How we live our lives reflects our hearts in much the same way a mirror reflects our face. If we have God in our hearts people will see it in how we live.
Serve the Lord by praising His name wherever you find yourself. God’s glory is greater than any that can be found on earth, or in heaven. God will lift up the poor and sit them among the elites. He gives the childless families. He rescues the oppressed. Praise the Lord for the great things He has done.
When God’s people follow His lead obstacles get out of their way. Even when those obstacles are geographic features. The psalmist reminds us that even the Red Sea moved aside to allow God’s people to pass. Let us remember that, if we follow God’s lead, the same thing will happen before us.
There is a lot in this passage. The writer goes from point to point. He makes a lot of good points. However, the one which convicts me this morning is what he says about Esau. Esau sacrificed long term good for short term gratification. I know that I struggle with that same problem. All too many times I have made a decision to satisfy my short term desire at the expense of my long term good. I know that I will pay a penalty for doing so. I sincerely ask God to help me overcome this weakness.
Ezekiel prophesies that Egypt’s destruction came about because it became proud and arrogant. The Egyptians thought they were so far above all other nations that they did not need to concern themselves with world affairs. They saw themselves as a strong young lion, as a mover and shaker in world affairs who could do as they pleased. When, in fact, they were nothing more than a large crocodile, powerful and dangerous in their element, but vulnerable to those who knew how to approach them.
As I read this, Ezekiel’s prophesies concerning Egypt remind me of where the United States is today. The U.S. has made promises of support to Israel that it is considering reneging on. The people of the U.S. view themselves as special above all others, without taking any responsibility to use those abilities to make the world better. God’s judgment will come on the nation if the people do not turn to Him once more.
Pessimism and depression are a vicious cycle. When you are depressed, or expect the worst outcome in every situation, you notice the things which go wrong, and indeed, things are more likely to go wrong for you. On the other hand when you are happy and optimistic, you focus on the good things going on around you and dismiss the things which go wrong, and things are less likely to go wrong for you. This cycle means that when you become depressed it is very hard to break out of that depression.
The second two verses are closely related. You will be happier serving the Lord in poverty than living for yourself with great wealth. I would rather have a simple salad with people I love than a great feast with people I cannot stand.
Lately I have been struggling with finding the right words for what the psalms make me think and feel. Part of that is because the psalmist does such a good job of expressing their thoughts, part of that is just the difficulty of turning the poetic into prose. I will praise God, now and forever, because He is great enough to create and guide the entire universe, yet caring enough to reach out and help the poor and needy. His very presence causes obstacles to move out of the way of those who serve Him.
I think this is perhaps my favorite story of Jesus’ miracles. My father first pointed out what is the key point in this story for me (I’m sure others did it before him, but he was the one who first brought it up in my presence). Jesus healed a man born blind. The religious teachers and leaders of the day brought the man before them and questioned him. They were looking for something to hold against Jesus, or some evidence that He was a fraud. They confronted the man born blind with their conviction that Jesus was a sinner. The man born blind knew he could not argue theology or doctrine with these men, and did not try to do so. In the face of all of their learning and arguments against Jesus he replied with one of the great statements of faith, “I don’t know about any of that. What I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”(I am paraphrasing here).
This is the important thing for us to remember. We must never allow arguments and debates about theology or doctrine distract us from the central Gospel message. I was blind, but now I see. In my case it was not physical blindness. Nevertheless, I was blind and it was not until I allowed faith in Christ to take root in my heart that I gained the ability to see God’s will for my life. I was proud of my intellect and ability to reason things out. It was only when I accepted that there were things which I am unable to understand, that my reasoning and logic will never fully explain how the world works, that I was able to truly see God. It is only by the working of the Holy Spirit that someone will come to God. I will never be able to give someone faith. I can only give them God’s love.
I pray for everyone I meet that they experience Jesus’ miraculous healing so that they too will receive sight from God.
Reading this story always makes me feel sorry for Jonathan. Jonathan was a good man who was loyal to David and probably would have made a good king. It also shows us how irrational Saul’s hatred of David was. Saul wanted to kill David because he considered him a threat to Jonathan taking the throne. Yet, he was willing to kill Jonathan when Jonathan refused to aid him in killing David. Yet, in all of this, David did not act against Saul’s interest.
For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I am home from my business trip. Praise God that the whole trip went without incident. I want to thank all of you who prayed for me while I was travelling.
We cannot see what is in someone’s heart to judge why they took a particular action. However, we can get a pretty accurate picture by looking at their entire life. Individual acts do not tell us much about what is going on in someone’s heart, but, if we see how they treat others day in and day out we will get a pretty clear picture of what they think of others. Does my life reflect the love of God which I claim lives in my heart?
God, the Creator of the Universe, cares about each and every individual. Let us praise God because, even though He has created a Universe so great and large that the Solar System is insignificantly small, He cares enough about individual people to lift them up and save them.
The writer echoes something which Paul said in Romans. We are to do what we can to live at peace with everyone. The writer here tells us that, in addition to striving to live at peace with everyone, we are to live a holy life. Living at peace with others is part and parcel of living a holy life, but if others refuse to live at peace with us because we live a holy life, that is not our problem.
The writer warns us that we must be careful to not allow bitterness to take root in our lives. If we allow it, bitterness will grow up in our lives and corrupt them. Beyond that our bitterness can corrupt others and separate them from the holiness of God.
