For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 16:4-5

    Everything and everyone will serve God’s purposes. Even the wicked will serve God’s purpose. When they come to their day of disaster they will serve as an example to others.

Psalm 119:65-80

    I believe in God’s commands. It is through them that He teaches us good judgment. Since God is good and He does only good, if we follow His instructions we will do only good. When we falter and fail in our attempts to keep God’s law the arrogant will smear us and claim that the fault lies with God’s instruction. And here in verse 73 is my prayer for the day:

ou made me; you created me.
Now give me the sense to follow your commands.
It is only through the intervention of the Holy Spirit that I will be able to be wise enough to keep God’s commands.

John 16:1-33

    Jesus warned His disciples that they would be expelled from the synagogues for their faith in Him. When we read this we see it as something which happened in the past, something which happened when Christians were thrown out of fellowship with Jews. There is truth in that, but I believe that there is more to it than that. Those who faithfully follow Jesus will be expelled from Churches as well. You can see it happening to a degree today. It is rarely an explicit, active expulsion, but those who are faithful followers of Christ are made to feel unwelcome in many of our Churches today. Fortunately, Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit so that we might continue to follow Him in the face of those who distort and misuse His teaching.

2 Samuel 12:1-31

    David’s reaction to the illness and death of his first child with Bathsheba gives us a lesson for dealing with those same thing. When the child became sick, David fasted and prayed, pleading with God for the child’s life. He refused all efforts to convince him to eat and rejected every attempt to comfort him. However, as soon as he became aware that the child had died, he cleaned himself up, worshiped and praised the Lord, then got something to eat.
    David’s explanation should guide our behavior. As long as the child was alive, there was a chance that God would heal the child and allow him to live. Once the child had died, there was no longer any reason to fast, mourn, and pray about him. Let us spend our time and effort on those who yet live, where our prayers and concern might still change things. (The wording did not come out quite as I had hoped. I apologize to anyone who might find what I have written insensitive.)

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 16:1-3

    We can make whatever plans we like, but if we want them to succeed we will seek out what God wills for us. God provides the answer which works, let us make our plans according to His will.

Psalm 119:49-64

    The theme continues today, God’s word is something we should treasure. Are we willing to follow God’s instructions, even when people hold us in contempt for doing so? The fact of the matter is that the people of this world will hold us in contempt for obeying God’s commands. They will tell us that it is wrong to do so. Yet, if we reflect on who God is, we will follow the decfees He has laid out for us.
    Evil people will try to drag us into sin, one way or another. I will anchor myself in God’s instructions and I pray that you will do the same. Today’s passage ends with a prayer we should all make our own, “Teach me Your decrees.”

John 15:1-27

    There are a lot of grapevines around my property, but none of them produce much in the way of grapes because they are not cultivated. If I were to prune them and manage them they would be much more productive. Of course, they would no longer be able to spread wherever the sun and nature take them. The same is true of ourselves. If we wish to be fruitful servants of God we must be pruned and disciplined by Him. Sometimes such pruning is painful, but it is the only way for us to be fruitful. Eventually, I am going to pull out and get rid of those unproductive grape vines around my house. In the same way, God will eventually cut us off and allow us to die if we are not productive for Him.

2 Samuel 9-11:27

    In light of the controversy over Josh Duggar, it is worth noting the story of King David and Bathsheba. David committed an horrendous sin in this story. He used his power to have sex with a married woman. Then he arranged for the death of a loyal follower in an attempt to avoid the consequences of his actions. Despite this, we are told elsewhere that David was a man after God’s own heart. That is not said because of what he did here. Rather, it is said despite what David did in this story.
    When considering situations like that of Josh Duggar let us remember that we are all sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. The answer to such sins is not to stone the person who committed them (whether literally or figuratively). Rather it is to echo what Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, “Go, and sin no more.”

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 15:31-32

    Those who listen to criticism and allow it to guide improvements in their behavior will be welcomed among the wise. Those who ignore attempts to correct their behavior harm only themselves. I have seen this in action. People who were once viewed as a problem and whose opinion was not valued listened to correction. They are now valued and their opinion sought in the decision making process. Other people who were similarly viewed are still viewed as a problem and steps are under way to remove them from the organization.

