None Better

"A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.  It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master."

--Matthew 10:24-25a  (NKJV)

From the daily Bible reading on January 13, 2013 of Psalm 12; Matthew 10:1-25; Genesis 25-26.

Like many passages in the Bible, this one can impart multiple messages.  For one, we should never consider ourselves superior to anyone, but especially not to those we are set before to learn from or set before to serve.  But pride too often gets in our way and sometimes we do just that.  Jesus wants us to not put ourselves before others, instead to serve them and put their interests first.

But perhaps more importantly and implied in this passage, we should never think ourselves better than Jesus, our Teacher, nor God, our Master.  This is Satan's great sin, thinking himself greater than God.  We do not know everything, we cannot do anything, we cannot even make it on our own for too long before we trip and fall.  Serve others, and serve God above all.  Amen.

Father God, Please forgive us when we forget our station in life, and especially when we let our pride trip us up and we desire to be served rather than to serve.  Jesus came to us as a humble servant, not because He could do no better but to show us how we should live our lives and deal with others in our daily walk with Him.  Please help us to remember that if we truly love others we will want to serve them.  In the dearest name of Christ Jesus we pray.  Amen.

Trusting God

In the Lord I put my trust.

--Psalm 11:1a  (NKJV)

From the daily Bible reading on January 12, 2013 of Psalm 11; Matthew 9:18-38; Genesis 24.

No matter what his circumstance or what befell him, David trusted God completely.  Sure, sometimes he questioned God, but in the end he always knew God had his best interests at heart.

I spent too many years thinking I could do everything on my own, could take on anything and come out on top.  Like David in his earlier years, my pride knew no bounds.  It took a while but, again like David, I finally realized I could do nothing without God's help.  I began to understand He always kept His promises, that everything He did was ultimately for our good, how He could take even the vilest evil and make something very good from it.  I now know I can trust in my Lord in all things, no matter the circumstance, no matter what may befall me.  God has my back.  Amen.

Lord God, I know from Your word that David was a man after Your own heart, that he was beloved of You, even with all his faults and failures.  And Father, I know that I am also beloved of You, even with all my faults and so many failures.  You have been faithful to me even when I barely knew Your Son.  And I know because You have kept every promise, every covenant You ever made that I can trust in You fully and completely.  Thank You, Lord, for loving me so very much.  In the glorious name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

Giving Our Love

And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."

--Genesis 22:12  (NKJV)

From the daily Bible reading on January 11, 2013 of Psalm 10; Matthew 8:28-9:17; Genesis 22-23.

The word "fear" here can more likely mean deeply and truly love and respect.  Abraham surely feared the Lord for His power and the consequences He can enforce, but he also loved our Father and respected Him, doing everything God asked of him.  So much so that he was willing to give his only son of Sarah, his son promised to him by God.

This is how much God loves us, that He was willing to give His only Son begotten of Mary.  This is how much Jesus loves us, that He was willing to give His life for us, that we might be forever saved.  All we have to do is believe.  And if we believe, we will be ready and willing to give our love and our lives to God and Jesus, and to our fellow man.  Praise Jesus!  Amen.

Dearest Father, You tested Abraham to see if he truly loved You.  He proved his love to You by being willing to sacrifice his son.  You proved Your love for us by willingly sacrificing your only Son, just so that we might be saved and washed clean by His blood.  Thank You, O merciful Father, for Your unmerited love and Your undeserved grace.   In the name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

The Promise Keeper

Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

--Genesis 21:5  (NKJV)

From the daily Bible reading on January 10, 2013 of Psalm 9:11-20; Matthew 8:1-27; Genesis 20-21.

Imagine becoming a father at one hundred years of age!  That's how old Abraham was when Isaac was born.  And Sarah would have been 90 when she became a brand new first time mother!  God can do anything, even making it so an old couple long past their child-bearing days can indeed bear a child!  God promised Abraham a child so that countless generations would spring from him, and God keeps His promises.  No matter how difficult or even impossible it may seem to us, God can make it happen.  Have faith, believe, and be faithful to God and He will do miracles for you.  Amen.

Glorious Father in heaven, You amaze us when we see all the miracles You can perform, all the many wondrous things You can do in Your heavens and on the earth.  And the most amazing is how You can continue to be so faithful to us when we are not faithful to You.  Forgive us, please Father, the many times we displease You, the many times we sadden You with our actions, the many times we disappoint You with our lack of caring for one another.  In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and we pray.  Amen.

Seek and Find

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.

--Psalm 9:10  (NKJV)

From the daily Bible reading on January 9, 2013 of Psalm 9:1-10; Matthew 7:7-29; Genesis 18:16-19.

