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.
Moses urged the Israelites to obey the commands of God. He reminded them of what had happened at Peor, where all who worshiped Baal died, while those who remained faithful to God survived. Moses further reminded them of when they stood before the Lord at Mt Sinai and heard Him give the Ten Words (or Commandments). He continued by pointing out to them that they did not see the Lord’s form at Mt Sinai, so they should not in the future construct idols that purport to be in the form of the Lord. The Lord is God in both heaven and earth and there is no other god.
Moses tells the children of Israel that if they break God’s covenant they will not last long in the land which He is giving them. However, if later they seek God with all of their heart and soul, they will find Him. I believe this is a promise for everyone. If you seek the Lord God with all of your heart and soul, you will find Him.
Yesterday’s passage ended with Jesus’ instruction not to judge or condemn others. Today’s passage begins with clarification of what He was saying with that. Here He tells us that if the blind lead the blind, they will both stumble into a ditch that neither saw. In the same way, a student cannot end up more learned than his teacher. When you are teaching someone you cannot teach them things that you do not know. Jesus then goes on to tell us that we should concern ourselves with what we are doing wrong, not with what someone else is doing wrong. We cannot teach others to do right, if we ourselves are doing wrong. We should always consider our failures to live according to God’s will to be more important than those of others.
Jesus goes on to tell us that we can judge people (and ourselves) by the results of our actions. Those who are truly good do good for others, those who are evil cause harm to others. If someone’s actions are evil, their heart is full of evil. If someone’s acts are good, their heart is full of good. What we say also comes out of our hearts. We can be accurately judged by the words we use and what we say about others. We have a tendency to look at Jesus comments about judging a tree by its fruit as a way to judge others, but I think in this context Jesus was clearly talking about how we are to judge our own actions. Jesus gives yet another example about following Him. He tells us that listening to Him and following His instructions is a lot of work. It is not easy, but it is like building a house. If we want the house to endure we have to do a lot of work and dig down to the bedrock and start building the foundation from there. In the same way, if we want to follow Jesus we need to dig down to the bedrock of our lives and make changes there. Those changes will be hard work, but the resulting life will be worth it.
The day is coming when God will rise up and scatter those who have chosen to oppose Him. God is father to the fatherless and the defender of widows. It is inevitable that those who choose to oppose God will be crushed and on that day all others will gather to praise the name of God. When God’s enemies flee, those they thought of as weak and powerless will gather the plunder. Let us never forget that no matter how bad things now, no matter how successful those who practice evil appear to be, their destruction will come. While those who have patiently waited for God and followed His commands will reap well-being.
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.
Moses recounts how the people of Israel wandered in the wilderness for a generation, until God instructed them to turn north. God told them not to attack the Edomites because they were the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother. So, the Israelites went around the land of Edom. God also instructed them not to attack either the Moabites or the Ammonites. However, God told them to attack the Amorites. First, Moses offered the King Sihon that they would travel through his lands without causing disruption, paying for any food or water they consumed in their travels. King Sihon responded by mustering his armies and attacking the Israelites. The Israelites completely destroyed King Sihon and his people. Then King Og of Bashan attacked them and they turned and destroyed his people, conquering his lands.
Moses divided this land among the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh on the condition that they send their fighting men across the Jordan with the rest of the tribes to help them conquer the land there. Moses then tells the people that he appointed Joshua as his successor and had given Joshua instructions concerning leading the people. Moses told them that he had begged God to be allowed to cross the Jordan and see the land on the other side. However, God was angry with Moses for things he had done while leading the people in the wilderness. God told Moses to go up to the top of a high peak which would allow him to look out over the land on the other side of the Jordan, but that Moses would not be allowed to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land.
Jesus spent a night in prayer to God and in the morning He called all of His disciples together and chose twelve of them as His messengers (the original Greek word for apostle means “messenger”). When they came down from the mountain, Jesus stood on a large level area surrounded by crowds who had come to hear Him preach and be healed by Him. The passage does not spell it out, but it reads to me like Jesus chose a natural amphitheater to preach from. Luke tells us that in the middle of this crowd, Jesus began to teach His disciples.
Jesus tells His disciples that those who are poor and hungry are blessed by God and will be satisfied. When people hate, persecute us and reject us as evil because we follow Jesus’ teachings, we should rejoice because that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. Jesus then goes on to tell us that those who are wealthy and well-fed now will suffer deprivation later. More importantly He tells us that we should be concerned if everyone speaks well of us, because that is how their ancestors spoke of the false prophets.
