For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    I agree with this proverb. I would rather be honest and poor than dishonest and wealthy. I could not live with myself if I lived a life of dishonesty even if being honest means being poor.

    Every year when I get to Psalm 119, I try to see if I can follow a pattern through the entire psalm (besides the fact that it works its way through the Hebrew alphabet). I am never able to do so, mainly because I lose track part way through.
    The opening of this psalm can be read two ways, both of which are true. First, we can read it as saying that only those who people who obey God’s law truly have integrity. The second is that only those who have integrity truly follow God’s instructions. I believe that both of these are true. It is only by following God’s law that we can have true integrity, and if we are not people of integrity, we are not following God’s law. Let us follow the psalmist’s example and ask God to move in our lives so that we follow His commands. I will ask the Holy Spirit to come into my life and transform me to obey God’s law.
    The psalm goes on to tell us that the way to stay pure is to obey God’s word. The way to avoid sinning is to hide God’s word in our heart, to memorize Scripture. I will study the Bible and God’s word because it gives me great joy. I will study His commands and reflect on God’s ways. I will strive to do God’s will in all of my actions.

    James makes many important points in this passage. He discusses the suffering that will come to those who have gained wealth by oppressing the poor. He encourages us to be patient in the face of suffering while we wait for the coming of our Lord. He warns us against swearing oaths, encouraging us to instead be honest so that no one needs us to take an oath to believe us.
    But for me the big take away from this passage is his encouraging us to recognize the power of prayer. If we have problems in our lives, we should pray. If things are going well, we should praise God. We rarely look at it this way, but he is telling us that praising God is a form of prayer. He tells us that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and will produce great results. Do we truly believe in the power of prayer? Are we willing to stand before the world and say that we believe that prayer can heal us? Or deal with other problems we face?
    He tells us that if we are sick we should call the elders of the Church to anoint us with oil and pray over us. Such prayer offered in faith, James tells us, will heal the sick. God will make us well. Then he adds an interesting point, in this circumstance those who have sinned will be forgiven. He continues by telling us to confess our sins to each other and to pray for each other. It is by confessing our sins to our fellow believer and praying for our fellow believer that we receive healing. James is telling us there is a clear link between confessing our sins and receiving healing. Do we confess our sins to our fellow believers? I must admit that while I try to do so, there are some sins I have difficulty revealing to others.

    Today’s passage continues with more descriptions of the Temple to come. There is a place in the middle of today’s passage where God promises to live among His people forever if they will stop defiling His name by worshiping other gods along with their worship of Him. What are we worshiping alongside God? Have we put aside our idols? Let us worship and follow God alone and no other gods.

     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.

     Ezekiel continued his description of the new Temple. When he finished viewing the entire Temple, he saw the glory of God enter the Temple in his vision. Then God spoke to him. God told him that the people of Israel had aroused His anger because they had sacrificed to idols and to the dead in His Temple. They had thought that because these were separated from the place where God’s glory resided by a wall, it was far enough. God told Ezekiel that not just the Holy of Holies was holy and not just the Temple, but the entire top of the mountain on which the Temple was built was holy and dedicated to God.

     Since the New Testament tells us that our bodies are the Temple of God and that He lives within us, this passage sheds a whole new light on how we should approach holiness. It is not just our inner being that are dedicated to God’s holiness, but our whole being. We should surround ourselves with holiness. We need to get rid of every vestige of idolatry in our lives and the places we live. I will strive to cleanse my life, my house, my work-space of things that I may be tempted to worship in place of God.

     I really need to claim the power of prayer which James speaks of in this passage. I just got laid off from my job. Yet I will continue to believe that God will provide. As James wrote, Elijah prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain for three and a half years. Then he prayed for rain and the rains returned. How hard can it be to trust God to provide my financial needs?

     The path to joy is to live with integrity by following God’s instructions. Today, as I read this in light of what is happening in my life and what James wrote about praying, I see that to some degree this psalm is telling me for what I should pray. I will pray that my actions consistently reflect God’s will. I will strive to obey His decrees and pray that He does not give up on me. I will remember that the key to staying pure and finding joy is following God’s will.

     I choose to accept poverty if that is what it takes to remain faithful to God.