For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    Goodness shines brightly out of the godly while the wicked snuff out whatever goodness is within themselves. At least one condition necessary for conflict to occur is pride, without pride, conflict will not come about. True wisdom lies in being humble enough to take advice.

    I love this psalm and will do as the psalmist recommends. I will call upon God when I am in trouble, for I know that He will answer my cry. There is no other god like Him. One of the things I ask of God is that He teach me His ways, so that I can live according to His truth. I, also, ask that He purify my heart, so that my life will honour Him. I know that I am not able, by my own strength of will, to live a life according to His ways, nor am I able to purify my heart. But I know that God has the power to cause these things to happen and I pray that He send His Spirit upon me to accomplish these ends.

    In the story of the rich man there is one element I do not remember ever being expounded upon, and another that I have rarely heard discussed. I will address the latter first. The rich man came to Jesus and asked Him what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. When Jesus told him to follow the commandments, he replied that he was already doing that. The rich man clearly felt that he needed to do more, that following the commandments was not enough. He recognized that not committing any sins of commission was not enough. He sought to find out what positive action he should take (or, possibly, he was seeking Jesus’ affirmation that he had indeed done enough). The point is that this rich man recognized that not doing wrong is not enough. In addition to not doing what is wrong, we need to do what is right.
    This brings us to the element of this story I do not remember hearing anyone expound upon. Jesus told the rich man to “Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” The key part of what Jesus was telling the man was that he should come and follow Jesus. Selling his possessions and giving the money to the poor was merely there so that the man would not have it as a fallback. It was a sign of commitment. Are we willing to follow where God leads, even when it means not leaving open an option to turn back? The key thing which Jesus was telling this man to do was make a complete commitment, all-in. Are we “All-in”?

    When Caleb went to take the land that had been given to him as his inheritance, he conquered much of the land that was given to him. However, when he went up against one of the cities, he declared that he would give his daughter’s hand in marriage to whomever conquered it. After its defeat, he kept his word. As part of the marriage settlement, Caleb gave some land to her and her new husband. However, the land apparently did not have any springs on it, so she asked her father for springs to go with it. He granted them to her. I recounted all that to note that when we give to others, we should be sure that we do not make them dependent upon us to gain any benefit from the gift. In this case, the land Caleb gave his son-in-law was only usable as long as he had access to the springs which Caleb initially kept for himself. When we “help” those in need, let us make sure that we are not making them dependent upon ourselves, or upon someone else, not even upon the government. We should strive to help those in need to be able to stand on their own (with God’s help and none other).

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    Those who have wealth can use that wealth to rescue themselves from dangers those who are poor will never face.

        God forgave our sins and covered them over. As I read this psalm there were a couple of lines which are my prayer today:

Now restore us again, O God of our salvation.
…
Won’t you revive us again,

I humbly request God to restore me and revive me in my love of Him. The phrase “revive us again” reminds me of this song. My prayer is not just for God to restore and revive me. I pray that He restore and revive all of those who have at one time or another accepted His invitation to become His people. God will pour down His blessing upon those who accept His call to righteousness and peace.

    Luke recounts two of Jesus’ parables in this passage. In the first parable Jesus gives us a lesson for our prayer lives. If an unjust judge will grant the widow’s request because she is persistent, how much more will our loving Father grant our requests? As we seek God’s will in our lives and in the lives of those around us, let us be persistent in asking God to send His Spirit to carry out His will. When we feel that what we wish God to do will further God’s will, it is not enough to pray to God once requesting that He act. We are to be persistent in asking God to act in this world.
    The second parable is the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying. The Pharisee spends his entire prayer telling God how righteous and wonderful he is, recounting everything he does right. The tax collector on the other hand, recognized his sin and begged God to be merciful. When we come to God let us recognize our shortcomings and acknowledge that we need God’s mercy in our lives. By God’s standard of righteousness, there was not a significant difference between the tax collector and the Pharisee, except that the tax collector recognized his sin and turned to God for mercy. In the same way, the only difference between myself and the vilest sinner on this earth is the extent to which I recognize my need for God’s forgiveness.

