Daily Devotion – Great Plains United
Methodist Church – Wednesday, 12 February 2014
1. Wendy Chrostek
Leawood: Church of the Resurrection UMC
Kansas City District
2. Juan Garcia
Liberal First
Dodge City District
3. Bruce Phillips
Giltner UMC
Phillips UMC
Prairie Rivers District
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This Week's Lectionary
5th Sunday after the Epiphany - Green
Isaiah 58:1 “Cry aloud, don’t spare.
Lift up your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their disobedience,
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek me daily,
and delight to know my ways.
As a nation that did righteousness,
and didn’t forsake the ordinance of their God,
they ask of me righteous judgments.
They delight to draw near to God.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ say they, ‘and
you don’t see?
Why have we afflicted our soul, and you don’t notice?’
“Behold, in the day of your fast you find
pleasure,
and oppress all your laborers.
4 Behold, you fast for strife and
contention,
and to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You don’t fast today so as to make your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the fast that I have chosen?
A day for a man to humble his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under
himself?
Will you call this a fast,
and an acceptable day to Yahweh?
6 “Isn’t this the fast that I have
chosen:
to release the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and that you break every yoke?
7 Isn’t it to distribute your bread to
the hungry,
and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house?
When you see the naked,
that you cover him;
and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then your light will break out as the
morning,
and your healing will appear quickly;
then your righteousness shall go before
you;
and Yahweh’s glory will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and Yahweh will
answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
“If you take away from among you the
yoke,
finger pointing,
and speaking wickedly;
10 and if you pour out your soul to the
hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted soul:
then your light will rise in darkness,
and your obscurity will be as the noonday;
11 and Yahweh will guide you continually,
and satisfy your soul in dry places,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
and like a spring of water,
whose waters don’t fail.
12 Those who shall be of you shall build
the old waste places;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
and you shall be called Repairer of the
Breach,
Restorer of Paths with Dwellings.
Psalm 112:1 Praise Yah![a]
Blessed is the man who fears Yahweh,
who delights greatly in his commandments.
2 His offspring[b] will be mighty in the
land.
The generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house.
His righteousness endures forever.
4 Light dawns in the darkness for the
upright,
gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with the man who deals
graciously and lends.
He will maintain his cause in judgment.
6 For he will never be shaken.
The righteous will be remembered forever.
7 He will not be afraid of evil news.
His heart is steadfast, trusting in Yahweh.
8 His heart is established.
He will not be afraid in the end when he sees his adversaries.
9 He has dispersed, he has given to the
poor.
His righteousness endures forever.
His horn will be exalted with honor.
10 The wicked will see it, and be
grieved.
He shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away.
The desire of the wicked will perish.
Footnotes:
a. Psalm 112:1 Psalm 112 is an acrostic
poem, with each verse after the initial “Praise Yah!” starting with a letter of
the alphabet (ordered from Alef to Tav).
b. Psalm 112:2 or, seed
1 Corinthians 2:1 When I came to you,
brothers, I didn’t come with excellence of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to
you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you,
except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear,
and in much trembling. 4 My speech and my preaching were not in persuasive
words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that
your faith wouldn’t stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 6 We
speak wisdom, however, among those who are full grown; yet a wisdom not of this
world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we
speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom that has been hidden, which God
foreordained before the worlds for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of
this world has known. For had they known it, they wouldn’t have crucified the
Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written,
“Things which an eye didn’t see, and an
ear didn’t hear,
which didn’t enter into the heart of man,
these God has prepared for those who love
him.”[a]
10 But to us, God revealed them through
the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11
For who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man,
which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God, except God’s Spirit.
12 But we received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from
God, that we might know the things that were freely given to us by God. 13
Which things also we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which
the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things. 14
Now the natural man doesn’t receive the things of God’s Spirit, for they are
foolishness to him, and he can’t know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual discerns all things, and he himself is
judged by no one. 16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should
instruct him?” [b] But we have Christ’s mind.
Footnotes:
a. 1 Corinthians 2:9 Isaiah 64:4
b. 1 Corinthians 2:16 Isaiah 40:13
Matthew 5: 13 “You are the salt of the
earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? It is
then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men. 14
You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden. 15 Neither
do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and
it shines to all who are in the house. 16 Even so, let your light shine before
men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in
heaven.
