For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    The rich think that their wealth will protect them from troubled times. They believe that they will be able to depend on it, even when civilization collapses around them. As a result, they are often arrogant and haughty. Such arrogance keeps them from recognizing the dangers which threaten them until it is too late. Arrogance leads people to make mistakes which bring about their downfall. It is those who humbly acknowledge their vulnerability who are prepared to act when disaster strikes. They will be honoured for their foresight.

    The book of Psalms begins with a wonderful statement of how to live a faithful life. First we have the things we should not do:

1. Do not follow the advice of the wicked
2. Do not spend all of your time with sinners
3. Do not join in mocking others

Then we have the the things we should do:

1. Delight in God’s law
2. Meditate on that law day and night

I would like to say that the latter is more important than the former, but the fact of the matter is that if we do the latter we will find we do not have time to do the former. Of course, the inverse of that is also true, actually the inverse is more than true; if we do the former we will have neither the time, nor the desire, to do the latter.

    After he had been arrested, Paul addressed the commander of the Roman soldiers in Greek. By doing so, he revealed to the officer that he was not who the officer thought he was. There is an important lesson for us here. Paul knew that the officer arresting him did not share the biases of the mob, so he politely addressed the officer in order to make it clear that he was not the one making trouble. Paul then convinced the officer to allow him to address the crowd.
    It immediately became apparent that most of those in the crowd which had just rioted had no idea who Paul was. They were surprised into silence when he began speaking to them in Aramaic. Paul used this opportunity to tell the people in the crowd who he was, and his background. He started by giving his credentials as a good Jew, pointing out that he even went so far as to persecute the Church. He goes on to explain how and why he changed. This is also an important lesson for us. When we preach the Gospel we need to tell people about our sinful past. Then we tell them what God did to make us receptive to change and how He transformed us.

    In today’s passage, Judah once more has a leader, a king, who serves God. When Josiah reached his majority, his first act was to order the Temple to be cleaned and repaired. In the process of cleaning the Temple, the high priest, Hilkiah found a copy of the Book of the Law (I believe it was the first five books of the Bible, but the passage does not say that). When it was read to Josiah, he was mortified at how badly the people of Judah had failed to keep God’s law. Josiah immediately sought God’s forgiveness and guidance. Josiah was not satisfied with living a personally holy life, he led the people of Judah in a revival. He used his position to get rid of the idols, pagan shrines, and evil worship practices throughout the land. I believe that in many ways Josiah’s revival prepared the Israelites to survive the coming Exile.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    God’s name is a place of refuge. When trouble abounds, run to God and you will be safe. Put your trust in Him, He will protect you from all foes.

    Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Let us praise Him with everything we have. Do not let anyone doubt our devotion to Him!

    When Paul got to Jerusalem he met with the leaders of the Church there and gave them a detailed report of what God was doing among the Gentiles to whom he had ministered. The leaders of the Jerusalem Church were blessed to hear Paul’s account. However, they were also concerned because of the rumours which had been spreading about Paul. There were people who were spreading the word that Paul was teaching Jews to abandon the Law of Moses. The leaders of the Jerusalem Church wanted to defuse the tension which had been created by those who opposed Gentiles becoming believers. So they asked Paul to join four men who were going to the Temple to complete their Nazarite vows (a type of vow described in the Torah). They believed that by doing so Paul would prove to everyone that he continued to faithfully follow the Law.
    However, their plan backfired. Rather than defuse some of the tension Paul’s visit to the Temple was interpreted as a provocation by those opposed to his teachings about Jesus. There is an important lesson for us here. Those who are trying to divide people will spin everything we do into the worst possible light in order to further their agenda. There are those who are determined to be hostile to the Gospel message, there is nothing we can do to change that. It is only by the intercession of the Holy Spirit that such people will change.

    When Isaiah told Hezekiah that the king of Babylon would conquer and sack Jerusalem after his death, Hezekiah was pleased because it meant that he would not live to see it happen. I think this to some degree reveals to us why Hezekiah’s son, Mannaseh was an evil king. I struggle with how to express my thoughts on this. Overall, Hezekiah was a good king and a good man. However, his reaction to Isaiah’s prophecy reveals a certain selfishness, or perhaps lack of love for his children, that I believe his son sensed. I suspect that Mannaseh’s behavior as king was, in part, an attempt to get back at his father.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    If you constantly find yourself getting into quarrels because of things you say, or if people beat you up in response to your words, you are probably speaking foolishly. If you find yourself trapped into actions you don’t want to do because of something you said, you probably speak foolishly.

