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.

     Having warned the people of Israel about the results of breaking their covenant with God, he declares a blessing on them, picking out each of the tribes for a specific blessing. Moses told them that they would live in safety as long as they faithfully served God.

     Jesus was told about a group of Galileans who were killed by Pilate while they made their sacrifices in the Temple. Jesus told the people that the Galileans who were killed were no greater sinners than anyone else. Jesus told us that unless we repent and turn from our sins, we will suffer a similar fate.
     Jesus then told a parable about a fig tree that a man planted. He repeatedly looked to see if it had borne fruit and it had not. Finally, he decided to cut it down and burn it. His gardener told him to give it one more year. The gardener would give it special attention and care. If it did not bear fruit after one more year, than the owner should cut it down and burn it. Have we borne fruit for God? How long do we have left to be fruitful servants of God before He cuts us down and throws us in the fire?
     One Sabbath when Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, He saw a woman who was crippled with bad back pain (the description sounds like someone with bad arthritis in their back). Jesus turned to the woman, told her she was healed and touched her. Immediately she was able to stand up straight and she praised God. The synagogue leader was furious that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. He told the people that there were six days for working and they should come for healing on one of those days, not the Sabbath. Jesus was equally furious and called the synagogue leader (and those who shared his sentiment) a hypocrite. He told those there that they already did some work on the Sabbath, they fed and watered their animals on the Sabbath (He was not condemning them for doing that). If it was OK to feed and water mere animals on the Sabbath, isn’t it fit that a child of God be healed on the Sabbath? We should never let our rules interfere with doing good for others.
     Jesus then tells two parables about what the Kingdom of God is like. In one He compares it to a mustard seed, which is tiny yet grows to be a large bush/tree. In the other He compares the Kingdom of God to yeast, of which only a small amount is needed to cause a large amount of dough to rise. The point here is that we should not let the fact that we are weak and/or few in number keep us from doing the will of God. If we do the will of God we will have disproportionate impact on the world around us. Even if we are weak or few in numbers (or both), if we do the will of God we will have a huge effect on the society around us. In some cases, God will call us to be like the mustard seed where we will start something going that will grow into a large “tree” that will provide for the needs of those suffering. In other cases, God calls us to be like yeast, where our dedication to God and His ways will transform society around us in the way that yeast causes dough to rise to multiple times its original size.

     The psalmist concludes this psalm by telling us that after allowing the children of Israel to suffer the results of their sins, God rose up and drove their enemies back. He raised up David to lead them to defeat their enemies and back to serving Him. We can remember this, God will allow people to suffer the consequences of their sin for a time, but then He will raise up leaders to bring them back to Him and bring them relief from their suffering.

     People become weighed down and depressed due to worry. However, if we offer those struggling with worry an encouraging word it will build them up and lift them up. Let us put aside worry and the depression that comes with it, trusting in God to provide for our needs. Let us further work to encourage those whom the worries of this life have overwhelmed and left depressed. I will strive to show them how God’s wondrous power will relieve them of their troubles.

     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.

     In today’s passage, Moses continues the song he taught the people of Israel. He says that despite suffering the results of their sins the people of Israel would continue to sin and to suffer. Yet the time would come when God would stop punishing His people and allowing their enemies to dominate them. God will repay those who hate him. He will punish those who persecute His servants. When Moses completes the song, God instructs him to go the Mount Nebo and look out across the land of Canaan, which God is giving to the people of Israel. There Moses will die and join his ancestors.

     Jesus tells His disciples to be ready and prepared for His return. We must be ready at all times because He will return at a time when He is least expected. Peter then asks Him if this illustration is just for the disciples or is it for everyone? Jesus’ answer is interesting. He tells Peter that a faithful, sensible servant will be given authority over other servants and responsibility for feeding them. He goes on to say that a servant who knows what the master wants and fails to do it will be punished more harshly than a servant who fails to do what the master wants because they did not know. Jesus concludes this teaching by telling His disciples that those to whom much has been given are expected to do more.
     Jesus then tells His disciples that He has come to bring a fire onto the earth, a fire that He wished was already burning. He goes on to say that He did not come to bring peace, but rather division. That families would be divided over Him, some would support Him and some oppose Him. I think what He is teaching here fits in with His earlier teachings where at one point He said that whoever is not against us is for us and elsewhere that whoever is not with us is against us. Everyone needs to make a choice as to what side they are on. Are they for Jesus or against Him?

