Know what is right, and do it

Tuesday and Wednesday, November 16 and 17, 2010

Devotions: Ps 94, 97, 99, 101, 109, 119:121-44; Hab 3:1-18; Mal 1:1,6-14; Jas 3:1-4:12; Lk 17:1-19

YHWH, God of might and vengeance, shine forth! Let all sentient beings take note: He Who formed the eye can see; He Who made the ear hears everything; the Holy One judges all people. And this Mighty One is my Helper; Lord, when my soul is downcast, You cheer and uphold me. Let all earth rejoice in His presence. God loves those who hate evil; light dawns for the righteous. Let us give thanks to God and praise His holy name! Let us worship Him. Lord, I sing of loyalty and justice; I walk in Your integrity. I set perversity aside and cleave to Your holy ways. God will requite the evil; I leave my enemies, Lord, to Your justice. Save me according to Your steadfast love. Teach me Your statutes. I love Your word better than gold and silver, Lord. Unfolding Your words brings light and strength. Redeem me from the oppression of the flesh and the temptations of the world and the evil one. Give me understanding, that I may live!

Habakkuk prayed: Lord I have heard about You, and I fear Your judgment. How glorious You are! Nature writhes before Your majesty and might. You bestride the earth with fury. I wll rejoice in YHWH, the God of my salvation. And Malachi spoke for God: 'Sons honor their fathers; so if I Am a Father, where is My honor? If I Am Master, where is the respect and awe due to Me? You priests despise me. "How?", you ask. By offering polluted food and imperfect animals as sacrifices on My altar. How can I favor you when you show such contempt for Me? I take no pleasure in you, and will not accept what you offer. I Am a great King, respected and feared among the pagans, yet treated with no respect by My own people!'

James wrote: There should not be many who aspire to be teachers in the Christian community, for teachers will be held to a higher standard and judged more strictly than others. Consider what a power the human tongue is—a fire among our members, lit by hell, setting fire to all of nature. Humankind has tamed virtually every creature, but has never been able to control the tongue! We bless God and curse His creation, and even blaspheme His name—with the same tongue! No other element of nature does this—fresh springs cannot pour forth brackish water; a fig tree can't bear olives. If someone is wise, let it be evident in his life! Wherever there is jealousy, rivalry, ambition, boasting and lying, there will be disorder and vile practices of every kind. True wisdom is pure, peacable, gentle, open to reason, merciful, fruitful, without uncertainty or insincerity. Peacemakers harvest righteousness as they sow peace. How do wars start? From human passions! You desire what you don't have, so you kill to get it, or to deprive others of it. But you don't have because you don't ask! Or you ask God but don't receive because you ask wrongly, to spend what God provides satisfying your unholy passions. You are unfaithful creatures! Friendship with the world is enmity toward God. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. He is jealous for those He loves, and He yearns over the Spirit Whom God has made to dwell within us. So submit yourselves to God; resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, double-minded people! Mourn. Weep. Let your laughter turn to tears. Humble yourselves before God, and He will exalt you. Speak no evil about a fellow Christian; leave judgment to God alone. There is only One Lawgiver and Judge, and He is able to save and to destroy—no mortal can do either of those things. Think about it: you speak foolishly when you say, 'I am planning thus and so,' and you rattle off the details of your ambitious plans. You have no control, even of tomorrow! You are a mist that appears for a little while, then vanishes. Say this, rather: 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and we shall do this or that.' Currently, you boast arrogantly, and put yourself in jeopardy before holy God. Boasting is evil. Whoever knows what is right and fails to do it, that omission is sin.

Jesus taught His disciples: Everyone will be tempted from time to time, but woe to those through whom the temptations come! For those, it would be better if a great millstone were tied around their neck and they were cast into the sea. Discipline yourselves, and watch over one another. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he then repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times a day, but repents and asks forgiveness seven times, you must keep on forgiving him. Hearing this, the apostles exclaimed, 'Lord, increase our faith!' But the Lord said, 'If you have no more faith than a tiny grain of mustard seed, you have enough power to tell this sycamore-fig tree to be uprooted and cast into the sea—and it would obey you. Think: if you had a servant, and he has been plowing your field or tending your flock, when he comes in from the field, will you tell him, "Come at once and sit down at table."? No, you'd say, "Prepare my supper and serve me, and after I have eaten, you can eat and drink, too." Does a master thank a servant who does what the servant is told? So apply this to yourselves: when you have done all that God commands, by rights you should say, "We are unworthy servants; we have only done our bounded duty, no more." As Jesus proceeded toward Jerusalem, He passed between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, Jesus was met by ten lepers; they stood apart a distance and cried to Him, 'Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!' Jesus saw them, and answered, 'Go and show yourselves to the priests.' And as they went, they were cleansed. Later, one of them, noting that he had been healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice, and he fell facedown at Jesus' feet, giving Him thanks. Jesus remarked, 'Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?' But to the man, Jesus said, 'Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.'