For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    The translation notes say that it could also be translated as “Blessed are those who fear the Lord” and that the Hebrew just reads as “Blessed are those who fear.” When I contrast this with the second portion of this proverb, I really needed this proverb right now. I just made the decision to buy another car and I was dissatisfied with the decision I made (not with the car, but with the decision making process). In some ways this proverb relieves my worries. I had a lot of fear going into making this decision and I did not stubbornly stick to my guns, but when I was done, I thought I should have decided differently.
    If we can make a major decision without fearing that we are making a mistake, we are stubbornly fooling ourselves on to the path to serious trouble.

    It is by following God’s commands that we acquire knowledge and good judgement. The arrogant may slander us, but if we obey God’s commands He will vindicate us. Let us take joy in our suffering because it will help us learn God’s instructions. God has made us, He will give us the sense to follow His commands, if we will accept it. I will focus on God’s instructions and leave those who malign me with lies for God to handle.

    Today’s passage begins by telling us not to repay evil with evil. Rather, we are to repay evil and insult with blessing. There are few who will wish to harm us if we do good, and God will reward us if we do suffer for doing good. Therefore we need not fear those who threaten us in attempt to convince us to stop doing good.
    When someone asks us why we are not afraid to continue in the face of threats, Peter tells us to be prepared with an answer. When we give them our answer, let us do so gently and with respect. This last bit is a challenge for me. Nevertheless we are called to live such lives that when people see how we live they are embarrassed that they said whatever terrible things they have said against Christians and us in the past.
    Since Christ suffered bodily harm, we should prepare ourselves for the same. This will help us keep from spending our lives chasing our own desires and instead make us anxious to do God’s will. We should no longer join with our non-believing friends in wild and destructive behavior. Everyone will have to give account to God for how they live. Let us choose to live in a way that gives others an example of how they should live to please God.

    When Daniel and his three friends were entered into Nebuchadnezzar’s training program, they strove to remain faithful to God, despite the pressures to conform to a pagan lifestyle. As I read this today it struck me that in a way the situation Daniel and his friends found themselves in was very similar to the college experience today. They chose not to join in the debauchery of their fellow students. More interesting to me is the fact that Daniel and his friends chose a diet and lifestyle that was healthier and more favorable for learning.
    It is possible Daniel was aware that this was the case, but I think he was just acting on faith. He believed that God wished him to live in this manner. Therefore, he was confident that God would cause him to thrive in this environment if he lived that way. We know from studies which have been done in modern times that the outcome was to be expected. Of course, Daniel and his three friends were healthier, better nourished than their contemporaries who drank and ate too much. Not only that but it was a natural result that at the end of the training they were wiser and more knowledgeable than the rest of their cohort.
    As I said, this is obvious to us today. Daniel and his friends spent their time in the training program learning and studying (both the program provided by the Babylonians and God’s word). They did not spend their time drinking and partying like the other young men in the program. However, I don’t think they knew this was the case. I think they believed that they would be rewarded for being faithful to God and thus made their choice. They did not choose to behave as they did because it would help them learn and be healthy (although it had that effect). In the same way, I believe that when we choose to live a godly life, we will almost always obtain better results than when we choose to live a worldly lifestyle.

     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.

     The Book of Daniel begins with two accounts of Daniel’s faith (the first one included his three friends). In the first story, Daniel and his friends request that they be provided food which complies with Jewish dietary laws. The king’s chief of staff, Ahspenaz, was initially afraid to feed them anything other than the foods which the king had provided for the young men he was training. Daniel suggested a ten-day trial. After ten days, Daniel and his friends, who had eaten the kosher diet, looked healthier and better nourished than those who had eaten the king’s diet. Daniel and his friends did not choose their diet because they thought it was healthier for them. They chose their diet because they believed it was God’s command for them to do so. They had faith and they acted on that faith, despite the doubts of those around them. Am I willing to act in a similar fashion on my faith?
     In the second story, King Nebuchadnezzar asks of his counselors something that is impossible for any human to accomplish. He asked them to explain to him the meaning of his dream, without telling them what the dream was. King Nebuchadnezzar was resolute that if his advisers had the powers they claimed, they should be able to tell him his dream and its interpretation. When they insisted that it was not possible for any man to do what he had asked, King Nebuchadnezzar ordered that all of the wise men in the kingdom be put to death. Daniel and his friends had not been present when the king made his demand. When the commander of the king’s bodyguard came to kill Daniel and his friends, Daniel asked why the king had made such an order. Upon hearing the reason, Daniel requested of the king more time. Daniel and his friends then petitioned God for an answer to the king’s riddle. When God revealed the answer to Daniel, he did not immediately rush off to the king claiming what a puissant and wise man that he, Daniel, was. No, Daniel’s first response was to praise and thank God for revealing the secret to him. Once more, do I give credit to God when others honor me for merely being faithful to Him?

     Peter instructs all believers to be of one mind in service to Christ, loving one another with compassion and humility. Rather than respond in kind when people insult us or commit evil acts against us, we should strive to bless them and bring about good to them. Peter points out that there will be few people who will desire to harm us if we are always eager to do good. If we do suffer for doing good, God will reward us. Let us not fear what those who do not know Christ fear. It is because of Christ that we do not fear what they fear and we should always be ready to explain this, but with humility and gentleness. It is our goal to provide an avenue for the Holy Spirit to convict them and convince them to also put their faith in Christ. I will strive to have the same attitude which Christ had. Being ready to suffer if that is what results from doing God’s will. Our friends who do not yet know Jesus will be constantly surprised that we do not join them in their self-destructive behaviors and may slander us as a result. Yet I have had enough of chasing after my own selfish desires and anxiously wish to seek and desire the doing of God’s will.

     If we truly believe God’s commands He will teach us good judgment and knowledge. Any suffering we experience will be good for us because it will teach us to obey God’s commands. I truly believe that God’s instructions are more valuable than any material wealth that I can possibly imagine. Doing God’s will brings greater happiness and contentment than any amount of wealth. God created me and put me where I am, I pray that He gives me the wisdom to do His will in this place and time. I pray that God will bring companions who will encourage me to fear Him and obey His word for it is only by obeying His word that I may avoid shaming myself before others.

     Those who fear to do wrong because they fear God will be blessed, while trouble will abound to those who stubbornly refuse to consider, and thus fear, the consequences of their actions. What a great truth, when I was young, many of my friends thought I was wise because I often withdrew from bad actions before things went wrong and others got into trouble. However, the truth was that I feared getting caught more than I desired the anticipated joy of the action in question. Over time I learned that the reason that those in authority attempted to stop my fellows from doing many of those things was because doing them could all too easily lead to harm for those who did it (or for others).