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For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.Eph 2:9 |
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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, July 9, 2021
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :Resisting Pressure Bible Verse:Exodus 23:1-9 (ESV) "You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.” “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him. “You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right. “You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. " Message:
This section of Exodus reminds one of Proverbs, for there are many disparate and disconnected gems of wisdom and law, all jumbled together, without any narrative flow.
Hosea icon
The Prophet Hosea
Duccio di Buoninsegna
ca. 1311
Two of the four paragraphs today deal with fundamental questions of justice and how we, as individuals, behave. The first, with the pressure we feel when a friend or ally pressures us to speak falsely.
If this has never happened to you, count your blessings, because it is difficult to imagine just how painful it can be. It is one thing to tell a painful truth about yourself; but when it involves a friend, who does not value honesty, it is even worse. He will see a refusal to lie to protect him as a betrayal, a failure of loyalty. Most often such people rationalize their conduct until, somehow, they are in the right. Or perhaps they fall back on the greatest lie of all, that the end justifies the means. You not only lose your friend’s affection; but also, you stand accused, in his mind, of heinous conduct.
Slightly different, but just as difficult, is when the person who expects you to lie (or cheat, or steal) is your boss or business partner instead of your friend. Honesty in business is, let’s face it, often a disadvantage, at least in the short run. We serve God instead of mammon; we cannot expect mammon to thank us! Our model is Christ. We remember always how Satan tempted Christ with the wealth of the world, and Christ chose instead a life of simple material existence. (Matthew 4:1-11)
Our emotions to run with the pack, to be a good member of our team, are very strong. Our instinct is to be swept along. And this is never so strong, not even with a friend or a boss, as when we find ourselves in a mob. If our hearts truly belong to Christ, we will almost always be in a minority. And in the very worst of times, mobs will turn on Christians and kill them. But God’s commandment here is just as applicable to today’s Christian as to the Jew of 1500 B.C. “You shall not fall in with the many to commit evil.”
But what a reward we have, leading a life in the Spirit. The greatest blessing may require great sacrifice; but the joy and peace we will find in Christ is worth every evil the world can throw at us.
Meditation : Prayer : Now, oh heavenly Father, I ask to be called as a witness to your love by the love I extend to others; a precursor of your justice by my unfailing commitment to what is right and good; a lamp set on a hill, reflecting the light of Christ in my forgiveness, mercy and compassion; and a harvester of souls through my humble and dedicated servanthood. In Jesus’ name, I pray,........Amen |
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