For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    We have ears to hear and eyes to see. They were given to us by God in order that we might learn to honour Him.

    The earth, along with everything in it, belongs to God. We should treat the things we have accordingly. Let us remember to use everything we have in order to serve God and bring glory to His name. All of the people on the earth are God’s as well. Let us remember that we are not special in being God’s possession and treat others with the love, honour, and respect that they deserve as being God’s people.
    The psalmist asks, and answers, who may approach God? Here I prefer the NIV. He tells us that only those who have clean hands and a pure heart, those who do not rely on something other than God, those who do not swear falsely, or by false gods. If we truly seek God, we will allow His Spirit to transform us into such people. His Spirit will cleanse our hands and our hearts. If we trust in Him, He will remove sin from our lives and keep us from sullying our hearts by trusting in that which cannot save us. We cannot enter into God’s presence and truly worship Him until we fully rely on Him.

    Once again, I prefer the NIV for this passage. Paul tells us to accept those whose faith is weak. We are not to quarrel over disputable matters, such as whether to observe certain days (Is Christmas really a pagan holiday?), or whether or not it is OK to eat meat (Was this meat dedicated to an idol?). The phrasing chosen by the NIV is important. Other translations use the term argue rather than quarrel. The problem is that arguing can be a logical discussion, laying out the reasons for holding a particular position, and I cannot imagine Paul having a problem with that. It is when arguing becomes quarreling that problems arise. Quarreling is divisive and angry. Quarreling is what happens when we allow our emotions to enter into a disagreement. Paul tells us not to condemn those we disagree with. We are not to hold them in contempt. Ultimately, what each one of us believes is between ourselves and God. God will judge us according to how responsive we are to guidance by His Spirit. If we allow emotions to enter into our arguments (debates) with our fellow believers, we may convince them to change their actions, even though we have not convinced them that such changes are not sinful. Let us not ridicule others so that they change their behavior, even though they still think it is wrong.
    There is another clause in what Paul says that is worth noting, he tells us not to quarrel over “disputable matters”. He gives examples of disputable matters (what types of food we eat, what days are holy). It would be helpful if he gave examples of what is not disputable. However, we can get a sense of that from his writings elsewhere: sexual immorality, the importance of faith in Jesus and His death and resurrection, a few other matters. More importantly, if we remember to not let our emotions become entangled in our efforts to convince others (except possibly our concern for them), we will not go far wrong. It is not wrong to disagree, nor to discuss our disagreements. It is wrong to condemn our fellow believers because they disagree with us. Let us seek to allow the love God has for each person influence the way we approach those we disagree with.

    When Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah, became king, the first thing he did was reopen the Temple of God for worship. He summoned the priests and Levites and instructed them to purify themselves and then purify the Temple. They were to remove everything that was defiled from the Temple, all of the implements of pagan worship. It took them sixteen days to cleanse and purify the Temple. When this was done, Hezekiah called the people of Judah to rededicate and reconsecrate themselves to God. The people responded to his call with such fervor that the priests were overwhelmed trying to keep up.
    Let us remember that Jesus has made our bodies the Temple of God. Let us purify our bodies and consecrate ourselves to serving God. Then, when we have done this, let us call on those around us to do the same. Perhaps if we do so, trusting in the Spirit to move them, we will get a response similar to that which Hezekiah got. Perhaps we can get the people of this land to respond to God in such a manner that the Churches are overwhelmed and do not know what to do with the people who come to Him.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    Since even children are known, and judged, by the way they act, whether they are good children or troublemakers, we should not be surprised when people do the same thing to us. People will judge us by our actions. If we want people to think well of us than we need to act in a righteous manner.

    In some ways this is a difficult psalm to write about because it is such a beautiful psalm which everyone knows. What more is there to say? Well, I will give it a shot.
    Let us review what the psalmist tells us here. God will lead us and guide us. He will provide for all of our needs. He will bring us to places where we can rest and have a pleasant time. However, He will also lead us on paths which may be less pleasant, because it brings honour to His name. Yet, no matter how dangerous those paths may seem, God will protect us so that we need never fear. He will always be close beside us, even when our vision is obscured and we cannot see Him. He will honour us and show us abundance in front of those who wish to see us fail. God will pour out more blessings upon us than we are able to make use of. His blessings will spill out from us on to others. Not only will God offer us good things, but He will pursue us with His love and mercy, even when we stray from Him. If we follow where He leads, we will spend eternity in His presence.

