Old Testament reading: Psalm 116-118
Psalm 116 contains some beautiful and well known texts, namely verses 12 and 15. Psalm 118 is a magnificent Psalm with Messianic implications (e.g., vv 22-24). But I want to focus on the richness of Psalm 117, the shortest Psalm and shortest chapter in all the Bible. Consider these attributes of God as seen in this short text: 1) God is Praiseworthy; 2) God is Sovereign, He is THE LORD; 3) God is the God of all men, of the Jews, Gentiles and all people; 4) God is Merciful; 5) God is Kind; 6) God is Great in all His attributes; 7) God is Condescending to Man (“toward us” – See Psalm 113:6 “He humbles (lowers) Himself to see the things in heaven and on earth.”); 8) God is Truth; 9) God is Everlasting.
New Testament reading: Acts 17-19
Don’t kick your brother when he’s down; you may lose him for good. In Acts 18 we read of the conversion of Crispus, who served as the ruler of the synagogue in Corinth (v 8). Sosthenes, his replacement (v 17), later led a contingent of Jews to deliver Paul to the local authorities, but Gallio, the local proconsul, refused to hear their case. Following this defeat, the Jews beat Sosthenes in the sight of Gallio and the rest. (I know the NKJV text says the Gentiles did it, but the original text says otherwise.) The next (and only) time we read of Sosthenes in our Bibles is in Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth: “Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,” (1 Cor 1:1). It appears the good influence of Paul and Crispus, (who is also mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:14), contrasted with the poor treatment by his Jewish brethren, led Sosthenes to leave Judaism and embrace the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We must be careful how we treat our own in any defeat, especially when said defeat affects us personally, lest we drive them away into the fellowship of others. No doubt the Jewish leadership drove many into the loving arms of Jesus and sweet fellowship of His church.
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