Thursday, February 2nd
see www.moravian.org/daily_texts
Readings for Today:
• Psalm 18:37-45
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm18&version=NIV
• Genesis 32:1-21
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis32&version=NIV
• Matthew 12:9-21
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew12&version=NIV
Thoughts for the Day:
Psalm 18:37-45
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
38 I crushed them so that they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.
39 You armed me with strength for battle;
you humbled my adversaries before me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
to the LORD, but he did not answer.
42 I beat them as fine as windblown dust;
I trampled them like mud in the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;
you have made me the head of nations.
People I did not know now serve me,
44 foreigners cower before me;
as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
45 They all lose heart;
they come trembling from their strongholds.
David speaks with great authority as he defeated his enemies. Our enemies are often not physical threats, but can be spiritual powers opposed against us as we try to step out in Jesus’ name to advance the kingdom. Jesus has given us spiritual capital to oppose our enemies who try block or thwart God from doing what he wants to do. The bottom line is we don’t have to fear any spiritual power that is opposed to God. Greater is He who is within you than he that is in the world. As Martin Luther says in the great hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”,
Though hoards of devils fill the land
All threat’ning to devour us,
We tremble not, unmoved we stand;
They cannot overpower us.
Let this world’s tyrant rage;
In battle we’ll engage!
His might is doomed to fail;
God’s judgment must prevail!
One little word subdues him.” (Taken from LBW, 1978)
Genesis 32
Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau
1 Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. 3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. 5 I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.’” 6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” 7 In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well. 8 He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape.” 9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, LORD, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ 10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. 11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. 12 But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’”
As Jacob awaits his reunion with brother Esau, he is afraid that Esau might take revenge on him. First, he prays to God and you see the change of his character in his humble reliance on God to deliver him from his brother. He acknowledges that all of his increase in flocks and people in his camp have come from God’s hand, not his own. He is afraid his brother will attack him, so he prepares a peace offering and is prepared to share his wealth with his brother.
Here, at the end of chapter 32, is also the famous passage where Jacob spent the night wrestling with God, who appeared through the form of an angel, or as it is translated “a man”. Jacob thinks it is God for he says, “I have seen the face of God yet his life was spared.” At this point Jacob’s name is changed from “Jacob” to “Israel”. From “deceiver” to “one who struggles with God”. To show this was more than just a spiritual encounter, Jacob’s hip went out of socket and walked with a limp for the rest of his life.
Have you ever wrestled with God? Apparently it is okay to struggle with God. Often we struggle with God in our prayer life, wrestling with him over why he hasn’t answered our cries for help for us, or the people we love. Jacob’s story seems to imply that this is an okay thing to do, and God meets us in that place and often leaves an indelible impression on us!
Matthew 12:9-21
9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
God’s Chosen Servant 15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill.
Jesus preached to the crowds and taught in the synagogues, where the Jews worshiped. It so happened that a man with a diseased hand showed up in church. The Pharisees saw it as another opportunity to catch Jesus in a trap. If he didn’t heal the man, they could accuse of him of lacking compassion. If he did heal him, they could accuse him of breaking the Sabbath law of no work on the Sabbath.
Jesus sees their intentions and puts it back in their laps. He asks them if one of their sheep fell into a pit on the Sabbath, would they not rescue it? Then, he teaches them that the essence of the Sabbath is to do things that are God pleasing. It is a time to set apart as worship of God, but that doesn’t exclude us from doing things God would want us to do. In another passage he teaches, “the Sabbath is made for man, not man made for the Sabbath.” Meaning the Sabbath is for us. A time to commune with God, have fellowship with each other, and yes if called, to help someone out with a word of healing or compassion.
How is your Sabbath going lately? Do you have a time for rest? Each day. Each week. Each season. We live in a world that values productivity, but often at the expense of health. The health of our family, our lives, and our relationships with God and others. In Jesus, we see the appropriate balance of time with Father, time with his friends in fellowship, and times of ministering God’s love to the world. As we look to have a balanced life of work, rest and time with those we love, Jesus is a healthy model to follow!