    Let every created thing give praise to the Lord! Today’s psalm continues the theme of encouraging us to praise God. The psalmist knows that there are many people who will not praise the Lord, but he also knows that they should. We owe God our very existence. Read this psalm, meditate on how great God is, then praise His name!

    One thing we learn in this passage is that Paul was not always, if ever, a dynamic speaker. On his last day in Troas, Paul spoke late into the night. One of the young men listening to him speak fell asleep sitting in a window. The young man fell three stories to his apparent death. Paul rushed down to the young man and declared that he was OK. Reading this passage it is clear that Luke believed the young man to have died, although Paul’s statement seems to be that he found the young man alive.
    Later when Luke recounts the message which Paul gave to the leaders of the Ephesian Church it resembles portions of the letters Paul wrote which we have elsewhere in the New Testament. The first point Paul makes to them is that he taught publicly. He taught the same message to everyone, both Jew and Gentile. Paul’s message, and hopefully ours, is that all must repent of their sins, turn to God, and have faith in Jesus. This is one of the most important things about our faith, we must declare our message publicly. There are no secret teachings reserved for those who have been properly initiated. And that message is the same for everyone, black, white, rich, poor, Jew, or Gentile. There is no group that gets to live by a different set of rules than everyone else.

    The passage tells us that the Kingdom of Israel, the Northern Kingdom, fell to Assyria because its people worshiped gods other than God. They followed the practices of the people who had lived in the land before them and around them. In addition, they had adopted new practices which were contrary to God’s law. As I read the history of the people of Israel, I see that their fall to Assyria was not just God’s judgment upon them, although it was indeed that. It was the inevitable result of the practices they adopted. Rather than remain faithful to the practices God had instructed them in, which would have caused them to build a strong and prosperous nation, they adopted practices which weakened their nation and destroyed its economy.
    The writer tells us that the people of Judah, the Southern Kingdom, followed many of the same practices which the people of the Northern Kingdom had adopted. However, God allowed them to remain in the land for a longer time. The difference was that Judah had leaders who attempted to be faithful to God, even when they failed to lead the people to be faithful. While the Northern Kingdom was weakening and falling to the Assyrians, Hezekiah was strengthening the Southern Kingdom and expanding its borders. Hezekiah was able to do so because he was faithful in obeying the Laws God had given to Moses. He went further than his predecessors because he destroyed the various idols and pagan shrines which had been set up. He did more than be faithful himself. He led his people to turn to God.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    When you get into an argument/debate with someone, listen to the case they make for their point of view so that you can gain understanding. If all you do is spend your time telling them what you think, you are a fool.

    Let all that I am praise the Lord! The psalmist reminds us not to put our faith in human beings, whether they are Governors, Presidents, or Supreme Court Justices. They cannot save. No matter how powerful they are, or how cleverly they plan, their ability to impose their will on others will end with their death, if not sooner. It is God to whom we must turn for justice. It is He who can offer us help which lasts beyond the moment.

    Today’s passage talks about Apollos, who apparently came to follow Jesus without direct teaching from anyone. I am convinced that Apollos was someone who followed the teachings of John the Baptist and heard stories both about John’s comments about Jesus and about Jesus’ death and resurrection. Certainly, Apollos had heard stories about Jesus’ death and resurrection, although apparently not from believers. As a result of these stories and his study of Jewish Scripture, Apollos became a believer. This tells us something about the power of the Holy Spirit and of the Gospel message. The passage also tells us about other believers who came to a belief in Jesus by way of the teachings of John the Baptist. It is not clear how that happened, whether through their own study or the teachings of Apollos from before he met Priscilla and Aquila.
    This story confirms for me something I firmly believe. Those who genuinely seek God will find Him, and when they are ready, He will bring into their lives those who can fill in the gaps in their self-acquired knowledge of Him.

    Today’s passage gives a great example of the dangers of pride. King Amaziah of Judah did what was pleasing to God, even though he did not eliminate the worship of idols by the people. However, after defeating the Edomites in battle, he became proud and decided to make war against Israel. The King of Israel at the time tried to persuade Amaziah not to attack, but was unsuccessful. The war went badly for Amaziah and Judah.