God's consolations cheer my soul

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

Monday and Tuesday, August 10 & 11, 2009
Devotions: Ps 89, 94, 97, 99; 2 Sam 13:23-14:20; Acts 20:17-21:14; Mk 9:42-10:16

YHWH, I will sing Your steadfast love forever; I will proclaim Your faithfulness all my days. You have made and kept covenant. You are God of gods and Lord of lords. Nature is Yours; humanity is Yours. You have blessed humankind through the children of Abraham and the house of David. You keep Your word and care for Your people. Blessed be the Lord for ever. And, Lord, You are righteous Judge of all; let Your power deal with the arrogant idolaters who ignore or reject You. Protect the weak, my God; chasten the saints, that we may grow in grace. If You were not my Helper, I’d have perished long ago. When the cares of my soul are many, Your consolations cheer my soul. Do away with my enemies, and help me to live. YHWH is my Stronghold, the Rock of my refuge! My God reigns; let all creation rejoice! He is awesome and righteous; He loves those who hate evil, and preserves the lives of those set apart for Him. We have light and joy in Him, and praise God’s holy name. YHWH establishes equity and justice; He raises up priests for Himself. I worship YHWH, my God, the Holy One.

Two years after David ended Absalom’s exile, Absalom murdered his half-brother Amnon, who had raped Absalom’s sister Tamar. Then Absalom fled, while David and the other princes wept in sorrow. Absalom was away for three years, in exile with the king of Geshur. Joab perceived that the king had forgiven Absalom and missed him. So Joab arranged for a wise woman from Tekoa to come before David as a petitioner. She related a story much like the king’s own—she is a widow with two rival sons…one kills the other…her whole family is clamoring for the revenge death of her remaining son. David responded that he would assure the survival of the remaining son. Then the woman confronted David: ‘In giving this decision, the king convicts himself, since the king does not bring his banished son home again.’ David perceived Joab’s complicity in the woman’s plea, and she admitted it when he questioned her: ‘In order to change the course of affairs your servant Joab did this. But my lord has wisdom like that of God’s angel, knowing all things on the earth.’

Paul called the Ephesian elders to meet him in Miletus. Paul summarized his ministries to the Ephesian church; he announced his intention to press on to Jerusalem, and the Spirit’s recurrent testimony that Paul faced affliction and imprisonment; and he affirmed his willingness to experience any extremity that further the gospel. He declared his innocence to the elders, and charged them to undertake the care of God’s flock in their community. He warned them that Paul’s removal would be followed by onslaughts of heresy intended to divide and harm Christ’s church. He commended them to God’s care, and exhorted them to serve well: ‘Remember what our Lord Jesus said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”’ After a tearful parting from the Ephesian elders, Paul and his party set sail, passing through Cos, Rhodes, Patara, Phoenicia, and Cyprus, and disembarking at Tyre. They stayed with the Christians in Tyre, who pleaded with Paul not to go on to Jerusalem, but he continued his journey. They stopped in Ptolemais and Caesarea; there, they visited in the home of Philip the deacon and evangelist, who had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. There, a prophet named Agabus appeared and enacted a prophecy of Paul’s binding and delivery to the Gentiles by the Jews at Jerusalem. Everyone begged Paul not to go on with his plan, but he persisted, and they conceded: ‘The will of the Lord be done.’

Jesus taught: ‘Whoever causes one of the little ones who believe in Me to sin would be better off if he were thrown into the sea with a millstone around his neck. Anything that contributes to sin must be sacrificed—even your own hand or eye! It is better to be maimed, yet to have eternal life, than to enter hell with an intact body. Everyone will be salted with fire! Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, it is good for nothing, and might as well be cast aside. Be salty in yourselves! Be at peace with one another!’ Jesus traveled through Judea and Trans-Jordan. Some Pharisees questioned Him: ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ Jesus asked them what Moses had commanded them. They answered, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and set his wife aside.’ Jesus replied, ‘Moses wrote this because of your hard hearts. But from the creation, God made people male and female; He commanded that a man should leave his parents and become one flesh with his wife. They are no longer two, but have become one! Jesus concluded, ‘What God has joined, let humans not put asunder!’ In private, Jesus amplified this lesson: Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; likewise, a married woman who divorces and remarries is an adulterer. People were bringing children to Jesus, that He might touch and bless them. His followers tried to prevent this, but Jesus became indignant with them: ‘Let the children come to me, and don’t hinder them. God’s kingdom belongs to people like them. No one can enter God’s kingdom unless he does it like a child.’ And Jesus took the children in His arms and blessed them.