For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    Everyone likes to hear the latest rumours. We want to think that we are in the know. The problem is that we often forget that the rumours we heard are just that, rumours. We come to believe that they are true, even though we have heard no facts to back them up. When we hear rumours and gossip, let us make sure we remember that they may not be true, or may even be outright lies.

    Another psalm of praise. The psalmist tells the faithful to rejoice that God delights in them. Let us execute the tasks which God has given us.

    As Paul traveled to Jerusalem he met with various groups of believers along the way. At each placed he stopped, one or more people were led by the Holy Spirit to urge Paul not to go to Jerusalem. Nevertheless, Paul was determined to complete his trip. Paul told the believers who urged him not to go that he was not only willing to be jailed for Christ but he was willing to die for Him. In making that statement Paul gave an example that all Christians should follow. Are you willing to be jailed for following Jesus? Are you willing to die in order to remain faithful to Him?
    As I have read this passage over, it seems to me that Paul was given the choice of avoiding being a martyr. I was going to write that the Holy Spirit was urging Paul to not go to Jerusalem. However, when I started to write that I realized that Paul was given the choice. I believe that if Paul had chosen not to go to Jerusalem, God had plans for him that did not involve him being a martyr. On the other hand, by going to Jerusalem knowing what he was going to face, Paul gave heart to many Christians, both in his time and later, who were facing persecution which they could not/can not avoid.

    This story is one of those which tells us a lot about God’s control of history. The officials of Assyria were sure of their power, and their ability to conquer Jerusalem. They declared that God would not be able to protect Jerusalem any more than the gods of other nations had protected them. Looking at this story from a secular perspective, there was nothing which could prevent the Assyrians from besieging Jerusalem until it was forced to surrender, or fell because its soldiers were no longer able to man the walls. Sennacherib’s will was supreme. No army, no power could prevent him from doing as he wished. He and his officials declared this to Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem.
    Hezekiah responded by doing what people of faith should always do when someone tells them such things. He turned to God in prayer and asked, “Do You hear this God? I call on You to answer this slander, because I know that Sennacherib is NOT sovereign. You, and You alone, are sovereign.” To which God replied, “I will answer Sennacherib and we will see who is truly sovereign. He will not conquer Jerusalem, he will not even besiege it. He will turn for home, where he will be killed.”
    That night, 185,000 of Sennacherib’s soldiers died and Sennacherib broke camp to return to Nineveh. While worshiping in the temple to the god of Nineveh, Sennacherib was killed. Yes, Hezekiah and the Kingdom of Judah could not stand against the military might of the Assyrians, but God is not limited by the limits of this earth. Those who declare themselves sovereign will discover, to their regret, that only God is sovereign. When we look at world history we see nation after nation and army after army which were unbeatable and against which no force on earth could stand. Yet, time and again, they fall before the might of God. Time and again they discover that they are not sovereign after all.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    No one considers someone who always pursues selfish goals friendly. If you start quarrels for no good reason, no one will like you. If you want people to like you, seek to do things which help them, which make their life better. From there, seek to avoid quarrels as much as it is within your control.

    He is my God and my King. I will praise His name every day. Let each generation tell the next about the wonderful things God has done. I will meditate on the wonderful things which God has done. God is compassionate, rich in love and slow to anger. I need to meditate more on His word and spend more time in prayer. What a great psalm for meditating on God!

    There are two things that stood out to me about Paul’s stay in Corinth. The first was God’s command to him in a vision, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent!” I think this is a message which is meant for all of us. Right now God is telling us not to be afraid, to speak out. Now is not the time to be silent.
    The other thing which stands out to me is what happened after the proconsul threw out the case against Paul. The crowd, which had been stirred up against Paul, grabbed Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him. The passage does not tell us anything else about Sosthenes. We do not know if he was sympathetic to Paul, or opposed to Paul. Considering that Paul remained in Corinth for some time after this without another incident, it strikes me as likely that Sosthenes had been among the leaders of those who brought Paul before the proconsul.