Psalm 119:17-32

    The theme is continued in stanzas three and four, both discuss the value of God’s word, His laws, His instructions. Verse 18 reminds me that every day as I read the scripture and write this blog I need to ask God to open my eyes and show me the truths that are there. I know that when I write something which changes my life, or which touches someone who reads it, I have done so only because of the influence of the Holy Spirit. Those who are arrogant and refuse to follow God’s commands will suffer for it. I will not try to overcome their scorn for me. Instead I will ask God to remove it and show them His thoughts about me.
    I hope that you will read the whole of today’s passage because there is more about the value of God’s instructions than I will write about today. I will conclude with my thoughts on the final verse. I strive to more faithfully follow what I understand to be God’s will for me because as I do so He reveals ever more to me. I have discovered that I do not gain greater understanding of God’s will for my life, no matter how hard I try, until I do the things He has already shown me that He desires me to do.

John 13:31-14:14

    One of the “truths” we are asked to accept by our society is that there are many ways to God. There is some truth to that statement. The Scripture tells us again and again that those who seek God will find Him. So, those who are truly seeking God will find Him, no matter what path they choose when they begin their search. They do not have to go through the Church in order to approach God.
    However, whatever path a person takes in their search for God, they must eventually come to Jesus if they want to get to God. All of those many paths eventually lead to Jesus, or they will lead us away from God. Ultimately, the true expression of God can only be seen after we have come to Jesus. The way we must follow goes through Him. Throughout the Gospel of John Jesus makes comments which tell us that we must listen to His teaching if we want to approach God. Here He says that outright.

2 Samuel 4-6:23

    I was going to write something about David’s reaction to the men who killed Ishbosheth, Saul’s last remaining son and David’s rival for the throne of Israel. However, as I read the passage I realized that I really wanted to write about Micah’s reaction to David’s dancing in the street. And really what I want to write about is what she reacted to, David’s dancing in the street. She thought that David made a fool of himself by the way he acted while the Ark was being brought into Jerusalem.
    There are really two elements to this. First, we should allow ourselves to be caught up in worshiping God. There are times when we should allow ourselves to do whatever the Holy Spirit guides us to do without giving thought to what others think of us. I have heard others say that when talking about this passage. The second part I have rarely heard mentioned. Micah was not wrong because she did not join David dancing in the street. She was wrong because she looked down on him for doing so. Let us never make the mistake of thinking poorly of others because they get caught up in worshiping God. Let us never think that they should be ashamed for doing so. Let us emulate David in this story and not Micah.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 15:29-30

    When the wicked look for God, He will be far from them. On the other hand, God hears the prayers of the righteous, even when they are for the wicked. This reminds me that I need to pray especially for the wicked, they are the ones who need it the most.

Psalm 119:1-16

    This psalm (Psalm 119) is a long psalm. The first couple times I blogged on it I did not realize that there was a theme that runs through this whole psalm. Even then I lost track of the theme by the time I got to the end (I cover Psalm 119 over a period of several days). I am going to try to keep track of the theme this year.
    And what is that theme? The importance, value, and results of listening to, and following, God’s commands. In the first stanza the psalmist tells us that following God’s instruction will bring us joy. Following his further advice, I will not compromise with evil, I will only walk on the paths to which God directs me. I will call on the Lord to direct my actions so that they reflect God’s decrees.
    In the second stanza the psalmist tells us that the key to staying pure is obeying God’s word. He goes on to remind us of the value of memorizing Scripture and repeating it to ourselves and others. I am convicted that I should commit more Scripture to memory when I read this stanza of this psalm.

John 13:1-30

    Peter did not want to allow Jesus to wash his feet because he felt that it was he who should be subservient to Jesus. When Jesus told him that he would not belong to Jesus unless he allowed Him to wash him, Peter wanted Jesus to wash all of him. But that was not what was needed.
    Mennonites have traditionally practiced footwashing because it reflects a core understanding about Scripture for them. Jesus calls us as Christians to serve others, but the reciprocal nature of feetwashing reminds us that we should also allow others to serve us. It is not for us to demand that others serve us. However, when others desire to serve us we should allow them to do so.

