For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    Those who ignore criticism and disregard discipline will end in poverty and shame. Those who change their behavior in response to correction will be honoured. Everyone enjoys seeing their dreams come true, but it is foolish to pursue them with evil methods.

    Righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne. Any ruler who wishes a long and prosperous reign will base his rule on them as well. God has raised up Jesus as the eternal heir to David’s throne. God will beat down His adversaries and destroy those who hate Him. Let us hear the call to worship and walk in the light of God’s presence

    As I read today’s passage about the Sadducees who attempted to trap Jesus with a question about the resurrection of the dead I was reminded of an article I read yesterday. There are still people today who claim to believe in an all-powerful God who do not believe that He can, or will, raise people from the dead. The article I read claimed that the story of Jesus’ resurrection was a source of rifts between Christians. Jesus makes it clear here that the dead will indeed be raised. Yesterday we celebrated that Christ rose from the dead. He did not rise in a metaphorical manner, or just as a spirit. Jesus rose from the dead in this physical world. God can indeed raise the dead in a physical body. He is not bound by the laws of the physical universe.

    Yesterday we read the passage where the tribes living east of the Jordan built an altar just before returning home. Those living west of the Jordan were afraid that it was intended for idolatry and prepared to go to war to wipe this stain out of the midst of the nation of Israel. First, they sent a delegation to determine why the altar was built. Those living east of the Jordan met the delegation and explained the purpose of the altar. They had built the altar to remind their descendants, and the descendants of those living west of the Jordan, that they were one people who together worshiped the God of Heaven. Let this be a reminder to us that all of those who worship Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are one family. Anyone who worships the risen Jesus Christ is my brother, or sister.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    The best and easiest way to gain people’s respect is to demonstrate good judgment. If you try to gain one person’s respect by betraying the trust of another you will end up facing your own destruction. There are people who are proud of the fact that they never plan anything and always act on impulse. This proverb reminds us that acting on impulse is foolish and while it sometimes works out for the best, it is better to think things through before taking action.

    I prefer the NIV for this psalm. This is probably because it is reminds me of the hymn, “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord” (which is based upon this psalm). I will make God’s faithfulness known to all generations. The first two verses are so appropriate today of all days:

I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever;
with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known
through all generations.
I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.

It is because of God’s great love that Jesus was on the cross and because of that love that He rose from the dead. I will declare these facts for all to hear.

    When the teachers of religious law challenged Jesus to tell them where He had gotten the authority for His actions, He turned the tables on them. By asking them whether John’s authority came from heaven, or was merely from man, He pointed out to the crowd that the religious teachers were really asking Him for a human authority to justify His actions. The crowd watching this exchange would have recognized that Jesus was telling them that if they could not tell whether John’s authority came from heaven or from men, they would be unable, or unwilling, to accept that His authority came from heaven.
    The religious leaders were stung by Jesus’ remarks (and the parable He told after that confrontation). So they attempted to trap Him by asking if it was OK for Jews to pay taxes to Caesar. On the one hand, if Jesus said that it was not OK, they could have the Romans arrest Him and execute Him on grounds of stirring up rebellion. On the other side there were several angles they could use to diminish His standing with the crowds. First, paying taxes is never popular and a significant number of those who followed Jesus were just waiting for Him to start the rebellion against Rome. Second, and importantly, paying tax to Caesar could be interpreted as a form of idolatry since Caesar had declared himself a god.
    Jesus’ answer was wonderful in many ways. First, from the perspective of non-Jews, Jesus’ answer was that Jews should pay Caesar’s tax. This meant that the religious leaders could not use it to have the Romans arrest Him. Second, it contained a condemnation of those who raised the question (and showed that they were indeed trying to trap Him). They were carrying a coin which had Caesar’s image on it and which declared him a god. If they had been the type of people they wanted the crowd to think they were, they would not have been carrying such a coin. Finally, Jesus’ answer told them that while the coin bore Caesar’s image, and thus belonged to him, we bear God’s image, and thus belong to Him.
    Let us give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, but let us never forget that we belong to God. Let us give all that we are to God’s service.

