For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 20:20-21

    When we read this proverb we often do not realize the full intent of what it says. When the proverb says “curse” it does not mean use foul language. It means “attempt to cause bad things to happen to someone.” So, those who attempt to cause bad things to happen to their own parents will discover those bad things coming upon themselves. Even if your parents deserved the curse you sent their way, sending it their way will cement yourself into following them in their evil ways.

Psalm 27:1-6

    If we truly put our trust in God there is nothing for us to be afraid of. There is no one and nothing which can harm us if God does not wish us to be harmed. Just as important as that is the fact that God loves us. If we trust Him and wish to serve Him, then anything which happens to us will bring us joy (if not immediately, then in the long run) as we see how it furthers God’s purpose.

1 Corinthians 1:1-17

    Usually when I read 1 Corinthians everything before Paul starts talking about division in the Church reads to me as just “intro” or “presenting his credentials”. It does not really register. He tells the Corinthians, and I believe that this applies to us as well, that God has enriched them in every way. God has blessed them(us) with knowledge and skilled speakers (the way Paul says this reads to me as both those oratory skill and those able to talk in various languages). In addition, they(we) do not lack any spiritual gift needed for the life of the Church.
    I realized that Paul was telling us that we have no excuse for failing to accomplish the tasks which God has given us (for this discussion I am talking about us as the local body of believers, not us as individuals). If we think that we are missing some skill or knowledge, we have not looked closely enough at those who are among us, or we have failed to listen to the Holy Spirit’s guidance. God is faithful. He will not call us to a task which He has not provided us the strength, knowledge, and skill to accomplish. We often seek outside of the local body of believers for resources when God calls us in a new direction when we should be looking for whom among us God is raising up for the task. The place we do this most often, to the detriment of the Church at large as well as to the local body, is in the case of pastors. I believe that most of the time pastors should be called from among those who are already part of the local body of believers, rather than from outsiders (there are clear exceptions to this, but we have made those exceptions the norm).

2 Chronicles 35-36

    I am always uplifted when I read about the Passover which Josiah celebrated. The story makes me envision spiritual revival throughout the land. I imagine the people having a renewed dedication to serving the Lord. But then Josiah goes on an ill-fated expedition. He decides to challenge King Neco of Egypt as the latter marched to do battle against the Babylonians. Josiah died in this battle and the kings who succeeded him did evil leading to the conquest of Judah and Jerusalem. The follow up to Josiah’s glorious reign always saddens me.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 20:20-21

    No matter how bad someone’s parents have been, if that person curses their parents they will have their light go out. If we spend our lives blaming our parents for the bad things in our lives rather than changing our behaviors in order to correct those problems, we will continue to experience the bad things.

Psalm 27:1-6

    The Creator of the universe provides me with light to see. My defenses are built by Him and He will protect me. Why should I be afraid of anything? Those who seek to harm me will stumble and fall in their attempt to damage me. It is they who will suffer from their plots and plans against me. I can remain confident, no matter how powerful the force assembled against me. Even if my enemies are able to muster the entire world against me, they will still have insufficient power to overcome my Defender, who is the Lord. All I need to do to remain safe is seek the Lord and His will. If I do that, it is foolish to fear anything else.

1 Corinthians 1:1-17

    Everyone who calls on the name of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior has been made holy by God, has been made a saint. Every group of Christians has every spiritual gift that they will need. Whether that group is one, or three, or hundreds, whatever gifts and talents are necessary is possessed by sufficient numbers within that group to accomplish whatever task God has set for that group. God has provided us with the knowledge and the appropriate way of speaking to serve His purposes. When God calls us to a task, let us not fear that we do not have the means to accomplish that task, He will provide us with whatever is needed.
    Yesterday, as we looked at Paul’s conclusion to his letter to the Romans, we saw that we should stay away from those people who cause divisions by teaching things contrary to sound doctrine, contrary to the teachings of Christ. Today, in his opening to his letter to the Corinthians, Paul warns us against dividing into factions. The Church today has failed to heed his warnings. That is why it is divided into denominations. However, Paul addresses those who think they are avoiding this failing by being “non-denominational”. Some say, “I follow Luther”(Lutherans), others, “I follow John Wesley”(Methodists), still others, “I follow Menno Simons”(Mennonites), and some say, “I follow only Christ”(non-denominational). We are not called to follow these separate teachers. We are called to be united in thought and purpose.
    This call to unity is difficult because we are also called to be faithful. There are those who will use our desire to be united to attempt to get us to accept teachings which are counter to God’s. So, let us seek to be unified with those who are allowing God’s Spirit to guide them in seeking to do His will, who are serving God and teaching the Gospel message to those around them. But let us avoid those who are creating divisions by teaching things contrary to God’s word.