We should pay attention to this, those that our society thinks highly of are not the people we should be listening to. On the other hand, we should look closely at what those our society condemns to see if they are preaching the word of God. We should remember that those who tell people what they want to hear are almost always deceivers seeking to accomplish evil goals. When everyone speaks well of someone it is a sign that their message is probably false. Unfortunately, the converse is not necessarily true. When everyone maligns someone, that does not mean that their message is true. However, society will, sooner or later, denigrate anyone who speaks God’s message truthfully.
Jesus goes on to tell His disciples (us) that they should love their enemies and do good to those who mistreat them. We get no credit for being nice to those who are nice to us, even sinners do that. We are to go beyond what sinners do and be nice to those who mistreat us. Jesus goes on to tell us not to judge or condemn others. Rather we are to forgive others so that we may be forgiven. The measure we use in giving to others, God will use in giving to us. This is not about receiving material wealth in return for our charitable giving (although there is an element of that in this teaching), rather it is about us treating others better than we think they deserve because God treats us better than we deserve.
Every day I am finding the psalms I read a blessing. I am truly blessed by the opening to today’s psalm:
May God be merciful and bless us.
May his face smile with favor on us.
However, I am challenged by the next phrase:
May your ways be known throughout the earth,
your saving power among people everywhere.
How will that happen if I am not demonstrating those ways and teaching those ways to those I meet? Yes, I want the nations and people everywhere to praise God and sing for joy in the knowledge of His governance. But that can only happen if I tell those I meet about it. As Paul writes in Romans 10:14 “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?” Have I done all I can to tell others about God? The answer is “No”, which means that I must find more ways to spread the word of God’s love. I know that part of my reluctance to do more is a fear that others will condemn me for it. Yet Jesus tells us that we should rejoice when others condemn us for preaching His word. I will strive to live up to that going forward.
Quilt on display at Peter Becker Flower Show
If you look for good, you will find it and people will look favorably on you. On the other hand if you look for evil, you will find that as well and will experience it. While evil is out there and we should be aware of it, we should look for good in those around us because if we do, we are likely to find it. Those who expect others to treat them well usually experience that type of treatment, while those who expect others to treat them badly almost always receive the treatment they expect (especially since they tend to interpret the treatment they do receive in the most negative light possible).
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.
As the decision was being made about how to divide up the land, the heads of the clans of Gilead came to Moses with a concern. Earlier Moses had ruled that the daughters of a man in their clan who had died without sons should be allotted land in his name along with the rest of the people of Israel (this ruling was generalized that the land of a man who died without sons should pass to his daughters). These leaders were concerned that those women who received a portion of land with their tribe would marry outside of the tribe and the land would be lost to the tribe. Moses ruled that women who inherit land from a father must marry within their own tribe so that the land stays within the tribe. He then added a statement to clarify his ruling. The land granted when the children of Israel entered the Promised Land was not to pass from tribe to tribe, but rather it was to stay within the tribe to which it was granted at this time.
Today I begin Deuteronomy, which roughly translates as “Second Law”. There are many who claim that the Book of Deuteronomy was composed during the reign of King Josiah when he ordered the cleaning and restoration of the Temple. I find the reason that the text of Deuteronomy implies for its existence completely satisfying. The Book of Deuteronomy is a retelling of the laws given by God to the people of Israel. Originally, Moses wrote the laws down and gave them to the people at Mt Sinai. Here in the Book of Deuteronomy, all of the adults who were at Mt Sinai have died and there is a new generation about to enter the Promised Land. God has told Moses that he will not live to go with them. So, Moses repeats the Law for this new generation and reminds them of what God has done for them and their parents.
Moses starts by recounting how he worked with the people to find and appoint judges over them to help him resolve their disputes. Those judges were instructed to be impartial and to offer a hearing to everyone, no matter how rich or poor. He also instructed them to bring any case that was too difficult to him for resolution. Moses then tells them how they moved on from Mt Sinai until they came to Kadesh-barnea. Moses told the people of Israel to go in and occupy the land, but the people wanted to send scouts out ahead of them. Moses thought this was a good idea and sent twelve scouts into the land, one from each tribe.
