For wisdom for Mrs. Michelle Obama as she develops and works with her staff
She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
--Proverbs 31:26 (NIV)
Loving God, thank You for creating us for one another�for making us with the ability to help, care for and develop others, to enable them to be better people, as You work in our lives. Thank You for designing us to live in community with one other, and to benefit others in a way that will bring Your glory in their lives. We praise You for this marvelous plan, mighty God!
Today we consider the example of the Proverbs 31 woman, Lord�such a wise and loving counselor to her children and to her friends with insight flowing from her speech, O God, and proper direction heard from her voice. We ask You to enable First Lady Michelle Obama to be such a woman as she manages and interacts with all those on her staff. Let her and all she serves with draw near to You as they serve our nation together. In Your goodness and grace, we humbly ask You to do this, O God, in Your precious name, amen.
11 Be not far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is none to help.
12 Many bulls encompass me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet�
17 I can count all my bones�
they stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But you, O Lord, do not be far off!
O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dog!
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
but has heard, when he cried to him.
25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord!
May your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
28 For kingship belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30 Posterity shall serve him;
it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
that he has done it.
Many, many years ago, I was very surprised to hear verses 14 and 15 of this Psalm at the end of the song "Hang On To Your Life" by The Guess Who. It was never on the radio version, but I had gotten the "Greatest Hits" cassette (anybody remember those?) and it was at the end of the song, after the music stopped. Weird. Now on to the commentary.
"The dreadful encounter of our Redeemer with death, by which there was forced from his body blood instead of sweat; his descent into hell, by which he tasted of the wrath of God which was due to sinners; and, in short, his emptying himself, could not be adequately expressed by any of the ordinary forms of speech. Moreover, David speaks of death as those who are in trouble are accustomed to speak of it, who, struck with fear, can think of nothing but of their being reduced to dust and to destruction."
(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)
It's review day again, so I'll look back over the last six devotions to see what God taught me. Incidentally, after today, I only have 15 more devotions left in this book. It's taken me about a year and a quarter to finish it, I think. Hmm...I just checked my archives. It's actually been more like a year and a half. Started in September of '07.
Day 344--A Deep Consciousness of God--1 Peter 1:13-22
I was excited about the verse that spoke of living a life shaped by God's life. That is, or should be, the goal of everyone who calls themself by the name of Christ. I have so far to go in this. But I know what the goal is. The big challenge in this day's reading was the part about loving one another "as if your lives depended on it." Still working on that one.
Day 345--The Kind of Life Christ Lived--1 Peter 2:11-17,21
Carrying right on from yesterday...AND it kept the theme of loving everyone, only this time, it spoke of treating people with dignity. Ouch. Still working on that one, too. But I'll say that I'm getting better at showing love to my "spiritual family."
Day 346--In Adoration--1 Peter 3:13-18
Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy.
That was the Scripture that caught my attention that day. I struggle with keeping my heart at attention. That's probably my biggest struggle of all. My heart is so easily led astray.
Day 347--No Longer Tyrannized--1 Peter 4:1-2,14,19
What we are "tyrannized" by in this passage is our wants and desires. It is good to examine what we want and find if we want it so bad that it consumes our lives.
Day 348--Building On What You've Been Given--2 Peter 1:3-9
Today we have a great list of character traits that we should be developing to supplement our "basic faith." They are:
Good character
Spiritual understanding
Alert discipline
Passionate patience
Reverent wonder
Warm friendliness
Generous love
Worthy traits that we would all do well to develope in our lives.
Day 349--Destructive Divisions--2 Peter 2:1-3
This passage warns us about false, or lying, prophets. We must be careful to not be part of the "mixed-up followers" who get drawn in to a charasmatic leader's deception. This is why we must read Scripture and why it helps to read it "spiritually."
That's it for this time.
Grace and peace, friends.