For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    Who you associate with matters. If you spend all of your time around foolish people, you will do foolish things. When you do foolish things you will end up with trouble and problems. Even if, by a stroke of fortune, you avoid doing foolish things you will experience the trouble created by the foolish actions of those you are spending time with. If you find yourself plagued by trouble, as soon as one problem is resolved another problem crops up, it is time to examine your behavior. That is the type of circumstance fools and sinners find themselves in.
    As an alternate, spend your time with the wise and you will find yourself becoming wiser. Your companions will offer you advice on how to avoid trouble and solve problems. The wise choose the righteous path and then, instead of being pursued by trouble, unexpected blessings keep turning up in their lives.

    Despite feeling like God has turned His back on him and abandoned him the psalmist praises God and calls on others to do likewise. I praise God not just because He has done great things for me, but because He is deserving of praise.

    As I read Jesus’ comments about the widow’s mites I was reminded of an article I read recently. During the last economic downturn extending into the current economic hard times, charities have discovered that donations from big money donors have fallen off, while those from those of lesser means have not only remained steady but increased. This fact serves as a reminder of the lesson Jesus was teaching here. God is not impressed by how much of our surplus we give to His work. He is impressed by how much we are willing to sacrifice in order to help those less fortunate than ourselves. When deciding if we are giving enough to God’s work the question we need to ask ourselves is if our giving means we have to forgo buying something we want?

    Joshua presented the Israelites with a decision which each and everyone of us must make. It is a decision which must be made by every generation. Actually, it is a decision which we must make every day. We must choose who it is we are going to serve. Are we going to serve God? Or someone/something else? We have many people and things we can choose to serve. Joshua presented it here as a life decision, and it is. But it is also a decision we must make anew each day.
    When Joshua told the people of Israel to choose whom they would serve, it was not a dispassionate question. He did not say, “Well, you need to choose a set of gods to follow. I think you should follow God, but its up to you.” No, he described all the things God had done for the Israelites, both those to whom he was speaking and their ancestors. Then he told them to serve God and God alone. Then he uttered the phrase that must have stirred the blood of the people listening, “Choose today whom you will serve…But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord!” When he uttered that line, I imagine that it was met with a loud shout from the people affirming that they too would serve the Lord. We need to confront the people we meet with their need to make a choice and we need to make sure they understand the seriousness of the choice they are about to make. But that doesn’t mean that we should not make it clear to them which choice we think they should make. We should use every bit of our ability to convince them to make the right choice.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    Those who refuse to acknowledge their mistakes and ignore all attempts to point them out will end in poverty and disgrace. Those who respond to criticism by changing their ways will be honored. Everybody enjoys seeing their dreams come true, but fools are unwilling to change in order to obtain them.

    The first few verses of today’s psalm are a continuation of the praise of God found in yesterday’s psalm. Then it goes on to speak of God’s promise to King David. However, there is actually a little more to it than just that. This psalm describes how any ruler can gain God’s support (or lose it). Those who obey God’s commands and keep His decrees will find their power and authority expanding. Those who do not do so will find themselves the subject of God’s judgment.

    After being asked yet another trick question by the religious leaders, Jesus asks one of His own. Reading it today, I just realized what Jesus was getting at with His question about the Messiah being the son of David. He was telling us that we can get too caught up in setting up rules and reading into what a passage means. Jesus tells us that those who study the Scripture and claim they have all the answers are hypocrites. He warns us to be wary of those who twist the words of Scripture in order to sound pious and praiseworthy, while using their position and authority to defraud those who already have little.

    The tribes who lived east of the Jordan responded to the concerns of the rest of the Israelites over the altar they had built. They acknowledged that the concern raised by the other tribes was a legitimate concern. They told the other tribes that if they had intended what the other tribes thought they intended the other tribes would be right to make war against them. Then they explained their actions. They explained that they had built the altar as a reminder to the other tribes that those east of the Jordan were their brothers in serving God. They had built the altar in order to maintain the unity of future generations of Israel.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    The proverb writer tells us that those with good sense are respected, then he tells us part of what he means by good sense: thinking before you act (I believe that he would include speaking within the meaning of “act” for this proverb). On the other hand he tells us that the treacherous, or unfaithful, are headed for destruction. The treacherous, the unfaithful, are those who not only act without thinking first, but brag about doing so.

    The King James translation of the first verse of this psalm inspired the hymn, “I Will Sing of the Mercies of the Lord”. The sentiments of this psalm and that song should be ours. I will sing of God’s great faithfulness, of the fact that His love endures forever.

    When Jesus was asked by what authority He took the actions He did, He responded by asking if John authority to baptize came from heaven or from man. Essentially, Jesus was asking them what sort of answer they would accept. This is a good example for us to follow when we are challenged on our faith and what we believe. Before we attempt to answer the question, let us make sure that there is an answer our questioners will accept. If every answer is the wrong answer, don’t bother to try.
    There is a common point between the parable of the evil farmers and the story about Jesus being questioned on taxation. In both cases, Jesus brings up the point of giving God what is God’s due. It is in Jesus’ answer on taxation that we get the clearest answer as to what is God’s due. Jesus asks whose image is on the coin used to pay the Roman tax. The answer is that Caesar’s image is on those coins. At which point Jesus says, “Give to Caesar what belongs Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” It is subtle, but this is a clear reference to Genesis 1:26. Since we are made in God’s image, it is ourselves which we are to give to God.
    I could go on for some time about this message. The government has claim to our money, since it is government laws which make that money in the first place. However, only God has claim to us, because it was God who created us and in the process put His image upon us. It is the nature of governments that they continually attempt to extend their authority over our very beings. If we fail to give our very selves to the service of God, we will gradually end up giving that service to the government, or some other authority which does not have legitimate claim to that service. This lesson is just another take on the lesson Jesus taught when He told us we must choose who we are going to serve, God Or Mammon?