The scouts reported back that it was a good land, but that the people were too powerful and mighty for them. Moses tried to convince the people that they did not need to fear the people of the land because God would fight for them. However, the people refused to trust God and resisted going into the land. God was angry with them and swore that none of them, excepting only Caleb and Joshua, would enter the land of His promise. After the Lord told them that He would not allow them to enter the land because of their rebellion, the people changed their minds and attempted to conquer the land. Moses tried to convince them not to go because God had withdrawn His blessing on the attack. The people did not listen to Moses and were badly defeated.
This passage contains two important lessons for us. The first is that we should judge all people the same. We need to treat the wealthy and the poor, the powerful and the powerless the same. They are all equal before God and we should view them the same. The second lesson is that we need to follow God’s calling when it comes, sometimes the window of opportunity for certain calls is narrow. We need to learn not to fear man when God is calling us to take action. I struggle with this one because I struggle with knowing what God is calling me to.
Another sales display at the Peter Becker Home Flower Show
After Jesus called Levi, the tax collector, to be His disciple, Levi threw a lavish dinner for Jesus at his house. Levi invited his friends and acquaintances. As you might expect these were not the “righteous and upright” members of society. They were the “wild child” people, known for their sinful lifestyles. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law asked Jesus’ disciples why they ate with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus answered them that the healthy do not need a doctor, rather it is the sick who need a doctor. This is a message that we cannot fulfill our mission to reach out to the lost if we never spend any time with them. Jesus spent time socializing with and going to the parties of sinners, we should do the same.
The Pharisees then confronted Jesus with the fact that His disciples did not spend time fasting. Jesus told them that they did not need to fast while He was with them. He goes on to tell them that we do not take cloth from a new garment to patch an old one because that results in a torn new garment and an ugly old one. In a similar manner, we do not put new wine in old wine skins because as the new wine ferments it will break the old wine skins. Interestingly, Jesus follows this up by saying that no one has been drinking old wine says that they want to switch to new wine because old wine is better.
One Sabbath, Jesus and His disciples were walking through some grain fields. The disciples picked a few grains and rubbed them between their hands and ate the kernels. The Pharisees confronted Jesus about His disciples doing that which was not lawful on the Sabbath. Jesus replies by telling them that David took some of the consecrated bread that only priests are allowed to eat and shared it with his men. On another Sabbath, Jesus goes into a synagogue and began to teach. There was a man in the synagogue with a crippled hand. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were watching to see if He would heal on the Sabbath. Jesus had the man stand in front of the entire crowd. He then asked the crowd, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”
Having established with His rhetorical question that it is never wrong to do good for someone else, He healed the man’s hand. Jesus made it clear that it is never wrong to do good for someone.
More sales display at the Peter Becker Home Flower Show
Let all the world praise God for He has done mighty deeds. God has tested us and purified us. I will tell you what God has done for me. He has done marvelous things for me. When I have cried out to Him in frustration and gloom He has answered me. When I was at the end of my endurance He granted me change and relief. I confessed my sins of arrogance and pride (as well as many others) and He listened to me. He has listened to me and provided me with hope when I felt like there was no reason to go on. I will praise the Lord with all of my being.
Those who are generous become wealthy, while those who are stingy become poor. If you are willing to help others when times are good for you, others will help you when times are bad for you. People curse those who hoard necessities in time of trouble, but bless those who are willing to sell to others. When you are kind and generous to others, they will generally be kind and generous in return and even when they are not, generosity is still its own reward.
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.
The passage finishes the summary of the travels of the Israelites through the wilderness. Then while they are camped near the Jordan River, across from Jericho, God gives Moses commands regarding the boundaries of the land they will be given and how to divide it up among the tribes. Out of the land given to the other tribes a total of 48 towns and their surrounding pastureland are to be given to the Levites. Six of the Levitical towns are to be cities of refuge, where a person who has accidentally killed someone can flee for safety.
Moses gave the people specific commands from God regarding the cities of refuge. If someone accidentally kills someone they may flee to a city of refuge. The community is to gather and judge whether the person killed the victim by accident or on purpose. They must have at least two witnesses to testify that the killing was intentional, otherwise they are to escort the slayer back to the city of refuge where he must remain until the death of the high priest. If the slayer leaves the city of refuge before the death of the high priest and is killed by a relative of his victim it was not to be considered murder. However, once the high priest dies the slayer is free to return to his lands. The law specified that all murderers are to be put to death, but only on the testimony of two or more witnesses. The law also specified that they were to never accept a payment to allow someone convicted of murder to escape death, nor a payment to allow someone who accidentally killed someone to return to their lands early. The law was to apply the same to everyone.
