Day of Praise

Sa, Sep 29 "Day of Praise"

"Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: 'Ask all the people of the
land and the priests, "When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh
months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?"'"
- Zechariah 7:4-5

Happy Saturday, Everyone! Today's verse is the same as yesterday's. I'm using the same verse because I want to thank all of you who regularly respond to Day of Praise. It is a blessing!

In particular, also, I wanted to share a response to yesterday's devotion from Neil C. Gustafson of Raleigh, North Carolina. Neil's reflection is full of wit, humility, and thankfulness for God's grace. Here it is. Neil writes --

Fasting is interesting to me. I never fast more than a few hours between
meals....

In John 6, Jesus says not to work for food we eat but for food that endures
to eternal life.

That verse really intrigued me when I studied it a few years ago. It stayed
on my mind for days.

When I miss a meal or so and get really hungry, it is all I can think about.
It physically and mentally overwhelms me. I believe that Jesus is saying
that is the way I should be about Him. My love/devotion of Him should
overwhelm me.

The fact is that I NEVER am like that for Jesus.

My conclusion is that I am a sinner; it is just who I am. It permeates
through my entire being (physical and mental). The good news is that it is
not about me or whether I am a sinner or not, it is 100% about Him.

I believe that as a Christian, I am no less a sinner than non-believers.
What separates me is that because of Jesus' sacrifice, I can still have a
relationship with God. It is not dependent on me, so there is nothing I can mess up. It is all about Him and He cannot mess up.

Praise God!















Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson