Since today is Mothers’ Day I want to thank my mother for the grounding in faith which she gave me. It is because of her that I have the faith that I do. For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    The importance of choosing our words carefully cannot be overstated. If we respond to anger with calm, those who are angry with us are likely to become more calm. When we discuss knowledge and learning wisely, we make others want to know more. When we blather on about things which we do not truly understand we show others that we are fools.
    Sometimes it seems that He is ignoring evil. Other times, it seems like He does not reward good. In addition, there are times when it appears that God is not paying attention to either. Yet the truth of the matter is that God is watching both the good and the evil. He will give us just recompense for what we do, whether good, or evil.

    I love this psalm. The psalmist commands us that if God has rescued us from difficulty to tell others about it. Then he goes on to give us examples of the sorts of things which God has rescued people from.

• Some were lost and nearly died.
• Some rebelled against God and became imprisoned by misery.
• Some were fools and suffered for their sins.
• Some faced threats from nature and nearly died.

Yet, when each of the above cried out to God for help, He saved them. I will praise the Lord for the times when He has rescued me, and I will tell those I meet about what He has done for me. For those with eyes to see, one can look at history and see the faithful love of God for those who call on Him.

    This passage is a hard one, as John tells us in the passage itself. Jesus tells us that only those drawn to Him by the Father will come to Him. But He also tells us that those who are seek out God and are willing to listen to what God teaches them will come to Him. Many in our society that anyone of good will can attain salvation. This is absolutely true. However, if they are honest seekers after goodness and righteousness, they will, sooner or later, be drawn to Christ. Those who reject Him are rejecting salvation.
    Jesus tells us that if we want to experience eternal life, we need to feed our souls on Jesus. Just as our bodies are transformed by what we feed them, so our souls will be transformed by what we feed them. We need to take Jesus into ourselves so that we can become like Him. We do not each get to decide what it means to be good, although we each need to decide that we desire to be good. There is an absolute standard as to what is good and if we wish to be good we must follow that standard. Many of Jesus’ disciples could not understand His teaching here, or were unwilling to accept His absolute standard as to what is good so they left Him. When Jesus asked the Twelve if they also would leave, Peter spoke for all of them by asking what choice did they have? Who else could they follow who spoke God’s Truth? Am I willing to accept that Jesus is the only place where I can find God’s truth?

    As I read this passage I see both Saul’s potential and the roots of his failure as king of Israel. When he met the group of prophets he allowed God’s Spirit to take him over so that he began to prophesy (in this context it seems to mean something more like what happens at Pentecostal Church worship services than what we usually mean by “prophesying”). Then, after his first victory, when his followers wanted to execute those who had initially would not accept his kingship, Saul rejected such a course of action. Instead, Saul gave credit to God and invited those who had not wanted to recognize his authority to see and accept that God had chosen him. However, we see the first sign of the insecurity which Saul felt that eventually led him to be fail to follow Samuel’s instructions and later be jealous of David. Saul’s later sins grew out of the sense of inadequacy he demonstrated by hiding among the baggage train. We need to recognize our own sense of inadequacy and turn to God to overcome it. We need to realize that we are not able to do all that God calls us to do on our own ability and that God does not expect us to do so. We must turn to God when the task is more than we can do on our own and accept the help which he sends us, sometimes by divine intervention within us, sometimes by sending others to our aid, and sometimes by some other means.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    There are two ways to read the first of today’s proverbs, both are correct. It can be read to mean that a nation will become great if its people and government act in a godly fashion. There is truth to this. However, it can also be read to mean that the true measure of whether a nation is great is the degree which its people and government act in a godly way. This is definitely true. Let us not seek for our nation to wield power in the world. Rather, let us seek for the people of our nation to act in a godly fashion. If the people act in a godly way, the government will follow.

    The psalm recounts how the people of Israel, time after time, rebelled against God and did evil. The part that strikes me as standing in judgement against us today is this:

They even sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to the demons.
They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters.

It makes me want to cry to consider the degree to which people of our nation do the same through the practice of abortion. Killing their sons and daughters on the altar of convenience.

    Jesus told us that we should spend our energy seeking after the things of God, rather than seeking after food which perishes. When the crowd asked Him what to do in order to perform God’s works, Jesus told them to believe in the one God sent. In response the crowd wanted Jesus to perform yet another miraculous sign. This was despite having witnessed Him feeding the 5,000 the day before and the fact that Jesus crossed the lake ahead of them without getting on a boat. They gave Jesus the example of Moses giving the people of Israel manna in the wilderness. Jesus pointed out that it was not Moses who gave the manna, but rather God who did so.
    Those who come to Jesus will receive the bread of life, which is Jesus Himself. God will give those who truly seek Him to Jesus and Jesus promises that He will never reject any who come to Him truly seeking to serve God. Let us expend our energy seeking the bread of life. Let us believe in Jesus and act on that belief. He will never reject us. Others may reject us and hold us in contempt, but Jesus will never do so.

    As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to act as judges over Israel. His sons, like those of Eli before him, were corrupt and used their position for their own benefit. Samuel’s sons served themselves rather than serving the people of Israel. I had never noticed before, but Samuel was no better of a father to his sons than Eli had been to his sons before him. It was Samuel’s failure to raise godly sons to follow after him which led the people of Israel to ask for a king. This story is such a classic example of people taking the wrong lesson from their experiences. What made the people of Israel think that a king would have a son who would make a good successor when their last two leaders had sons who abused their authority?

