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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Tuesday, February 8, 2022
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles [1] Bible Verse:Matthew 10:5-10 (ESV) "These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.”" Message:
Reading Matthew, we come to understand how little of Jesus we actually know. Considering the general poverty and marginal nature of the early church — they were often, in fact, virtual or even literal fugitives — we are fortunate to have had as much written and preserved as we do. We are especially lucky that Paul’s epistles, some of them the earliest-written books in the New Testament, are so voluminous and well-preserved.
The case in point being the lack of detail about the training and missions of the apostles. But perhaps we should count ourselves fortunate for what we do have: a summary of Christ’s instructions to them, as he sent them out into a hostile Judea. They were not simply penniless, but intentionally so. By design, they avoided any appearance of preaching for money. The message was to be clear: God is not for sale. Salvation is free.
The five specific components of their mission instruct us. First, and most important, is always the Word. Christ, the only sinless human and therefore the only living person inhabiting the kingdom of God, was alive on earth; the King had come, and the apostles were his heralds.
But talk, although it is the first and most critical part of spreading the Word, is incomplete. Consider how important Christ’s body is to the Christian message, for it is his physical suffering, death, and resurrection that redeem us; and the apostles’ duties concomitantly involve physical action: their own journey and conduct, of course, but also their affirmative mission: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons.”
St. James (Durer, ca. 1516)
St. James (Durer, ca. 1516)
“Heal the sick” denotes only part of the Aramaic/Greek instruction, for the adjective translated as “sick” is much broader in Greek, meaning also “weak”. The apostles were to make physically ill people well, but also, to strengthen them in every sense of the word. For Christianity will flourish, not by force of physical health, but by strength of character and spirit.
Raise the dead has a literal meaning, for such a profound miracle would provide a sign of divine warrant. Again, though, there is a broader implication, for the apostles would guide people from spiritual death to eternal life.
Cleansing of lepers also has a secondary implication. They were ill and simply healing their disease would have been repetitive. But the signal characteristic of lepers were that they were “unclean” by Jewish law, outcast and untouchable. The apostles would bring inclusion to the wretched outcasts of society.
And finally, casting out demons, which had the immediate effect of healing mental illnesses, also signifies a higher spiritual goal. Christ, through his empowered disciples, would end the rule of Satan over the human soul. They would bring to humanity a rebirth in Christ, where the souls of those who would accept their word would rise above original sin. The faithful would no longer be slaves to sin.
Meditation : Prayer : And finally, may the grace of Christ our Savior, and the Father’s boundless love, with the Holy Spirit’s favor, rest upon me, and all of us, from above. Thus may we abide in union, with each other and the Lord, and possess, in sweet communion, joys which earth cannot afford.....Amen |
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