Serve God or Oppose God - Our Choice

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Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Devotions: Ps 101, 109; Isa 63:15-64:9; 1 Tim 3:1-16; Mk 11:27-12:12

David wrote: I will sing to You, God, of loyalty and justice, and I will walk in a blameless manner. In my house, I will walk with integrity; I will not set anything base before my eyes. Perversity of heart will be far from me; I will know nothing of evil. I will oppose slanderers and the arrogant. I will favor the faithful, and accept the ministries of the blameless. Morning by morning, I will cut off evil, within and without. Help me, Lord, for I am strongly opposed by ruthless people. Set them under judgment, Lord; let them experience the bitter fruits of their transgressions; let the evil they intend for others fall upon them! And, I pray, let my Lord God deal on my behalf, for Your name’s sake! Save me according to Your steadfast love; may God prosper His own, and may my accusers be wrapped in their own shame. I will praise my God forever.

God, You are my Father and Redeemer! Come to me; soften my heart and open my spirit to Your goodness, holiness, wisdom and love. I am clay in Your hands, Father. Mould me accord to Your purpose! You are awesome, God! I am Yours, Lord; please forgive my sins and draw me to Yourself.

Paul reviews qualifications: an elder must be above reproach, a one-woman man, temperate, sensible, dignified, an apt teacher, sober, gentle, and no lover of money. He must manage his household well, and have well-disciplined children. He must not be a recent convert, and must have a positive public reputation. A deacon must be serious, plain-spoken and not deceitful, sober and not greedy for gain. They must be blameless. Women in God’s service must be serious, not gossips or slanderers, temperate and faithful. Deacons, too, must be one-woman men, and must manage their children and households well. We serve the Lord Jesus: manifest in flesh, seen by angels, preached world-wide, subject of our faith, risen and glorified!

At the temple, the chief priest and scribes accosted Jesus, demanding to know the source of His authority for all He was doing and saying. He asked them a question in return: was John’s baptism from God or from men? The Jewish authorities realized that any answer they might give would inflame the multitudes against them, so they said they didn’t know. On that basis, Jesus also refused to answer their question. Then He began to speak in parables—beginning with the parable of the vineyard and wine press: a man planted a vineyard, hedged it about, and built a wine press and tower within, then rented out this facility to tenants, and left for another country. When it was time for the tenants to share the fruits of the vineyard and wine press, the owner sent a servant to collect, but the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. The owner sent other envoys, but some were beaten and some were killed. Finally, the owner sent his own son, believing the renters would respect his heir. But they conspired to kill the heir and seize the property for themselves: they murdered the owner’s son and threw his body out of the vineyard. Jesus concluded: ‘So what will the owner do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and give the vineyard to others. This relates to the scripture that says, “The very stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone; this is the Lord’s doing, marvelous in our sight!”' The Jewish authorities redoubled their desire to arrest Jesus, but fearing the multitude, they left Him and went away for a time.