Devotions: Ps 101, 109, 119:121-44; Jdg 13:15-24; Acts 6:1-15; Jn 4:1-26
David
wrote: I will sing of the loyalty and justice of God, heeding the way
of life that is blameless. I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house; I will not set anything base before my eyes. I hate
the deeds of those who fall away; let that pattern not control me.
Let me be innocent of evil, whether in knowing or doing. I will
favor the faithful; I will cooperate with the blameless. Let me
remove the plank from my own eyes, that I may see clearly to help
others with the motes that trouble their vision. I leave judgment
and punishment of the wicked in God's hands; I am poor and needy,
stricken to the heart, shaken, starving for the goodness of God.
Save me according to Your steadfast love; clothe my enemies in
dishonor, and deliver me from the shame of my own sins and
misconduct. I will praise the Lord who saves those who seek the
death of His saints. When I do what is right, by Your grace, do not
leave me to my oppressors, YHWH! My eyes burn, gazing in vain for
Your salvation. Deal with me according to Your steadfast love; give
me understanding and strength of will to keep your priceless
commandments. Unfolding Your words imparts light and understanding;
so sustain and direct me, righteous Lord, that I may keep Your
precepts. I am puny and despised, overlooked by the aggressive and
self-important. But Your testimonies are eternal; give me
understanding and patience, that I may truly live.
Manoah, a Danite, and his wife languished for lack of children, and God took a hand and promised them a son, whom they should set aside as a Nazirite, dedicated to the Lord from his conception on, announcing this to both the man and his wife. Manoah offered God's messenger a meal, but the angel declined to eat; instead the angel told Manoah to set out the food and drink as a burnt offering to YHWH. Manoah asked the messenger his name, but the angel replied, 'Why ask my name, since it is incommunicable—beyond your understanding.' When Manoah set the offering afire, the angel ascended with the smoke toward heaven, and Manoah and his wife fell facedown and worshiped. In due time, the woman delivered a son; his parents named the boy Samson, for he was the light and joy of his parents. He grew strong and straight, and God's Spirit began to stir in him.
As
the early church community grew, tension arose between the Hellenic
and Hebraic believers. The Gentile Christians complained that their
widows were neglected in the daily distribution. The twelve apostles
assembled the community and told them: 'It is not right that we
should neglect preaching God's word in order to serve at table.
Therefore, you brothers and sisters, pick out seven men from among
you, men of good repute, full of the Spirit and wisdom; and we will
commission those men for this ministry, while we devote ourselves to
prayer and ministry of the word.' The community approved this plan
and carried it out, selecting Stephen, a man full of faith and the
Holy Spirit, and also Philip, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus.
The apostles prayed over these and laid hands on them. And God's
word increased; the church grew rapidly in Jerusalem, and many of the
priests were obedient to the faith. Stephen, full of grace and
power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Members of the
synagogue of the Freedmen, and Cyrenians and Alexandrians and
Cilicians and Asians rose up and disputed with Stephen. But they
could not withstand the wisdom and Spirit with which he spoke. So
they conspired in secret and falsely accused Stephen of speaking
blasphemy 'against Moses and God.' They stirred up the Jewish
population and the Jewish authorities—elders and scribes. They
brought Stephen before the council and set up false witnesses who
testified that Stephen 'never ceases to speak words against this holy
place and against the law; we have heard him say that Jesus of
Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs which
Moses delivered to us.' All present could see that Stephen's face
was like the face of an angel.
When
Jesus knew that the Pharisees had news that He and His disciples were
baptizing even more proselytes than John and his followers, Jesus led
His followers from Judea into Galilee. On the way, He passed through
Samaria; in the city of Sychar, He paused beside the city well. It
was a well Jacob had established. Weary from His travels, Jesus sat
there around noon in the heat of the midday. And a Samaritan woman
came to draw water from the well. Jesus spoke to her, saying 'Give Me
a drink.' His disciples had gone into the city to find food. The
woman was astonished, for Jews customarily did not speak to
Samaritans, and it was even more unusual for a Jewish man to speak to
a Samaritan woman.' But Jesus said, 'If you know Who is asking this
from you, you would have asked a favor in return, and He would have
given you living water.' The woman replied, 'Sir, you have nothing
with which to draw forth water, and this well is deep. Where do you
get this “living water”. Are you greater than Jacob and his
sons, who dug and drank from this well?' Jesus said, 'Everyone who
drinks this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks from the
water I give will never thirst. The water I give will become a
spring of water welling up to eternal life.' And the woman said,
'Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to
draw.' Jesus told her, 'Go and call your husband, and then come back
here.' The woman said, 'I have no husband.' And Jesus said,
'Correct! You have had five husbands, and the man you have currently
is not your husband—so you spoke truly.' The woman replied, 'Sir,
I perceive that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this
mountain; but you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the proper place
where people should worship.' Jesus said, 'Woman, believe Me: the
hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this
mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we
worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour
approaches, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the
Father in spirit and in truth; that is the worship the Father is
seeking.' The woman said, 'I know that God's Messiah is coming, and
when He comes, He will show us everything.' Jesus said, 'I Who speak
to you Am He!'
No comments:
Post a Comment