Who are you trying to impress?_Matthew 15:19-20

I love the way Jesus countered the accusations of the Pharisees in these verses!

The Pharisees questioned Jesus why his disciples did not wash their hands before eating, as it was Jewish tradition that requires ceremonial washing of the hands.  Of course today we know how important washing our hands before eating is but at that time it was more of a ritual washing rather than an honest-to-goodness-hey-there-are-germs washing.  The Pharisees were obviously more concerned that this band of people who were gaining quite a following were not following "their ways". Jesus countered with "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?" Here Jesus confronted them with how they treated parents, nullifying the 5th commandment of honoring your father and mother. They were more concerned with traditions and rituals, like washing of hands, that make a person "ceremonially clean", but not obeying God's commandments.  Jesus says in v. 17-18 "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man unclean."

1 Samuel 16:7b "Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart."

Lord Father, I want to impress only You! Create in me a pure heart, and renew the right spirit within me!

My Father_Romans 8:9-17

"And by Him we cry 'Abba, Father."' The Spirt himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." Romans 8:15-16

For his recent birthday, I captioned my birthday post for Em this way: "Role model to our sons.  Hero to our daughters. Funny Daddylo to our apos.  My forever love." Em is indeed all of these, and more.  He works very hard to provide for our family, and often forgets about his own needs as long as ours are met. His love is a sacrificial love. When I look at this man who is my children's father, I see an inkling, a shadow of who my heavenly Father is, and how great His love is.

If this is how Em loves his family, I cannot wrap my mind around how much more, how much greater -- the depth, the width, the height -- is His unfailing love for me, His child.

Abba, Father, I cry out to you in love and gratitude for how You pour out Your love for me! Each day is a testament of Your grace. Help me live it as You would want me to. I love you, Abba!

Praise from all creation_Psalm 19

This is fascinating! Fiorelli Terenzi, a professor of physics and astronomy at the Florida International University, has studied the "strange, spooky symphony of the cosmos for 3 decades using computer music software.  This was in 1987. Yet, way back in the time Psalm 19 was written -- sometime in 1015 B.C. toward the end of the life of Kind David (1 Chron. 28:21) -- the psalmist already wrote, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands." Even inanimate, non-living objects give Him praise.

There is a whole lot of explanation based on Jewish cultural tradition of memorial stones (used to symbolize permanence of a memory for a loved one; representing the faithful who have died and were buried on the Mt. of Olives) and in 1 Peter 2:4 & 5, "As you come to Him, the living stone --rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to HIm -- you also, like LIVING STONES, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood." BUT, I wouldn't be surprised if one day, modern technology will discover there is not only truth in verse 4 of Luke 19, but also scientific fact when Jesus said, "I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

Heavenly Father, everything You have created show me Your majesty, power and grace!

From Pleading to Praise_Psalm 13

How good and loving is our Heavenly Father who receives our every prayer, all our pleadings, even our complaints and whining.

In Psalm 13, the psalmist is overwhelmed by his situation and cries out to the Lord, moving from complaining to praising. The ODB devotional today points out the 5 elements in this psalm which is one of the shortest with only 6 verses --

INVOCATION (v. 1a) -- How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
LAMENT (v. 1b-2) -- How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and everyday have sorrow in my heart?
REQUEST (v. 3-4) -- Look on me and answer, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; my enemies will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
TRUST (v. 5) -- But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
PRAISE (v. 6) -- I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.

When we go through difficult times, we can be assured that God hears our pleadings and loves us despite our whining, and we know that He will turn our mourning into joy.

Lord Heavenly Father, forgive me when I sound like a petulant child when I pray to you.  But I feel so loved by You as I know that You are pleased when I come to you.  Let me seek you in good times and in hard times.  Let me praise you in both.