Monday, January 16th
(see www.moravian.org/daily_texts/ for more info on Daily Texts I will be using each day)
Readings for Today:
• Psalm 10:12-18
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm10&version=NIV
• Genesis 18
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis18&version=NIV
• Matthew 6:19-34
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew6&version=NIV
Thoughts for the Day:
14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.
Oftentimes those being afflicted feel as if the LORD is far from them, but God hears their cries. Much like Joseph, who was in prison for 12 long years, God heard his voice and eventually vindicated him. Though it appears that evil sometimes wins the day, in the long scheme of things, evil is found out and dealt with.
Genesis 18:9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.“ There, in the tent,” he said.10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” 13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.” But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”
When the angels of the LORD visit Abraham and Sarah and tell them that in a year she will bear Abraham a son, she laughed to herself. Of course the angels caught it, even though Sarah thought she was getting away with something. Despite the divine appearance, Sarah is limited by her human understanding. Of course, if we were in Sarah’s shoes, at ninety, we would have probably done the same thing. Has God ever told you He was going to do something in your life that was laughable? Sometimes God’s plan are so beyond what we could accomplish in our own natural strength, they seem humorous to us, but not too God.
Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Today’s Gospel from Matthew deals with worry. Is there any among us who doesn’t have a worry problem? Since Jesus says, “Do not worry”, I guess then worry is a sin. Seems harsh, as it is so natural to our human condition, but at its root worry is a lack of trust in God. Worry doubts God’s provision for our lives. And as the passage says, it is not very productive. Who us by worrying has done anything to solve situation we are worrying about.
But instead as an antidote to worry, Jesus tells us to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. I guess if we were to worry about anything it would be about what God is concerned about. As we seek God first and what He wants to accomplish here on earth, the rest will fall in place. This is the promise for today. What are you worrying about? How can seeking God’s kingdom and righteous help you replace your focus.
Prayer for the Day: Our Father in heaven, the things we cherish more than we cherish you, things we make our life's priorities are precious to us. Forgive us when we invent our own gods to serve. Amen.
Readings for Today:
• Psalm 10:12-18
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm10&version=NIV
• Genesis 18
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis18&version=NIV
• Matthew 6:19-34
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew6&version=NIV
Thoughts for the Day:
14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.
Oftentimes those being afflicted feel as if the LORD is far from them, but God hears their cries. Much like Joseph, who was in prison for 12 long years, God heard his voice and eventually vindicated him. Though it appears that evil sometimes wins the day, in the long scheme of things, evil is found out and dealt with.
Genesis 18:9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.“ There, in the tent,” he said.10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” 13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.” But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”
When the angels of the LORD visit Abraham and Sarah and tell them that in a year she will bear Abraham a son, she laughed to herself. Of course the angels caught it, even though Sarah thought she was getting away with something. Despite the divine appearance, Sarah is limited by her human understanding. Of course, if we were in Sarah’s shoes, at ninety, we would have probably done the same thing. Has God ever told you He was going to do something in your life that was laughable? Sometimes God’s plan are so beyond what we could accomplish in our own natural strength, they seem humorous to us, but not too God.
Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Today’s Gospel from Matthew deals with worry. Is there any among us who doesn’t have a worry problem? Since Jesus says, “Do not worry”, I guess then worry is a sin. Seems harsh, as it is so natural to our human condition, but at its root worry is a lack of trust in God. Worry doubts God’s provision for our lives. And as the passage says, it is not very productive. Who us by worrying has done anything to solve situation we are worrying about.
But instead as an antidote to worry, Jesus tells us to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. I guess if we were to worry about anything it would be about what God is concerned about. As we seek God first and what He wants to accomplish here on earth, the rest will fall in place. This is the promise for today. What are you worrying about? How can seeking God’s kingdom and righteous help you replace your focus.
Prayer for the Day: Our Father in heaven, the things we cherish more than we cherish you, things we make our life's priorities are precious to us. Forgive us when we invent our own gods to serve. Amen.
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