Every promise, every covenant God ever made with man, He kept.  To Noah, with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, the new covenant through Jesus -- every single one He made He kept.  God has been truly, fully, and completely faithful to us, even though we have not always been faithful to Him.  He loves us so much, His Son Jesus came to us even as we lived in sin and still sin.  He has always been faithful, so we can trust anything He says, anything He promises.  We need only put our trust in Him and His word and He will never fail us, never forget us, never abandon us.  Jesus promised that those who seek will find.  Seek the Lord God with all that is within you and you will find Him and He will never forsake you.  Amen.

Heavenly Father, thank You for always keeping Your covenants with us, for Your word being true.  Thank You for the promise of never abandoning us as long as we just put our trust in You.  And thank You most of all for sending Your Son Jesus to us when we were sinners, that through Him we might be saved.  That is Your greatest promise and Your greatest gift.  Thank You, Lord.  In the name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

Feeding the Dogs

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."

--Matthew 7:6  (NKJV)

From the daily Bible reading on January 8, 2013 of Psalm 8; Matthew 6:19-7:6; Genesis 16-18:15.

I often see or hear someone say the second part of this phrase, about not casting pearls before swine, but seldom the first part.  Until this reading, I didn't even remember this lead in to the more familiar admonition.  Yet this former injunction definitely has significance, even lacking the cautions of the latter such as being trampled underfoot or torn to shreds.  Dogs, while much beloved in our society and even treated like family, have never been looked upon too highly in the Middle East.  Giving them something to eat that had previously been set aside as holy would be considered a grave sacrilege.

But ignoring for a moment how the people in Matthew's time may have viewed our four-legged friends, think about how a dog normally eats.  They quickly gulp down their food, as if in fear of it disappearing or some other beast taking it away from them.  They don't care what it was made of, what the can or bag contained, as long as it came out of our hands and landed anywhere near them.  There is no way they can taste what they are eating, much less savor those meaty flavors.  Compare that mental image with trying to share God's holy word, our daily bread, with someone who doesn't take the time to savor it, to think about it, to digest it, to ponder on it and dig deeper into it.  Instead, they just wolf the scripture we lay before them down in one gulp, almost as if to get it over with quickly so they can get on about their more important business.  Jesus is saying if they won't take the time to savor God's meal, if they don't care about the content, don't waste your time and breath.

Lord Jesus, we know You are ever forgiving of us and love us so much and want us to hear God's word and let it work in our lives.  We know You want all this for us.  But You know some people will never come to You, will never acknowledge You as Lord and Savior.  You know that no matter what wonderful holy morsels we may feed them, no matter what pearls of scripture we may throw at them, their hearts will ever be hard and they will not see the true Way.  We pray that we may not become like them, dear Lord.  Forgive them, Father, and have mercy on them.  In the name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

When You Pray

"And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathens do.  For they think that they will be heard for their many words."

--Matthew 6:7  (NKJV)

From the daily Bible reading on January 7, 2013 of Psalm 7; Matthew 6:1-18; Genesis 13-15.

Too often we just go through the motions, reciting words we learned long ago, not thinking about what we say, not even listening.  (Please reference my discussion of the Apostles Creed at http://tpohw.blogspot.com/2007/09/i-believe.html.)  And not just words, prayers, songs, and liturgy, but even our very actions become so familiar we do them by rote, by habit, giving no thought to what, why, or how.

I wonder how praised God feels when we simply mindlessly spout memorized words or go through learned motions when we should be paying true, heartfelt homage to Him for His eternal love, mercy, and faithfulness!  Jesus cautioned us not to be like the hypocrites, just going through the motions for the glory of man.  We need to seek the glory of God!

Ever faithful Father, please forgive us when we just go through the motions, doing what we've learned to do without giving a thought about Who we should be doing it for.  Forgive us if we think our many words might be considered true worship, when they are really hollow for lack of true feeling. In the name of Jesus we seek Your forgiveness.  Amen.

Have Mercy, O Lord

Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak...

--Psalm 6:2a  (NKJV)

From the daily Bible reading on January 6, 2013 of Psalm 6; Matthew 5:21-48; Genesis 11-12.

David had some serious character flaws, and eventually he came to recognize and acknowledge that fact.  The same goes for me, and maybe for you as well.  Why are we so flawed?  Because we are weak, we lack the strength to stand firm against the constant barrage of temptation from the evil one.  All of us are flawed to some degree; all of us are weak to some degree; all of us are tempted.

Even Jesus had to face Satan's tempting offers.  But Jesus stood strong and resolute and resisted.  We are weak, but our Lord is strong and He will help and strengthen us if we let Him, if we call on Him.  Through Jesus, we can do all things (Philippians 4:13), even resist the greatest temptations.

All powerful God and loving Jesus, thank You for giving us strength when we have little of our own.  Thank You for helping us resist temptations, and please forgive us when we fall prey to Satan's offers.  In the wonderful name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.