January 6
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“So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:44, NIV)

It is typical of God that He first gives us the answers before giving us the test.

In these final chapters of Matthew’s Gospel (chapters 24-25), Jesus is emphatic in His teaching about the nature of the kingdom of heaven; and He is equally emphatic in His teaching about the final judgment of God, and what is required of you and me.  You see, Jesus wants everyone to pass; but everyone must pass on his or her own work.  No cheating.

The key to successfully facing any crisis — whether financial, emotional, physical, or spiritual — is readiness.  The time to get ready is now.  The adage is never more true: “You cannot give what you do not have.”

Are you ready?  – Luther

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January 5
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“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. . .” (Psalm 1:1a, KJV)

There is a lot of bad advice out there. Some of it is “conventional wisdom.” Some of it is based on superstition.  Some of it is based on half-truths. All of it is beneath the disciple of Jesus.

The children of God have a higher, truer, more enduring counsel: The word of God.

Obtaining the counsel (advice) that blesses us, and those around us, is not difficult to obtain; but it challenges our resolve to spend time in the study of the holy scriptures.

Like an attentive father to his child, the Lord God will guide our steps toward everlasting life, peace, and joy; the things that ungodly counsel promises, but never delivers.  – Luther

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January 3
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“When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers — the moon and the stars you set in place — what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? (Psalm 8:3-4, NLT)

The span of the universe is not measured in miles, but in light-years. The moon and the stars — witnesses to every generation of humanity since Adam — maintain their mysterious magnificence.

The psalmist marvels at the fact that the finite, flawed, foundering beings that we are, nevertheless occupy the thoughts of the Creator of the universe; and, somehow, warrant the condescension and the salvation of the Maker of the moon and the stars.

Do we, like the psalmist, marvel, too?  – Luther

Reminder: As normal, Daily Encouragement will not be posted on Sunday.  Lord willing, see you again on Monday.  Have a great day of rest, reflection, and worship!

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