The Great Plains Daily Devotional of The United Methodist Church of Wichita, Kansas, United States from Sunday, 19 November 2017 through Saturday, 25 November 2017
---The Great Plains Daily Devotional of The United Methodist Church of Wichita, Kansas, United States for Sunday, 19 November 2017
Today please be in prayer for
Chaplain, Bryan Health
Blue River District
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Flourishing Springs Wellness Ministry, Eagle, NE
Blue River District
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Chaplain, Madonna Rehab Hospital, Omaha, NE
Blue River District
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The Great Plains Daily Devotional of The United Methodist Church of Wichita, Kansas, United States for Monday, 20 November 2017
Today please be in prayer for
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Gypsum UMC
Mentor UMC
Salina District
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Wichita Aldersgate UMC
Wichita West District
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Wichita Aldersgate UMC
Wichita West District
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The Great Plains Daily Devotional of The United Methodist Church of Wichita, Kansas, United States for Tuesday, 21 November 2017
Today please be in prayer for
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Wichita Aldersgate UMC
Wichita West District
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Anthony UMC
Wichita West District
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Wichita Asbury UMC
Wichita West District
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The Great Plains Daily Devotional of The United Methodist Church of Wichita, Kansas, United States for Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Today please be in prayer for
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Today please be in prayer for
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Attica: Trinity UMC
Zenda UMC
Wichita West District
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Wichita Bethany UMC
Wichita Cedar Chapel UMC
Wichita West District
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Bluff City UMC
Burchfiel UMC
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The Great Plains Daily Devotional of The United Methodist Church of Wichita, Kansas, United States for Thursday, 23 November 2017
Today please be in prayer for
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Today please be in prayer for
Caldwell: First UMC
Corbin UMC
Wichita West District
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Wichita Central Avenue UMC
Wichita West District
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Cheney, KS UMC
Wichita West District
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The Great Plains Daily Devotional of The United Methodist Church of Wichita, Kansas, United States for Friday, 24 November 2017
Today please be in prayer for
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Today please be in prayer for
Clearwater, KS UMC
Wichita West District
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Coats: Grace UMC
Glendale UMC
Lake City UMC
Wichita West District
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Conway Springs UMC
Wichita West District
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The Great Plains Daily Devotional of The United Methodist Church of Wichita, Kansas, United States for Saturday, 25 November 2017
Today please be in prayer for
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Today please be in prayer for
Cunningham UMC
Penalosa UMC
Wichita West District
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Wichita Dawson UMC
Wichita West District
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Wichita El Mesias UMC
Wichita West District
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Today's Devotional for Sunday, 19 November 2017
Luke 9:1-6
Luke 9:1 Calling together the Twelve, Yeshua gave them power and authority to expel all the demons and to cure diseases; 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal. 3 He said to them, “Take nothing for your trip — neither a walking stick nor a pack, neither bread nor money; and don’t have two shirts. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there and go out from there. 5 Wherever they don’t welcome you, shake the dust from your feet when you leave that town as a warning to them.” 6 They set out and went through village after village, healing and announcing the Good News everywhere.
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Luke 9:1-6
Luke 9:1 Calling together the Twelve, Yeshua gave them power and authority to expel all the demons and to cure diseases; 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal. 3 He said to them, “Take nothing for your trip — neither a walking stick nor a pack, neither bread nor money; and don’t have two shirts. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there and go out from there. 5 Wherever they don’t welcome you, shake the dust from your feet when you leave that town as a warning to them.” 6 They set out and went through village after village, healing and announcing the Good News everywhere.
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Today's Devotional for Monday, 20 November 2017
2 Timothy 3:10-15
2 Timothy 3:10 But you, you have closely followed my teaching, conduct, purpose in life, trust, steadfastness, love and perseverance — 11 as well as the persecutions and sufferings that came my way in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 And indeed, all who want to live a godly life united with the Messiah Yeshua will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived themselves.
14 But you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, recalling the people from whom you learned it; 15 and recalling too how from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which can give you the wisdom that leads to deliverance through trusting in Yeshua the Messiah.
