From: April 3, 2024
“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it” (Luke 10:23-24 ESV).
Jesus told His disciples that they were blessed because they were privileged to see and hear that which their forefathers had long awaited. The coming of the Messiah had been prophesied since the Garden when God spoke to the serpent saying that the woman’s “Seed shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Gen. 3:15). For centuries, people of faith looked forward to the coming of Messiah, yet they didn’t see it. As the author of Hebrews wrote, “All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it” (Heb. 11:13). The disciples were seeing and hearing what generations had longed for, namely, Jesus the Messiah.
For those of us today that have placed our faith in Jesus, our longing is already fulfilled, but not yet. For the Lord has opened our spiritual eyes and ears, and we already have the Spirit of Christ with us and in us. Yet, our bodies long for the day when our “faith shall be made sight,” becoming like Jesus and seeing Him “as He really is” (1 John 3:2).
PRAYER: Dear Father, our longings are fulfilled in Your Son, yet we groan for the redemption of our bodies, when we shall be like Him. Fill us afresh with Your Spirit. Strengthen us for the journey that we might always bring glory to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: April 3, 2023
“Yes, always use honest weights and measures, so that you may enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you” (Deuteronomy 25:15 NLT).
God told Moses to teach the people of Israel to establish and maintain a standard of weights and measures, so that their nation would endure. God said that those who used dishonest weights and measures were behaving unrighteously and were an abomination to Him.
Having fair weights and measures establishes trust, so that a nation’s economy prospers. It reduces the possibility of enmity between buyers and sellers. And perhaps most importantly, it protects the poor, who are most often the victims of dishonest schemes.
The U.S. has a governmental office called “The Office of Weights and Measures” that promotes uniformity in weights and measures laws, regulations, and standards to achieve equity between buyers and sellers in the marketplace. This office works to make sure that we get the gallon of gas or milk, or the pound of sugar or bacon, for which we paid.
Perhaps Jesus had this law in view when on the Monday of Passion Week, he “overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves” (Mark 11:15). For the moneychangers were notorious for charging an exorbitant fee for exchanging foreign monies for the Temple shekel. And those selling doves were especially despicable, for they were profiting off of the poor. For the Torah taught that anyone who could not afford a lamb was to bring two doves as a burnt offering for sin (cf. Lev. 5:7). This is why Jesus said, “You have turned my house, which was meant for prayer, into a den of thieves” (cf. Mark 11:17).
God cares about fairness in the marketplace. God cares about how you do business.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we are thankful that You led our nation’s forefathers to establish fairness in the marketplace. We are thankful for America today, yet we ask You to watch over our economy and especially our small business owners. Some may think that You are against business, but Your Word shows that in fact, You are quite interested and care that we run our businesses fairly and honestly. We also pray for the poor in our nation today, that You would watch over them and empower us to be care for them in Your name. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: April 3, 2016
“Who is my neighbor?” Asked the legal expert of Jesus. He asked this question seeking to “justify himself.” For the law is so perfect in its demand, who can keep it? Therefore, the lawyer sought a loophole or a limitation to the law in order to satisfy it. However, Jesus did not allow for a legal accommodation. Instead, he told a parable of three travelers passing by a man in need. The first two were experts in the law of Moses, yet failed to love their neighbor by stopping to help. The third man, a Samaritan, one hated by the Jews as a half-breed and certainly not a legal expert, he actually stopped to help the injured man. The parable surely hit the mark. It is not enough to know the law. One must do it. And since the lawyer must’ve realized the impossibility of keeping the law, perhaps he recognized his need for a Savior to rescue him from the sin that he couldn’t overcome. Because the truth is, both he and we are the ones in the ditch that needs someone to show us mercy.
From: April 3, 2015
When the 70 disciples that the Lord sent out to bear witness returned, they were overjoyed that even the demons were subject to the name of Jesus. But Jesus told them not to rejoice over such things. Spiritual warfare is real and Christ-followers have been given authority, but we are not to glory in this. We are to “rejoice” that we are saved and that our names are in the Lamb’s Book of Life. On this Good Friday when we remember the price that our Lord paid for our inclusion into that Book, we rejoice in Him.