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.

Proverbs 25:17

    Be careful about spending too much time at your neighbor’s place. If you are there too much, you will wear out your welcome. It reminds me of a rule I have heard about show business, “Always leave them wanting more.” When you visit someone, strive to leave while they would like you to stay longer, not after they wished you had left sooner. Time your visits so that they wish you would visit more often, not so often that they dread your coming over.

Psalm 86:1-17

    A psalm that is a wonderful prayer. I will ask God to hear my prayer. I will bring my petition for protection before Him. I will request His mercy and beg Him to grant me happiness. But in the middle of the psalm is the thing I most desire from God:

Teach me your ways, O Lord,
that I may live according to your truth!
Grant me purity of heart,
so that I may honor you.
If I allow Him to do these things for me, all else will follow. If we desire to learn God’s ways more than we desire to breath, He will grant us all of our desires.

1 Timothy 1:1-20

    Paul begins his letter to Timothy by telling him to get certain people to stop teaching false doctrines involving myths and complex genealogies. All of our teachings should come from love and love comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. Unfortunately, some people think they can find a way to live without focusing on those things and get caught up in meaningless discussions about what rules we ought to follow. The people Paul is referring to are people who want to be teachers of religious law, but they do not understand what they are talking about. They have missed the point.
    The law has value, but it is not intended for those who are living righteously. Rather it is a warning to those who do things which are contrary to sound doctrine. As I read this, I think about the new, controversial law which just went into effect in California which is called “Yes Means Yes.” It is a terrible law that will lead many a young man (and probably young women) to have his life destroyed for a minor lapse in judgement. However, any young man who follows the Christian moral code, as it was practiced in this country in the early 20th century, will never run afoul of this law. Such a young man will not make sexual advances to a young woman to whom he is not married. He will never be alone with such a young woman. And he will do these things, not because of this law, but because the love of Christ is in his heart. This law is not meant for such young men (it will not require them to alter their behavior one bit). It is meant for those who are seeking to practice sexual immorality and other sins.
    The interesting thing about this law to me is that the people behind the law have missed the point. If they taught young men and women to respect each other and to follow the love which comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith, this law would serve no purpose. Instead they did teach young men and women to indulge their sinful desires, then they do not understand when a young man or woman acts on those desires in ways they find unacceptable. They never taught them to do otherwise.

Jeremiah 28-29:32

    Jeremiah condemned several prophets who prophesied that the people of Judah would soon see a relief from their troubles. Those prophets did not make their prophecies because they had heard a word from God. Instead they told people what they wanted to hear so that they could profit. Jeremiah wrote to those who had already been taken into exile that they should settle in for a long stay. He warned them that those who were telling them to live on a temporary basis in Babylon were doing so out of selfish motives. Those men were using their false prophesies to seduce women and to benefit in other ways.
    As we read Jeremiah’s words against these false prophets, we can learn to recognize false prophets and teachers today. Those who genuinely come from God will be calling us to turn from our sins, whatever those sins may be. They will be warning us against following the evil teachings of the society around us. Those who tell us that we can “have it all” with no sacrifice or pain are false prophets looking to gain our trust so that they can profit from our sin.

     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.

Jeremiah 28-29:32

     Another prophet contradicted Jeremiah’s prophecies. Jeremiah responded by saying that he hoped the prophet was correct, but the prophets who had preceded the two of them had consistently prophesied war and disaster. As a result, a prophet who prophesied peace can only be accepted as a prophet of the Lord when his prophecies come true. Jeremiah then prophesied that the other prophet would die within the year and the prophet died in the seventh month of that same year (the other prophet had contradicted Jeremiah in the fifth month).
     Jeremiah then wrote a letter to those who had been taken into exile in Babylon. He tells them to accept their lives in exile, to plant gardens, to marry and have children, and to find spouses for their children. They are to pray for the prosperity of the land in which they find themselves because its prosperity would be their prosperity. Further Jeremiah told them not to believe those who claimed to be prophets who said that they would return to Judah soon.

…
     Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles in Babylon has bearing on us today. The recipients of Jeremiah’s letter were not citizens of the land in which they lived. They were citizens of Judah, from which they were exiled. In much the same way, Christians today are citizens of a land far from where they live, we are citizens of heaven. But just as Jeremiah told the exiles in Babylon that they should pray for the land in which they found themselves we are to pray for the land in which we find ourselves. This is not our home, but the prosperity of our neighbors is our prosperity. God wishes for us to seek the well-being of those among whom we find ourselves. Let us seek their well-being and petition God to meet their needs and soothe their hurts.

1 Timothy 1:1-20

     Once more Paul talks about the law and not getting caught up in parsing every jot and tittle of the law. As I was reading it I realized he was making a point that I have known, but never thought of in this context. Paul tells us that the law was not intended for the righteous, rather it was meant for those who will not follow it. This applies not just to our Christian faith, but to all of life. Those who are truly striving to please God do not need the law, or rules, to tell them how to behave. They are seeking to act in the best interests of those around them. Laws and rules are written for those who are trying to find loopholes through which they can advance their own desires at the expense of others. Their standard fallback when confronted over their wrongdoing is, “Well, the rules/law doesn’t say I can’t do that.” Here, and elsewhere, Paul points out that the shortcoming of following the law is that those who want to do wrong will always find a loophole that allows them to behave in a wicked manner. And those who wish to serve God do not need rules to do the right thing.

…
     I take part in a competitive activity that has some rules and every few years they add new ones. However, for the most part the activity is governed by people who are designated by the governing body to interpret the rules. One gets to the point of being considered someone who can take that role by demonstrating that they understand the most basic rule of the organization, “Is that behavior safe?” There is very little need to make drastic changes to the rules because everyone understands that it is about what is safe. There are very few things which the rules explicitly forbid, for the most part the rules list things that might appear dangerous, but which have been determined to be safe. This all works because those involved understand this is not about what can I get away with. Rather it is about having fun without anyone getting hurt.

Psalm 86:1-17

     This psalm fits right into the thread of what I have been experiencing for the last little while. I need to pray more. Here the psalmist sets the stage by entering the right state of mind:

Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer;
answer me, for I need your help.

I need to approach God with humility. I come to Him in prayer because I need His help. I am unable to face life without Him. But there is more to my prayers than requesting God’s aid. I come to God in prayer to hear what He has to say to me.

Teach me your ways, O Lord,
that I may live according to your truth!
Grant me purity of heart,
so that I may honor you.

I will praise God and give glory to His name for as long as He makes me able. God has rescued me from great tragedy.

Proverbs 25:17

     Do not over indulge in the hospitality of others. Carefully pay attention to when you may be overstaying your welcome.