2 Samuel 2:12-3:39

    This passage shows us the how Joab, David’s nephew, managed to protect his position as commander of David’s (and thus Israel’s) armies. In previous accounts we saw how David always sought God’s direction before acting. Here we see that Joab acted with the same sort of political expediency which led to Saul’s downfall.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I will be out of town on business for most of this week. It is my plan to complete this blog every day, but I may run late some days.

Proverbs 15:27-28

    The proverb tells us there are two kinds of people, those who think before they speak, and those who just say what comes to mind. Further, it tells us that the godly are the first sort and the wicked are the latter. So, the question is, which am I?

Psalm 118:19-29

    As I watched the sun rise from my hotel window this morning, I read this psalm. It is indeed the day which the Lord has made, and I will rejoice in it. I will be glad today and enjoy the positive things God brings my way.

John 12:20-50

    Jesus begins today’s passage by telling us that a kernel of wheat must fall to the ground and die before it can be transformed into a wheat plant and bring forth many new kernels. While it is true that Jesus was referring to His own death here, it is clear from the context that He intended this message for us as well. It is only by being willing to give up our lives in this world that we can be transformed into the likeness of Christ and thus have eternal life. More than that, it is only by being willing to give up our lives that we can truly lead others to know Christ.

    Jesus told us that God would honour anyone who serves Him. He said this right after saying that anyone who wanted to serve Him needed to follow Him. This was in the context of Jesus talking about the fact that He would soon be crucified. He followed this up by saying that He would not ask God to save Him from the suffering He was about to face. Rather, Jesus asked that God bring honour to God’s name. I hope that if I ever face such suffering, I will have the faith to feel and say the same thing.
    Later in today’s passage Jesus said that He does not speak on His own authority. Instead He spoke as God commanded Him to speak. The same is true for us today. I struggle with the knowledge that God has commanded me what to say, and how to say it. This is a difficult thing for me. I know that God has commanded my as to what to say, but I am not always sure which things God has commanded me to say and which things are me speaking for myself. However, I will seek each day to make the words I speak the words God wishes me to speak.

2 Samuel 1-2:11

    When the Amalekite came to tell David that Saul and Jonathan were dead, he expected to be rewarded for bringing the news. The man clearly thought that by bringing news to David that David’s path to the throne was clear would make David happy. He sought to curry favor by bringing the news. From the perspective of this world, the news the Amalekite brought should have delighted David. However, up until this point, David had not sought to be king. That was not what he was striving for. In the same way, we should not strive for worldly power, whether in the government or in the work place. If God intends for us to have power, He will bring us to that place.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I will be out of town on business for most of this week. It is my plan to complete this blog every day, but I may run late some days.

Proverbs 15:24-26

    The proverb writer tells us that gracious words are pure in God’s sight. This results from the fact that in order to speak graciously we must select pure words.

Psalm 118:1-18

    The psalmist tells us to give thanks to the Lord. I will do so, for much the same reason that the psalmist did. When I look at my life, I completely agree with what the psalmist says in verses 5-7. When I was in distress I cried to the Lord and He delivered me. Most important, since I know that God is with me, I will not fear anything that may come. God will see me through to the other side. I do not fear pain, or suffering, or death because God is with me. Remember, if God is with us, why should we fear what mere mortals can do? They have no power to do anything which is not according to His will.

John 11:55-12:19

    I have long struggled with how Jesus’ reply to Judas Iscariot applies to us today. Jesus is no longer physically among us for us to do something similar to what Mary did here. There are two aspects of the lesson for us. The first part is that giving to the poor is not the only way to give assets to God’s service. The second part is that we should, from time to time, do things which tell others how much we appreciate what they have done in their life. There are times when we are called to show someone who has been doing the Lord’s work that they are appreciated and loved.

1 Samuel 29-31:13

    In yesterday’s passage, David had marched to war against Saul with the Philistine king who had sheltered him from Saul. There is no evidence that David was reluctant to do so, even though up until now he had avoided attacking his fellow Israelites (and had rejected the idea of killing Saul on those several occasions when he had the opportunity). Today we discover the hand of God at work. The other Philistine commanders were afraid to have David and his men in their order of battle. They were afraid that in the midst of the battle David would switch sides back to Saul. As a result they demanded that the king of Gath send David away from the coming battle. As a result, David did not take part in the battle which led to Saul’s death. No one could accuse David of contributing to the death of King Saul.
    There was a second way in which this worked to David’s benefit. When he and his men returned to the town where they had settled, they discovered that it had been raided and their families taken captive. If they had stayed with the Philistine army, their families would have been long gone by the time they returned. As a result of their early return they were able to pursue the raiders and rescue their families. It is good to see how the hand of God so often protects us in more ways than one.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I will be out of town on business for most of this week. It is my plan to complete this blog every day, but I may run late some days.

