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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. Friday, February 8, 2019
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:Peter Speaks in Solomon’s Portico [2] Bible Verse:Acts 3:17-26 "“And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. " Message:
All of the four gospels recount miracles. In John, as we have just seen, these are given a more focused significance; John calls seven of the miracles “signs.” That is, they are miracles performed specifically to demonstrate that Jesus spoke with the authority of God, by showing that He wielded the supernatural power of God. Miracles had special significance to the first group of converts, who were Jews in Jerusalem, and as Jews, were accustomed to prophets showing their divine credentials by working miracles.
The prophecy of Moses which is referenced in today’s Scripture is the first prophecy of Christ’s coming and one of the most strongly worded. In Deuteronomy 18:15-22, appearing right in the middle of the mass of laws given by Moses, is a law concerning the Messiah. Moses states that this law has been given to him by God.
Moses predicts the coming of a great prophet, who will be Jewish. God commands the Hebrews to follow the prophet, because he will speak the word of God. But if he does not speak the word of God, he shall die. But how, one might wonder, could a confused Jew tell whether the prophet is true — speaks the word of God — or is false and speaking the words of other gods, or his own words?
Nathaniel Currier|Christ Walking on the Sea
The answer is that, when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken. The Messiah (as this great prophet comes to be called) will make accurate predictions. Thus, one significance of Jesus’ signs is that they relate back to Moses’ prophecy.
Jesus did not perform miracles simply to wow the crowds; he was not a magician putting on a show. Most of his miracles were performed before Jews, many or most of whom would have known their Moses like a preacher knows his Bible. More so, in fact, because the words of Moses were the law by which they were expected to lead their daily lives.
When Jesus spoke, he put his listeners in a bind. Much of what he said seemed different from the Jewish Bible, and much of it was directly contradictory to the teachings of the Jewish religious leaders. This confounded the listeners; if Jesus was speaking the word of God, they should listen and follow, but if not, they should ignore him and possibly put him to death.
So Jesus’ miracles, especially those miracles called signs by John, had special significance. When Jesus said something, it came true. Even more remarkably, when Jesus said something physically impossible, it came true. Because of this, the Jews were able to believe and follow him, for even Moses, the giver of God’s law, had told them Christ would come and they must follow Him.
Paul connects three ideas here. Sloth, or laziness, was traditionally one of the ”seven deadly sins” and was much emphasized by the Puritans. Who has not heard “idle hands are the Devil's playground”?
Paul is not talking about general laziness, though. He says not to be slothful “in zeal”, and the rest of the context makes it clear that he is saying, “do not be apathetic about Christianity.”
Translated to today, Paul is warning against Sunday Christianity: going to church on Sunday, dropping a check in the collection plate, then on to more important matters.
We must keep the Spirit active within ourselves, by reading, study and prayer, for the flesh is always with us and gives Satan constant opportunities to steer us wrong. It is good to have both a group and an individual discipline for prayer and study; because we learn more in private, but studying with others can buoy our spirit, increase our sense of fellowship with other Christians, and let us hear other voices to keep from making private error.
Paul also entreats us to serve the Lord and be fervent in our Spirit. We must work, somehow, for the spread of the Gospel and not be too embarrassed or quiet about our belief. This is harder for some people than others, for we all have different gifts, but we must make sure we use our gifts. For as Ben Franklin said, “What good is a sundial in the shade?”
Meditation : Prayer : And now let me go forth praising you, O Lord, with all my heart, telling of all your wonders, with my words and in my actions. I will be glad and rejoice in you this day. I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.......Amen. |
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