Sooner or later every mighty nation will fall. When a nation begins to believe that its might is a birthright which it earns just by being, that day is close. God will show His power and bring down that nation when they begin to think that their power and might is theirs by right. Mighty nations will only remain strong as long as they strive to do what is right. When they lose sight of the fact that might grows from doing the right things and starts to believe that their might makes all of their actions right, their end is in sight. I fear for our world because the political leaders of the world seem to have lost sight of this truth.
Those who allow depression to rule their lives will see trouble in everything that comes their way. Those who choose to be cheerful will see every day as a holiday. Those who fear the Lord, and have the peace which accompanies that, are better off with just a little than those who have great wealth, but are troubled by what tomorrow may bring. I would not trade a simple meal with my loved ones for daily feasts with those I do not like.
I will praise the name of the Lord because He is greater and more glorious than anything else in this universe. It is He who will elevate the poor and needy to great heights. He will bring happiness and fulfillment to those who serve Him, no matter how low and hopeless they may seem. Look at what He did for the people of Israel as He brought them out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and into the Promised Land. He can and will do such wonders today.
Years ago my father pointed out that the man born blind made one of the great statements of faith. When the Jewish religious leaders pushed him to repudiate Jesus the man gave them a great reply. He did not address their argument. He told them he would not judge on such things. He chose to judge on what he knew. He knew that he had been blind and now he could see. Let us follow his example. Let us stick to what we know. What I know, before I met Jesus, I was spiritually blind, now I can see. Jesus came to give sight to the blind, those who think they can see without Him will remain blind.
Jonathan considered David his best friend and refused to believe that his own father would be out to kill him. David convinced Jonathan to put his belief to the test. Jonathan willing to put his friendship to David above his loyalty to his father because his father was in the wrong. Jonathan and David are a great example of loyal friends. They were both willing to subordinate their ambitions to their friendship. We have two men who were mighty warriors, yet they never became jealous of the admiration which the other received.
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.
Ezekiel wrote a prophecy against Egypt. His warning was that no matter how great and powerful a nation might become it was still subject to God. God has declared that He will hold nations accountable, no matter how powerful or wealthy they may become. No nation will ever be so powerful that it is not subject to God’s judgment.
The writer admonishes us to do everything within our power to live at peace with everyone. However, he gives a qualifier to that effort, he tells us to live holy lives. So, we are to do what we can to live at peace with everyone within the constraints of living holy lives. He warns us against bitterness, telling us how, if we allow it, it will grow up within us and defile us. Further the writer warns us against trading our long term happiness for immediate gratification of our desires.
In today’s passage from Ezekiel we were told that God will bring the mighty and wealthy low. In this psalm we are reminded that He will lift the poor and needy up. Yes, I will praise the Lord. When God’s people follow His direction, even inanimate objects, such as rivers and seas, will get out of their way. Every obstacle will be removed from the path of those who serve the Lord.
I have been using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study for almost a year. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I started writing this blog because the only way I can get myself to read the Bible everyday is to pretend that I am teaching someone about what it says to me. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
After evading another attempt by King Saul to kill him, David went to see Jonathan. He asked Jonathan why Saul was trying to kill him. Jonathan assured David that his father was not trying to kill David by telling him that his father told him everything and had not said anything about that. David reminded Jonathan that Saul knew that they were close friends and that Jonathan would have warned David. Jonathan and David agree to a plan for Jonathan to discover if his father is indeed planning to kill David and for Jonathan to secretly warn, or assure, David based on what Jonathan learns.
Jonathan made a pact calling on God to be with David as He had once been with his father, Saul. In addition, Jonathan called on God to destroy all of David’s enemies. David, for his part, reaffirmed his vow of friendship with Jonathan and to protect Jonathan’s family should Jonathan die. Jonathan then went and discovered that his father was indeed planning to kill David. Jonathan gave the warning to David that they had agreed upon and the two men parted for the last time after reaffirming their everlasting friendship. Every time I read the book of Samuel, I mourn for Jonathan, who would have happily served David in the same manner which David served his father, Saul.
This passage is a great story of two men who have a great friendship for each other. even though Jonathan’s father was attempting to kill David. Neither allowed the politics of the situation, which should have made them opponents, come between them. Jonathan did not storm off in anger when David insisted that he was mistaken about his father not being out to kill David. Rather, Jonathan agreed to a plan to test his father’s mind on this matter. Jonathan was clearly upset that the two people closest to him, his father and David, were at odds. He did not blame David for his father’s hostility towards him, yet he also remained loyal to his father and stood at his side in all of his father’s other battles.
Today’s passage is one of my favorite stories from the New Testament. It is the story of the man born blind. After Jesus had healed the man who was born blind he was brought before the Pharisees. They questioned him closely because he had been healed on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were divided over the issue of whether Jesus was a sinner, because He had “worked” on the Sabbath, or from God because He had healed the man. It becomes clear that the former position was the dominant one. The Pharisees attempted to convince the man that he should give glory to God and leave Jesus out of the story. How many times do we face the temptation to water down what we believe to make it more generic and palatable to the powers that be? I will always strive to answer with this man, “I don’t know about that. But I know this, I was blind and now I see.” When the Pharisees tried to find contradictions in his story, he asked them if they wanted to be Jesus disciples too? The Pharisees responded that they followed Moses because God had spoken to Moses but they did not know where Jesus had come from. The man responded, “I this man was not from God, He couldn’t have done it.” At that point the Pharisees threw the man born blind out.
Jesus later taught that he had come to restore sight to the blind and reveal that those who thought they could see were blind. If we think we can see without Jesus, we are fooling ourselves. It is only through the light of Jesus that we can see the truth of this world and God’s will. You can spend all the time you want arguing about why Christianity is false but I will answer(from the KJV), “One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.”