In one of the villages where Jesus went to teach a man with an advanced case of leprosy approached Jesus and requested that Jesus heal him. The man begged Jesus for healing and said that he knew that if Jesus was willing, He could heal him. Jesus was willing and healed the man. Jesus told the man not to tell anyone about his healing. Instead Jesus told the man to follow the Laws instructions regarding being examined by a priest and the sacrifices for cleansing that the Law specified. This did not stop the spread of word about Jesus’ healing power, rather it made it spread even more rapidly. People came from all over to hear Jesus and be healed by Him. It was such that Jesus had to withdraw to lonely places to find time to be alone and to pray.
One day while Jesus was teaching in a house, some men tried to bring a paralyzed man in to the house to Jesus. Pharisees and teachers of the law from all over Galilee and even some from Judea and Jerusalem were sitting there listening to Jesus such that the men could not get in to see Him (the phrasing of the passage suggests there was more to the crowd than just the Pharisees and teachers of the law). So, the men took the paralyzed man up onto the roof and removed some of the roof tiles and lowered the man to Jesus from there. When Jesus saw the faith expressed by the man’s friends, he told the man that his sins were forgiven. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were offended that Jesus told the man his sins were forgiven, since only God can forgive sins. Jesus recognized what they were thinking and asked them which was easier, to say “Your sins are forgiven,” or “Stand up and walk”? Then to demonstrate that He had the authority to forgive sins, He told the man to get up and walk. The man immediately got up, picked up his mat and praised God as he went home.
Shortly after this Jesus saw Levi sitting in his tax collector’s booth and called him to follow Him. Levi immediately got up, left everything and followed Jesus.
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.
The tribes of Reuben and Gad requested of Moses that they be allowed to settle the lands which the Israelites had conquered east of the Jordan River. They had large flocks and these lands were ideally suited to grazing their flocks. They agreed to send their fighting men to accompany the rest of Israel to conquer the land west of the Jordan. Moses told them that if they failed to carry out their promise to help their fellow Israelites they would be punished.
The passage then gives a summary of the Israelites journey through the wilderness. listing each of the places they camped from when they left Egypt until they reached Mt Hor, where Aaron died (tomorrow’s passage begins with the final stages of the journey through the wilderness).
Another quilt on display at Peter Becker Flower Show
After being rejected in Nazareth (in yesterday’s passage, although I did not touch on it in my blog), Jesus went to Capernaum and taught in the synagogue every Sabbath. The people were amazed by His teaching. Once while He was in the synagogue a demon possessed man began shouting at Him to leave him alone. Jesus commanded the demon to come out of the man. The demon threw the man to the ground and came out of him. The people talked about how evil spirits fled at His command and spread the word about Him.
When Jesus left the synagogue that day, He went to Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law (the actual Greek is “Simon’s wife’s mother”) was sick. They asked Jesus to heal her. He did so and she got up and took up the role of hostess. People from all over the town brought those who had any sort of sickness to Jesus and He healed them. This included some who were demon-possessed. The demons caused the people to shout, “You are the Son of God.” Jesus rebuked them and would not allow them to speak any more than that.
One day when Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee the people began to crowd close to Him to listen to what He had to say. He saw the boats of fisherman who were washing their nets. He got into the one belonging to Simon and asked Simon to put out a little from shore. Jesus then sat in the boat and preached to the crowd. When He finished speaking, He told Simon to put out into deep water and put down the nets. Simon replied that they had been fishing all night and had caught nothing, but he would do as Jesus asked. When Simon had let down the nets, they filled up with so many fish that they began to break. He immediately called for help from the other boat. Between them they managed to pull in the nets, but there were so many fish that the boats began to sink. Simon fell at Jesus’ feet and asked Him to leave him because he was too sinful to associate with such as Jesus. Jesus told Simon not to be afraid, that from that time forward he would be fishing for people. Simon and his partners, James and John, pulled their boats up on the shore and left everything to follow Jesus.
The accounts of the reactions of the demon-possessed to Jesus reminds me of several interviews I have seen with Penn Jillette (not that I am implying that he is demon-possessed) about Christianity. Several years ago he spoke about how if you believe that people are going to Hell if they don’t believe the Christian message, how can you possibly not proselytize? How can you fail to tell people the Gospel if you truly believe it? Recently, I saw him do a great defense of the Pope and the teaching of the Catholic Church where he explained the logic of the Catholic Church and defended the Catholic Church against an attack from Piers Morgan, who claims to be Catholic. I am not Catholic, but Penn’s argument can apply to other parts of the Christian Church with minor modification. We as Christians need to spend some time paying attention to the internal logic of what we believe.
