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. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more. in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

    I prefer the NIV translation of this proverb. The righteous desire only things which lead to good for themselves and others. The wicked on the other hand hope for things which bring about wrath and judgment.

    Praise belongs to God for His greatness. God faithfully answers our prayers with mighty deeds. I do not deserve the things which God has done for me. I have sinned beyond any legitimate expectation of forgiveness. Yet God forgives me. He offers me redemption and calls me into His arms. I will praise God every day of my life and look forward to living in His presence. God inspires shouts for joy in all of the earth.

    I was going to talk about the faith of the leper mentioned in this passage and about the paralyzed man whom Jesus forgave, but it is the call of Levi, the tax collector, which struck me. As Jesus left town, He passed Levi the tax collector. Tax collectors were known for using their position to extort excessive payments from people and for their sinfulness. Yet when Jesus passed Levi all He saw was a child of God who desired to serve God. Jesus told Levi to follow Him and be His disciple. Levi, the sinner, immediately left everything and followed Jesus. This is just two verses, but it contains a powerful message. Are we willing to leave everything to follow Jesus? Perhaps more importantly, are we willing to follow Jesus’ example and extend His invitation to follow Him to those we pass who are deep sinners? Do we call the “tax collectors” of today to follow Jesus? Or do we think that they are too steeped in sin to respond to His call?

    This passage emphasizes the importance of justice. First it emphasizes that it is just to take the life of someone who intentionally kills someone. Then it sets up a system whereby those who kill someone by accident pay a price for that mistake, but are able to avoid being executed for it. Finally, it emphasizes the importance of being positive that a person is guilty of the crime before taking their life for it.

    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. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more. in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

    The message in this proverb is for us both in considering ourselves and in considering our companions. Someone who possess beauty, but lacks discretion is of no value to anyone. When reading this proverb I often overlook the fact that to the writer of this proverb, pigs were not even a food source. Putting a gold ring in its nose would not change that. In the same way, beauty does not make a person who fails to be discrete someone with whom it is beneficial to spend time.

    The evil plot and plan in secret. They are careful to make sure that no one can discover what they are up to. However, no matter how careful they are, no matter how well they hide their plans, God will hold them accountable. He will strike them down and use their own words against them. It may look like the wicked will get away with their wicked deeds, but God will strike them down. He will not do it in secret, but in plain view for all to see. We will see God bring justice to the wicked and all will realize His great power.

    Luke tells us that Jesus was preaching in Capernaum and that the people there begged Him not to leave. However, He told them that He needed to preach the Gospel in other towns. Luke then tells us that He traveled around preaching in synagogues throughout Judea. This seems strange since, the very next story takes place in Galilee. However, it strikes me that Luke’s readers were probably familiar with Judea, but not with Galilee. I think Luke saying “Judea” is sort of like someone using “Washington” to refer to someone spending time in Bladensburg, MD, Hyattsville, MD, and other towns in Maryland inside the Beltway. In the same way, I think that many people living distant from the land of Jesus’ birth would view Galilee and Judea as “Judea”, the territory where Jews lived.
    Luke then gives his account of how Simon Peter, James and John came to be Jesus’ disciples. It is clear that this was not the first time Jesus had met Simon because a few verses earlier Luke told the story of Jesus healing Simon’s mother-in-law. On this occasion Jesus asked Simon to allow Him to preach from the boat a few feet away from the shore. When Jesus was done speaking, He asked Simon to put out into deeper water and catch some fish. From the context it appears that Simon was merely humoring Jesus when he put back out to fish. Simon did not expect to catch anything, they had been fishing all night and caught nothing. Since they had caught nothing during the best time for fishing, Simon was sure they would not catch anything now, and said so. However, not only did they catch fish, they caught so many that the nets began to tear and, when James and John joined them with their boat, both boats were at risk of sinking.
    Simon’s response to this was to ask Jesus to leave him, because he, Simon, was too sinful to be around Jesus. I am trying to put into words what I see in this story. First, Peter did not believe that anything would come of what Jesus asked him to do, but he did it anyway. Sometimes what God asks us to do seems pointless, but we need to be like Peter and do it anyway. Second, when Peter saw the results of doing what Jesus asked, he did not take credit for them. Peter realized that he had just been going through the motions, yet God had rewarded him far beyond his desserts. Am I willing to give God credit for the results He produces in my life? The final thing in this story is that Jesus called Simon, James and John to a new career. Am I willing to change the path of my life at God’s call?

    When Moses was preparing to divide up the land that they were about to invade among the tribes of Israel, the tribes of Reuben and Gad requested that instead of land west of the Jordan, they be allowed to claim the land which Israel had just conquered east of the Jordan River. Moses was concerned that they were afraid to join the rest of the tribes in invading the land. Moses was afraid that if he allowed them to stay east of the Jordan, it would discourage the rest of the people from invading. However, the tribes of Reuben and Gad assured Moses that they would join the rest of the people of Israel in conquering the land west of the Jordan, even though they already had the land they wanted. I see in this passage the importance of working with others to fulfill God’s will, even after our “part” of the task is “finished”.