Saturday, September 4, 2010
Devotions: Ps 30, 32, 42, 43; Job 22:1-4, 21-23:7; Acts 13:26-43; Jn 10:1-18
I praise You, God, because You have kept me from the predations of my enemies. Let all God's people praise Him; for weeping may abide through the night, but joy comes in the morning. YHWH, be my Helper. Turn my mourning into celebration, that my soul may praise You, and not be silent! Happy are we whose sins are forgiven, to whom God imputes no iniquity. Lord, I have admitted my sins to You, and You have cleansed and forgiven me. Teach me to follow Your paths; let us be glad and rejoice in the Lord. God, my soul pants after You like a thirsty stag in a desert. How I long for the living God! Will, don't let yourself be depressed. Hope in God and praise Him forever. God has not forgotten me; let me not forget Him! Lord, send Your light and truth to guide me home to You! Vindicate me, my God; I take refuge in You.
Eliphaz of Teman spoke to Job and their other companions: 'Can a mortal be of profit to God? God gets nothing from your righteousness, and needs nothing of your wealth. He doesn't reprove or judge you because you respect and fear Him! Agree with God and find peace. Take in His instruction; humble yourself, don't challenge Him! Make the Almighty your aspiration, your only valued possession! Pray and He will hear and answer. God abases the proud, but gives grace and help to the humble. Act with integrity, and God will deliver you.'
Brothers, sons of Abraham and those who fear God: to us has been sent the message concerning this salvation. Those who live in Jerusalem and their authorities did not recognize Him or understand the prophecies concerning Him, though these are read every Sabbath; so they fulfilled the prophecies by condemning Jesus. Though they could bring no capital charge against Him, they asked Pilate to have Jesus killed. And when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead; and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now His witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the patriarchs, God has no fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus—as the second Psalm says, "You are My Son, today I have begotten You." As for the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he spoke in this way: "I will give You the holy and sure blessings of David." And as David testified in another psalm, "You will not let Your Holy One see corruption." For David, after he served God's counsel in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers, and saw corruption. But He Whom God raised up saw no corruption. So let it be known to you, brothers, that through this Man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by Him every one who believes is freed from everything from from the law of Moses could not free you. Therefore, beward lest there come upon you what is also spoken by the prophets: "Behold, you scoffers, and wonder, and perish; for I do a deed in your days, a deed you will never believe, even if someone declares it to you." And the people begged that the apostles would continue to teach them on the following Sabbath. The synagogue meeting broke up, and many Jews and devout converts followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in God's grace.
Jesus taught, 'Truly, truly I say to you, the one who climbs into the sheepfold, not using the main entrance, is a thief and robber. But he who enteres by the door is the true shepherd. The gatekeeper recognizes his voice and opens to him; the sheep hear his voice and he calls them by name and leads them forth. When he has brought forth all that belong to him, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know and trust his voice. They will not follow a stranger, for they do not recognize their voices.' The listeners couldn't apply this figure of speech to themselves, so Jesus continued to teach: 'Truly, truly I say to you, I Am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me were thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not heed them. I Am the Gate; whoever enters through me will go in and come out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I Am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. The hireling, who is not a true shepherd, does not own the sheep, so when he sees a wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf ravages the flock, snatching and scattering them. He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep. I Am the good Shepherd; I know My own, and they know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not from this fold; I must gather them, also, and they will obey My voice. So there will be one flock, and one Shepherd. For this reason the Father loves Me, becuase I lay down My life, that I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me; rather, I lay it down of My own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from My Father.'
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment