July 1
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“Moses said to the Lord, ‘O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant.  I am slow of speech and tongue.’ The Lord said to him, ‘Who gave man his mouth?  Who makes him deaf or mute?  Who gives him sight or makes him blind?  Is it not I, the Lord?  Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.’  But Moses said, ‘O Lord, please send someone else to do it.'”  (Exodus 4:10-13, NIV)

To be available to God, in spite of our physical disabilities, our personal shortcomings, and our fears (as real as they may be) is what pleases God — and broadens our horizons.

Every day, we have before us the option to make ourselves (and all that we have at our disposal) available to God — or we can, like Moses, make excuses.

One lesson that we can learn from the exchange between Moses and God, as recorded in today’s scripture passage, is this: God doesn’t care as much about our ability as He does our availability.  – Luther

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June 30
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“Then they called out in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to terrify them and make them afraid in order to capture the city.  They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the world — the work of human hands.” (2 Chronicles 32:18-19, NIV)

Today’s scripture from 2 Chronicles actually begins with an account of the siege of Jerusalem by the ruthless and powerful Assyrian army.  In order to gain tactical advantage, the Assyrians taunted the watch-standers of Jerusalem by insulting the Lord God — in Hebrew!

It should be known that Hebrew, in that day, was not a world language.  It was a minority tongue.  That the Assyrians would use Hebrew to taunt the people of Jerusalem is a great example of what modern warriors call “psychological operations” or “psy ops.”

The take-away I am offering from this lesson is that we, as disciples of Jesus, should not fear assaults on our faith, even when these affronts come in the vernacular most familiar to us; or when they come from persons with great standing or power.  It’s all “psy ops,” and it is designed to erode our confidence in God; and to persuade us to abandon our posts as sentinels and beacons of light.

The story continues: The people of Jerusalem did not lose heart.  They remained in the city, despite the insults of the Assyrians, and God delivered them in time from the Assyrians.

When you are in distress, stand firm.  Divine help is coming.  God will either deliver you from the peril — or through it.  – Luther

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June 29
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“Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death.”  (Proverbs 10:2, NIV)

It is a sign of Christian maturity to be content with as little, or as much, as you’ve been given in this life.

Today’s lesson from Proverbs tells us that every person risks trouble when he or she is dissatisfied and begins to justify crooked schemes to acquire more.  This is particularly perilous for the disciple of Jesus, because if we don’t have it, we don’t need it.  (Really.  We don’t neeeeeeed it.)  God will supply all of our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

A right relationship with God ensures that we shall have all that we need; with the added blessing of knowing that we shall be delivered in, and through, situations that destroy the unscrupulous.  Take care to be honest and true in both your actions and in your ambitions.  – Luther

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