For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
Read this proverb, then think about what you say. Is what you say helpful and wise? Or are your words perverse and destructive? The words we speak come from within our hearts. They are what determine if we are clean or unclean. Therefore choose your words carefully.
I will cry out to God for mercy, for I have sinned. But if God will purify me from my sins, then, and only then, I will be clean. There are several parts of this psalm which have been used in hymns and songs of praise. Perhaps the most insightful part of the psalm is verses 12 & 13:
and make me willing to obey you.
Then I will teach your ways to rebels,
and they will return to you.
If we confess our sins and admit that it is only by the action of God that we obey His commands, then we can teach His ways to those who have rejected Him. That is when sinners will listen to us preach the Gospel and return to God. We do not convince others to follow God by pretending that we think we are better than they. Let us admit to them that we have sinned against God and it is only because of His unfailing love that He cleansed us.
I always struggle with identifying the lesson of the story about the woman who anointed Jesus. My struggle is not because I have a problem with the story, but because I am not quite sure what the message is. I will take a shot at expressing what my thoughts on it are today.
I think the message of this story is that it is never a bad thing to do something nice for someone. Even if the money so spent could have been used in other, “better” ways. As I think about it, I think it fits in with my thoughts about understanding what Jesus means when He tells us that the first shall be last and the last first. We need to allow others to do things for us. If someone chooses to honour us in some way, we should not refuse to accept the honour. On the other side, we should honour those who do the Lord’s work and hold them up as examples. We should do nice things for them to show our appreciation for their sacrifice.
When I first read through this I thought I was going to write about the silver trumpets, but I was unable to get those initial thoughts to come together into a comprehensible whole. However, as I read through the passage again I saw something else I have rarely thought about in the context of this passage. The Israelites began to complain about their hardships and difficulties. They forgot how much better they had it than when they were slaves in Egypt. It is one thing to crave treats and luxuries. It is another to complain because God does not provide us with such things…especially when He has saved us from a situation much worse than merely being bored by the food we have to eat. It is OK to desire small luxuries, but we should learn to be content that our needs are being met.