Joshua 22:21-23:16 ~ Luke 20:27-47 ~ Psalm 89:14-37 ~ Proverbs 13:17-19
~ Click here to read today's Scripture on BibleGateway.com ~
~ Listen to today's Scripture on DailyAudioBible.com (podcast) or OneYearAudioBible.org ~
Brief post today. Back to a full post tomorrow. :)
New Testament - Bible.org's commentary on Luke chapter 20's readings today titled "One Bride for Seven Brothers" is at this link and commentary titled "David's Son" is at this link.
Psalms - I love Psalm 89:15 today: "Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord." Do you hear the joyful call to worship in your life? Do you worship God with a community of believers each week? (i.e. at a church...) Will you choose to walk in the light of God's presence each week?
Proverbs - Proverbs 13:18 is so so so true: "If you ignore criticism, you will end in poverty and disgrace; if you accept criticism, you will be honored." I know this may sound strange, but I'm trying to get to the point in my life where I actually appreciate criticism and appreciate making mistakes. It means I'm learning. And the key to receiving criticism is indeed to not ignore it. Reflect on it. Pray on it. And yes, sometimes the criticism will be unfounded. But sometimes it may literally save your life... Let us be open and appreciative to constructive criticism! And let us not ignore it! Nor try to escape from it...
Worship God: Psalm 89:15 reminds me of Chris Tomlin's song "Made to Worship." Here's a great live version:
Are you made to worship? Click here and worship!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture this week: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV
Love Your Neighbor: Harvest Prayer Ministries
Comments from You & Questions of the Day: How are you doing in accepting criticism in your life today? Do you accept it? Receive it? Learn from it? Or perhaps... ignore it? Why do you think this Proverb says if you ignore criticism you'll end up in poverty and disgrace? Do you think many people in our world today ignore criticism? Is ignoring criticism perhaps a selfish act? Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
Only if we are free from our ego, we can escape from the bad effects of criticism and accepts the criticism in a constructive manner.
Posted by: V.Samuel | April 21, 2009 at 06:05 AM
Joshua 22:21-23:16
An altar is a place of exchange. In the case of Israel, their alter was a place where they exchanged their personal and national sins for God’s righteousness through daily blood sacrifices. For the 2 ½ tribes, their memorial, their large memorial was to be a reminder to whom? What one says and what one’s true intentions are is two separate things. It can be said that one’s actions speak so loudly that what is being said is drowned out. So unless we know what is truly in their hearts, we cannot discern their true intentions. However, we do have a record of what happened to both those on the east of the Jordan and those on the west. Their fruit, like our fruit gives evidence of what was in the heart.
The tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh had requested land not intended as their Promise, to be there substitute Promise. So what was the real intent of this memorial/altar. Had they since realized after really seeing the Promise that God had for them, that they had made a mistake and were to proud to say so? The problem with “memorials” is this: unless one is interested in history, they either become a place for pigeons to sit on and/or they become part of the scenery and all meaning is lost except by the tourists and the lovers of history and architecture.
To truly keep your mind focused on something, one must have a heart felt love for what is before you. Altar or no altar, memorial or no memorial the issue at hand is what is going on in the heart of both the 2 ½ tribes, east of the Jordon, and the 9 ½ tribes on the west. That is the same predicament we have today. Whether we have statues/paintings/icons of those, we have decided by consensus, to be godly saints, or we have sparse places of worship with plan walls, the issue is and has always been what is going on in the heart.
We justify our actions by appearances; GOD examines our motives. Clean living before God and justice with our neighbors mean far more to GOD than religious performance. (Proverbs 21:2-3 MSG)
Posted by: Ramona | April 21, 2009 at 06:18 AM