My family, my friends, and my circle of relations sometimes do or forget to do things that upset me, and I feel angry. I feel that I should confront them and let them know how angry they have made me feel.

Then I recall reading:

Ezekiel 20:44 – You will know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name's sake and not according to your evil ways and your corrupt practices, O house of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord. (NIV)

Ezekiel 20:44 – But, dear Israel, you'll also realize that I am God when I respond to you out of who I am, not by what I feel about the evil lives you've lived, the corrupt history you've compiled. Decree of God, the Master. (MSG)

God tells us that He deals with His people according to Who He is and not according to how He feels about what they are doing.

It strikes me that perhaps this is a very good principle for me to observe when dealing with others in my life. My reactions and feelings can be very strong and even overpowering at times. But God reminds me through His Word that I am His child and I am to act accordingly.

Prayer: Dear God, thank You for loving us. Help us to act accordingly with love to our families and friends. May they know that we are Your children. Amen.

Mark 11:1-3 – As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no-one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.'" (NIV)

People engaged in any type of Christian ministry are constantly called upon to spend much time and effort in things unrelated to their real purpose and interest. One missionary said she sometimes felt as if she were "God's donkey", getting stuck with all the hum-drum routine tasks that are necessary, but not necessarily fulfilling. The idea of being God's donkey fascinated me. What did the donkey do, really? I went to the concordance to find out. In the history of Israel, donkeys carried kings. The heir to the throne rode the king's own donkey. It was a symbol of sovereignty. In the New Testament, the donkey carried the Lord Jesus.

Prayer: Gracious God, may we carry the Lord Jesus with us, in every situation and every challenge we may face this day. May we each be your donkey with grace and joy. Amen.

How could he sleep? His fellow disciple, James, had just been done to death with a sword. Peter is next. He's chained to two guards, one on each side, with two more watching the door. And he's sleeping!

In this simple statement of fact, there is a beautiful picture of "the peace that passes all understanding". It is the peace of Christ — the peace that tells us that whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. This is the blessed assurance that accompanies us in every circumstance. In this case Peter was delivered. It is not always the case. But the peace is.

Prayer: Holy Father, in the name of your Son Jesus, we pray for that peace, not the peace of idleness, but peace in the midst of the life and the hours before us this day. Amen.

The challenge every day for the follower of Christ is to strike a balance between what he believes, and how he behaves. (Perhaps at this point I should say that when I use the pronoun he, I am including everyone.) We've all heard reports about some unfortunate individual who has been caught in a moral failure, and the reporter is quick to point out that he is a member of a certain church, where he teaches Sunday School, etc. Tsk! Tsk! Or perhaps about someone else who tends to be very vocal about his faith, but has proven remarkably inadequate in some particular circumstance. He is described as being "So heavenly minded he's no earthly good!" The text from Colossians seems to say that we must be heavenly minded in order to be any earthly good. Having our minds oriented towards the things of God enables us to sort out the daily details from a new perspective. It may mean a total reversal of priorities. If our old nature has died with Christ, we have a new nature ready to blossom into life. Paul said to young Timothy: "Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called." We tend to think of eternal life in terms of duration (unending), but isn't it rather a quality of life, a new type of life that is ours even now, even here? It's to take hold of, and live.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, grant that with the strength and wisdom of your Holy Spirit, we may take hold of all those things that you have prepared for us this day. Amen.

There are few books we may go back to read a second or third time. But the Bible is different. The more we read it, the more interesting it becomes, and the more levels of meaning are revealed. I've read John 14 many times over the years. When I read it again this week, it was like I had never seen it before. This is something that happens frequently to those who persist in reading the scriptures. A window opens suddenly, and a familiar passage takes on an altogether new significance. This chapter contains the discourse Jesus gave his disciples after the Last Supper, and before the terrible events that would soon catch them up. There were words of comfort that they couldn't understand right then, but that would come back to them later. It is like that with us when we read. That which seems to have nothing to say to us today, the Spirit can call back to our memory later as the circumstances of life change. And we sit back in amazement and say "Wow! How come I didn't see this before?" These insights are given, that we may follow Christ's admonition at the end of this chapter: "Arise, let go hence."

Prayer: Our Father, as we "go hence" to the day before us, grant that your Spirit may bring to our remembrance the words of counsel and comfort that have nourished our spirits during times of meditation in your word. Amen.

Two prominent figures in biblical history are described in two different situations as standing barefoot before God. Both Moses and Joshua were sought out by God, and given a very special task, perhaps humanly speaking. The thought occurs that whoever we are, and wherever in history we find ourselves, we all will at some time or other stand faced with the impossibilities that come upon us unexpected and unsought. Realizing our own inadequacy and powerlessness for that which lies ahead, we stand unshod before the One who calls us to proceed. We are barefoot before God ere he can clothe us with that which will make us adequate for the journey ahead.

Prayer: Dear God, help us give up depending on our own wisdom and putting our own schemes into action before standing unshod before you, to receive the wisdom and strength you are ready to give us. Amen.

Have you ever considered how much time, effort, and expense we put into keeping up appearances? The appearance of efficiency? Of beauty? Of prosperity? Of control? Of generosity? I suppose Martha was involved in something like this. Jesus didn't "phone ahead" to let her know that he was arriving with a group of disciples. Without warning, she has a lot of things to do to prepare for the care and feeding of several guests. She was anxious that everything appear to be done "decently and in order." Like most of us, her standards for her own performance were probably too high. So she became frustrated … frustrated with her sister for abandoning her, and with Jesus for seeming uncaring. (Strike a familiar chord?)

We all face days like this, sooner or later, when the demands of life become overwhelming. I had one recently. Company coming, and the effects of an overnight "flood." The morning was full of insurance adjusters and clean-up crews. Furniture was piled away from wet areas, and de- humidifiers and powerful fans installed that began blasting a noisy symphony. The whole house was vibrating. Hoses and cables criss-crossed the kitchen floor, and I remembered that I had to make cookies for a church function. I needed a few moments to collect my thoughts. I picked up the Bible and the Bible Society reading guide, and escaped to the one quiet area. The passage for that day was the one quoted from Luke 10. The one phrase that stood out for me that day, and almost every day since, is Jesus' reply to Martha's complaint: "Martha, Martha" (read Kaye, Kaye) "You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed." To sit at Jesus feet, and hear him. It puts the world back in focus.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for reminding us that in all circumstances, one thing is needed. By your spirit, make your word known to us, and be the light on our pathway today. Amen.