For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    The first step to being wise is to seek to gain wisdom. If you do not value wisdom, you will be stuck being a fool. Whatever else you do with your life, develop good judgment. Seek wisdom, no matter what it costs you in material wealth. Spend your fortune, if that is what it takes, to acquire understanding. If you embrace wisdom, wisdom will bring you honour.

    Our enemies may attack us when we are at our most vulnerable, but God will reach down from heaven to rescue us. He will lead us to safety…all we have to do is follow Him. If we keep to the ways of God and do not turn to evil, those ways will lead us to safety. God is faithful to those who are faithful. He shows His integrity to those who demonstrate integrity. The pure will see that God is pure. But the devious will discover that God is cunning.

    Today’s passage contains one more parable about the Kingdom of Heaven. In this parable Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to fishing with a net. When fishing with a net, you catch everything in the water where you spread your nets. It is only after you have drawn the nets to the shore that you separate the good fish from the bad. In the same way, we are called to spread our nets and bring everyone into the Kingdom of Heaven. When the end comes God will sort out those who belong from those who do not. It is not up to us to determine who “deserves” to be in the Kingdom of Heaven and who does not. There is a saying which is sometimes used during war, “Kill them all. Let God sort them out.” There is a kernel of truth to that, but the Christian version of this is, “Invite them all. Let God sort them out.”

    We see in today’s passage the fulfillment of the dreams which Joseph had as a boy when his brothers bowed down before him. I think Joseph found this result much less glorious than he imagined it would be when he had those dreams as a boy.