Mighty Millstones

Exodus 27-28

Psalm 4

Matthew 18

Devotion by Jennifer Hall (IN)

At my house, if I want to do something crazy like grind wheat or coffee beans, I turn on the Vitamix. The cat doesn’t appreciate the noise, but within about 60 seconds, the work is done. In Jesus’ day, the appliance for the same was a millstone.  Extremely hard and heavy, millstones are referenced in the Bible a number of times as an illustration that would have been a familiar common item for the readers of the time. First mentioned in the Mosaic law (don’t take someone’s daily sustenance-grinder away in a pledge!), then a deadly weapon being dropped on someone’s head in Judges 9, and even a comparison to the strong chest of the Leviathan in Job…by the time Jesus is talking in Matthew 18, we get the idea that these millstones used for grinding grain were massive. So, when Jesus says it would be better to have one tied around your neck and thrown into the sea than to cause someone who believes in him to stumble…we know that is a big deal to him.

In Matthew 18:7 we are told that things that cause people to stumble are going to come, but we must guard against them. And not just casually. At an intentional, life-altering level at times. There are things that will cause us to sin. And there are people through whom they come. Woe to them per Jesus! The word for “things” used in these verses is also referenced as a stumbling block, offense, or thing that causes people to sin. Many things cause people to stumble, and the conviction or application of this passage to our individual lives is personal. But, some things are pretty common for most of us. In the New Testament time, millstones were common things apparently. In 2026, phones, social media, 24/7 internet access, and artificial intelligence are ordinary. Unfortunately, so are mental health crises, hostile and divisive spirits, unforgiveness, and addictions. Not just to chemical substances. But, also to feeds, constant information, visual input, likes, shares, and the next harder and heavier millstone than “they” have. Or maybe don’t have yet.

I say this not to suggest we should gouge out all electronic devices from our homes/cars/watches and who knows what else and throw them into the sea….. but to recognize that through them, there seems to be a profound struggle going on for our minds, our attention, and the very cognitive abilities God has created us with and given us for this type of self-reflection and sound reasoning. And through them, stumbling blocks are now available far more privately and abundantly than in the millstone days…..they are reading our eye gaze, knowing our weaknesses, designed to addict us, divide us, and distract us. All. The. Time.

However, when we stumble, and when other believers stumble, Matthew 18 showers on us a message that we all need. The shepherd looks for the lost sheep and rejoices when found. The Messiah wants the humble children who don’t know everything. We are called to welcome the lowly. The church has sinners and Jesus tell us how to deal with it. And the last 14 verses of the chapter give a vivid picture of the abundant forgiveness Jesus expects and gives. 

As heavy as the millstones were, the weight of sin Jesus lifts is far greater.  As we seek to purge the stumbling blocks from our lives, pray to have discernment to even recognize them in a sneaky world, and strive to not lead others astray . . . let us also forgive abundantly and return to the shepherd when we find ourselves lost. 

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.” (Matthew 18:12-14)

Reflection Questions:

  1. Have you ever had someone in your life who helped you from stumbling?
  2. What millstones or stumbling blocks might you need to be freed from today?

Prayer:

Dear God, thank you for providing us a direction to live our lives for You, and for the many teachings of Jesus which infuse wisdom and guidance. Please give us the discernment to recognize possible distractions and stumbling blocks in our lives and the strength to keep our eyes towards You. When we fail, thank you for being our deliverer in our times of trouble and for continually seeking us out. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Set Apart

Exodus 25-26

Psalm 4

Matthew 18

Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

Ps 4: 3a “But know that Yahweh has set apart the holy one for Himself;…” (LSB)

In Hebrew, the word for “holy” is “qodesh”.  Like many of the words that we translate over into English, the original word in Hebrew has a number of meanings and we try to summarize it nicely to the word that most closely matches in our language, but in doing so we also sometimes lose a lot of the “flavor” that the original word encompasses.  We translate “qodesh” as “holy”, but it  also means “seperated”, “set aside”, and “set apart”.  When we read the above verse with that in mind, you can also read it as “Yahweh has set apart the set apart one for Himself” entirely accurately.  It’s a clever word play.

But what does that mean?  It’s simple, look around you at our society.  We live in a world that is rife with sin, carnal images, narcissistic encouragements, pride, immorality, etc.  It’s everywhere.  We are a people that has largely forgotten about our God, it’s painfully apparent in almost every aspect of our society.  God wants us to set ourselves apart from all of this, to remember and honor Him, and to obey His will.  In return, He promises that He will set apart for Himself those who set themselves apart.  But how are we to do that?

Ps 4:4-5 “Tremble, and do not sin.  Ponder in your heart upon your bed, and be still.  Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And trust in Yahweh.” (LSB)

The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom (Pr 9:10).  Fear, and do not sin.  Think about God as you’re laying in your bed, and be still.  Another translation of “be still” is “quit kicking”, which I’m personally a fan of.  This is all about attitude and understanding your place.  Acknowledge God as not only your creator, but the creator and master of ALL THINGS, He’s in charge and you’re not.  A roommate of mine in college had a fantastic poster that read “2 Foundation Facts for Human Englightment: 1 There is a God, 2 You are not Him.”.  

Are you living a righteous life? That is the sacrifice that God requires, not the cattle on a thousand hills, not a specific percentage of your income, not writing the big checks you see on TV that take 2 people to even hold up, but righteousness.  It’s a sacrifice, you put aside some of the things you think you’d like to do to set yourself apart and obey God.  

Do you trust God?  Our society has taught us to trust in ourselves, to trust in the system, to trust authorities, and to trust in our abilities but has largely obscured this critical aspect of trusting in our creator.  There are a thousand and one things to distract us, to divert us, to capture our attention and take it away from this critical foundational concept of trusting the God that made us.  I will put forth for your consideration that anything you trust in more than God has become an idol to you.  Anything that you delight in more than God can become an idol to you, and cause you to focus on things aside from our heavenly Father.

God specifically and repeatedly tells us not to have idols, not to focus on things that are worthless, and remember Him.  We look back in history at some of the false gods that the Israelites worshipped and just shake our heads.  Then we go back to watching TV, getting on social media, watching movies, trying to get ahead at work, playing video games, reading books, getting a better car/house/mate…anything that diverts and distracts us from what our real job should be; setting ourselves apart and offering up to God the sacrifice of our righteousness and trust.  If any of those things is taking more of your focus than you are giving to God, it has become an idol to you.  I will tell you a painful reality: if you swim for too long in the sewer, you’re going to smell like poop.   Everything that takes your attention away from God is the sewer.

