For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 17:19-21

    The love of quarrels is a love of sin. Some people love getting into quarrels because they believe their defenses will protect them from any attack. However, those who think their defenses will protect them from whatever trouble they can start are courting disaster. If you allow your heart to become corrupted so that all you desire is perversion you will not prosper. If you think that you can make your way through life by telling lies, those lies will lead you into trouble.

Psalm 139:1-24

    What a wonderful psalm! It is worth memorizing and meditating on.

O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
How very true this is. It is both comforting and frightening at the same time. It is frightening because there is no place I can go to hide from God. Every sin I commit is plainly in His sight. On the other hand, it is comforting because no matter where I am, God can reach out to save me and enfold me in His arms. Further the psalmist tells us that God knew all of our actions before we were born: You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
Finally the psalmist concludes by asking God to test him and correct him so that he could faithfully serve Him. I make this my prayer: Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Test me, oh God, and cleanse me of that which offends You.

Acts 13:42-14:7

    Paul’s sermon at the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia was initially well received by the Jews of that town. As a result, Paul and Barnabas were invited to speak again the following week at the synagogue. However, when a very large crowd turned out to hear Paul and Barnabas speak, some of them became jealous. Rather than rejoice in God using Paul and Barnabas to reach outsiders, they began to work to stir up sentiment against them. Those who were jealous of Paul and Barnabas were willing, and even eager, to receive their message when they thought that it was just for them as members of an exclusive group. However, when Paul and Barnabas made it clear that their message was for all who would hear it, they became hostile.
    The Gospel message is not a message for an exclusive group of people. It is a message for all who will listen. In addition,we should preach the Gospel to those who are willing to hear it. If the group we first approached rejects our message, we are not only free to move on to those who are receptive, but called to do so.

2 Kings 1-2:25

    When the king sent troops to arrest Elijah, the first two sets of troops were destroyed by fire. Yet the third was not. The difference between these three groups was the way they viewed the relationship between the Church and the state. The commanders of the first two stated that Elijah was a man of God, yet believed that because they were acting on the king’s orders that they had the authority to command Elijah’s actions. The third commander recognized that the king was unable to give him authority over a man of God, that the final authority was God. Notice that when the third commander begged Elijah to spare his life, God directed Elijah to accompany him. If we are truly men and women of God, the government will not be able to use force of arms (or any other means) to stop us from following God’s will.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 17:17-18

    A friend loves when times are good and when times are bad. If you count yourself someone’s friend you will not stop loving them no matter what they do. We were born to help our family members when they face hard times.

Psalm 138:1-8

    I will give thanks to God with all my heart. When I read verse 3, I thought of a friend of mine who recently experienced a tragedy in her life. She recently posted a poem on Facebook which contained the line:

I have unanswered prayers

It also contained the lines:

When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave your hands

Yet the psalmist tells us:

As soon as I pray, you answer me;
you encourage me by giving me strength.

How can these two sentiments both describe how we relate to God? The answer to that question is that God does indeed answer us as soon as we pray. However, we do not always see or understand His answer to our prayers. No matter how bad the troubles which surround us, God will protect us. He will reach out His hand and deliver us. I will give thanks to God, even when tragedy strikes.

Acts 13:16-41

    Paul and Barnabas went to a Jewish worship service where they were asked to offer any words of encouragement they might have for the people there. Paul got up to speak. He recounted the story of God’s actions with the Israelites. Then Paul told them of how the prophecies of the Old Testament were fulfilled with Jesus’ coming, death, and resurrection. He finished his sermon with a warning that applies to us as well. Let us be careful that we are not mockers who refuse to believe what God is doing in the world around us.

1 Kings 22:1-53

    When Ahab asked Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to join him in battle, Jehoshaphat readily agreed. But he wanted to first ask for God’s counsel. Ahab responded by doing what many today do (and what many say was the view of most of that time). He called on his 400 prophets. The passage does not say so, but the similarity with the number of prophets of Baal which Elijah confronted at Mt Carmel seems striking. Ahab acted as if he believed, and perhaps he did, that Baal and God were the same. Jehoshaphat was having none of this. He asked once more for a prophet of God.
    Ahab admitted that there was indeed a prophet of the Lord. However, Ahab did not want to speak to him, because he never told him what he wanted to hear. Jehoshaphat chided Ahab on his attitude. It is important for a leader to hear the thoughts and opinions of those who disagree with him.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 17:9-11

    Another proverb where I prefer the NIV translation. If you want to encourage love and friendship between people you will minimize or cover up what one or more of them have done which might offend or anger others. On the other hand, if you repeat what you have heard about the wrong people have done (gossip), you may cause even close friends to become enemies.

