For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I wish to apologize for yesterday’s blog being published late. I thought I had published Friday evening my time, but apparently I failed to actually do so.
A godly child brings joy to their parents and a wise child gives them pleasure. I have for most of my life striven to bring pleasure and joy to my parents, not always successfully.
Let us praise God for His greatness. He will answer our prayers with awesome deeds. When we pray to God, let us not expect small, little answers. When we pray to God, He will answer our prayers with bold, powerful actions. After all, our God is the God who formed the mountains and quiets the storms. He inspires joy from where the sun rises to where it sets, from one end of the earth to the other. God will care for the earth and water it as it needs. The river of God has sufficient water and more to supply our needs, even if we live in the desert. God will provide for the needs of those who honour and praise Him.
Paul in this passages says two things which appear contradictory, but which actually sum up the way in which we should behave. In verse 2, he tells us that we should share on each other’s burdens. Yet in verse 5 (according to the NIV) he tells us that we should carry our own load. As I said, these appear to be contradictory. However, let us work backwards from the second of these verses to the first. Here the NLT will help us. The NLT translates verse 5 y saying that we are responsible for our own conduct. We are responsible to do our best to deal with the lot in life which we have been dealt. We have no right to blame others for not helping us, we do not have the right to demand their help. When we face difficulties and problems, it is our responsibility to seek out ways in which we can overcome those difficulties and problems. If we do not have enough money to pay our bills, it is our responsibility to seek out a way to earn that money. It is not the fault of others for not helping us.
However, in verse 2 Paul tells us that we should help others as much as we are able. If we see someone facing a difficulty that we are able to help with, we should do so. Another way to look at how both of these verses work is that both are about individual responsibility. I am responsible to help those in need as much as I am able. My needs are my responsibility. My needs do not give me the authority to demand your help. Nor do your needs give anyone else(except for God Himself) the authority to demand that I help you. This is about individual responsibility not corporate responsibility.
I do not believe their is any such thing as “corporate responsibility”, except insomuch as it represents the lumping together of the individual responsibility of the members of a group. If I see someone with a need I have two options open to me. I can help them myself to the best of my ability. Or, if I cannot help them sufficiently, I can ask others to help them. I cannot, however, demand that others help them. Most especially, I cannot demand that others help them in the way in which I think they should be helped. It is up to each individual to help others in the manner in which they think best. This does not mean that we do not seek guidance and counsel from others in choosing the way in which we help. As a matter of fact, I would encourage everyone to do so. What it means is that you do not have the right to tell me how and when I should help (even though it may be wise of me to ask your advice before I act), nor do I have the right to tell you how and when you should help. I will go further and say that it is fine to offer your unsolicited advice about how someone can help, as long as you are aware that they are not obligated to follow your advice (you should also do your best to make it clear to the one you are offering the advice to that you do not think they are obligated to follow your advice).
The king of Assyria commanded to mightiest army on the face of the earth. There did not exist an army that could stand against him when he brought his full might to bear, certainly not the force commanded by Hezekiah. It was obvious to everyone on the face of the earth that when the king of Assyria turned his mind to conquering Jerusalem that it was only a matter of time, and that not very much time, until Jerusalem would fall to him. The king of Assyria was not shy about telling Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem that such was the case.
However, there was one thing which the king of Assyria, and the pundits of the day (if there were any), underestimated in their calculations. It is something which the movers and shakers of the world still often underestimate, dismiss, or overlook when they make their plans for exercising their power. Those who believe, as the king of Assyria did, that they can accomplish their goals despite the opposition of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will discover that they are mistaken. The king of Assyria told Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem that there was nothing that could stop him from conquering Jerusalem. Looking at the situation from a purely human perspective he was correct. Yet that night, 185,000 of his soldiers died in camp (we are not told how they died) and he was forced to return to his capital, where he was killed before he could raise another army. There was nothing Hezekiah could do to stop the king of Assyria, except for the one thing he did. When faced with overwhelming odds, Hezekiah cried out to God. God answered his prayer. God will do the same for us today. When we see the evil in this world overwhelming the good, with no hope that the good can withstand it, let us cry out to God. He will answer our prayers.