For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    This is important advice for young people. Listen to your parents, they may not understand what is going on in your life, but they gave that life to you. Do not despise them when they get old and no longer have anything to offer you (or so you think). There is however more to this than just that they gave you life. The most important thing to remember is that they were your age once and despite any seeming disconnect between what they tell you and what is going on in your life there is likely to be value in what they tell you. This remains true, no matter what age you are. And remember that your mother gave some of the best years of her life to raising you, when she gets old and suffers the disabilities of age, give her whatever joy is in your power to give her.

    This is a psalm of praise which I pray my readers, and all others, will make their own. I earnestly search for God, having been assured elsewhere that those who seek God will find Him. I have found God, but it is the nature of being human that I must seek Him again each day. I will praise Him as long as I live, praying to Him openly. I want everyone to know that I worship and praise God. I strive to live my life so as to not to bring shame to those who also worship Him.

    We will not gain favor with God by being circumcised, by inflicting pain on ourselves, or by making ourselves physically distinct from those around us. There were two aspects of circumcision that led some to claim that it was necessary for Gentiles to become true followers of Christ. The first aspect is the pain which an adult experiences when he is circumcised. There are those who believe that we need to inflict pain upon ourselves in order to be made right with God. We see this in the self-flagellation movements which have cropped up from time-to-time and place-to-place throughout history. Paul rejects that idea. The second aspect is that those who are circumcised are physically different from those who are not. Being circumcised is an action which cannot be undone. There were institutions in the Roman Empire of Paul’s day where those who had been circumcised would stand out as different from the norm. The Roman baths and the Greek gymnasiums were places where the men who were movers and shakers in society would meet. In both locations, men went naked as part of the experience, so everyone knew who was, and was not, circumcised. There were those who believe that we need to stand out from the crowd in ways we cannot undo by some physical manifestation. Paul rejects this idea as well.
    Neither of these approaches is of any value. We cannot make ourselves right with God by following either of those paths. We are made right with God by faith which is expressed by love. If we truly have faith in Christ we will express that faith by showing love to those around us.

    All too often, instead of seeking God’s help, we try to figure out how to do it on our own. Or we seek powerful allies to stand with us against those we perceive as powerful. Instead of trusting in God we depend upon deception and oppression to win the victory. But God is waiting for us to turn to Him. It is only by repenting of our sins and resting in Him that we will be saved. If we ask for God’s help, He will indeed grant it. If we stop rejecting His words He will guide us in the safe path.
    It is a short little bit of this passage but it always strikes a chord with me. If we put our trust in God, He will be a voice in our ears saying, “Turn left here. Just a little further. Now turn right.” Those directions will guide us on the path to doing God’s will. I strive to quiet my thoughts so that I can hear that voice as it guides me.