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. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

Deuteronomy 26-27:26

     Moses instructed the children of Israel that every year they were to bring some of the first produce from each crop and present it to the Lord as a gift offering. As part of the offering ceremony they were to recount what God had done for them as a people. Every third year they were to give a special tithe offering to the Levites, foreigners, widows and orphans among them.
     Moses called on them to remember the laws which he told them and to obey all that God had commanded them. When they crossed over into the land, they were to set up an altar on Mount Ebal and offer sacrifices to God there. After they had done that, some of the tribes were to go up on Mount Gerizim to proclaim a blessing over the people of Israel. At the same time, other tribes were to go up on Mount Ebal and declare a curse over the people of Israel. Moses gave them a list of actions to declare would lead to being cursed. The list was such things as:

• Cursed be anyone who dishonors father or mother
• Cursed is anyone who leads a blind person astray on the road.
• Cursed is anyone who denies justice to foreigners, orphans, or widows.
• Cursed is anyone who accepts payment to kill an innocent person.

There were more, but the above list is a good example of the curses which Moses declared should be agreed to by the people of Israel.



Luke 10:38-11:13

     When Jesus entered the town that Martha lived in on His way to Jerusalem, she invited Him into her home. Her sister Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening to what He had to say. Martha however was distracted by the preparations that needed to be made. She came to Jesus and asked Him to tell Mary to help her with the work. Jesus answered her that she was worried about many things, but there is only one thing that needs to be worried about and Mary had chosen that. Jesus finished by telling Martha that what Mary had chosen would not be taken from her. Martha was too busy with the preparations to spend time with her guests, Mary was too busy visiting with their guests to work on the preparations. There are several different ways to interpret this passage, but today I see it as emphasizing that it is more important to spend time with people than it is to make sure that all the details are “right”.
     Luke tells us that the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. Jesus gave them the sample prayer we call the Lord’s Prayer. For this I prefer the NIV:


“Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.”
I have seen several attempts to talk about what we are praying for when we pray this model prayer and I will attempt to do the same. First we are to acknowledge that God is out Father and loves as a father. We are to strive that honor His name as Holy. We ask that He bring His kingdom onto this earth and exercise His authority here. We ask that He provide for our needs each day. We request that He forgive our sins and promise to forgive those who we have grievance against. Finally, we ask that He lead us away from the temptation to sin.
     Jesus then went on to expand on this some more. He tells a story about asking a neighbor in the middle of the night to borrow provisions. Initially, your neighbor may tell you to go away because it is late, but if you continue to knock your neighbor will get up and lend you those provisions to make you go away. Jesus tells us that we are to continue to ask God for what we desire, even if God does not initially respond. He tells us that if we ask, it will be given to us. If we knock, doors will be opened for us. If we seek, we will find. If we, who are sinners, give good gifts to those we love, how much more can we expect God to give us His Holy Spirit when we ask? Jesus tells us to be persistent in our prayers (especially those for others).
     There is definitely something to this passage. My wife has a friend who does not live near us. She has been very concerned for him for some time. He drank too much, ate too much, smoked too much and lived in a neighborhood that has become progressively more dangerous. She has been praying for him for some time. She has been desperately praying that God would address all of these issues in his life. Over the last couple of months, he has pretty much stopped drinking, lost weight and started using electronic cigarettes. Then just last night, he told her that he had been asked to move into a very nice house in a nice neighborhood to take care of it for someone who needs to move out of it to receive care for their health. If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said it would take a miracle to get any one of the things she was asking for in this man’s life. Now there is only one thing left on her list, that he come to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior. I have faith that the Holy Spirit can answer that prayer as well. Today’s passage and that story, lead me to fresh determination to pray for the souls of several of my friends who do not know the Lord.



Psalm 76:1-12

     God is a mighty God, let us honor His name. No one can stand against Him, those who defy Him just bring glory to His name. God will judge those who do evil and rescue the oppressed. He will break the pride of the rulers of this earth. I will sing praises to God and vow to follow His ways.



Proverbs 12:15-17

     It is foolish to think that you are the only one who knows the right answer to a problem. Listen to what others think and change your mind when they say things that will help you make better decisions. Those who are foolish rapidly get angry at perceived insults, while the wise stay calm and listen to what is said to see what they can do to make things better. Those who tell the truth almost always tell the truth, once people have caught you in a lie they will not trust anything you say ever again.

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     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. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

Deuteronomy 13-15:23

     Moses gives the children of Israel clear instructions not to tolerate anyone who advocates the worship of other gods. No matter what the person or groups credentials, the children of Israel are to completely eliminate from their midst any individual or group which does so. Moses then goes on to describe what animals are acceptable as food. This is followed by instructions to give a tithe of their harvest to the Lord.
     Moses gave them instructions to care for the poor and unfortunate among them. He tells them to cancel all debts every seven years and to release all Hebrew slaves. Not only were they to release their slaves in the seventh year, but they were to give them a generous farewell gift to allow them to start their life of freedom without poverty. As part of these instructions, the children of Israel were instructed to care for the poor. Note that despite all the laws regarding the establishment of government in the new land, the care for the poor was a duty that fell on each individual.

