For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
It is only by seeking God’s direction and guidance that we will be able to make plans which will succeed. God knows why we do the things we do and will judge us based on our motives.
God’s promises hold my hopes and dreams. They revive me and give me comfort, no matter how deep the trouble I may face. I will not be ashamed of honouring God, even though the proud and mighty hold me in contempt for doing so. God’s words and instructions bring me comfort when I meditate upon them. My daily study of His word settles my mind and helps me live as I should. Oh Lord, I am Yours and You are mine. Teach me each day to follow your precepts.
There parable Jesus told of the vine and the branches contained two important thoughts for us. If we fail to produce fruit, God will cut us off from Jesus and leave us on the pile to be destroyed. However, if we are indeed connected to the vine which is Jesus we will indeed produce abundant fruit. The important thing to remember from this is that we do not receive the blessings we receive from God in order to make our lives more comfortable. We receive those blessings in order to serve God and produce the fruits of righteousness. When we fulfill the commands which Jesus has given us, we demonstrate God’s love for those around us. As we remain in Jesus by fulfilling His commands we will experience joy. That joy will flow out from us on to all those around us.
Jesus goes on to remind us that the world will not love us any more than it loved Him. Since the world crucified Jesus, we should examine our actions and beliefs very carefully when we are not being condemned by the world around us. There may be times when we are treated well by the world, just as there were times when Jesus was treated well by the crowds. However, we will always face opposition from those who view themselves as the “best and the brightest” in our society, just as Jesus did. Even those times when the crowds honour us will be short, just as they were for Jesus. Let us always remember that the world hated Jesus and that hate was most expressed by those who were seen as the “righteous” in society.
In the account of how David came to sin with Bathsheba we learn that David failed to do what he should have done. Rather than lead his armies himself, he sent them off to war under Joab. If David had been leading his armies, he would not have been in Jerusalem to be tempted by the sight of Bathsheba. This is an important lesson for us. The best way to avoid sinning is to avoid temptation. The best way to avoid temptation is to keep busy doing the Lord’s work. Temptation will still come to us, but we will find it much easier to resist if we are busy doing God’s work.