    Once Joshua had finished allotting land to all of the other tribes of Israel, the Levites approached him and the other leaders of Israel requesting that they be given towns and surrounding lands according to Moses’ instructions. Once all of the land had been allotted the Israelites finished taking control of the land and the tribes with land east of the Jordan returned home. Before they crossed over the Jordan to the East, those tribes built a large altar as a memorial to their connection to the Israelites living west of the Jordan. The rest of the tribes of Israel believed that they had built the altar as a separate place of worship from the one where the Tabernacle was located and gathered their forces to cleanse the land of this idolatry. However, before taking action they sent a delegation to discover the reasons for the eastern tribes decision to build this altar. This is an important lesson for us. Before we judge the actions of another group we should speak with them and learn what their motives were and their intentions are.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    Refusing to listen to instruction will lead to frustration and failure, respecting commands given by those in positions of authority results in success and rewards. Seek advice and instruction from those who are wise, by doing so you can avoid taking actions with dangerous consequences.

    Let us come to God by day and by night. Let us pray all of the time. Every time I read the last line of this psalm I am reminded of the song by Simon and Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence.” That song begins with the line, “Hello darkness my old friend…” Further in the song refers to “people hearing without listening.” That song so reminds of how people react to the words of God. They hear, but they do not listen. They would rather bow to the “neon god they have made.” Let us listen to God when He speaks to us. Let us seek Him out when times are good, so that He does not need to do drive our friends away to get our attention. I will not wait until times are bad to seek God both day and night.

    Am I willing to act as the owners of the colt acted in this passage? Will I surrender the use of my possessions because, “the Lord needs it?” Look what resulted from their willingness to allow Jesus to use their colt. As Jesus rode along, the people began to shout and sing His praises. There was such an outpouring of joy and worship that Jesus said if the people did not cry out, the very stones would have done so. Have you ever been filled with praise for God such that you felt that if you did not cry out the rocks and trees would do so?
    As Jesus entered Jerusalem, He wept over the city. He wept because He knew that the people of the city had rejected their opportunity to be saved from the coming destruction. God had offered them an opportunity for salvation and they did not accept it. Do we feel a similar passion for bringing salvation to those we meet? Do we weep over the possibility that they will miss their opportunity to be saved?

    The passage lays out how the land not yet conquered was to be allotted among the tribes which had not yet received and allotment of land. The passage ends with the designation of the cities of refuge. These were established so that those who had caused the death of another could receive a fair and just trial. Those who caused the death of another could escape to one of these cities and request a trial to establish that they had done so by accident. The authorities of these cities were obligated to protect them from being killed in revenge until they had received such a trial.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    Goodness shines brightly out of the godly while the wicked snuff out whatever goodness is within themselves. At least one condition necessary for conflict to occur is pride, without pride, conflict will not come about. True wisdom lies in being humble enough to take advice.

    I love this psalm and will do as the psalmist recommends. I will call upon God when I am in trouble, for I know that He will answer my cry. There is no other god like Him. One of the things I ask of God is that He teach me His ways, so that I can live according to His truth. I, also, ask that He purify my heart, so that my life will honour Him. I know that I am not able, by my own strength of will, to live a life according to His ways, nor am I able to purify my heart. But I know that God has the power to cause these things to happen and I pray that He send His Spirit upon me to accomplish these ends.

