For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    If you spend too much of your spare money, that which is above and beyond what you need to survive, on luxuries, you will never become rich. If you spend all of your spare money on pleasure, you will soon have no spare money.
    I have often read this proverb and never understood it. This morning I hit upon something that finally makes sense of this proverb for me. If traitors and the wicked are not punished the righteous and the loyal will suffer. Those who are good desire to see no one hurt or made to feel bad. This leads them to desire not to punish anyone. However, if those who do wrong are not punished, are not made to suffer for their wrongdoing, then those who do no wrong will be made to suffer. If a society chooses not to punish those who do wrong, or worse, betray that society, then those who are honest and upright will suffer instead.

    The Lord will give us victory over our enemies if we can say about them what the psalmist says here. If our enemies lay traps for us, even though we did them no wrong, God will defend us and cause them to fall into their own traps. God will bring defeat and destruction on those who accuse us of crimes of which we are completely unaware. We need not fear those who repay us evil for good. I will not let such things cause me to stop doing good for those I encounter. I will grieve and mourn for the illness and suffering of which I become aware. More than that, I will do whatever is within my power to alleviate the pain and suffering of others, even those I know will turn on me at the first opportunity. I will remember that I can pray for those who are suffering, even if I can do nothing else.

    In today’s passage Paul tells us that a woman should wear some kind of covering on her head when she prays or prophecies and that a man should have no sort of covering on his head when he does the same. This is a controversial passage subject of much debate and interpretation. I understand some of the controversy and I do not fully understand, or follow, Paul’s logic supporting what he is saying. However, ultimately, I believe that what I said in the first sentence represents God’s will.
    However, in the middle of this Paul says something which is often overlooked in the discussion over his teachings on head covering. Paul tells us that men and women are not independent of each other. God made mankind as male and female. Men need women and women need men. This is not a matter of sexual acts (although that is an element of the mutual need, it is far from the most important element and is far from universal). The first woman came from man and therefore women are dependent on men. On the other hand, every man since the first has come from a woman, therefore men are dependent upon women. This is true of people in general, but is a truth that we must never forget in the Church, the Body of Christ.

    The first part of this passage is a joyous celebration and dedication of the completion of the walls around Jerusalem. The people were unified and praised God together for what He had done for them. Then Nehemiah needed to leave Jerusalem to fulfill the commitment he had made when he first obtained permission to come to Jerusalem and lead the rebuilding.
    When he once more received permission to return to Jerusalem he discovered that the people had lost their unity before God. Some of the leaders, and some of the people, were choosing economic interests over faithfulness to God (one priest had rented out a Temple storage room, people were working and doing business on the Sabbath). He confronted his coreligionists who were working and doing business on the Sabbath. Then he discovered that some were getting around it by doing business with foreigners, so he put a stop to that. This was followed by the discovery that some of the returned exiles had married local women and were not raising their children as part of the community. There are aspects of this passage which trouble me, but the main theme is the importance of us worshiping God in unity.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    Justice brings joy to the godly, but the evil hate and fear it. Those who do evil dislike justice, even when it is administered to others.
    Those who forget commonsense are endangering their life.

    Let us learn to fear the Lord for that is the path to a long and happy life. If we fear the Lord we will not speak evil, nor will we tell lies. It is not enough to not do evil, God calls us to do good. Let us seek out peace and work to maintain it. True peace is more than the absence of strife. God calls us to build that world around us.
    As I read this passage, I cannot help but think in sadness of Robin Williams. He never learned what the psalmist taught from personal experience. God will rescue the broken-hearted. He will heal those whose spirits are crushed. Certainly, I would have to say that someone who is so depressed as to commit (or attempt to commit) suicide has a crushed spirit. If you are experiencing that depression, turn to God. He will offer solace. If you think that you are worthless and of no value, remember that God does not agree. God created you for a purpose. God intends to accomplish something in this world through you. Surrender to His will and you will discover a joy that is beyond description.

    Having just said that there is no significance to eating meat offered to idols, Paul tells us that it is a bad idea to do so. He points out that we often eat meals together as a way of unifying ourselves. There is the example of eating the bread of Communion together which unifies us as the Body of Christ, even the name “Communion” which we use for it indicates this. The significance is not in the food itself, nor in the idols to which it may have been offered. The significance is in the meanings which people place on the ritual which the food and eating that food is part.
    So, we should not worry about whether the food we eat was part of a pagan ritual, but if someone makes it a point of informing us that it was, we should not eat it. We have the freedom in Christ to do anything we desire, but just because we may do something does not mean that we should do it. We should decide whether or not to do something based on how it will effect others. Will our actions help or harm someone else? If I do “this”, will it help another? Or will it lead them to sin? I will choose those actions which will lead others to glorify God and I will avoid those actions which will cause others to curse God.

    When they had completed rebuilding Jerusalem, only the leadership of the people were living in Jerusalem. In order to support the people necessary for the Temple to be the center of worship, other people needed to settle in Jerusalem. It was decided that they would select ten percent of the people living in each town throughout the land to move to Jerusalem. There are times when some of us must sacrifice our own comfort, must be willing to move out of our comfort zone, in order to complete God’s mission. Some of us must be willing to fill the support roles, the roles which are not seen as glamorous.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    Mockers and the simple-minded need to see or experience punishment in order to gain wisdom. Those who are wise listen to instruction in order to become wiser. Let us strive to be the latter rather than the former.
    We hear stories from time to time about households where terrible things were going on behind closed doors and no one knew. Well, God knows and will bring ruin upon those who hide their wickedness in their homes.