Luke 8:40-9:6

     When Jesus returned to the other side of the lake a crowd was waiting for Him. A synagogue leader named Jairus came to Jesus and fell at His feet, begging Him to come to his house because his daughter was dying. As Jesus was on His way the crowd pressed in around Him. A woman who had been bleeding for twelve years and unable to obtain any healing approached Jesus and touched His cloak. She was immediately healed. Jesus stopped and asked who had touched Him. Everyone around Him denied doing so and Peter pointed out that the crowd was pressing in around Him. Jesus told them that He knew that power had gone out from Him. The woman then came forward and confessed what she had done and that she had been healed. Jesus told her that her faith had made her well and to go in peace. Do I have the faith to believe that just touching the hem of His cloak will fix my problems? Do I recognize that the solution to my problems is to get closer to Jesus?
     By the time the incident with the woman was over someone came from Jairus house and told him that his daughter had died, he should stop bothering the teacher. Jesus told Jairus to have faith and his daughter would be healed. Jesus continued to Jairus house and when He got there He allowed only the girl’s parents and Peter, James and John to go in with Him. Jesus told the mourners to stop wailing because she was not dead, merely asleep. The mourners laughed at Him because they knew she had died. Jesus took her hand anyway and told her to get up, which she did. He gave her into her parent’s care and told them to give her some food. Jesus instructed them not to tell anyone what happened. Are we willing to do what God asks of us even when “everyone knows” it won’t work? How often have I missed God’s blessing because I “knew” it couldn’t happen? O Lord, give me the same faith as the bleeding woman and Jairus.

Psalm 71:1-24

     Another wonderful psalm. I somewhat prefer the NIV translation here because the NIV is clearer that the psalmist has absolute confidence that God will come to his aid and is praising God for that aid. The NLT comes across more as a plea for God’s aid than a song of praise for the aid that will come. I, like the psalmist, learned reliance on God from my youngest days. God blessed me with a Mother and Father who taught me His ways. I know that I have failed to be the sign of His goodness to those around me that I should have been, but I strive before God to continue to my final days proclaiming His works of righteousness.

As for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.
Let me proclaim God’s miraculous deeds to all who come after me.

Proverbs 12:5-7

     Do you wish to determine if you are godly or wicked? The way to know is to look at your plans, if your plans are just and fair than you know that you are living a godly life. On the other hand, if your advice to others is deceitful and misleading, you can know that you are living a wicked life. The point of today’s proverbs are not about looking at others, but at looking at oneself.

     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. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

Deuteronomy 9-10:22

     Moses tells the people of Israel that God is not driving the people out of the promised land because the people of Israel were so good, He is doing so because the people of the land are so evil. The children of Israel needed to recognize that they had done plenty wrong and were in constant need of God’s forgiveness. Moses then tells the children of Israel what God requires of them (and of us). God requires that we fear Him and love and serve Him with all of our heart and soul. We are to follow the commands that God has given us for our own good.
     Our God is the God of gods and Lord of Lords. He ensures that widows and orphans receive justice. God alone is our God and He has performed many mighty miracles.

Luke 8:4-21

     Today we have Luke’s telling of the Parable of the Sower. In this parable Jesus tells of seed falling on four different types of soil and how the seed did on each of those soils. At the end He says, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” The disciples ask Jesus to explain the parable to them. Jesus tells them that the seed is the word of God. The footpath represents those whom when they hear the Word of God, Satan comes along and snatches it away preventing them from being saved. The rocky soil represents those who hear the Word and respond joyously, but never put down deep roots. When trouble comes they fall away. The thorny soil represents those who hear the Word, but allow the cares for wealth and material goods to crowd it out. The good soil represents those who hear God’s Word, cling to it and patiently produce a harvest for God. Which type of soil am I? All too often I feel like I am the thorny soil, although I try very hard to be good soil.
     Jesus next tells a parable of a lamp on a lampstand. He tells us that we do not light a lamp and immediately hide it. Rather when we light a lamp, we set it on a lampstand so that it’s light can be seen. In the same way the light of God is being set so that it will reveal that which is concealed. If we listen to Jesus’ teaching we will be given greater understanding as time goes on. If on the other hand, we choose to ignore His teaching, as time goes by we will find even things we thought we understood become confusing. Just look at our society, we ignored Jesus advice about divorce and made divorce easy. Now, our society has lost its understanding of what marriage is. The Christian Church failed to defend marriage against easy divorce. I will not say that I know exactly what the Church should have done differently on the issue of divorce, but it has been clear to me for some time that the Church has been wrong on this issue.