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2 Timothy 3:10-15
2 Timothy 3:10 But you, you have closely followed my teaching, conduct, purpose in life, trust, steadfastness, love and perseverance — 11 as well as the persecutions and sufferings that came my way in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 And indeed, all who want to live a godly life united with the Messiah Yeshua will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived themselves.
14 But you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, recalling the people from whom you learned it; 15 and recalling too how from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which can give you the wisdom that leads to deliverance through trusting in Yeshua the Messiah.
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Today's Devotional for Tuesday, 21 November 2017
Numbers 13:26-33
Numbers 13:26 and went to Moshe, Aharon and the entire community of the people of Isra’el at Kadesh in the Pa’ran Desert, where they brought back word to them and to the entire community and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 What they told him was this: “We entered the land where you sent us, and indeed it does flow with milk and honey — here is its fruit! 28 However the people living in the land are fierce, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the ‘Anakim there. 29 ‘Amalek lives in the area of the Negev; the Hitti, the Y’vusi and the Emori live in the hills; and the Kena‘ani live by the sea and alongside the Yarden.”
30 Kalev silenced the people around Moshe and said, “We ought to go up immediately and take possession of it; there is no question that we can conquer it.” 31 But the men who had gone with him said, “We can’t attack those people, because they are stronger than we are”; 32 and they spread a negative report about the land they had reconnoitered for the people of Isra’el by saying, “The land we passed through in order to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. All the people we saw there were giant! 33 We saw the N’filim, the descendants of ‘Anak, who was from the N’filim; to ourselves we looked like grasshoppers by comparison, and we looked that way to them too!”
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Numbers 13:26-33
Numbers 13:26 and went to Moshe, Aharon and the entire community of the people of Isra’el at Kadesh in the Pa’ran Desert, where they brought back word to them and to the entire community and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 What they told him was this: “We entered the land where you sent us, and indeed it does flow with milk and honey — here is its fruit! 28 However the people living in the land are fierce, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the ‘Anakim there. 29 ‘Amalek lives in the area of the Negev; the Hitti, the Y’vusi and the Emori live in the hills; and the Kena‘ani live by the sea and alongside the Yarden.”
30 Kalev silenced the people around Moshe and said, “We ought to go up immediately and take possession of it; there is no question that we can conquer it.” 31 But the men who had gone with him said, “We can’t attack those people, because they are stronger than we are”; 32 and they spread a negative report about the land they had reconnoitered for the people of Isra’el by saying, “The land we passed through in order to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. All the people we saw there were giant! 33 We saw the N’filim, the descendants of ‘Anak, who was from the N’filim; to ourselves we looked like grasshoppers by comparison, and we looked that way to them too!”
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Today's Devotional for Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Luke 10:38-42
Luke 10:38 On their way Yeshua and his talmidim came to a village where a woman named Marta welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister called Miryam who also sat at the Lord’s feet and heard what he had to say. 40 But Marta was busy with all the work to be done; so, going up to him, she said, “Sir, don’t you care that my sister has been leaving me to do all the work by myself?” 41 However, the Lord answered her, “Marta, Marta, you are fretting and worrying about so many things! 42 But there is only one thing that is essential. Miryam has chosen the right thing, and it won’t be taken away from her.”
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Luke 10:38-42
Luke 10:38 On their way Yeshua and his talmidim came to a village where a woman named Marta welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister called Miryam who also sat at the Lord’s feet and heard what he had to say. 40 But Marta was busy with all the work to be done; so, going up to him, she said, “Sir, don’t you care that my sister has been leaving me to do all the work by myself?” 41 However, the Lord answered her, “Marta, Marta, you are fretting and worrying about so many things! 42 But there is only one thing that is essential. Miryam has chosen the right thing, and it won’t be taken away from her.”
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Today's Devotional for Thursday, 23 November 2017
Psalm 34:17-23
Psalm 34:17 (16) But the face of Adonai opposes those who do evil,
to cut off all memory of them from the earth.
18 (17) [The righteous] cried out, and Adonai heard,
and he saved them from all their troubles.
19 (18) Adonai is near those with broken hearts;
he saves those whose spirit is crushed.
20 (19) The righteous person suffers many evils,
but Adonai rescues him out of them all.
21 (20) He protects all his bones;
not one of them gets broken.
