Wednesday, January 18th
(see www.moravian.org/daily_texts/ for more info on Daily Texts I will be using each day)
Readings for Today:
• Psalm 12
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm12&version=NIV
• Genesis 19:30-20:18
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis19&version=NIV
• Matthew 7:13-23
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew7&version=NIV
Thoughts for the Day:
6 And the words of the LORD are flawless,
like silver purified in a crucible,
like gold refined seven times.
7 You, LORD, will keep the needy safe
and will protect us forever from the wicked,
8 who freely strut about
when what is vile is honored by the human race.
The psalmist continues to bemoan the human condition. He is worn out by people not living up to what they have said and it appears that gossip and flattery were just as present in his day as in ours. I.e. There is nothing new under the sun. But the Psalmist turns to God’s words for inspiration and hope. For God’s words are flawless like a precious metal that has been refined through the fire. Through God’s Word he is assured that God will vindicate the cause of those who seek to be more like God than the ways of the world.
Genesis 19:34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab[g]; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.
Lot’s daughters in a similar fashion as Sarai, wanting Abram to have son, sleep with their father in order to preserve their family line. This was something clearly prohibited in Jewish Law. In their fear, they disobeyed God and deceived their father. As a result, their offspring would later become the Ammonites and Moabites, who later warred against the offspring of Jacob’s (Israel’s) descendants. Instead of trusting that God would provide, again we see human nature and wanting to be in control wins the day. The result is less than God’s desires for Lot’s family tree.
The Narrow and Wide Gates
Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
This is a challenging passage because we must weigh these words with the “broadness” of God’s heart. We know that God’s desire is that all people would be saved and He has provided a way for all people to be saved. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that whoever would believe in Him would not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” What is narrow about this way is that it is defined by God and not us. The biggest challenge we have is in admitting that God has a better way than I have. Our whole lives we will fight this battle about His way or our way, because we like to be in control. And yet the great paradox in life is that in surrendering our life, we find it. In dying to being in control, we truly become free. As we choose the narrow way of following Jesus, we see the broad, eternal and abundant life that comes to those who trust in Him.
Have you found the way? Are you living in it? In what ways is the “broad road” calling you to come down its road? Are you in fellowship with others who are in the Way? Jesus loves you and has done everything possible for you to experience this way, now trust and walk in it and you will see His promises come to life!
Prayer for the Day: O Savior, you are Lord over our doubts and our confidence, our questions and our convictions. You are with us when our faith trembles and when
your light fills our souls. Thank you for your faithfulness. Amen.
Readings for Today:
• Psalm 12
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm12&version=NIV
• Genesis 19:30-20:18
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis19&version=NIV
• Matthew 7:13-23
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew7&version=NIV
Thoughts for the Day:
6 And the words of the LORD are flawless,
like silver purified in a crucible,
like gold refined seven times.
7 You, LORD, will keep the needy safe
and will protect us forever from the wicked,
8 who freely strut about
when what is vile is honored by the human race.
The psalmist continues to bemoan the human condition. He is worn out by people not living up to what they have said and it appears that gossip and flattery were just as present in his day as in ours. I.e. There is nothing new under the sun. But the Psalmist turns to God’s words for inspiration and hope. For God’s words are flawless like a precious metal that has been refined through the fire. Through God’s Word he is assured that God will vindicate the cause of those who seek to be more like God than the ways of the world.
Genesis 19:34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab[g]; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.
Lot’s daughters in a similar fashion as Sarai, wanting Abram to have son, sleep with their father in order to preserve their family line. This was something clearly prohibited in Jewish Law. In their fear, they disobeyed God and deceived their father. As a result, their offspring would later become the Ammonites and Moabites, who later warred against the offspring of Jacob’s (Israel’s) descendants. Instead of trusting that God would provide, again we see human nature and wanting to be in control wins the day. The result is less than God’s desires for Lot’s family tree.
The Narrow and Wide Gates
Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
This is a challenging passage because we must weigh these words with the “broadness” of God’s heart. We know that God’s desire is that all people would be saved and He has provided a way for all people to be saved. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that whoever would believe in Him would not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” What is narrow about this way is that it is defined by God and not us. The biggest challenge we have is in admitting that God has a better way than I have. Our whole lives we will fight this battle about His way or our way, because we like to be in control. And yet the great paradox in life is that in surrendering our life, we find it. In dying to being in control, we truly become free. As we choose the narrow way of following Jesus, we see the broad, eternal and abundant life that comes to those who trust in Him.
Have you found the way? Are you living in it? In what ways is the “broad road” calling you to come down its road? Are you in fellowship with others who are in the Way? Jesus loves you and has done everything possible for you to experience this way, now trust and walk in it and you will see His promises come to life!
Prayer for the Day: O Savior, you are Lord over our doubts and our confidence, our questions and our convictions. You are with us when our faith trembles and when
your light fills our souls. Thank you for your faithfulness. Amen.
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