17 “Don’t think that I came to destroy
the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill. 18 For most
certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest
letter[a] or one tiny pen stroke[b] shall in any way pass away from the law,
until all things are accomplished. 19 Whoever, therefore, shall break one of
these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in
the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called
great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your
righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you
will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Footnotes:
a. Matthew 5:18 literally, iota
b. Matthew 5:18 or, serif
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John Wesley’s Notes/Commentary for
Isaiah 58:1-12
LVIII The hypocrisy of the Jews, in their
fasts, ver. 1-5. A true fast described, ver. 6, 7. Promises to Godliness, ver.
8-12. To the keeping of the sabbath, ver. 13, 14.
Verse 2. Yet - They cover all their
wickedness with a profession of religion. Delight - There are many men who take
some pleasure in knowing God's will and word, and yet do not conform their
lives to it. As - As if they were a righteous people. Forsook - As if they were
not guilty of any apostacy from God, or disobedience to God's precepts. Ask -
As if they resolved to observe them. In approaching - In coming to my temple to
hear my word, and to offer sacrifices.
Verse 3. Afflicted - Defrauded our
appetites with fasting, of which this phrase is used, Levit xvi, 29. Ye find -
Either you indulge yourselves in sensuality, as they did, chap. xxii, 13. But
this does not agree with that afflicting of their souls which they now
professed, and which God acknowledges; or you pursue and satisfy your own
desires: though you abstain from bodily food, you do not mortify your sinful
inclinations. Exact - Your money, got by your labour, and lent to others,
either for their need or your own advantage, which you require either with
usury, or at least with rigor, when either the general law of charity, or God's
particular law, commanded the release, or at least the forbearance of them.
Verse 4. Behold - Your fasting days,
wherein you ought in a special manner to implore the mercy of God, and to shew
compassion to men, you employ in injuring or quarrelling with your brethren,
your servants or debtors, or in contriving mischief against them. Heard - In
strife and debate. By way of ostentation.
Verse 5. Chosen - Approve of, accept, or
delight in, by a metonymy, because we delight in what we freely chuse. For a
day - This may be understood, either for a man to take a certain time to
afflict his soul in, and that either from even to even, Lev. xxiii, 32, or from
morning to evening, or for a little time. Wilt thou call - Canst thou suppose
it to be so? A fast - It being such an one as has nothing in it, but the dumb
signs of a fast, nothing of deep humiliation appearing in it, or, real
reformation proceeding from it. Acceptable day - A day that God will approve
of.
Verse 6. The bands - The cruel
obligations of usury and oppression.
Verse 7. Cast out - And thereby become
wanderers, having no abiding place. To thy house - That thou be hospitable, and
make thy house a shelter to them that have none of their own left. Hide not -
That seek no occasion to excuse thyself. Thy own flesh - Some confine this to
our own kindred; but we can look on no man, but there we contemplate our own
flesh, and therefore it is barbarous, not only to tear, but not to love and
succor him. Therefore feed him as thou wouldest feed thyself, or be fed;
shelter him as thou wouldest shelter thyself, or be sheltered; clothe him as
thou wouldest clothe thyself, or be clothed; if in any of these respects thou
wert in his circumstances.
Verse 8. Thy light - Happiness and prosperity.
Break forth - It shall not only appear, but break forth, dart itself forth,
notwithstanding all difficulties, as the sun breaks, and pierces through a
cloud. Thy health - Another metaphor to express the same thing. Righteousness -
The reward of thy righteousness. Before thee - As the morning-star goes before
the sun. The glory - His glorious power and providence. Thy rereward - Thus the
angel of his presence secured the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.
Verse 9. Answer - He will give an effectual
demonstration, that he hears thee. Here l am - A phrase that notes a person to
be ready at hand to help. Take away - From among you. The yoke - All those
pressures and grievances before mentioned. Putting forth - Done by way of
scoff, or disdainful insulting. Vanity - Any kind of evil words.
Verse 10. Draw out - Or, open, as when we
open a store, to satisfy the wants of the needy. Thy soul - Thy affection, thy
pity and compassion. Thy darkness - In the very darkness of the affliction
itself thou shalt have comfort.
Verse 11. Guide thee - Like a shepherd.
