For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 24:28-29

    Do not lie about your neighbor (and remember who Jesus said your neighbor was) in order to get back at them for perceived slights.

Psalm 78:56-72

    If we do not follow God’s commands there are no rituals, there are no symbolic items that we can turn to in order to avoid the consequences. But no matter how badly we screw up, God will still love us and give us another chance. If we but turn repent of our sins and turn back to God He will redeem us and welcome us back to His arms.

Colossians 3:18-4

    As Paul concludes his letter to the Colossian believers, he reiterates his instructions about relationships. The wording here is similar to the wording he uses elsewhere on this topic. It is important to read what he says here in light of what he says elsewhere on the same topics. Wives are supposed to submit to their husbands, but husbands are obligated to love their wives with the same self-sacrificial love that Christ has for the Church. Children are told to obey their parents, but parents are told not to aggravate their children. Those on the “power” side of a relationship are called on to seek what is best for those over whom society has given them power.
    The most important part of today’s passage is just one sentence long.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

At least that is the most important part of today’s passage for me. I know that I fall far short of praying as much, and with as much focus, as I should. I will continue to strive to allow the Spirit to bring me to prayer with ever greater frequency and fervor.

Jeremiah 10-11

    We should not allow the signs in the skies to frighten us, even though those around us are terrified by them. Over the years, I remember reading time and again about some disaster we needed to look out for and be frightened by it. From the “Population Bomb” to Global Warming, some people have made predictions about coming disaster. Jeremiah tells us that these people are foolish because they worship creation rather than the Creator.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 24:28-29

    Do not testify against your neighbor just to pay them back for some perceived slight, especially if it involves lying.

Psalm 78:56-72

    The people of Israel sinned so much against God that He allowed the Ark of the Covenant to be captured by the Philistines. He allowed His own glory to be sullied because of their sin. If God would do that to the people of Israel, what makes us think that He will turn His anger and judgement aside from us when we sin in similar fashion. Yet, even with those sins, God welcomed them back when they returned to Him. He will do the same today, if we turn to Him He will raise us up. If the people turn from sin and back to God, He will raise up a leader to lead them to greatness once more.

Colossians 3:18-4:18

    Paul wraps up his letter to the Church in Colossae with a series of instructions. He tells wives to submit to their husbands and husbands to love their wives (elsewhere he qualifies this latter with “as Christ loves the Church). Today, the former is hard for us to hear, but part of the problem is that we overlook how hard it is to truly do the latter. It is hard to put your own wants and desires second, especially when that someone is submitting to you. When Paul tells husbands to love their wives he is telling them to put their wives interests and desires ahead of their own. As human beings we are very good at rationalizing how what is in our best interest and what we want is really the best for other people as well. We are all called to work at getting past that, because we are called to love our neighbor. But as a husband, I have a special obligation to do that with respect to my wife. Whenever I make a decision, I need to think about whether what I decide is in my wife’s best interest and does it fulfill her desires. The fact of the matter is, I often, perhaps even usually, fail to actually do that.
    Paul goes on to tell us that we should do whatever work we do wholeheartedly, as if we were working for the Lord, because we are working for the Lord. We should strive to work so that our boss will be pleased with what we do, even if they will never know what we did. If we are boss over someone, we need to remember that we answer to God for how we treat them.
    Then comes the part I was just thinking about last night. I have written how I have been challenged about my prayer life by the passages I have been reading. A week or so back I started a prayer journal, but I have not yet really gotten it going. Last night I was thinking about it and how since I got it I have not read a passage which challenged me on prayer. This morning I read, “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.” Challenge accepted. Tonight I will dedicate some time to praying and writing in my prayer journal. Each and every one of us needs to find a way to have a disciplined prayer life.

Jeremiah 10-11:23

    Jeremiah describes how idolaters worship things made by man. By doing so he illustrates how foolish it is to worship anything other than God. Today, many people worship things other than God, things made by human effort. I listen to sports radio and hear callers and hosts refer to the “football gods” or the “baseball gods”. They aren’t serious when they say these things. Yet, if you listen to them you realize that they worship sports. It is sports which gives them a sense of fulfillment and a sense of purpose. But it is not just those who worship sports who worship something made by man. There are those who tell us that believing in God is foolish superstition. If you talk with those long enough, you will discover that most of them put their faith in “science”, or human reason. Their high priests are scientists, people who supposedly are unbiased by their own interests and are just seeking after truth. Time and again, when they discover that a scientist has distorted his or her results in order to support a pre-determined conclusion, they insist that this was a special case. Let us not be fooled by such idols, rather let us worship the God who made the earth by His power.

     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 10-11:23

     Jeremiah wrote that God said that we should not be like other nations and peoples who try to read their future in the stars and through portents. Rather let us trust in the God who is like no other, who created the universe. All too often we wish to be like everyone else, but God did not create us to be like everyone else.
     In the middle of today’s passage, Jeremiah wrote a prayer that strikes me:

I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own.
We are not able to plan our own course.
So correct me, Lord, but please be gentle.
Do not correct me in anger, for I would die.

My life is not my own and my course is not mine to plan. My life belongs to God to dispose of as He sees fit. I pray for Him to direct me on His paths. I ask for His correction when I do not do His will, but I know that I am unable to stand before His anger so I plead for Him to be gentle. The wondrous thing is that I know that He will answer this prayer and show me the glories of following His will.

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Colossians 3:18-4:18

     Paul begins today’s passage with a shorter version of what he wrote in Ephesians 5-6. Wives should submit to their husbands, husbands should love their wives, children are to obey their parents, and fathers are to avoid aggravating their children. In the Ephesians passage he sums this up with “submit to one another.” Just as in his letter to the Ephesians Paul tells slaves to work for their earthly master as if they were working for the Lord rather than for people. Masters are instructed to be just and fair to their slaves.
     What Paul wrote next fits into something that has been convicting me lately. He tells them to devote themselves to prayer. I have been feeling called to devote more of my time and thought to prayer. Connected to his instruction on prayer Paul tells us to live wisely among non-believers, so that we can make the most of every opportunity. In order to accomplish this, our conversation is to always be full of grace. If we are always careful about what we say, and how we say it, we will know how to answer everyone who asks about our faith. I know that if we are spending as much time in prayer as we ought, the Spirit will answer through us when non-believers ask us questions about what we believe and our faith. I will strive to be in prayer more and more.
     There may be such a thing as praying enough, but I know that there is no such thing as praying too much.

Psalm 78:56-72

     The psalmist tells us that despite the fact that the people of Israel repeatedly rebelled against Him, God raised up David to be their leader and shepherd them with careful hands. David did not come from any of the obvious groups, but rather was chosen by God. We can pray that God raises such a leader again today.

Proverbs 24:28-29

     Today’s proverb warns against lying about our neighbors in court or to government officials in order to gain revenge for perceived wrongs they have done to us. We should remember that they are our neighbors, who we are to love as we love ourselves.