For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    When the wicked look for God, He will be far from them. On the other hand, God hears the prayers of the righteous, even when they are for the wicked. This reminds me that I need to pray especially for the wicked, they are the ones who need it the most.

    This psalm (Psalm 119) is a long psalm. The first couple times I blogged on it I did not realize that there was a theme that runs through this whole psalm. Even then I lost track of the theme by the time I got to the end (I cover Psalm 119 over a period of several days). I am going to try to keep track of the theme this year.
    And what is that theme? The importance, value, and results of listening to, and following, God’s commands. In the first stanza the psalmist tells us that following God’s instruction will bring us joy. Following his further advice, I will not compromise with evil, I will only walk on the paths to which God directs me. I will call on the Lord to direct my actions so that they reflect God’s decrees.
    In the second stanza the psalmist tells us that the key to staying pure is obeying God’s word. He goes on to remind us of the value of memorizing Scripture and repeating it to ourselves and others. I am convicted that I should commit more Scripture to memory when I read this stanza of this psalm.

    Peter did not want to allow Jesus to wash his feet because he felt that it was he who should be subservient to Jesus. When Jesus told him that he would not belong to Jesus unless he allowed Him to wash him, Peter wanted Jesus to wash all of him. But that was not what was needed.
    Mennonites have traditionally practiced footwashing because it reflects a core understanding about Scripture for them. Jesus calls us as Christians to serve others, but the reciprocal nature of feetwashing reminds us that we should also allow others to serve us. It is not for us to demand that others serve us. However, when others desire to serve us we should allow them to do so.

    This passage shows us the how Joab, David’s nephew, managed to protect his position as commander of David’s (and thus Israel’s) armies. In previous accounts we saw how David always sought God’s direction before acting. Here we see that Joab acted with the same sort of political expediency which led to Saul’s downfall.