I do trust God, because do you remember the story of the prodigal son?  That was me.  My Father came running down the road to greet me when I started coming back to Him.  I am ashamed that I ever turned aside, and humbled that despite my vast unworthiness, my God came running to me the moment I started back towards Him.  I promise, if you have veered off the path, return to God.  He will come running to meet you. 

In our Matt 18 reading today, in 18:12-14 is the parable of that lost sheep.  That was me, too.  God came looking for me when I was lost, and found me.  Notably, He found me when I pointed my head back in His direction because I heard Him calling; if I would have kept wandering away, who knows what would have happened?  In Luke 15:7 it says that when that lost sheep is found, there is rejoicing in heaven.  I get a little choked up just thinking about it, God cares so much about me, about you, about all of us, that He is actively seeking us to find ways to bring us home.  There is rejoicing in heaven when we start heading back towards God.  This should melt your heart, when you realize the depth of love and compassion that our creator has towards us.

So what about you?  Are you trusting in the God that loves you and offering up the sacrifice of righteousness to Him?  Have the idols of this present evil age distracted you?  Are you playing on the field, and not spectating from the seats in the game of life?  Here are a few practical daily tips to help you focus on and trust God.

  1. Pray.  Not just at meals, but when you wake up, when you shower, before you go to bed, while you’re driving.  Let your heart be melted by the love God has shown to you, and reciprocate it back towards God.
  2. READ SCRIPTURE!  Daily.
  3. Fast occasionally.  It doesn’t even have to be food, take a break from some of the things that distract you from God and spend that time seeking God instead.  Man does not live by bread alone, but he also doesn’t live by TV, social media, or anything else that isn’t something that comes out of God’s mouth.
  4. Love others.  God doesn’t just want us to love Him, He says that one of the ways that we can show Him that love is to love the rest of His creation.  This includes jerks, hostile enemies, addicts, ugly people, people with different cultures and colors, that person who uses weird pronouns, that guy who took your parking spot, the lady who was gossiping about you at work…every other living being is a creation of God, and by loving them (whether we agree with them or not), we honor God.  
  5. Do you want to find Jesus?  He’s probably in the parking lot at Walmart, and he’s probably hungry.  Go buy him a sandwich. (Matt 25:40).  Or maybe he’s lonely, in a nursing home, and wants a visit. Or maybe he’s doing time in prison and needs to talk.  Or maybe, he’s a lonely widow who can’t mow their own lawn because they’re feeble.  Maybe he just needs a ride.  Go find him.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

  1. What are your idols?
  2. How can you do better at “setting yourself apart”?
  3. What is your biggest obstacle to living a righteous life?  How can you change that?
  4. Do you trust God more than yourself?  Why, or why not?

PRAYER:

Father God, you have been faithful and kind to me throughout my entire life.  Thank you.  Please help me to focus on you, to remove the things that distract my focus, and to live a life that pleases you.  Help me to be a servant who pleases his master.  Lord, look deep in my heart and show me my flaws, and help me to remove them so that I can love you fully.  Thank you for sending us your son.  Please forgive me of my flaws, and lead me to You, in Jesus name, amen.

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God’s Character

 Exodus 23-24

Psalm 3

Matthew 17

Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

What a powerful moment in history.  God has redeemed and claimed His chosen people the Israelites, and is laying down a few ground rules for their behavior towards Him and towards each other.  The 10 commandments have just been given a few chapters back, and Ex 23 begins with a continuation of some guidelines for interaction.  Read through these carefully, do you see a common theme?  These rules that God is giving really highlight His character.  When I read through these (Ex 23:1-19) what stands out to me isn’t that God wants a bunch of rules followed, but that the character of God is shining through.  Look closely.

God is just.  God is merciful.  God is forgiving.  God is loving.  God wants us to respect each other, and Him.  God will punish the guilty.  These characteristics are easily seen by the rules he asks us to follow.  When I read these verses, 23:19 really stands out to me: “You shall not boil a young goat in the milk of his mother.”.  Why?  Because that would be unjust, and not fair.  God is so full of love for all of his creation, that he’s concerned with even a baby goat, and is concerned about justice for it.  Which makes sense, when you consider that the earth and all that is in it belong to God (Ps 24:1), and you consider the beauty of God’s character.

If we turn ahead a few chapters to Ex 34, God actually tells Moses (1) who He is and (2) what His character is like.  This is one of my dad’s favorite verses: “…Yahweh, Yahweh God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness (or, mercy) and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished…” (LSB translation, Ex 34: 6-7).  All of the “Children of the Book” agree on the nature of God, because He has revealed it to us.  In the Quran 1:3 it describes God as “Most Gracious, Most Merciful.” (a loving nod to some of our Muslim brothers and sisters).  I urge us all, let us exhibit God’s characteristics within ourselves, not only to our creator but to our fellow creation.

In Ex 23:20-23 we once again clearly see the concept of “shaliah” demonstrated, and it’s important to note that God actually clearly states “My name is in him”, granting the angel full authority.  I suppose the American equivalent would be “active Power of Attorney”, but that doesn’t quite cover the fullness of the concept.  We also see Jesus stating clearly in John 17:11 that he has been given this same name, the name of God, so he is acting with the full authority of the God who sent him.  If you’d like a more detailed understanding of “shaliah” you can scroll back to the 1/27/2026 devotional, or just ask a jewish person.

In Ex 24, God cuts a covenant with Israel.  The phrase “cuts a covenant” was at the time quite literal and involved animal sacrifice and blood, and was considered a binding promise.  In this chapter we see a beautiful moment where God speaks to a large number  of the priests and elders of Israel and makes a deal with them.  In Ex 24:7 it states “Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “all that Yahweh has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!”” (LSB translation).  Can you just feel the excited vibe amongst these people, who have witnessed an amazing and miraculous covenenat being formed, with the glory of Yahweh “like a consuming fire on the mountain top, in the eyes of the sons of Israel”?

