For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I want to encourage everyone who reads this blog to work on reading the Bible regularly, whether it is to work your way completely through it, or some other method of disciplining yourself to read from the Bible each day.

    Good advice given at the right time is like a gift of gold and silver. In the same way, well worded, accurate criticism of our actions are a gift of great value if we are wise enough to listen.

    I am not sure if this psalm is a prophecy or a prayer…or perhaps both. If it is a prayer, it is one for the people of Israel, and all who love the Lord, to pray today. Once more, the people’s who surround the land of Israel have joined in alliance to attempt to destroy the nation of Israel. Reading it and looking at what is going on in the world today, it looks somewhat like a prophecy. For most of my life, the nations surrounding the modern state of Israel have been allied together with the goal of destroying Israel (and to one degree or another, the Jewish people). Yet, now, the fire which they started, with the intention that it would engulf Israel in flames, is threatening to consume them. Looking at the situation in the Middle East now, ISIS, which is a result of attempts by the rulers of Arab nations to stir up hatred against the Jews (there are other factors in its origins as well), is threatening to destroy those Arab rulers. The only hope to escape the fire burning in the Middle East is to acknowledge God as Lord of All.

    My reading of the Bible has made me worry about my faith, because I have never been truly persecuted for it. Oh, I have experienced minor ridicule for it from time to time, but never anything that counts as persecution the way Paul and other Biblical writers refer to it. However, today I realized that this passage suggests that some Christians may not be persecuted. Paul tells the Thessalonian believers that God will provide a rest for those who are being persecuted when Jesus appears from heaven. Then he says that God will provide that rest “for us, as well”, implying that the rest will be for those who are not being persecuted.
    As I first skimmed this, before reading it carefully, the first thing that struck me were the words, “keep on praying.” It was a reminder to me that God is calling me to work on my prayer life. It is important that all Christians find a way to have a disciplined prayer life. When I read the passage more closely, I found a clue to doing so. Paul in most of his letters refers to his prayers for those to whom he is writing. Let me unpack what it tells me. First, one aspect of developing a disciplined prayer life is making people who you interact with the subject of your prayers, both believers and unbelievers. Second, tell them that you are praying for them. When we pray for our fellow believers, let us pray that God gives them the power to accomplish the things which He is prompting them to do.

    Jeremiah prophesied the downfall of the kings who succeeded Josiah. God had chosen to punish each of them for their failure to worship and honour Him, for their selfish oppression of the people. They did not follow the example of King Josiah, who had given help and justice to the poor and needy. God offers the same condemnation for political leaders and rulers today who use their position solely to advance their own interests and do not use their power to defend the poor and needy.
    Jeremiah goes on to offer a similar warning to religious leaders. He warns that those who have risen to positions of religious authority are not living righteously. They are doing evil and abusing their authority. There is the recent story of the pastor who admitted to his congregation that he was HIV positive and had had sex with members of the congregation. In addition, I recently read about a congregation whose pastor received a $60,000 a year clothing allowance. These are both examples of what Jeremiah was talking about, religious leaders who are abusing their authority. Jeremiah tells us that God will bring judgement on both religious and political leaders who abuse their positions of authority. We need to be careful not to follow such leaders.

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     There are four elements to today’s passage. First, Jeremiah tells the king of Judah that if he does what is right and obeys God, he will rule long and well and his descendants will sit on the throne. If those who run a nation judge righteously and defend the weak and the poor, the nation will be blessed and strong. On the other hand, if those who rule do not heed such warnings, their “thrones” will be torn down and destroyed.
     In the second element, Jeremiah condemns each of the three successors to Josiah for their failure to be righteous as Josiah was. He condemns them for their greed, selfishness, and injustice. He tells them each in turn the fate that awaits them because of their sinfulness.
     In the third section, Jeremiah wrote that God has promised that He will raise up one who will provide a wise and just king for His people. He will appoint wise and responsible shepherds for His flock, shepherds who will bring His people back from the destruction and scattering these unjust leaders have lead them into. This passage is one that gives me hope when I see our leaders leading us towards what appears to be disaster. I have confidence that God will send leaders to shepherd us to safety, if we are willing to follow them.
     The final piece of today’s passage is Jeremiah’s condemnation of false prophets, those who speak lies in the name of righteousness and justice. There are too many people who put on a front of righteousness as a cover for their own evil behavior. They proclaim that all will be well, when disaster is barreling down upon us. They make such proclamations so that they can take advantage of people and satisfy their own evil desires. Let us not fall into the trap of listening to those who claim to speak for God, but only tell us what we want to hear. We will face hard times, but if we listen to God, He will show us the way.

     When we face persecution, hardships, and trials we need to follow the example of the Thessalonians. Paul wrote that in the face of such things they grew in their faith and in their love for one another. Paul reminded them, and us, that God will pay back with trouble those who trouble us because of our faith in Him. When Jesus returns God will provide rest for those who have faithfully served Him. On the other hand, those who have persecuted God’s people and refused to listen to God’s word will be excluded from God’s presence.
     Once more Paul wrote about praying constantly for his fellow believers (in this case the believers in Thessalonica). I am being challenged by this every day to increase the time I spend in prayer. And what does Paul pray for them? He prays that God will give them the strength to accomplish the good things which their faith prompts them to do. He assures them that these things they are prompted to do are possible and that Jesus will be honored by their attempts, even when things do not turn out as we planned. If we rely on the Holy Spirit in our attempts to do good things, God’s will will be accomplished and we will be honored along with Christ by our actions.

     The psalmist calls on God to take action against those who have conspired against His people, those who serve Him. God has done so in the past and will do so again in the future. Those who conspire against God’s people will find their plans come to naught.

     The NIV translation of today’s proverbs give a completely different take on them from the NLT. In the NIV the first two are about the importance of judges and rulers making right decisions and giving wise advice (and of listening when such decisions are made and advice is given). The unspoken corollary to these is the danger and destructiveness of bad rulings and advice (and failing to heed wise advice).
     The final one is also very different in the NIV. The NLT is a condemnation of promising a gift and then failing to follow through. The NIV is more a condemnation of bragging about giving a gift that was never given. The former is bad, but people understand that sometimes circumstances change beyond your control and something you intended to do becomes impossible. However, there is no excuse for claiming to have done something which one has never done.