Psalm 134:1-3

    I have nothing to add to this wonderful psalm this morning:

Oh, praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
you who serve at night in the house of the Lord.
Lift up holy hands in prayer,
and praise the Lord.
Just lift up your hands, pray, and give praise to God for 30 seconds (or longer if you like) as you sit there before continuing to read more.

Acts 10:24-48

    When Peter arrived at Cornelius’ house, he informed them that it was against Jewish law for a Jewish man to enter the house of a non-Jew, or to even associate with a non-Jew. However, Peter further told them that God had revealed to him that this was not as God intended. God intended for us to think of everyone who sought to serve God as clean. No matter how sinful, or otherwise unclean, the background of a person was, if they were seeking to learn about and follow God’s commands, God has declared them clean. Let us follow Peter’s example and preach the Gospel message to anyone who is willing to listen, but especially to those who are seeking it out.
    As Peter was preaching to the members of Cornelius’ household, the Holy Spirit fell upon them. When Peter realized that this had happened, he instructed those who had accompanied him to baptize them. This is significantly different from the way we practice baptism today. Today when someone professes faith in Jesus, we typically have them take a membership class before we baptize them. In the various passages where baptism is discussed in the book of Acts, those who profess faith in Jesus and a willingness to accept Him as Lord are immediately (or as soon as practical) baptized.

1 Kings 15:25-17:24

    King after king arose in Israel, each one more wicked than the last. When Ahab became king, God raised up Elijah to prophecy and call the people back to Him. Elijah told Ahab that it would not rain in Israel for several years, not until Elijah gave the word that it would again rain. This did indeed come to pass. However, God provided for Elijah. First, by having ravens bring food for Elijah while he got his water from a particular stream. When that stream, God sent Elijah to the widow in Zarephath.
    The widow gives us a great example to follow. When Elijah first came to the woman and requested food, she told him that she had just enough food for she and her son to have one final meal before they starved. Elijah told her to go ahead and make the meal for her and her son, but first make him a bit of bread. He told her that if she did as he asked, there would always be enough flour and oil in her jars to make one more meal, until the drought ended (when she would be able to buy more). The widow did as Elijah asked and it turned out as Elijah had promised.

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For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 17:4-5

    Those who do wrong are eager to hear gossip about what others are doing wrong so that they can justify their wrongdoing to themselves. Liars readily accept the lies told about others. Seeking out gossip and readily accepting slanderous accusations against others are signs of someone of dubious character. If we do these things, others will judge us accordingly and we should be careful around those who do them.
    Mocking the poor for their poverty is an insult to God, who made them. If we rejoice in the misfortune of others, we will suffer for it. It is one thing to point out that someone’s poverty or other misfortune results from their actions in order to teach them, or others, to avoid such self-destructive behaviors (this can be a good thing). It is quite another to be happy that others have suffered such unhappiness. Let us strive to empathize with those who suffer, even when they have brought that suffering on themselves.

Psalm 131:1-3

    I will not be proud or arrogant. I will not become distracted from doing God’s will by thoughts about things which I cannot change. I will not seek to make myself look more important in the eyes of others by my explanations of difficult theological issues. I will calm and quiet myself as I put my trust in God. I will choose to echo the man born blind whose sight Jesus restored. “One thing I know, I was blind, but now I see.”

Acts 9:1-25

    This passage gives us an example of the power of the Holy Spirit to change people. Saul was a fervent persecutor of believers. Yet, when the Spirit struck him, he became one of the most fervent evangelists the world has ever seen. The very skills and gifts which had made Saul a persecutor of the Church made him a target of persecution when he became a believer. As I read this today, I realize that all too often we focus on Saul in this story, but the example we are asked to follow is that of Ananias. God told Ananias to go to Saul and lay hands on him in order to restore his sight. Ananias had heard of Saul’s mission to arrest the believers in Damascus, but followed God’s leading and went to Saul anyway. Ananias went into harm’s way in order to follow the Spirit’s leading and bring healing. Many people list Saul/Paul as the most influential man in the history of the Church, but if it was not for Ananias (who we often overlook) Saul would never have come to the faith he spent so much of his life promoting.

