God alone saves and heals; faith receives God's goodness

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Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Devotions: Ps 121-27; Zech 11:4-17; 1 Cor 3:10-23; Lk 18:31-43

My help comes from YHWH, Creator of everything. He is always vigilant; He will protect me from evil. So I am always glad to worship in His house; and I love Jerusalem, and pray for its peace. Lord, have mercy on me; I have received plenty of contempt from the proud. If You had not preserved me, I’d have been swept away long ago by the opposition of wicked people. We who trust in God abide; He surrounds us as the mountains surround Jerusalem, always. When God prospers us, we are like dreamers, filled with laughter and joy. God has done great things for us, and we are glad. Though we sow in tears, we shall reap with shouts of joy! We prosper when God establishes our house and guards our homes, provides our food and gives sleep to His loved ones. Happy are all who have children and grandchildren from the Lord.
Zechariah portrays God as Shepherd over a doomed flock; He destroys the faithless human shepherds, breaks His covenant of grace with the faithless people, receives thirty pieces of silver as wages for selling God’s people, and deposits this blood money in the treasury of the temple. He breaks the union between offspring of the brothers Judah and Israel. And God sets a worthless leader over the ruined remnants of His people and their lands.
Paul recounts: ‘By God’s grace, I laid a foundation, and now another is building on it (in developing the Christian community in Corinth). But let each man take care how he builds! There can be only one Foundation: Jesus the Messiah. The quality of what is built on Him will determine the survival of those works: gold, silver, precious stones will last; wood, hay or straw will be burned away in the judgment. Those whose work survives will be rewarded; those whose work perishes will be saved, but not rewarded further. Your treasure comes from God, through Christ—no boasting about human leaders or teachers!’
Jesus took His twelve apostles aside and privately briefed them about what would happen as they went up to Jerusalem together for the last time: ‘Everything the prophets wrote about the Son of man will be fulfilled. I will be delivered to the Gentiles, mocked, mistreated, spat upon, scourged and murdered. And on the third day, I will rise again.’ The hearers could not understand any of this. As the party approached Jericho, a blind beggar heard the stir, and was told that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. He cried out: ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stopped and directed that the man be brought to Him. ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Jesus asked. ‘Lord, let me receive my sight!’ the man responded. Jesus said: ‘Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.’ And immediately the man could see, and followed Jesus, glorifying God. The witnesses also praised God.