The psalmist tells us that the wicked plot and plan. They conspire together to take advantage of the innocent. They are convinced that they are clever and no one will figure out that they are behind the evil they cause. They would be correct, except for the one thing (or perhaps I should say One Thing) they leave out of their calculations: God. The conspiracies of the wicked will fail do to unforeseeable events. Their plots and plans will be revealed, no matter how thoroughly they have covered their tracks. All people will see what happens and know that it is the work of God. People will proclaim the works of God in defeating the plots of the wicked and the righteous will rejoice.
Paintings for sale at the Peter Becker Flower Show
Here is a proverb that many in our society could learn from. A beautiful woman who has not learned to act with discretion is no more appealing than a pig with a gold ring in its nose.
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.
God instructed Moses that as a final act he should lead the Israelites to take revenge against the Midianites for leading them into idolatry. 1,000 men were chosen from each tribe, for a total of 12,000 men, to go into battle against the Midianites. They attacked the Midianites and killed all of the men, including the five kings of the Midianites. Among those who were killed was Balaam. The army then captured the women and children and all of the Midianites wealth as plunder. When they brought all of this back to Moses and the rest of the Israelites, Moses was furious that they had allowed the women to live. The women were the one’s who had followed Balaam’s advice and led the Israelites into idolatry. Moses instructed them to kill all of the boys and any of the women who were not virgins. Moses and Eleazar, Aaron’s son and successor as high priest, instructed the men from the army to purify themselves and the plunder before reentering the camp.
At the Lord’s instruction, Moses, Eleazar and the tribal leaders counted all of the plunder and divided it so that half went to all of the people of Israel and half went to the army. The army was to give one of every 500 of the prisoners and livestock to the Lord from their share of the plunder. One in every five of the prisoners and livestock from the share of the plunder for the rest of the people of Israel was to be given to the Lord.
After an accounting was made of all of the plunder and it was divided, the generals came to Moses and Eleazar and told them that not one of the men who went out to battle was missing. In thanks for this blessing from God, the generals gave to God all of the gold items from their share of the treasure.
After being baptized by John in the Jordan, Jesus went into the wilderness to fast and pray about His ministry and how He should go about accomplishing His mission (at least that is how it reads to me). He was in the wilderness fasting for 40 days. It is only since I started doing this Bible Study blog that I realized how significant the number 40 is in the Bible. Forty seems to be the number associated with testing and trial, as well as preparation for divine action. During the flood it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. Moses spent 40 years in the desert tending flocks before God called him to lead the people of Israel our of Egypt. Moses was on Mount Sinai for 40 days receiving God’s Law for the people of Israel. These are only a few examples, there are more. Here Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness praying and fasting.
Towards the end of Jesus time in the wilderness we have an account of three temptations that He experienced. These three temptations represent the three temptations that anyone who wants to make a difference in the world faces. The first temptation of Jesus is to miraculously make bread to feed the hungry. This represents the temptation to focus strictly on meeting the needs of the poor. We see this in ministries which downplay or avoid preaching the Gospel message because if they do they are afraid that it will interfere with their ability to meet the physical needs of the poor. There may be times and places for taking this approach, but we should be very cautious about this. Jesus’ answer to this temptation is very enlightening. He quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 to Satan, “People do not live by bread alone.” The rest of the verse says, “rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” I think that Jesus’ response to this temptation tells us that it is as, if not more, important to preach the Word of God as it is to meet the physical needs of those in poverty. The fact of the matter is that many times those who are suffering poverty need to be shown and taught how to change their lives in order to escape from that poverty. It is important to remember that it is only through the grace of God that we have learned the habits necessary to avoid poverty (if we have indeed learned those habits).
The second temptation is to turn to the political machinery to accomplish His mission. This also is something I see in the world today. Rather than doing the hard work of reaching people and changing hearts, too many Christians want to change the law. They want to harness the political machinery to change the world. The problem is that here is twofold, first is that the government always sets itself up as the final arbiter of what is right and wrong. The second is that when we start using the government to change people, WE put government in the place of God. Jesus’ answer is categorical, “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” The government cannot save people from themselves, only God can do that. I will use abortion as an example. I think abortion is the killing of a human child. I think that abortion should be illegal, but more importantly, I believe that no one should wish to kill a human child (before or after birth). It is only by the intervention of the Holy Spirit that people can be changed so that their will matches that of God. I am sure there are places where my choices do not match God’s desire. I pray that He make those changes in me.
