All the creatures look expectantly to you to give them their meals on time.
You come, and they gather around; you open your hand and they eat from it.
"Now if he supply wild and brute beasts with sustenance in due season, by which they are fed to the full, his blessing will doubtless be to us an inexhaustible source of plenty, provided we ourselves do not hinder it from flowing to us by our unbelief."
(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)
"A Wife's Main Arena"
Titus 2:5
Reading from the English Standard Version
to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
There is much fuel for controversy in this passage, and I certainly don't wnat to start that kind of fire.
What Paul means by the last phrase of this verse is that when unbelievers see Christians not living up to the principles that they claim to believe, then they have cause to deny the validity of the gospel.
I don't believe that Paul is forbidding wives to work outside the home here. (Neither does the writer in Tabletalk, for that matter.) However, it should be a priority of wives/mothers to care for their home and children. On the other hand, I firmly believe that this must also be a priority for husbands/fathers. I've never felt that the model where the man went and sat at the gates of the city and philophized with his buddies while the woman slaved in the home was a valid model. My wife and I are partners in this home. Yes, we both work outside the home (we wouldn't have a "home" to live in otherwise). But we share the responsibilities in the home, as well.
I also don't think enough attention is paid to the word "own" in the instruction regarding submission. That word has gotten so much bad press in the last few decades. But there is nothing wrong with submission. It's a godly thing. And if proper reading of Scripture is given, wives and husbands are to submit to each other! But there are volumes spoken by that little word, "own." I look at that and see that a wife is to submit ONLY to her husband and to none other. No other man has any authority over my wife (except for the guy that's her boss at work, of course). Nevertheless, anyone who knows me knows that I've never been one to try to lord it over anyone, much less my wife. We happily submit to each other.
"The Holy Example of Christ"
1 Peter 2:22
Reading from the English Standard Version
He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
Christ's life is an example of holiness for us. In the verse right before this one, Peter told us that Christ left an example for us to follow in his footsteps. (1 Peter 2:21) Paul said we should be imitators of God and even told us to follow his example, as he followed the example of Jesus. (Ephesians 5:1 and 1 Corinthians 11:1)
The sinless life of Jesus is meant to be an example for us. If we consider the statement, "I always do what pleases Him," do we dare take that on as our goal? Can we truly examine all of our actions, plans, goals, impulses, and thoughts in light of this declaration? What if I say, before everything I do, "I'm doing this to please God?" Ooh. Ouch. Um...
A nineteenth century Scottish theologian named John Brown said these words: "Holiness does not consist in mystic speculations, enthusiastic fervours, or uncommanded austerities; it consists in thinking as God thinks, and willing as God wills." It also does not consist of a list of "dos and don'ts" with mostly don'ts. Jesus said, "I have come to do your will, O God." (Hebrews 10:7) That's our example. "In all our thoughts, actions, in every part of our character, the ruling principle that motivates and guides us should be the desire to follow Christ in doing the will of the Father."
Lord, I am so grateful for the relationship that Christi and I have. We have been so blessed by you in our lives for these past 24 years. We have made it through things that would certainly destroy marriages that aren't based on faith in you. But you have gotten us through it. I thank you that we are able to share responsibilities in the home. I thank you that you gave me sensitivities that a lot of men don't seem to have. (That's not quite the same as thanking you that I'm not like "so-and-so." I'm not saying that at all.) I pray that I will always have a deep love for Christi and that she will for me, as well. And I pray that we will always be worshipping you together.
I thank you for your continued provision for us and pray that our jobs will remain secure in these tough times. But I have faith that, no matter what, you will provide.
Lord, I pray for Stephanie. I pray for healing for her. Heal her mind, Father. I pray for her anxiety and nervousness. Give her self-confidence. Help her feel that she can accomplish things. Give her success in school. I also pray for the inflammation that has plagued her for a while. She has endured so much in her life, Father. I pray for some relief for her.
From the Presidential Prayer Team site:
Pray for the safety of our soldiers in Afghanistan as they face increasing violence. Pray for the safety of all of our armed forces, domestic and abroad.
U.S. military officials said that the day-long battle near the Pakistan border ended with eight U.S. soldier killed as hundreds of insurgents stormed a pair of remote outposts. The insurgents were armed with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades during the fierce gunbattle Saturday in the Kamdesh district of Afghanistan's mountainous Nuristan province. It was the heaviest U.S. loss of life in a single battle since July 2008, when nine American soldiers were killed.
Grace and peace, friends.