Heed and follow Jesus

New Guest: Like this one, most posts are devotional; those related to CAR BIZ can be found by searching the blog archives for that title. You might start with 'Welcome,' the first post, dated November 12, 2008, where I introduce myself and the blog. As you read, I encourage you to record any reflections or comments you may have, for the entries here serve best as the first remarks in a conversation.

Blessings and best wishes,
Dr. Will

Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Devotions: Ps 72, 119:73-96; Eccles 9:11-18; Gal 5:1-15; Mt 16:1-12

May God’s favor rest on my King, Jesus. May He judge with righteousness; may His peoples’ territories be blessed with prosperity. May He defend the poor and deliver the needy. May He live forever, ruling from the River to the Sea. May His foes bow to Him and lick dust at His feet. Blessed be YHWH, God of Israel; may His glory fill all the earth.

Lord, Your word and Your steadfast love guide, protect and comfort me. Put the godless to shame, and let us who fear You turn to Your testimonies and follow Your ways. I will not forget Your statutes, O Lord. Spare my life to serve You always. Your word is eternal and it is altogether true. I abide in Your protection and follow Your word.

The community leader observed that time and chance bear down on all people; the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those of greatest skill. We mortals have very little control, and sudden death or misfortune can happen to any of us at any moment. One tableau that he remembered vividly: a tiny city was besieged by a mighty king, who set up massive siegeworks to bring down the city. In the settlement was a poor wise man, and by his wisdom, the city was delivered from the onslaught. Yet afterward, no one remembered that poor man’s wisdom. Now, though the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words fall unheeded, still wisdom is better than weapons of war. The quiet words of the wise, heard in quiet, are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war. Still, one sinner destroys much good.

Paul counseled the Galatian Christians: The Messiah has set us free so that we can abide at liberty; therefore, stand fast and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. If the Christians were to give in to pressure to be circumcised—to become Jews so that they could be Christian—they would be bound to keep the entire law: an impossible task. And they would be severed from the Messiah, separated from grace, depending without hope on justification by legal behavior. Through the Holy Spirit, we wait upon God with hope for righteousness. For in the Messiah Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any avail; what matters is faith working through love. You were going along well; who has now hindered you from obeying the truth? This influence is not from Him Who calls you. A little leaven leavens the entire batch of dough. I have confidence, in the Lord, that you will adopt my viewpoint on these matters. And whoever has been troubling you will bear God’s just judgment. Think: if I were still preaching circumcision, why have I been persecuted? If that were so, the stumbling block of the cross had been removed. I honestly wish that those who unsettle you would castrate themselves, instead of hurting you. Again: you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters! Use your freedom to serve one another in a spirit of love, rather than an opportunity to indulge the flesh. The whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you are not consumed by one another.

Pharisees and Sadducees united to challenge Jesus; they asked Him to show them a sign form heaven. He responded: ‘When the sky is red at evening, you say the weather will be fair. But if the sky is red in the morning, you know a stormy day is at hand. You can read the weather, but you are blind to the signs of the times we live in. An evil and adulterous generation clamors for a sign, but no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah.’ And Jesus left them and departed. When His party reached the other side of the lake, His disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, so they misinterpreted when Jesus said to them, ‘Beware the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ They thought He was referring to their oversight in bringing no bread with them. But Jesus, aware of this, said to them: ‘O men of little faith, why are you wasting breath on this discussion about having no bread? Think! Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered up afterward? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered then? I wasn’t talking about bread—how can you not understand that? Beware the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ Finally they understood: Jesus was warning them against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.