22 (21) Evil will kill the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
23 (22) But Adonai redeems his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
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Psalm 34:17-23
Psalm 34:17 (16) But the face of Adonai opposes those who do evil,
to cut off all memory of them from the earth.
18 (17) [The righteous] cried out, and Adonai heard,
and he saved them from all their troubles.
19 (18) Adonai is near those with broken hearts;
he saves those whose spirit is crushed.
20 (19) The righteous person suffers many evils,
but Adonai rescues him out of them all.
21 (20) He protects all his bones;
not one of them gets broken.
22 (21) Evil will kill the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
23 (22) But Adonai redeems his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
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Today's Devotional for Friday, 24 November 2017
Matthew 22:34-40
Matthew 22:34 but when the P’rushim learned that he had silenced the Tz’dukim, they got together, 35 and one of them who was a Torah expert asked a sh’eilah to trap him: 36 “Rabbi, which of the mitzvot in the Torah is the most important?” 37 He told him, “‘You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’[Matthew 22:37 Deuteronomy 6:5] 38 This is the greatest and most important mitzvah. 39 And a second is similar to it, ‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’[Matthew 22:39 Leviticus 19:18] 40 All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot.”
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Matthew 22:34-40
Matthew 22:34 but when the P’rushim learned that he had silenced the Tz’dukim, they got together, 35 and one of them who was a Torah expert asked a sh’eilah to trap him: 36 “Rabbi, which of the mitzvot in the Torah is the most important?” 37 He told him, “‘You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’[Matthew 22:37 Deuteronomy 6:5] 38 This is the greatest and most important mitzvah. 39 And a second is similar to it, ‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’[Matthew 22:39 Leviticus 19:18] 40 All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot.”
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Today's Devotional for Saturday, 25 November 2017
Psalm 119:9-16
Psalm 119:ב (Bet)
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
don’t let me stray from your mitzvot.
11 I treasure your word in my heart,
so that I won’t sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, Adonai!
Teach me your laws.
13 I proclaim with my mouth
all the rulings you have spoken.
14 I rejoice in the way of your instruction
more than in any kind of wealth.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
and keep my eyes on your ways.
16 I will find my delight in your regulations.
I will not forget your word.
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Shared PrayersPsalm 119:9-16
Psalm 119:ב (Bet)
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
don’t let me stray from your mitzvot.
11 I treasure your word in my heart,
so that I won’t sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, Adonai!
Teach me your laws.
13 I proclaim with my mouth
all the rulings you have spoken.
14 I rejoice in the way of your instruction
more than in any kind of wealth.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
and keep my eyes on your ways.
16 I will find my delight in your regulations.
I will not forget your word.
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This Week's Lectionary for Sunday, 19 November 2017
COLOR(S): Green (Twenty-Fourth Sunday After Pentecost) or Red/White (Thanksgiving Day)
Season of Saints: Thanksgiving of the Saints
Thanksgiving Day (USA):
Deuteronomy 8:7-18
Psalm 65
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
Luke 17:11-19
Twenty-Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
Judges 4:1-7
Psalm 123 or Psalm 76
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Matthew 25:14-30
Scripture Texts: Thanksgiving Day (USA):
Deuteronomy 8:7 For Adonai your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams, springs and water welling up from the depths in valleys and on hillsides. 8 It is a land of wheat and barley, grapevines, fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey; 9 a land where you will eat food in abundance and lack nothing in it; a land where the stones contain iron and the hills can be mined for copper. 10 So you will eat and be satisfied, and you will bless Adonai your God for the good land he has given you.
(ii) 11 “Be careful not to forget Adonai your God by not obeying his mitzvot, rulings and regulations that I am giving you today. 12 Otherwise, after you have eaten and are satisfied, built fine houses and lived in them, 13 and increased your herds, flocks, silver, gold and everything else you own, 14 you will become proud-hearted. Forgetting Adonai your God — who brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you lived as slaves; 15 who led you through the vast and fearsome desert, with its poisonous snakes, scorpions and waterless, thirsty ground; who brought water out of flint rock for you; 16 who fed you in the desert with man, unknown to your ancestors; all the while humbling and testing you in order to do you good in the end — 17 you will think to yourself, ‘My own power and the strength of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 No, you are to remember Adonai your God, because it is he who is giving you the power to get wealth, in order to confirm his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as is happening even today.