    In the story of the rich man there is one element I do not remember ever being expounded upon, and another that I have rarely heard discussed. I will address the latter first. The rich man came to Jesus and asked Him what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. When Jesus told him to follow the commandments, he replied that he was already doing that. The rich man clearly felt that he needed to do more, that following the commandments was not enough. He recognized that not committing any sins of commission was not enough. He sought to find out what positive action he should take (or, possibly, he was seeking Jesus’ affirmation that he had indeed done enough). The point is that this rich man recognized that not doing wrong is not enough. In addition to not doing what is wrong, we need to do what is right.
    This brings us to the element of this story I do not remember hearing anyone expound upon. Jesus told the rich man to “Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” The key part of what Jesus was telling the man was that he should come and follow Jesus. Selling his possessions and giving the money to the poor was merely there so that the man would not have it as a fallback. It was a sign of commitment. Are we willing to follow where God leads, even when it means not leaving open an option to turn back? The key thing which Jesus was telling this man to do was make a complete commitment, all-in. Are we “All-in”?

    When Caleb went to take the land that had been given to him as his inheritance, he conquered much of the land that was given to him. However, when he went up against one of the cities, he declared that he would give his daughter’s hand in marriage to whomever conquered it. After its defeat, he kept his word. As part of the marriage settlement, Caleb gave some land to her and her new husband. However, the land apparently did not have any springs on it, so she asked her father for springs to go with it. He granted them to her. I recounted all that to note that when we give to others, we should be sure that we do not make them dependent upon us to gain any benefit from the gift. In this case, the land Caleb gave his son-in-law was only usable as long as he had access to the springs which Caleb initially kept for himself. When we “help” those in need, let us make sure that we are not making them dependent upon ourselves, or upon someone else, not even upon the government. We should strive to help those in need to be able to stand on their own (with God’s help and none other).

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    Those who have wealth can use that wealth to rescue themselves from dangers those who are poor will never face.

        God forgave our sins and covered them over. As I read this psalm there were a couple of lines which are my prayer today:

Now restore us again, O God of our salvation.
…
Won’t you revive us again,

I humbly request God to restore me and revive me in my love of Him. The phrase “revive us again” reminds me of this song. My prayer is not just for God to restore and revive me. I pray that He restore and revive all of those who have at one time or another accepted His invitation to become His people. God will pour down His blessing upon those who accept His call to righteousness and peace.

    Luke recounts two of Jesus’ parables in this passage. In the first parable Jesus gives us a lesson for our prayer lives. If an unjust judge will grant the widow’s request because she is persistent, how much more will our loving Father grant our requests? As we seek God’s will in our lives and in the lives of those around us, let us be persistent in asking God to send His Spirit to carry out His will. When we feel that what we wish God to do will further God’s will, it is not enough to pray to God once requesting that He act. We are to be persistent in asking God to act in this world.
    The second parable is the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying. The Pharisee spends his entire prayer telling God how righteous and wonderful he is, recounting everything he does right. The tax collector on the other hand, recognized his sin and begged God to be merciful. When we come to God let us recognize our shortcomings and acknowledge that we need God’s mercy in our lives. By God’s standard of righteousness, there was not a significant difference between the tax collector and the Pharisee, except that the tax collector recognized his sin and turned to God for mercy. In the same way, the only difference between myself and the vilest sinner on this earth is the extent to which I recognize my need for God’s forgiveness.

    When Joshua was reaching the end of his life, God came to him and told him that in due time He would drive the peoples out of the rest of the land promised to the Israelites. God further told Joshua to assign those, as yet, unconquered lands to the tribes according to God’s direction. In Joshua’s lifetime the people of Israel were insufficient in numbers to occupy all of the land which God had promised to the descendants of Abraham, so God did not give drive out all of the people living in those lands. In the same way, in our lifetime the number of people serving God may not be sufficient to fulfill the mission which He sent us to begin (or extend). Nevertheless, let us carry out as much of it as He grants us the strength and wisdom to accomplish. The fact that the mission is not completed in our lifetime does not mean that we are a failure.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    The righteous hate lies and all that is false. Their integrity guards them from unrecoverable errors. The evil are misled by sin into disgrace and shame.

    I completely agree with the psalmist. I desire with all of my being to enter into the presence of God. Oh, what a joyous place that is to be! If we draw our strength from God, even when we pass through times of trouble and sorrow we can experience the joy of the Lord. I would rather be a servant in God’s house than the guest of honour in the home of the wicked. I desire to serve God with all of my being.

