For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I will be out of town on business for most of this week. It is my plan to complete this blog every day, but I may run late some days.
The proverb tells us there are two kinds of people, those who think before they speak, and those who just say what comes to mind. Further, it tells us that the godly are the first sort and the wicked are the latter. So, the question is, which am I?
As I watched the sun rise from my hotel window this morning, I read this psalm. It is indeed the day which the Lord has made, and I will rejoice in it. I will be glad today and enjoy the positive things God brings my way.
Jesus begins today’s passage by telling us that a kernel of wheat must fall to the ground and die before it can be transformed into a wheat plant and bring forth many new kernels. While it is true that Jesus was referring to His own death here, it is clear from the context that He intended this message for us as well. It is only by being willing to give up our lives in this world that we can be transformed into the likeness of Christ and thus have eternal life. More than that, it is only by being willing to give up our lives that we can truly lead others to know Christ.
Jesus told us that God would honour anyone who serves Him. He said this right after saying that anyone who wanted to serve Him needed to follow Him. This was in the context of Jesus talking about the fact that He would soon be crucified. He followed this up by saying that He would not ask God to save Him from the suffering He was about to face. Rather, Jesus asked that God bring honour to God’s name. I hope that if I ever face such suffering, I will have the faith to feel and say the same thing.
Later in today’s passage Jesus said that He does not speak on His own authority. Instead He spoke as God commanded Him to speak. The same is true for us today. I struggle with the knowledge that God has commanded me what to say, and how to say it. This is a difficult thing for me. I know that God has commanded my as to what to say, but I am not always sure which things God has commanded me to say and which things are me speaking for myself. However, I will seek each day to make the words I speak the words God wishes me to speak.
When the Amalekite came to tell David that Saul and Jonathan were dead, he expected to be rewarded for bringing the news. The man clearly thought that by bringing news to David that David’s path to the throne was clear would make David happy. He sought to curry favor by bringing the news. From the perspective of this world, the news the Amalekite brought should have delighted David. However, up until this point, David had not sought to be king. That was not what he was striving for. In the same way, we should not strive for worldly power, whether in the government or in the work place. If God intends for us to have power, He will bring us to that place.