Psalm 65:1 (0) For the leader. A psalm of David. A song:
2 (1) To you, God, in Tziyon, silence is praise;
and vows to you are to be fulfilled.
3 (2) You who listen to prayer,
to you all living creatures come.
4 (3) When deeds of wickedness overwhelm me,
you will atone for our crimes.
5 (4) How blessed are those you choose and bring near,
so that they can remain in your courtyards!
We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the Holy Place of your temple.
6 (5) It is just that you answer us with awesome deeds,
God of our salvation,
you in whom all put their trust,
to the ends of the earth and on distant seas.
7 (6) By your strength you set up the mountains.
You are clothed with power.
8 (7) You still the roaring of the seas,
their crashing waves, and the peoples’ turmoil.
9 (8) This is why those living at the ends of the earth
stand in awe of your signs.
The places where the sun rises and sets
you cause to sing for joy.
10 (9) You care for the earth and water it,
you enrich it greatly;
with the river of God, full of water,
you provide them grain and prepare the ground.
11 (10) Soaking its furrows and settling its soil,
you soften it with showers and bless its growth.
12 (11) You crown the year with your goodness,
your tracks overflow with richness.
13 (12) The desert pastures drip water,
the hills are wrapped with joy,
14 (13) the meadows are clothed with flocks
and the valleys blanketed with grain,
so they shout for joy and break into song.
2 Corinthians 9:6 Here’s the point: he who plants sparingly also harvests sparingly. 7 Each should give according to what he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.[2 Corinthians 9:7 Proverbs 22:8 (Septuagint)] 8 Moreover, God has the power to provide you with every gracious gift in abundance, so that always in every way you will have all you need yourselves and be able to provide abundantly for every good cause — 9 as the Tanakh says,
“He gave generously to the poor;
his tzedakah lasts forever.”[2 Corinthians 9:9 Psalm 112:9]
10 He who provides both seed for the planter and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your tzedakah. 11 You will be enriched in every way, so that you can be generous in everything. And through us your generosity will cause people to thank God, 12 because rendering this holy service not only provides for the needs of God’s people, but it also overflows in the many thanks people will be giving to God. 13 In offering this service you prove to these people that you glorify God by actually doing what your acknowledgement of the Good News of the Messiah requires, namely, sharing generously with them and with everyone. 14 And in their prayers for you they will feel a strong affection for you because of how gracious God has been to you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Luke 17:11 On his way to Yerushalayim, Yeshua passed along the border country between Shomron and the Galil. 12 As he entered one of the villages, ten men afflicted with tzara‘at met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out, “Yeshua! Rabbi! Have pity on us!” 14 On seeing them, he said, “Go and let the cohanim examine you!” And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, as soon as he noticed that he had been healed, returned shouting praises to God, 16 and fell on his face at Yeshua’s feet to thank him. Now he was from Shomron. 17 Yeshua said, “Weren’t ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found coming back to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And to the man from Shomron he said, “Get up, you may go; your trust has saved you.”
Twenty-Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
Judges 4:1 But after Ehud had died, the people of Isra’el again did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective. 2 So Adonai handed them over to Yavin king of Kena‘an. He ruled from Hatzor; and the commander of his army was Sisra, who lived in Haroshet-HaGoyim. 3 The people of Isra’el cried out to Adonai, because he had 900 iron chariots, and for twenty years he cruelly oppressed the people of Isra’el.
4 Now D’vorah, a woman and a prophet, the wife of Lapidot, was judging Isra’el at that time. 5 She used to sit under D’vorah’s Palm between Ramah and Beit-El, in the hills of Efrayim; and the people of Isra’el would come to her for judgment. 6 She sent for Barak the son of Avino‘am, from Kedesh in Naftali, and said to him: “Adonai has given you this order: ‘Go, march to Mount Tavor, and take with you 10,000 men from the people of Naftali and Z’vulun. 7 I will cause Sisra, the commander of Yavin’s army, to encounter you at the Kishon River with his chariots and troops; and I will hand him over to you.’”
Psalm 123:1 (0) A song of ascents:
(1) I raise my eyes to you,
whose throne is in heaven.
