what difficulties he may face. Paul further says that he has renounced using any sort of trickery to spread the Gospel. The Gospel is only veiled to those who refuse to believe and have allowed Satan to blind them to glorious light of the Good News. Paul emphasized that the message he preached was not about himself, rather he preached that Christ was Lord. The God who said, “Let there be light,” and thus caused the entire universe to explode into being, has made the light of the Gospel shine in our hearts so that we can see the glory of God as displayed on the face of Christ.
     Yet despite all of this, we are fragile like clay jars. It is not our power that allows us to witness to others about the greatness of God. Anything we accomplish is from the all-surpassing power of God. We carry in our bodies the death of Jesus so that His life can be revealed through us.

***
     From time to time a group of Christians will attempt to come up with a program that will attract people to their events without people realizing that the event is being sponsored by Christians. I think that part of Paul’s message here is that this is a mistake. We should be upfront about who we are and the message we are preaching. We are not going to bring anyone to the Lord by our own cleverness, or power. It is only through the action of the Holy Spirit that individuals come to Christ.

Psalm 44:1-8

     It is not by the might of our arms, or the brilliance of our strategies, that we will gain victory that lasts. It is only through the might of God as we serve His will that we will be victorious as we face this life’s struggles and as we strive to bring others to know Him.

Proverbs 22:10-12

     If you have a group that is beset by strife, get rid of those who mock others and the strife will go with them. God watches over those who act openly and above board, but frustrates the plans of those who lie and cheat.

***

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

Job 31-33:33

     Job once more declares his innocence. A look at the sins which he tells us he has never committed remind me of what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. He starts by saying that he has never looked with lust at a young woman. He continues by saying that he has not lied nor deceived anyone. Notice here that it is not enough to tell the truth, you must not tell it in such a manner so as to deceive your listener. Job continues by declaring that he was never unfair to his servants, nor did he ever refuse to help the poor. This passage is a great one to read if we want to know how we are called by God to behave.
     When Job had finished, Elihu speaks up. We do not know when Elihu arrived, but he is the only one of Job’s friends who is not called upon by God to apologize to Job. Elihu begins by telling Job’s other friends that he waited for them to speak because he was younger than they and he recognized that with age comes wisdom. However, they have failed to refute Job’s arguments and Elihu thinks they have used faulty logic. Elihu begins by saying that Job has declared that he is without sin and that God is persecuting him unjustly. He tells Job that he is wrong to accuse God of not speaking to those who seek Him. Elihu declares that God speaks to people over and over, but people fail to recognize His voice.

***
     Today’s passage is fabulous, both in Job’s statement laying out how someone who truly following God will behave. It gives places righteous behavior in a positive light rather than a negative light. Righteousness is not about not doing certain things. Rather it is about doing things that are righteous, treating people right, helping the poor and oppressed, etc..
     Then Elihu speaks and challenges Job’s claims that God does not answer his cries. Elihu begins by telling us that the young should give their elders respect and wait to hear their wisdom, but that that does not mean that only those who are older have wisdom to share. Elihu then tells us that if we do not hear God’s voice, it is because we have refused to recognize when God speaks to us. I can not count the number of times I have cried out to God, “Please tell me what to do!” only to finally realize that He had been giving me an answer and I was not listening.

2 Corinthians 3:1-18

     Paul realizes that what he has been saying in the last section could be taken as bragging and denies that he is doing so. He points out that he needs no letter of recommendation. The only letter of recommendation he is interested in is the lives lived by the Corinthian Christians. Then Paul makes a great assertion of faith:

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.

We can have great confidence in what we do, as long as we remember that any competence we have to address the problems in front of us comes from God. This is a reminder that just because we can confidently undertake the tasks which God has set before us, it does not mean that we are better than others.
     Paul continues by saying that the competence he has been given is as a minister of God’s new covenant, a covenant, not of laws, but of the Spirit. The old covenant of laws etched into stone brought death, yet it came with such glory that the people could not look directly on Moses face because it shone so brightly with God’s glory. How much more brightly, Paul asks, will the new covenant which brings life glow in God’s glory? We do not need to be either like Moses, who put a veil over his face to protect the people from seeing the glory of God, or like the people who could not stand to look directly on God’s face. Something like the veil which Moses wore over his face comes over everybody’s heart when the words of Scripture are read, UNLESS it is removed by faith in Christ. When someone today reads Moses’ writings there is a veil over their heart. But if someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away and they can fully understand the message in God’s Word. Those of us who have turned to the Lord can thus reflect God’s glory for everyone to see.

