Moravian Daily Texts for The Day 1/23/12
www.moravian.org/daily_texts/
Readings for Today:
Psalm 16
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm16&version=NIV
Genesis 24:26-66
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis24&version=NIV
Matthew 9:1-13
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew9&version=NIV
Psalm 16
A miktam of David.
1 Keep me safe, my God,
for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”
3 I say of the holy people who are in the land,
“They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”
4 Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
or take up their names on my lips.
5 LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I keep my eyes always on the LORD.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful[b] one see decay.
11 You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
This is one of the truly beautiful psalms of David. I put this psalm to memory when I first started my Christian walk and it has served me well all of my life. Here the psalmist recounts the multiplication of sorrows for those who run after other gods, as compared to the joy he finds in God’s presence and the eternal pleasures that await him. The other benefits to making the Lord is sole portion and keeping his eyes on Him at all times even during the night, is a strong sense that He will not be shaken and his body which dwells secure, which gladdens his heart and causes him to rejoice. The psalmist describes in short why following God is the only way to go, as every part of his life confirms this.
Genesis: 24
42 “When I came to the spring today, I said, ‘LORD, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. 43 See, I am standing beside this spring. If a young woman comes out to draw water and I say to her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar,” 44 and if she says to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,” let her be the one the LORD has chosen for my master’s son.’ 45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’46 “She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too.’ So I drank, and she watered the camels also
We see the confirmation of the “fleece” Abraham’s servant had set out regarding the woman who would become Isaac’s wife. Abraham had given him a “tall task” but important the servant prays to the Lord for success on his journey. Specifically though he conditions his prayer with a request that the woman that God would have picked would when he asks her for a drink, water his camels too (no small task as camels get really thirsty!) And sure enough as soon as he is done praying Rebekah comes out with a jar on her shoulder. When the servant asks her for a drink she gives him one and says, “I will water your camels too!” You talk about confirmation it doesn’t get much better than that.
Have you ever prayed like that? Asking God for a specific sign for you to know that God would grant you success? What would that be like? If you have a story about this please let me know.
The Calling of Matthew
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
As Jesus continues his ministry of healing, today he heals a paralytic; whose friends brought him on a mat. Jesus not only heals the man but announces the forgiveness of sins to him and his friends whose faith brought him there. The teachers of the law are offended and question Jesus’ authority. Jesus then informs that one of the purposes of Jesus’ healing ministry is to show where He gets his authority. The same authority that announces healing, also announces for forgiveness, for these are both things that only God could do. It reminds us that when are acting in God’s authority and power as His sons and daughters, that we can pray for healing and announce forgiveness for sins to each other in Jesus’ name.
Finally, Jesus calls Matthew, the tax collector. You probably know that tax collectors were some of the most hated people of the time. But Jesus saw Matthew’s heart and invited him to follow him. When others who were also categorized as sinners saw this, them came to the party as well. When questioned by the Pharisees of his association with these types Jesus reminds them that is the sick who need a doctor, not the healthy. These people acknowledged their need for a Savior, and were healed, but the Pharisees in the self-righteousness did not see any need for spiritual healing.
Prayer: The Gospel is your gift, O Savior - the good news of your deliverance from despair. We are astonished that you do this for us who often failto be faithful to you. We give you thanks throughout this day. Amen.
Readings for Today:
Psalm 16
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm16&version=NIV
Genesis 24:26-66
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis24&version=NIV
Matthew 9:1-13
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew9&version=NIV
Psalm 16
A miktam of David.
1 Keep me safe, my God,
for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”
3 I say of the holy people who are in the land,
“They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”
4 Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
or take up their names on my lips.
5 LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I keep my eyes always on the LORD.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful[b] one see decay.
11 You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
This is one of the truly beautiful psalms of David. I put this psalm to memory when I first started my Christian walk and it has served me well all of my life. Here the psalmist recounts the multiplication of sorrows for those who run after other gods, as compared to the joy he finds in God’s presence and the eternal pleasures that await him. The other benefits to making the Lord is sole portion and keeping his eyes on Him at all times even during the night, is a strong sense that He will not be shaken and his body which dwells secure, which gladdens his heart and causes him to rejoice. The psalmist describes in short why following God is the only way to go, as every part of his life confirms this.
Genesis: 24
42 “When I came to the spring today, I said, ‘LORD, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. 43 See, I am standing beside this spring. If a young woman comes out to draw water and I say to her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar,” 44 and if she says to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,” let her be the one the LORD has chosen for my master’s son.’ 45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’46 “She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too.’ So I drank, and she watered the camels also
We see the confirmation of the “fleece” Abraham’s servant had set out regarding the woman who would become Isaac’s wife. Abraham had given him a “tall task” but important the servant prays to the Lord for success on his journey. Specifically though he conditions his prayer with a request that the woman that God would have picked would when he asks her for a drink, water his camels too (no small task as camels get really thirsty!) And sure enough as soon as he is done praying Rebekah comes out with a jar on her shoulder. When the servant asks her for a drink she gives him one and says, “I will water your camels too!” You talk about confirmation it doesn’t get much better than that.
Have you ever prayed like that? Asking God for a specific sign for you to know that God would grant you success? What would that be like? If you have a story about this please let me know.
The Calling of Matthew
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
As Jesus continues his ministry of healing, today he heals a paralytic; whose friends brought him on a mat. Jesus not only heals the man but announces the forgiveness of sins to him and his friends whose faith brought him there. The teachers of the law are offended and question Jesus’ authority. Jesus then informs that one of the purposes of Jesus’ healing ministry is to show where He gets his authority. The same authority that announces healing, also announces for forgiveness, for these are both things that only God could do. It reminds us that when are acting in God’s authority and power as His sons and daughters, that we can pray for healing and announce forgiveness for sins to each other in Jesus’ name.
Finally, Jesus calls Matthew, the tax collector. You probably know that tax collectors were some of the most hated people of the time. But Jesus saw Matthew’s heart and invited him to follow him. When others who were also categorized as sinners saw this, them came to the party as well. When questioned by the Pharisees of his association with these types Jesus reminds them that is the sick who need a doctor, not the healthy. These people acknowledged their need for a Savior, and were healed, but the Pharisees in the self-righteousness did not see any need for spiritual healing.
Prayer: The Gospel is your gift, O Savior - the good news of your deliverance from despair. We are astonished that you do this for us who often failto be faithful to you. We give you thanks throughout this day. Amen.
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