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, or more. in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     If you are trying to decide if you are wise or foolish, ask yourself this question, how do you feel about someone giving you instructions? Are you happy to listen to(and follow) those instructions? Or are you too busy telling them what you think about the subject?

     Do we feel about our sins the way the psalmist felt about his? Does the very thought of our sins make us physically sick? Are we willing to confess our sins? Do we feel remorse and sorrow for them? Do we turn to God and ask Him for His forgiveness?

     This passage contains two stories of faith. The first is a father who is desperate to save his daughter. the second is a woman who had been suffering for years. In both cases they turned to Jesus. The woman’s thought was, “If I can just touch His rob, I will be healed.” Do we have that kind of faith? There is a truth here that we all need to remember. If we get close to Jesus and “touch His robe” we will be healed. Do we desire Jesus’ touch the way this woman did? There is something more for us to see here as well. When the woman came to Jesus, her suffering was over because of her faith. She had faith that Jesus could relieve her suffering and as a result He did. Do we have faith that Jesus can relieve our suffering?
     In the other story, people came to the father and told him it was too late, that not even Jesus could help any longer. Jesus had a message for him, them, and us. “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.” No matter how bad things appear. Do not let people tell you it is too late. Just have faith. The crowd may laugh at us, but Jesus’ touch can make things better, no matter how far gone it all is. Everyone thought the man’s daughter was dead, but Jesus said she was sleeping. He took her hand, told her to get up, and she got up and walked around. If we know those who need Jesus’ touch, let us have faith that He can heal them. It is never too late for them to take His hand. Two people were healed in this story. One went to Jesus, touched Him and was healed. For the second, someone brought Jesus to them, He touched them and they were healed. Do you need healing? Go to Jesus and reach out to Him. He will heal you. Do you know someone who needs healing? Bring Jesus to them. He will reach out to them and heal them. In either case, just have faith.

     This passage gave the people of interest a list of animals they could and could not eat. In addition to listing many of the animals they were allowed and not allowed to eat, the passage explained what distinguished between these groups, going so far as to offer examples. Looking at the list it quickly becomes apparent that those which they were not allowed to eat posed a significant health risk if eaten (especially when we consider the food storage and preparation techniques available to them). In the modern day we have seen why it is not a good idea to eat just any animal. There have been several outbreaks of disease that resulted from people eating animals that it is unwise to eat. One interesting things about these outbreaks is that they were not the result of the impoverished eating whatever they could lay their hands on. Rather most(if not all) of them were the result of people who were eating these creatures as a delicacy.

     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, or more. in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     If you want people to think well of you after you are gone (whether dead or merely traveled elsewhere), live a godly life. The names of the wicked are forgotten, or remembered as curse words.

     The psalmist contrasts the godly and the wicked. The godly are trusted. They offer wise advice that will help those who listen succeed. The wicked, on the other hand, are looking for an excuse to bring down the godly. They seek to bring down others to make themselves look better. Trust in the Lord and live your life according to His commands and you will do well. The wicked may seem to thrive, but no sooner do they rise to prominence than they are gone. I will seek refuge in the Lord.

     Mark recounts two of Jesus’ parables about the Kingdom of God. The first one tells us that we will not, and cannot understand, how our actions will lead to the growth of the Kingdom. It is not our job to understand how it works. We are to do the things which God directs us to do and allow His Spirit to cause the Kingdom to grow just as a farmer does not need to understand how a plant grows, he just needs to plant the seeds at the proper time in the proper place. The second parable tells us that seemingly insignificant actions can have tremendous results. We need to do the small things that come our way each day because they have impact way out of proportion to their seeming significance.
     I have to touch on Jesus calming the storm. As He and His disciples crossed the lake, a storm came up. The storm was intense and the disciples were sure that they were going to die. Jesus, on the other hand, slept through it. Most of the time when we read this we talk about the fact that Jesus was able to calm the storm, but I don’t think that is entirely the point here. Jesus was able to sleep through the storm because He knew that the Father was in control. He knew that God had plans for Him and did not worry about the storms which might arise in the meantime. Jesus’ question to the disciples about their faith was about why were they worried and afraid. Didn’t they know that God was looking after them? Do we have the faith to trust that God will see us through the troubles this life brings our way?

     Once Aaron and his sons had been ordained, they took up the responsibilities of making the offerings for the people. Our dedication of ourselves to God is not just for our benefit. They did not go through the process of being cleansed and made holy before God for their own benefit. They went through this process in order to be of service to others. The same it true for us. God does not bring us to Him through Christ just for our benefit, but in order to prepare us to serve others.

     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, or more. in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     God will provide for the needs of those who follow His commands, but He will not satisfy the cravings of those who seek only their own pleasure. Laziness leads to poverty, hard work to financial security.

     The psalmist reminds us not to worry because there are wicked people in this world and not to be envious of those who do wrong. Rather let us focus on trusting the Lord and doing what is good. It is not my place to worry about what others are doing. I need to commit to do what God desires that I do. If I commit all of my actions to serving the Lord, He will help me. I will not worry about the actions of the wicked, nor get angry because they are doing wrong. I will remain in the Lord’s presence and wait for Him to act. God will bring about the downfall of the wicked in His time. It is my job to do what is right, not to punish the wicked.

