For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
God made everything that exists and He made them for a purpose. Even the wicked serve His purpose on the day of destruction. God will punish those who proudly believe they are better than others. He will show them that all people are equally loved by Him, and that He shows favoritism to none.
I love this psalm. Indeed God does only good and gives us the measure of what it means to be good. I have wandered from God’s path for me, but He disciplined me and brought me back to Him. Difficult times are good for us because they teach us to follow God’s commands. Following God’s instructions is more valuable than any amount of wealth. God created me and formed me into what I am. I pray that He continue to form me into one wise enough to do His works. I will join with those who fear the Lord.
Jesus could not remain on earth among us because He could only be in one place at a time. By returning to the Father, He was able to send the Holy Spirit to us. The Holy Spirit is capable of being with each and every one of us. The Holy Spirit by its coming shows that we do not need to be controlled by sin. We will have grief and sorrow on this earth, but that grief and sorrow will only be for a short time. The Holy Spirit will come to us and bring us joy. We may have peace in Christ, because while the world will bring us many trials, sorrows, and troubles, Jesus has overcome the world.
In many places throughout the Bible, we are told how much God loved King David. Here we see that even though God truly loved David, He still punished him for his sins. David was not satisfied with his own multiple wives. He lusted after the wife of Uriah, his faithful follower. In order to get her, he arranged to have Uriah killed. He seemed to have escaped judgement for his sin, but God knew. God held David accountable when no one else could. The same will hold true for us. We may think that we have escaped punishment for our sins because there are none who can hold us accountable. But there is always One who can, and will, hold us accountable, no matter how powerful we are, or how careful we have covered our tracks.