For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    It is to God’s glory that the way the world works is not always obvious or apparent. It is to a ruler’s glory to seek answers to how the world works. Just as a silver smith removes impurities from silver before trying to make something with it, so a ruler should eliminate the wicked from his administration before he tries to govern.

    I love how the NLT translates this psalm. The psalmist asks God how long He will be angry with His people and why He is breaking down their protections? Yet it is clear he knows the answer to the second part. The psalmist again and again in this psalm asks God to turn us to Him again. It is such a great way to sum up the Gospel message. We will not be saved until God turns us to Him. It is by God’s power that we realize our sinfulness. It is by God’s power that we recognize our need for Him. And it is by God’s power, and His power alone, that we turn to Him and accept His salvation.

    I do not get a theme out of today’s passage, rather I see a couple of points worth noting. Following up on yesterday’s theme about how to preach the Gospel, Paul tells us that he pleaded with, urged, and encouraged the Thessalonians to live lives worthy of God. We should take a similar approach with our friends. Let us plead with and urge those who have not yet accepted Christ to do so. Let us encourage those who have come to know the Lord to live ever more faithful lives.
    Paul reminds us that there are those who will strive to keep us from preaching the Gospel to those who do not already believe. They will claim that we should do the good things we do because we follow Christ without mentioning the reasons we do them. They will tell us that we could help more people and better if we would just help them with their problems and not teach them to change their lives so as to avoid those problems in the first place. The final thing I see in this passage is a reminder about the importance of prayer. Let us follow Paul’s example and pray night and day.

    Those who should have been warning the people of Judah about the coming troubles, their religious and secular leaders, were telling them that all was well: that their foreign policy was a success and peace had arrived; that their domestic policy was a success and prosperity was around the corner. God told Jeremiah that instead of these things, war and famine were coming to the land. God would no longer listen to prayers for the people of Judah. He was going to send destroyers against them, war, disease, and wild animals, to teach them the error of their ways. Have we reached that point today? The point where no intervention can deflect the coming judgement? I do not believe we are there yet, but we are getting close. We need to call the people to turn to God before it is too late to turn His judgement aside.
    There is another theme in this passage. Jeremiah is being persecuted for his faithful relating of God’s message. God promises that He will protect Jeremiah from his enemies, from those who seek his death. Even in the face of the coming destruction, God tells Jeremiah that He will protect him. Further God promises to do the same for all who turn to Him and speak His words to those rushing to destruction.

     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.

     God tells Jeremiah that he is no longer to pray for the people, that God will no longer listen to prayers for mercy on them. Jeremiah replies that their leaders and prophets are telling them that all is well, that they will have peace. God tells him that the prophets are liars, death and destruction are just around the corner. When I read this I am reminded of the political leaders today who say that all is well, there will be peace, the economy is recovering. And when I read this passage it frightens me. However, despite the doom and gloom of this passage there exists some hope within it. Further along in the passage God tells Jeremiah that if he returns to Him, if he repents, God will restore him and save him from the hands of the wicked.
     God’s judgment is coming upon those who refuse to listen to God’s commands. The inevitable results of evil are about to descend upon the people. But God is still faithful to those who are faithful to Him. Destruction and trouble is coming for those who have chosen to abandon God’s desires, but God will protect those who have remained faithful.

     As I read this passage today I feel convicted by what Paul says in two ways. First, he speaks of working night and day so as to have the resources to meet his own needs and not be a burden on anyone as he preached the Gospel. In addition to working to maintain his needs, Paul strove to be devout, honest, and faultless in his actions toward those who listened to his words. This first part sums up how we should strive to be among those we are striving to reach for the Gospel.
     The second way in which I am convicted by today’s passage is how I view the Gospel message. The Gospel message is the word of God. It is a philosophy of life given by the Creator of the universe. It is not a mere invention of human thought. It is not beneficial to argue it out on the same level as human philosophies. There will be elements of the Gospel that are beyond the ability of our finite minds to reconcile. I will stand firm in the Lord and work at living a life of faith and love.
     Once more Paul writes about prayer. “Night and day we pray earnestly for you,…” I am striving to make prayer a more integral part of my life. Paul prayed that God would bring him to them soon. He also prayed that God would cause their love for one another and for everyone grow and overflow. There is a connection between our love for others and our dedication to praying for and about them.

     It is only when God sends his Spirit upon us that we will turn to Him. It is only when we turn to Him that we can and will be saved. Oh Lord God, send your Spirit upon us and turn us back to you! Change our hearts so that we desire to do Your will!

     Just as the impurities must be removed from silver before a silversmith can use it to make something, so must wicked people be removed from government offices before the government can govern legitimately.