Psalm 19:7-14 (NIV)
7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
and all of them are righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
11 By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Reflection:
Oh how the Psalmist relishes and delights in God’s Word! They are perfect, refreshing, trustworthy, right, radiant, pure, enduring forever, firm, righteous, more precious than gold, sweeter than honey — simply amazing! It is God’s Word that overflows out of the Psalmist’s mouth and from the meditation of his heart - this is what is pleasing in His sight.
Responding to the Transmission:
Like the Psalmist, may we also recognize how wonderful God’s Word is! Let’s pray that God would increase our appetites for more and more of His Word, and that we would with increasing humbleness take in His Word. Let’s also pray that we would experience the Word as the Psalmist did, and for it to continue to shape, warn, guide, and give joy to our lives as we live in humble obedience to His Word.
]]>John 1:1-14 (NIV)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Reflection:
John’s prologue speaks of the incredible truth that Jesus is the Word and that in Him was life and He was the light of all mankind. John also talks about the human condition, that the world could not “recognize” Him and did not “receive” Him, even though in Him was the life-light blazing for all mankind. But the grace and love of God is such that despite us, the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us so that we could receive Him, believe in Him, and become children of God.
Responding to the Transmission:
Let’s pray that we would believe and receive the Word who gives us life. And as we receive, let’s ask for this life-light to blaze and overflow, so that others too would receive and believe and become children of God.
]]>Deuteronomy 8:1-5 (NIV)
1 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.
Reflection:
The Lord had to humble the Israelites so that they would recognize how much they truly needed God and how much their life depended on Him. Often times we don’t recognize what it is that we truly need to have life. Sometimes, we think that we can depend upon and rely on ourselves or on human achievement for real life. While bread sustains, it does not guarantee life — which is God’s gift to those who trust in and live by his word, commands, and promises. God loves us so much that He helps us and at times, disciplines us through experiencing a time of need, so that we are able to see who it is that we truly need.
Responding to the Transmission:
May we recognize that we don’t just live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. May we humble ourselves today before the Lord, meditating on His Word and delighting in every command and promise. Let’s continue to pray and lift up our concerns to the One who gives us life, recognizing that every good thing that we have comes from Him.
]]>John 6:25-29 (NIV)
25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
Reflection:
Has anyone ever opened your fridge in the midst of a prolonged power outage to get a glass of milk … only to find that the milk has spoiled? Even worse, has anyone taken a sip of milk, not knowing that it had gone bad? It is perhaps the worst taste ever! We know from experience that all food spoils in this world. Many of the things that we work so hard for, we can’t take with us when we die.
Before this passage, Jesus had just miraculously fed a crowd of 5000 men and women and children who were with them. People knew from this miracle that Jesus was no ordinary person. Jesus had slipped out from among their midst. They relentlessly looked for Jesus until they found Him. But Jesus knew that they did not necessarily believe nor put their faith in Him — they had their own agenda. Jesus addresses their hearts and tells them not to live for things that spoil but to live for what leads to eternal life.
Responding to the Transmission:
May we take some time today to really examine our hearts and motives for following Jesus. Is it for the benefits we receive? Let’s pray that we would not live for what spoils, but rather for what endures to eternal life - living for Jesus and His kingdom. Let’s pray that our living this life together will be filled with more belief in the One that was sent to lead us to eternal life.
]]>John 6:60-69 (NIV)
60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
Reflection:
We live in a world where there are so many options — from food, fashion, career, and ways in which we can live our lives … we are bombarded with endless possibilities and choices. When Jesus’ teaching was hard to accept or agree with, many disciples stopped following Jesus because they believed that they had other options. But when confronted by Jesus, Peter responds on behalf of the Twelve and declares the true reality — “to whom shall we go?” There is no other way, no other option … they were not going to leave because they had come to believe in who Jesus is, the One who has the words of eternal life.
Responding to the Transmission:
Many of us most likely have had similar experiences as the disciples when we were taught something about Christian life that was hard to believe and accept — because accepting means that we have to live differently and be different. In those situations, the questions to answer first are, is Jesus God? And did God really say that? Let’s pray that, by the work of the Holy Spirit living in us, we would not reject Jesus’ teaching, hence reject Jesus, however difficult the teaching. Let’s pray for faith like the disciples who chose to stay with Him and learned from Him what it means to live life with Christ as our Lord. As we respond with faith, He will keep us and sustain us.
]]>