What an amazing event!  Never before had something like THIS happened, this was huge!  This is what would be described by most folks as a life altering event, something that would change your outlook and destiny, something that would inspire you for a lifetime and change the very fiber of your being for the better. How long do you think something like this would stick in your memory? 

40 days, that’s the answer.  Moses disappears up the mountain, into the fiery glory of God and is gone for 40 days and nights before it all goes bad.  While God and Moses are chatting, the sons of Israel are getting restless.  Despite seeing miraculous signs and wonders, if you flip ahead to Ex 32: 1-2 it says “Then the people saw that Moses had delayed to come down from the mountain.  So the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “arise, make us gods who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” (LSB translation).  Forty days.  It’s just embarrasing.  It’s really a good thing that God is so forgiving and merciful, because that could very easily have been turned into what the scientific minded folk would call an “Extinction Level Event” for the Israelites.

God not only doesn’t wipe them out, but He continues to shelter them, to love them, and to keep them safe and fulfill the promises he’d made both to them and to their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  WHY? Because God always keeps His promises. Because he is the Most Merciful, the Most Gracious.

Do you need further proof?  Flip over to our NT reading today.  In Matt 17:5 God states audibly (for the second time) “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him!” (LSB Translation).  Then later on, he offers up this man Jesus, His own beloved obedient son, as a sacrifice to grant redemption to humanity and to cut a covenant of salvation.  Folks, let me tell you something; I’m a father, and although I absolutely do love a lot of you people out there that I know, if it came to a choice between you and my son…well, let’s just say you would not come out ahead in the equation, I’m sorry.  “But God…” (I love that phrase) is the perfection of character, the perfection of love, the highest example of what our own character should be.  

What a beautiful God we serve.  I know that He is beautiful, because His creation is beautiful.  The mist as it gathers at the tops of the mountains is beautiful.  The sun arising through the clouds and shedding new light on the world every day is beautiful.  YOU are beautiful, as is the entirety of the creation of God, and the voice that spoke all of this creation into being.  It should humble and awe you, when you think about the utter depth of the love that God has towards all of His creation.  We do not deserve it… “but God…” is the most compassionate, the most merciful, praise His holy name.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

  1. Stop for a moment and think.  How many times has God done something amazing and miraculous in your life?
  2. How long did it take after that amazing and miraculous thing that God did for you before you “moved on” in your mind?
  3. Why do you think that we, as humans, have this inclination, and what can we do better to hold on to that “awe and wonder” that is rightfully due our God?
  4. Are WE gracious, compassionate, and merciful to our fellow creation? (Answer for all:) What about people of different denominations? Different cultures? Different faiths?  Our “enemies”?  Why, or why not?  What can we do better?

PRAYER:

Father God, thank you.  

You are the Most gracious, the Most merciful.  Time and time again we have disappointed and failed You, we’ve broken the covenants that we’ve made with You, but You forgive us over and over.  Father, help us to have Your character, to love our neighbor as ourself, and to never forget You who gave us life, breath, and all things.  Thank You for Your never ending mercies, which are made new every morning.  Help us to humbly seek Your face, to obey Your will, and to be servants who please You.  Thank you Yahoveh God, in Jesus name, Amen.

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God’s Mighty and Miraculous Hand

Exodus 21-22

Psalm 3

Matthew 17

Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            I want you to know that my parents are amazing, wonderful, spirit-filled, and God-led people, who have strove their entire lives to live in a manner pleasing to God, and to instill in me that same holiness and humility.  That being said, I want you to know that I was a truly terrible person, rebellious and narcissistic, and largely ignoring everything they said until God grabbed me and my attention.  Today as a devotion, I am going to give you just a small portion of my personal testimony.  This will be the “highly edited” version and summarization, but please know that I was a truly terrible person, despite my awesome parents, and my awesome God.  As a spoiler alert, know also that God saved me with a mighty and miraculous hand.

Psalms 3:1-2 (LSB): “O Yahweh, how my adversaries have become many!  Many are rising up against me.  Many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.””

            When I was between the ages of 18-25 I was basically a career criminal, and that is far more a reflection of my own stupidity than my parents efforts.  I found that the easy way was…well…easier, so I took it.  Then I kept on taking it.  I was doing lots of drugs, and drinking too much, and doing things I shouldn’t.  Mom and Dad could see that I was drifting away and prayed for me constantly, which is likely why I am alive.  I became involved with bad people, doing bad things, for bad reasons.  Then as I moved deeper into those circles, I became privvy to  information that I shouldn’t have, and as a result I found myself in mortal peril.  Those people I’d thought of as my friends began to seek my life.  Things got dark and ugly.  People that I knew and loved died.  It was a hot mess, and in a moment of desperation I called Mom and Dad.

Psalms 3: 3-4 (LSB): “But You, O Yahweh, are a shield about me.  My glory, and the One who lifts my head.  I was calling to Yahweh with my voice, and He answered me from his holy mountain.”

            Miraculously quickly, my parents sent me a plane ticket in another young man’s name, who had just cancelled a trip but not the ticket yet.  This was before 9/11 so you could get away with those types of shenanigans.  I escaped and moved in with them in Atlanta, where dad was teaching at the Atlanta Bible College.  I was expecting to die at any moment, and so I threw myself wholeheartedly into scripture, looking for God to save me, which He did.  I was the only kid in history, to my knowledge, to go to the Atlanta Bible College with a mohawk (but nicely done up in a pony tail, usually).  I met some great people there, TRUE friends, who loved God and lived in a manner that was pleasing to Him.  I immediately stopped doing all of the bad things I’d been doing, and started to study up on scriptures.  I was really trying to seek God.

            When you’ve lived immersed in a sewer for a long time, though, it’s hard to keep yourself from stinking.  When I took up a professional (legitimate) career, I started to get puffed up with myself, and some of the bad habits I’d had started to look appealing to me again.  Does this sound familiar, from the stories in Exodus?  Even though I’d been miraculously saved, from overwhelming odds and contrary to all worldly sense, I soon began to do some of the things that I had before: namely drinking and smoking various things in my case.  The issue was not what I was doing, necessarily, but that in my heart I had determined that I could decide, not God but me.  I began to be what I call a CINO, a Christian in Name Only.  I was living for myself, seeking advantage for myself, taking care of myself…but I’d still check all the boxes to be considered a “Christian”.