And he adds continually to shew that his conduct and blessing shall not be
momentary, or of a short continuance, but all along as it was to Israel in the
wilderness. Satisfy - Thou shalt have plenty, when others are in scarcity. Make
fat - This may be spoken in opposition to the sad effects of famine, whereby
the flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen, and the bones that were not
seen, stick out. A garden - If thou relieve the poor, thou shalt never be poor,
but as a well-watered garden, always flourishing. Fail not - Hebrew. deceive
not, a metaphor which farther notes also the continuance of this flourishing
state, which will not be like a land-flood, or brooks, that will soon be dried
up with drought. Thou shalt be fed with a spring of blessing, that will never
fail.
Verse 12. They shall be of thee - Thy
posterity. Waste places - Cities which have lain long waste; that shall
continue for many generations to come. The breach - Breach is put for breaches,
which was made by God's judgment breaking in upon them in suffering the walls
of their towns and cities to be demolished. Paths - Those paths that led from
city to city, which being now laid desolate, and uninhabited, were grown over
with grass, and weeds. To dwell in - These accommodations being recovered,
their ancient cities might be fit to be re-inhabited.
Psalm 112:1-10
PS 112 This also is an alphabetical
psalm. We have here the character and blessedness of the righteous, ver. 1-9.
The iniquity of the wicked, ver. 10.
Verse 2. Generation - The posterity.
Verse 3. Righteousness - The fruit or
reward of his righteousness, which is God's blessing upon his estate.
Verse 4. Darkness - In the troubles and
calamities of life. He - The upright man.
Verse 5. Lendeth - Gives freely to some,
and lends to others according to the variety of their conditions. Affairs - His
domestick affairs. Discretion - Not getting his estate unjustly, nor casting it
away prodigally, nor yet withholding it from such as need it.
Verse 6. Moved - Though he may for a
season be afflicted, yet he shall not be eternally destroyed.
Verse 7. Evil tidings - At the report of
approaching calamities.
Verse 9. Dispersed - His goods, freely
and liberally. Righteousness - His liberality, or the reward of it. Ever - What
he gives is not lost, but indeed is the only part of his estate, which will
abide with him to all eternity.
Verse 10. The desire - Either of the
misery of good men; or of his own constant prosperity.
1 Corinthians 2:1-16
Verse 1. And I accordingly came to you,
not with loftiness of speech or of wisdom - I did not affect either deep wisdom
or eloquence. Declaring the testimony of God - What God gave me to testify
concerning his Son.
Verse 2. I determined not to know
anything - To wave all my other knowledge, and not to preach anything, save
Jesus Christ, and him crucified - That is, what he did, suffered, taught. A
part is put for the whole.
Verse 3. And I was with you - At my first
entrance. In weakness - Of body, 2 Cor. xii, 7 And in fear - Lest I should
offend any. And in much trembling - The emotion of my mind affecting my very
body.
Verse 4. And my speech in private, as
well as my public preaching, was not with the persuasive words of human wisdom,
such as the wise men of the world use; but with the demonstration of the Spirit
and of power - With that powerful kind of demonstration, which flows from the
Holy Spirit; which works on the conscience with the most convincing light, and
the most persuasive evidence.
Verse 5. That your faith might not be
built on the wisdom or power of man, but on the wisdom and power of God.
Verse 6. Yet we speak wisdom - Yea, the
truest and most excellent wisdom. Among the perfect - Adult, experienced
Christians. By wisdom here he seems to mean, not the whole Christian doctrine,
but the most sublime and abstruse parts of it. But not the wisdom admired and
taught by the men of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, Jewish or
heathen, that come to nought - Both they and their wisdom, and the world
itself.
Verse 7. But we speak the mysterious
wisdom of God, which was hidden for many ages from all the world, and is still
hidden even from "babes in Christ;" much more from all unbelievers.
Which God ordained before the world - So far is this from coming to nought,
like worldly wisdom. For our glory - Arising from the glory of our Lord, and
then to be revealed when all worldly glory vanishes.
Verse 8. Had they known it - That wisdom.
They would not have crucified - Punished as a slave. The Lord of glory - The
giving Christ this august title, peculiar to the great Jehovah, plainly shows
him to be the supreme God. In like manner the Father is styled, "the
Father of glory," Eph. i, 17; and the Holy Ghost, "the Spirit of glory,"
1 Pet. iv, 14. The application of this title to all the three, shows that the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are "the God of glory;" as the only true
God is called, Psalm xxix, 3, and Acts vii, 2.
