Gift: Fear of the Lord (Wonder and Awe)
Reading: Must good be repaid with evil that they should dig a pit to take my life? Remember that I stood before you to speak in their behalf, to turn away your wrath from them. (Jeremiah 18:20)
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Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom 11 for many.” (Matthew 20:28)
Observation: I continued reading in the book of Jeremiah online after reading the first reading today, because I was looking for the moment when he was killed by these people that were speaking against him. I found him prophesying for the next twenty chapters, which left me with one thought. It is interesting to me how when Jesus came, he did not go about the land converting his people for 30 years, he just did what God asked him to do in the short period of time that he was on earth and then left his example to do the rest of the work in his apostles. What a contrast to Jeremiah, who was prophesying for many years about the impending doom of Jerusalem and then was there to watch it happen.
Personification: Patience It was a close race today between peace and patience. I feel like I am being called to display the fruit of patience in my life today and for the rest of my life. In light of the life of Jesus and his acceptance of his fate to die at the hands of his own people, I should be able to accept whatever comes my way today and for the rest of my life. If I don’t get exactly what I think I need when I think I need it, I will persevere and use the occasion as a vehicle to gaining more perspective on where God is calling me to be at all times in my life.
Prayer: Lord, grant me the wisdom to see how you are building patience into my life and let my eyes be open to how you are asking me to follow your will. I ask this, as always, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Divine Life 