Sun.’s Devo - Do it Again!

Read: Exodus 15:19-17:7; Matthew 22:1-33; Psalm 27:1-6; Proverbs 6:20-26
Miriam and the women led the people in praise of what God did to their enemies. They were now free to be their own nation and start over. They were pictures of new Christians having to learn to have faith and believe that God was their loving father who would provide for them.
Instead of praying they spent most of their time complaining which is the opposite of prayer. They ran out of water and when they finally came to water it was bitter and they couldn’t drink it. They grumbled, but Moses prayed. God told him to throw a piece of wood into the water and it became sweet. (Jesus was the wood that makes all our trials sweet.)
A month to the day after they had left Egypt, they came to Elim which means “mighty ones”. That was how God wanted them to see themselves. The next place was the Desert of Sin
All they could talk about was how good they had had it in Egypt. How quickly they forgot the part about slavery and bondage.
To answer their problem of food, God rained down manna from heaven and brought quail right to their doorsteps. Moses told them just how much of the bread they were to gather - one omer per person and they were to eat it all that day, because the next day, God would send new manna. They had to trust that God would do it again.
We have to learn that God cares about every one of our needs and desires. We have to look back to the good things God has done in the past and know that he can do it again and he will. We have to forget the bad things of our past like the bondage of sin we were in and see it as bondage. It is not always easy being a Christian but it is not only eternally rewarding, but it will reap earthly blessing also.
In Matthew, Jesus told another parable about the religious leaders of the day and they knew it was against them, which just made them want to kill him more.
The parable was about a wedding invitation sent out by the father of the groom. He sent out the invitations which were met with apathy from some, and brutality and murder from others. The father was enraged and sent his servants out to the poor, the good and the bad, and anyone who wanted to come.
When it was time for the wedding, the father noticed that one person did not bother to put on the provided garment for the wedding. He was confronted then thrown out.
No one will enter heaven with out the garment of salvation. Many are invited to salvation, but few choose to come.
The Pharisees tried to trick him with the question about taxes. Jesus told him to obey both laws: the law of the land and the law of God.
The Sadducees questioned him about resurrection because that was their pet doctrine. They didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead. Jesus assured them that there was a resurrection, but marriage to one another is of the earth. In heaven we will be like angels.
Once again, Jesus silenced the authority of the earth and astonished the crowds.
Lord, may we dwell on all the good things you have done for us and put our faith in your awesome power to do it again.