2 Chronicles 35-36:23

    Josiah called the people to celebrate the Passover. He brought the people together to worship God and celebrate His deliverance of their ancestors from Egypt. The people celebrated in a great festival of worship honouring the Lord. Unfortunately, shortly after this, Josiah failed to seek God’s guidance when King Neco of Egypt marched across his land to do battle with the Babylonians. Josiah marched out to do battle with the Egyptians. In the battle, Josiah was wounded and died. Those who succeeded Josiah did not follow his example of faithfully serving God and the land soon fell to the Babylonians. This is a warning for us that we can easily fall from a spiritual high if we fail to continuously seek God’s will for our lives.

     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. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

2 Chronicles 35-36:23

     When Josiah had gotten his restoration of the Temple well under way, he announced that the Passover feast would be held in Jerusalem. He gave orders organizing the priests and Levites so that they could perform their duties efficiently. The Passover festival held by Josiah was a time of great joy and worship of God.
     Sometime after this, King Neco of Egypt was marching against the Babylonians and passing near Judah with his army. Despite Neco’s assurances that he was not going to attack Judah, Josiah entered into battle against him. Josiah was wounded in battle and was taken back to Jerusalem, where he died. Josiah’s son Jehoahaz was made king. However, he only reigned for three months when King Neco took him captive and put his brother Jehoiakim on the throne. The passage tells us that Jehoiakim did evil in the sight of the Lord and King Nebuchadnezzar came and took him captive. Jehoiakim was succeeded first by Jehoiachin, then by Zedekiah. Each of these kings did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and the people became ever more unfaithful. God sent prophets to call them back to him, but they did not listen. Finally, King Nebuchadnezzar came, destroyed Jerusalem, and took the people into captivity.

1 Corinthians 1:1-17

     Paul starts off by stating his credentials and that he is writing to the church in Corinth. Paul says something very important here. He says that the church in Corinth was called by God to be His holy people; that is, saints. But, Paul tells us, this is true not just of the church in Corinth, it is true of everyone everywhere who calls on the name of Jesus.

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     There is a great song by Wayne Watson called “People of God” which takes what Paul is saying here and puts it into musical form. I won’t quote it here because of copyright, but you can go read the lyrics and listen to it here

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     Paul goes on to thank God that the church in Corinth has been blessed by God with speech to suit every purpose and the knowledge to serve God according to His will. They do not lack any spiritual gift that might be necessary to carry out God’s will among them. This too is true of the church everywhere.
     Having finished his introduction, Paul gets into the heart of why he is writing to the church in Corinth. He writes that he has been told that there are factions among them. That various ones among them are lifting up the teachings of one or another teacher of the early Church as being authoritative while that of other teachers was not. Paul is writing to tell them to live in harmony with one another. The Church should be united in mind and thought.
     What Paul is writing about is denominationalism. Some people are Baptists (or Methodists, or Brethern, or Catholics, or…) and anyone who is not Baptist (or whatever denomination that person is) is going to Hell. Paul is writing to tell the Corinthians (and us) that such an approach is wrong. Of course, some Christians try to say, “Well, he’s not talking to me. I’m non-denominational. I’m not part of any denomination. I just worship Christ.” Paul doesn’t let them get off that easy, see verse 12:

Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.”

Christ was not divided and those leaders who we look to as the founders of our various denominations were not crucified for us. We were all baptized in the name of Christ, not some other leader.

Psalm 27:1-6

     The first verse of this psalm says it all:

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
so why should I tremble?
There is no one and nothing I need fear except for God Himself. Nothing can happen to me that is against God’s will. No matter what anyone wishes, no matter what happens in the world, nothing can harm me in anyway against God’s will.
     I will strive to live all my life by what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego told Nebuchadnezzar when he threatened to throw them in the fiery furnace:

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

Proverbs 20:20-21

     I can only say that I have seen both of these proverbs play out in real life.