If you spend all of your time with fools, you will not learn anything useful. Think about the consequences of your actions carefully. Otherwise you are fooling yourself into thinking you are a good person because you “mean well”.
The first psalm tells of God’s great power, how His mere presence causes destruction to those who oppose Him and the things which might impede His will. Those who worship something, anything, other than God will be disgraced because that which they worship will be forced to submit to God. God is supreme over all the earth and far more powerful, and worthy of worship, than any other god, or anything we might worship.
The first psalm ends by reminding us that those who worship and serve God will rejoice and be filled with joy. This is the perfect transition into the second psalm, which calls on everyone and everything to praise God. Yes, I will do as this psalm recommends. I will sing and shout to God in praise. I will use whatever tools are at my disposal to express my praise and worship to Him.
The two criminals crucified alongside Jesus show us two types of sinners in this world. The first is the one who mocks God, and those who strive to serve Him, right up to the end, even as they suffer the consequences of their sin. The other recognize that their suffering is the natural consequence of the life they lived and something they deserved. The latter also recognize that those who have striven to serve God do not deserve such suffering and attempt to protect them, even to the very end, from being mocked by others. This passage shows us that there is hope for the latter right up to the very end. As long as one yet lives one has the opportunity to accept God’s forgiveness and serve Him, even if only in a small way.
When Gideon raised his army to fight against the Midianites, God told him that he had too many men. God insisted that Gideon reduce his forces so that everyone would know the victory came from God. This contains an important lesson for us. God does not call us to tasks which are easy, tasks which we can accomplish through our own strength and ability. He calls us to tasks which demonstrate His power and will in this world. He calls us to tasks which we can only accomplish through the power of God. If your thought when you fell called to a task is, “I’ve got this,” you are either badly overestimating your abilities, or you have misjudged the task to which God has called you. The appropriate response when confronted by a task to which God has called you is to cry out to God for help because the task is beyond your ability, while doing the best that you can.
For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have been convicted over the last few weeks to seek to develop a disciplined prayer life. It is still a work in progress. Please pray for me, that the Holy Spirit may show me how to pray in a disciplined manner.
A lazy person is afraid of the dangers of taking action. They overstate the dangers in order to excuse doing nothing. When you are considering the dangers of a particular course of action, think about whether you are truly looking at the dangers, or if you are merely looking for an excuse to do nothing.
Those who are lazy are convinced that they are wiser than any number of advisers whose advice advocates taking actions they wish to avoid. If everyone else thinks that some action is your best course of action, but you do not, you should think about whether you are merely being lazy.
Those who love the Lord will hate evil. They will live godly lives and God will rescue them from the wicked. The Lord is ruler over all the earth and all other gods (and whatever people view as gods) will be forced to submit to Him. Those who worship anything other than God will be disgraced. Let us sing songs of praise to the Lord, both new songs and old songs. The joy which those who love the Lord feel because of His greatness overflows all bounds. Shout for joy those who love the Lord for He is victorious. The mountains and oceans will sing His praise. The Lord will judge the earth and everything in it with justice and fairness. If you love the Lord and His righteousness this will fill you with joy.
Once more Paul gives lays out what characteristics we should look for in those we are considering selecting for Church leadership. These are the “job requirements” for the position. Unlike in many job ads these are actual requirements. Unfortunately all too many Church groups treat them like the “job requirements” in many job ads: “things we would like to see, but as long as you have most of them, we will consider you”. Not only are these God’s requirements for Church leadership, they represent characteristics we should all strive to have in our lives (well, OK, if you are a woman you should not strive to “be faithful to your wife”, but I think you already knew I did not mean that).
Twice Paul says that a Church leader must live a blameless life. The fact of the matter is that the other things he lists are examples of what that means. We should all live blameless lives. Paul’s list of what it means to live a blameless life is not comprehensive and he does not intend it to be. However, it is a pretty good list to start with. Paul also mentions that a Church leader must have a strong belief in the message he has been taught (the NIV says “hold firmly”). We should strive to have such a belief so that we, also, can teach others and show those who teach differently where they are wrong.
He contrasts this teaching with those who teach distortions of the truth in order to get rich. This gives us a hint about how to recognize those teaching a false doctrine. If someone is claiming to teach the Christian message and has gotten rich from doing so, it is likely that some aspect of what they are teaching is not in accordance with God’s word. There may be exceptions, but we should be cautious about accepting the teachings of someone who got rich through preaching.
