February 7
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“In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”  (Proverbs 3:6, NASB)

If it is true that we make trouble for ourselves because, as J. B. Phillips titled his classic book, “Your God is Too Small” (1953); the same might also be said because we think some matters of our life are too small for our heavenly Father’s attention.

We ought to accept the biblical challenge to acknowledge God in everything — large and small — whether in decisions or in giving thanks.

Through the Holy Spirit — Whom Jesus Himself referred to as the “Helper” — we have a companion who knows well the path; we have an intercessor who knows the mind of God; we have an energizer to sustain us; a teacher to educate us.

However, the Helper helps only by invitation.  If we have not, it is only because we ask not.  – Luther

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February 6
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“Then Moses said to them, ‘No one is to keep any of it until morning.’  However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.”  (Exodus 16:19-20, NIV)

The Lord’s prayer includes these words: “Give us this day, our daily bread.”

The daily bread of the Children of Israel’s 40-year sojourn in the desert was called manna.  The wanderers were commanded by Moses to take only what was needed each day (except on the day before the Sabbath, when they were to collect two day’s worth so they could keep the command to refrain from labor on the Sabbath).  But some of the wanderers paid Moses no mind, and hoarded the manna.  They should have saved the effort: The manna became inedible by morning.

Believe it or not, something as simple as eating can be an exercise in faith.  Do we trust God to supply all of our needs, or do we have our own ideas about what we shall eat, drink, and wear?  And if we’re set in the food and clothing department, do we reveal our insecurities about the future of our children, the state of our health, or the various other uncertainties of life?

God knows that we need the necessities of life, and he wants us to trust Him to provide them.  We need not hoard; God has not forgotten us.  We need not fret; our heavenly Father has not left us alone to fend for ourselves.  – Luther

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February 5
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“Then Moses said to the Israelites, ‘See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills — to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts.’  (Exodus 32: 30-33, NIV)

Let’s hear it for the fine arts!

According to today’s scripture, when God commissioned the work for the tent of meeting and all of its furnishings, He chose, inspired, and equipped Bezalel — and others — with the genius, the knowledge, and the skills to make something magnificent.

Without musicians, writers, poets, painters, sculptors, dancers, and designers, our world would be much less beautiful.  May our Father forgive us for minimizing the artistic gifts of our brothers, sisters, and neighbors; and may He help us to celebrate the work of all whose labors make visible the invisible; audible the inaudible; and tangible the intangible.  – Luther

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