***
     Do people see God’s glory when they look at me? I’m afraid the answer, all to often, is “No”. I will continue to strive to better allow the Spirit to shine through me and I will pray that the Spirit shine through me despite my attempts to dim that light to avoid embarrassment.

Psalm 43:1-5

     When I am discouraged, I need to ask myself why. There is no reason to be sad and discouraged when we put our hope in God. Which tells me that when I am sad and discouraged it is because I am relying on myself rather than God.

Proverbs 22:8-9

     Those who spread injustice will reap calamity. Injustice inevitably results in disaster which will come back to those who committed the injustice. Those who are generous are blessed by their very generosity (although not ONLY by their generosity).

***

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

Job 12-15:35

     Job responds to Zophar by sarcastically saying that when his visiting friends die, wisdom will die with them. However, Job tells them that he knew everything they had said, they are no better than he. Job claims that he, a just and blameless man, is facing trouble while the wicked live in safety. He tells his friends to look around, it is clear that his trouble comes from the hand of God.
     Job continues by saying that while those who have age and experience possess some wisdom, true wisdom and power belong to God. Everyone is subject to God’s plans and actions. No one is able to escape the fate that God has chosen for them. From that statement, Job moves on to asking for the opportunity to make his case before God directly. He asks God to show him what he has done wrong.
     Eliphaz responds to Job a second time. He accuses Job of lacking proper fear and respect for God. He asks Job if any mortal can be pure or just in God’s sight? Eliphaz then says that the wicked suffers torment continuously. He goes on to describe the kinds of trouble that he says finds the wicked. The implication of what he is saying is that, since Job is suffering these torments, he must be a wicked man.

***

1 Corinthians 15:29-58

     Paul continues his arguments for believing in the resurrection of the dead with an interesting question,

Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?(NIV)

Further he asks why would he and those ministering with him risk their lives on a regular basis if there was no resurrection from the dead. Finally, Paul argues that if there is no resurrection of the dead than we should drink and party for tomorrow we die. Paul responds to this by saying that we should not be fooled by those who say such things. We are to think carefully and stop sinning. Some of those who make such arguments do not know God at all.

***
     Paul’s question about being baptized for the dead is an interesting one. I would really like to know what was going on with that. However, it suggests that the early Church put more emphasis on the importance of baptism than we do today. This makes me think that the early Church believed that baptism was required for salvation. So much so that they were baptized for those who had died without the chance to be baptized in life (there are other possible interpretations that I will not go into today).
     There is another point in this discussion that I think is worth thinking about as well. Paul quotes here a Greek poet who says “Bad company corrupts good character.” In this context Paul seems to be saying two things. First, that some people hold to certain beliefs that are contrary to the Gospel because those beliefs justify to them continuing to practice one sin or another (in my experience this is usually some sort of sexual sin, but greed runs a close second). Second. that we should not associate with such people because in time, even if we do not initially share their beliefs, we are likely to be corrupted by their heresy.
***
     Paul then continues his discussion of the resurrection of the dead by discussing what kind of bodies we will have after we are resurrected. He emphasizes that we will have bodies. However, they will be different from our current bodies in ways which we cannot even begin to comprehend. They will be at least as different from our current bodies as the sun is from the moon. Our current bodies are subject to sinful impulses. Our heavenly bodies will have no such weaknesses. Paul tells us that not all of us will die, but all believers will be transformed from earthly bodies to heavenly bodies.
***
     This passage is one which gives me as a Christian great hope in the face of death. God has promised that our mortal bodies will be transformed into bodies that will not know corruption, that will not be subject to the aches and pains we all begin to feel as we age. More than that, I can have confidence that those I love who know the Lord who have died are experiencing something wonderful beyond description. “Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?
What a wonderful thought that the day is coming when I will understand this in full, when death will be a thing of the past and I will no longer need to say goodbye, if even only for a short while, to those I love. But even now, I know that those I love who know the Lord will only be parted from me for a short while. Which is even greater incentive for me to preach the Gospel to my friends. If they do not accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, then death will part us forever.
***
     There is one final thing that Paul says in today’s passage. He instructs us to work enthusiastically for the Lord, because nothing we do for the Lord is ever useless. In other words, if we dedicate ourselves to some task for the purpose of serving God, even if we fail to accomplish the goal to which we set ourselves something of value will result. It reminds me of the story of the Sunday School teacher who taught Sunday School in a small congregation that never got very big all of her life. One of her children she taught went on to preach somewhere else. That child, now a grown man, led someone to commit their life to Christ. That latter someone became a major evangelist who called hundreds of thousands to the Lord. The Sunday School teacher never saw much fruit from her labor, but because of her labor many were saved.(When I first heard this story the evangelist was named, but I no longer remember who it was).