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your cleansing power. May we follow in the footsteps of our ancestors as we look to you for guidance! We praise you together with the Holy Spirit for anointing us with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Readings for Today:
• Psalm 18:37-45
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm18&version=NIV
• Genesis 32:1-21
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis32&version=NIV
• Matthew 12:9-21
www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew12&version=NIV
Thoughts for the Day:
Psalm 18:37-45
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
38 I crushed them so that they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.
39 You armed me with strength for battle;
you humbled my adversaries before me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
to the LORD, but he did not answer.
42 I beat them as fine as windblown dust;
I trampled them like mud in the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;
you have made me the head of nations.
People I did not know now serve me,
44 foreigners cower before me;
as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
45 They all lose heart;
they come trembling from their strongholds.
David speaks with great authority as he defeated his enemies. Our enemies are often not physical threats, but can be spiritual powers opposed against us as we try to step out in Jesus’ name to advance the kingdom. Jesus has given us spiritual capital to oppose our enemies who try block or thwart God from doing what he wants to do. The bottom line is we don’t have to fear any spiritual power that is opposed to God. Greater is He who is within you than he that is in the world. As Martin Luther says in the great hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”,
Though hoards of devils fill the land
All threat’ning to devour us,
We tremble not, unmoved we stand;
They cannot overpower us.
Let this world’s tyrant rage;
In battle we’ll engage!
His might is doomed to fail;
God’s judgment must prevail!
One little word subdues him.” (Taken from LBW, 1978)
Genesis 32
Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau
1 Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. 3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. 5 I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.’” 6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” 7 In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well. 8 He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape.” 9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, LORD, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ 10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. 11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. 12 But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’”
As Jacob awaits his reunion with brother Esau, he is afraid that Esau might take revenge on him. First, he prays to God and you see the change of his character in his humble reliance on God to deliver him from his brother. He acknowledges that all of his increase in flocks and people in his camp have come from God’s hand, not his own. He is afraid his brother will attack him, so he prepares a peace offering and is prepared to share his wealth with his brother.
Here, at the end of chapter 32, is also the famous passage where Jacob spent the night wrestling with God, who appeared through the form of an angel, or as it is translated “a man”. Jacob thinks it is God for he says, “I have seen the face of God yet his life was spared.” At this point Jacob’s name is changed from “Jacob” to “Israel”. From “deceiver” to “one who struggles with God”. To show this was more than just a spiritual encounter, Jacob’s hip went out of socket and walked with a limp for the rest of his life.
Have you ever wrestled with God? Apparently it is okay to struggle with God. Often we struggle with God in our prayer life, wrestling with him over why he hasn’t answered our cries for help for us, or the people we love. Jacob’s story seems to imply that this is an okay thing to do, and God meets us in that place and often leaves an indelible impression on us!
Matthew 12:9-21
9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
God’s Chosen Servant 15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill.
Jesus preached to the crowds and taught in the synagogues, where the Jews worshiped. It so happened that a man with a diseased hand showed up in church. The Pharisees saw it as another opportunity to catch Jesus in a trap. If he didn’t heal the man, they could accuse of him of lacking compassion. If he did heal him, they could accuse him of breaking the Sabbath law of no work on the Sabbath.
Jesus sees their intentions and puts it back in their laps. He asks them if one of their sheep fell into a pit on the Sabbath, would they not rescue it? Then, he teaches them that the essence of the Sabbath is to do things that are God pleasing. It is a time to set apart as worship of God, but that doesn’t exclude us from doing things God would want us to do. In another passage he teaches, “the Sabbath is made for man, not man made for the Sabbath.” Meaning the Sabbath is for us. A time to commune with God, have fellowship with each other, and yes if called, to help someone out with a word of healing or compassion.
How is your Sabbath going lately? Do you have a time for rest? Each day. Each week. Each season. We live in a world that values productivity, but often at the expense of health. The health of our family, our lives, and our relationships with God and others. In Jesus, we see the appropriate balance of time with Father, time with his friends in fellowship, and times of ministering God’s love to the world. As we look to have a balanced life of work, rest and time with those we love, Jesus is a healthy model to follow!
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your cleansing power. May we follow in the footsteps of our ancestors as we look to you for guidance! We praise you together with the Holy Spirit for anointing us with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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