    When Joshua was reaching the end of his life, God came to him and told him that in due time He would drive the peoples out of the rest of the land promised to the Israelites. God further told Joshua to assign those, as yet, unconquered lands to the tribes according to God’s direction. In Joshua’s lifetime the people of Israel were insufficient in numbers to occupy all of the land which God had promised to the descendants of Abraham, so God did not give drive out all of the people living in those lands. In the same way, in our lifetime the number of people serving God may not be sufficient to fulfill the mission which He sent us to begin (or extend). Nevertheless, let us carry out as much of it as He grants us the strength and wisdom to accomplish. The fact that the mission is not completed in our lifetime does not mean that we are a failure.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    The righteous hate lies and all that is false. Their integrity guards them from unrecoverable errors. The evil are misled by sin into disgrace and shame.

    I completely agree with the psalmist. I desire with all of my being to enter into the presence of God. Oh, what a joyous place that is to be! If we draw our strength from God, even when we pass through times of trouble and sorrow we can experience the joy of the Lord. I would rather be a servant in God’s house than the guest of honour in the home of the wicked. I desire to serve God with all of my being.

    The Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come? Jesus answered that the Kingdom of Heaven is not something that we can say, “Here it is,” or, “It is over there.” The Kingdom of Heaven is in our midst and within us. When we serve God we have brought the Kingdom of God to those around us. Let us do everything in our power to show those around us what it like to live in the Kingdom of God so that they will desire to live there as well. And not some day in the future, but to live in the Kingdom of God today.
    However, the day will come when Jesus will return and take those who serve Him out of the world. That day will happen just like every other day. People will be going about their business side by side. One will be taken, while one will be left. I strive to be sure that on that day, when I am going about my business the business I am going about is God’s business.

    Of all the people in the land which had been promised to the Israelites, only the Gibeonites attempted to make peace with the Israelites. All of the other peoples banded together to attack the Israelites. Despite the military strength arrayed against the Israelites God gave them complete victory. Sometimes I wonder about the people who were wiped out by the Israelites is it possible that they were all so evil that they deserved such complete annihilation. Then I remember the story of Rahab and her family. Perhaps there were other stories of lesser significance that we do not know about. It is important to remember that those who do not choose to separate themselves from those who are evil are likely to suffer along with the evil.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    We need to choose our words with care because they will provide the “food” we will eat. The type of life we will lead going forward will come out of what we say to others now. Those who say treacherous, dishonest things will find their lives filled with violence (probably a result which they desire). So, let us be careful not to say things which will lead to results we do not desire. Carelessly saying whatever comes to mind will lead to our destruction.

    God will pronounce judgement on the rulers of this earth. He will hold them accountable for making unjust decisions. On the other hand, He will honour those rulers who give justice to the poor and the orphan. He will praise those who rescue the weak and the needy. All the nations on this earth belong to God. He has given authority to those who rule over them. He will judge those rulers if they fail to use that authority wisely. Those who use their authority for their own interests, at the expense of justice may seem to prosper for a time, but God is keeping score.

    Jesus told the story of the shrewd manager. Upon being told that he was about to be fired summoned all of those who owed his master and cut their debts in half. Jesus holds this up as an example for us. He was not telling us that we should defraud our employer if we are fired. Rather, we should use our material resources in order to help those less fortunate than ourselves. Let us show others that we care about them by the way in which we use the material resources which God puts at our disposal.
    A story I learned in my childhood illustrates this point. During the Revolutionary War a woman who lived near where I grew up refused to take sides. At one point she was arrested for having wounded British soldiers in her house, whose injuries she was treating. George Washington (or one of his commanders, I do not remember this detail) intended to execute her for treason. However, her neighbors came forward and begged him to not do so. They argued that she had always been generous to her neighbors, helping those in need. In fact, they produced evidence that she had provided care equally to injured soldiers from Washington’s army. In the end, she was not executed because the Army was satisfied that she had used her resources to help those in need regardless of which side they were on. Jesus concludes His teaching on this subject by reminding us that if we allow it, money will become our master, demanding loyalty which we should be giving to God.