2 As a servant looks to the hand of his master,
or a slave-girl to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes turn to Adonai our God,
until he has mercy on us.
3 Have mercy on us, Adonai, have mercy;
for we have had our fill of contempt,
4 more than our fill of scorn from the complacent
and contempt from the arrogant. or Psalm 76:1 (0) For the leader. With string music. A psalm of Asaf. A song:
2 (1) In Y’hudah God is known;
his name is great in Isra’el.
3 (2) His tent is in Shalem,
his place is in Tziyon.
4 (3) There he broke the flashing arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. (Selah)
5 (4) You are glorious, majestic,
more so than mountains of prey.
6 (5) The bravest have been stripped of their spoil
and now are sleeping their final sleep;
not one of these courageous men
finds strength to raise his hands.
7 (6) At your rebuke, God of Ya‘akov,
riders and horses lie stunned.
8 (7) You are fearsome! When once you are angry,
who can stand in your presence?
9 (8) You pronounce sentence from heaven;
the earth grows silent with fear
10 (9) when God arises to judge,
to save all the humble of the earth. (Selah)
11 (10) Human wrath serves only to praise you;
what remains of this wrath you wear as an ornament.
12 (11) Make vows to Adonai your God, and keep them;
all who are around him must bring presents to the one who should be feared.
13 (12) He curbs the spirit of princes;
he is fearsome to the kings of the earth.
1 Thessalonians 5:1 But you have no need to have anything written to you, brothers, about the times and dates when this will happen; 2 because you yourselves well know that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 When people are saying, “Everything is so peaceful and secure,” then destruction will suddenly come upon them, the way labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there is no way they will escape.
4 But you, brothers, are not in the dark, so that the Day should take you by surprise like a thief; 5 for you are all people who belong to the light, who belong to the day. We don’t belong to the night or to darkness, 6 so let’s not be asleep, like the rest are; on the contrary, let us stay alert and sober. 7 People who sleep, sleep at night; and people who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us stay sober, putting on trust and love as a breastplate and the hope of being delivered as a helmet.[1 Thessalonians 5:8 Isaiah 59:17] 9 For God has not intended that we should experience his fury, but that we should gain deliverance through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, 10 who died on our behalf so that whether we are alive or dead, we may live along with him. 11 Therefore, encourage each other, and build each other up — just as you are doing.
Matthew 25:14 “For it will be like a man about to leave home for awhile, who entrusted his possessions to his servants. 15 To one he gave five talents [equivalent to a hundred years’ wages]; to another, two talents; and to another, one talent — to each according to his ability. Then he left. 16 The one who had received five talents immediately went out, invested it and earned another five. 17 Similarly, the one given two earned another two. 18 But the one given one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time, the master of those servants returned to settle accounts with them. 20 The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the other five and said, ‘Sir, you gave me five talents; here, I have made five more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Excellent! You are a good and trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with a small amount, so I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and join in your master’s happiness!’ 22 Also the one who had received two came forward and said, ‘Sir, you gave me two talents; here, I have made two more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Excellent! you are a good and trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with a small amount, so I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and join in your master’s happiness!’
24 “Now the one who had received one talent came forward and said, ‘I knew you were a hard man. You harvest where you didn’t plant and gather where you didn’t sow seed. 25 I was afraid, so I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here! Take what belongs to you!’ 26 ‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ said his master, ‘So you knew, did you, that I harvest where I haven’t planted? and that I gather where I didn’t sow seed? 27 Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, so that when I returned, I would at least have gotten back interest with my capital! 28 Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten. 29 For everyone who has something will be given more, so that he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he does have will be taken away. 30 As for this worthless servant, throw him out in the dark, where people will wail and grind their teeth!’
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John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes: Thanksgiving Day (USA):
Deuteronomy 8:7-18
Verse 7
[7] For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills;
Depths — Deep wells or springs, or lakes, which were numerous and large.
Verse 9
[9] A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.
Whose stones are iron — Where are mines of iron in a manner as plentiful as stones, and upon which travellers must tread, as in other parts they do upon stones.
Verse 10
[10] When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.