     The psalmist tells us that despite suffering the results of their sin the children of Israel continued in their rebellion against God. They turned to the worship of other gods, gods that had no power. In His anger God allowed their enemies to overrun them and kill them. Today’s psalm sums a common problem of the human condition, all too often we fail to learn from our mistakes and continue in the sins that got us into trouble in the first place.

     Those who work hard become leaders, those who are lazy are enslaved by others.

     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 tells the people of Israel that they will be blessed if they keep the commands of the Lord. If they obey the commands of the Lord, they will be solidly established in their land, they will be prosperous and want for nothing. All nations will stand in awe of them. On the other hand, Moses tells them the curses they will experience if they rebel against God’s commands. If they do not keep God’s commands they will experience confusion and frustration in everything they do. They will suffer from diseases and natural disasters. They will work hard and have little to show for it. They will be conquered by foreigners and their children made slaves. They will be terrified by everything around them. I believe that these blessings and curses are there for any society that follows God’s commands or rebels against them.

     One day Jesus drove a demon that had made a man mute out of the man. The man began to speak and the people were amazed. However, some of them claimed that He drove out demons by the power of the prince of demons. Others demanded that He give them a sign from heaven. Jesus answered by telling them that any organization that is divided against itself is bound to fall. He tells them that if Satan grants someone the power to cast out demons, Satan would be acting against his own interests. He then asks them by what power the other exorcists are casting out demons?
     Jesus concludes that whoever is not for Him is against Him. This is interesting because only a little while earlier He told the disciples that whoever is not against them is for them. I think these two comments by Jesus tell us something about how people must react to Jesus. Ultimately everyone must choose, are they for Jesus or against Him? There is no middle ground. The earlier passage tells us that we should not alienate those who have not outright rejected Jesus and His teaching. Today’s passage tells us that over time people will either start to follow Jesus or to oppose Him.
     Jesus concludes His discussion of casting out evil spirits by telling us that when an evil spirit is cast out, it will wander through desolate areas. It will then return to the person it had left and find them “swept and in order”. It will get seven other spirits even more wicked than itself and together they will reenter the person. The end result will be that the person is worse off than before. My father used to say that the point of this passage was that it was not enough for the person to have evil spirits cast out. If they were not filled with the Holy Spirit in the place of the demons, the demons would return and possess them once more. I believe that my father was correct in his interpretation.
     Jesus then addresses the issue of those demanding a sign from heaven. He tells them that the only sign they will receive will be the sign of Jonah. That just as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so Jesus would be a sign to His own generation (and those that followed). There has been a relatively recent archeological discovery which suggests that the idea that the Messiah would die and rise after three days was present in first century Jewish thought. If such is the case, it would mean that Jesus’ audience knew exactly what He was saying here. He went on to tell them that on the day of judgment the men of Nineveh would condemn the current generation because the men of Nineveh listened to Jonah and repented, but the current generation did not listen to the One who was greater than Jonah.

     The psalmist in today’s psalm is distressed because he has experienced trouble and has not heard an answer from God. When he become convinced that God had turned His back on him, the psalmist remembered all of God’s great deeds in the past. By looking back over all the things which God had done in the past, his hope was restored. He knew that God would act when the time was right. I am glad that I am reading this psalm today after reading Jesus’ teaching on prayer yesterday. The two go together. Jesus told us to be persistent in our prayers. This psalm tells us to remember what God has done in the past when He does not seem to be answering our prayers today. When I look over my life I can remember times when I was desperate for change in my life and cried out to God. He did not answer at once, but when He did answer, His plan proved to be wonderful.
     This psalm today, coupled with yesterday;s passage from Luke with its emphasis on persistence in our prayers, reminds me that God is faithful and will answer my prayers in His time according to His plans. Those answers when they come will be better than anything I could have imagined when I was praying. I will not lose faith that God will answer my prayers because I remember the great things He has done in the past.

