Saturday, October 15, 2011

Psalm 119:33-40, Deuteronomy 13:1-18, Matthew 13:1-23 - Lectionary for 10/15/11

Today's readings are Psalm 119:33-40, Deuteronomy 13:1-18, and Matthew 13:1-23.

Today some of the people who have read this blog for a long time will be surprised. The parable of the sower is being dangled in front of me and I'm not biting. From our Old Testament reading, see how our Lord uses temptations. They provide us with an opportunity to see our devotion to obedience to our Lord. They also give us opportunity, ample opportunity, to turn to Jesus in repentance, asking his forgiveness, since we have surely failed.

How devoted are we to keeping God's covenant? Surely not enough. We will fail again and again. As we see in our parable there are plenty of forces at work trying to kill our faith. Yet our Lord has chosen us as his people. How do we come to him? Not in our perfect obedience. That will never work. We don't have that resource. Rather,we come to Jesus in repentance and faith to receive his forgiveness and his perfect righteousness. We can have confidence then. Even as we struggle to keep our Lord's commands, we can see his obedience on our behalf.

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