    Yesterday’s passage concluded with the account of how the Israelites were defeated when they attacked Ai. This defeat occurred because one of their number had failed to follow God’s command at Jericho and kept some of Jericho’s wealth for himself. The important lesson from this passage is that an organization can be defeated in its pursuit of God’s goals if even one of its number has allowed his personal desires lead him to disobey God. This passage reminds me of an event from my past.
    When I was in my 20s and attending elsewhere, the congregation my parents attended was struggling. However, it seemed to have found a new mission and new life. It was being led by a team of three interim pastors. Men who were semi-retired from ministry and had other means of support (although they were receiving a stipend for this role). After several years, one of those men left his wife of many years. He went to live with a woman with whom he had been having an affair for many years. Within a matter of months the congregation had disbanded. To this day, I am convinced that the reason the congregation disbanded was because of this man’s sin.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    The lazy will not even take the effort to cook any game they catch, while the diligent will always find plenty to eat because they make use of everything they acquire. The godly follow a path which leads to life, they do not choose actions which result in death and destruction.

    Let us cry out to God and ask Him to turn us again to following Him. It is only by the power of His Spirit that we can be blessed and follow His will. We cannot do so on our own. It is only when God shows His face to us that we can experience the blessings that come from serving Him. I pray to God that He send out His Spirit and turn His people once more towards Him. I ask that He send His Spirit upon me and change me so that I serve His will in all that I do.

    Jesus was at a feast when He noticed that everyone was trying to sit in the seats of honour. Jesus then gives some advice that is not just about seating at a feast. He tells us that we should not attempt to honour ourselves; we should not put ourselves forward as someone deserving of honour. Rather we should be humble and assume that everyone present is more deserving of honour than ourselves. Jesus goes on from that to tell us that it is better to good things for those who cannot pay us back for our kindness. These two lessons go together. Do not do good things in order to receive recompense, whether that recompense is material or something insubstantial such as being honoured.
    Jesus followed this up by telling the story about the man who prepared and threw a banquet. When He sent out word that the meal was ready to those who had initially accepted His invitation, they all replied that they were too busy to come now. This is a clear reference to those who have lived a “religious” or “righteous” life believing that they had an “in” with God. The important thing is not that we were invited to God’s feast, nor that we accepted to invitation. The important thing is that we are ready to do His will when He says that now is the time. If we do not respond when God tells us it is time, our place will be taken by the alcoholics, the druggies, the dregs of the earth (not just the unfortunate who life has dealt a raw hand, but those who have chosen a self-destructive path). I think it is wonderful news that God will include these, but I do not want to be left out because I failed to answer the call.
    Jesus goes on to tell the crowd following Him that if they wish to follow Him they need to be willing to give up everything in this life, to the point of suffering a horrible death. It is important for us to count what following Him will cost us before we set out. There have been those who fell away because they discovered that the cost of following Christ was higher than they were willing to pay. In some cases I believe that if they had realized the cost when they chose to follow Christ, they would have done so anyway and when the time came they would have continued on. But because they had not realized the price they would need to pay, when the time came they felt betrayed and fell away from Christ. Following Christ will cost us everything which we have, even our very lives. If we are not willing to pay this price, we may as well never start down that road.
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    The people of Israel purified themselves the night before they were to set out to cross the Jordan. They went forth in faith and God stopped the flow of the Jordan River so that they could cross on dry ground. Unlike when they had crossed the Red Sea, this crossing was done where it could be witnessed by many people besides the Israelites. As they crossed the Jordan they gathered stones so as to make a memorial to remind future generations of what God had done for them. I will strive to purify myself when God has revealed that He is about to use me to demonstrate His power, even if it is only through something that does not deserve to be mentioned next to crossing the Jordan. In addition, this passage reminds us of the importance of creating memorials to remind ourselves of what God has done in our lives. These memorials will serve as a basis for strengthening our faith when we doubt and as an opportunity to tell others of the wonderful things God has done for us.