    Paul tells us to submit to the government because the government’s authority comes from God. In the very statement where he tells us to submit to the government, he tells us the limits of that submission. The government’s authority comes from God, therefore it does not have the authority to demand that we violate God’s commands. However, no matter what the government does, Paul tells us that it is not our place to overthrow the government. Let us pay our taxes and whatever fees we owe. We should not enter into debt to anyone. Let us honour those who are owed honour and respect those who are owed respect.
    Paul reminds us that all of our actions towards those around us should be guided by the command to love our neighbors as ourselves. However, this does not mean ignoring self-destructive behavior. If we see our loved ones doing something that will bring them harm, we will warn them of the danger. However, in all we do, let us remember to do it with love. Paul gives us a list of things that may interfere with us showing our love to those around us: drunkenness, wild parties, sexual promiscuity, immoral living (or as the NIV translates it, debauchery), quarreling, and jealousy.

    Judah had three kings in a row who followed God. As a result those kings were powerful and not threatened by outside forces. Unfortunately, the people of Judah were not as faithful as their kings. Ahaz, the son of the third of these kings, turned to idolatry, going so far as to sacrifice his own sons. As a result, he was conquered by the king of Aram, and faced other foreign threats. Instead of turning to God, Ahaz asked the king of Assyria for help. Rather than coming to Ahaz’s aid, the king of Assyria attacked Jerusalem and plundered it. Ahaz then closed the Temple, preventing anyone from worshiping there, and set up yet more pagan altars throughout Jerusalem. Rather than learn from his mistakes and return to God, Ahaz compounded them.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    The godly live their lives with integrity. The fact that they do so will be a blessing to their children, who will be even more blessed if they follow their parent’s example.

    The first thing I am reminded of when I read this psalm is that it was this psalm which Jesus quoted when He was on the cross. As I read it today, I realized that there will be times when we may experience something like what inspired the psalmist to write this psalm. There will be times when our troubles seem more than we can bear, when we cry out night after night and God does not bring us relief. There will be times when we feel like we have been abandoned by God. However, let us always remember that Jesus felt the same way when He hung on the cross, so we know that we are not alone.

    This passage is one of the most thorough counters to the idea that it is consistent with Christian faith to hate the Jews. Yes, some Jews rejected the Gospel and as a result the Gospel was preached to the Gentiles and those Gentiles who believed were grafted into God’s family to replace those Jews who rejected God’s saving grace. However, this should not make those of us who are not of Jewish heritage proud and arrogant. We must remember that while we were blessed in part because those Jews rejected God’s message of grace, we will be blessed even more when they finally turn to God and accept His grace. Rather than hate the Jews and seek their destruction, as some do, we should love them as God’s Chosen People and seek their reconciliation with God (something we should seek for all people who do not yet know the Lord).

    When Jehoshaphat died, his mistake in allying himself with Ahab by arranging for his son, Jehoram, to marry Ahab’s daughter is fully revealed. Upon his father’s death, Jehoram became king and killed all of his brothers. Jehoram followed the practices of Ahab’s family and re-established places of worship in the high places, where pagan practices were followed. About his death the passage tells us one of the saddest things that can be said about anyone, “No one was sorry when he dies.”
    Ahaziah, Jehoram’s youngest son became king upon his father’s death, because all of his older brothers had been killed by marauding bands of Arabs. Ahaziah accepted members of Ahab’s family, his mother’s family, as advisers. These advisers encouraged him to continue the evil practices of his father. We get a good idea of just how evil Ahab’s family was upon Ahaziah’s death. At that point Ahaziah’s mother proceeded to kill all of the royal family she could lay her hands on, including her own grandsons. Only one of them escaped because his aunt, a daughter of Jehoram, spirited him away to the Temple and put him in the care of the high priest. I find it hard to imagine a depravity any greater than someone who is willing to kill their own grandchildren in order to further their own desire for power.