43: The Jews were taught to love those near to them. But, their enemies were to be hated. This hate constituted a form of judgement upon their enemies. This is a common practice among many peoples. Humans find it quite easy to love those who are dear to us, but very hard to do anything but hate our enemies.
44: Jesus teaches a principle here that was not only foreign to the practice of the Jews, but is also strange to the rest of the world. Almighty God would have us to love our enemies. Obviously, this does not come natural to us as human beings. And, it is here that we see Jesus main theme once again. He is setting a high standard. It is so high, that his hearers surely realized their inability to attain to it. This was his desire, to help people see that they needed a righteousness, and a love, that only salvation could bring to them. The law alone could not create this kind of holiness in a person’s life, but Jesus can. Doing good to, and praying for, those who are attacking us is at the heart of what it means to be a Christian.
45: We are to be like God the Father. He is good to all men. He gives all of us daily blessings. His children should do no less.
Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 55:1-60:12
Daily Memory Verse: Jude 1:6 “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgement of the great day.”
Daily Tidbit: The DNA chain in Escherichia coli, a bacteria in the human digestive system, has about the same number of characters in it as does the Bible. (From Dr. Werner Gitt’s book, If Animals Could Talk)
Praise Journal: Heavenly Father, Your Word is a great blessing. You have preserved it for us. It is always there, right before us, waiting to instruct us. You put eternal truths into a package of ink and paper. What a help to have a guidebook for life. So often I act as if there are no instructions, and I try to make life fit together without it. How silly of me! Your instructional manual is complete, and I cannot find any cause to complain. Never could I find a problem too difficult for the wisdom contained in that book. I can look and find the answers that I seek. Help us, Father, to always trust Your Words. The day that we lose faith in Your Word, is the day that we lose hope. We launch into eternity alone, and without a guide, assuming that our own ingenuity will guide the way. What blindness! What pride! What insolence! We are unable to recreate anything out of nothing, and yet we presume to understand Your universe. Oh Father, may we know Your worlds by knowing Your Words! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.
Prayer Journal Highlights: Pray for a young girl who is sick. Pray for a lady being cared for by Hospice. Pray for a teen group travelling this week.
Personal Journal Entry #12175