For today, One Year Bible Online links here. For those of you who do not read this every day, I was very sick last week and it affected my writing (I do not know if for the better or worse). While I am still taking antibiotics, I am otherwise feeling better. I thank those of you have been praying for me.

    This proverb reminds us that those who take bribes are wicked and the result of bribes is the perversion of justice. There is no getting around these facts.

    The first thing that struck me as I read this psalm was the reference to prayer as an incense offering we make to God. I suppose in part because I have been convicted lately that I need to pray more. Of course the next line is one that I have been praying for the last few years. I do indeed desire that God take control of what I say and guard every utterance that comes out of my mouth. It is to God whom I will look for help. I pray that He keep me from the traps which the wicked have set for the godly.

    A dispute about doctrine arose between Paul and Barnabas and some unnamed believers from Jerusalem. The congregation of Antioch in Syria sent a delegation to Jerusalem to get the apostles opinion on the issue. The delegation included Paul and Barnabas, which suggests where the bulk of the congregation stood on the issue. When they got to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas were welcomed by the entire Church there, including the apostles and the elders of the Church. Paul and Barnabas gave an account of their mission trip and what God had done through them. Some of the believers present stood up and said that the Gentiles needed to be circumcised.
    So, we have a dispute over Church doctrine. The key factor was over how they resolved the issue. The Church elders and the apostles met together and discussed the issue. However this was not a small, exclusive group. The account tells us that there was much discussion, then Peter got up and recounted the vision he had before visiting Cornelius. The n Paul and Barnabas told about the signs and miracles they had witnessed among the Gentiles. At that point, the NIV translates the description of the group as “the whole assembly”.
    So, what do we learn about how we should resolve such issues? The elders and leadership of the entire Church gathered and discussed the issue. Everyone got a hearing. And while the passage not specify this, I believe that they prayed and sought the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Gradually, the respected leaders presented their thoughts directing towards a consensus, which the larger group accepted. Having made a decision, the group appointed delegates to convey their thoughts to the Church in Antioch.

    I have heard and read many commentaries on the story of Naaman’s healing. Today the point that came to me is one I have heard before, but not the way it struck me. When Naaman came to Elisha he was upset by two things. First, he was upset that Elisha had not come out to meet him. How could Elisha not come out to meet the great general? Second, he was upset that Elisha had set him a task to complete in order to be healed, but not a heroic task, just washing himself in the Jordan. Anybody could wash themselves in the Jordan, that was no task to set a great man like Naaman. And if he had to wash himself in a river, why not one more convenient to home?
    The point of all this is that when God calls me to a task, that task is the one He wants me to complete. Fulfilling the tasks God sets me are demonstrations of but one thing, my willingness to do as God instructs me. If I am seeking to do some great work for God, I am focusing on the wrong thing. God gives me the tasks which it serves His purpose for me to complete. They are not designed to bring glory to me. They are not designed to show the world what a great servant of God I am. They are designed to further God’s purpose in this world. As long as I faithfully execute the tasks which God lays before me, I have served His purpose. It is not my job to change the world. I will leave that up to God.