Psalm 69:19-36

     The psalmist continues to recount his despair. He tells us that no one has shown him any sympathy or offered him comfort. He calls out to God for rescue in his despair. The psalmist tells us that when God rescues him (not if God rescues him, but when) he will praise God’s name. As deep as the psalmists despair is, he still has faith that God will answer his cries. He knows that God will provide him with salvation. Do we have a similar confidence? The humble will seek God and be glad. All who seek God’s help will be encouraged. God hears the cries of the needy. Those who love Him will live in safety.

Proverbs 12:2-3

     God approves of those who are good and condemns those who plan wickedness (not just those who do wickedness, but those who plan it). Wicked action never leads to stability, only the righteous are able to put down firm roots.

     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. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

Deuteronomy 5-6:25

     Moses repeats the Ten Commandments and reminds the people they heard them directly from the mouth of God. Moses went on to remind them that their leaders were afraid to hear more words directly from God and requested that God speak with Moses and then Moses tell them what God had commanded. God heard the request of the leaders and agreed that it was good. God sent the people back to their tents and spoke His commands to Moses.
     Moses then tells the people that God will soon be bringing them into a land of great wealth. He told them that when they entered that land, they needed to remember and follow God’s commands. If they do that, all will go well for them in the land and they will prosper. Moses reminds them, and us, that they must love the Lord their God with all their heart, minds and souls, with all that they are. That is such a great challenge. I find it hard to devote all that I am to loving God, yet I know that I need to do this. That the answer to all of my difficulties comes from doing that. I must learn to let nothing else come between God and myself. And we must live our lives so that others ask us why we behave as we do. When we receive those questions we reply by telling people about what God has done for us. If people are not asking us, we are not being blatant enough about following God’s commands.

Luke 7:11-35

     Jesus was going into the village of Nain when a funeral procession was coming out. It was the funeral of the only son of a widow. Jesus felt sorrow for her loss and told her not to cry. He approached and touched the bier on which they were carrying the body. The pallbearers stopped when He did so. Jesus told the young man to get up and he did so. The people who were around were filled with fearful surprise and began to praise God. They recognized that this act by Jesus was a sign that God was working among them and it both thrilled and frightened them. Am I both thrilled and frightened when I see God’s miraculous power displayed? Do I expect to witness God act in ways that will be both thrill and frighten me?
     Shortly after this John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus if He was indeed the Messiah, or if they should be looking for someone else? Jesus told them to go back to John and tell him what they had seen and heard, that “the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” Can we say the same thing about our ministry today? Too many of the ministries I see today either focus on healing the sick/meeting people’s physical needs or they focus on preaching the Gospel. Jesus told John’s disciples that they should see both people’s physical needs being met and the Gospel being preached.
     After John’s disciples left, Jesus began preaching to the crowd about John. He explained to them that they did not go out into the desert to see someone who was blown around by every fad that came along, nor did they go out to see someone who had acquired great wealth. Rather they went out into the desert to see someone who was a messenger preparing the way for the Word of God. Jesus goes on to compare the religious leaders of the day to children who complain because one person (John) does not join them in laughing and playing and another person (Jesus) does not join them in crying and weeping. They complained that John did not join them in eating a drinking at their feasts and said that must indicate the he is demon possessed. Then they turned around and complained that because Jesus was willing to eat and drink with tax collectors and other sinners He must be a glutton and a drunkard.
     There are different ways to interpret what Jesus is saying about the comparison between Himself and John the Baptist. The lesson I take from it is that God calls some people to live an ascetic life, a simple life, where they call others to the denial of self in order to serve God. Others are called to go out among the sinners and show them how it is possible to serve God and your fellow man without being a boring, stick-in-the-mud. First and foremost we should not judge others whom God has called to a different ministry than ourselves. There is another important point here, both John the Baptist and Jesus preached a message that was well-received by the “tax-collectors and the sinners” in their society AND a message that was rejected by the “moral” and powerful. So, is our message directed at the “moral” and powerful? Or at the sinners who are ready to receive God’s forgiveness?

Psalm 68:19-35

     Another psalm which calls me to praise God. It uplifts my soul on a day when I was feeling a little down. The psalmist says that each day God bears us in His arms, that He carries our burdens. The psalmist tells us to look, that we can see God’s triumphal procession coming into view. Let us be the singers out in front, announcing the coming of the victorious King. God is summoning His might and displaying His power. Soon, the nations of the world will bow in submission to Him. Let us sing God’s praises and proclaim His power to all who will listen. God is awesome, both in the modern sense of being really cool and in the more traditional sense of being overwhelming and a bit frightening. God gives power and strength to those He has made His people.

Proverbs 11:29-31

     Those who bring trouble on their own families will inherit nothing of value and those who live foolish lives will end up in servitude to those who are wise. That really frightens me because all too often I have made foolish choices in my life. Those who are righteous produce fruit which brings life to those around them, the wise save lives by giving warning. The righteous, the ungodly and the sinner will all receive their just due both on this earth and in eternity.