Unbelief divides, faith unites

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

Thursday, July 15, 2010
Devotions: Ps 37; Josh 3:14-4:7; Rom 12:1-8; Mt 26:1-16

Don’t fret because of the wicked or envy wrongdoers. They will fade and wither away like weeds. Trust in YHWH and do good; that way lies survival and security. Delight in YHWH and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to YHWH; trust in Him and He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your case like the noonday sun. Wait upon God in stillness and patience; don’t fret and don’t envy those following other masters. Refrain from anger and forsake wrath; leave judgment in God’s hands. In a little while, the wicked will vanish, and the meek will inherit the earth and enjoy abundant prosperity. Better the little that the righteous have than the worldly wealth of the wicked. For God will disable the wicked and uphold the righteous. Be generous; you cannot out-give YHWH! God ordains our pathway and establishes those in whom He delights. I may stumble, but I will not crash, by God’s grace. I have been young, and now I am old, and I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. YHWH is merciful and just; He will not forsake those He sets apart for Himself. Speak softly and wisely; keep God’s word alive in your heart, and He will keep you upright. I will witness the destruction of the wicked, if I abide and trust God. There is a future for God’s man of peace. YHWH is my Refuge and my Deliverer.

When Israel began to cross Jordan toward Jericho, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant preceded the people. When the priests’ feet touched the brink of the overflowing river, its waters were stopped upstream at Adam [about 18 miles above Jericho], and the waters ceased. The people passed over opposite Jericho on dry ground. When the nation had completed the crossing, YHWH told Joshua to select twelve men, one from each tribe; each man was to take a stone from the middle of the riverbed, and carry them to the west bank. Joshua directed the men, and said, ‘this can be a sign for future generations. When the children ask, tell them that the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial for ever.’

Paul discussed the duties of a Christian: By God’s mercies, I appeal to you: present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Do not conform yourselves any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you can test and approve God’s good, pleasing and perfect will. Think of yourselves with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you. For as we have many organs and systems in one human body, and all have separate but complementary functions, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members of one another. We have a variety of gifts, differing according to the grace God bestows on each of us; so let us use these gifts appropriately. If your gift is prophecy, prophesy in proportion to our faith; if service, in serving; if teaching, in our instruction; if exhortation, in exhorting; in generosity, giving liberally; in helping, with zeal; and in acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Jesus told His disciples, ‘The Passover will be here in two days, and the Son of man will be delivered up to be crucified.’ The chief priests and Jewish elders gathered in the palace of the high priest, Caiaphas; they conspired to arrest Jesus by stealth and to kill Him. But they wanted to avoid doing this during the feast, so there would not be a tumult among the common people. Jesus was a guest at the home of Simon the leper in Bethany, and a woman came up to Him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment; she poured it on His head while Jesus reclined at table. Seeing this, the disciples were indignant; they complained that the woman was extravagantly wasteful; she should have sold the ointment and given the proceeds to the poor. But Jesus, aware of all this, said to them, ‘Why trouble this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to Me. You always have the poor with you, but you will not always have Me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has prepared Me for burial. I tell you the truth, what she has done will be remembered wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world.’ After this, Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve apostles, went to the chief priests; he asked, ‘What will you give me if I deliver Jesus to you?’ They paid him thirty pieces of silver; and from that moment Judas sought an opportunity to betray Jesus.