I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I write this daily blog because it helps me pay closer attention to the Scripture as I read it. Before I started writing this blog I had trouble disciplining myself to read the Bible regularly, let alone every day. I hope that by posting my thoughts I can encourage others to regularly read the Bible (and perhaps my thoughts will give someone encouragement in their walk with Christ). In order to make it possible for others to use my blog as part of their daily Bible Study (the hubris of that idea never ceases to amaze me), I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

    In order to learn, you must embrace being corrected and disciplined when you are wrong. Anyone who despises being corrected is both ignorant and stupid.

    This psalm reflects how I feel right now. I am overwhelmed by my troubles and I beg of God that He rescue me. I have been foolish and made many mistakes. I acknowledge my sins before God. I have no choice because He knows them all. I ask that God not allow those who trust in Him be ashamed because of me. Oh God, do not allow those who honor you to be humiliated by anything I say or do!

    There are a lot of different takes on this story of the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and with perfume. There is a lot to be learned from it. However, the question that struck me is that in reality there is no practical difference in the amount of forgiveness the Pharisee and the woman in this story needed from God. The difference was in their perception of their need. Or to put it another way, if I am drowning in the ocean, it doesn’t matter if I am 1 mile from shore or 100 miles from shore. In either case, if someone does not come along and pull me out of the water, I will die.
    Simon the Pharisee perceived himself as needing just a little bit of help in order to be righteous. The woman who anointed Jesus perceived herself as being completely unable to be righteous. So, the question is how do I perceive myself? Do I understand that without Jesus, righteousness is completely out of my reach? The answer is, “Not always”. Yet, I know that it is.

    God did not choose us as His servants because we are stronger, or smarter, or faster, or in any other way better than anybody else. He chose us because He loves us. We were chosen by God to serve Him and if we do that He will bless us. However, we cannot compromise on God’s principles. We cannot meet those who do not believe in God halfway. We must not worship their gods or serve their goals.

    I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I write this daily blog because it helps me pay closer attention to the Scripture as I read it. Before I started writing this blog I had trouble disciplining myself to read the Bible regularly, let alone every day. I hope that by posting my thoughts I can encourage others to regularly read the Bible (and perhaps my thoughts will give someone encouragement in their walk with Christ). In order to make it possible for others to use my blog as part of their daily Bible Study (the hubris of that idea never ceases to amaze me), I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more. in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

    If we trust in our wealth and material possessions we will fall. Wealth is only of use as long as others value it. Those who are righteous will always thrive because its value does not depend on others.

    The day is coming when God will rise up and scatter His enemies. In that day the godly will rejoice. God’s presence will make them glad and fill them with joy. God is father to the fatherless and the defender of widows. He gives the lonely families who will love and care for them. When God gives the word against His enemies He does not need to send an army to retrieve the plunder. Kings and armies will flee God’s wrath and noncombatants will gather the plunder.

    Luke continues on the theme about judging others. Rather than focus on what others are doing wrong, we should look to correct our own failings. If we want to think of ourselves as good people, we need to say and do good things. If we are prickly and people who get close to us tend to get hurt by what we do and/or say, then we are thorn-bushes or brambles, not fig trees or grape vines. We should judge ourselves by the fruit we produce. Elsewhere this passage is presented in a way that I heard summarized as telling us that we are not to judge others, but we are supposed to be fruit inspectors. I think that such is an accurate way to summarize the similar passage in Matthew. However, Luke is telling us that we should be concerned with the results of our own actions, not those of others.

    Moses continued his recap of the Israelites travel through the wilderness. He reminded them several times not to forget what they have seen God do. That reminder stands for us as well. Let us not forget to tell the generations which come after us the things which we have seen God do. As I read this passage today, I am reminded of a book that my parents encouraged me to read when I was young. The book was called the “Martyrs Mirror”. This is a book is an account of the stories and testimonies of many who died as martyrs in service of God. There was a time when almost all Mennonite homes had a copy of this book. The importance of the Martyrs Mirror is that it is a reminder of what God has done down through the ages. We need to recount to the next generation the stories of what we have seen God do, and the stories which those who went before us told us.

    I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I write this daily blog because it helps me pay closer attention to the Scripture as I read it. Before I started writing this blog I had trouble disciplining myself to read the Bible regularly, let alone every day. I hope that by posting my thoughts I can encourage others to regularly read the Bible (and perhaps my thoughts will give someone encouragement in their walk with Christ). In order to make it possible for others to use my blog as part of their daily Bible Study (the hubris of that idea never ceases to amaze me), I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more. in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

    Those who seek good will find both it and favor with others. Those who seek evil will find it, to their own loss. If you seek evil, you will suffer evil.

    This psalm reminds us to praise and bless God because He has blessed us by providing for our needs. Yet it also carries the reminder that as we praise and obey God, we will be blessed by Him even further.

    Luke tells us that people came from all over to hear Jesus preach and to be healed by Him. In addition, he puts a phrase hear which reminds me of the woman who was healed when she touched the hem of his robe. “Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.” (verse 19) Then we have Luke’s take on the beatitudes. These are more troubling than Matthew’s version. Jesus said that those who were poor, hungry, and sorrowful are blessed because they will inherit the Kingdom of God, be fed, and experience joy. The scary part is that Jesus then goes on to tell those who are experiencing the good life will experience sorrow and misery in the future. I do not think this second part is a promise, but rather it is a warning (at least I hope so) because of what He says next.
    Jesus transitions from His warnings of sorrow by saying, “But to you who are listening…” He tells us to love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless and pray for those who treat us badly. We are to do to others as we would like them to do to us. It is not enough to do good things to those who can/will return the favor. We need to be nice, do good things for, those who will not and/or cannot be nice and/or do good things in return. God has been merciful to us, as undeserving as we were, and are. If we expect God to reward us, we must be merciful to those who do not deserve it, and will not deserve it. Let us work to imitate God’s goodness. Jesus tells us that we should not hold others to a higher standard than we wish to be judged by ourselves. If we wish to be forgiven, we need to forgive others. I just realized that there is an implicit understanding of human nature here. Those who are unwilling to forgive others are those who think of themselves as not needing forgiveness. The measure by which we give to others (in forgiveness, good will, and material goods) is the measure by which we will be rewarded. Let us give to others generously.

    Moses continued his account of the time the Israelites spent in the wilderness. He recounts how God instructed them to avoid conflict with both the Edomites and the Moabites (descendants of Esau and Lot respectively). Moses then told of how he sent messengers to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, requesting permission to pass through his lands as they had through the lands of the Edomites and the Moabites. Sihon rejected Moses request and attacked the Israelites. I am reminded as I read this that God will provide for us. There will be obstacles in the path that God sends us on, but God will remove those obstacles. Let us not become hostile towards those who do not share our goals until they take action against us. Even then, we need to rely on God to defeat them for us.