Proverbs 15:22-23

    When making plans seek all the advice you can find, the more important the plans the more advice you should seek.

Psalm 117:1-2

    This is too short to try to say anything other than what the passage says:

Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Praise him, all you people of the earth.

For his unfailing love for us is powerful;
the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever.

Praise the Lord!

John 11:1-54

    We read today the story of Jesus raising Lazarus back to life. This is an example of Jesus’ power over even death. There are other lessons contained within the verses of this passage, but today I was struck by a question which is not really answered. Why did Lazarus have to die?
    Martha and Mary, and probably many others, suffered intense grief at Lazarus’ death. Yes, that grief turned to joy, but for four days they mourned. Why did they have to go through that suffering? Even if Jesus could not have arrived before Lazarus died (He waited two days after hearing the news, yet by the time He got there Lazarus had been dead for four days), He could have healed Lazarus from afar. He had healed others that way. I do not have a satisfactory answer to the question I asked. I do not know why Lazarus had to die. I do not know why Martha and Mary had to go through that period of mourning. The passage tells us in part that this happened to bring glory to God, and it certainly did that. My main point is that sometimes we suffer grief and heartache for reasons we do not understand. Sometimes, like in this passage, that grief is relieved and we gain some measure of understanding. But sometimes we will never learn in this life why something happened. We do not always have the ability to understand God’s plan. Just because we do not understand why we suffer does not mean that our grief and suffering are meaningless.

1 Samuel 26-28:25

    Once again Saul goes hunting for David, and once again David passes on an opportunity to kill Saul. David realized that if he stayed in territory nominally controlled by Saul, sooner or later, he would have to fight Saul. Desiring to avoid this, David went to the Philistine king of Gath. From there, David raided the enemies of the Israelites who were not Philistines, but he told the king of Gath that he had raided Israelite settlements. This convinced the king of Gath that the Israelites would now hate David. So, he invited/ordered David to join him as he mustered with the other Philistine kings for battle against Saul.
    When Saul observed the mustering of the Philistine army he was frightened. When he could not get an answer from God concerning what he should do, Saul sought out a woman who spoke with the dead, he did this despite having banned the practice. The woman called up the spirit of Samuel for Saul. Saul asked the spirit what he should do and was told that it did not matter what he did, God was going to hand him over the Philistines the following day. When you have turned your back on God, and God has turned His back on you, all of you choices are bad.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I will be out of town on business for most of this week. It is my plan to complete this blog every day, but I may run late some days.

Proverbs 15:20-21

    Some people take pleasure in behaving foolishly…they have no sense. This is not just about behavior which is foolishly dangerous, it includes behavior which is just silly when there is serious tasks at hand. The person with sense takes a straight course to getting their work done.

Psalm 116:1-19

    I love reading this psalm in both the NLT and the NIV translations because today they give it much more meaning. The NLT presents the first two verses in the present tense: “He hears my voice and my prayer.”…”He bends down to listen.” While the NIV presents them in the past tense: “He heard my voice and my cry…” “He turned His ear to me.” I love this vision of the fact that our love for God is a response to what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do.

John 10:22-42

    The people asked Jesus to tell them if He was the Messiah. The way they worded their question implied that he had avoided answering that very question in the past. Jesus replied that He had already told them, but they did not believe Him. The proof of who He was rested on the work He had done in His Father’s name. Now, we can easily take this to refer just to Jesus. However, it applies to everyone. If you claim to be a follower of Christ, does your work prove it to be true?
    Jesus goes on to say something that was initially going to be my focus today. He says that those who do not believe Him do not do so because they are not His sheep. His sheep listen to His voice and follow Him. They shall never perish and no one can snatch them out of His hand. This is for me a very heartening thought. If we believe Jesus and follow Him, no one, and nothing, can separate us from Him.

