The first reading today, reminds me, it is not about me! It is not about us! It is all about the Lord! Not to Us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name we give glory! I will trust in you this day because You have proved your steadfast love and your faithfulness toward me! I will trust in you no matter what may befall me today! You are my help and my shield.
Today’s Readings: Psalm 115; 2 Kings 23:1-30; Isaiah 15-16; John 15:18-16:15
The story of the reforms of Josiah continue in today’s second reading. He left quite a legacy, but it was too late to divert the impending judgement against Judah. I pray that, from the legacy that I leave my wife and kids, they remember me as a man who loved God and family and sought to serve with all my heart, soul and mind. Josiah set the bar high! He “turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to the Law of Moses.” Before him there was no king who served God with such passion nor did any like him arise after him.
Isaiah presents his third oracle against Moab (a parallel passage is Jeremiah 48). Amidst the darkness, gloom and desolation of the Assyrian oppression, Isaiah offers the hope of the throne, that will be established in steadfast love, occupied by one who will judge, seek justice and be swift to do righteousness. How blessed am I to live at a time in history when I have benefit of the panoramic view of God’s plan for the redemption of man! May I never look so myopically at the current secular, humanistic culture that I forget that I have the completed revelation God before me.
In the final reading today, Jesus prepares His disciples to carry on His work, after he goes back to heaven. He tells them to expect hatred as one reaction to their preaching and teaching. He was concerned that this hatred and persecution might cause some to “fall away.” He speaks specifically to the 11 disciples, whom He had called to be His apostles, when He speaks of the coming of the Helper. He had a special mission for them; to implement the inauguration of His church on Pentecost. He tells them to look for the “Helper” who will help them remember things that He had taught them and guide them in what to say and to speak and to write. He says that He still had many things to say to them but they were not able to bear them now. So when would He say these additional things to them? I believe the implication is that, the full significance of many things that He had taught them would not “hit them” until they were in specific situations and the Spirit/Helper brought the remembrance to them. There are a few passages where this point is specifically made (Luke 24:6-8; John 12:16; Acts 11:16). Lord help me today, to apply Your Word as I encounter specific situations in my life, thus bringing to my remembrance what You did and taught.
Have a blessed day, dear reader!
–Randy Sexton