For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    We will gain more from seeking wisdom and good judgement than we will from seeking wealth. Those who seek the path of wisdom will avoid evil actions. Following the dictates of good judgement will keep one clear of danger.

    Let us take our troubles to the Lord. When life becomes difficult, let us cry out to God. He will answer our prayers and deliver us from those who lie and deceive.

    I am always struck by Jesus’ questioning of Peter in this passage. Peter had denied Jesus three times on the night of His trial. Here Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him three times. Each time when Peter affirmed that he did indeed love Jesus, Jesus told him to demonstrate that love (by caring for His sheep). Jesus gave Peter an opportunity to affirm his love for Jesus for each time that he had denied Him. There is a lesson here that I have difficulty stating. Peter needed to affirm his love for Jesus for each of the times he had denied Him.
    Jesus’ exchange with Peter here reminds us that it is not enough to affirm our love, we need to also act on that love. If we truly love Jesus, we will follow Him, and His example, even if that means a martyr’s death. We will do what is in our power to help others to follow Him and do His will. If we truly love the Lord, we will joyously embrace the outcomes which result from doing His will without concerning ourselves with the outcomes which others experience. If it is God’s plan for us that we experience suffering and torture, we will accept that joyously out of our love for Him. We should not allow ourselves to be distracted by what God plans for others.

    As David returned to Jerusalem he demonstrated his desire to restore unity to the kingdom. When Shimei, who had cursed David as he fled Jerusalem, begged forgiveness, David granted it. However, the other tribes of Israel felt slighted because they were not included in the group that met David at the Jordan and escorted him back to Jerusalem. The tribe of Judah had sent men to escort David and failed to inform or invite the rest of the tribes. The tribe of Judah failed to recognize that the other tribes had any basis for complaint and responded to their concerns harshly. This opened the door for a troublemaker named Sheba to make a power play. Sheba played on the discontent of the other tribes of Israel and used the undiplomatic responses by the leaders of Judah to increase resentment.
    The same dynamics which occurred here occur in our organizations today. Sometimes it is more important to be inclusive of those who are not part of the “inner circle” than it is that the “inner circle” does not take advantage of their access to those in power. Leaders need to be careful that they do not appear to only listen to advice from those from a particular group of “insiders”. Failure to make sure that all constituencies not only get a hearing, but perceive that those in authority are listening to their concerns leads to division and conflict. Division and conflict will detract from our ability to do God’s will.

     I have been using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study for almost a year. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I started writing this blog because the only way I can get myself to read the Bible everyday is to pretend that I am teaching someone about what it says to me. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

     After defeating Absalom, the tribes of Israel welcomed David back as king except for Judah. David sent Abiathar and Zadok as messengers to the elders of Judah asking why they had not yet acknowledged that David was king once more. In addition, he told them to offer Amasa the job as commander of David’s army in place of Joab. Amasa convinced the elders of Judah and they sent word to David asking him to return. The men of Judah met David at the Jordan River to escort him and his people back to Jerusalem. Ziba, Saul’s and Mephibosheth’s former servant, also met David at the Jordan River. Ziba led a small force of men from the tribe of Benjamin.
     Shimei, who had cursed David as he fled from Absalom, also met David at the Jordan River and begged his forgiveness. Joab’s brother Abishai once more suggested that Shimei should die for cursing the king. David reprimanded him for taking that position, telling him that now was a time for celebration, not for execution. David then told Abishai that his life would be spared. This demonstrated David’s mastery of public relations. He recognized that if he started executing those who had openly opposed him it would make many people nervous and lead some of them to support potential threats to his throne.
     Mephibosheth also met David at the Jordan River. The passage tells us that Mephibosheth had not cared for his feet (which had been seriously injured when he was a baby so as to cripple him), trimmed his beard or washed his clothes since the day David left Jerusalem. When David asked him why he had not come with him when David left Jerusalem, Mephibosheth responded that he had asked Ziba to saddle a donkey for him so that he could accompany David. Mephibosheth further stated that Ziba had slandered him by telling David that he refused to come with him. Mephibosheth acknowledged that David had treated him better than he, or any of his family, had reason to expect. David offered to return half of the property he had given to Ziba, but Mephibosheth declined saying that he was happy merely to have David back safely as king once more. David’s offer to return half of Mephibosheth’s property suggests that he believed Mephibosheth, but the fact that he only offered to return half also suggests that he did not believe that Ziba acted maliciously in telling him that Mephibosheth had refused to accompany David.
     The men of the rest of the tribes of Israel were upset that the tribe of Judah had escorted David back to Jerusalem without significant representation from them. One leader among them by the name of Sheba led a revolt against David. David told Amasa to mobilize the army of Judah and report back in three days. However, it took him longer than three days to mobilize the army. David, afraid that waiting would allow Sheba to get set up in a defensive location, told Joab to take the troops that David had on hand and go after Sheba. Amasa met them on the way. Joab stepped forward to greet Amasa and drew his dagger with his left hand. Amasa did not notice the dagger in Joab’s left hand and as Joab greeted him, Joab stabbed Amasa and killed him. Joab and his brother, Abishai left Amasa lying dead in the road and continued after Sheba. One of Joab’s men called out to the men of Judah who had been with Amasa that if they were for David and Joab they should continue. However, everyone was stopping to stare at Amasa’s body, so Joab’s man pulled the body off the road and covered it with a cloak. With that done, everyone went with Joab to fight against Sheba.

