For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I want to encourage everyone who reads this blog to work on reading the Bible regularly, whether it is to work your way completely through it, or some other method of disciplining yourself to read from the Bible each day.

Proverbs 25:15

    If you want to change the way things work, you will need patience. The United States celebrates Thanksgiving Day on the last Thursday of November because Sarah Joseph Hale campaigned for 17 years to get it established as a national holiday. She wrote to President after President until she finally convinced President Lincoln to support legislation creating such the national Holiday. William Wilberforce began campaigning in the British Parliament for the abolition of slavery in 1789. It was not until three days before his death in 1826 that Parliament passed the law abolishing slavery in that nation.
    It is by the soft and gentle words inspired in us by the Holy Spirit that we are able to overcome strong and determined opposition.

Psalm 84:1-12

    I saw a video the other day where a speaker said that you will not succeed until you desire success more than you desire to breath. That is probably true. The psalmist would probably agree. Here the psalmist says that he desires being in God’s presence more than anything else. Do I desire to serve God more than I desire to breath? Do you? Am I willing to sacrifice everything I have, my very life, for just a single day in God’s presence? I pray that the Holy Spirit give me that desire. How far are we willing to go to serve the Lord? Will I give up sleep? Will I suffer pain? Oh Lord, give the desire to do Your will to the point where I will give up everything else and suffer anything in order to accomplish it.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-17

    Paul addresses those who claim that Jesus has already returned. He tells us not to believe them, since Jesus will not return until after the “man of lawlessness” is revealed. He tells us that before Christ’s return there will be a great rebellion against God, accompanied by the “man of lawlessness”. Paul tells us that this man will exalt himself above and defy everything that people call god and everything which they worship. He will claim to actually be God. This man will do the work of Satan with counterfeit power, signs, and miracles.
    As I read this passage, part of me thinks that Paul was not about a single individual, but rather about different people who have arisen throughout history. I could see Adolf Hitler fulfilling this description, except I do not recall any accounts of him performing miracles, signs, and wonders. However, his followers fulfilled the part about refusing to love and accept the truth. There are many people like that. Those who refuse to accept the truth will be deceived and choose to accept lies. I am convinced that the man of lawlessness to whom Paul refers is a single individual who will arise at some point in the future (perhaps the very near future). Yet, Paul is also talking about an archetype who appears time and again throughout history. Men who rise up and do great evil because those who refuse to accept God’s truth follow them instead of following Christ. We, however, have been chosen by God to experience His salvation. Let us hold firmly to the teachings of the Spirit which convey that salvation. We must be on guard, because, while we may not live in the time of the man of lawlessness which Paul refers to, we do live in a time of lawlessness when many people refuse to accept God’s truth.

Jeremiah 23:21-25:38

    Jeremiah speaks of prophets whom God proclaims that He did not send. God tells us that He gave these prophets no message. Yet if they had wished to come to Him and listen, He would have given them His words to speak. It reminds us that at every time in history, men rise up who want to receive the glory and honour due someone who speaks for God, but do not wish to dedicate the time and effort to hear God’s message. Some of them start genuinely attempting to serve God and become distracted by the bright lights and glory. Others seek out the bright light and glory and never care about serving God at all.
    The way to recognize all of them is that they do not call people away from sin, instead they tell lies which lead people into ever more sin. Jeremiah tells us not to believe those who say, “This is a message from the Lord.” Too many people use that phrase to preface something that is their own thought or idea. It is good to ask, “What is the Lord’s answer?” or “What is the Lord’s message?” But our answer to those questions should be something along the lines of, “Well, it seems to me,…” rather than “The Lord’s message is…” Let us humbly remember that we are fallible people and what seems to be God’s message to us may only be our own thoughts and ideas.

     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 23:21-25:38

     Jeremiah continues his condemnation of false prophets. Jeremiah tells us how we can be true prophets of God and how we can recognize true from false prophets. If we want to be true prophets of God, we must stand before God and listen to what He has to say. We do not become prophets of God by stealing messages from others, even if we believe that they were speaking God’s word. This does not mean that we cannot repeat what we believe are messages from God that we have heard others say. However, if we do so, we must make sure to acknowledge where we heard it and not take claim that it is a message which God revealed directly to us.
     This brings us to recognizing those who have a true message from God. Does the message turn people from their evil ways and deeds? Prophecies from God lead people away from sin and burn our consciences like fire for our sinful behavior. False prophecies encourage people in their sin and lead them away from God, soothing their consciences of their bad behavior. We should seek the Lord’s answer for our questions, but we should avoid claiming divine inspiration for our own ideas.

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2 Thessalonians 2:1-17

     Paul tells us not to be alarmed by those who claim that the day of Christ’s return has already come. We need to remember that the day of the Lord will not come until after the “man of lawlessness” is fully revealed. This man will oppose everything that is called God and that is worshiped. He will proclaim himself to be God. When he appears on the scene he will use displays of power in signs and wonder that will serve the lie he is telling. Those who refuse to love and accept the truth will be fooled and led to destruction. People refuse to accept the truth because they take pleasure in being wicked.

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     As I read this I wondered if the “man of lawlessness” which Paul is speaking of is a single individual or if perhaps the “man of lawlessness” represents a mindset of many people. The most obvious reading of this passage is that the “man of lawlessness” is a leader similar to Hitler, or Stalin, or some of the other evil leaders of the past (and future). I would say that as Christians we need to be aware of the rise of such evil leaders and not allow them to lead us away from God’s truth. However, there is also a more subtle strain of evil and lawlessness which permeates our society. It is one where each individual is encouraged to think that he is god and not answerable to anyone. My belief is that the latter represents what Paul is talking about when he says that the secret power of lawlessness is already at work and that at some point a leader will arise who will make all of the evil leaders of the past look like pikers.

Psalm 84:1-12

     The psalmist expresses his desire to live in the presence of God. There is great joy for those whose strength comes from God. There is a verse that sums up this psalm and my thoughts:

A single day in your courts
is better than a thousand anywhere else!
I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God
than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.

If I remember this and keep it in the forefront of my thoughts, it will help me to live my life according to God’s plan for me. It helps that my greatest happiness occurs when I live according to this as well.

Proverbs 25:15

     Patience and soft speech can be more powerful than they seem. I need to remember that as a Christian I am called to approach things with gentle persistence.