I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more. in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
These two proverbs are a good way to judge myself. Do I say things that are helpful to others? Do others find wisdom in my advice? Or am I speaking about perversion? They remind me to weigh my words so that others may benefit from what I say.
This wonderful psalm is the basis for many songs and hymns. There is a great hymn whose chorus is:
Whiter than snow; yes, whiter than snow;
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
This song brings back memories of great worship services from my childhood. Then there is a Keith Green song which I sometimes sing as I am driving as a prayer to rededicate myself to God. This psalm reminds me that God does not desire my sacrifice. He desires for me to acknowledge how broken I am, He wants me to recognize my need for His healing. And, importantly, He desires that I approach Him with contrition for my failure to live a righteous life. If I do these things, He will cleanse me of my sins, so that I need not experience them anymore.
This passage contains the story of the woman who anointed Jesus with expensive perfume. This passage gives me problems. Not because I disagree with the sentiment it presents, but because I am not quite sure what we are to make of it. I will tell you what I think of it, but I am not sure if this is the correct interpretation. Those present (including at least some of the disciples), scolded the woman for “wasting” the perfume when it could have been sold for a large sum of money and that money used to help the poor. Jesus rebuked them. He told them that they should not condemn the woman for doing a nice thing for Him. He told them that they would always have the poor, but they would not always have Him. So, it seems to me that while we are to do what we can to help those less fortunate than ourselves, we are also to show our appreciation of those around us when we have the chance. There are times when we are to do things to make those who are serving the Lord with us feel appreciated and special. Let us take time to make those around us know how much they mean to us.
The last instructions God gives to Moses before the Israelites set out from Mt Sinai were to make two silver trumpets. These trumpets were to be used to signal the people to break camp and begin to march. Using different signals they were to be used to gather the people to assemble. God instructed Moses that when they got to the promised land they were to use these trumpets to sound the alarm when an enemy attacked. They were also to use these trumpets at their celebrations and festivals. I was going somewhere when I started writing about these trumpets, but I’m not sure where that was now. I got distracted by thinking about trying to use our emergency notification alarms as part of our celebrations and worship of God. Can you imagine trying to use the sound that is played over the radio before an Emergency Alert System announcement, or an Amber Alert, in our worship services?