Bless the Lord — Solemnly praise him for thy food; which is a debt both of gratitude and justice, because it is from his providence and favour that thou receivest both thy food and refreshment and strength by it. The more unworthy and absurd is that too common profaneness of them, who, professing to believe a God, from whom all their comforts come, grudge to own him at their meals, either by desiring his blessing before them, or by offering due praise to God after them.
Verse 14
[14] Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;
Lifted up — As if thou didst receive and enjoy these things, either, by thy owns wisdom, and valour, and industry, or for thy own merit.
Verse 16
[16] Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;
That he might humble thee — By keeping thee in a constant dependence upon him for every day's food, and convincing thee what an impotent, helpless creature thou art, having nothing whereon to subsist, and being supported wholly by the alms of divine goodness from day to day. The mercies of God, if duly considered, are as powerful a mean to humble us as the greatest afflictions, because they increase our debts to God, and manifest our dependance upon him, and by making God great, they make us little in our own eyes.
To do thee good — That is, that after he hath purged and prepared thee by afflictions, thou mayest receive and enjoy his blessings with less disadvantage, whilst by the remembrance of former afflictions. thou art made thankful for them, and more cautious not to abuse them.
Psalm 65
Verse 4
[4] Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
Approach — To draw near to God in his house and ordinance, by prayer and praise, and other acts of communion with him.
Satisfied — With the blessings there conferred upon thy people, the favour and fellowship of God, remission of sins, renovation of heart and life, joy and peace, and well-grounded assurance of eternal life.
Verse 5
[5] By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea:
Righteousness — By virtue of thy faithfulness, and goodness.
Wilt thou — Thou wilt graciously answer our prayers.
The confidence — Thou art the stay and support of all mankind, by thy powerful and gracious providence.
Verse 7
[7] Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.
Tumult — No less wild and impetuous.
Verse 8
[8] They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.
Thy tokens — Terrible thunders and lightnings, and earthquakes, and comets or other strange meteors, or works of God in the air.
Morning — The successive courses of the morning and evening; or of the sun and moon which go forth at those times. Thus the whole verse speaks of the natural works of God, the former clause, of such as are extraordinary and terrible, the latter of such as are ordinary and delightful.
Verse 9
[9] Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it.
River — With rain, which he very significantly calls a river for its plenty, and the river of God, of God's immediate providing.
Them — The inhabitants of the earth.
Provided — Or, disposed, the earth, which without this would be hard and barren.
Verse 10
[10] Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof.
Bringest down — For the rain dissolves the high and hard clods of earth.
Verse 12
[12] They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side.
Wilderness — Which though neglected by men, are furnished with food for beasts.
Verse 13
[13] The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.
Sing — They are abundantly satisfied with thy goodness, and in their manner sing forth the praise of their benefactor.
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
Verse 6
[6] But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
He that soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly; he that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully — A general rule. God will proportion the reward to the work, and the temper whence it proceeds.
Verse 7
[7] Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
Of necessity — Because he cannot tell how to refuse.
Verse 8
[8] And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
How remarkable are these words! Each is loaded with matter and increases all the way it goes.
All grace — Every kind of blessing.
That ye may abound to every good work — God gives us everything, that we may do good therewith, and so receive more blessings. All things in this life, even rewards, are, to the faithful, seeds in order to a future harvest. Proverbs 22:9
Verse 9
[9] (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.
He hath scattered abroad — (A generous word.) With a full hand, without any anxious thought which way each grain falls.
His righteousness — His beneficence, with the blessed effects of it.
Remaineth for ever — Unexhausted, God still renewing his store. Psalms 112:9
Verse 10
[10] Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
And he who supplieth seed — Opportunity and ability to help others.
And bread — All things needful for your own souls and bodies. Will continually supply you with that seed, yea, multiply it to you more and more.
And increase the fruits of your righteousness — The happy effects of your love to God and man. Isaiah 55:10
Verse 11
[11] Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
Which worketh by us thanksgiving to God — Both from us who distribute, and them who receive, your bounty.
Verse 13
[13] Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;
Your avowed subjection — Openly testified by your actions.
To all men — Who stand in need of it.
Verse 15
[15] Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
His unspeakable gift — His outward and inward blessings, the number and excellence of which cannot he uttered.
Luke 17:11-19
Not Available.
Twenty-Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
Judges 4:1-7
Verse 2
[2] And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.
