For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 25:6-8

    Do not boast that you deserve great honour and try to insinuate yourself among the decision makers. It is better to wait for those in authority to request your input than to be humiliated when they tell you that you don’t matter. Do not rush to report events, make sure you really understand what happened first. Otherwise, you will look like a fool when someone else reports what really happened.

Psalm 81:1-16

    If we, as a people, follow God’s instructions and do as He desires, we will live lives of plenty and joy. Let us praise His holy Name for all He has done for us. If, on the other hand, we refuse to follow His instructions He will allow us to suffer the consequences we have chosen. The consequences of following our own stubborn thoughts, living according to our ideas of what is right are not ones we will like, but God will allow us to experience them if we insist.

1 Thessalonians 4-5:3

    Paul urged the Thessalonians to live to please God, even though he knew they were already doing so. He encouraged them, and us, to do so more and more each day. Let us focus on those things we do which please God, and do more of them each day, until there is no time left to do things which displease God. It is God’s will for us to be holy. We cannot be holy if we indulge our sinful desires with sexual immorality. Time and again Paul warns us against sexual sins and the importance of controlling our own bodies. It is important that we live in ways that are holy and honourable, not in the lustful passion which those who do not know God indulge in. Paul points out that we give in to our lustful passions we are wronging and/or taking advantage of someone else.
    As I am reading through the Bible I am coming to realize that while all sin separates us from God, there are two types of sin which cause problems beyond just the sin itself. Those two types of sin are sexual sins and greed in all of its manifestations.

Jeremiah 16:16-18:23

    I will fully agree with Jeremiah when he says,

O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed;
if you save me, I will be truly saved.
My praises are for you alone!
The corollary to that is that if God does not heal us, we will not be healed and if He does not save us, we will not be saved.
    God gives Jeremiah the metaphor of the potter with clay. There are two pieces to this metaphor, the personal and the corporate. God is shaping us into a form that only He understands. If, as He is shaping us, we take on a form contrary to His desire, He will crush us down into a formless ball and start over. There are limits to this metaphor, but it explains much of the suffering we experience as followers of God. This forming process holds true for both individuals and for nations.
    God gives a further example about how He treats nations, groups of people, if God announces that a certain nation will be destroyed for its sin, but the people of that nation renounce their sins and turn to God, God will withhold His judgement. On the other hand, if God has announced that He will strengthen and build up a nation, but the people of that nation turn to evil ways and refuse to follow God’s will, He will destroy that nation.
    I look at what is going on in the world today, and it seems to me that God is announcing His intention to destroy the nations of “Western Civilization”. But this passage gives me hope that it is not yet too late. If the people of those nations will turn from their sins, God will intervene and save them from the destruction their sins have set in motion.

     I cam across a website today as I worked on this devotional that touched me. While I think they could have made the video even better, it is a powerful video which captures, at least in part, the Christian message. I like the way they sum up who they are and what they are about: “It really is as simple as it appears. We are a small group of people humbled by the love of Jesus. We are not a church. We are not selling anything. We encourage you to tell as many people as possible. That’s it.” I, too, have been humbled by the love of Jesus.
     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 16:16-18:23

     This passage contains both a continuation of Jeremiah’s prophecy of doom and a prophecy of hope. The passage goes back and forth between the two. First God says through Jeremiah that the people of Judah cannot hope to hide from Him, He is sending judgment against them and it will find them. Then Jeremiah says that God is his refuge in a day of trouble. He then returns to talking about the coming doom. It is inscribed with an iron chisel. God’s anger burns like a fire that will burn forever.
     Jeremiah tells us that those who put their trust in humans are cursed. They are like shrubs in a salty desert. But blessed are those who put their trust in God. They are like a tree planted by the water. They will not fear when drought comes because their water supply is assured. In the middle of this passage is this phrase:

O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed;
if you save me, I will be truly saved.
My praises are for you alone!

Yes, that is my saying for today. Heal me Lord because then I will be truly healed.
     The prophet calls on the people of Jerusalem to keep the Sabbath. I do not know exactly what to make of this passage, but I am convicted by it. I chose last year when I read this passage to strive to make Sunday a day that I dedicate to God. I have striven, with mixed success, to avoid doing business on Sundays. As I read this passage today, I feel called to step it up another step. I feel called to dedicate one day a week, Sunday, to worship and fellowship with God.
     There is an analogy in this passage that sums up the dichotomy between doom and hope in Jeremiah’s prophecy. Jeremiah compares us to clay being formed by a potter. If the jar a potter is making does not come out as he intended, he will crush the clay and start over. In the same way, if God intended us for greatness and we refuse His commands, He will send us to destruction. But on the other hand, if God intended to send us to destruction and we turn to Him and honor His commands, He will send us to greatness. If we renounce our evil ways, God will bless us and rescue us from destruction.

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1 Thessalonians 4-5:3

     Paul wrote that we are to live lives pleasing to God. This means staying away from sexual sins. By staying away from sexual sin, we will learn to control our own bodies, which will allow us to live with holiness and honor. Holiness and honor are in opposition to the lustful passion which our society says is the human condition. Our society does not recognize how our lustful passions cause us to take advantage of one another in order to please ourselves at others expense. Paul instructs us to avoid doing this. Despite what our society proclaims, any time we indulge our sexual appetites outside of marriage (and perhaps sometimes even within marriage) we are treating those we are involved with as objects rather than as children of God.
     A second point which Paul touches on is how we face death. We do not need to grieve when our fellow believers die, because we have God’s promise that they will be raised again when Jesus returns. The day of Christ’s return will begin with a commanding shout. At that moment those who have died in Christ will rise to meet Him. Then those who remain alive will be caught up with them to meet Christ in the air. What a glorious day that will be. We do not know when it will happen. It will come about suddenly when no one is expecting it, so we should always be prepared for that day. There are two important points here. The first is that we need to consider every action as if we will need to make an accounting before God of that act before we have completed it. The second, and just as important, is that death is not something to be feared. Death is the end of our trials and tribulations on this earth and the beginning of our time spending every moment in the presence of God.

Psalm 81:1-16

     Sing praises to God, loudly so that everyone knows what you believe. In return for this God says that He will bear our burdens. If we turn to God, do as He asks, and praise His name He will provide for all of our needs. There is joy in praising God and recognizing before the world the things which He has done for me.

Proverbs 25:6-8

     The proverb warns against claiming honors for oneself. Honors which are given to one by others are more valuable than honors taken for oneself and having an honor which one took for oneself given to another is humiliating. In addition it tells us not to be in a rush to gain attention by telling our stories, it is better to wait for others to ask for what we know about something.