Devotions: Ps 63, 98, 103; Jb 32:1-10, 19-33:1, 19-28; Acts 13:44-52; Jn 10:19-30
YHWH
my God, my soul thirsts for You; because of Your steadfast love and
faithfulness, I will worship and extol You all my days. My soul
clings to You, and I rejoice in God my Savior. So let all God's
people sing a new song to our Maker and Master; make a joyful noise
before the Sovereign King. Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the rivers and floods, the mountains and valleys, the forests and
plains, send up songs of praise before our God. He Is the Judge of
all the world and all its peoples. And let my soul also bless the
Lord; let all within me praise His holy name. He heals all my
diseases; He redeems my life from the Pit; He renews my youth. He
works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed. He has
revealed Himself to Moses and to all Israel; YHWH Is merciful and
gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and
faithfulness. He deals with us according to His goodness and not as
our sinfulness would require. As the heavens are high above the
earth, so is His steadfast love toward all who fear Him. We are like
dry grass; but He is eternal and keeps His covenant with all who
remember to do His commandments.
The
three eldest friends who tried to console and counsel Job at length
fell silent. Then a younger man, Elihu of the Buzites, angry at both
Job and his other friends, spoke up. He could not keep silent. In
part, he said this: humankind are chastened with pain upon their
beds; as we age, we come to loathe both our flesh and our lives. For
the fortunate, a divine advocate comes forward and ransoms the aging
mortal, who rejoices in his salvation, and testifies to all who will
listen, singing God's praises. Job, you should listen and heed what
I have said.
In Pisidian Antioch, Paul made public proclamation, and many were moved
to put faith in Jesus and to heed the apostle's words. The next
Sabbath, nearly the entire city gathered to hear God's word from
Paul; but the local Jewish leaders, jealous, contradicted all Paul
said. So Paul and Barnabas responded: It was necessary that God's
word be spoken first to you, the Jews in this place. But since you
thrust it from you, thus declaring yourselves unworthy of eternal
life, now watch: we turn to the Gentiles, as the Lord commanded,
saying, 'I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, that you may
bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.' This gladdened
the Gentiles and as many as God had so ordained believed, and thus
gained eternal life. The gospel spread throughout that region. But
the Jews stirred up opposition among the devout women of high
standing and the leading men of that city, and sought to persecute
Paul and Barnabas, driving them from the district. So the apostles
shook off the dust from their feet and went to Iconium, and the
disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus
and His words caused division among the Jews. Some said, 'He has a
demon and is crazy; so why listen to him?' Others said, 'No, these
are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes
of the blind?' It was the season of the Feast of Dedication—winter
in Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking in Solomon's Portico. The Jews
gathered around and confronted Him: 'Don't keep us in suspense. If
you are the Messiah, just tell us so in plain words.' Jesus replied,
'I told you already, and you do not believe. The works that I do in
My Father's name bear witness concerning Me; but you do not believe,
because you are not among My sheep. My sheep hear My voice; and I
know them, and they know Me. I give them eternal life, and they will
never perish. And no one will snatch them out of My hand. My
Father, Who has given these to Me, is greater than all others; no one
can snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father Are one!'
No comments:
Post a Comment