Tag Archives: Psalm 105

Daily Bible Study

November 5, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 27:3

    The heaviest burden you will ever bear is resentment. So, put it down now, or better yet, never pick it up. Resenting others for what they have done, or what they have, only wears you down. Forgive people for the wrongs you perceive them to have done (whether to yourself or others) and turn that burden over to God. If they are truly guilty of wrongdoing, He will repay them. And if your perception was incorrect and they did no wrong, you have been carrying that burden for no good purpose.

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Psalm 105:37-45

    The psalmist concludes his psalm about how God has a plan for all things by noting that after their suffering God brought the people of Israel out of Egypt with great wealth. He led them through the desert to the land He had promised them so that they could worship Him and follow His commands. He will do likewise for us.

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Hebrews 7:1-17

    The writer revisits what it means that Jesus was a priest in the order of Melchizedek. He points out that we have no record of Melchizedek’s parents, nor of his death. Metaphorically, Melchizedek is eternal. This means that a priest of the “order of Melchizedek” is eternal. Jesus is indeed an eternal priest. Further, the writer points out that Aaron metaphorically tithed to Melchizedek, meaning that Melchizedek was greater than Aaron. This means that Jesus is a high priest who is greater than the high priests of the order of Aaron. Finally, the writer tells us that the very fact that God created an order of priests other than those of the order of Aaron indicates that the law established through Aaron was inadequate to God’s purposes. The whole point of this is that Jesus brought about a change to the law which God commands man to follow in order to receive salvation.

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Ezekiel 12:1-14:11

    In this passage Ezekiel condemns those who prophecy out of their own imagination. I think that this passage is truly a warning for many leaders in the Church today. God will bring judgment on those who encourage the sins of our society rather than calling on people to turn from their sins. We, as Christians, should be striving to build up the wall of righteousness which stands between our nation and destruction. Instead of repairing the wall by carefully putting back the stones of righteousness, many are covering the holes with fabric and painting the fabric with whitewash to give it a semblance of righteousness. Others are warning the righteous against things which are not wrong and telling the wicked that their evil is righteous. God will strike them all down.

Daily Bible Study

November 4, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 27:1-2

    Do not brag and boast about what you are going to do in the future, or about the good things which are going to come your way. None of us knows what tomorrow holds. So, it is best to qualify our plans with “if God wills” (even if only in our minds).
    Rather than tell everyone how wonderful we are, let us wait for others to praise us. Such praise will carry more weight and have more meaning.

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Psalm 105:16-36

    The psalmist shows us how God laid His plans and brought them to pass. Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt, yet rose to power in the land in order to provide a sanctuary for his family in time of need. Then after the Egyptians turned on the people of Israel God sent Moses and Aaron and used His great power to bring them out of Egypt and into the land of Canaan. Let us always remember that no matter how bad things are today, they are part of God’s plan to do great things for and through us.

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Hebrews 6

    Today’s passage contains a teaching which I think takes some careful thought. The writer warns us that those who have experienced the power of the Holy Spirit within themselves who later turn away from God will never turn back to him once more. He tells us that it is impossible to bring such people back to repentance once they have turned from God. I am torn about what this means for us. On the one hand, I am convinced that we should never give up on those we know who have turned away from God. On the other hand, we should not waste energy on those who will never appreciate our effort.
    I have rewritten the previous sentence five time because it keeps coming out harsher than I think is appropriate. We should never forget what Jesus said, “With God all things are possible.” Yet, we must recognize that when people have chosen to walk away from God, He will let them go. God will honor our decisions, even when it breaks His heart.

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Ezekiel 10-11

    The leaders in Jerusalem were telling the people that Jerusalem was safe, that it was time to invest in the future. The leaders were claiming that all was rosy despite the people who had been taken into exile. They claimed that those taken into exile were far from God and that God had given their land to those who remained. In many ways this reminds me of the leaders today who are telling us how wonderful things are, when wages have been falling, along with productivity. They keep telling us to save less and consume more. God cast judgment on the leaders in the Jerusalem of Ezekiel’s day for the injustice they performed against the people of Jerusalem. He will bring judgment against the leaders doing the same today.

Daily Bible Study

November 3, 2015 Bible Study — Training Ourselves to Distinguish Good From Evil

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 26:28

    Liars hate the people to whom they lie. They either lie to them because they hate them or come to hate them because they have lied to them.