Verse 9. But this ignorance of theirs
fulfils what is written concerning the blessings of the Messiah's kingdom. No
natural man hath either seen, heard, or known, the things which God hath
prepared, saith the prophet, for them that love him. Isaiah lxiv, 4
Verse 10. But God hath revealed - Yea,
and "freely given," ver. 12. Them to us - Even inconceivable peace,
and joy unspeakable. By his Spirit - Who intimately and fully knows them. For
the Spirit searcheth even the deep things of God - Be they ever so hidden and
mysterious; the depths both of his nature and his kingdom.
Verse 11. For what man knoweth the things
of a man - All the inmost recesses of his mind; although men are all of one
nature, and so may the more easily know one another. So the things of God
knoweth no one but the Spirit - Who, consequently, is God.
Verse 12. Now we have received, not the
spirit of the world - This spirit is not properly received; for the men of the
world always had it. But Christians receive the Spirit of God, which before
they had not.
Verse 13. Which also we speak - As well
as know. In words taught by the Holy Spirit - Such are all the words of
scripture. How high a regard ought we, then, to retain for them! Explaining
spiritual things by spiritual words; or, adapting spiritual words to spiritual
things - Being taught of the Spirit to express the things of the Spirit.
Verse 14. But the natural man - That is,
every man who hath not the Spirit; who has no other way of obtaining knowledge,
but by his senses and natural understanding. Receiveth not - Does not
understand or conceive. The things of the Spirit - The things revealed by the
Spirit of God, whether relating to his nature or his kingdom. For they are
foolishness to him - He is so far from understanding, that he utterly despises,
them Neither can he know them - As he has not the will, so neither has he the
power. Because they are spiritually discerned - They can only be discerned by
the aid of that Spirit, and by those spiritual senses, which he has not.
Verse 15. But the spiritual man - He that
hath the Spirit. Discerneth all the things of God whereof we have been
speaking. Yet he himself is discerned by no man - No natural men. They neither
understand what he is, nor what he says.
Verse 16. Who - What natural man. We -
Spiritual men; apostles in particular. Have - Know, understand. The mind of
Christ - Concerning the whole plan of gospel salvation. Isaiah xl, 13
Matthew 5:13-20
Verse 13. Ye - Not the apostles, not
ministers only; but all ye who are thus holy, are the salt of the earth - Are
to season others. Mark ix, 50; Luke xiv, 34.
Verse 14. Ye are the light of the world -
If ye are thus holy, you can no more be hid than the sun in the firmament: no
more than a city on a mountain - Probably pointing to that on the brow of the
opposite hill.
Verse 15. Nay, the very design of God in
giving you this light was, that it might shine. Mark iv, 21; Luke viii, 16; xi,
33.
Verse 16. That they may see - and glorify
- That is, that seeing your good works, they may be moved to love and serve God
likewise.
Verse 17. Think not - Do not imagine,
fear, hope, that I am come - Like your teachers, to destroy the law or the
prophets. I am not come to destroy - The moral law, but to fulfil - To
establish, illustrate, and explain its highest meaning, both by my life and
doctrine.
Verse 18. Till all things shall be effected
- Which it either requires or foretells. For the law has its effect, when the
rewards are given, and the punishments annexed to it inflicted, as well as when
its precepts are obeyed. Luke xvi, 17; xxi, 33.
Verse 19. One of the least - So accounted
by men; and shall teach - Either by word or example; shall be the least - That
is, shall have no part therein.
Verse 20. The righteousness of the
scribes and Pharisees - Described in the sequel of this discourse.
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Today's Devotional:
Psalm 121: A Song of Ascents.
1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills.
Where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from Yahweh,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to be
moved.
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 Yahweh is your keeper.
Yahweh is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 Yahweh will keep you from all evil.
He will keep your soul.
8 Yahweh will keep your going out and
your coming in,
from this time forward, and forever more.
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Great Churches. Great Leaders. Great
Disciples. Transformed World.
Contact Information:
Great Plains Episcopal Office
9440 E Boston, Suite 160
Wichita KS 67207
(316)686-0600
(800)745-2350
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