     Large crowds followed Jesus from all over the region. Out of those crowds Jesus called those He wished to be His disciples and out of those disciples He appointed twelve to accompany Him. He would from time to time send those twelve out to preach, giving them power to heal and cast out demons. I struggle with the message of this passage. Out of the many who desired to follow Jesus He only chose some to accompany Him. Mark does not tell us what led Jesus to choose some over the rest. Mark does not even tell us what led Jesus to choose the twelve out of the rest who He chose to follow Him. The important thing to remember is that we have been chosen. Some of us have been chosen for one role and others for another. Let us fulfill the role which Christ has chosen for us.

     God instructed Moses that when someone sinned by in some manner depriving another of what was rightfully theirs the person who sinned needs to make restitution. Once they have made restitution to the person they have sinned against they must come before God and offer a sacrifice to make themselves right with God once more. In order to be right with God, we need to at least make the attempt to make things right with those we have sinned against (to the degree which that is possible).

     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, or more. in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     If you demonstrate wisdom it will make your parents proud. If you are foolish, you will bring them shame (and cause them to grieve). You may acquire great wealth by immoral means, but it will not bring you joy and will not last.

     The wicked have no idea that they are truly wicked. They believe that they are good. Yet, they do not act wisely nor do good. They have no fear of God. Let us not make the same mistake. Rather, I will recognize my sinfulness and turn to God for salvation. God’s love will never fail to those who love Him and His faithfulness is beyond measure.

     In the past when I have read this I have seen it as several different themes: associating with sinners, appropriate times for fasting, keeping the Sabbath vs meeting human needs. These themes are all there. However, there is also a single theme which runs through this passage. I am not quite sure how to sum up that theme. In this passage, Jesus time after time puts human needs and caring for others above following a legalistic interpretation of the law. In the first vignette, Jesus is condemned for calling a tax collector as one of His disciples and then going to a party with him and his friends. Jesus’ response is that there is nothing to be gained by spending all of His time with the “righteous”. They either are truly righteous and therefore don’t need to hear what He has to say, or they think they are righteous and won’t listen to what He has to say. On the other hand, those who know that they are sinners know that they need to hear His words. There is a second point here that definitely applies to us today. How can we reach the unsaved for Christ if we don’t spend any time with them? How do we show them that Christ can solve their problems if we do not take the time to know what their problems are?
     In the next vignette, Jesus is confronted over the fact that His disciples do not fast. I do not fully understand Jesus’ answer. On the surface He seems to be saying that His disciples will fast after He has returned to Heaven. However, He also talks about new wine and new wineskins vs old wine and old wineskins. I am going to understand Jesus as saying that fasting should not be part of some ritual that we do at predesignated times, but rather something we do as part of the Holy Spirit’s leading at the times when it becomes appropriate.
     The last two vignettes talk about keeping the Sabbath. These are both pretty clear as to their meaning, and they fit together to illustrate Jesus’ understanding of God’s laws and commands. God’s laws and commands are designed to make our lives better. If our understanding of them interferes with our making our lives and the lives of those around us better, we are not understanding what God said properly. Sometimes the failure is in understanding what God said and sometimes the problem is with our understanding of what we need to do to make our lives and the lives of those around us better.

     This passage talks about the various sin offerings. There is an interesting phrase in each of these descriptions, “if someone sins, but doesn’t realize it. They are still guilty.” In other words, there are going to be times when we sin without realizing it. However, our lack of awareness does not make us not guilty. When we become aware that we have done wrong, we need to confess our mistakes and work to make them right.

     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, or more. in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     Folly appeals to those with poor judgment. Those who indulge in foolishness have short-term pleasure, but the consequences of their actions are long-term suffering. The fool is unaware that he(or she) does not know enough to make a good decision and does not take the time to discover this.

     The psalmist does not answer his question directly, but he makes it clear that he knows that God will take action. God will come to his rescue, just as He will come to ours. When God has rescued us from our troubles in the past, have we praised Him before others? Have we praised Him in front of those who do not believe in Him?
     Other questions to ask ourselves, do we come to the defense of those who are attacked without cause? Do we take up the cause of the innocent who are under assault? Are we willing to stand with the righteous who are persecuted? Do we rejoice when God vindicates those who call on Him?
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     When Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law the passage tells us that she immediately got up and fixed them a meal. The point of this is not that she got up and fixed a meal. Rather the point is that she immediately returned to full strength and was able to fix them a meal. The following morning Jesus got up before dawn so that He could have some alone time in order to pray.
     Jesus went from there and preached throughout Galilee. During this trip, He was approached by a man with leprosy. The first thing that strikes me about this passage is that the leper says to Jesus, “If you are willing, you can heal me…” The NIV chooses to translate that Jesus was indignant (other translations go with the manuscripts which say He was filled with compassion). What does it say about the other healers of Jesus’ day that the leper’s concern was with whether or not Jesus was willing to heal him? Are we willing to touch those who our society says are unclean in order to bring them healing?

     Today’s passage discusses different types of sacrifices offered for differing reasons. There is a recurring theme throughout these descriptions, the offering must be “without defect”. When we make offerings to God, they are to come from the best that we have to offer, not from the cast-offs we were going to throw away anyway.