Old Testament reading: Nehemiah 8-9
Nehemiah reminds us of the privilege of receiving God’s Word. As Ezra opened the Book of the Law in the sight of the people, they all as one man rose to their feet out of respect for God’s Word. Moreover, as a further act of reverence, they also bowed their heads to the ground and worshiped the Lord. The scene reminds me of 1 Samuel 3:1, “And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision” (KJV). And also Proverbs 29:13, “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint, but happy is he who keeps the law.” The word of God is vital to our long term happiness and success. While we are not bibliolaters, that is, Bible worshipers, we should still give the Bible our utmost respect and reverence, as it is in truth the very word of God. It is tragic that so many of us have such free access to God’s word, yet fail to take advantage of said access or appreciate what a great blessing we have.
New Testament reading: Matthew 5-7
Some thoughts from Jesus’ instruction on prayer (6:5-13). An often overlooked thought in this text is that Jesus condemns two errors regarding prayers, one by the Jews and the other by the Gentiles. Concerning the Jews, Jesus condemned their public prayers that were performed for the observation by men and not offered in humility before the throne of God. Of these, Jesus says “they have their reward.” In other words, they were praying to be seen of men, and they got exactly what they wanted. Also implied is that God has no intention of listening to such prayers with any intent to act upon anything that was said. Of the Gentiles, (the word translated “heathen” in v 7 is closely akin to that translated “Gentiles” elsewhere in Scripture), Jesus condemns their “vain repetitions,” that is, the mindless repeating of memorized prayers. When one considers many of the peculiar doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church, he will find numerous co-opting of heathen practices. Of note in this case is the rosary. Others have managed to find themselves in violation of this text using the very model prayer of Jesus no less! To be clear, the mindless, heartless quoting of the model prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 is worthless.
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