For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    We are told to honor our parents. This proverb tells us that the best way to do so is to live righteous lives. If we demonstrate wisdom and righteousness in our actions it brings honor to our father and mother. Make your parents proud and give them joy; live a righteous life.

    The psalmist reminds us that God will answer our prayers with awesome deeds. This is a reminder, and an incentive, to me that I need to pray more. How can God answer our prayers with awesome deeds if we do not pray? The more we pray, the more opportunity we give God to answer our prayers with awesome deeds!

    Paul makes an important point here. If one of our fellow believers is caught up in sin, we should work with them to guide them back to the correct path. However, we need to do so gently and humbly, recognizing that we are not perfect either. As we do this, let us be careful not to make the same mistakes we see them making. Further, it is important that we do not start thinking of ourselves as more important than we are. We need to recognize that our fellow believers do not need our approval, rather, they need God’s approval.
    We should not measure ourselves and what we do against others and what they do. Rather we should measure ourselves against what God is calling us to do. Are we faithfully carrying out the tasks which God has given us? We will reap what we sow. If we act to please our flesh, we will reap results that echo our flesh. Those results will gradually fail and decay, just like our earthly bodies. If on the other hand, we act to please the Spirit, we will reap results which will echo the characteristics of the Spirit, lasting and eternal. Therefore, let us do good to everyone, especially our fellow believers.

    In yesterday’s passage the king of Assyria’s representative had told the people of Jerusalem that they could not stand against the Assyrian army. He first said that they should not count on God’s help because Hezekiah had torn down the various shrines in the high places. He followed that up by saying that God would not be able to stop the Assyrians even if He wanted to. In today’s passage the king of Assyria doubled down on those statements. He sent a letter to Hezekiah saying that the kings of Assyria have gone where they pleased and conquered whom they pleased. No other gods were able to stop them and neither would God be able to do so. As always when humans exhibit such hubris (pride/arrogance) God demonstrates that they are wrong. The king of Assyria was convinced that he could do as he pleased and no one could stop him. He probably went to his grave believing that to be true. And yet, he wanted to, and intended to, conquer Jerusalem but was never able to do so. Let us never forget that God does not always act in ways which are obviously supernatural.