1 Samuel 24-25:44

    This passage begins with an account which shows us that Saul’s attempts to kill David grew out of his own insecurity and were not based on any legitimate gripe with David. When presented with the opportunity to kill Saul, while Saul was seeking to kill him, David chose not to do so. I think that this passage presents us with part of the basis for how we should interact with government authorities who are acting inappropriately.
    There is also the story of Nabal and Abigail. This story gives us an idea about how David increased both his wealth and his power. David supported himself and his men while he was fleeing from Saul by protecting the property of wealthy men and merchants from bandits. We, also, get a hint about the way economic life was organized at the time. When Nabal’s servants observed how he had insulted David they went to Nabal’s wife Abigail to request that she intervene.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I will be out of town on business for most of this week. It is my plan to complete this blog every day, but I may run late some days.

Proverbs 15:18-19

    When we read these proverbs we should use them to look at ourselves. Do we find ourselves in fights and conflicts? Perhaps the problem is that we too easily lose our temper. If we control our anger we will find that we will not end up in as many fights, and we will be able to defuse the conflicts around us.
    Do we find every task we begin obstructed by obstacles? Perhaps the problem is that we are too lazy and do not approach our life with enough industry. When we honour God with all of our being and look at all of the tasks before us as service to God, there do not seem to be any obstacles of consequence to accomplishing those tasks.

Psalm 115:1-18

    There are other messages in this psalm, but it starts with the one I want to focus on:

Not to us, Lord, not to us
but to your name be the glory…
This should be the focus of all of our actions. I struggle with making that my focus as I write this blog. From time to time I need to remind myself that I am not writing this blog to attract attention. I am writing this blog so that I will study God’s word each day. Yes, I hope there are other people reading it (and I know that there are). And I hope that those who read this get some blessing from God by doing so. However, if that is the case, it is not because I am such a masterful writer. No, it is because the Holy Spirit has used the words I have written. That does not mean that I think I am not a masterful writer. It just means that I know that no matter how cleverly I write this the only way it will bring about positive change is if the Holy Spirit moves in the heart of the one who reads it.
    So, the point I want to make is the title of today’s blog: Not to me, but to God be the glory!

John 10:1-21

    As I read Jesus’ teaching about the Good Shepherd and the sheep fold I see Jesus communicating two messages at the same time. One message is that we must go through Jesus to get to the sheepfold where we will be safe. Jesus expands on a message He has taught elsewhere. Those who are called by God, who are truly seeking God, will recognize the “sound” of Jesus’ message and will listen to Him. The other message is that all spiritual teachers who do not lead people to and through Jesus are thieves and robbers. They seek to advance their own interests through their teaching and do not truly care for their followers.
    Jesus goes on to compare the good shepherd to the hired hand. While in part Jesus is comparing Himself to religious teachers who do not direct people to Him, there is more to this. I see a couple of things I will draw out of this. The first is to be skeptical of pastors, preachers, or other religious teachers who live a lavish lifestyle. I question the faithfulness of any of the above who lives a millionaire lifestyle. I will not categorically state that no faithful teacher of the Gospel lives a millionaire lifestyle. I can imagine justifications for such, but I will remain skeptical until I personally see evidence of their faithfulness (I have known individuals living a millionaire lifestyle who were at least as faithful — and probably more so — in following Christ as myself). The key element to test religious teachers is their willingness to sacrifice their lives for the benefit of those they are leading.
    Writing this it fully struck home for the first time that, because I write this blog, I need to start holding myself to the standard I believe the Bible presents for those who teach the Gospel. I have always felt that all Christians should strive to hold themselves to that standard, but that God does not necessarily hold us all to that standard. I do not believe that I can soothe myself for my failures by thinking God does not hold me to that higher standard.

1 Samuel 22-23:29

    We have in this story a contrast between the way David and Saul managed their affairs. Saul had the priests of Nob killed because Ahimelech gave aid to David. This despite the fact that when Ahimelech aided David, no one knew that Saul no longer considered David his chief subordinate. David, on the other hand, risked himself and his men to protect the town of Keilah. Further, David sought God’s guidance for all of his actions.