For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 24:5-6

    Those who act wisely will defeat those who rely solely on might. You will need wise guidance to gain victory in any contest of strength (from sporting events to war), seek many advisers before beginning the contest.

Psalm 69:1-18

    There has only been one time when I felt as utterly overwhelmed by life circumstances as the psalmist expresses here and even then I knew that I was not truly in floodwaters up to my neck. However, even now when God has made my life good, there is something here that speaks to me. I must acknowledge that God knows how foolish I am, and every one of my sins. I cannot hide my sins from God. I pray that God does not allow me to do anything that will cause shame to those who trust in Him. Let each and every one of us consider our actions so that we do not bring shame on others who trust in God. As I typed this I realized that there is a second reading to that phrase that is just as important…we should not feel shamed by the actions of those who are doing the Lord’s will (it is one thing to be shamed by someone who claims to serve God and does wrong, it is another to be shamed because someone is doing God’s will).

Ephesians 4:17-32

    In a way, everything Paul has written up to now in his letter to the Ephesians has been by way of introduction. In today’s passage he begins to get to the point. We are to stop living the way that unbelievers do. They are confused. They want to live righteous lives, but think they can do so while living for lustful pleasure and practicing all kinds of impurity. They think they can find righteousness while refusing to have anything to do with God. Those who follow Christ have learned that truth comes from Him. We cannot live righteously until we find God. In order to find God we must throw off our sinful, lustful nature and allow the Holy Spirit to make us new in our thoughts and attitudes. Paul then goes through a checklist which we can follow in order to allow that transformation to occur.

1. Stop telling lies

The first step to being transformed is to be honest with everyone: no more lies, no more half-truths, no more truths told in such a way so as to deceive.

2. Don’t let anger control us

Yes, we will still get angry, but we need to let the anger go. The sooner the better, but certainly before the end of the day. Our anger will allow us to justify doing wrong: “He did wrong to me, so I can do wrong to him.”

3. Work hard so that you can give to those in need.

Stop thinking that it is OK to live off of the productivity of others, or that it is charitable to take others wealth to help those in need.

4. Do NOT use foul or abusive language

Instead be careful to only say things which are helpful and build others up. I think I do a fair job on the “not” part. However, I have a long way to go on the “instead” part.

5. Do not bring sorrow to the Holy Spirit by the way you live.

To a large degree this follows from the previous four, but not entirely. Paul then gives us a two sided list: things not to do and things to do in order to not bring sorrow to the Holy Spirit.

And here is that two sided list;
Get rid of:

• bitterness
• rage
• anger
• harsh words
• slander
• all types of evil behavior

Instead:

• be kind to others
• be tenderhearted
• forgive one another

Isaiah 48:12-50:11

    Much of this passage is a Messianic prophecy which was fulfilled by Jesus. However, some aspects of it are both that and guidance for how we should live our lives. Each and every morning God has spoken to us. Have we listened? Let us not turn away or rebel. Let us offer our backs to those who beat us, because God will help us. If we are determined to do His will, we will not be disgraced.
    If we are walking in darkness without a sliver of light, let us trust and rely on God. He will guide us. The danger will arise if we try to create our own light in the darkness. That light will deceive us and lead us to torment. Let us trust in God and look for the light from Him.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 24:5-6

    Strength and power applied without wisdom and knowledge will fail. Seek advice before entering into the contest. You will not prevail unless you weigh the advice from many advisers.

Psalm 69:1-18

    Let us follow the psalmist’s example. When we are overwhelmed by the troubles of this life and are sinking fast, let us continue to cry out to God. Even when I am about to drown in my troubles I will not lose faith in God. Even then I will remain faithful trusting Him to rescue me.

Ephesians 4:17-32

    Paul warns us against living our lives by the standards of those who have closed their minds to God and hardened their hearts against Him. They live their lives for lustful pleasure and give themselves over to all sorts of impurities. Let us put off our old selves with their deceitful desires, desires which promise more pleasure than they deliver. Instead, let us be made new in our minds and our attitudes so that we may become like Christ. Every time I hear or say what I just wrote above the question comes to me, “But how do I do that?”
    Fortunately, Paul offers an answer to that question as well. If we follow his answer with discipline it will allow us to be transformed. Step one, resolve to avoid falsehood as an easy out and only speak truth to our neighbors (remembering what Jesus told us about who are neighbor is). Step two, control our anger, do not allow our anger to cause us to sin. No matter how justified our anger, it does not justify doing that which is wrong. One part of that is letting our anger go and move on. We need to let our anger go at the end of the day, if not sooner. The longer we hold onto our anger, no matter how justified, the more likely we are to sin because of its influence on our thinking. Holding onto our anger gives the devil a foothold to influence our actions, let us not yield him any advantages.
    Step three, if we have been living by stealing from others (and I think he means that in the most expansive meaning of “stealing”), let us stop doing so and start doing something useful so that we have excess to give to those in need. Step four, stop using foul and abusive language. Instead let us choose our words carefully so that they are helpful and encourage everyone who hears them to improve themselves.
    The final step is twofold. Let go of bitterness and anger (which really goes back to step two), and all other evil behavior. Instead, let us be kind and tenderhearted, forgiving those who have sinned against us. Christ forgave us for our sins, we cannot be like Him unless we are willing to forgive those we believe have sinned against us. We cannot claim to have forgiven someone if we remain bitter and angry about what they have done.

Isaiah 48:12-50:11

    God has declared that when the time is right, He will make His salvation known to us. He will lift people up and draw them to Him from far away lands. I read this as both a promise to the Church and to the people of Israel. In this passage, Isaiah predicts the coming of Christ as God’s servant, but he also predicts the return of the people of Israel to the land God promised Abraham’s descendants. When I read this part:

See, I will give a signal to the godless nations.
They will carry your little sons back to you in their arms;
they will bring your daughters on their shoulders.

