For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
Most people think that they know what is the good, right, and true thing to do, but those who are wise honestly seek and consider the advice of others before choosing a course of action. When others suggest that their chosen course of action is a mistake, a fool gets angry and feels insulted, while a wise person calmly considers what they have to say.
This psalm is a wonderful reminder that God is glorious and majestic. He is more majestic than anything on this earth, or anywhere in this universe. God will judge those who do evil and deliver the oppressed. Even those who stand in defiance of God bring glory to His name. He will use those who defy Him as weapons to carry out His will.
I have heard several different takes on the story of Mary and Martha. Today it struck me that Martha was caught up in getting things done, in providing things to her guests. Mary, on the other hand, was more concerned with spending time and socializing with her guests. Jesus’ message was that it is more important to spend time with people getting to know them and their needs than it is to get things done.
Next Jesus taught His disciples about prayer. First, He gave them a template for prayer. I remember when I first saw this broken down into its component parts (actually, it was Matthew’s version, but it works here as well). It gave me a new insight into prayer that has stuck with me ever since. I am going to try to do the same thing here using the NIV:
Father,
Acknowledging both God’s authority over us and love for us as our father
hallowed be your name,
We desire that people venerate God’s name and acknowledge that it is holy
your kingdom come.
We pray that God’s authority be recognized by all
Give us each day our daily bread.
Provide us each day with what we need to make it through that day
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
This is a twofold piece. We ask God to forgive our sins while recognizing that He will only do so to the extent which we forgive those who sin against us
And lead us not into temptation.
Finally, we ask God to help us avoid, and resist, temptation to do wrong.
Having given us a template of how to construct our prayers, Jesus reminds us to be persistent in our prayers. He then gives us a threefold approach to petitioning God: Ask, Seek, Knock. If we persist in asking God for our desires, He will give them to us. However, it is not an entirely passive thing. We must actively seek the things we desire from God. As we seek we will find (especially as we seek to align our desires with His will). Finally, when we find what we seek, we are to knock to request admittance into God’s presence. This last reminds us once more of the need for persistence. Jesus concludes His teaching about prayer by pointing out that earthly fathers will give their children good things when they ask for them. How much more will God give us the good things we ask for out of His love for us. There is also a subtle reminder that when God is slow to give us what we ask for, perhaps we should examine our desires to see if what we ask for is really something good. Jesus tells us that when a child asks his earthly father for an egg, he will not give the child a scorpion. The reminder here is that an earthly father also is unlikely to give his child a scorpion even if the child asks for one. In the same way, some of the things which we ask of God may be bad for us just as a scorpion would be a bad gift for a young child.
I have declared today that the Lord is my God. I will walk in His ways and do as He tells me. This is not the first time I have made this declaration, and I pray to God that it is not the last. Will you join me in making this declaration? Will you dedicate your life anew to serving God? If we do this, God will send His Spirit upon the people of this land and claim them for His own. God will use those who submit to Him to change the world. Use me today God to show someone Your love!