For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
When those around us are feeling down because of their anxiety, are we prepared to lift their spirits with a kind word?
Despite the many times Israel had rebelled against God, He kept coming back to them. The psalmist points out how He raised up David to lead them. Let us pray that God raises up a David to lead us today.
Jesus tells a parable that many of us need to think about carefully. God has planted us in His garden, but He did not plant us there for our benefit. He planted us in His garden so that we could bear fruit. I don’t quite know how to say this, but if our lives have seemed to suddenly get easier perhaps we are running out of time to bear fruit.
The parable about the mustard seed and the parable of the yeast are related, but make somewhat different points. Both parables make the point that while we, individually, or as a group, may be small and weak, we can make large contributions. The parable of the mustard seed tells us that the group that God has called to a task may be small, but if they faithfully serve God they will grow until they are large enough to fulfill the task for which He called them. The parable of the yeast tells us that even though those who are serving God may be few, if they faithfully serve God they will influence the society around them completely out of proportion to their numbers.
When Moses blessed the tribes of Israel, he described them each being faithful to God and the blessings which they would receive as long as they remained faithful. Each of the tribes was called to different things, and each of them was promised a different blessing for as long as they remained faithful. The same thing holds true today. God offers each of us blessings in line with the personalities He has given us. These blessings come as a result of us being faithful in the mission to which God has called us. He calls each of us to a mission which has been custom designed for the gifts and personality traits which God has given us.