    Athaliah was the daughter of Ahab who became queen of Judah. When her son was killed by Jehu, who overthrew her brother as King of Israel, she seized the throne of Judah, killing all of the remaining royal house she could lay her hands on. However, her daughter (or perhaps her husband’s daughter by another woman, the phrasing in the passage makes this less than clear), took her grandson from the nursery to the Temple and put him under the protection of the Temple priests. This grandson was Joash. He was raised by the high priest, who arranged to put him on the throne as soon as practicable. The life of Joash reminds us of the importance of good mentors. As a result of the influence of the high priest who raised him, Joash led the people of Judah back to worshiping God and repaired the Temple.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    Bad things result when people are punished for doing good and leaders are criticized for being honest. Any society which does such things is headed for disaster.

    If you are suffering from depression or feeling overwhelmed by the events of your life, call out to God. Pay attention to what He says and follow the path He lays out for you. Start each day by reading about God’s acts of unfailing love. Give yourself to God and He will lift the weight from your shoulders. If you start your day by calling to God His Spirit will lead you to firm footing where the troubles of this life will no longer seem insurmountable.

    I find a couple of points about this passage interesting. The first thing I find interesting is that a demon caused the girl to tell people that Paul and Silas were servants of God. What was it attempting to accomplish by doing so? The second thing I find interesting is that the slave girl’s masters new immediately that she no longer had the ability to tell fortunes after Paul cast out the demon. How? Clearly, something dramatic happened when Paul commanded the demon to leave the girl.
    Another thing that I find interesting, but in a different way, is that Paul and Silas spent the night in prison praying and singing. The praying part is not particularly noteworthy, but the singing is different. They had been severely beaten before being imprisoned. Yet here they were singing praises to God. We should behave likewise. When we are counted worthy of suffering because of our faith we should praise God for so honoring us. I’m not sure I could do it, but I believe that I should.

    In this passage we discover the problem with Jehoshaphat’s friendship with King Ahab. Despite Jehoshaphat’s faithfulness to God, he allowed, or more likely, arranged, for his son to marry Ahab’s daughter. As a result of this marriage, Jehoram, Jehoshaphat’s son, followed the example of Ahab and was just as wicked. All-in-all, this passage reminds us of the importance of choosing our associates carefully, and in choosing wisely when we get married. As a result of Jehoshaphat’s association with Ahab, both his son and his grandson became wicked kings and both died at a relatively young age.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. For those of you who do not read this every day, I was very sick last week and it affected my writing (I do not know if for the better or worse). While I am still taking antibiotics, I am otherwise feeling better. I thank those of you have been praying for me.

    This proverb reminds us that those who take bribes are wicked and the result of bribes is the perversion of justice. There is no getting around these facts.

    The first thing that struck me as I read this psalm was the reference to prayer as an incense offering we make to God. I suppose in part because I have been convicted lately that I need to pray more. Of course the next line is one that I have been praying for the last few years. I do indeed desire that God take control of what I say and guard every utterance that comes out of my mouth. It is to God whom I will look for help. I pray that He keep me from the traps which the wicked have set for the godly.

    A dispute about doctrine arose between Paul and Barnabas and some unnamed believers from Jerusalem. The congregation of Antioch in Syria sent a delegation to Jerusalem to get the apostles opinion on the issue. The delegation included Paul and Barnabas, which suggests where the bulk of the congregation stood on the issue. When they got to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas were welcomed by the entire Church there, including the apostles and the elders of the Church. Paul and Barnabas gave an account of their mission trip and what God had done through them. Some of the believers present stood up and said that the Gentiles needed to be circumcised.
    So, we have a dispute over Church doctrine. The key factor was over how they resolved the issue. The Church elders and the apostles met together and discussed the issue. However this was not a small, exclusive group. The account tells us that there was much discussion, then Peter got up and recounted the vision he had before visiting Cornelius. The n Paul and Barnabas told about the signs and miracles they had witnessed among the Gentiles. At that point, the NIV translates the description of the group as “the whole assembly”.
    So, what do we learn about how we should resolve such issues? The elders and leadership of the entire Church gathered and discussed the issue. Everyone got a hearing. And while the passage not specify this, I believe that they prayed and sought the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Gradually, the respected leaders presented their thoughts directing towards a consensus, which the larger group accepted. Having made a decision, the group appointed delegates to convey their thoughts to the Church in Antioch.

