For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
This proverb reminds us to remember that just because someone is laughing and appears to be enjoying themselves, it does not mean that their grief is gone. It takes time to work through grief, there are no shortcuts. Continue to offer support to those who have experienced grief, even if they seem to be handling it well.
Those who fail to be faithful will receive their just reward, as will those who are good. Choose your actions accordingly.
I love this psalm because it both lifts me up with joy when I read it and it gives great advice for living a godly life.
- Live a blameless life–something I can only do if God helps me
- Live a life of integrity–even when in the privacy of my own home
- Refuse to look at anything vile or vulgar
- Have nothing to do with those who deal crookedly, who do not keep faith
- Reject perverse ideas and stay away from all evil
- Refuse to tolerate those who slander others
- Spend time with faithful people, hire only those who are above reproach
- Do not hire those who deceive or spend time with liars
Yes, I will sing of God’s love and justice as I beg Him to help me live according to this list.
The comparison John makes here to God as a source of light reminds me of the comparison of good and evil to light and dark. Neither dark nor evil are things in and of themselves. They are the absence of something else. Dark is the absence of light and evil is the absence of good. As I think about it in this context, I like the alternate translation of verse five, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not understood it.” As the author goes further with this metaphor, I love how he points out that John was not the source of light. Rather John pointed people towards the light. In the same way, we need to point people towards the source of light. Let us reflect the light of God in our lives so that others will wish to experience it first hand. Whatever about me is good is but a poor reflection of the goodness which is God. Let us polish, and clean, our mirrors so that they become ever better reflections of God’s goodness. But let us not be afraid to risk getting dirty, if that is what it takes to reflect God’s light into nooks and crannies.
Jepthah’s half-brothers drove him out, apparently with the approval of the community leaders. Yet when trouble arose and they needed his skills, those same community leaders begged him to come back and rescue them. Despite what they had done to him, Jepthah returned and led the people in defeating their attacker. This story does not tell us about a great man of God who led God’s people to victory. Rather it tells us about a flawed man who was used by God to protect a people who were themselves flawed. Let us recognize that God will make use of us despite our flaws.