Guidance for a hard day...

New Guest: Most posts are devotional; those related to CAR BIZ can be found by searching for that label.

Friday, November 14, 2008
Devotions: Ps 88, 91, 92; Joel 3:9-17; Jas 2:1-13; Lk 16:10-18

Lord, I cry out to You; my soul is full of troubles, weak and sinking. I am ignored or punished by those in authority—I feel like the Israelites in Egypt: “More bricks, no straw!” I know You are good, Lord; help me put my feelings (and my situation) in an eternal perspective. I want dark times to press me closer to You, not to set me spinning off into loneliness and despair; keep me from the ditches of depression and rage. I live in Your shelter, the shadow of the Almighty; YHWH is my refuge and my fortress. And I trust You, God. I will not fear threats by day or by night. I will live and see the justice and mercy of God. He has given His angels charge concerning me, to guard me always, everywhere. I hold fast to God in love and confidence, and He delivers me. Lord, I accept Your judgment, and I await the fulfillment of Your promises to rescue and honor me with Your presence and Your salvation. It is good to give You thanks and praise; to recall Your steadfast love and faithfulness all day long, in every circumstance. I sing for joy at the work of Your hands. In past times, I have seen my dire enemies fall. Make me fruitful, God, even in my old age! You are my Rock.
There is a time for every purpose under heaven. Sometimes, the prophets counsel beating swords into plowshares; but here, Joel says: ‘Stir up the warriors! Beat plowshares into swords and pruning hooks into spears. Gather in Jehoshaphat, the Valley of Decision, where God will sit in judgment. YHWH’s Day is near; the cosmos reflects the spiritual crisis of our time. YHWH roars; heaven and earth tremble; but He Is a refuge to His people. God will hallow His land and His city, and will vindicate His people.’
James admonishes: ‘No partiality in the practice of your faith! If a prosperous visitor and a poor visitor come to your assembly, treat them equally, with courtesy and kindness. If anything, God favors the poor, the powerless, the weak, the small; so don’t you sit in judgment, or pander to wealth and power. Isn’t it the rich and mighty who oppress you, who drag you into court, who blaspheme the name of your family? “Love your neighbor as yourself” is a royal rule; partiality is sin, before the law and the Lord. Judgment without mercy is the outcome for anyone who shows no mercy—but in the end, mercy triumphs over judgment.’
Jesus teaches his disciples: ‘God wants you to grow in faithfulness; whoever is faithful in small things—like worldly wealth—will be faithful in great things; and whoever is dishonest in little things will be so in great matters. You can have only one master: you can serve either God or money.’ The Pharisees, who loved money, scoffed at this [for they maintained that wealth and power proved God’s favor]. Jesus said to them, ‘You justify yourselves in public view, but God knows your inmost hearts. What is exalted among humanity is an abomination in God’s sight. From the time of Moses and the prophets until John the Baptizer was the provenance of the Law; since then, the good news of God’s kingdom is proclaimed. Every one who enters must break into the kingdom forcefully. Yet it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.’ And then He added: ‘Every one who divorces a spouse and marries another is committing adultery, as does a person who marries someone who has been divorced.’