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Psalm 105:1-15

    I will give thanks to God for all of the wonderful things He has done. I will proclaim His greatness to all of the earth. His justice will be seen throughout the land. He promised the people of Israel that He would give them the land of Canaan before they were a people. He has kept that promise throughout history and once again the land of Canaan belongs to the people of Israel, the descendants of Jacob.

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Hebrews 5

    Jesus was called by God to be our High Priest. It is not a position which one can take for oneself, one must be called to such a position. A High Priest is one who can function as an intermediary between God and man. Jesus learned obedience while He was here on earth, being obedient to the point of suffering and death. He is able to deal with us, wayward and ignorant as we are, because He experienced the same temptations which we did. Jesus is a High Priest of the order of Melchizedek. The writer goes into more detail about what that means later.
    Then the writer tells us that it is time, and past time, that we started teaching others about the basics of the Gospel. Unfortunately, all too many of us need to be taught again and again the basic difference between right and wrong. We have become addicted to spiritual teachings which are milk for spiritual babies, unwilling to start eating solid foods as adults do. IT is worth noting that the writer points out that it is through training that we learn to recognize the difference between right and wrong. We do not just come to that understanding by chance, or through the process of living. It is only through training that we truly learn the difference between right and wrong. We must work hard at training ourselves to know the difference between good and evil.

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Ezekiel 7-9

    Every time I read this, I wonder if this prophecy applies today. Has the end arrived? Is the future we have to look forward to disaster after disaster? Is God about to call the people of earth to account for all of their detestable sins? I look at the world around me and think that it must be close. I read today about a Bishop in Stockholm saying that a church should remove all signs of the cross and put down signs showing Muslims the direction to Mecca so that they could worship there. This reminds me of what Ezekiel writes here of the leaders of Jerusalem worshiping idols in the Temple. This is not the only, nor the first, of the signs of those who proclaim themselves Christians turning from God and worshiping idols. It is not that I think there is something sacred about the symbol of a cross in a church building. It is the idea of removing symbols about our worship of God so that others can worship an idol.
    For all of the sorrow and fear conveyed in this passage there is a glimmer of hope, there is reason to hold to our faith. When Ezekiel witnessed those whom God summoned to bring suffering, he also witnessed another. God instructed that other to walk through the city and mark the forehead of everyone who grieved and wept over the detestable things being done. When God let loose His agents of judgment He instructed them to kill everyone, except for those who had just been marked. God’s judgment is coming and I weep for those who will suffer as a result, but, on the other hand, they have been given ample opportunity to turn from their sins, to reject the sins of our nation.

Daily Bible Study

May 07, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I hope those of you who regularly read my blog are not getting tired of pictures of flowers and of Magrat (my cat), because there are a lot more to come.

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Proverbs 14:28-29

    I have noticed that the proverb writer spends a lot of time telling us that easily losing one’s temper is a sign of foolishness. Those who are wise and understand how the world works control their anger. He does not tell us that the wise do not become angry, just that they do not let their anger control them. We would do well to spend a similar amount of time teaching (and learning) this lesson.

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Psalm 105:37-45

    Today we reach the end of this psalm which tells us about how God always has a plan, a plan that comes to fruition. God used the difficulties and trials described in yesterday’s psalm to mold and shape the children of Israel. Then when the shaping was done He revealed His plans and brought them out of bondage with wealth. Let us remember that God has a plan for us that will end with our joy, even if we are going through a difficult and painful shaping process right now.

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John 5:1-23

    When Jesus came upon the crowds of sick people by the pool of Bethesda, He only healed one of them. Why did He pick this man out of the crowd? We don’t know, but it is worth noting that Jesus did not heal all of the sick who were by the pool that day. It is worth noting that the religious leaders were more concerned with the fact that Jesus told the man to carry his mat on the Sabbath than with the fact that the man was healed. How often do we get so caught up in the “rules” of righteous behavior that we forget what those rules are about?

