For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    A wise child listens and learns from the instructions their parents give them. One can generalize this even further, a wise person listens to the advice of those with more experience than themselves in the area under discussion. The writer mentions a particular class of fool, the mocker, who mocks anyone who believes differently than themselves, even when that person is more knowledgeable on a particular subject than themselves. One should always be skeptical of the arguments made by someone who mocks people who disagree with them.
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    Let us praise God with every means at our disposal. Let us make music praising Him with every instrument we can lay our hands on. If we will listen to God’s instructions, He will lift the burdens from our shoulders and provide for all of our needs. All too often, we refuse to listen to what He tells us. We stubbornly insist on following our own desires rather than the course which He lays out for us. I am guilty of this, even though I know that God’s plan for me is better for me that what I would choose for myself. Oh Lord, send Your Spirit upon me so that I will do your will!

    Jesus tells several stories about how God feels when sinners repent and turn to Him. The first two stories are just about the joy which is experienced when we find that which we thought was lost. The third, the story of the Prodigal Son is much more complicated. Do I share the Father’s joy when those who were lost turn to Him?
    In the story of the Prodigal Son, we have the son who returned to his father, recognizing that he did not deserve to be counted as his father’s son. We have the father who welcomes his son home, despite the wrong that the son did him. Not only does he welcome him home, he throws a party to celebrate his return. Finally, there is the elder brother, who resents his father’s joy at the return of his brother. I hope we can empathize with all three characters in this story. There are three questions we need to ask ourselves. First, do I recognize my tendency to fall into the pattern of the elder son? Second, do I recognize myself in the prodigal son? Third, and most important, am I willing to share in the Father’s joy at the return of the son who was as good as dead? When non-believers find God and are welcomed into the family, do I want to throw a party?

    For six days the army of Israel marched around the city of Jericho. The army spoke not a word as they marched, while seven priests blew ram’s horns. On the seventh day they marched around the city seven times. At the end of the seventh circuit the priests let out a long blast on the horns and the entire army shouted as loud as they could. When they did this the walls of Jericho collapsed and the army was able to rush in and slay the town, sparing only Rahab and her family. Every time I read this account, I think that there is a lesson on trusting God in this story. They followed the instructions which God had given them and thus obtained the victory.