    The Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come? Jesus answered that the Kingdom of Heaven is not something that we can say, “Here it is,” or, “It is over there.” The Kingdom of Heaven is in our midst and within us. When we serve God we have brought the Kingdom of God to those around us. Let us do everything in our power to show those around us what it like to live in the Kingdom of God so that they will desire to live there as well. And not some day in the future, but to live in the Kingdom of God today.
    However, the day will come when Jesus will return and take those who serve Him out of the world. That day will happen just like every other day. People will be going about their business side by side. One will be taken, while one will be left. I strive to be sure that on that day, when I am going about my business the business I am going about is God’s business.

    Of all the people in the land which had been promised to the Israelites, only the Gibeonites attempted to make peace with the Israelites. All of the other peoples banded together to attack the Israelites. Despite the military strength arrayed against the Israelites God gave them complete victory. Sometimes I wonder about the people who were wiped out by the Israelites is it possible that they were all so evil that they deserved such complete annihilation. Then I remember the story of Rahab and her family. Perhaps there were other stories of lesser significance that we do not know about. It is important to remember that those who do not choose to separate themselves from those who are evil are likely to suffer along with the evil.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    We need to choose our words with care because they will provide the “food” we will eat. The type of life we will lead going forward will come out of what we say to others now. Those who say treacherous, dishonest things will find their lives filled with violence (probably a result which they desire). So, let us be careful not to say things which will lead to results we do not desire. Carelessly saying whatever comes to mind will lead to our destruction.

    God will pronounce judgement on the rulers of this earth. He will hold them accountable for making unjust decisions. On the other hand, He will honour those rulers who give justice to the poor and the orphan. He will praise those who rescue the weak and the needy. All the nations on this earth belong to God. He has given authority to those who rule over them. He will judge those rulers if they fail to use that authority wisely. Those who use their authority for their own interests, at the expense of justice may seem to prosper for a time, but God is keeping score.

    Jesus told the story of the shrewd manager. Upon being told that he was about to be fired summoned all of those who owed his master and cut their debts in half. Jesus holds this up as an example for us. He was not telling us that we should defraud our employer if we are fired. Rather, we should use our material resources in order to help those less fortunate than ourselves. Let us show others that we care about them by the way in which we use the material resources which God puts at our disposal.
    A story I learned in my childhood illustrates this point. During the Revolutionary War a woman who lived near where I grew up refused to take sides. At one point she was arrested for having wounded British soldiers in her house, whose injuries she was treating. George Washington (or one of his commanders, I do not remember this detail) intended to execute her for treason. However, her neighbors came forward and begged him to not do so. They argued that she had always been generous to her neighbors, helping those in need. In fact, they produced evidence that she had provided care equally to injured soldiers from Washington’s army. In the end, she was not executed because the Army was satisfied that she had used her resources to help those in need regardless of which side they were on. Jesus concludes His teaching on this subject by reminding us that if we allow it, money will become our master, demanding loyalty which we should be giving to God.

    Yesterday’s passage concluded with the account of how the Israelites were defeated when they attacked Ai. This defeat occurred because one of their number had failed to follow God’s command at Jericho and kept some of Jericho’s wealth for himself. The important lesson from this passage is that an organization can be defeated in its pursuit of God’s goals if even one of its number has allowed his personal desires lead him to disobey God. This passage reminds me of an event from my past.
    When I was in my 20s and attending elsewhere, the congregation my parents attended was struggling. However, it seemed to have found a new mission and new life. It was being led by a team of three interim pastors. Men who were semi-retired from ministry and had other means of support (although they were receiving a stipend for this role). After several years, one of those men left his wife of many years. He went to live with a woman with whom he had been having an affair for many years. Within a matter of months the congregation had disbanded. To this day, I am convinced that the reason the congregation disbanded was because of this man’s sin.