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.

Jeremiah 8:8-9:26

     Jeremiah speaks of religious leaders and teachers who have rejected the word of God and teach their own thoughts in the place of God’s word. They offer superficial treatments for mortal wounds. This sounds like all too many of those who claim to be religious leaders today. This whole passage reminds me of our day. A little further in Jeremiah refers to people who refuse to stand up for the truth and how every day things go from bad to worse. He warns not to trust your neighbor or even your relatives because everyone is trying to take advantage of everyone else. Again this reminds me of so much of our society today, where all too many are only concerned with gaining an advantage for themselves, not what is best for everyone. People tell lie after lie and refuse to acknowledge God. The prophet tells us the end result of this, the land will become such that no one will dare travel through it. Something we are already seeing in certain places. Time is running out for people to turn to the Lord and be saved.

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Colossians 3:1-17

     We are to put to death the things of our sinful nature. Paul lists them out some of them here: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed. I find it interesting that people have a tendency to not see how these are all connected. Sometimes people focus on how wrong sexual sins are, but dismiss greed. Other times, people focus on how wrong greed is, but dismiss sexual sins. What people forget is that all of these sins involve treating others as objects to satisfy our own desires. They are all a form of idolatry where we make ourselves the center of the universe. Paul goes on to list other ways in which we attempt to make ourselves the center of the universe. He tells us to give up anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language. These are also ways in which we attempt to make ourselves the center of the universe. They are ways in which we attempt to usurp God’s place.
     If we place God in His rightful place we will act in the way which Paul instructs. When we recognize that others are as important as ourselves, and make God the center of our universe. we will behave with compassion, kindness, gentleness, humility, and patience. We will not operate in a world of Us and Them. Our world will be a world where everyone is loved by God, and therefore we are obliged to love them all as well. All of this will flow naturally if we allow the peace of Christ to take over in our hearts. I will strive to remember that everything I say and do is done in the name of Jesus. Others will interpret my actions and judge Christ by how I act. If I act poorly, it reflects not just on myself, but on Christ as well.

Psalm 78:32-55

     The psalmist recounts how time and again people turned away from God to their own sinful desires. When they began to suffer the consequences of their sins, they turned once more to God and He forgave them. Unfortunately, all too often when people turn to God, they merely offer lip service and do not actually change how they act. Am I willing to fully surrender myself to God and rely solely on Him?

Proverbs 24:27

     This proverb tells us that we need to first arrange our affairs to supply ourselves with food and clothing. Only after we have done that does it make sense to arrange where we are going to live and shelter on a permanent basis.

     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.

Jeremiah 6:16-8:7

     God tells us that when we need to choose a path, we should seek out the old, godly path. That is the path to find rest for our souls. He has set watchmen to sound the alarm when danger approaches, we need to listen to them. Let us not make the mistake of rejecting the godly path because it is “boring”, “old-fashioned”, or “out-of-date”. Following God’s leading has never been fashionable and never will be. When God’s prophets warn us about the dangers of the choices we are making, I will listen and mend my ways. I do not want to be labeled by God as ‘rejected silver” and be discarded.
     If we exploit foreigners (see how illegal aliens are treated…by those who encourage them to come to this country), orphans, and widows, God will bring judgment on our society. When we harm ourselves by worshiping idols, God will not protect us from the consequences of our actions. It is only if we quit our evil ways and follow the instructions which God has given us that we will be able to turn aside from the coming destruction.

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   &nsp; I cannot get the words to come together for what this passage says to me about our society. All too many people go to great lengths to worship idols in ways which hurt themselves. People do things which God has warned us against and then when they suffer the consequences of their actions they demand them someone protect them from those consequences. Rather than turn to God, they turn to the government. They do not want to be “enslaved” to God, so they ask the government to enslave them instead. God does not give us instructions that are arbitrary. His rules and regulations are to keep us from harm. If we do not listen to His commands, it is not His fault when troubles come upon us.

Colossians 2:8-23

     Paul warns us against getting caught up in hollow, deceptive philosophies. All too many people attempt to separate the Gospel teachings about how we should live and treat each other from the spiritual parts of it. They try to rework it into something without the death and resurrection of Christ. However, without the death and resurrection of Christ, the Christian message is hollow and empty. It does not lead to contentment and fulfillment.
     It is by allowing our sinful nature to die with Christ that we can be raised to a new, spiritual life with Him. It is through the cross that God removed our obligation to the spiritual powers of this earth. It is not by rules and regulations that we experience God’s power. we must not fall into the error of thinking that rituals and special ceremonies will give us salvation. This does not mean that there is no value in rituals which bring us close, but they must be activities that have meaning for us, not rituals we follow because someone else tells us that we must. And we must never become enslaved to the rituals and ceremonies because their value is not in and of themselves, but in bringing us closer to God and showing us how to do His will. Rules will not help us overcome our sinful desires. Only by relying on the power of the Holy Spirit can we defeat our selfish desires.
   &nsp; I will not fall into the trap of relying on rules which tell me, “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” Instead, I will follow the leading of the Spirit which says, “Do not call anything unclean which God has made clean.” I will add one important caveat. I will wait for the leading of the Spirit. It is not up to me to declare that something is clean, but I will not refuse to help those in need because they are not “pure enough”, or because it might violate some rule.

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Psalm 78:1-31

     The psalmist tells us the importance of telling the next generation of the wonders which God has done. It is up to each generation to set its heart on following God for itself. You cannot commit your children to follow God, they must make that commitment for themselves. The Israelites in the wilderness are an example of an all too human tendency. When they cried out for water, God split open a rock and gave them water. But rather than acknowledge God’s great power, when food began to run short they doubted and wanted to turn back. They did not trust that God could and would provide them with food. The result was that God was angered with them and many of them died as a result of their rebellion. Let us train the next generation in what God has done throughout history, and in our own lives, so that they do not repeat that mistake.

Proverbs 24:26

     All too often in our society the only people we give honest answers to are those with whom we are in a close relationship with. And even then, all too many people are not honest.