For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    No one can truthfully claim to have cleansed themselves of all sin. It is only through the action of God’s Spirit that we can be cleansed and sin removed from our lives. God detests double standards, let us never hold others to a standard we will not attempt to live up to ourselves. Nor should we hold one person accountable for actions we would ignore in another.

    Yesterday we read the first part of this psalm, where the psalmist expressed deep and complete despair. He felt abandoned by God. Today, in the conclusion of the psalm, he expresses his faith in God. He states that he will praise God before the assembled people. When Jesus cited this psalm from the cross, He was citing both the despair of the first part and the faith of this portion.
    God does not ignore the suffering of the needy. He does not consider what we are suffering to be too minor for His concern. He will not turn His back on us, just as Jesus was acknowledging that God had not turned His back on Him. God will listen to the cries for help from those in need. God will provide for the needs of the poor. Those who seek God will discover Him and He will give them joy. The day is coming when the whole earth will acknowledge God.

    This is one of my favorite Bible passages. It contains so much for us to study. Paul tells us to offer up our bodies as living sacrifices to God. We should treat our bodies as Holy and belonging to God. They are not ours to use to bring us pleasure. Our bodies belong to God and should be used to do His will and bring Him pleasure. We should not allow ourselves to conform to the expectations and thought patterns of the world around us. Rather, let us allow God’s Spirit to renew our minds and transform us into God’s image, so that we think and act according to His will.
    Let us not think more highly of ourselves than is appropriate. Seek to honour others rather than seek to be honoured. Look at the gifts which God has given us and exercise those gifts to their fullest extent. Do not pretend to love others, but do so genuinely. Do not think of ourselves as too important to spend time with poor, needy, or otherwise “little” people. We are not too good to associate with them.
    When others wrong us, it is not our place to exact revenge. God has stated that He will pay back those who are so deserving. If anyone has done us wrong, God will extract our revenge. Instead of doing wrong to those who have done us wrong, let us do good to them. Let us show the world that we will not be brought down to its level, but will live according to God’s love.

    Joash became king when he was seven years old. He was put on the throne by Jehoiada, the high priest. For as long as Jehoiada lived Joash served God and was a good king. He was not just a puppet of Jehoiada because we are told that he confronted Jehoiada over his failure to restore the Temple as Joash had ordered. However, Jehoiada’s influence led Joash to consider what God’s will was in all of his decisions. After Jehoiada’s death, Joash came under the influence of advisers whose priority was not serving God. Those advisers led Joash into sin and idolatry. This passage reminds us of the importance of surrounding ourselves with godly companions.