Deliver me from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.
Let not the flood sweep over me,
or the deep swallow me up,
or the pit close its mouth over me. Verses 14-15
Have you ever felt that way? I have, numerous times. I have prayed that prayer many times.
It's review day, once again, so I'll look back at my last 6 entries to see if I learned anything.
DAY 211--A MATTER OF THE HEART--Matthew 15:1-14
It is important to be sure that the things we believe are truly Biblical. We need to not play "fast and loost" with God's rules. The Pharisees in this passage were guilty of playing around with the law in order to make it fit their own personal agendas. As Christians, we must not do that. We must be true to the Scriptures and true to Christ.
DAY 212--THE SOFTENED HEART--Matthew 19:3-9
In a passage that, on the surface, is about divorce, the subject seems to shift to whether or not we are willing to forgive. "Hardheartedness," in this context, seems to be nothing more than unwillingness to forgive. Forgiveness is a big issue for Jesus. He instructs us to forgive those who sin against us pretty much infinitely. This is difficult. But it is his teaching, therefore, we must find a way to follow it.
DAY 213--JESUS THREW THEM OUT--Matthew 21:12-17
Jesus tosses out the "moneychangers" in the temple. The event has come to be known as the cleansing of the temple. The point of the passage is that the merchants were ripping people off. They were taking advantage of people who were coming from various places to observe temple worship.
We have the responsibility, as Christians, to be totally honest in our business dealings. No Christian should ever take advantage of anyone else in a business deal. Never. We, of all people, need to have the most upright integrity in our lives.
Jesus also shows us in this passage that certain types of anger are ok, and, in fact, even good and necessary. But there is an are where we must be very careful, as well. We must not excuse the wrong kind of anger and disguise it as "righteous indignation."
DAY 214--OVERLOOKED AND IGNORED--Matthew 25:31-40
This is the "sheep and goats" passage. Keith Green has a really good "song" about this. I put "song" in quotes because it's more of a dialogue spoken over a frenzied piano solo. If you can find it anywhere, you should give it a listen. I think it's called "The Sheep and The Goats." He segues into "Asleep in the Light" at the end of it (at least on a live recording).
Anyway, Jesus pretty much lays it on the line in this passage, as to what is expected of us. We are supposed to look after the "overlooked or ignored" people. And when we do, we minister to Christ, himself. Plain and simple.
I also made note that Jesus says that HE will sort the people out when he returns. Once again, I will state that it is not our job to sort out whether all the members of our churches are true believers or not. Jesus will take care of that. Our job is to worship him, spread the gospel, and take care of those widows and orphans.
DAY 215--MY GOD, WHY?--Matthew 27:45-54
"Christianity is the only major religion to have as its central event the humiliation of its God."
That's a quote from church historian Bruce Shelley that Eugene Peterson quotes in the book. (The book is The Message//Remix:Solo by Eugene Peterson; a daily devotional using The Message as its text.)
I think that's tremendous quote. Jesus utters words that rip through my heart like a serrated knife.
"My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"
I don't have anything to add to that.
DAY 216--PARALYZED AND DESPERATE--Mark 2:1-12
Once again, one of my very favorite Bible stories.
We need to be diligent and persistent to bring people with needs to Jesus. He is the great healer. But it's important to notice that he takes care of the more important issue first. He forgives the man's sins. Then he heals him.
Forgiveness first. Healing second.
We must get the order right.
That's it for today.
Grace and peace, friends.