For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 24:8

    It does not take people long to recognize those who are constantly planning evil or nasty things. They recognize such people as the troublemakers they are.

Psalm 70:1-5

    Let us have the humility of the psalmist. Let us recognize that before God we are poor and needy. However, whenever we are in a situation where we cannot be accurately described as poor and needy, let us use what we have been given to help those who are. I am of no account, except insomuch as God can use me to bring glory to His name. My possessions are of no value, except the way in which they can be used to honour the Lord.

Ephesians 6:1-24

    Paul writes that children should obey their parents, referring back to the commandment to honour your father and mother. He goes on to tell slaves to obey their masters. Slaves should obey their masters, not just to please their masters, but in order to serve Christ. Let us do whatever work we do with enthusiasm, as if it was God’s work…because it is. If we do our jobs as if we every task is furthering the Kingdom of Heaven then every task we accomplish will further the Kingdom of Heaven. Further Paul reminds those who own slaves (and those who are bosses over employees) that we all answer to Christ.
    Paul concludes his letter to the Ephesians by telling them how to prepare for the battles we face. Our battle is not against flesh and blood enemies, rather we battle against powers and ideas which serve evil. That is why the very first piece of armor Paul describes is the belt of truth upon which everything else depends. It is by basing all of our thoughts and actions on truth that we will be able to resist and defeat the lies of the enemy, the ideas that sound good, but rest on something other than the truth. Ultimately, we cannot accomplish God’s purposes if we do not remain committed to the truth. If we allow ourselves to attempt to use lies and deception to accomplish anything, we will find everything we have done falling apart.
    Paul tells us to follow up the belt of truth with the armor of God’s righteousness. That is the righteousness which we received from God. In order for our righteousness to be of any value we must recognize that it is purely a gift from God, not something we have accomplished on our own. If we recognize that righteousness is a gift from God, we will realize that it cannot be taken from us, even if we slip and fall. It is by standing firm in the Gospel message that our footing can remain steady. It is by remaining steadfast in our faith that we can extinguish the burn from the barbs and jabs that attempt to destroy our confidence. We can keep our thoughts clear and protected by remembering that salvation comes as a gift from God through Christ…and by not other means. Finally, we can strike back and destroy the ideas which attempt to take us away from God by expanding our knowledge of God’s word. The more familiar we are with God’s word, with what God has said in the Bible, the easier it will be for us to dispatch those ideas which do not measure up to what is true and real.

Isaiah 54-57:14

    At one time I had memorized most of chapter 55, I think I should work to recommit it to memory. God is calling us (and through us everyone) to His free gift of salvation. This passage reminds us that the salvation which God offers is not just spiritual. God offers salvation for our entire being. He will meet all of our needs, including our need for food and drink. We do not need money to obtain what God is offering. It is not something which we can purchase. Yet despite the fact that God will freely satisfy our deepest needs, many people spend their money and their effort pursuing things which will not satisfy at all. If we open our ears and listen to God’s message, we will find that which will satisfy.
    Those of us who have found God need to call on those around us to seek God NOW. There is a time in our life when we can find God, if we do not seek Him during that time, we will not be able to find Him later when we realize that something is missing. I will not tell you when that time is for any given individual, only God knows when the time is ripe for each individual to find Him. If you are reading this and do not know God, seek Him now, tomorrow may be too late. Seek God and let Him change your ways. Turn from evil and do good.
    It is important to remember that God does not think about things the way in which we think about things and our ways of doing things are not God’s ways of doing things. His ways and thoughts are better and higher than our ways and thoughts. Let us listen when He tells us His thoughts and His ways. Then, let us think His thoughts and do things His way. God is sending His word out and it will bear fruit. It will change the world and make it a better more just place. God’s word will accomplish all that He intends. In the meantime, let us maintain justice and do what is right.

     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.

Isaiah 54-57:14

     Today’s passage begins with a prophecy that the day will come when Israel will exist with a government that is just and fair. In that day, whoever attacks them will go down in defeat. I am hesitant to say that this applies today, but there is a remarkable resemblance between the modern state of Israel and this prophecy.
     God invites everyone to come to Him to receive His salvation. If we come to Him and follow His will, He will give us good things. There are several verses here which touch me dearly. The first is a call to come to God now, tomorrow may be too late:

Seek the Lord while you can find him.
Call on him now while he is near.

Let us truly listen to what God has to say to us, not only hearing what we want to hear. Then there are verses 8-11:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.(NIV)

Let us not make the mistake of thinking that what we know better than God. God has His own plans and we need to adjust ourselves to what He wants. When we get into conflict with others, we need to remember that God is not on our side, we need to make sure that we are on God’s side. In addition this passage reminds us of the power of God’s word to change the world. It is not up to us to employ the power of persuasion, or lofty rhetoric, to convince others to follow Christ. All we are asked to do is tell them God’s words. His Spirit will do the rest.

Ephesians 6:1-24

     On the theme of submitting to one another, Paul tells us that children should obey their parents and fathers should avoid provoking their children to anger. He points out that if we honour our parents, God has promised that things will go well for us. The corollary to the command that children honour their parents is that parents are obligated to look out for the well-being of their children. A society where parents do not look out for the well-being of their children will be a society where children do not honour their parents. A society where children do not honour their parents will be a society that has no future.
     Next Paul extends the theme to slaves and masters. He tells slaves that they should work for their master as if the work was being done for the Lord. In addition, he tells masters that they should not threaten their slaves, remembering that both they and the slaves have the same master in heaven. The same principles apply to our modern working relationships. We should do our work for our employers as if the work we are doing is for Christ. In fact, we should do our jobs in service to Christ. In the same way, if we are employers, we should treat our employees as our fellow servants of Christ.

***
     Paul tells us to be strong in the Lord and to put on God’s armor. I have seen various descriptions of how Paul’s image of God’s armor was based on the armor worn by Roman legionnaires and I am sure that such is the case. In that vein, I am going to look at this passage and see what it tells me. There were several forms of body armor worn by Roman soldiers, but the point of all of it was that it protected the body from blows struck in hand to hand combat. It is God’s righteousness that will protect us from the attacks we face as we deal with people on a day to day basis. Paul mentions the belt of truth. The Roman soldier wore a belt whose primary purpose was to carry his sword, which we will get to shortly. So, if we hope to be able to carry the battle to God’s enemies, we must make sure that we stick to the truth. In order to stand firm in battle, we must be firmly planted in the peace that comes from fully embracing God’s Gospel.
     Paul goes on to talk about the shield of faith which will allow us to withstand attacks that come from a distance. The thing about the shield carried by Roman soldiers at the time of Paul is that it gained most of its effectiveness from the soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder. The same thing is true for us as believers, if we want to serve God effectively, we need to stand shoulder to shoulder with each other.

Psalm 70:1-5

     I will follow the example of the psalmist and call on God for help. I am “poor and needy”. I do not have the ability to get myself out of the trouble I get myself into. I will rely on God, because only He can be counted on to save me from the problems I face as I go through life.

Proverbs 24:8

     Those who plot evil will soon develop a reputation for doing so. It will not take long for people to notice if you plot to do others wrong.