For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    We can make whatever plans we like, but if we want them to succeed we will seek out what God wills for us. God provides the answer which works, let us make our plans according to His will.

    The theme continues today, God’s word is something we should treasure. Are we willing to follow God’s instructions, even when people hold us in contempt for doing so? The fact of the matter is that the people of this world will hold us in contempt for obeying God’s commands. They will tell us that it is wrong to do so. Yet, if we reflect on who God is, we will follow the decfees He has laid out for us.
    Evil people will try to drag us into sin, one way or another. I will anchor myself in God’s instructions and I pray that you will do the same. Today’s passage ends with a prayer we should all make our own, “Teach me Your decrees.”

    There are a lot of grapevines around my property, but none of them produce much in the way of grapes because they are not cultivated. If I were to prune them and manage them they would be much more productive. Of course, they would no longer be able to spread wherever the sun and nature take them. The same is true of ourselves. If we wish to be fruitful servants of God we must be pruned and disciplined by Him. Sometimes such pruning is painful, but it is the only way for us to be fruitful. Eventually, I am going to pull out and get rid of those unproductive grape vines around my house. In the same way, God will eventually cut us off and allow us to die if we are not productive for Him.

    In light of the controversy over Josh Duggar, it is worth noting the story of King David and Bathsheba. David committed an horrendous sin in this story. He used his power to have sex with a married woman. Then he arranged for the death of a loyal follower in an attempt to avoid the consequences of his actions. Despite this, we are told elsewhere that David was a man after God’s own heart. That is not said because of what he did here. Rather, it is said despite what David did in this story.
    When considering situations like that of Josh Duggar let us remember that we are all sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. The answer to such sins is not to stone the person who committed them (whether literally or figuratively). Rather it is to echo what Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, “Go, and sin no more.”