Of Canaan — That is, of the land where most of the Canaanites, strictly so called, now dwelt, which seems to be in the northern part of Canaan. This seems to be of the posterity of that Jabin, whom Joshua slew, Joshua 11:11, who watched all opportunities to recover his ancient possessions, and to revenge his own and his father's quarrel.
In Hazor — In the territory or the kingdom of Hazor, which might now be restored to its former largeness and power.
Of the Gentiles — So called, because it was much frequented and inhabited by the Gentiles; either by the Canaanites, who being beaten out of their former possessions, seated themselves in those northern parts; or by other nations coming there for traffick, whence Galilee, where this was, is called Galilee of the Gentiles.
Verse 3
[3] And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
Mightily oppressed — More than former tyrants; from his malice and hatred against the Israelites; and from God's just judgment, the growing punishment being suitable to their aggravated wickedness.
Verse 4
[4] And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.
A prophetess — As there were men-prophets, so there were also women-prophetesses, as Miriam, Exodus 15:20. Huldah, 2 Kings 22:14, and divers others; but the word prophets or prophetesses is ambiguous, sometimes being used of persons extraordinarily inspired by God, and endowed with the power of working miracles, and foretelling things to come; and sometimes of persons endowed with special gifts or graces, for the better understanding and discoursing about the word and mind of God. Of this sort were the sons of the prophets, or such as were bred in the schools of the prophets. who are often called prophets, as 1 Samuel 10:5,10. And because we read nothing of Deborah's miraculous actions, perhaps she was only a woman of eminent holiness, and knowledge of the holy scriptures, by which she was singularly qualified for judging the people according to the laws of God.
Judged Israel — That is, determined causes and controversies arising among the Israelites, as is implied, verse 5. And this Jabin might suffer to be done, especially by a woman. Yet the frequent discharge of this part of the judge's office, whereby she gained great power and authority with the people, did notably (though not observed by the tyrant) prepare the way for her sliding into the other part of her office, which was to defend and rescue the people from their enemies.
Verse 5
[5] And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
And she dwelt — Or, she sat: she had her judgment-seat in the open air, under the shadow of that tree; which was an emblem of the justice she administered there: thriving and growing against opposition, as the palm-tree does under pressures.
Came to her — To have their suits and causes determined by her sentence.
Verse 6
[6] And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?
Called Barak — By virtue of that power which God had given her, and the people owned in her.
Kedesh Naphtali — So called, to distinguish it from other places of that name, one in Judah, and another in Issachar.
Hath not the Lord, … — That is, assuredly God hath commanded thee; this is not the fancy of a weak woman, which peradventure thou mayst despise; but the command of the great God by my mouth.
Mount Tabor — A place most fit for his purpose, as being in the borders of divers tribes, and having a large plain at the top of it, where he might conveniently marshal and discipline his army.
Naphtali and Zebulun — These she names because they were nearest and best known to Barak, and therefore soonest brought together, because they were nearest to the enemy, and therefore might speedily be assembled, whilst the other tribes, being at a distance, had better opportunity of gathering forces for their succour; and because these had most smarted under this oppressor, who was in the heart of their country; but these are not named exclusively, as appears by the concurrence of some other tribes.
Verse 7
[7] And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.
Draw to Thee — By my secret and powerful providence, ordering and over-ruling his inclinations that way. In fixing the very place, she gave him a sign, which might confirm his faith, when he came to engage.
Psalm 123
Verse 2
[2] Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us.
Look — For supply of their wants, and for help and defence against their oppressors.
Until — Until he help and save us. or Psalm 76
Verse 2
[2] In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion.
Salem — In Jerusalem, which was anciently called Salem.
Zion — Largely so called, as it includes Moriah, an adjoining hill.
Verse 3
[3] There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. /*Selah*/.
There — At Jerusalem.
Sword — Both offensive and defensive weapons.
Battle — All the power of the army, which was put in battle-array.
Verse 4
[4] Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey.
Thou — O God.
Than — The greatest kings and empires of the earth, which in prophetic writings are often compared to mountains. And they are called mountains of prey, because they generally were established by tyranny, and maintained by preying upon their own subjects, or other kingdoms.
Verse 5
[5] The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands.