Jeremiah continues to warn the countries around Judah that they will not escape the destruction which fell upon Judah. Their failure to stand together against the coming destruction means that it will fall upon them one by one. As important, Jeremiah tells Babylon, the originator of this destruction, that it too will fall to the wrath it has unleashed. Those who believe that they can unleash the destruction of war and have it fall only upon their enemies are wrong. When war, famine, and disease begin to spread they will not fall only on our enemies. If we do not want to face similar destruction we must muster our efforts to stop them while they are still far away.
Jeremiah had predicted the fall of Jerusalem, the suffering of those who were God’s chosen people. That suffering was coming upon them because they had failed to faithfully follow God. However, Jeremiah now prophesied that the tool which God had used to bring about that suffering would in turn fall. God would raise up a power to bring down those who had brought violence and mayhem all around. At the same time He punished those who mistreated His people (something God allowed because of their sin), He would restore His people. This is something we can hold close to our hearts. When we see persecution and suffering coming for God’s people, we need to remember that it will be temporary, only for a short time. God will rescue those who faithfully serve Him through the times of trouble.
Stay away from those who have an opinion on everything and knowledge of nothing. Carefully consider what the results of your actions will be. Do not be foolish and trick yourself into thinking that because you want to do something that it will produce the results you desire.
God is supreme in all of the earth. As I seek to love Him more, I need to seek out those places in my life where I harbor a love for evil and sin. The more I come to love God, the more I will hate evil in all its forms. Let us take joy in worshiping the Lord and sing songs, both new and old, to Him. As I read Psalm 98 it causes me to break forth in joy and wish that I had musical talent (or even ability). I want to sing out with whatever words come to me. I will sing and shout and praise the Lord.
Jesus prayer as He hung on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing,” is one of the most powerful, and convicting, passages in Scripture. As Jesus hung on the cross in agony, He did not rage against those who had put Him there. Instead, He begged the Father to forgive them. If Jesus, as He experienced the agony of the cross, could forgive those who had put Him there, how can we fail to forgive those who have done us wrong?
When Gideon gathered his forces to drive the Midianites out of the land of Israel, God told him that he had too many men. God told Gideon that if was victorious with too large of an army, he, and the people, would take credit for the victory rather than giving credit to God. Gideon culled his army down twice until only 300 men remained. This is a lesson we need to remember. When we are seeking to do the Lord’s work, more is not necessarily better. It is important that those who witness our success in carrying out God’s will know that it was not through our might that we succeeded. Let us make sure that everyone knows that our success was only possible because God fought on our side.
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 continues prophesying against those who profited from the fall of Jerusalem. He writes that, yes, God brought judgment against His people. God raised up Babylon in order to destroy Jerusalem and punish His people for their sins. However, the Babylonians became arrogant and sinned as well.
…
Reading this made me realize that while the sinful actions we take may serve God’s purpose, we will still pay the price for our sins. As I read this, it struck me that this works well with my understanding of the Christian’s relationship to government. God used Nebuchadnezzar to punish the people of Judah for their sins, but this did not make Nebuchadnezzar’s actions righteous. In the same way, God will use government officials to accomplish his purposes, but that does not mean that the actions those officials take are righteous actions.
Once again Paul writes a list of requirements for someone to be appointed as an elder/authority in the Church. Once more I am struck that we so often overlook that all Christians are called to live according to most of these criteria. I will strive to live up to these criteria. As I look at the list, some of them are easy for me. Others are more of a challenge. I am not quick-tempered or violent, but I struggle with arrogance. I enjoy entertaining guests, but I struggle with leading a disciplined life. I will pray for the Spirit to change me to be more like this model for all Christians, to make me someone who others may imitate in an attempt to follow Christ.
Paul warns Titus that there are, and will always be, people who engage in useless talk and deception in order to seem godly without actually being godly. Their error must be shown because some will be deceived into turning away from true godliness to follow their false teachings. Then Paul tells us a key to recognizing those who are teaching these false teachings.
Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted.
