Choose God, and live!

New Guest: Like this one, most posts are devotional; those related to CAR BIZ can be found by searching for that title. You might read 'Welcome,' the first post, dated November 12, 2008, in the archives.

Monday, May 4, 2009
Devotions: Ps 41, 44, 52; WisSol 1:16-2:24; Col 1:1-14; Lk 6:1-11

Blessed are they who consider the poor—as does our God, before Whom all are poor! Lord, I am a sinner before You; have mercy and be gracious to me, I pray. Cleanse my heart. Keep me upright; keep my enemies from crushing me. I stand in Christ’s integrity. Blessed is YHWH forever! We have heard, O God, what You did with our forefathers—the wonders You performed, the kindness and might You expressed! You are my King and God, and my victories come from You. You put to confusion those who hate me; my boast is in God, and I will thank You forever. I know You permit hardship to come on me—but I also know that You do not forsake me. Rise up, O God, and help me; deliver me for the sake of Your steadfast love. God will break the boastful, and the righteous will observe and glorify God. I trust in God, and He makes me like a fruitful olive tree in His bower; I rely on His steadfast love forever. I will proclaim God’s name before the godly!

By their words and deeds, ungodly people summon death—they belong to the party of death! They don’t recognize God, or believe in life after death. Therefore, they live for the moment, in revelry. They oppress the poor and the widow; they believe that might is right, and hold weakness in contempt. They plot against those who profess God and torture them, believing they can do so without consequence. They are blinded by their wickedness; they lack the faith and hope which the holy possess. God created humanity for incorruption; we are made in His image, for His eternity. Through the devil’s envy, death entered the world; and those who belong to the devil’s party experience death!

Paul, with Timothy, writes to the Christians in Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father! We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, when we pray for you. We have heard of your faith in Messiah Jesus and the love you show to all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You know of these things through the gospel proclaimed to you, the word of truth, which is growing and bearing fruit throughout the world just as among you. You heard and understood the grace of God in truth from Ephaphras, our beloved fellow servant, a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf. He has made known to us your love in the Spirit. And from that day, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father Who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and has transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

On a Sabbath, Jesus and His disciples were traveling afoot through some grain fields. His disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing away the chaff with their hands as they walked. Some Pharisees objected: ‘Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?’ Jesus answered: ‘Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry? He and his companions entered God’s house. David took up and ate the bread of the Presence, which the law restricts to the priests, and he also shared it with his companions. The Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath!
On another Sabbath, Jesus entered and taught in a synagogue. Among those present was a man whose right hand was withered. The scribes and Pharisees watched to see if Jesus would heal on the Sabbath—something they considered grounds for accusation. Jesus knew their unvoiced thoughts, and said to the man: ‘Come and stand here.’ Jesus rose and stood, too, and addressed His critics: ‘I ask you: is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or to do harm? Is it lawful to save a life, or to destroy it?’ He included all present in His gaze, and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ The man did so, and his hand was restored. Yet, the scribes and Pharisees were filled with fury, and discussed among themselves what they might do to Jesus.