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Friday, January 9, 2009
God's Word in the Wrong Hands
King Herod heard about this new king of the Jews. Herod was
troubled about this. And all the people in Jerusalem were
worried too. Herod called a meeting of all the leading Jewish
priests and teachers of the law. Herod asked them where the
Christ would be born. They answered, "In the town of
Bethlehem in Judea. The prophet wrote about this {in the
Scriptures}: 'Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are
important among the rulers of Judah. Yes, a ruler will come
from you, and that ruler will lead Israel, my people.'"
-- Matthew 2:3-6 (ERV)
KEY THOUGHT:
While God is full of surprises, he has repeatedly given his people help
in understanding -- even anticipating, his greatest works of salvation.
The prophets had seen a new David coming to redeem and lead God's
people. Like David of old, this new David would also be a shepherd from
the town of Bethlehem. But, like so many in our time, Herod was more
interested in using this understanding of God's plan to help himself
rather than to be molded into a person of God. We must learn that God's
Word in Scripture is given to us to help us know, obey, and worship
him, not simply to collect a set of facts to use for our own personal
advantage.
TODAY'S PRAYER:
Dear Father, I want to know your Word so I may more perfectly obey your
will. Please help me to find your truth and live it, not just discuss
it or use it for my own selfish purposes. I pray this in the name of
the Living Word. Amen.
>> NEW: Phil's What Jesus Did devotional is now
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>> The WJD! web page has related scriptures and the
>> full text of today's key passage. Read it at:
http://www.heartlight.org/wjd/matthew/0109-wjd.html
>> For further study of today's passage, use our
>> online Bible study site: SearchGodsWord.org!
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Matthew+2:3-6&sr=1&t=erv
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