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1 Samuel 1-2:21

    When I covered the beginning of the Book of Ruth I commented that people often denigrate Orpah but that they were wrong to do so. Here, people rarely mention Peninnah, yet she is someone worthy of criticism. She taunted and made fun of Hannah because she had not had children. Today, we would call this bullying (although I would consider that to be a misuse of the word “bullying”). The only mention I have ever heard about Peninnah is as an example of why multiple wives is a bad idea, or to criticize Elkanah for not stopping her mistreatment of Hannah. Those are both valid lessons from the passage.
    That being said, I think there is value is comparing and contrasting Peninnah and Hannah. Peninnah was blessed by God with children, but rather than feel pity for Hannah who was not so blessed, she berated and belittled her. Hannah, rather than strike back, or ask their husband to punish Peninnah, turned to God and begged Him for a son. When God granted her request Hannah dedicated her son to serving God. We know nothing about how Peninnah’s children turned out, but we do know how Samuel turned out. It is important to note that Eli had already raised two sons, both of whom turned out badly. That means we need to look elsewhere to find out why Samuel turned out so well (although, we should not overlook the possibility that Eli had learned something from his earlier failures). We know that Hannah was a devoted mother to Samuel and I would give her most of the credit for how Samuel turned out.

Daily Bible Study

May 6, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 14:26-27

    This proverb reminds us that fear of the Lord leads us to act in ways which keep us safe. Those who fear the Lord avoid doing things which lead to death.

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Psalm 105:16-36

    The psalmist points out that God’s plan does not always look glorious while it is unfolding. It certainly did not look glorious to Joseph when he was sold into slavery, nor later when he was thrown into prison for something he did not do. Nevertheless, God had a clear plan that worked out to Joseph’s benefit. It is worth thinking about how things might have turned out if Joseph had not remained faithful through the difficult times. I don’t know what would have happened, but I am convinced that God’s plan for the descendants of Israel still would have worked out. Joseph, however, would not have ended up in such an exalted position.

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John 4:43-54

    I cannot help but feel for the father in this story. His son was dying and there was nothing he could do, except ask Jesus for a miracle. I am not sure I can truly identify with how he felt, how completely powerless. It was his job to take care of and protect his child. He begged Jesus to come with him and heal his son. Jesus told him to go home, his son would live. The way Jesus said this was almost dismissive, almost, “Go away. Leave me alone.” Nevertheless, the father believed and returned home. The man had faith, and acted on that faith, even though Jesus did not give him any “warm, fuzzies”.
    There is a lesson for us from the other side. Jesus was having a bad day. He was tired and frustrated. He was feeling put upon. Nevertheless, He recognized this father’s pain and gave him what he truly desired, even if He did not soothe his feelings in the process. Sometimes, it is enough to meet people’s needs, even if we are a little prickly while doing so.

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Ruth 2-4:22

    This part of the Book of Ruth is a true love story. As a man it is quite clear to me that Boaz asked his foreman about Ruth because he thought she was attractive. Yet there are hints that he would have behaved similarly if he had not found her attractive, just with a less personal touch. On the other side, there are hints at the beginning of today’s passage that Naomi and Ruth could have continued to live on the assistance provided by Naomi’s friends and relatives. Yet Ruth was not willing to laze around and live on other people’s largess. She chose to work as, and where, she could.
    As I said, this is a true love story. But it is not a story of starry-eyed lovers. Boaz took the time to establish that Ruth was more than just a pretty face. Ruth took the time to discover that Boaz was more than just a meal ticket. This is a love story we would do well to encourage young people to emulate.

Daily Bible Study

May 5, 2015 Bible Study — Your God Will Be My God

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I ask that those who are regular readers of this site please visit both Bible Gateway (it is a great resource for whenever you need to look up Scripture) and One Year Bible Online. The people who run both sites do great work.

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Proverbs 14:25

    We see the truth of this proverb in the riots which have been sweeping the nation. At least some of these riots were caused by false statements made by those who witnessed the events, or claimed to have witnessed the events. The harm which these riots have brought to their neighborhoods makes those making false statements traitors.

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Psalm 105:1-15

    I will give thanks to the Lord. I do not know how to express all that this psalm says to me (I find myself saying something like that about a lot of the psalms). That being said, verse 4 stands out to me today as good and wise advice:

Search for the Lord and for his strength;
continually seek him.

I will take this advice and do my best to follow it.