            I’d still go to church (check), still pray before meals (check), sing when I was at church (check), and had a bible at the house (check)…but I forgot in my heart about the God who had saved me miraculously and without my deserving to be saved, and started trying to make my own decisions again, instead of listening to God.

Psalms 3:5 (LSB): “Then I lay down and slept: I awoke, for Yahweh sustains me.” 

            Then, on Feb 14, 2022, I died.  I’m not saying this metaphorically, I am saying I died, for a bit over 5 minutes.  Specifically, I had a widowmaker heart attack with a 100% blockage (“Wot? I got better!”-Monty Python). In retrospect, this was God tapping me on the shoulder to remind me.  Any sane person would have recognized it for what it was, but me?  Nope: I got up, kept checking the boxes, and kept on being stupid.

Psalms 3:8 (LSB): “Salvation belongs to Yahweh…“

            About a year later, my dad went blind.  Now, I knew I wasn’t a good guy…but my dad, my dad was a righteous man, who had tried his entire life to live in a manner pleasing to God, with better succcess in this endeavor than most men.  Not perfect, by any means, but he REALLY TRIED.  It affected me in a way that my own death did not.  I got on my hands and knees and started praying and fasting, asking God to heal dad.  About 3 days into a hard fast, I realized through scripture that God would not listen to the prayers of an unrighteous man, so I began to systematically get rid of everything in my life that led to unrighteousness.  I burned the things keeping me from God in a fire, and said I was sorry.  Then I kept fasting, and praying.  I talked to God a lot.  A while later, He started talking back.

            So now it’s been almost 2 years since I’ve fully submitted myself to God’s will.  I’m almost 58 now, but some fools are just slow learners.  There have been hills and valleys in my walk, but God has taken me by the hand and leads me.  Why?  I don’t know, I absolutely don’t deserve it, probably because my parents never stopped praying for me.  I have seen miracles.  God has spoken to me.  Crazy things have happened, too many to detail to you without you thinking I was absolutely insane.  So many miracles that I started keeping a journal.  I’m not talking about “oh, it was a miracle that I got that job” miracles, I’m talking about “oh look, the Red Sea just parted so we could go through” miracles. 

Jeremiah 29:13 says “You will seek me and find me when you search with your whole heart.”  Let me just tell you this with absolute sincerity and conviction: God absolutely exists and He still intercedes miraculously for those who seek Him with their whole heart.  This is not a knowledge attained from books, this is an experiential knowledge that I am sharing with you, with 100% conviction.  My dad is still blind, but God is opening up other things for him (and me) that we wouldn’t have suspected or expected.  I live in a state of awe and wonder.  I am humbled and amazed that God would seek me out, of all the terrible sheep who have gone astray…but He did.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

  1. Have you ever made a conscious decision to do something different than you knew God wanted you to do?  If so, why, and how did that work out?
  2. Has God ever saved you?  Was it miraculously?  Are you sure?
  3. Have you ever tried completely submitting yourself to God, to praying and fasting intently, to speaking to Him almost every moment in awe and worship and love?  If you did, did you witness miracles too?  If you haven’t tried yet, why not?

PRAYER:

Lord God, Father, I have failed you more times than I can count, but you have been kind and faithful to me despite my foolishness.  Please God, forgive me!  Help me to be the servant who pleases you.  Teach me your ways, and circumcise my heart.  Whisper to me the way in which I should go, and lead me by the hand.  May the lips of all your creation offer you the praise you deserve, thank you God!  In Jesus name, Amen.

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House Rules

Exodus 19-20

Psalm 2

Matthew 16

Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

In today’s reading, we find our heroes the Israelites 3 months out from escaping horribly oppressive slavery in Egypt and after being led through the harsh desert miraculously arriving safely at Mt Sinai.  This is the first time in recorded history that anything like this had ever happened: God has redeemed His chosen people en masse and brought them to Him.  This is a direct act of intercession from the hand of a loving God, because He had made promises and covenants with Abraham, and God always keeps His promises.  Always, every time, and forever, God keeps His promises.  If you remember nothing else from this devotion, remember that.

God tells Moses (Ex 19:4-6): “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I lifted you up on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself...”(LSB).  That is just beautiful.  Pay special attention to 19:5, wherein God clearly states “…for all the earth is mine…” (See also Psalm 24:1).  What beautiful imagery!  You really need to imagine the setting of Ex. 19; there are most likely millions of people waiting expectantly at the base of the mountain, who all answer together “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do!”, after which God gives them very specific instructions to purify themselves, and then much like to Lt. Dan in the movie Forrest Gump, “…right then God showed up.”  Never before had anything like this happened that we are aware of, God speaks to an entire people and gives them the “House Rules”.

This may shock some of you, but I was a rather rebellious child.  I remember that the day I turned 18, I thought I had complete autonomy and authority because now I was an adult, and nobody could tell me what to do.  Keep in mind that at the time, being a ripe 18 years of age, I already knew everything (most of which I have sadly since forgotten), so I was pretty certain I could just do anything I wanted.  I made the mistake of mentioning this to my father at the time to justify a series of extremely poor decisions on my part, in what became a rather fervent discussion.   In retrospect, perhaps I was not as smart as I thought I was.

Keep in mind that all of this took place while I was staying rent free in my parents house, the one they’d paid for, paid the bills for monthly, and stocked up with food for my consumption on a regular basis, without any contributions at all from me (aside from my stunning insights and wisdom about my own autonomy, of course).  My parents at the time were also paying all of my bills, feeding me regularly, buying me clothes, had bought me a car, etc.  So, you know, I was an adult taking care of myself… *ahem* .  During this highly needed and educational discussion, my father made the statement “Well, you can absolutely make your own decisions since you’re technically an adult now, but as long as you’re living in my house, you will abide by my rules.” 

The conversation that God has with the Israelites in Exodus 20 really strongly reminds me of that conversation, without the fervency perhaps, but with more clarity.  Note that God has already defined “My house” in Ex 19:5, so when God is giving us the 10 commandments in Ex. 20 He is basically telling us “when you are living in my house, this is how I expect you to behave,” in advance.  