In the third and final of these temptations, Satan suggests that Jesus perform a mighty miracle at the center of religious authority. This is the temptation that I have the hardest time putting my understanding into words. In some ways it is the opposite of the first, rather than meet people’s physical needs it is the temptation to focus all of one’s mission on the spiritual side. It is the temptation to focus on preaching the “Gospel”, but do nothing about the physical needs of the poor. This is as wrong as those who work to meet the physical needs of the poor without sharing the Gospel message with them. But it is more than that, it is the appeal to authority. It is the temptation to say, “You should listen to me because I perform wondrous miracles and have the imprimatur of the religious leaders.” Rather than meeting people where they are and learning what their needs and troubles are, those who have succumbed to this temptation have all the answers and don’t need to listen to others. In response to this temptation, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16, “You must not test the Lord your God…” Which continues, “…as you did when you complained at Massah. You must diligently obey the commands of the Lord your God—all the laws and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight…” It is not enough to preach the Gospel, we must also do the acts that are good and right in the Lord’s sight.
Another great psalm that touches my heart today. I strive to make the first stanza of this psalm the way I live my life:
O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.
I know that the only route to true happiness is to search for God with my entire being. IF we strive to find God in the way that we would strive to find water in a hot, dry place we will find our way to happiness and contentment. AS the psalmist says, I have seen God in His sanctuary and seen His power and glory. I will praise God as long as I live. Others may belittle me for it, but I will cling to God, for His hand supports me.
This cake is not a lie
God detests those who hide their motives and mislead others as to their intentions, but He delights in those who deal with others with integrity. We know that evil people will be inevitably punished, but the children of the godly will experience freedom.
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.
Today’s passage lists the sacrifices to be made as part of each of the yearly festivals. On each day of the festivals they were to offer varying numbers of bulls, rams and male lambs. They were to accompany these with a grain offering of fine flour moistened with olive oil–six quarts with each bull, four quarts with each ram and two quarts with each lamb. In addition, they were to offer a male goat on each day of each festival as a sin offering.
Luke here gives the genealogy of Jesus. This genealogy varies from that given by Matthew. The explanation that makes the most sense is that Matthew gave the genealogy of Joseph and Luke is here giving us the genealogy of Mary. So where this passage reads “Joseph was the son of Heli,” if it was written today it would read “Joseph was the son-in-law of Heli.” There was no term for “son-in-law” in the Greek used by Luke, so there was no way for him to write that. We today think of “son-in-law” as a separate term, however it originated as a term to refer to an adopted son, whether that son was adopted because he married the daughter or just adopted. Another way to write it would be “son(in law)” to distinguish from a biological son.
I have always found the explanation that Luke was tracing Mary’s lineage and Matthew tracing Joseph’s somewhat unsatisfying. However, when I did a little searching today on the background of the term “son-in-law” and discovered that it used to be used to refer to a stepson as well as to someone married to one’s daughter, it began to make much more sense (when combined with the fact that Greek did not have a term for “son-in-law”). Luke several times mentions that Joseph was “thought” to be Jesus’ father.
This psalm refers twice to waiting quietly before God (in the New Living Translation), the NIV translates that as “my soul find rest in God.” Both translations paint a picture that is very soothing. When we face troubles we should quiet ourselves and place our minds in a state of waiting restfully for God to act. God is my rock and my salvation, I will let no one and nothing shake my faith in Him. No enemy or other trouble can reach me when I am centered in Him. When God blesses me with material wealth I will not allow it to replace Him as the center of my life. All power belongs to God who loves us with unfailing love.
Wicked acts yield rewards that appear great, but are either fleeting or bring destruction (or are both fleeting and bring destruction). The rewards for righteous behavior are permanent. Living according to God’s will leads to life, while choosing sinful behavior leads to death.
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.
At the conclusion of the second census, God instructs Moses to divide up the land among the tribes according to their populations. Those tribes with more people would get more land than those with fewer. The land is to be divided by lot but according to population. The passage tells us that of those who had been counted in the first census, only Joshua and Caleb were still alive.
