For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
Some people start arguments and quarrels for fun. The problem with this is that once a quarrel is started, one can no longer control where it will go. It may descend into violence and/or engulf bystanders into it. It is foolish to start a quarrel. If you find yourself in one, end it as soon as you can.
It is a good thing to do something like what the psalmist has done here. Listing the mighty works which God has done. From time to time we should list the things which God has done for us and give Him thanks. He remembered me in my weakness and delivered me from my enemies. I will trust in the Lord.
The story of Peter’s imprisonment by Herod and release by an angel is an interesting one for us to consider. When the angel began leading Peter out of the prison, he initially thought he was dreaming/having a vision. It was only as he passed through the gates into the city that he realized God was bringing him out of prison. Then when he knocked on the door of Mary’s house (the mother of John Mark), those inside initially thought it must be his ghost. So, we should not be too hard on ourselves when we have trouble believing the actions of the Holy Spirit around us. Of course, this story also means that we should be prepared for the Holy Spirit to act in ways we find unimaginable.
The day after Elijah’s great victory over the prophets of Baal, Jezebel, wife of King Ahab, vows to kill Elijah. Elijah fled for his life. He was so depressed by this outcome that he prayed that God end his life. God led him to travel to Mt Sinai. There Elijah laid before God his complaint. He believed that he was the last of those dedicated to serving God, that all of the rest had been killed. Then we have one of the great accounts about sensing the presence of God.
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
The account makes clear that God was in the gentle whisper. When God moves in the world there are often great and mighty works, but God is not in those things. He is in the gentle whisper that comes after they have passed. Are we listening to God’s gentle whisper?