For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    If you place your hope in mortals, even if it is yourself, death will end those hopes. You may have great power in this life, but you cannot escape death. No mortal can exert power over anything after they have died.

    Another psalm that exceeds my ability to put into words what it speaks to me. The psalmist remains faithful to God, even though he has been betrayed by one of his closest friends. Despite the deep betrayal the psalmist does not turn from following God. Let us show similar strength and courage.

    The oldest manuscripts of the Gospel of Mark end with verse 8. The verses which follow are consistent with the accounts given in the other Gospels. I do not know if the additional verses were in the original document written by Mark, but I agree with those who say that they have a different grammatical feel from the rest of Mark. Many people think that the original cannot have ended with verse 8 because it is such an abrupt end. However, I find such an ending consistent with the rest of this Gospel.
    If the original ended with verse 8, the statement the angel made to the women becomes much more emphasized. They went to the tomb looking for Jesus. The angel told them in no uncertain terms that He was not there. Jesus is unique among all of the great religious teachers of history in that there is no grave where His body can be found. One of the complaints that “multiculturalists” (There is probably a better term to be used for this group) is that we spend too much time studying the works of “dead, white men”. That particular terminology is often used to win the argument with emotion, but there is a point. All too many of our lessons on proper behavior are dead. They do not have any life to them and are easily interpreted to allow loopholes like the ones for which Jesus condemned the Pharisees. However, Jesus’ teachings are not dead, because Jesus is not dead.
    I have tried before to express this idea. I still do not think that I have found the words to express the idea correctly. Those who already understand the point I am trying to make will understand what I am saying, but those who do not will not get it from this. I will continue to work at this idea and pray that the Holy Spirit will give me the words to get it right.

    Korah’s rebellion revealed some more deep-seated resentments among the Israelites which needed to be addressed. Korah, even though he was a Levite, was able to use the resentment of the Levites as the people who cared for the Tabernacle to gather support for his rebellion against Moses. God chose to demonstrate that He had chosen the Levites for that role. The Levites did not gain the role as the tribe which cared for the Tabernacle because Moses chose his relatives for the job. They gained the job because God chose them for the task.