While they are at this camp God tells Moses that he will soon die, that he will not enter into the promised land because of his failure to fully obey God’s commands. Moses accepts the Lord’s judgment and asks that He appoint someone to lead the people after Moses’ death. God instructs Moses to anoint Joshua as his successor. In particular God instructs Moses that Joshua will consult with the high priest to determine what God’s will is in leading the people. This passage Points out the importance for an organization of a leader setting up a plan of succession. Do the organizations we are part of have a plan of succession? Do we know what we will do when the leader who has led the organization to its current success is no longer able to do so?
Today’s passage discusses the ministry of John the Baptist. John preached along the Jordan River. He did not stay in one place but traveled through the area around the Jordan River. Luke tells us that he fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah for someone to be “A voice of one calling in the wilderness,‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. When the crowds came to John for baptism, asking them who had warned them to seek cover from the coming of God’s anger? He told them that baptism was not enough, their actions needed to reflect that they had turned from their sins. John preached a message that was a key part of Jesus’ message. It is not enough to repent of our past sins, we must bear good fruit going forward. The people asked John what they should do. John told them that anyone who has two shirts should share with someone who has none and the same holds true when it comes to food. He had an additional message for tax collectors and soldiers. Tax collectors were to only collect what the government required. Soldiers were to be content with their pay and not use their position to extort money or to accuse people falsely. We have here a message that fits with that of Jesus. First, recognize that we are sinners and turn from our sins. Second, publicly acknowledge before all that we need to be cleansed by God of our sins. Then, take action to show that we have repudiated the sins which we formerly practiced and act to help those around us.
The people heard John’s message and saw the power that he had from God and wanted to know if he was the Messiah. John told them that no, he was not the Messiah, but that the Messiah was coming soon.
From the ends of the earth I will call to God for help, for the big things and for the small things. There is no place too far for God to reach and nothing too small (or too big) for Him to address. He will be my shelter. I will take refuge with Him. I need to be reminded to turn to Him for all of my problems on a regular basis.
Those who are kindhearted will gain great honor, even if they have little power. On the other hand those who are powerful and ruthless will only gain wealth. If we are kind, we will be rewarded by our very kindness. On the other hand, if we are cruel, our cruelty will destroy us. Forget what happens in the world around us, just look at what happens within us. When we are kind, it changes who we are so that we are happier and enjoy life more. However, when we are cruel it, also, changes us. It makes us bitter and unhappy causing us to enjoy life less.
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.
After the plague and as the Israelites camped beside the Jordan river across from Jericho, God commanded Moses to complete a second census of all the men of Israel 20 years old and older. So, Moses completed this count. The number of men among the Israelites 20 years old and older at that time was 601,730.
While Mary and Joseph were speaking to Simeon and elderly widow named Anna came up to them and thanked God for the child Jesus. Anna spent all of her time in the Temple worshiping God with fasting and prayer. She then told all of those she knew who were waiting and praying for the coming of the Messiah about the child Jesus. Simeon and Anna give us models to pay attention to. They both spent a large amount of time worshiping the Lord in fasting and prayer. They both listened to the Spirit and were dedicated to doing what it told them. They told those they met about God’s actions in the world.
Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. This tells us one very important thing. While Jesus’ parents were not wealthy, they were, also, not impoverished. They could afford to go to Jerusalem every year for the Passover festival. When Jesus was twelve, his parents went to Jerusalem as usual. However, this year when they started home, Jesus was not with them. They did not realize that He was not with the group until the end of the first day (they thought he was elsewhere among those they were traveling with). They returned to Jerusalem to look for Him. It was three days before they thought to check at the Temple, where they found Him listening to the religious teachers and asking them questions. Everyone who heard Him was impressed by His understanding.
When His parents finally found Him, Jesus asked them why they were searching all over, didn’t they know to look for Him in His Father’s House? Alternate translations say “be about His Father’s business.” When people are looking for us, do they find us doing our Father’s business?
The psalmist writes of a time of struggle for God’s people, a time when every thing seems to be going wrong. God was angry with them and allowed them to experience division and troubles. He tells us that God has raised a rallying point for His people in the face of attack. Reading this I am reminded of the selection of the new pope. As the Cardinals were gathered to select the new pope, many commentators were saying that they needed to select a pope who would make the Catholic Church “relevant” and help it to adapt to the modern world. Every couple of years, there is a new wave of people who tell the Church (whether the Catholic Church, some other denomination, or the Church in general) that it needs to adapt to the modern world. But that is not what God tells us. God tells us that we need to adapt the modern world to Him. If Christians want to be relevant to the modern world, they need to rally to the banner that God has raised for us. That banner does not change, just as human nature has not changed. If we rally around God’s banner and stand for God’s will, we need not fear the attacks of the world, modern or not. God will fight for us and those attacking us will go down to defeat.