1 Kings 11-12:19

    Despite God’s warnings against marrying women from the surrounding people’s Solomon took many wives from among them. I have many times heard it said that Solomon had these many wives because, as king, he made political marriages to seal alliances. While that might be partially true, I think the passage hits more closely on it. Solomon loved women, especially those he viewed as somewhat exotic, and perhaps a little dangerous. Certainly, if Solomon had married these women for political alliance, he appears to have chosen poorly. As a result of his involvement with these women, Solomon began following the religious practices of the surrounding peoples. He worshiped Ashtoreth, Molech, and Chemosh. He built a shrine for Chemosh, and a shrine for Molech. Ashtoreth is known for her temple prostitutes, while Molech and Chemosh are noted for the various forms of human sacrifice practiced in their worship.
    Solomon’s actions, and failure to heed God’s word, left his son, Rehoboam, with a poor understanding of how to rule. When Solomon died and Rehoboam became king, the people asked Rehoboam to ease the tax burden which Solomon had imposed on them. Rather than listen to their request, or take the advice of his father’s advisers, Rehoboam chose to tell the people that he would increase the burden and rule more harshly than his father. As a result of Rehoboam’s stubbornness the people of Israel revolted against him. Like so many before and after him, Rehoboam thought that leadership was doing what he wanted, rather than serving those whom one was leading. Let us remember that if God calls us to leadership, it is in order that we may serve those whom he has called us to lead.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 17:2-3

    The wise will gain wealth at the expense of those who act disgracefully, even if the former begin their lives in positions of subservience and the latter are children of privilege. In the same way that fire or extreme heat is used to purify silver and gold so will God purify our hearts. When we face difficult times, it is God seeking to purify us. Let His work proceed to clean and purify us so that we become clean and pure.

Psalm 130:1-8

    Let us follow the psalmist’s example and cry out to God from the depths of our despair. No matter how desperate our situation may seem to us, God is ready and willing to listen to our cry. While our sins may overwhelm us, He is willing to forgive us. Let us put our hope in the Lord. Let us long for Him. God will redeem us from our sin, no matter how steeped in that sin we have become. All we need to do is cry out to Him and ask for His deliverance.

Acts 8:14-40

    We have the continuation of the story of Simon the Sorcerer in today’s passage. When Peter and John came to Samaria from Jerusalem, they laid their hands upon people and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw the results, he offered Peter and John money for the ability to do the same thing. This tells us that when people received the Holy Spirit something very noteworthy took place. Something which a showman like Simon desired the ability to replicate. Peter rebuked Simon for thinking that he could purchase God’s gift. Simon accepted Peter’s rebuke and asked Peter to pray for him. I believe that Peter’s rebuke of Simon was justified. Simon wanted the ability to deliver the Holy Spirit in order to gain glory and prominence for himself. However, I also believe that Simon saw the benefits of people receiving the Holy Spirit and wanted to be able to help people by delivering the Holy Spirit to them. I believe that Simon’s repentance was sincere.
    Shortly after Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, Philip was led by the Spirit to travel south towards Gaza. On the road, he encountered the Ethiopian. The Ethiopian was reading from the prophet Isaiah. The Ethiopian did not understand what he was reading. Philip explained how the passage he was reading was a prophecy about Jesus. The Ethiopian was seeking God by reading Scripture, but he did not understand what he was reading. In the same way that the Spirit directed Philip to the Ethiopian the Spirit will direct us to those who are seeking. Let us be prepared to explain the Gospel, starting from where they are.

1 Kings 9-10:29

    God accepted Solomon’s request. He agreed to set the Temple aside as Holy. He made it a place where His name would be honoured forever. The Temple is dear to God’s heart. While God is not limited to the physical location of the Temple and has chosen to act in this world through His Spirit living in the hearts of believers, He still maintains a presence in Jerusalem.