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John 4:4-42

    I do not believe I have heard anyone comment on the fact that the Samaritan woman, a woman who had been married five times and was living with a man to whom she was not married, asked Jesus a question about doctrine. What is interesting about this is the fact that we often assume that someone who lives a sinful lifestyle like this woman’s has no interest in religious questions. Not only did she ask Jesus a religious question, but she asked Him one which very few religious teachers addressed. They just assumed the answer and argued over other points.
    Jesus first pointed out that the Jews were right about the proper place to worship, but, indirectly, were wrong to exclude the Samaritans because they worshiped elsewhere. More importantly, Jesus made the point that going forward the place of worship would be less important that the mindset of the worshiper (“mindset” does not capture what I want to say here, but I cannot think of a better word). In His answer to the Samaritan woman, Jesus addressed what concerned her on religious matters, not what He thought was important. This is an important lesson to us when we teach and preach to unbelievers. Let us address their concerns, not what we think they need to hear.

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Judges 21:1-25

    After the Israelites had almost destroyed the tribe of Benjamin they felt bad for what they had done. They sought a solution to the problem they had created and they found one. In describing this situation the author does not condone their actions. This whole terrible episode is recounted to remind us of what goes wrong when “all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” There is an absolute standard of right and wrong. This account of what happened to the Levite’s concubine and Israel’s war against Benjamin shows how tragically wrong things will go when people stop trying to align themselves with that absolute standard, when people start to believe that what is right may be different for different people.

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Ruth 1:1-22

    Often times when discussing this passage people condemn Orpah for her actions. When they do this they are contrasting her actions to those of Ruth, which they rightly praise. However, doing so actually belittles Ruth’s action in this passage. What makes Ruth’s action heroic is the fact that it would have been perfectly acceptable for her to do the same as Orpah did. Naomi was returning to her people, where she could expect someone to take pity on her and care for their unfortunate elderly relative. Ruth would be a stranger with no means of support and no one who anyone would feel sentimental reason to aid.
    That being said, I want to point out that Ruth’s statement to Naomi tells us a lot about Naomi. What kind of person had Naomi been that Ruth would say to her, “Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God?” Do we live a life which causes those with whom we interact to say, “Your God will be my God?”

Daily Bible Study

November 5, 2014 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have been convicted to seek to develop a disciplined prayer life. It is still a work in progress. Please pray for me, that the Holy Spirit may show me how to pray in a disciplined manner.

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Proverbs 27:3

    It is harder to bear up under the resentment triggered by the foolish things people say and do than under a weight of stone or sand. Give careful thought to what you say or do so that you do not foolishly provoke others to resentment and anger.
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Psalm 105:37-45

    God shows His power in wonderful and marvelous ways so that we will honour Him and follow His commands. God does not do these things because we follow His commands. He does them so that we will follow His commands. Christ did not die for our sins because we were righteous. He died for our sins in order to make us righteous. Thus it is with all of God’s great deeds.

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Hebrews 7:1-17

    Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek. As the author here points out, Melchizedek means “king of justice”. In addition, Melchizedek was king of Salem, and Salem means “peace”. This connection reinforces what we read in other places where we are told that Jesus is the King of Justice and King of Peace. One thing the author does not point out is that Salem was the city we now know as Jerusalem, so Jesus was also King of Jerusalem (which also follows from His being the descendant of David).
    The take away from all of this is that the priesthood of Aaron has been superseded. The priesthood of Aaron interacted with God on behalf of the people. Under that structure, the high priest approached God and made offerings on behalf of himself and the people. But even after the high priest had made his offerings, the people still needed to go through the priests in order to approach God. However, under the new priesthood, our High Priest has made offering on our behalf once and we can now approach God with only Jesus as our intermediary.

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Ezekiel 12-14:11

    Ezekiel speaks out against prophets and religious leaders who, rather than call on people to give up their sins and turn to God, tell the people that all will be well. He warns against encouraging people to make cosmetic changes to their lives when what they need is fundamental transformation. It is not enough for us to show the appearance of righteousness, we must live righteous lives, doing what we can to help the impoverished and oppressed. Going to Church on Sunday is just not going to cut it. God is calling us to do more than that. We need to live our lives each day to bring healing to those around us who are suffering.
    Further, Ezekiel speaks out against those prophets who offer We must also call others to make genuine changes in their lives. It is not enough to offer them “charms” and rituals for them to follow. We must call people to turn from the sin which is causing their suffering. God is bringing judgement against those who do not turn from their sin. He is also going to bring judgement against us if we tell the sinners that they can avoid the judgement by making cosmetic changes when what they need is the fundamental transformation of accepting Jesus and the Holy Spirit into their lives.

Daily Bible Study

November 4, 2014 Bible Study — What Should Every New Believer Be Taught?

