For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    Bad things result when people are punished for doing good and leaders are criticized for being honest. Any society which does such things is headed for disaster.

    If you are suffering from depression or feeling overwhelmed by the events of your life, call out to God. Pay attention to what He says and follow the path He lays out for you. Start each day by reading about God’s acts of unfailing love. Give yourself to God and He will lift the weight from your shoulders. If you start your day by calling to God His Spirit will lead you to firm footing where the troubles of this life will no longer seem insurmountable.

    I find a couple of points about this passage interesting. The first thing I find interesting is that a demon caused the girl to tell people that Paul and Silas were servants of God. What was it attempting to accomplish by doing so? The second thing I find interesting is that the slave girl’s masters new immediately that she no longer had the ability to tell fortunes after Paul cast out the demon. How? Clearly, something dramatic happened when Paul commanded the demon to leave the girl.
    Another thing that I find interesting, but in a different way, is that Paul and Silas spent the night in prison praying and singing. The praying part is not particularly noteworthy, but the singing is different. They had been severely beaten before being imprisoned. Yet here they were singing praises to God. We should behave likewise. When we are counted worthy of suffering because of our faith we should praise God for so honoring us. I’m not sure I could do it, but I believe that I should.

    In this passage we discover the problem with Jehoshaphat’s friendship with King Ahab. Despite Jehoshaphat’s faithfulness to God, he allowed, or more likely, arranged, for his son to marry Ahab’s daughter. As a result of this marriage, Jehoram, Jehoshaphat’s son, followed the example of Ahab and was just as wicked. All-in-all, this passage reminds us of the importance of choosing our associates carefully, and in choosing wisely when we get married. As a result of Jehoshaphat’s association with Ahab, both his son and his grandson became wicked kings and both died at a relatively young age.