“But…” some folks will say, “these commands were given to the Israelites, they don’t apply to us today as Christians..”.  Fair enough, let’s look at what Jesus says about them.  Turn over to Matt 19:16-29.  In this passage, Jesus first humbly points out that the man shouldn’t call him good because only God is good (which is a bit confusing if you’ve accepted a confusing post-biblical theory about Jesus’ identity), and then states very clearly “…if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” (LSB).  Then he goes on to refer to some of the actual commandments, so we know what he’s referring to: it’s right here in Ex 20.

So are we as Christians responsible to keep the commandments?  Only if we listen to our Christ, I would say.  If you are an adult now, and no one can tell you what to do, and you have full authority and autonomy over your own life, well…you probably, like me at 18, already know everything and you don’t have to listen to anyone, ever (if you didn’t dectect the irony and sarcasm there, read it again slowly).  

If, however, you are a humble Christian, seeking to please both Jesus and his God (yes, Jesus has a God, see John 20:17) then you may want to rethink that.  You are, after all, living in God’s house.  You should probably abide by His rules;  particularly if you want a room in the kingdom, on the new earth that has been promised (and God always keeps His promises).  Trust me when I tell you, you do NOT want to get kicked out of His house.

I love how God clearly identifies himself to his people, this has been grossly altered in most modern bibles, but what God actually says to preface his commandments is; “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt...” (Ex 20:2, LSB).  So we know exactly who’s talking.  Then he lists his expectations while we’re living in His house.  The first 4 commandments have to do with us and our interactions towards God.  The next 6 commandments have to do with us and our interactions towards our fellow man(kind).  These are all neatly summed up by our king, the Christ,  in Mark 12:29-34 when Jesus says that the greatest commandment is “Hear O Israel!  The LORD our God is one LORD, and you shall love The LORD your God with all your heart…”, and the second is this, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Please note that this does not REPLACE the original commandments given by God, but summarizes them nicely.  

Praise God that we serve a God of clarity and not confusion, He tells us His expectations right up front, and then lets us make our own decisions about whether or not we will listen and obey.  We serve a wonderful, powerful, and amazing God who has shown that He will intercede on behalf of His people in miraculous and powerful ways throughout the scriptures, which cannot be broken.  The only real question is: are we going to listen and obey and thereby be God’s People?  Choose now for yourself, but as for me and my household, we will serve Yahweh the living God, who has sent us our Christ in order to bring us to Himself.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

  1. Do you keep all of the commandments?  Why, or why not?
  2. Read Gen 2:3.Do you believe the 4th commandment (the Sabbath) is just for the Jews? Why, or why not?  When did it change, if it did?
  3. When Jesus summarized the commandments in Mark 12, did it seem like commandment keeping alone was sufficient to enter the future Kingdom of God, or was there something else we should do?  Summarize in your own words what else we should do, if you feel like there’s something else.

PRAYER:

Father God, you have created us and this place, and all things belong to you.  Thank you for giving us life, and breath, and all things.  You are beautiful.  Every blessing that we have has come directly from your hand to us, an undeserving and rebellious people.  Please forgive us, and teach us, and help us to follow your commandments.  Lead us toward your kingdom, Father, and help us to enter into it.  In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

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The Anointed One: The Son of Man

Exodus 17-18

Psalm 2

Matthew 16

Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

In our Exodus reading this morning, we see once again that after a string of miracles and rescues, the Israelites are grumbling; to the point that Moses tells God he’s worried about them stoning him (17:4).  God miraculously provides yet again for their provision, and then miraculously provides for their safety and security (17:11-13).  Then, some of the in-laws decide to stop by for a visit (18).

Moses’ father-in-law Jethro comes to visit and sees an overwhelmed Moses, struggling from sunup to sundown daily taking care of the (very demanding) people he was leading.  Keep in mind, this was not a small group, this was likely millions of people (Ex 12:37-38 “600,000 men, not counting the little ones (or women), and a foreign multitude also”) all clamoring for his attention at once.  Can you even imagine the chaos? Jethro gives Moses some VERY good advice (18: 17-23) that applies to us today as well: organize and prioritize if you want to get results, delegate if you have to.  I think we too many times take on more than we can reasonably accomplish, and don’t have a good plan to do it, and just end up getting frustrated and upset.  Many times we just give up because we feel overwhelmed.  But couldn’t we take Jethro’s advice, and plan better?  If we organize ourselves, and approach our problems systematically, they become less overwhelming.  This applies to every aspect of our lives: work, social, spiritual.  We could actually have written the entire devotional on just this bit alone, but there are some other VERY important scriptures in today’s reading.

Moving on to our second portion of scripture today (Ps 2), we see some absolutely critical theological points that need to be highlighted (in your bible) and remembered .  Do you remember what “Christ” or “Messiah” means?  It ‘s a title, and means (literally) “The Anointed”.  It represented a man who was chosen and anointed by God (usually through his agent, or “shaliah”…see Jan 27 devotional) to be his king, it’s all throughout the Old Testament, check and see.  The  Hebrew “Messiah” (or “Christos” in greek) means simply “the anointed one” and the term came to be one of prophetic expectation waiting for God to send his king to rule the earth (See 2nd Samuel 7 for the details of the prophecy, we’ll get deeper into that one in a later devotional).    The New Testament continuously states that Jesus of Nazareth was this man anointed by God to be His king on earth by reiterating it over and over when describing him as “Jesus Christ”.  That’s not his last name ya’ll, that’s a title (I’m Southern, I’m allowed to say “ya’ll”, it’s culturally appropriate).  Most of the gospels directly state that the purpose for their writing was to show that Jesus was that Messiah, and that he had come, in their thesis statements.

In Psalm 2:2 it says “The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh and against his Anointed, saying…” (LSB Translation).  We see clearly here that there are 2 individuals that the kings and rulers are taking a stand against.  This does not match up with what some mainstream orthodoxy teachings relate, but this is stated explicitly and repeatedly in scripture and we know from Jesus that “scripture cannot be broken”.  This is one of the many reasons why it is so absolutely critical to study for yourself, and not rely on people to tell you what you should believe.  Men are just human, and can fail, but scripture cannot be broken(John 10:35), so read it for yourself (and show your work).  Be a good Berean, and test everything that you hear against the scriptures.  Our God is a God of truth and not deception, so if something you are hearing from men confuses you, study scriptures!  If you can read Deut 6:4 and Mark 12:29-34 and not be fiercely monotheistic, like the ancient Jews, then you have learned mental gymnastics worthy of an olympic level athlete…but why change it?  Man was made simple, his complex problems are of his own devising (Ecc 7:29).