     Today’s proverb hits home to me. There have been times when I have reveled in my ability to make stinging remarks that generated a laugh. I am not going to say that there is never a place for such exchanges. However, this proverb reminds me of something that I have recently been trying to work on. That is the quick quip which builds up the target rather than tearing them down. I have discovered that if I try I can get just as good of a laugh by cleverly worded quips about the positive aspects of a person as I can from quips which tear them down. It is harder to do, but much more satisfying. All too often I have been lazy and gone for the easy, cheap, negative laugh. I will strive going forward to do the extra work to make the quips which build others up and let them know that I think well of them.

     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 reminds the children of Israel that the tribe of Levi would not receive an allotment of land, that they would live on the offerings given to the Lord. He tells them to consider that fact in their offerings. Moses goes on to tell the children of Israel that they must not imitate the detestable practices of the people living in the land they are about to occupy. He details some of those detestable practices: sacrificing their children, divination, sorcery, casting spells, consulting the dead.
     Moses goes on to tell them that the Lord will raise up prophets to speak to them on His behalf and that the children of Israel should listen to such prophets. However, any prophet who presumes to speak on the Lord’s behalf whom the Lord has not commanded to do so, or who speaks on behalf of some other god, is to be put to death. Moses then tells them how to tell if a prophet is sent by God or not. If what the prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place, God has not sent them.
     Then Moses describes once more the cities of refuge that the children of Israel were to designate. They were to be places where someone could flee for safety if they unintentionally killed someone. However, these cities were not to offer protection to those who purposely killed someone. Moses sets up a standard of justice. No one is to be convicted of any crime on the testimony of a single witness, the matter must be established by the testimony of at least two or three witnesses in order to convict someone of a crime. Further if someone falsely accuses someone of a crime, if the judges prove the accuser to be a liar, the accuser shall be subject to the punishment for the crime of which they falsely accused another.
     Moses told the Israelites not to worry about the strength of their enemies armies when they go to war because God would be with them. When they prepare for battle, a priest is to come and address the army, giving it God’s blessing before the battle. After the priest has addressed the army, the officers are to send home anyone who has just built a new house or planted a new vineyard or become engaged, or for that matter is just afraid. Moses goes on to give further instructions on how they are to conduct wars.

     About eight days after explaining to the disciples that He had to die and be raised after three days, Jesus took Peter, James and John with Him up a mountain to pray. While Jesus was praying, His face changed and His clothing became brilliant like a lightning bolt. Moses and Elijah appeared talking with Jesus. Peter, James and John were sleeping when this began. They woke up to see Jesus in His full glory. Peter suggested that they build shelters for the three (Jesus, Moses and Elijah). While Peter was making this suggestion, a cloud descended and covered them and a voice came out of the cloud telling them to listen to Jesus. When the cloud lifted Jesus was alone with the three disciples.
     When Jesus came down from the mountain a father greeted Him with a request to heal his son. The father had brought his son to Jesus’ disciples but they had been unable to heal him. Jesus told the father to bring his son to Him. As the father was doing so, the demon threw the boy to the ground in a convulsion. Jesus rebuked the spirit and healed the boy, returning him to his father. The witnesses were amazed and praised God.
     While the crowd was “oohing and ahing” over the boy, Jesus once more told His disciples that He would be killed. The disciples did not understand what He was saying at the time. Meanwhile the disciples began arguing over which of them would be the greatest. Jesus responded to their argument by placing a child before them and telling them that whoever welcomed a child in His name welcomed Him. Jesus went on to tell them that the least among them was the greatest. John then told Jesus that they had seen someone casting out demons in His name and that they tried to stop him because he was not one of them. Jesus replied that they should not attempt to stop such people because whoever is not against them is for them.

     The psalmist cries out that God is good to those who are pure in heart. Then he confesses that he almost allowed himself to be seduced away from God. He had become envious of the wicked and arrogant. He saw them living what appeared to be lives of ease. It appeared to him that it was a waste of time remaining faithful to God, that those who despised God and His commands lived a better life. He was tempted to proclaim this, but he kept silent and tried to understand. He made no progress until he entered into God’s presence to worship Him. Then he saw how their lives are truly empty and meaningless. The lives of the wicked will end in despair. In time our life on this earth will end, then only those who are sustained by God will find new life and the strength to continue.

     The righteous care for the needs of their animals, even when the wicked attempt to be kind, they are cruel. Those who take pleasure from the discomfort of other beings are inevitably evil. Those who are righteous are made unhappy when any thing suffers, even if it is a mere animal.