For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    No matter how smart, wise, and knowledgeable you are, if you make plans which run counter to God’s plans they will fail. No matter how well prepared you are, you will only succeed if God ordains it to be so.

    We often sin by what we say, especially what we say when in the presence of those who do not love the Lord. However, the answer is not keeping quiet, it is not failing to respond to the provocations of the wicked. No, the answer is to acknowledge our sin and turn to the Lord. The way to avoid sinning by what we say is to ask God to guide our words and acknowledge that we will not live long enough to have all of the answers (or even most of them). Let us remember that we are but travelers passing through this life. It is not our home.

    Paul continues his argument in favor of the idea that there will be a resurrection of the dead. Actually, Paul’s argument is more than that; he is arguing that there is more to life than just the material world, that our existence does not end with our death. If our existence ends with our death, than there is no reason why we should not do whatever brings us pleasure. The belief that our existence ends with our death is what led to the Columbine shootings and many other mass murders.
    One of the arguments made against the resurrection of the dead is the nature of our bodies. The argument is a many faceted one, including such things as, “But what about people whose bodies are destroyed (either through cremation, or being eaten by wild animals, or some other means)?” Paul’s answer is simple. The natural body we wear in this life is not the same as the body we will wear in eternity. Our bodies will be transformed by God into something suitable for eternity. It is beyond our ability to comprehend what those bodies will be like, but we can begin to understand what it will be like by looking at the way a seed is transformed into a new plant.

    Job reacts to his friends arguments by pointing out that they are no better than he, which highlights an important thing to remember when we seek to comfort those who are suffering. We are not offering comfort when we speak and/or act as if we are somehow better than those we are attempting to comfort. It is important that we remember that sometimes only God can provide answers as to why someone is suffering, sometimes only God can offer comfort to those who are in pain. If we do not have specific examples of how a person has sinned, we should not accuse them of being a sinner. If they have sinned in secret, God will know and convict them.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    Once you have a reputation for lying no one will listen to what you say, no matter what evidence you provide. On the other hand, those with a reputation for telling the truth will be listened to carefully, no matter how unlikely the story they tell. The wicked think they can fake their way through everything. The virtuous make a plan before taking action.

    The beginning of this psalm represents how we should feel after we have sinned. The ending of this psalm should be how we face those who oppose us. We should act so that they do not have reason to hate us, knowing they will do so anyway. It is for God to answer their attacks. We do not need to strike them down for their evil. Let us turn to God, remembering that if we repent from our sins, He will defend us from the attacks of those who hate us.

    There are two aspects to this passage. First, Paul makes the argument as to why it is not ridiculous to believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead. Paul tells us that our risen Lord was seen by a large number of people, including himself. It is an argument for why it is rational to believe the New Testament account of Jesus. I will not go into a lot of detail on that today, a much better job is done elsewhere (“The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel being one of my favorites). However, one of the arguments I want to address. I am often asked why there are no accounts of Jesus’ life from non-believers. My answer to that is this; if you witnessed what Jesus did and recognized the significance of His actions, how could you remain a non-believer? Or, looking at it from the other side, if you were a non-believer, why would you think His actions were of any significance?
    Paul goes on to argue against those who say that there is no resurrection of the dead, that the Gospel message is about this life and nothing more. Paul points out that if there is no resurrection of the dead, than Christ did not rise from the dead. If Christ did not rise from the dead, than all of Paul’s teachings (and the teachings of the rest of the Church) were based on lies. Which would mean that the Gospel itself is based on a lie and thus a lie. Either Christ rose from the dead, and those who follow Him will be raised from the dead, or the entirety of Christian teaching is worthless. Either there is more to this world than the material, or nothing has any meaning whatsoever.

    Reading the book of Job is always a struggle. Job’s friends say some things which resonate with us as true. Yet, in the end God tells them they were wrong. In today’s passage both Bildad and Zophar assume that Job must have sinned because he is suffering. They assume that because he is suffering, he must be guilty. While it is true that if we are suffering we should examine our lives to see if we have done anything to cause that suffering, it is also true that we should not assume that because someone is suffering they must have done something to bring that suffering about.
    Job’s speech in this passage is an important one to take note of. Job tells us that while God carefully formed us for a purpose, this life is hard, even if we do the right things. There is punishment for doing wrong, but the reward for doing right is more work. When we look at this life from the perspective of this world, with the idea that the material is all that there is, it is depressing. What is the point?