For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    It is foolish to come up with a sinful scheme. No matter how carefully you have thought it through, the consequences of such a scheme will include those you find unpleasant (at best).

    This psalm is a challenge to me. Is my life truly an example I would encourage people to follow? God has been my strength and protection, yet I have done less with my life than the gifts He has given me would allow. I was taught about God and by God from my earliest childhood. I have no excuse for not having done more to serve Him in my life. Nevertheless, I will praise God because He has done great things for me. I will strive to do more for Him as my life continues.

    Once again I am challenged to find a way to improve the amount of time I spend in prayer. Paul’s prayer for the Christians in Philippi was that their love would overflow ever more and that they would be filled with ever greater knowledge and understanding of God’s will. I am confident that he would pray the same thing for us today. I am also quite confident that there are two essential pieces to having his prayer fulfilled in our lives. The first is regular review of Scripture (I would recommend reading through the Bible on a regular basis, but for those whom that is a problem, listen to it read). The second, and the part where I am seeking God’s guidance on how to improve, is regular, disciplined prayer. I will request that those who read this pray that I find a way to improve my prayer discipline.
    Paul goes on to speak of those who were emboldened to preach the Gospel because of his imprisonment. It made him happy that such was happening. He acknowledged that some of those preaching the Gospel were doing so out of selfish ambition, this did not bother him all that much. Paul did not care what motives led someone to preach the Gospel, so long as the Gospel was preached. I am a strong proponent of that. I will go on to say that I do not care what motivates people to listen to the word of God preached, or to read the Bible. I have absolute confidence in the power of the Holy Spirit that when people hear or read the word of God it opens a door for the Holy Spirit to change their lives. Whether the motive of the person preaching, or the person hearing/reading is a good motive or a selfish one, the Holy Spirit has the ability to use the words of the Bible to transform people.
    This passage concludes by making a statement that should be at the heart of every Christian’s view about life. As long as I continue to live, I can serve Christ. However, if I die, I will go to be with Christ, which is even better. I will live for as long as God has more work for me to do on this earth, but dying will bring even greater joy. I am alive today because God has a purpose for me to fulfill in helping others serve Him, and I am glad for the opportunity. But death, whenever it comes, is something to be welcomed and I will do so when God so decrees. I will state now for those who care for me, when the day comes that God takes me home, do not grieve for me. Rejoice on that day for I will no longer be struggling against the troubles of this world.

    God does not desire that we put on the appearance of righteousness. Prayer and fasting in and of themselves accomplish nothing. Singing songs of praise and attending services on Sunday and other days of the week will not gain us merit with God. Humbling ourselves by doing penance is not going to excuse our actions if we have every intention of going back and repeating them.
    Rather God desires that we free those unjustly imprisoned, refuse to oppress those we have power over, share our food with the hungry, provide shelter for the homeless, clothe those who need clothing, take care of our relatives in need. When we spend our effort to provide food for the hungry and act on behalf of those who are oppressed, then our light will shine in the darkness and God will take care of us.
    Our country and our society do not experience troubles because God is unable to save us from those troubles nor because He does not hear our cries for help. Rather, we, as a people are cut off from God because of our sins. People do not care about being fair and honest. They merely want what they can get for themselves. People do not seek to gather wealth by producing things. Instead they attempt to game the system and profit from others’ activity. They refuse to turn to God for peace and think that they can reap the fruits of the just and good without doing those things themselves. God will only tolerate such behavior for so long before He steps in to bring judgement and enforce justice.

     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.

     Praying, fasting, reading the Bible, and going to Church are all good things, but they are not, in and of themselves, enough to please God. If we want to please God, we will not wrongfully imprison people, nor take part in their oppression. We will feed the hungry and help the needy. In order to please God we will dedicate the Sabbath to Him, not our own interests. If we give up evil ways and turn to doing good, God will save us from the coming turmoil. If we do not intervene for the oppressed, God will do so Himself, but we may not like the consequences.
     I will strive to work so that I may have the resources in order to help those in need. I need to work to deny my own pleasures to a greater extent so that I have to help those who need more. I ask that God put His Spirit upon me to direct me to do His will and not merely satisfy my own desires.

     Once more I am challenged by Paul’s prayer life. Here is yet another group of people who Paul prays for regularly. As I am reading through Paul’s writings I am struck by all of the people he prayed for on a regular basis. It indicates that he spent a lot more time in prayer than I do and that I need to spend more time in prayer. I, also, take note of what he prayed for them. He prayed that their love become ever more and be expressed with knowledge and insight. I realize that we need to strive for knowledge and insight, but not for their own sakes. I desire that I have greater knowledge and insight so that I can better express God’s love.
     Paul discusses how his imprisonment has inspired others to preach the Gospel. Some of them are doing so in an attempt upstage Paul and gain glory and honour for themselves. It does not matter to Paul what their motives are. The important thing is that Christ is being preached. While someone who preaches the Gospel from bad motives may discredit others who preach the Gospel, it is better that the Gospel be preached with faulty motives than not preached at all.
     Paul then states the one thing that should be at the center of every Christian’s thoughts: “to live is Christ and to die is gain.” I desire to live my life so as to bring honour to Christ. If I die, I will no longer face the struggles of this life but will go to be with Christ. Something to be desired with all of my heart. Yet if I live I can do more to serve Christ and help others to know and serve Him better. I will strive to do God’s will in everything for as long as I live, but I will not fear death because what comes after death is even better than the best this life has to offer.

     I definitely identify with this psalm. I will call on God for protection in my times of trouble. He has been with me since my birth and before. God has blessed me throughout my life as a result I praise Him daily. The next phrase is a challenge to me. I am an example to many. Unfortunately, I am not always a good example. Nevertheless, I will always turn to God when times are troubled and I will praise His name and His wondrous power. The NLT translates the psalmist as saying that he is not skilled with words. This reminds us that we must allow God to direct what we say, because no matter how skilled we are with words the Spirit will better know how to express God’s will to our listeners.

     Fools scheme and connive in order to commit sin. Those who are constantly mocking others make no friends. If you cannot stand up under pressure, you need to ask God for more strength.