For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    This proverb makes a very good point. You are the one who will benefit if you acquire wisdom, and you are the one who will suffer if you fail to do so. While the wisdom or foolishness of your actions may affect others, you are the one who will be affected the most. Each person will experience the consequences of their actions. If those actions were guided by wisdom, they will benefit. If those actions were foolish, they will suffer.

    When we do good for and to those who oppose us, we can rely on the Lord to rescue us from their plots against us. We are called to grieve for their troubles and do what we can to ease their suffering. It is not for us to attempt to repay them for the evil they do us. God will rescue the helpless from the strong. If we seek always to show God’s love, God will give us victory and send shame and disgrace to those who attack us.

    I had never noticed that John the Baptist only baptized people after they had confessed their sins. I don’t think this was a generic confession, “Yes, I am a sinner.” I think it was more specific. Things like, “I committed adultery,” or “I stole from others,” and probably even more specific than that. Do we practice confessing our sins to others? Should we? I believe that the answer is “Yes” and that I do so less than I should.
    I do not think I have commented on the fact that the Gospel of Mark is quick hitting. He quickly recounts an episode from Jesus’ life, then moves on to the next. In today’s passage we have John’s ministry, Jesus’ baptism, the calling of the first disciples, and teaching with authority. The other one of these stories I am going to touch on is the calling of the first disciples.
    When Jesus called Peter and Andrew to follow Him, they left their nets at once and followed. Now, we know from the Gospel of John that their first exposure to Jesus was in Judah, right after He was baptized by John. So, this is not about our first response to Jesus. This story is about our response when God calls us to the ministry He has for us. Are we prepared to drop what we are doing and follow Him? This is a challenge for me, largely because I have felt a call from God, but I do not understand the details of the ministry to which He is calling me. The other thing to remember about this is that we know from tidbits elsewhere in the Gospels that these four men returned to fishing for short periods of time (at one point Jesus preached from Peter’s boat, at one point they were in the boats fishing after Jesus’ resurrection when He appeared to them). Considering all of that, let us remember their example when God calls us to ministry.

    The descriptions of the construction of the Tabernacle remind me of part of the reason I started this blog. If it were not for writing this blog, I would skip over these sections…or, more likely, just not read the Bible on the second or third day of such passages and fail to resume again.
    At the end of today’s passage it describes how the presence of God descended on the Tabernacle like a cloud. The entire time the Israelites were in the wilderness this cloud of the presence of God remained with them. At night, the fire of the Lord’s presence was visible to the entire encampment through the cloud. While the cloud was settled over the Tabernacle, the Israelites stayed camped. When the cloud lifted, they packed up the camp and followed it. There must have been a certain comfort in being able to see, and follow, a visible representation of God.

     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, or more. in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     Those who acquire wisdom and plan their actions according to it will benefit from it. Those who ignore wisdom and do not use it to guide their actions will suffer from their choice. It is entirely up to each individual whether they gain the benefits of wisdom or suffer from its absence. You must decide for yourself.

     The psalmist calls on the Lord for deliverance from his enemies. He calls on God to smite them. The reason he believes that God will come to his aid can be summed up in a line he repeats, “I did them no wrong,…” When we turn to the Lord and ask Him to rescue us, can we say the same about those arrayed against us? Are those opposed to us repaying us evil for good? Or do they have legitimate grievances against us? Let us be careful not to be the ones who are repaying evil for good. Rather let us repay evil with good. If we are always doing good for those around us, even when we believe they have done us wrong, we will not be the ones the psalmist was speaking of.

     I like the way the New Living Translation begins the Gospel of Mark, “This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.” Like most of this Gospel, it is clean and to the point. I looked at other translations to see if the start in the NLT was consistent with how others translated the beginning. When I read it in the NASB, it occurred to me that their translation explains why Mark is so sparse. They translated the first phrase as, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” While that certainly means the beginning of Mark’s account of Jesus’ life, I believe in a way it also means that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are merely the beginning of the Gospel, the Good News, of Jesus Christ. The good news does not end with Jesus’ resurrection. It does not end as long as this world endures, there is always more to learn about the Gospel.

     When the work on the Tabernacle was completed this passage describes how Moses set up the Tabernacle step by step. After each step we are told that Moses had done this “just as the Lord commanded him.” Each day as we go through the day we should conduct ourselves the same way, so that others can describe what we have done by saying that we did it “just as the Lord commanded him (or her).” Then we will be a “Tent of Meeting” where people can come face to face with God. Let us build our lives to be just such a place.