Psalm 39:1-13

     The psalmist tells us that he vowed to himself not to sin in what he said. In order to keep this vow, he kept silent around the ungodly. But when he kept his silent as they did what was wrong, his heart burned within him. Until the words burst forth to call upon God. He was reminded, and reminded those around him, that his days were limited and his life would be short. His only hope is in the Lord, without God life is short and meaningless. If we do not turn to God and allow Him to rescue us, our life will be nothing but suffering and misery. It will be empty and meaningless.

***
     I know what I wrote above to be true. I experienced how empty life is without God and am grateful that He has granted me the gift of His grace. I read this psalm and thought of the many friends I have who believe that there is no God. I weep for them, because I was there and the depression I felt was unbearable. I am not positive that the meaning I read into this psalm is what the psalmist meant, but it is the one that came to me.

Proverbs 21:30-31

     No matter how wise we are, no matter how carefully we plan, if what we are attempting is not what the Lord wills, it will fail. In addition, no matter what we try, God’s plans will come to fruition resulting just as He intended. We may make all the preparations that we wish, but when battle is joined, victory will belong to those chosen by God.

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

Job 8-11:20

     Bildad is the next of Job’s friends to reply to him. Bildad starts by saying that Job’s children must have sinned and thus deserved to die. He then goes on to state some truths about this life. He says that those who forget God are like marsh grass without water, they quickly wither. In addition, he tells Job that the hopes of the godless soon evaporate. They cling to things which will not last for security, but those things will not hold. Finally, he tells Job that God will not reject a person of integrity.
     Job responds that he accepts what Bildad has said is true, but how does that help him? Job complains that he has no way to make his case before God. Job says that God is so much greater than any human that we cannot help but be in terror of God when we come into His presence. He wishes for a mediator between God and man, so that we would not need to speak before God in our own strength. The message of the Gospel is that there is such a mediator, Jesus Christ. Job then accuses God of creating him in order to find him guilty of some sin. Job begins to complain against God.
     It is now Zophar’s turn to answer Job. Zophar begins by telling Job that God is surely punishing him less than he deserves. Zophar tells Job that he must surely be guilty of some great sin to be suffering as he is. He then goes on to make a good point. God is so much greater than we are that it is impossible for us to ever fully comprehend why God is doing the things that He does. Our finite minds do not have the capacity to understand the reasons that motivate an infinite God. There comes a point where we must take it on faith that what God does is good.

1 Corinthians 15:1-28

     Paul now moves on to his next topic. He starts the topic by reminding them what he taught them as the Gospel from the beginning. That Gospel was that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised from the dead. Included in that was a list of people who had seen Him after He had had risen. At the end of that list was Paul himself,. Paul stated that he was not worthy of such an honor because of the way he had persecuted the Church. Despite the fact that he was unworthy, he preached the same message as the other apostles and that was the message which the Corinthian Church had believed.
     Paul now asks, since a basic element of the Gospel itself is that Jesus rose from the dead, how can some be teaching that there is no resurrection from the dead? If there is no resurrection from the dead, than Christ Himself could not have risen. If Christ has not risen from the dead, then those who have been preaching the Gospel are liars. If they are liars then nothing they have preached is of any value. If Christ was not raised, then the faith which the Corinthian Church had was useless. If our hope in Christ is only for this life, then those who rely on it are to be pitied more than any others.

***
     Every now and again I come upon someone who that if it was proved to them that Jesus never rose from the dead, it would not effect their faith. They always phrase it in such a manner as to imply that their faith is strong enough to withstand even such a challenge. However, if you probe a bit, carefully so as to not reveal that you completely agree with Paul, what you discover is that they do not really believe in anything miraculous, let alone resurrection from the dead.
     The point Paul makes here is that if Christ did not rise from the dead, then those who originally preached the Gospel were either liars, frauds, and con-men, or they were delusional. In either case, there is no way that the message they preached was of any value, since the heart of their message was that Jesus had risen from the dead. Everything else hung on that one fact. That was not the whole of the Gospel, but without it, none of the rest fits together.

Psalm 38:1-22

     The psalmist admits that he is suffering because of the wrong he has done. He calls out to God for redemption. God knows what he desires. His enemies are attempting to use his failings to undo all of the good he has done, but he will not give in to their desires. He has confessed his sin before God and regrets doing wrong. He will wait for the Lord to answer his cries and follow the instructions he receives from the Lord.

Proverbs 21:28-29

     A false witness will soon be found out, but those who listen to the truth a relay it to others will always be able to gain a hearing. The wicked attempt to make things up as they go along, but the virtuous are careful to plan to do what is right.