Ps 2: 11-12 states “Serve Yahweh with fear and rejoice with trembling.  Kiss the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way…”(LSB), another clear delineation between our creator and our king.  It is terrible and sad that we have confused this simple message through the centuries, whenever possible I suggest we should with love, patience, and respect suggest the simpler reading to our brothers and sisters who have reached a different, more “complex”, understanding.  In instances that opportunities present themselves for you to do this, may I humbly suggest that “love” is far more important for you to convey than truth.  The truth will come in time, if presented deeply with love, according to God’s will.

To wrap this up in a nice tidy bow, we can then turn over to Matt 16, where one of the clearest statements of Jesus identity is made by his guy, Peter.  First let me pose you this question, what is a son of man?  I would respectfully answer this with the very common sensical answer of “a man”. What if you capitalized that, and said a Son of Man?  Well, I’d have to say, still a man: although this does have prophetic overtones (See Daniel 7, and note again the clear delineation between God and his anointed).  Did you know that in addition to God using his name (YHVH) almost 7000 times in the Old Testament, Jesus is referred to as the “son of man” (add capitilization however you like, the NT translators did…)  81 times, and 80 of those times were by Jesus himself in the gospels.  A “son of man” was how Jesus self-identified.  It’s pretty important to remember that.

In a conversation about identity, Jesus asks Peter who people were saying that he was (Matt 16: 13-14). To further clarify who he was, Jesus asked Peter “but who do you say that I am?”.  Peter replies, “You are the Christ, the son of the Living God.”  Remember that Christ and Messiah mean the same thing, anointed one.  I would like to point out the obvious at this point and say that God has no need to anoint himself.  By his statement Peter is clearly stating “You are the one that was anointed by God, and the son of the Living God”.  This is in a direct fulfillment of the prophecy in 2 Sam: 7 wherein the Messiah MUST BE: 1-the son of David (a human descendant of King David), 2-the son of God, 3-the king who will rule forever.  Note Jesus response to this answer in v17: “Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (LSB).  If Peter was mistaken about Jesus’ identity as the Christ, this would have been an excellent opportunity for Jesus to correct him don’t you think?  Just some things to think about, may God bless you as you study his word.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

  1. What can you change in your approach, like Jethro suggested to Moses, to more effectively govern your own life? Your own work? Your own spirituality?
  2. When Jesus says that scripture cannot be broken, he is referring to the scripture they had at the time, the Old Testament.  How often do you take time to “stand by the ancient ways” and read the Old Testament deeply? Why?
  3. Do you check everything the pastor tells you from the pulpit against scripture?  Why, or why not?  Now think of the same question, but instead of your pastor insert “anyone”, and instead of the pulpit insert “youtube”, “social media”, or “friends”.  Is your answer different?  Why, or why not?
  4. Who do you say that Jesus is?  Is it different than Peter, and if so, why?

PRAYER:

Lord God Most High, please open my eyes so that I can see clearly.  Please open my ears so that I can hear clearly.  Circumcise my heart, so that I can walk humbly before you.  Thank you for sending your son with your words to teach and redeem us all, please help us to listen and to obey.   Forgive us our pride, and grant us humility and understanding.  Thank you, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Remembering God’s Care

Exodus 15-16

Psalm 1

Matthew 15

Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            In our Ex 15: 1-20 reading today, we find the Israelites flushed with joy (and probably a bit surprised and amazed) at their very recent miraculous escape from Pharoah’s army through the Red Sea.  The song that Moses and the Israelites sang, which is beautiful, highlights their joyous wonder and details the miraculous hand of God in their redemption.  Then they walked for 3 days to the well of Marah (Ex 15:22-27) and began a pattern which would repeat pretty regularly throughout the book: complaining and whining.  Kind of like us, right?  How many times in your life has God done something miraculous and then within days or weeks you’ve completely forgotten about it and moved on with your life?  It sounds painfully familiar because at heart most of us are exactly the same.  God will do something utterly and completely miraculous, and we celebrate it and praise Him, and then forget about it and are looking for our next blessing.  Why are we like that?  How can we act differently? (There are some practical answers towards the end, if you want to skip down)

            So after God once again miraculously cared for them by giving them water to drink, predictably, the sons of Israel once more started grumbling (Ex 16:2).  God then began to provide for His people, and did so for 40 years (Ex 16:35) from this point, until they came to the promised land.  In the morning he gave them manna, a miraculous bread from heaven, and in the evening he gave them meat (in the form of quail) (Ex 16:13-14).  During these 40 years of provision, the Israelites where physically and spiritually trained in the concept and keeping of the Sabbath (Ex 16:22-29).  There is a neat description of the texture and taste of manna in Ex 16:31. 

            I have 2 very large dogs (Bo and Luke): they’re very sweet, very large, and very pushy.  I’ve had them now for about 7 years, they’re good boys (mostly).  I bring them up only to make a point.  Every day I’ve had them, I have fed them the exact same dog food, in the exact same portions, twice a day.  Do you know how they react?  They LOVE it.  Every single time, it’s like they just won the lottery, like they got the family pass to Disneyland and it’s Christmas morning, they are SO excited.  Bo does standing jumps up in the air about 4′ high from the moment I go to the back to get the food until the moment I put it down for them, and Luke wags his entire backside so hard that he’ll knock you over if you get in the way (I have this on video, it happens daily).  They are SO happy and just excited and grateful to get that same exact dog food, in that same exact bowl, at the same time daily.  Then when they are done, they come lick my face happily (and for a bit longer than I’m usually comfortable with) while wagging their whole bodies to let me know how much they appreciated the food.

            So what about you?  When God gives you your daily provision, every day, do you show Him how grateful you are?  Do you do standing jumps 4′ in the air and wag your whole bottom?  Do you then go and lick God’s face repeatedly in thanks (figuratively, of course)? Think about it.  Most of us would be more along the lines of the ancient Israelites “Ugh, manna and quail AGAIN??!“, while completely overlooking the fact that we have been provided for.   Our creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and you gives us blessings every day.  I urge you, as I urge myself; jump for joy, wag your tail, kiss the hand of the Almighty who has given us such abundant blessings undeservedly.

