For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    If you refuse to follow God’s instructions, praying will not help you. There is actually more packed into that statement than is obvious. Often times, God’s answer to our prayer is revealed, sometimes even brought about, by our following His instructions.

    I will seek God’s favor so that I can serve Him. The more we follow God’s instructions the more clearly we see and understand them. If we obey God despite those who scorn and insult us for doing so, God will force them to respect us. As we follow God’s commands we will discover that they were the wise course of action, even when it appeared otherwise at the time. The biggest challenge to obeying God is our tendency to lie to ourselves. If we are faithful, God will reveal those lies to us and show us how to be true to ourselves and others.

    It is by God’s grace that we have received the faith which leads to His salvation. That salvation is waiting for us in heaven where it cannot be corrupted, nor can it decay. God’s power will protect us by supporting our faith, even in the face of suffering and persecution. The end will be wonderful joy in God’s presence. We will endure various trials and tests in this life that will test and purify our faith, showing that it is genuine. These trials will purify our faith in much the same way that fire purifies gold. They will cause the impurities in our lives to be exposed so that we can allow God to remove them from us. Therefore let us embrace these trials and tests so that God may further purify us.

    I continue to struggle with the meaning for us today of Ezekiel’s detailed description and instructions for the new Temple which will be built after the Exile (is this the Temple described in Nehemiah? Herod’s Temple? Or one yet to come?). However, the instructions for the priests reminds us that those who are called to be spiritual leaders among us must be of the highest character. If you answer the call to be a spiritual leader, or even desire such an office, you must hold yourself to a higher moral standard than that to which you would hold anyone else. This actually makes a good rule for us to follow, even if we do not desire, or feel called to, a position of spiritual leadership. We should hold ourselves to a higher moral standard than the one to which we hold others.