Day 285: Mooching

2 Thessalonians 3; Isaiah 29-30; Psalm 119:1-32

Paul's message in this chapter is primarily about laziness and mooching. He encourages the followers to be an example and work hard. Why would such a thing matter? Lazy people are often selfish, have a sense of entitlement, and do not care for the needs of others. So while its ok to have a "lazy day" once in a while where we relax, take some time for ourselves, and do nothing, that is not the kind of lifestyle that Christ demonstrated. Even when he wanted to rest, spend time alone, he would see the crowds, have pity, and go to work healing them.

Israel's story is one of sin, disobedience, rejection, and weeping. God gets angry and brings them through tough times, suffering, and captivity, but he never leaves them there. Despite the fact that they use religiousness to make themselves feel better rather than humble and worshipful hearts; despite the fact they turn to human powers and nations for help rather than The Lord; God still is going to rescue them from their enemies and give them prosperity beyond what they need. God has the potential to be angry, jealous, destructive, just, but he also loves his people beyond what we can comprehend. There is a beautiful passage in chapter 30 that talks about how God will be close to his people, guiding them, giving them abundance, and healing their injuries. So despite the pain and punishment of those people (and sometimes what we feel), there is hope for the future. No matter how disobedient these people were, God still promised to rescue them if they were in need or decided to obey his teachings.

This psalm is all about loving God's word, working hard to obey his teachings, because they bring life, happiness, and answers to prayer. I love this because I have found that the more time I spend reading the word of God, the more I am able to live my life avoid sin and loving others. The whole point of this blog is not about my thoughts, but it is supposed to be an encouragement for readers to read God's word daily. If no one ever read another word I wrote, but spent the time reading the scriptures at the top of each post, that would be awesome! Why? Because my words are worth nothing, God's are worth everything. His words are life, they are goodness, they are joy.