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have been convicted to seek to develop a disciplined prayer life. It is still a work in progress. Please pray for me, that the Holy Spirit may show me how to pray in a disciplined manner.

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Proverbs 27:1-2

    Always keep in mind that things may occur to change your plans for the future. Do not brag about what you will do because something may happen that will cause you to be unable to do what you planned, or to make it something you would regret.
    Do not brag about how good are skillful you are. If you are truly as good or skilled as you think you are, others will be quick to tell people about it.

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Psalm 105:16-36

    The psalmist recounts how God arranged things so that the people of Israel became a separate people who were dedicated to Him. If we look at history we can see other times where events were arranged so as to bring God’s will about. Events happened so that nations rose to power at just the right time to bring about God’s will. People made decisions so that they, or someone else, ended up at the right place at the right time. If we look at our lives, and the events that happened in them, we can see how they all were arranged so that we would end up where God wanted us. Let us praise God for what He has done for us in the past and serve Him in the place where He has put us now.

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Hebrews 6:1-20

    In yesterday’s passage the writer told us that as we mature in Christ we need to move on from basic, introductory spiritual teaching. In today’s passage he writes about what those are, what things we should teach to new believers. First off, in order to be believers one needs to repent of evil deeds (repent means to both feel remorse and change our behavior) and place faith in God. Additionally, we should be sure to teach new believers about baptisms (interestingly, this suggests that there is a place for baptism as more than just an initiation into the Body of Christ), laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgement. Today was the first time I realized that this passage gave us a guideline on what should be taught to every new believer.
    The writer then goes on to more advanced spiritual teaching. He tells us that those who have once experienced the power of the Holy Spirit, then turn away from God, can never be brought back to repentance. I have always found this passage hard to fully comprehend. I know some people about whom this passage seems to apply. I know some people who were once filled with the Spirit who have since rejected God that when I look at their attitudes I can not imagine them ever seeking God again. On the other hand, I know people who are today dedicated to serving God and are bearing the fruit of the Spirit in abundance, who had accepted Christ as a teen, turned away from God in their 20s, and returned once more to Him. Sometimes I think I can see how these two groups differ, but other times I am unsure. Nevertheless, this passage is an important warning to us.

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Ezekiel 10-11:25

    Ezekiel prophesied against a group of men who were leaders of the people of Jerusalem. I know I am bringing my own biases to this passage, but I still think there is truth in what I am about to say. The leaders whom Ezekiel prophesied against were men who were telling the people that things were going well, and everyone was safe, as disaster was about to strike. These were men who claimed to be working on behalf of the people while profiting from the suffering the people were experiencing. Those leaders who tell the people that everything will be all right, when not only will everything be all right, but those very leaders will be among the reasons it is not all right, will face God’s judgement.

Daily Bible Study

November 3, 2014 Bible Study — Are We Ready For Solid Food?

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have been convicted to seek to develop a disciplined prayer life. It is still a work in progress. Please pray for me, that the Holy Spirit may show me how to pray in a disciplined manner.

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Proverbs 26:28

    Lying will hurt others, and no matter what else you say, you will never convince them that you do not hate them. Flattering someone may cause them to try things they do not have what it takes to accomplish, leading them into all sorts of trouble.

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Psalm 105:1-15

    Give thanks to the Lord, let the whole world know what He has done. Search for the Lord, continually seek Him (not just some times, all the time). I love this psalm. It gives me joy to read. But it is also a challenge. Do I let everyone I meet know what God has done for me? Do I tell them about the things I have seen Him do in the world around me? The answer, unfortunately, is that I do not tell everyone I meet those things. And part of the reason I do not do so is because I do not continually seek Him. Oh, I seek the Lord, but then I get distracted and forget about Him while I pursue other things. Oh God, give me the discipline to seek You and Your will all of the time!

