For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    The godly use their words to provide healing and help others make their lives better. The wicked use their words to conceal their intentions and to distract people from their violent actions. How do you and I use our words?
    The second part of this proverb gives us a good tool to analyze our actions. If you find yourself arguing and quarreling all of the time, it is a safe bet that you are not acting in love. Rather, you are allowing hate to control your life. Those who are acting in love let offenses pass. As I wrote this I realized it tells us a lot about some people in society today. Those who are easily offended by what others do and say are allowing hatred to rule their lives.

    This is another one of those psalms which I see as expressing my thoughts about God so well. First it tells what I have experienced:

    I do not think that I ever noticed before that Jesus lead the disciples off to a secluded place right after the Twelve returned from their ministry tour. This suggests that the preaching of the Twelve had increased the interest in what Jesus had to say. Reading this today it made me reconsider my thoughts about mega-churches. I have never been a fan of such congregations. I feel that we should be part of a group where we can recognize that someone is a newcomer. However, it is clear that Jesus attracted huge crowds, which tells me that there is a place for such things.
    When the disciples asked Jesus to send the crowd away so that they could go get something to eat (did they perhaps say this because they themselves wanted to eat and did not have enough to share with everyone?), He told them to feed the crowd themselves. The disciples response was that they could not afford to do so. Not only did they not have enough money to do so, but they would have to work for months to earn enough money to do so. The lesson of this story is that where there is a need, we should share what we have and count on God to provide.
    It is worth noting that Jesus did not do this in a quiet way. First, He had the whole crowd sit down in groups. Then in front of the entire crowd He took the five loaves and two fish, blessed them, then broke them and distributed them to the disciples to give to the crowd. Everyone saw what He was doing, and how little food He started with.
    The passage tells us that the disciples were amazed when Jesus walked on water and stilled the winds because they did not understand the significance of the feeding of the five thousand. I think that we struggle with the significance of the feeding of the five thousand today. Certainly, part of the significance is in the title of today’s blog: “Share what you have, God will provide.” There is more to it than the way we normally interpret that. God will provide in ways which defy our understanding of the laws of nature.

    I am still struggling with these passages in Leviticus. I really believe that there are things here that make them worth reading over and over, but I am having trouble seeing it right now. The one thing I saw in this was that we should express our gratefulness to God when we are healed from illness. Not just in a minor, personal way, but publicly and in an expressive manner.

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

     These proverbs are useful for analyzing my behavior. When I speak, do people find my words a life-giving fountain, or am I using them to hide violent intentions? Do my actions and words stir up conflict, or do they soothe the offenses that others have taken? If we are not sure that the answer to the first question is the former and to the second question is the latter, let us strive harder to make it so.
     It is my goal to speak words of life to everyone I meet on all occasions. Further, it is my goal to help others look past offenses and forgive them. I will strive to make peace between those who are angry with one another.

     If we wait patiently for the Lord, He will turn to us and answer our cry. This is such a hard lesson to learn. He has done it for me before. When I waited patiently for Him, He raised me out of despair and set me on solid ground, showing me the path He had for me to follow. Let me live my life so that others will see what He has done for me and put their trust in Him. I have told people about God’s justice, but at times I have been afraid to speak out. Oh Lord, do not let me be afraid to speak any longer, do not allow me to keep your good news hidden in my heart. Compel me to share your faithfulness and saving power with all whom I meet. When I die, let it be said of me at my funeral, “He told everyone of your unfailing love and faithfulness.”

     When the apostles returned from the preaching tour Jesus had sent them on Jesus attempted to withdraw to a quiet place to debrief them. However, the crowds saw where they were going and met them when they got there. This passage contains one the most powerful images of those who came to hear Jesus teach. “They were like sheep without a shepherd.” This is a terrible indictment of the leaders of the day, especially the religious leaders. The thing is, it is also true of many people today. When I look at society around me, I see people being preyed upon because no one is acting as a shepherd to protect them from the predators of this world. Rather than being protected by those who shepherd them and lead them to pastures where they can thrive I see them being led by those who prey upon them and have no care for their well-being.
     I noticed something about the feeding of the 5,000 that I have never noticed before. I am sure that others have noticed it and commented on, but I have never come across it before. When the disciples asked Jesus to send the crowd away so that those in it could get food, Jesus told them to feed the crowd. The disciples replied that did not have enough money to get food to feed them all. Jesus told them to find out how much food they had. When the disciples returned with their five loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus had them sit the crowd down and shared the food out to the crowd. The point I never noticed is that Jesus asked the disciples to share their food with the crowd even though it was obviously not enough to feed everyone. When they followed His command, not only was there enough for everyone there were twelve basketfuls left over. The point here is that when we are evaluating an action, the first question to ask ourselves is not, “Is it practical?” The first question to ask ourselves is, “What does God want us to do?” This does not mean that we should not consider what is practical, but it means that just because something does not seem practical it is not what God wants us to do. Sometimes we need to step out in faith and trust God to make things work. Five loaves and two fish were clearly not enough to feed over 5,000 people. Yet when they gave them to Jesus, He gave them back and somehow not only was everyone fed, but more was left over than what they started with.

     The passage describes the procedure those who have been cleansed of serious skin disease are to follow. It is an acknowledgement that God has shed His grace on them by cleansing them of disease. This is followed by a description of what to do if a house has been contaminated with mildew. The mold/mildew described is known today to present a health risk to those who live in a house so contaminated. The passage describes how to repair such a house so as to eliminate the contamination, including determining that the house is so thoroughly contaminated that it is not repairable.