Years ago I was told that people who are untrustworthy do not trust anybody. I have learned through experience that this is true. In my experience, people who are constantly afraid that they are being cheated are constantly looking for ways to cheat others. That is the sort of thing which Paul is talking about here. I have tried to flesh out the meaning of what Paul meant with the passage I quoted above, but the more I think about it the more it seems that that passage says all that needs to be said. Those who are pure do not need to be told what is impure, while those who are busy making lists of impure things and acts are spending too much time thinking about impurity and not enough time seeking to do God’s will.
The Lord rules, and this is a cause to rejoice. Those who worship other things will be put to shame. God is supreme over all of the earth. He is greater than anything else we could worship. I will call on all the earth to shout for joy and praise the Lord. As I read this psalm, I am filled with joy thinking of the great things which God has done.
Those who are lazy will imagine danger to avoid work. The lazy person always has an excuse as to why they cannot work. They will suffer rather than put forth the effort to care for themselves. Yet despite all of this, they are convinced that they are wiser and smarter than those who offer wise counsel.
I am still trying to adjust my writing to the fact that the computer I usually compose these blogs on is down, but God has blessed me in going over these scriptures in this time. Of course, adjusting my writing to using a different computer is the fact that there have been problems at work that have disrupted my schedule as well. I hope that this has not led to a reduction in the quality of my posts (and overall I don’t think that it has, but I’m not a good judge of that).
I have been using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study for almost a year. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I started writing this blog because the only way I can get myself to read the Bible everyday is to pretend that I am teaching someone about what it says to me. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
After receiving the signs of the fleece, Gideon led his army out towards the Midianites. However, when they camped within striking distance of the Midianite army, God told Gideon that he had too many men. That if he went to battle with such a large army and was victorious, the Israelites were likely to take credit for the victory themselves rather than praising God. So Gideon told the army that anyone who was nervous or afraid about the coming battle should go home. This reads to me as if he said that anyone who was there because they felt an obligation to be there, but were frightened by the prospect of battle, was not obligated to remain and indeed should go home. We are told that 22,000 men left, leaving an army of 10,000.
God told Gideon that his army was still too large, so, inspired by God, Gideon devised a test. He took his remaining men down to a stream and had them drink. Those who leaned down and lapped the water out of the stream with their tongues were sent home. Those who cupped their hands and brought the water up to their mouth to drink were asked to remain. With these remaining 300 men, Gideon came up with a battle plan.
Gideon was still nervous about the attack, so he snuck down to the enemy camp. When he got close, he overheard one man in the camp tell another about a disturbing dream he had just had. The second man interpreted the dream to mean that God was going to hand the camp of the Midianites over to Gideon. Thus encouraged, Gideon returned to his camp to put his plan into action.
Gideon carefully positioned his men around the Midianite camp and had them simulate an attack by a much larger group. The Midianites panicked and began attacking one another while Gideon’s force watched. Those who were not killed fled in disarray. Gideon summoned the warriors of the surrounding Israelite tribes to pursue them. As part of this, Gideon called upon the warriors of Ephraim, who he had not summoned to his earlier muster. The warriors of Ephraim responded, controlled the crossings of the river Jordan, killed a large number of the Midianites and captured two of the Midianite leaders. When they brought the heads of the Midianite leaders to Gideon, they challenged him because he had not summoned them to his earlier muster. Gideon soothed their anger by praising their effort in holding the Jordan river and pointing out that what they had done in a supporting role was more than what he had done in the main role.
Gideon then led his 300 men in pursuit of the remaining fleeing Midianite leaders. When he crossed the Jordan, he asked for supplies from two cities on the other side (the passage is not clear, but I read these as being cities occupied by Israelites who had settled east if the Jordan River). Both cities denied him aid, saying they would give him aid when he had captured the Midianite leaders, Gideon told them that when he had defeated the Midianites completely, he would return and punish these cities. Gideon continued his pursuit of the Midianite leaders and overtook them as they camped. Gideon attacked the Midianites from an unexpected direction and defeated the remaining 15,000 men with his force of 300. Gideon then returned and carried out his promised punishment of the two cities which refused to provide him with supplies.
When Herod returned Jesus to Pilate, Pilate told the Jewish leaders that he found no basis for executing Jesus and neither had Herod. He said that he would have Jesus flogged and released. The crowd that had gathered demanded Jesus’ death. Pilate attempted twice more to ask them why they wanted Jesus killed, but the crowd got louder and more out of control. Finally, Pilate gave into to their demands and ordered that Jesus be crucified.
