I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I write this daily blog because it helps me pay closer attention to the Scripture as I read it. Before I started writing this blog I had trouble disciplining myself to read the Bible regularly, let alone every day. I hope that by posting my thoughts I can encourage others to regularly read the Bible (and perhaps my thoughts will give someone encouragement in their walk with Christ). In order to make it possible for others to use my blog as part of their daily Bible Study (the hubris of that idea never ceases to amaze me), 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.
In order to learn, you must embrace being corrected and disciplined when you are wrong. Anyone who despises being corrected is both ignorant and stupid.
This psalm reflects how I feel right now. I am overwhelmed by my troubles and I beg of God that He rescue me. I have been foolish and made many mistakes. I acknowledge my sins before God. I have no choice because He knows them all. I ask that God not allow those who trust in Him be ashamed because of me. Oh God, do not allow those who honor you to be humiliated by anything I say or do!
There are a lot of different takes on this story of the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and with perfume. There is a lot to be learned from it. However, the question that struck me is that in reality there is no practical difference in the amount of forgiveness the Pharisee and the woman in this story needed from God. The difference was in their perception of their need. Or to put it another way, if I am drowning in the ocean, it doesn’t matter if I am 1 mile from shore or 100 miles from shore. In either case, if someone does not come along and pull me out of the water, I will die.
Simon the Pharisee perceived himself as needing just a little bit of help in order to be righteous. The woman who anointed Jesus perceived herself as being completely unable to be righteous. So, the question is how do I perceive myself? Do I understand that without Jesus, righteousness is completely out of my reach? The answer is, “Not always”. Yet, I know that it is.
God did not choose us as His servants because we are stronger, or smarter, or faster, or in any other way better than anybody else. He chose us because He loves us. We were chosen by God to serve Him and if we do that He will bless us. However, we cannot compromise on God’s principles. We cannot meet those who do not believe in God halfway. We must not worship their gods or serve their goals.