For today, One Year Bible Online links here. As I was setting today’s blog up (I put the passages, links, and pictures on to the page before I start reading the passages), I realized that it might not be clear where my titles come from (for example, yesterday’s title was “Divorce and Remarriage”). The titles are based on what strikes me the most in the passages I read for the day.

    There are no shortcuts to prosperity. Success comes to those who plan carefully and work hard. Those who gain wealth through deception will not keep it long, and they risk death because of their deception. Those who think that their might gives them the right to do as they please, when what they please is evil, will discover that the violence they set in motion will rebound upon them.

    If we confess our sins, God will forgive us. Such forgiveness brings with it great joy. However, in order to receive that forgiveness we must admit that we have sinned. When we refuse to admit, even to ourselves, that certain acts are sin we will continue to suffer the consequences of those acts. We cannot be forgiven for sins we do not recognize as sin. But, oh what joy we experience when we experience when we finally admit all of our sins and allow God to guide our actions! Let us pray to God requesting that He reveal to us those sins we have not yet admitted.

    Paul advises us to strive to be as free from the concerns of this life as possible. Those who are unmarried will find that easier to do. A married person must think about the concerns of this life, as to how they influence the life and happiness of his/her spouse. It is not a sin to get married, and may indeed keep one from sinning. However, we can devote more of our time to serving the Lord if we remain single.
    This teaching by Paul is one that we in the Church fail to give proper emphasis on. All too often we encourage young people to seek out a spouse with the argument that with a spouse they can better serve the Lord. When, in fact, the reverse is often true. The Church needs to remember that our young people (and not so young) can serve the Lord perfectly well while they are single, and should encourage them to do so. I sense that all too often we encourage our young people to spend their time seeking a spouse rather than encouraging them to serve the Lord with the expectation that once they are married, then their ministry will begin.

    Yesterday I spoke of Nehemiah as an example of leading a project for the Lord. In today’s passage we see that Nehemiah gave credit where credit was due. The passage contains a list of the persons who took responsibility for getting certain portions of the wall repaired. Nehemiah made sure that he acknowledged those without whom he would have failed. Let us remember to share credit to those who aid us in completing the Lord’s work.
    When the poor among the returned exiles came to Nehemiah for relief from their burdens, he recognized the problem and went to the wealthy among them and confronted them about how their practices were harming their fellow worshipers of God. When he heard their complaints, he was angry that the problem existed, but he thought things over before he acted. He spoke out against those who were loaning money to the poor at interest. He demanded that they stop this practice. They were to aid those in need by making loans without charging interest. However, one of the key elements to the success of Nehemiah’s reform was his willingness to admit that he and his family were guilty of the same practice. He led by example. He discontinued charging interest on the loans he made to those in difficult circumstances. Let us follow Nehemiah’s example. When we confront others about their sins against the oppressed, let us recognize our own sins and vow to correct our own actions in the same way we are demanding of others.