    If the people of a nation worship and trust God, that nation will be safe and secure. However, those who put their trust in their military might and disregard God’s word will discover that their might will fail them. If we put our hope and trust in the Lord, seeking to do His will, He will care for and protect us. Let us seek to teach our neighbors to fear and trust the Lord for that is the path to joy and security.

    Every time I read this passage, I am struck by something other than the message most often taken from it, although that message is there as well. First, I will mention the message most often taken from this passage that we should never forget. Those who preach the Gospel and otherwise tend to the spiritual needs of the body of believers are entitled to financial and material support by the body of believers. We should contribute to their well-being to the best of our ability. However, Paul here states that he has refused such support (although elsewhere he acknowledges accepting support at times). The point I take away from this is that some of us are called to minister to the body of Christ without accepting support from said body. This is always a decision to be reached by the person so called. The body of believers who they serve should be prepared, and should offer, to provide them with financial and material support.

    The people’s initial response to hearing the words of the Book of the Law read and explained to them was to mourn. They were heartbroken when they realized how far they had fallen short of God’s commands. However, the leaders did not let them wallow in their grief. Rather, they reminded them that they had gathered to celebrate God’s wonderful power in returning them to Jerusalem and protecting them as they rebuilt the city. They encouraged them to share with those who had come less prepared. The people listened to their leaders and celebrated the feast, sharing with those around them.
    Later, they gathered another time to confess their sins and seek God’s forgiveness. This passage reminds us that there are times to celebrate God’s goodness and other times to bare our souls and grieve for how badly we have sinned.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    The guilty do not move in a straight line. Everything they do is round about and indirect in an attempt to hide their true motives. The innocent move directly towards their goal. They do not attempt to disguise their purposes. We should judge our own actions by this standard. Are we direct and open, or do we hide our true motives and attempt to keep people from recognizing our goals?
    The wicked desire evil, even those closest to them can expect to be treated badly.

    If we love what is just and good, we will sing praises to God. His love will fill us with joy causing us to burst forth in song. We know that He speaks the truth in all He says. Look at His great power, He merely spoke and the universe came into being in all of its wonder and grandeur. God’s plans will come to pass, His intentions will be carried out. But no matter how powerful the person or nation, their goals will only be accomplished if they serve the purposes of the Lord. Let us praise His wonderful name>

    This is one of those passages which is both clear to me, and difficult for me to explain. The example he uses of meat offered to idols gives a lot of nuance to what he is teaching here. First, Paul agrees with those who say that since idols are merely imaginary and not real gods, there is no harm in eating meat offered to idols. It is important to point out something that is not common in our society that we might otherwise overlook. Eating meat that had been “sanctified” by being blessed by a pagan priest and offered to a pagan god was an element of many worship practices. Eating meat sacrificed to a particular idol was part of the worship of that idol by those who worshiped it.
    Paul tells us that, since these idols were nothing but statues carved by men, there was no harm in eating food that another had offered to them. However, not everyone saw it that way. If we knew that a fellow believer felt that it was wrong to eat meat offered to an idol, we should not push them on the issue. If our fellow believer perceived that eating such meat was taking part in the worship of the idol we should avoid doing so, even if for us there was no such intention. If we attempt to convince them that it is OK to eat meat offered to idols, we may succeed in getting them to eat it without first removing the reverence for the idol which goes along with that practice from their minds. Let us avoid practices which might lead our fellow believers to sin.
    When I was growing up my father demonstrated an application of this which have always made this passage clear to me. When I was very young, the Mennonite Church (which I was raised in and am still a member of) taught that men should wear the “plain coat”. While I was still young, the Church stopped teaching and enforcing this rule. My father was among the last in my acquaintance to stop wearing the plain coat. He explained that he continued to wear the plain coat because there were some men who thought that it was a sin to wear a suit jacket other than the plain coat and if he stopped wearing it, they might feel shamed into wearing an ordinary suit jacket even though they thought that a sin. My father’s actions in this case were a clear example of what Paul was talking about. This was a two-fold decision. One, it was important that my father continue to wear the plain coat, and did not matter so much that others did not, because of the respect many in the Church had for my father’s spiritual wisdom. Two, many in the Church had respect for my father’s spiritual wisdom because he did this.

    Nehemiah gives us a great example of what a leader of the people should be like. He did not use his position to acquire wealth for himself. He did not even use it to offset the expenses that went along with his position. He recognized that the people were burdened enough with the things which needed doing, rebuilding the city walls and providing for its defenses). He refused to be a further burden upon them. This is in contrast to many of our leaders today, both secular and spiritual, who use their positions to acquire great wealth for themselves (this in no way applies to those pastors, or politicians, who earn a wage from their position which is close to the average household income for their constituents).
    Nehemiah also gave an example for all of us on trusting God when we face danger. When his enemies tried to convince him to come leave Jerusalem so that they could more easily strike at him, he refused. Yet, when a credible threat arose of an attack against him, he refused to seek greater protection than the people he led would be able to take advantage of. He refused to be enticed into a place of greater danger, yet trusted God to protect him when he went about his normal day-to-day activities.