Devotions: Ps 40, 51, 54 55, 138, 139:1-17; Isa 9:18-10:27; 2 Pet 2:17-22; Jude 17-25; Mt 11:2-15; Lk 3:1-9
I waited patiently, and God inclined to me and answered my cry. He drew me out of the mire and set me on a rock. He put a new song in my mouth, a new spring in my step. Let many see, and be drawn to trust in the Lord! For they are blessed who trust in Him; I could never recount God's great deeds of kindness and holy love. My God, You have given me an open ear, and I delight to do Your will; Your law is in my heart, and I will proclaim the glad news of deliverance. Let me speak of Your faithfulness; and pour out Your steadfast love on me, Lord; otherwise, I cannot see beyond my manifold sins. Put my enemies to shame and confusion, and keep me near You, my help and deliverer. Wash me from my foul iniquities; my sins are ever before me—I sin by sight, by thought, and in the flesh. I know You desire integrity; so wash me whiter than snow; fill me with joy and gladness; restore the joints and marrow that groan in pain and discouragement. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and restore an upright spirit within me, to Your glory. Open my mouth to show forth Your praise, I beg You! Vindicate me, to Your glory; I give myself entirely to You, Lord. Refresh my anguished heart; deliver me from the enmity of even former friends. I cast my burden on YHWH, and He will sustain me. Yes, Lord, I will trust in You! I give You thanks, and bow before You. You have always answered my cries for help; great is the glory of YHWH my God and Savior. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, aging, weak and self-sick, You preserve my life. Yes, God will fulfill His purpose for me; Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Keep me, Your handiwork and servant, and do not forsake me. For You have searched and fully known me; I could not flee or hide from You, nor do I wish to do so. I praise You, for You are fearful and wonderful. How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God; how vast their sum! Amen.
Wickedness
burns like a fire, and God's wrath consumes all that offends His
holiness. Woe to leaders who won't lead aright, to the speakers and
writers and doers of oppression, who rob God's people, exploit the
widows and orphans, and steal from all. There remains for them only
the desolation of the Almighty's wrath. They scoff in the day of
their wickedness, but the Day of God will overtake them and burn them
to cinders. He bears with the godless for a season; He even turns
their plots and dark deeds to His own purpose. And He will reap as
He wills; the Light will become a Flame, leaving only the remnant of
the faithful to reflect on the righteousness and goodness of God.
The wicked are waterless springs and storm-driven mists, destined only for the gloom of darkness. Mouthing boasts of folly, they tickle the licentious passions of the foolish, teetering between God and sin. These false leaders promise freedom, but are themselves slaves of corruption. If we escape the world to know and follow our Lord Jesus the Messiah and then again become entangled and overcome, we have gone from bad to worse—as a dog returns to consume its own vomit or a sow is washed, then rolls again in filth.
Remember,
beloved ones, the predictions of our Lord's apostles: 'In the end
times there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.'
These set up divisions; they are worldly, devoid of the Spirit. But
you, beloved, build up yourselves on your most holy faith; abide in
God's holy love; and wait for the sovereign mercy of our Lord Jesus
Christ, which will issue in eternal life. As you abide, convince
those who doubt, but seek truth; save some by snatching them from the
flames of perdition; fearing God, be merciful; hate anything tainted
by the flesh. Now, to Him Who Is able to keep you from falling and
to present you without blemish before the presence of His glory with
rejoicing: to the only God, our Savior through Jesus Messiah our
Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time, and
now, and for ever. Amen.
When
John the Baptizer heard, from Herod's prison, about the deeds of
the Messiah, John sent some of his disciples to Jesus with this
question: 'Are You He Who Is to come or shall we look for another?'
Jesus told them, 'Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind
receive their sight; the lame walk; lepers are cleansed; the deaf
hear; the dead are raised to life; and the poor have the good news
preached to them. Blessed are they who take no offense at Me.' And
as John's messengers departed, Jesus spoke to the crowds nearby,
concerning John: 'What did you go out into the wilderness to behold?
A reed shaken by the wind? A man dressed in soft raiment? No, those
are found in kings' houses. Did you go to see a prophet? Yes, I
tell you, and more than a prophet. John is the one of whom it is
written, “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will
prepare the way before You.” I tell you all the truth: among those
born of women, no one has arisen who is greater than John. And yet,
one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. From his
days to this, the kingdom of God has suffered violence, and violent
mortals seize it by force. All the prophets and the law prophesied
until John came. And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah
who is to come. Let those who have ears to hear, hear what I have
said.'
In
the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius
Pilate was governor in the province of Syria and Herod was tetrarch
in Galilee and his brother Philip was tetrarch in Ituraea and
Trachonitis and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, and under the high
priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, God's word came to John,
Zechariah's son, in the wilderness. And John went into all the
region around Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of sins. Isaiah had written about this: 'The voice of
one crying, in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord; make His
paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and
hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight,
and rough ways will be made smooth, and all flesh shall see the
salvation of God.' Therefore, John said to the many who come out to
be baptized by him, 'You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee
from the wrath to come? Bear fruits that befit repentance; don't
even begin to suggest you are safe because you are Abraham's
descendants. For I tell you: God Is able to raise up children for
Abraham from these desert stones! Even now, the ax is laid to the
root of the trees; and so every tree that does not bear good fruit is
cut down and cast into the fire.'
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