Today's Readings: New Testament -
Matthew 23:13-24
James 3:13-18
Old Testament -
Ecclesiastes 5
Jeremiah 14-15
Click on Text Links to Read Online
Focus Verses: Ecclesiastes 5:1-3
1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. 2 Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. 3 As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words.
Insight:
The mysteries of life should give us pause and push us toward thought, study, reverence, and faith. There are so many words, books, programs, and broadcasts about things we don't really understand or know. It's easy to confuse lots of talk with knowledge. Talking more and talking louder does not make you wiser. God is not restricted by the limits of my reason or diminished by the gaps in my knowledge.
Response & Action:
I want to be slow to speak and quick to listen. When I am confronted with the things I don't know or understand, I want to be thoughtful and alert instead of running my mouth. I will be open and humble and willing to say, "I don't know." I will take time everyday to read, think, study, reflect, and pray. I will remember that sometimes the wisest thing to say is nothing at all.
O God, your ways are higher than my ways, and your thoughts are deeper than mine. Give me the wisdom and the will to feed my spirit and stimulate my mind. Show me your ways. Teach me your truth. Give me your peace when I'm facing my own uncertainty. Give me trust when I am facing the unknown. Give me insight and understanding for life as I look to Jesus, the Scriptures, and the guidance of your Spirit. Amen.
Spiritual Formation Verses: James 1:19-20
12 Words from a wise man's mouth are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips. 13 At the beginning his words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness- 14 and the fool multiplies words. No one knows what is coming—who can tell him what will happen after him?
Resources:
Invitation to Silence and Solitude
by Ruth Haley Barton