PRACTICAL STEPS

  1. Pray when you wake up.  Gush.  Get on your hands and knees and thank God that you woke up today, that He has seen fit to grant you another day of life.
  2. Look at your blessings, consider how ALL of them come from the hand of God (Ps 24:1)
  3. Look at the sky in the morning, and praise God that He’s given us, His children, such a beautiful playground to live in.
  4. Breathe in, Breathe out.  That is the breath of life that God put inside you, thank Him for it.
  5. Love the people you meet, God created them too, they are your brother/sister and it pleases Him when you acknowledge this.
  6. When you struggle, thank God for refining you and strengthening your spirit.  Ask for his help if you are failing.
  7. When you eat anything, thank God.
  8. When you bathe, thank God for the cleansing water.  Ask Him to cleanse your heart as well.
  9. When you go to bed, thank God for the day He gave you, and you’re still alive.  Ask for forgiveness if you’ve failed in any way to please Him, and then wake up in the morning and do better.
  10. Glorify God at all times, in everything you do, in every thought you have, in every action you take.  Diminish your “self” and enlarge God’s spirit within you.

            I’ve went on a bit long about our OT reading this morning, but I would be absolutely remiss if I didn’t point out a couple things in our Matt 15 reading.  When the pharisees confront Jesus about some legalistic violations, Jesus calls them out (Matt 15:3) and points out the difference between honoring God with your heart and just “going through the motions”.  It’s important to note that the traditions of men are not necessarily the commandments of God, we need to honor God and love him in our hearts.  If we’re not doing any of the things we do daily as rituals out of pure love for God, then we too are missing the whole point. 

            I have a friend who believes firmly (and I don’t disagree) that “unconditional love towards the Father” is in itself perfect religion lived properly.  I humbly suggest that some of the daily rituals suggested above may help us to refocus our attention and gratitude to where it belongs.  May God bless you and lead you, and touch your heart with His spirit.

Reflection Questions:

  1. Do you (figuratively) wag your tail and lick the hand that fed you, every time you get food?  Why or why not?
  2. God physically and spiritually trained his children the Israelites to keep the sabbath every week for 40 years.  Do you think it was important to him?
  3. Should we keep the Sabbath nowadays?  No cheating by repeating whatever you were told by someone else: look it up in scripture, use your own words to answer, and show your work.

Prayer:

Father God, THANK YOU! You have provided for my every need, every day, and given me far beyond what was needed.  I have not deserved it, I have not earned it, but you have been a gracious and loving God to me anyway.  Lord God please forgive me, help me to love you with that same fierce love that you have loved me with since I was born, and teach me the depths of your awesome love.  Thank you for life, and breath, and all things.  Please guide me and be with me, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Wisdom of God’s Word

Exodus 13-14

Psalm 1

Matthew 15

Devotion by Tom Siderius (MI)

Our reading today includes so much powerful material and wisdom.  The reading from the Psalms is from Psalm 1 and tells us how to live and worship our God in 6 easy verses.  Just do these things and your life is on path and blessed by God.  How is it that God distills such great truth so many times into passages that give us such pure direction in a short section. This should be a familiar section of scripture to many and be a comfort and help in our lives. I have it here quoted in the KJV because of the familiarity of the section wording, and also that it does a good job of showing us the poetic nature of the Psalm.

Psalms 1(KKJV) Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so:
but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous:
but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

The Old Testament was memorized by the Hebrews and many of them knew the whole of the scrolls by heart. The poetic nature of the original writing helped them to remember the passages. Some of the easiest passages to memorize are those that are poetic in their structure for us in English. The Psalms were also written to be sung which is an even more powerful way that helps us remember scripture. Think about small songs that you may have sung as a child.  For me many taught me were verses from the Bible and etched those verses in my memory.

How about you?  What puts the words of the Word into your memory?

Do you meditate on the Word of God every day? 

What is a good way to bring it to mind for you?

When we read the section of Matthew 15 this morning Jesus cuts right to the chase with the people there and then puts us on the right track of understanding and action.  The argument he has with scribes and Pharisees is over the disciples hand washing rituals before a meal. It wasn’t for sanitary purposes that these rules were developed but were regulations made up to control people’s lives by ritual.

Matthew 15:1-9(NLT) Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 6 In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”

This passage is from Isaiah 29 and Jesus knowing the scriptures draws on a section where God judges the standard for our actions and faith. 

Isaiah 29:13(NKJV) Therefore the Lord said:
“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,

Then God tells us in this section of Ezekial another prophecy about Jesus:

Ezekiel 33:30-33(NKJV) As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.’ 31 So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. 32 Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them. 33 And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

I am aways astounded by God’s anticipation of all that Jesus does in his life here on earth and in his ministry.  These words of God’s true wisdom that Jesus speaks are ignored then and ignored today by all that don’t believe his words.  When we hear God’s Word with our ears but don’t hear with our hearts then we are far from the God that made us and created His life in us. 

Isaiah 29:15-16(NLT) What sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the LORD,
who do their evil deeds in the dark!
“The LORD can’t see us,” they say.
“He doesn’t know what’s going on!”
16 How foolish can you be?
He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay!
Should the created thing say of the one who made it,
“He didn’t make me”?
Does a jar ever say,
“The potter who made me is stupid”?

How can we change our hearts and actions today?

What will put this Word into our hearts and minds?

Our lives are determined by what we truly believe in our hearts and not by what we do and Jesus shows us this again in Matthew 15. 

Matthew 15:15-20(NLT)Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”
16 “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. 17 “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

See questions in bold above

PRAYER: 

Father, please open our hearts to hear your Words and believe them.  Give strength to us to do the actions You ask us to do.  Give us works of righteousness to do to show others your greatness and deliverance.  Let us not be defiled by our unrighteous thoughts but changed to become like Your Son in every way.  In Jesus name we pray this day.

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You Feed Them

Exodus 11-12

Proverbs 31

Matthew 14

Devotion by Tom Siderius (MI)

Matthew 14:13-16(NLT) As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. 14 Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15 That evening the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”
16 But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them.”

As we read in Matthew 14 today, we find the “feeding of the five thousand”, a famous story of Jesus doing a notable miracle.  But what is the real lesson and reason for doing this miracle?  The disciples are very logical and show common sense.  “Send the people away to the local Kroger or Aldi and let them buy their own supper while the shops are still open”.  For most people their bread would be the staple of their diet, and where most of their calories would come from.  As we read the Word, we see the emphasis on bread  as sustenance for us repeatedly. 