If you offer security for another’s debt, be prepared to pay. If you cannot afford, and/or are not willing, to cover someone else’s debt, do not offer to guarantee that they will repay it.
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.
On the third and final time that Balak attempted to get Balaam to curse Israel, Balaam did not spend any time going through his usual routine of meditation to determine what God would have him say. He knew that God was going to bless Israel. Balaam turned to look over the camp of Israel and the Spirit of God came upon him. In Balaam’s final blessing of the Israelites is something that has proven true through most of history:
“Blessed is everyone who blesses you, O Israel,
and cursed is everyone who curses you.”
Balak was furious and refused to pay Balaam, demanding that he return to his home. Balaam replied that he had warned Balak that he could only say what God had commanded. Balaam then gives a prophecy concerning Moab and the other countries in the surrounding area. Am I willing to say what God tells me to say? Am I willing to say ONLY what God tells me to say? Even if it costs me?
While Israel was camped in this area, some of the Israelite men began having sexual affairs with Moabite women. The women invited the men to the sacrifices to their gods. The men went and joined in the sacrifices and the feasts. This caused a plague to break out among the Israelites. Moses gathered the judges of the Israelites and ordered them to put to death the men under their authority who had joined in the idol worship. While Moses was speaking to the judges about this issue and the people were gathered praying for God’s deliverance from the plague, a man openly brought a Midianite woman into his tent to have sex with her. Aaron’s grandson was so incensed by this brazen behavior that he grabbed a spear and went and killed the man and the woman while they were having sex in the man’s tent. At this point the plague in the camp ended, but not until it had taken the lives of 24,000. Reading this passage one can easily miss the point that by taking part in the rituals of worshiping the idols and the sexual licentiousness associated with them, these men were bringing disease into the Israelite camp. It was only when this behavior was stopped that the spread of this disease could be controlled.
The first rose bush as spring is coming
Today’s passage is Luke’s account of the birth of Christ. It is the one most often used around Christmas time because it so well brings together the important elements of that event. First it tells us why Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem. They went in response to a Roman census. When Jesus was born, Mary carefully wrapped him and placed him in a manger because there were no guest rooms available for them. Then we have an interesting thing. God announced the birth of His Son by sending angels. However, He did not send the announcement to the mighty and powerful. Instead He sent the angels to shepherds who were in the fields tending their flocks. When the angels departed, the shepherds went to see what they had been told about. Once they saw the child they spread the word about what they had been told and seen.
In due time Mary and Joseph had the child circumcised and named Him Jesus, as the angel had told them to do. They took Him to the Temple for the purification rites that the Law required Mary go through after giving birth. It is interesting to note that the offering they made was that designated for those who were too poor to afford a lamb. Luke tells us that while they were there they met Simeon. Simeon believed that he would live until he saw the coming of the Messiah. When Simeon saw the child, Jesus, he took Him in his arms and praised God that he had indeed seen the Messiah. Simeon said that he was now ready to die. All we know about how Simeon knew that Jesus was the Messiah is that we are told that the Spirit moved him. Are we open to such revelation from the Spirit?
The psalmist cries to God for rescue from his enemies. Do we turn to the Lord when others attack us and slander us? If we do, have we been careful to make sure that we can say with the psalmist that we have not sinned against them?
The psalmist asks God not to kill his enemies because people forget too quickly. He asks that God punish those who are evil in such a manner that they remain as a reminder to others of the folly of wickedness. The psalmist speaks of the evil which his enemies do, acting under cover of the dark but says that he will not respond in kind and will act in the light of day.
But as for me, I will sing about your power.
Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love.
For you have been my refuge,
a place of safety when I am in distress.
Do we perform our actions in the light of day, so that everyone can see how we behave? Or do we prefer the cover of darkness to hide our misdeeds from others? I will sing about God’s unfailing love because He has been and continues to be a place of safety for me when troubles arise.
The third rose bush as spring is coming
A nation whose leaders do not listen to wise advice will fall. Those who carefully weigh the advice of many different advisers will be victorious. This is as true for individuals, businesses and organizations as it is for nations. Where do I turn for advice in making my decisions? Do I have wise advisers? Do I have enough of them?