Sleep — Even a perpetual sleep.
Verse 6
[6] At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.
Chariot — The men who rode upon, and fought from chariots and horses.
Verse 8
[8] Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still,
Thou — Didst execute judgment upon thine enemies, by an angel from heaven: which is said to be heard, either because it was accompanied with thunders and earthquakes, or because the fame of it was quickly spread abroad.
Feared — The rest of the world were afraid to disturb Israel.
Verse 10
[10] Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.
Surely — The furious attempts of thine enemies, shall cause thy people and others to praise thee for thy admirable wisdom, power, and faithfulness.
Verse 11
[11] Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
Vow — A sacrifice of thanksgiving for this wonderful deliverance.
Let all — All the neighboring nations submit to the God of Israel.
Verse 12
[12] He shall cut off the spirit of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth.
Cut off — As men do their grapes in time of vintage; so the Hebrew verb implies.
The spirit — Their breath and life, as he did in the Assyrian army.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Verse 1
[1] But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
But of the precise times when this shall be.
Verse 2
[2] For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
For this in general ye do know; and ye can and need know no more.
Verse 3
[3] For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
When they — The men of the world say.
Verse 4
[4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
Ye are not in darkness — Sleeping secure in sin.
Verse 6
[6] Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
Awake, and keep awake — Being awakened, let us have all our spiritual senses about us.
Verse 7
[7] For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
They usually sleep and are drunken in the night - These things do not love the light.
Verse 9
[9] For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
God hath not appointed us to wrath — As he hath the obstinately impenitent.
Verse 10
[10] Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
Whether we wake or sleep — Be alive or dead at his coming.
Matthew 25:14-30
Verse 14
[14] For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
Our Lord proceeds by a parable still plainer (if that can be) to declare the final reward of a harmless man. May God give all such in this their day, ears to hear and hearts to understand it! The kingdom of heaven - That is, the King of heaven, Christ. Mark 13:34; Luke 19:12.
Verse 15
[15] And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one — And who knows whether (all circumstances considered) there be a greater disproportion than this, in the talents of those who have received the most, and those who have received the fewest? According to his own ability - The words may be translated more literally, according to his own mighty power.
And immediately took his journey — To heaven.
Verse 18
[18] But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
He that had received one — Made his having fewer talents than others a pretence for not improving any.
Went and hid his master's money — Reader, art thou doing the same? Art thou hiding the talent God hath lent thee?
Verse 24
[24] Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
I knew thou art a hard man — No. Thou knowest him not. He never knew God, who thinks him a hard master.
Reaping where thou hast not sown — That is, requiring more of us than thou hast given us power to perform. So does every obstinate sinner, in one kind or other, lay the blame of his own sins on God.
Verse 25
[25] And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
And I was afraid — Lest if I had improved my talent, I should have had the more to answer for. So from this fear, one will not learn to read, another will not hear sermons!
Verse 26
[26] His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
Thou knewest — That I require impossibilities! This is not an allowing, but a strong denial of the charge.
Verse 27
[27] Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
Thou oughtest therefore — On that very account, on thy own supposition, to have improved my talent, as far as was possible.
Verse 29
[29] For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
To every one that hath shall he given — So close does God keep to this stated rule, from the beginning to the end of the world. Matthew 13:12.
Verse 30
[30] And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Cast ye the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness — For what? what had he done? It is true he had not done good. But neither is he charged with doing any harm. Why, for this reason, for barely doing no harm, he is consigned to outer darkness. He is pronounced a wicked, because he was a slothful, an unprofitable servant. So mere harmlessness, on which many build their hope of salvation, was the cause of his damnation! There shall be the weeping - Of the careless thoughtless sinner; and the gnashing of teeth - Of the proud and stubborn. The same great truth, that there is no such thing as negative goodness, is in this chapter shown three times: 1. In the parable of the virgins; 2. In the still plainer parable of the servants, who had received the talents; and 3. In a direct unparabolical declaration of the manner wherein our Lord will proceed at the last day. The several parts of each of these exactly answers each other, only each rises above the preceding.
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Link to GBOD Devotional
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The Great Plains Episcopal Office of The United Methodist Church
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Wichita Kansas 67207, United States
(316)686-0600
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info@greatplainsumc.org
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