    The story of the eastern tribes building an altar and the response of the rest of Israel gives us a lesson for dealing with those who we believe are behaving sinfully. Here is what happened. The people of Israel learned that the eastern tribes had done something. The only explanation they could think of for that action was something which violated God’s commands to the people of Israel. However, rather than assume that their explanation for the action of the eastern tribes was correct and passing judgment on them, they asked them why they had done what they had done. That is instead of acting on their assumptions they decided to check their facts. It is this model to which Jesus refers in Matthew 18 when He tells us how to deal with our fellow believers who sin.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    If you want to become wiser, spend your time with those who are already wise. If you spend your time with those who are foolish, not only will you begin to act foolishly, you will end up in trouble, even if you do not do anything foolish yourself (other than spend your time with fools). The earth produces sufficient food for all people to have enough to eat. It is injustice that leads to the poor going hungry.

    The NIV version of verse 48 is appropriate a few days after Easter.

Who can live and not see death,
or who can escape the power of the grave?

The answer to the latter half of that question is Jesus, and those who trust in Him. God’s enemies mocked(still mock) His Anointed One and denied (and many still deny) that He could escape the power of the grave. Yet Easter morning is testimony to the fact that He did escape that power.

    Luke’s version of the widow’s offering gives me an insight into what Jesus was teaching here that I have never noticed before. The widow gave only a very small amount of money, but to God it was worth more than the vast amounts given by others. Her offering’s value was because she trusted God enough to give even that which she needed to live on. She trusted God to provide for her needs. While those more wealthy gave large amounts of money out of that which was in excess of their needs, still retaining wealth in excess of what they needed to live. This is an important lesson for us, we should give until we feel it. The proper amount to give is complicated and I think God is leading me to flesh out my thoughts on this subject.
    Jesus tells the disciples about the coming destruction of Jerusalem. As we read His account of the events that led up to the destruction of Jerusalem (something which was still in the future as He spoke), we should recognize that He is describing what happens during the lead up to every great calamity. Surely, what He says is very similar to the world leading up to WWI and WWII. Jesus warns us that as the world is turning towards such things those who follow Him will be persecuted. They will be arrested, tortured and put on trial. If we are faithful to Christ, we will be persecuted. It may be in minor ways, or it may be to the point where we give our lives for our faith, but if we are faithful we will be persecuted by those who refuse to believe. Whatever persecution we face, let us face it with joy because it will provide us with an opportunity to present the Good News of Christ to those who have not yet listened (they may have heard, but did they listen?).

    In this passage is one of the great calls to dedicate ourselves to God. It contains elements of a sermon that every pastor should preach regularly. I am not sure how often, but over half of the congregation should remember the last time he preached it. This is a message for those who claim to be the servants of God.
    First Joshua points out all of the good things which God had done for the people of Israel. Then he declares that they should fear God and serve Him with all of their being. Let us destroy all of those things which we are tempted to worship in place of God, those things which lead us to act in ways other than those which God commands. If we are not willing to make that commitment than we need to decide what gods we are going to worship instead of God. That is the only choice we have. Either we worship God wholeheartedly and single-mindedly, or we acknowledge that we would rather worship something else. Today is the time to decide.
    There are times when we need to decide as a group, but even then we can follow Joshua’s lead. He told the people of Israel that they needed to decide. But no matter what they decided, His decision was made. He, and His family, would follow the Lord. I ask that you say his statement with me today:

As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    Those who ignore criticism and disregard discipline will end in poverty and shame. Those who change their behavior in response to correction will be honoured. Everyone enjoys seeing their dreams come true, but it is foolish to pursue them with evil methods.

    Righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne. Any ruler who wishes a long and prosperous reign will base his rule on them as well. God has raised up Jesus as the eternal heir to David’s throne. God will beat down His adversaries and destroy those who hate Him. Let us hear the call to worship and walk in the light of God’s presence

    As I read today’s passage about the Sadducees who attempted to trap Jesus with a question about the resurrection of the dead I was reminded of an article I read yesterday. There are still people today who claim to believe in an all-powerful God who do not believe that He can, or will, raise people from the dead. The article I read claimed that the story of Jesus’ resurrection was a source of rifts between Christians. Jesus makes it clear here that the dead will indeed be raised. Yesterday we celebrated that Christ rose from the dead. He did not rise in a metaphorical manner, or just as a spirit. Jesus rose from the dead in this physical world. God can indeed raise the dead in a physical body. He is not bound by the laws of the physical universe.

    Yesterday we read the passage where the tribes living east of the Jordan built an altar just before returning home. Those living west of the Jordan were afraid that it was intended for idolatry and prepared to go to war to wipe this stain out of the midst of the nation of Israel. First, they sent a delegation to determine why the altar was built. Those living east of the Jordan met the delegation and explained the purpose of the altar. They had built the altar to remind their descendants, and the descendants of those living west of the Jordan, that they were one people who together worshiped the God of Heaven. Let this be a reminder to us that all of those who worship Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are one family. Anyone who worships the risen Jesus Christ is my brother, or sister.