Try to be one of the disciples in this situation. Five thousand with nothing to eat and Jesus just says Hey you feed them!!  No prob Jesus we’ll get right on that, lets see.  Hey Matthew what’s in the lunch pail you brought?  Hello John how about those granola bars you have in your pockets?  Hey, Peter and Andrew, how about those sandwiches your Mom made for lunch for us? 

Sorry, Jesus, only 5 loaves and a couple of salt fish, not going to get it done, lets go with our plan.

Matthew 14:18-21(NLT) “Bring them here,” he said. 19 Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. 20 They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. 21 About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children!

Wow what a miracle and how about those leftovers they’ll be eating for days!!  Actually, Jesus is using this as a teachable moment for all his disciples both then and now.  It is not about the miracle but rather that we would trust God for our sufficiency and nourishment, not our own ability to take care of every situation we find ourselves in.  If you examine your life, you will see the hand of God feeding you all through it.  Only by His grace and mercy does the rain fall on the just and also the unjust.  

What did it take to bring the bread to your table today?

Why are we always so hungry?

John 6:29-40(NLT) Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” 30 They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? 31 After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”
35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. 37 However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. 38 For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 40 For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”

What is the bread of life we all desire to have?

How can we give it to others?

True believing in our Father and God and the Son He has sent is the only good work that we can do.  Nothing else we can do has real value except to believe and act on that belief walking day by day with our Father and our brother Jesus Christ.  Beware of the temptations and the sin of religion in this world and see that our help and sufficiency for our lives can only come from the God that loves us and has called us to Him. 

Mark 8:14-21(NLT) But the disciples had forgotten to bring any food. They had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. 15 As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.” 16 At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. 17 Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? 18 ‘You have eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear?’ Don’t you remember anything at all? 19 When I fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?”
“Twelve,” they said.
20 “And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?”
“Seven,” they said.
21 “Don’t you understand yet?” he asked them.

You feed them!!

Reflection Questions:

See questions in bold above

Prayer: 

Father God help us to look to you for our help in time of need, and for our very lives.  Thank you for your sufficiency for every day’s challenges and opportunities as we believe your Word.  Help us to become like our big brother Christ as people we see have needs that we can minister to.  We thank you every day for calling us to this time and place of fellowship and love.  In Jesus’ name we pray.

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Who is Agur?

Exodus 9-10 

Proverbs 30     

Matthew 14

Devotion by Tom Siderius (MI)

Agur son of Jakeh is not normally a familiar character in our English Bibles.  Here we are reading right along with the chapters of Proverbs, mining every nugget of gold and truth from these verses and wondering how Solomon is so wise.  And now along comes Agur who writes a whole chapter in the book and is a complete unknown to us. 

His name “Agur” can be translated to mean “gatherer” and his father’s name Jakeh means “pious”.  So from the name we gain some clues about who this man may have been.  He could have been a scholar or writer of their time who wrote down or compiled wise sayings, maybe even from Solomon himself.  It is a mystery for us, but we can see from his writing God’s familiar wisdom pattern.  He compares the physical with the eternal, the earthly with the heavenly, and the corrupt with the pure. 

Agur starts with some statements which are deeply humble in God’s sight and remind me of the later chapters of Job where the majesty of God is compared to our puny, small efforts of this earth.

Proverbs 30:1-4(NLT) The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh contain this message.
I am weary, O God;
I am weary and worn out, O God.
2 I am too stupid to be human,
and I lack common sense.
3 I have not mastered human wisdom,
nor do I know the Holy One.
4 Who but God goes up to heaven and comes back down?
Who holds the wind in his fists?
Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak?
Who has created the whole wide world?
What is his name—and his son’s name?
Tell me if you know!

Right when it seems that I have the wisdom of God for a situation figured out and internalized in my life then failure rears its ugly head.  I am confronted with the reality that there is nothing I can do for God that would indebt Him to me for my goodness.  Nor can I accomplish any great work that God could not do by lifting his little finger.  When we begin to approach God by understanding that with Him we are everything, and without Him we are a complete nothing, then we start to gain wisdom.  The only thing we can do for God is to love Him and believe His Word.  This is Agur’s message in chapter 30 to us.

Proverbs 30:5-9(NLT) Every word of God proves true.
He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.
6 Do not add to his words,
or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.
7 O God, I beg two favors from you;
let me have them before I die.
8 First, help me never to tell a lie.
Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!
Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.
9 For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?”
And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.

Jesus prays in the Lord’s Prayer:  “give us today the bread of our need”.  Our prayers and our desires need to be grounded in what we truly need, and what God is so willing to give us.  Our words and actions need to be true to His Word, and we need to stop telling lies to ourselves or to others to shade statements to give ourselves the credit. 

I was a truck salesman for more than 40 years during my career. Shades of truth in statements about what was good for the customers are sources of scorn and humor about how salesman deal with people.  My products and services weren’t always the best but those were the ones I had to sell to our customers.  I always took the view that I would not lie about anything but also promise that my efforts, and that of our dealership, would support their purchases.  Greed for riches would turn my lips to lies, acknowledging God’s sufficiency for myself and family made telling the truth an easy path.

What are the easy lies that come to your lips?

How do we guard against this?

Look at some more of these pure gold statements that are recorded for us to read by our teacher Agur..

Proverbs 30:18-19(NLT) There are three things that amaze me—
no, four things that I don’t understand:
19 how an eagle glides through the sky,
how a snake slithers on a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
how a man loves a woman.

Just like our explaining to God how He should form, make and create the world and everything in it, we cannot explain from human knowledge exactly how these things work.  We think we know and understand but true to humility towards God will show us the shallow nature of our understanding and knowledge.  Only God’s wisdom is eternal and everlasting.

Reflection Questions

  1. See 2 questions above in bold.
  2. What can bring us to true humility?
  3. How can we turn these lights of understanding towards our hearts and lives?

Prayer

Abba Father, give us today the bread of our need and lead us in paths of righteousness following Your Son and our Savior.  God, we have no words or explanations for Your greatness and Your love for us.  Help us today to turn our hearts to hear, give us ears to hear Your voice.  In the name of our Savior Jesus Christ we pray.

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