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    When disaster comes, the wicked are crushed because they place their trust and faith in material things. When disaster strikes and destroys their material possessions, they do not have anywhere left to turn. The righteous, on the other hand, place their trust in God so that not even death is able to threaten their peace.

    Despite the good things which God had done for the people of Israel they refused to follow His guidance. They quickly forgot His displays of power and sought after other solutions to their problems. Are we the same? Do we forget what God has done for us? Or are we like Moses and Phinehas? Do we intervene with God asking Him to forgive those who have sinned against Him? Oh Lord, let me not forget what You have done for me. Move in me to stand in prayer, calling people back to following You and begging You not to strike them in Your just anger against them.

    John recounts how Jesus fed the five thousand (actually much more as the count of five thousand only includes the men, not women and children). Philip could not conceive of raising enough money to feed so many, and Andrew pointed out that their available resources were too few for the task (five loaves of bread and two fish). Jesus demonstrated that when we set out to do God’s will, He will provide what we need to accomplish the task.

    The Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant. They thought this was because of their own prowess and the power of their gods. They placed the Ark in a position of subservience to their idol of Dagon (their chief god). However, when they returned in the morning they found their idol fallen down in a position of obeisance before the Ark. When they set the idol back up, it fell over again, this time it broke when it fell. In addition, as they continued to consider Dagon as greater than God, He struck them with a plague. God often works that way in our lives. When we set up idols to which we make God secondary, He will give us signs that they are to be subordinate to Him. If we insist on returning them to the primary position on our lives, He will break them. If we continue to refuse to recognize His sovereignty He will strike us with the consequences of our actions.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    The key to a healthy life is having a peaceful attitude. Envy and jealousy not only make you mentally miserable, they destroy your health as well. If you love and honour God, you will do what you can to help the poor. Those who mistreat and oppress the poor, whether actively or passively, show that they hold God in contempt.

    I will praise the Lord because He has been good to me despite my sins. There truly is joy for those always do right. My prayer today is that the Holy Spirit shape my life so that I do what is right in all of my actions. I thank God for the forgiveness and love which He has shown to me. He has blessed me despite my many shortcomings and sins.

    All will face judgement. Those who believe God and follow Jesus will experience eternal life. Those who refuse to listen to His message and continue in evil will experience judgement. There is a warning for those of us who wish to follow Jesus. The religious people of His day studied Scripture and failed to see that it pointed to Him. If we search the Scripture with an open mind, it will point us to follow Jesus. But, if we come to Scripture with preconceived notions and refuse to let the Holy Spirit show us what it says, such search of Scriptures will do us no good. Let us not allow our desire for the approval of others stop us from doing what the Lord instructs.

    Today what struck me about this passage is what Eli told Samuel to say to the voice calling to him in the night. Samuel subsequently did as Eli instructed. Eli instructed Samuel to respond, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” When God calls to us, do we do the same. As important, do we then actually listen. When God called to Samuel, Samuel said this. However, he did more than that, he then actually listened. If we tell God we are listening and then continue to babble on, we should not be surprised when God does not speak to us. I will strive today to listen to what God has to say to me.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    If you want to gain understanding and wisdom, exercise patience. Those who exercise patience indicate that they have already obtained understanding and wisdom. Those who easily fly off the handle are demonstrating their own foolishness. Being quick to anger indicates a willingness to pass judgement before all of the facts are known.

    The psalm reminds us that God does wonderful things for us in order to teach us to follow His instructions. There is a positive feedback loop in doing what God instructs us to do. When we follow the Lord’s instructions, we are blessed. As we are blessed, we are encouraged to follow the Lord’s instructions, which leads to more blessings. The only problem is that sometimes we become content with the blessings we have already received and begin to believe that they are the result of our actions rather than a reward from God.

    In this passage about Jesus healing the lame man by the Pool of Bethesda, Jesus did not just approach the man and tell him to get up and walk. Jesus first asked the man if he wanted to get well. The man replied that he kept trying, but when the opportunity came someone always got there first. There is a lesson here for us about when we need help and when we give help. When Jesus approached the man, He did not just come up and heal him. First, He asked the man if he wanted to get well. Jesus did not just give the man what He thought the man needed. He made sure that the man was willing to be helped. When Jesus asked the man if he wanted to be well part of the man’s answer was, “I have no one to help me.” This indicated that the man was willing to accept help. We need to recognize that we can only help those who are willing to be helped.
    The man did not complain about the unfairness of the situation and he did not give up. Despite having been lame for many years, he still came to the pool, hoping that perhaps this time when the opportunity came he would get into the pool in time. We need to be the same way. If we want God to heal us, we need to be ready to accept it when He has decided that it is time. The question I need to ask myself when I consider areas where I need God’s healing (whether physical or otherwise) is, “Do I want to get well?”

    Elkanah had two wives, which led to problems. Yet God used that circumstance. Peninnah, who had children, taunted Hannah, who had none, over Hannah’s lack. This led Hannah to desperately seek God’s assistance. Hannah was a woman of faith. She made a vow to God which she kept. When God granted her prayer for a son, she gave that son into God’s service. Hannah desired a son for her own reasons, but she dedicated that son to serving God. In the same way, when God grants us our desires, we need to dedicate what we have received to God’s service.