Receive Jesus 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.

Thursday and Friday, May 7 & 8, 2009
Devotions: Ps 40, 50, 51, 114, 115; WisSol 5:9-23, 6:12-23; Col 2:8-3:11; Lk 6:39-7:17

I will wait patiently for the Lord, and he will draw me up from the swamp and set me on solid ground. He will put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to God. Those who see will be moved to faith in YHWH. Blessed are those who make YHWH the Foundation of their trust; He has multiplied His mighty works in our behalf. God has given me an open ear; He wants only my love and my obedient trust. This makes me free. O my God, I delight to do Your will; I will testify to Your goodness—Your faithfulness and saving grace. Let Your love and mercy abound to me, Lord; wash away my countless sins and deliver me. Put our enemies to shame. May my life encourage others to praise You. Our God comes in power; He shines forth in glory. He needs no sacrifice, for He owns everything! Let us give Him what is fitting: ourselves and our thanks. God hates deceit; He honors gratitude and right conduct. Lord, cleanse me of my sins and offenses against You. Your judgment is justified; You desire inward truth and outward integrity; cleanse me; fill me with Your joy and gladness; set my broken bones and heal my wounded flesh. Create in me a clean heart and an upright spirit, O God; keep me near You and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Lord, open my lips and let me praise You. The acceptable sacrifice is a broken spirit and a contrite heart. These I offer You, my Lord God. Let all the earth tremble before the Master, YHWH. Lord, glorify Your name. You alone are the true and living God; all others are idols or demons. YHWH has been mindful of us; He blesses His own. May He give us increase; may we be blessed by the Lord Who created heaven and earth!

The short-lived profits of godlessness vanish without a trace. Human goodness also dissolves utterly. But the righteous live for ever, blessed and protected by the Most High. God gathers His own and destroys His enemies. Lawlessness harms the earth, but the Creator will vindicate His loved ones. Wisdom is radiant and unfading; she is easily discerned by those who love her, found by those who seek her. It is wise to fix one’s thoughts on wisdom. Wisdom begins with a sincere desire to learn; that motive is the essence of seeking wisdom; honor wisdom that you may reign forever. Multiply wisdom to save the world; choose wise leaders to guide the people; take godly instruction, and you will have lasting profit!

Paul counsels: ‘Let no one deceive you with empty philosophy—these comport with human traditions and the elemental spirits of the universe, and not with the Messiah. In Him the whole fullness of Deity is embodied. You have come to fullness of life in Him, the Head of all rule and authority. In Him you were circumcised in heart, putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ. In Him, you were buried in baptism, then raised with Him through faith in the working of God, Who raised Jesus from death. You, who were dead in trespass and the life of the flesh, God made alive together with the Messiah, having forgiven us all our trespasses. In Jesus, God has canceled the bond against us, nailing it to His cross! He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them through Christ Jesus. So don’t let anyone pass judgment on you in peripheral matters like diet or religious traditions. These foreshadowed God’s kingdom; but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one force you into self-abasement or angel worship; let no visionary claim authority over you, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, detached from the Head, from Whom the whole body, nourished and knit together, grows as God gives growth. With Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe; don’t live as if you still belonged to the world. Why submit to regulations, to human doctrines and traditions that Christ has superseded? These appear wise, promoting rigorous devotion and self-abasing severity toward the body; but they have no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh.

‘If you are raised with Christ, seek the things above, where He is now, seated at God’s right hand. Set your mind on things above, not things on earth. You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, our Life, appears, you will also appear with Him in glory! So put to death your earthiness: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire and covetousness—all these are idolatry that calls down God’s coming wrath. You did these things once, when you lived in the world. But now put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, foul language, and lying. You have put off the old nature and its practices; you have put on the new nature which is being renewed in knowledge after our Creator’s image. In God’s new creation, there are no distinctions between Gentile and Jews, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free; instead, Christ is all and He is in all!’

Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain concluded: ‘If a blind man leads another blind man, they’ll both fall into a pit. Disciples become like their masters. You notice the speck in others’ eyes, but ignore the log in your own. Hypocrites! Take the log from your own eye, so you can see to help your brother with the speck in his eye. Good trees bear good fruit; bad trees bear bad fruit, and each species bears its own characteristic kind of fruit. A good man brings good treasure from his good heart; a evil man, out of his evil treasure, brings forth evil. People speak and act in accordance with the overflow of their hearts. Why call Me “Lord” when you don’t do what I tell you? Those who come to Me and does what I say are like a man who builds his house on solid rock: when floods come, his house stands unshaken. And those who come, listen, then do not act on My words are like one who builds his house on the ground, with no foundation. That house, when storms and floods break against it, falls immediately, totally ruined.’

Jesus made His way to Capernaum. A centurion had a slave who was dear to him, and the slave was sick and near death. The officer sent Jewish elders to Jesus, asking Jesus to come and heal the slave. The Jews interceded for the Roman centurion: ‘He loves our nation; he built our synagogue.’ And Jesus went with them. As Jesus approached, the centurion sent friends to Him with this message: ‘Lord, do not trouble Yourself; I am not worthy for You to come under my roof. Just speak a word, and let my servant be healed. For I am a man in authority myself; my soldiers and servants do what I say.’ Jesus remarked on the centurion’s faith to the multitude following Him. When the centurion’s messengers returned to his house, they found the doulos well. Shortly, Jesus and His followers went to the city of Nain. As they neared the city gate, they met a funeral party carrying out a deceased man, only son of a widow in that city. When Jesus saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, ‘Don’t weep.’ He approached the bier and touched it; the bearers stood still. Jesus said, ‘Young man, I say to you, arise!’ And the dead man sat up and began to speak; Jesus restored him to his mother. The onlookers were awed and glorified God, saying ‘A great prophet has arisen among us,’ and ‘God has visited His people!’ And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.