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Saturday, November 22, 2008
Devotions: Ps 107:33-43; 108:1-6; Mal 3:13-4:6; Jas 5:13-20; Lk 18:9-14
YHWH turns deserts to oases, and fertile cropland to wilderness; good fortune is God’s gift. God opposes the proud, but gives amazing grace to the downtrodden and needy. Let us ponder the steadfast love of the Lord. And let my own heart be steadfast in loving God and loving others and myself. Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens; Your faithfulness stretches to the skies; Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains; Your justice rolls like the ocean tide. And I will lift my voice and my heart to worship You, my King; I will find my peace in the shadow of Your wings. Let Your glory be over all the earth, and make me an instrument of Your peace.
Malachi continues to speak for God: ‘Your words have stoutly opposed Me. You ask how so: you have said it is vain to serve God; you point out how the evil and godless prosper. But listen: the Lord of hosts keeps track, and He will prosper those faithful to Him, His special treasure on the day He brings judgment. On that day, the arrogant and evil will be stubble, and judgment will consume them. For those who respect God, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in His wings, and we will break forth rejoicing. Keep Torah; follow My prophets; and let the Messiah turn your hearts to love one another, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.’
James counsels: ‘When you suffer, pray. When you are cheerful, give thanks and praise. When someone is ill, let the elders of the church pray and anoint the sick with oil in the Name of the Lord—and the prayer of faith will save the sick. The Lord will aid their recovery and forgive their sins. A believer’s righteous prayer is very powerful! Look up the prayer record of Elijah—a mortal like ourselves, whose prayers moved history and nature. Beloved, if someone strays from the truth and another brings the wanderer back from error, the sinner will be saved from error, preserved from death, and forgiven a multitude of sins.’
Jesus contrasts two worshipers in God’s temple: a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee stood near the altar and prayed “with himself”: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men,’ and he recounted his legalistic accomplishments. Meanwhile, the tax collector stood far from the altar, head cast down, beating his breast, acknowledging his sins and begging God for mercy. According to Jesus, the tax collector left the temple justified, but the Pharisee still faced condemnation: ‘for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.’
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