     Today’s passage is one of the more touching (that’s not quite the right word) stories of the New Testament. Peter has seen that Jesus has risen and is happy for this, but he is somewhat conflicted because he had denied Jesus in His moment of trial (just as Jesus had told him he would do). He falls back on what he knows and decides to go fishing. A number of the other disciples go with him, probably partly in support of Peter and partly for the same reason. They were looking to do something familiar to deal with their conflicted emotions and guilt for not standing with Jesus when He was crucified. They took a boat out onto the Sea of Galilee and fished all night, but caught nothing. At dawn as they returned, they saw Jesus standing on the shore but did not recognize Him. He called out to them and asked if they had caught anything. When they replied that they had not, He told them to throw the nets on the right side of the boat. They did as He suggested and the nets became so full of fish that they could not pull them back into the boat. At that moment John told Peter that the man of the shore was Jesus. Peter put his outer garment back on and waded to shore. The other disciples followed in the boat bringing the net full of fish with them. When they got to shore, they saw a fire with some fish on the coals and some bread. Jesus told them to bring some of the fish they had just caught. The passage tells us that it was such a large catch that it was surprising that the net had not torn. Jesus then gave them some of the bread and the fish that was already cooked.
     The first thing I thought when I read that Jesus gave them the bread and then the fish was the two times that Jesus had fed large crowds. However, as I read this I also thought there was a lesson there for us about serving God. The disciples who went out in the boat were experienced fishermen. Yet, they fished all night, using all of their skill and knowledge as fishermen, and caught nothing. As they were giving up and calling it a night, Jesus told them to try once more according to His direction. They did as He asked and caught a surprisingly large number of fish. Enough fish that it should have strained their nets to the breaking point, yet the nets held. I think that this is a lesson for us. We can use all of the knowledge of this world about how to reach people and convince them to follow us, but until we do what God tells us, we will catch no “fish”. There is a little more, if we have struggled “all night” doing the Lord’s work and have had no results, when He tells us to give it one more try, we need to listen to His instructions because we will gather enough to make all of our efforts worth it at that moment.
     Now we come to the part that is so touching. After they had eaten, Jesus turned to Peter, who had rushed to His side, and asked him if he loved Him more than the others (this is a place where I wish I had learned Greek, because I am not sure if Jesus is asking Peter if he loved Jesus more than the others did, or if he loved Jesus more than he loved the others). Peter answered that Jesus knew that he loved Him. Jesus told Peter to feed His lambs. Jesus then asked Peter again if he loved Him. Peter replied once more that Jesus knew that he loved Him. This time Jesus told Peter to take care of His sheep. Then Jesus asked Peter a third time if he loved Him. Peter was hurt because Jesus asked a third time and answered that Jesus knew all things, He knew that Peter loved Him. Jesus told Peter to feed His sheep. Jesus then told Peter that when he was young he did for himself and chose his own destination but when he was old someone else would dress him and take him where he did not want to go. Jesus finished by telling Peter to follow Him. Peter recognizing that Jesus was predicting He would suffer, turned and asked Jesus about what would happen to John. Jesus responded that it did not concern Peter what fate God had in store for John, it was up to Peter to follow Him.
     This is touching (still not quite the right word) because, while at the time Peter was hurt by Jesus asking him three times, Jesus offered Peter the opportunity to respond once for each of the times he had denied Jesus. It was also and example that it is not enough for us to acknowledge our belief in Jesus and willingness to follow Him just once. We have to do so every time the question comes up. When Jesus calls us to acknowledge Him or serve Him, we cannot say, “But I acknowledged/served You yesterday (or this morning).” When we are called to acknowledge Jesus, we need to respond each time with , “Yes, Lord.” There is another message in this story, we need to save Jesus faithfully no matter where that leads us, even if it is into persecution and suffering. It is not ours to be concerned about why others appear to us to be led on a path that seems easier. We are to follow Jesus on the path that He leads us on. His grace will be sufficient to carry us through. Do I love Jesus enough to do that? Or will I spend my time worrying about whether, and why, Jesus is calling others to a different path?

     If we call out to God in our distress, He will answer our prayer. In particular, we should be distressed by being among those who lie and are deceitful. We should be distressed by those who favor violence and war. We should seek peace with all around us. This psalm reminds me that I am a foreigner living in this world. I am not a citizen of the world, but a citizen of the Kingdom of God.

     Wisdom and good judgement will serve us better than wealth and riches. If we behave with virtue we will stay where it is safe.