    I have heard and read many commentaries on the story of Naaman’s healing. Today the point that came to me is one I have heard before, but not the way it struck me. When Naaman came to Elisha he was upset by two things. First, he was upset that Elisha had not come out to meet him. How could Elisha not come out to meet the great general? Second, he was upset that Elisha had set him a task to complete in order to be healed, but not a heroic task, just washing himself in the Jordan. Anybody could wash themselves in the Jordan, that was no task to set a great man like Naaman. And if he had to wash himself in a river, why not one more convenient to home?
    The point of all this is that when God calls me to a task, that task is the one He wants me to complete. Fulfilling the tasks God sets me are demonstrations of but one thing, my willingness to do as God instructs me. If I am seeking to do some great work for God, I am focusing on the wrong thing. God gives me the tasks which it serves His purpose for me to complete. They are not designed to bring glory to me. They are not designed to show the world what a great servant of God I am. They are designed to further God’s purpose in this world. As long as I faithfully execute the tasks which God lays before me, I have served His purpose. It is not my job to change the world. I will leave that up to God.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. For those of you who do not read this every day, I was very sick last week and it affected my writing (I do not know if for the better or worse). While I am still taking antibiotics, I am otherwise feeling better. I thank those of you have been praying for me.

    Those who are cheerful suffer less from illness and misfortune. Those who constantly look on the bright side feel less pain and recover from physical problems more rapidly. On the other hand, those who have been broken down by their suffering become depressed and do not have the energy to do anything.

    Evil and violent people will plot against those who serve the Lord. They will lay out traps and pitfalls before us. If we rely on God and trust in Him, He will save us from their schemes. The evil they planned for us will fall upon them. Those who plot the downfall of the godly will find their plots rebounding upon themselves.

    While Paul was preaching the Gospel in Lystra he saw a man paralyzed since birth in the audience. Paul realized that the man had the faith to be healed, so he told the man to stand up. The reaction of the people of Lystra tells us something about the relationship of Paul and Barnabas. They thought that Paul and Barnabas must be gods and concluded that Barnabas was Zeus while Paul was Hermes. In part they reached this conclusion because Paul did most of the talking. However, it suggests that they observed Paul offering some level of deference to Barnabas.
    The story itself has an important lesson for us. If we are the conduits which the Holy Spirit uses to perform wonders some people will want to lift us up and hold us above the common man. They will want to worship us. So, when we find ourselves being used by the Holy Spirit we must stay alert for those who will attempt to make what is happening about us and not allow them to do so. I struggle with the lack of witnessing the power of the Holy Spirit in my life, but I know that part of the reason for it is that I would struggle with preventing people from holding me up as special.

    Once again, Jehoshaphat goes to war along with the king of Israel. Joram, the king of Israel, leads the armies through the wilderness without knowledge of where there are water sources. When the armies become desperate for water, Joram blames God for his bad decision making. However, Jehoshaphat suggests they seek a prophet among the men in the army. So the kings call upon Elisha, who happens to be with the armies. Elisha tells Joram that he is only willing to seek God’s word for the kings because of his respect for Jehoshaphat. He then reveals that God will provide the armies with water and with victory the following morning.
    The story of the prophet’s widow tells us a lot about how God provides for us. When she approached Elisha and begged for his help, his immediate response was to ask what she had of value. His miracle was not to miraculously provide her with money. Instead, he provided her with the ability to raise the funds she needed through her own effort. The story does not suggest that the widow was in a bad situation through any fault of her own, but God’s means of providing for her involved her taking an active part.