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Hebrews 5:1-14

    This passage talks about how no one becomes high priest simply by choosing it themselves. In order to become high priest one must be chosen by God. Jesus did not choose to become our high priest, a priest in the order of Melchizedek. I think there is a lesson here for how we choose all types of Church leadership. We should not choose our Church leaders from those who have chosen to be Church leaders. Those among us who have been chosen by God and the Church for leadership positions should choose to accept such a calling.
    The writer talks about how his readers are not ready for solid food spiritual teaching. He says that they are like infants who still need milk, they are not yet ready to move beyond the most basic of spiritual teaching. There comes a time when we need to move on from the basic spiritual teaching that we give those who are new to Christian faith. In order to do so we must train ourselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong. I will use another metaphor here to explain what I think the author is saying. Just as an infant needs to train its muscles by pushing itself up to all fours, then by crawling, and then by standing helped by an adult, or by holding onto a solid object, so to must we train ourselves in spiritual knowledge by using what we have learned. Until we develop our ability to use what we have already learned, we cannot learn more. And why do infants struggle to master the abilities in order to learn to walk? They do so because they are encouraged both by seeing adults and older children doing so, and by the positive reinforcement those adults and older children give them as they master the steps in learning to do so. Our congregations should be structured in the same way, with believers at different levels of spiritual maturity encouraging those less mature in the faith to develop.

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Ezekiel 7-9:11

    God gave Ezekiel a message for those remaining in Judah and Jerusalem telling them that the end was approaching, that the coming disaster was no longer avoidable. Their wickedness and pride and born its full flower and the time had come when judgement would fall. It was too late to avoid judgement. There comes a time for each and everyone of us, and for each and every society, when it is too late to repent of our sins and turn from our sins. If we have not turned from our sins before that time arrives, it will be too late to avoid the judgement and disaster that are coming.
    Then God took Ezekiel to show him why the judgement that was coming on Jerusalem was no longer avoidable (the language suggests to me that Ezekiel was reluctant to witness these things, but was given no choice in the matter). He was shown how the people were worshiping an idol where they should be worshiping God. Then he was shown how the leaders (I get the impression that this group was composed of both religious and secular leaders) were worshiping idols so despicable that they could not do so openly, even among a people who would openly worship other idols. Then Ezekiel is shown women partaking in a pagan worship ritual in the Temple gates. Finally he was shown men in front of the altar to God with their backs to the altar worshiping the sun. All of these incidents indicate people not just worshiping idols but doing so as part of what they would portray as worship of God. In what ways are we, or the society around us, worshiping idols in the name of worshiping God?

Daily Bible Study

May 7, 2014 Bible Study — Do You Want To Get Well?

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 14:28-29

    If you want to gain understanding and wisdom, exercise patience. Those who exercise patience indicate that they have already obtained understanding and wisdom. Those who easily fly off the handle are demonstrating their own foolishness. Being quick to anger indicates a willingness to pass judgement before all of the facts are known.

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Psalm 105:37-45

    The psalm reminds us that God does wonderful things for us in order to teach us to follow His instructions. There is a positive feedback loop in doing what God instructs us to do. When we follow the Lord’s instructions, we are blessed. As we are blessed, we are encouraged to follow the Lord’s instructions, which leads to more blessings. The only problem is that sometimes we become content with the blessings we have already received and begin to believe that they are the result of our actions rather than a reward from God.

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John 5:1-23

    In this passage about Jesus healing the lame man by the Pool of Bethesda, Jesus did not just approach the man and tell him to get up and walk. Jesus first asked the man if he wanted to get well. The man replied that he kept trying, but when the opportunity came someone always got there first. There is a lesson here for us about when we need help and when we give help. When Jesus approached the man, He did not just come up and heal him. First, He asked the man if he wanted to get well. Jesus did not just give the man what He thought the man needed. He made sure that the man was willing to be helped. When Jesus asked the man if he wanted to be well part of the man’s answer was, “I have no one to help me.” This indicated that the man was willing to accept help. We need to recognize that we can only help those who are willing to be helped.
    The man did not complain about the unfairness of the situation and he did not give up. Despite having been lame for many years, he still came to the pool, hoping that perhaps this time when the opportunity came he would get into the pool in time. We need to be the same way. If we want God to heal us, we need to be ready to accept it when He has decided that it is time. The question I need to ask myself when I consider areas where I need God’s healing (whether physical or otherwise) is, “Do I want to get well?”

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1 Samuel 1-2:21

    Elkanah had two wives, which led to problems. Yet God used that circumstance. Peninnah, who had children, taunted Hannah, who had none, over Hannah’s lack. This led Hannah to desperately seek God’s assistance. Hannah was a woman of faith. She made a vow to God which she kept. When God granted her prayer for a son, she gave that son into God’s service. Hannah desired a son for her own reasons, but she dedicated that son to serving God. In the same way, when God grants us our desires, we need to dedicate what we have received to God’s service.