For today, One Year Bible Online links here. This coming weekend I am going to be away Friday night through Sunday (October 16-18). I am going to try very hard to have my studies for the weekend done in advance. My plan is to publish Saturday’s and Sunday’s studies Friday evening before I depart. I hope this does not cause anyone a problem/

    Don’t betray another person’s secrets in order to win an argument. If you do, you will earn a reputation as a gossip and it will be difficult, if not impossible to get anyone to trust you again.

    God declares to the rulers of this earth, who think that they are mini-gods, that they need to stop handing down unjust decisions which favor the wicked. He tells them that they will die like every other mortal. If they do not want to be subject to God’s judgment they must give justice to the weak and the fatherless, and uphold the rights of the poor and oppressed. This is what God demands of those whom He has given power on this earth.

    Paul tells us to be clear-headed and alert since we live in the light of God where we can see His truth. He then goes on to tell us what that means: don’t be lazy, encourage the timid, take care of the weak, be patient with others. Most importantly, never repay evil with evil, instead we should do good to our fellow believers and to everyone else, even those who do evil to us. This is perhaps one of the hardest things for us to get our heads around. We are never justified in doing something to harm others, no matter what they have done to us. If we are truly followers of Christ, we do not claim to have a right to revenge.

    This passage begins with Jeremiah’s prophecy that the people of Jerusalem and Judah would be shattered like the jar of clay he had just smashed in front of witnesses. And why was this going to happen? Because the people of Jerusalem and Judah were slaughtering their children as sacrifices to their idols. Our nation is doing the same thing. As a nation, we are sacrificing our unborn children through abortions to the god of convenience. If we, as a people, do not turn from our sins, especially this one, God will do to our nation (and not our nation alone, there are many nations on this earth which are following the same behavior) what He did to Judah and Jerusalem in Jeremiah’s day, and worse. Pray for our nation, pray for our neighbors, that they will repent of their sins and turn to God.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    The proverb writer reminds us not to try forcing everything to our maximum advantage. On the one hand, honors are greater when others bestow them upon us in recognition of our good deeds than when they are given because we point out that we deserve them. On the other hand, things we think put others at a disadvantage to us may turn out to be less than we thought.

    I will make a joyful noise to the Lord (and if you have ever heard me sing, that is truly what it is), because He has lightened my burden. I will listen to God when He speaks and I will not worship any other gods.

    We are called to live in a way which pleases God. It is not possible to do so if we allow ourselves to get involved in sexual sin. It is very hard to avoid sexual sin because our society today teaches that sexuality defines who we are as people. Those who reject Biblical instruction on sexual sin are not rejecting man-made rules, they are rejecting God. In a large part this is why sexual sin has such devastating consequences for society. If we truly love others we will avoid sexual sins, because all sexual sin involves treating others, and ourselves, as objects. Of course this also shows us how we can free ourselves from sexual sin, the more time we spend acting out our love for others the less time we will have to treat them like objects.

    Jeremiah’s prophesies are directed at the people of Judah, but there are themes which apply to every people living in every land. At the beginning of this passage Jeremiah tells us that God said that the people of Israel had defiled His land. In this context, it is referring to the land of Israel. Yet, in truth every land is God’s land and the prophecy applies to the people in those lands who have done as God accused the people of Israel. God will punish those peoples as He punished the people of Israel. However, in the same way, if those people turn from their idols and worship God, He will bless them as He has blessed the people of Israel.
    Those who put their trust in humans rather than in God will be like shrubs in the desert, stunted and bitter. However, those who put their trust in God are like trees planted by a river. They will not be bothered by the heat, nor suffer when the rains do not come. I believe that in this metaphor water, in its various forms, refers to love. If we do not look to God for His love, we will be constantly seeking love from those who do not love us. However, if we learn to trust in God’s love, we will know that we are loved and be able to love, even when everyone around us is seeking only to use us for their own advantage.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    I interpret the first of these proverbs as telling us that it is an expression of God’s glory to have created this world with mysteries and it is to the glory of those in government to support investigations to solve those mysteries (investment in scientific research). A government will be secure if the wicked are removed from it.

    Turn us again to Yourself, Oh God, that we might be saved. It will only be then that we will be able to prosper once more. Let us pray that God turns the people of this, and every, nation to Him. It will only be then that peace and justice will reign on this earth.

    Paul commends the Thessalonian believers for accepting the Gospel as the word of God, which it is. There are those who think the Gospel message conveyed in the New Testament contains many good teachings, but they, also, believe that it was composed by men. Therefore they believe that they can pick and choose which of its teachings to follow.
    Troubles will come for those who choose to accept the Gospel, in its entirety, as the word of God. This fact is why so many attempt to pick and choose which parts they will accept. Of course those same people are the ones from whom many of the troubles arise for those who follow the will of God.

    As Jeremiah prophesied to the people of the coming disaster, they refused to listen. Instead, they listened to the prophets who told them that peace and prosperity were just around the corner. Jeremiah calls them false prophets to whom God has not spoken. If we spend a little time looking at what was going on in the world at the time of Jeremiah, we can see why God held the people accountable for listening to the false prophets. Anyone who looked at the world around them could see that peace was not on the horizon. Things were getting worse and rather than turn to God in repentance the people were doubling down on their sins. I fear for people today because I see people doing much the same thing now.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    If you do not take the time to get your job done and to take care of the details, poverty will quickly overtake you. I find proverbs like this a challenge. I know that I am lazy and love sleep more than I ought. This reminds me not to procrastinate, but get things done when they need to be done.

    When trouble stalks the land, let us cry out to God. Let us serve Him so that when He acts to save us He will be glorified.

    Prayer is clearly the topic God is after me about. Yesterday, in the passage from Colossians, Paul’s instruction to devote ourselves to prayer struck me. Today, the first thing to strike my eyes was Paul saying that he prayed constantly. As a result of his prayer, the Holy Spirit reinforced Paul’s words with power giving those who heard assurance that he spoke the truth. If we fill our lives with prayer the Holy Spirit will give us joy, even in the midst of suffering.

    We were made to cling to God the way a loincloth is made to cling to a man’s waist. If instead of doing so we follow our own desires and worship things other than God, God will rot away our pride and bring destruction upon us. God desires that we act to bring glory to His name by living lives which respect Him. Let us abandon our pride and give glory to God before it is too late.