The soldiers took Jesus out to be crucified along with two convicted criminals. As they put Him on the cross, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Those watching sneered and said that if He was the Messiah, He should be able to save Himself. One of the two criminals being crucified with Him joined in the mockery by telling Jesus that if He was the Messiah He should save all three of them. However, the other criminal rebuked the first, admitting that he deserved to be crucified, but stating that Jesus did not. He then turned to Jesus and asked Him to remember him when He came into His kingdom. Jesus told him that he would join Him in paradise.
These two psalms are great songs of praise to God. God’s power precedes Him and destroys His enemies before He even approaches them. God does not have to take action to defeat His enemies, their destruction is a product of His essence. We should praise the Lord because His very essence spreads joy to those who love Him. If we love the Lord we will hate evil.
Let us sing a song to God, telling of His wonderful deeds. I will praise the Lord because He has done marvelous things. God will judge the world with justice and fairness bringing joy to those who love Him. These two psalms bring joy to my heart and lift me up when I feel down.
The writer advises us to stay away from fools because what they say is devoid of knowledge. He continues by telling us that the prudent look ahead carefully to see where the road they are on ends up, while the foolish convince themselves that the road they are on goes where they want to go without ever looking to see if that is so.
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. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Jeremiah prophecies concerning three more of the kingdoms around Judah, predicting their destruction. He then goes on to prophecy the fall of Babylon and the restoration of Israel. Jeremiah prophecies that the remnant of Israel will seek after God as God restores them to their land. He prophecies this in the middle of his prophecy that Babylon will be destroyed. Jeremiah says that God will destroy Babylon because of their arrogance and their idolatry. Babylon was used by God to bring judgement on the people of Judah, but in their pride the Babylonians went beyond what God had called them to do. They gave credit for their success to false gods and worshiped them in ways detestable to God, in ways that always lead to the destruction of a society that practices them.
Paul writes to Titus and begins by telling him that Paul is teaching people the truth that leads to godliness. This gives us a guideline by which to judge the truth of someone’s teaching, does following it lead to godliness? Paul then once again gives us the job requirements for an elder in the church. An elder must be the husband of one wife, with children who are believers and do not have a reputation for being wild or rebellious. An elder must not be one who is overbearing, or quick-tempered. He must not be given to violence or drunkenness. He must have a reputation for honest dealing when it comes to money. Then we come to the positive job requirements. An elder must be hospitable. He must be a lover of what is good. He must live a wise, disciplined life. He must have a strong faith and be solidly grounded in scripture. I had read these passages before in discussions about the qualifications of an elder, but I had never noticed the hospitality requirement before I did my blog on 1 Timothy a short time ago.
Paul goes on to explain why it is important that an elder be strongly grounded in scripture. The reason is that there are many people who are teaching false teachings in order to enrich themselves. So, an elder must be firmly grounded in scripture so that he can show those tempted to follow these false teachers where they are wrong. Paul gives us another teaching to judge ourselves and the teachings of others. He tells us that everything is pure to the person of pure heart, but that nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving. I am sure you know the type, those who always see ulterior motives in everything anyone does. And not just ulterior motives, but those of the most sordid type. We should consider our own thoughts, do we always think that others are doing things for purely selfish reasons? Or, on the other hand, do we find ourselves giving people too much of the benefit of the doubt? This passage suggests we should be more towards the latter than the former.
All who worship anything other than the true God will be shamed as all creation will be forced to bow before God. Those who love the Lord will hate evil. Note that it says that they will “hate evil”, not “hate evil people”. And what is evil? It is the absence of good, the absence of God. Let us rejoice in the Lord and praise His name. In this way we can spread the presence of His good further in this world.
Let us sing a song to the Lord, for He has been victorious. He will judge the world in justice and fairness.
A lazy person will use fear as an excuse to not work. This passage tells us a lot about some mental disorders. Some people develop mental disorders (paranoia, phobias, etc) in order to avoid work of one kind or another. This is not true of all people that suffer from these disorders, but I have observed people whose symptoms seem to disappear when they would interfere with activities that the person wishes to take part in. Our writer goes on to point out that the lazy often think they are wiser than others. If everyone around you suggests that you should take action, but you still feel otherwise, perhaps the problem is laziness.
