For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 19:1-3

    It is nice to have someone who is enthusiastic about what they are doing. However, if they do not actually know what they are doing, that enthusiasm will generally do more harm than good (note: if the enthusiastic person is aware that they do not know what they are doing and seeks guidance from someone who does, this proverb does not necessarily apply). The next proverb is something I have often observed. All too many people blame God for the suffering which they caused themselves.

Psalm 9:1-12

    The first two verses of this psalm fill me with joy.

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.
In addition to filling me with joy, they make me want to praise God and tell others about Him. Since this psalm was written with the intention of inspiring the reader to do that, the fact that it does so indicates how well it was written.

Acts 28:1-31

    When Paul arrived in Rome, he met with the local Jewish leaders. He gave his side of the story about why he was brought to Rome as a prisoner. The Jewish leaders responded that they had received no communication regarding Paul’s arrest and trial, nor had anyone conveyed negative rumours about him to them. However, they wanted to hear what he believed because all they had heard about Christianity was that it was condemned everywhere. How much that sounds like today, all that many people know about Christianity is that the “sophisticated” people (however they define “sophisticated”) denounce it.
    Paul and the Jewish leaders set a time for Paul to tell them about what he believed. When the time came, a large number of Jews came to Paul’s residence to hear him speak. Paul attempted to convince them to believe using the Torah (the Law of Moses) and the writings of the prophets. Some of those who listened to Paul that day believed his message, others did not. The two groups argued among themselves about whether or not to believe Paul’s message. Based on Paul’s final word to them, it appears that those who listened to Paul that day reached a consensus to not believe him. It is important for us to remember that there are those who have hardened their hearts and will not believe, no matter what evidence you show them.

For the hearts of these people are hardened,
and their ears cannot hear,
and they have closed their eyes—
so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
and let me heal them.

1 Chronicles 11-12:18

    I was reading through this feeling completely uninspired by the accounts of the acts of David’s mighty men when I came across the statement “These are the leaders of David’s mighty warriors….they decided to make David their king,…” This tells us something about the mindset of David’s men. They followed him because, for various reasons, they wanted him to be king.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 18:23-24

    There are two aspects to the part of the proverb which says that those with unreliable friends will come to ruin. The first is that if you spend most of your time with unreliable people, whom you think are your friends, when trouble strikes you will have no one to aid you in dealing with your problems. The second is that if you hang out with unreliable people trouble will soon find you. However, there are people who will be your friend and stand by you when times are bad. Seek out such people.

Psalm 8:1-9

    This psalm reminds me of how great this universe is. Every time I look at the night sky I am reminded of the greatness of God. He made the moon, the planets, and the stars and put them in their positions. Yet, He nevertheless cares about individual people. He cares about each and every person. More than that, He has given people power over His creation that is subordinate only to His own. When I consider nature around me I am reminded that our God is majestic and powerful. Praise His holy name!

Acts 27:21-44

    Everyone on the ship carrying Paul had been busy fighting the storm for several days, including the passengers. In that time, none of them had time to eat (it is not clear if they ate at all during the storm, but one would think they must have eaten at least a little bit). They were beginning to despair (that is me reading between the lines). Paul called them all together, reminded them that he had warned them against setting out, then he told them that God had revealed to him that everyone on the ship would survive the coming shipwreck. A short time after this, the sailors attempted to abandon ship in the middle of the night, leaving the passengers to their fate. Paul warned the Roman commander against allowing them to do so. Just as dawn was breaking, Paul reminded everyone that God had said they would all survive and got them all to eat. When the sun came up, they saw an beach and attempted to run the ship aground on it.
    In this account, Paul’s reminder that he had warned against leaving Fair Haven was not an “I told you so.” Rather, Paul was reminding them of his previous, accurate prediction in order to lend weight to his current prediction. This is an important point. We should avoid telling people “I told you so,” except in circumstances where it is critical that this time they take our advice. Be very careful to listen to God before using this tactic.

1 Chronicles 9-10:14

    This passage starts with the genealogy of some of those who returned from the Babylonian Exile. Here we come to understand why the writer has spent so much time on genealogies so far. He was setting up the record to show how those who returned from the Exile were able to trace their ancestry back to Jacob. The writer then concludes his genealogy with the genealogy of Saul’s descendants.
    Then the writer begins telling the history of which most of the rest of this book is composed. He starts with the death of Saul. The part of this I want to highlight today is the response of the people of Jabesh-gilead to the Philistines displaying Saul’s remains. The first act of Saul as king was to mount a rescue of the city of Jabesh-gilead from an enemy who wanted to mutilate all the men living in that city. The people of that city showed their gratitude by mounting a raid to retrieve the remains of Saul and his sons. They then respectfully buried those remains. This shows us that despite his flaws, Saul did some good things as king of Israel.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 18:20-21

    The words we speak can bring happiness or sadness to others. Saying positive things can bring life to others, negative things can bring death. Those who like to talk (and therefore do so a lot) will experience the consequences. This is an important message for me because I like to talk. The more one talks, the harder it is to remember to think carefully before saying amything.

Psalm 6:1-10

    There are two lines in this psalm which I make my prayer today. The first is:

Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak.
I am indeed weak when it comes to resisting temptation. I put up a good front of strength, but that is just a front. There are temptations which I find myself unable to resist. I know that, while I am able to put on the appearance of strength, it is not true. I strive to reveal that I am as much a sinner as the next, that it is only through God’s grace that I can act righteous in even the most mundane things. But I am embarrassed by the things which tempt me to sin.
The second line in this psalm which is my prayer for today is: Go away, all you who do evil
I pray this because I know that one aspect of overcoming temptation is staying away from those who do evil, those who embrace sin. I will seek to spend my time with those who are godly, and therefore encourage me to be godly, rather than with those who are wicked, and therefore encourage me to be wicked.

Acts 26:1-32

    When Festus brought Paul before himself and Agrippa, Agrippa instructed Paul to state his defense against the charges which the Jewish leaders had brought against him. Paul’s response to Agrippa’s instruction was to state his testimony, to tell the story of how he had come to be a follower of Jesus and what the Gospel message meant to him. The aspect of the Gospel which Paul stressed most strongly in this statement was that the Gospel message was the fulfillment of what Moses and the prophets had said would happen. Paul concluded that those prophets had predicted Jesus’ death and resurrection.
    Festus thought Paul was crazy to believe someone had been resurrected from the dead, Paul replied that he was not crazy and pointed out that Agrippa was familiar with the events which he described. Agrippa wondered if Paul thought he could so quickly convince Agrippa to become a Christian. Paul’s response is one which each and every follower of Christ should echo, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains.” When we think of those we know, we should pray that they, whether quickly or slowly, will come to know and put their faith in Jesus.

1 Chronicles 5:18-6:81

    This passage tells us that the tribes east of the Jordan river fought a great battle for control of their land. It tells us that they gained the victory because they trusted in God. However, the descendants of those who fought in that battle failed to remain faithful to God and ended up being sent into exile as a result. The tribes which lived east of the Jordan gained wealth and prosperity because they trusted in God and were faithful to him. Unfortunately, they came to depend on that prosperity and to believe that it was theirs by birth rite. They then stopped being faithful to God and pursued other gods, and the practices which went with the worship of those gods.
    They sought the sexual pleasure which came from worshiping the fertility goddess of their neighbors. They sacrificed their children on the altars of the gods of their neighbors because of the pleasures those gods offered. As a result of these practices God caused them to be conquered and carried off into exile. I fear that the same may happen to the people of the United States, who worship on the altar of sexual pleasure, and offer their children on the altar of convenience.