For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    The proverb writer continues his condemnation of sexual immorality. I wonder to what degree one could take his description of the immoral woman as a warning to women not to be that woman.

    Do we recognize our success as coming from God? Or do we do as the psalmist did the first time he did well and think, “Nothing can stop me now”? It is God’s favor which makes us secure, if we turn from Him, He will turn from us. However, when we call out to Him, He will rescue us. His anger lasts only until we learn to rely on Him. His love is for eternity. God will turn our mourning into joy. Let us not be silent. Rather let us sing praises to God.

    Jesus continues His prophecies concerning the fall of Jerusalem, His second coming, and the end times. He tells His disciples, and through them, us, to pay attention because when we see the things He had just talked about happen we will know that His return is near. This tells us that we should study the Scripture and look at how events happening in the world around us match up with prophecies about the end. However, we must also be careful not to fall into the trap of thinking we have it all figured out. Jesus tells us that no one knows the day or the hour of His return.
    My father once summed up what I believe about this, a belief I am sure I got from him. He said that we should live as if Jesus will return in the next few minutes and plan as if we will live on this earth until we are one hundred years old. We do not know when Jesus will return. As a result we must be ready all of the time. We have been put in charge of carrying out God’s will here on earth, I pray that He finds me doing so when He returns.

    When I read about the three festivals here it struck me that they represent the three ways in which we should praise God. The first, the Passover, is a celebration of what God has done for us in the past, the ways in which His power has delivered us from suffering. The second, the Festival of Harvest, is to celebrate our faith that God is taking care of us in the present. The third, the Festival of the Ingathering (or Final Harvest), is to celebrate that God will take care of us in the future, that indeed, He has already provided for our future needs.
    The passage goes on to remind the Israelites, and us, that God will be with them, and us. We must not worship the gods of the nations, the society, around us. If we are loyal to God and worship only Him, He will be with us and overcome our enemies for us.

     I am trying something different. Previously, I have always placed my comments on the passage in the order Old Testament passage, New Testament passage, Psalm, Proverb. For the near future I am going to post them in the order in which I prepare the comments. This is likely to be the reverse of how I was doing it, but I foresee changing it up depending on what strikes me first. Please let me know what you think of this change.
     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.

     The proverb writer finishes his warning against seeking out a partner in adultery. Getting involved in an adulterous relationship will lead to disaster. I had not thought of this earlier, but one need only look at the news over the last few years to realize the truth of this.

     What a wonderful psalm of joy. It is a reminder that our sorrows are temporary, but the joy which God gives us is eternal. God will turn our mourning into joyful dancing.

     Jesus continued to talk about His return. He pointed out that no one, not even Himself, knows when that will happen. Only the Father knows. We do not know what day Jesus will return, so we must remain alert and doing His will. Jesus taught us to live as if He will return at any moment. My father taught me that, as a Christian, I should plan to be around for another hundred years, but live as if my next moment may be my last. I think that this is consistent with what Jesus was teaching here.

     God instituted three festivals throughout the year for the people of Israel. This reminds us of the importance of rituals and ceremonies in worshiping God and in creating a community. If we faithfully serve God, and form a community which faithfully serves God, He will bless us with health and well-being.