Are You Grateful?
Good Morning Friends,
Because God has been His people’s provider, helper, and deliverer from all their woes, they should respond to Him by a confident trust and joyous praise. For those of us grafted on to the promise we too should join in preparation for the Kingdom to come. Are You Grateful?
Scripture: If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—let Israel now say—if it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when our enemies attacked us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; then over us would have gone the raging waters. Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 124 (NRSV)
Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again. Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, “My lord Moses, stop them!” But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!”
Numbers 11:25-29 (NRSV)
Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.
James 5:1-6 (NRSV)
John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.
Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48 (NRSV)
Message: Today’s Psalm has the theme of deliverance. The people of Israel sang it as they journeyed to Jerusalem on feast days. It reminded them of how God intervened in Israel’s past and should be a reminder for us as well for we are grafted on to their election as children of God. What a mess we would be in if it were not for God being involved in our lives too even as Gentiles but moreover as Christians. But for the grace of God in the gift of Christ our lot would have been a curse…. Thankfully the song is responsive with an invitation to join in the praise of having been delivered. Thankfully we have been asked to join in the work of the called-out assembly of God as a witness to God’s power. However, it comes with a disclaimer. You see, the life of a follower of Christ is hazardous. Salvation and damnation are hinged on the filling of the Holy Spirit. Without that guidance no amount of wealth is going to set us free for an abundant life. We must be vigilant so as not to stumble. We must not deny the Spirit but join with it in the work God would have us to do.
Pray we recognize our need for divine help. Pray we realize that God has agreed to help us with the challenges of life. Pray we realize that we were not meant to live life at the shallow end of the pool. Pray our lives reflect the image of Jesus. Pray we rejoice in the name of Jesus. Pray we live in the power of the promise and an abundant, amazing life in Christ. Pray therefor we are grateful for our life. Pray we are thankful for our family. Pray we are grateful for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Pray we are thankful for our mind and strength. Pray we are grateful for the courage we have so that we might risk loving God and others. Pray we are thankful for life’s lessons including our mistakes. Pray we are grateful for our emotions…our happiness and disappointments…our laughter and pain. Pray we are grateful for our body and the body of Christ. Pray we are grateful for the privilege of our right to choose and the hope we might choose wisely. Pray we are grateful for our identity but moreover the identity we have reflected in the name of Jesus.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 