It made me think of when the modern state of Israel was created following WWII. Countries from all over the world helped Jews go to the newly established state of Israel.
    At the end of the passage there is this:

Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys his servant?
If you are walking in darkness,
without a ray of light,
trust in the Lord
and rely on your God.

Even if we cannot see the way in front of us, we can rely on God and He will direct us. It is better to be in darkness and trust in God than to make our own false light and rely on ourselves.

     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.

Isaiah 48:12-50:11

     The prophet tells us that God, and God alone, predicted that Cyrus would rise and overthrow the Babylonians. No one speaking on behalf of other gods had made such a prediction. Isaiah then goes on to report that God tells us that He gives us His commands because they are what is good for us. If we, as a people, listen to God’s commands, we will have peace. And even if we only obey God’s commands on an individual basis we will be better off than if we do not. God’s commands are for our own good, just as the rules laid down for a child by good parents are for the child’s own good. Yet even though we have disobeyed His commands, like a loving parent, God will extend His hand and rescue us from the trouble our disobedience has brought us.

***
     This passage contains an important lesson for us. God’s commands are not arbitrary rules designed to prove that we will do as He instructs.Rather they are there for our own good. God does not want us to be hurt, so He tells us not to do the things which will cause us harm. He wants us to be happy, so He tells us to do the things which will bring us true joy.
***
     Isaiah then proceeds to what has been quoted in the New Testament as a prophecy concerning Jesus. In that light, I find a statement in the middle of it interesting. Isaiah puts a statement in the mouth of the one who is prophesied to come. That statement says that His work seems so useless, that He spent His strength for nothing. God replies to this statement by telling Him that not only will He restore the people of Israel to God, He will bring God’s salvation to the ends of the earth.
***
     When those who do not know God look at the crucifixion of Christ, it looks like failure. So too does many of the things which God calls us to do. Sometimes when we do what God has called us to do, it looks like failure. But that is because we stop looking at what He is doing too soon. If we stop reading the Gospels at Jesus’ death, it looks like He failed. But that is not the end of the story. There is still the resurrection to come. That is how it is in our lives, we may seem to have failed, but God tells us that the resurrection is going to come. He will bring about victory from what appears to all as complete defeat.
***
     When conditions were right, God sent His Redeemer to redeem His people. He will free the captives and give sight to the blind. He will make level roads in the mountains and cause it to rain in the desert. He will bring the people He has chosen to Himself from the ends of the earth. God asks about rescuing captives from a tyrant and taking plunder from a warrior (the implication being that the captives will be killed and the plunder destroyed before they will be released). However, God tells us that He will free the captives and give them the plunder taken by the warriors.
     Isaiah continues with what is certainly a Messianic prophecy, but I believe it is also a guide for our instruction. He tells us that he did not turn away from God’s commands. He was willing to be beaten and tortured to do as God instructed. He refused to hide from mockery. He was not put to shame because the Lord was his help. Now will bring charges against him because God stands as his advocate, his defense attorney. If we are walking in darkness and trust the Lord, He will give us light. But those who think that their own insight will get them through without needing to turn to God will stumble and fall.

Ephesians 4:17-32

     Paul tells us that we must no longer live as unbelievers do, a lifestyle that is the product of futility and ignorance. They live for lustful pleasure, indulge in impurity, and are full of greed because they have refused to accept God’s instructions. However, this is not the life which we have learned to live since we accepted Christ and His truth. Let us throw off our old lives of deceitful desires which corrupt our entire being. Rather let us put on new selves as the Spirit transforms our minds into the likeness of the righteousness and holiness of God.
     This means that we are to give up lies, deception, and falsehoods. We cannot allow our anger, no matter how justified, to control our actions. Those who had been stealing are to stop and take up productive work so that they have to share with those in need. We need to stop using foul and abusive language. Instead everything we say should be good and helpful so that those who hear us will be encouraged. Let us not bring sorrow to the Spirit in any way by the way we live.

***
     Some time back I realized that my non-Christian friends tend to commit the sins which they do because they are attempting to distract themselves from the darkness and depression inherent in their world view. There is a certain emptiness to every non-Christian philosophy I have examined. For one reason or another, people have chosen to reject Christianity, which leaves them with no choice but one of these empty philosophies. As a result they spend much of their time trying to find ways to avoid looking into that emptiness.
     As a Christian, we need to acknowledge the value of being productive in service to God. It is not enough to not tell lies, we must avoid being deceitful by selectively telling the truth. I cannot let anger control my actions, even when I believe that I have been wronged. Instead I need to imitate God, who forgave me even though He had much greater reason to be angry with me than I have with any person I have met. The last tow verses of today’s passage sum it all up:

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Psalm 69:1-18

     The psalmist cries out to God for rescue. He is exhausted from calling for God’s help. Yet, he still has faith that God will come to his aid. He admits that he is a sinner and that his sins are known to God. His first request is that his actions and troubles do not bring shame to those who trust in God. He has been mocked and ridiculed for his efforts to do God’s will. Nevertheless, he has faith that God will come to his aid.

***
     The psalmist expresses a desire that his own failings and shortcomings not reflect poorly on others who are striving to do the Lord’s will. I, also, will strive to make it clear that my failings are despite my faith, not because of it.

Proverbs 24:5-6

     Wisdom and knowledge allow one to make the best use of one’s strength. Someone who wisely deploys their forces will defeat a stronger opponent who does not do likewise. Knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the contest will give you an advantage over an uninformed opponent.