12/9/16
The earliest Christians followed a Jewish tradition of pausing to pray, preferably together, first thing in the morning, about mid morning, at noon, about mid afternoon, and in the evening. “Just a Note” posts are brief observations made from Scripture readings not related to a lectionary. If I have one to post, it normally appears about 9:00 in the morning, at “the hour of prayer.”
In John 8:37-47, as Jesus’ discussion with his opponents escalates, he concedes that they are descendants of Abraham. However he denies that they are his true descendants because they are not doing the works of Abraham.
Jesus, on the other hand, says he does the works of his father, God. He asserts that he does good works because they are the works of God. He has heard them from his Father.
Are the Jewish leaders the spiritual offspring of the devil? Are they doing Satan’s work rather than God’s work? It does seem that they are hostile toward God the Son. They discourage people from receiving healing on the Sabbath, a day of rest. They reject the blessings promised by God.
Almost all Christians confess that the Christian has both a good, converted will and a will to sin and evil in ourselves throughout his life. May God give us all grace to hear from the Father through the Son, to believe him, and do many of the good works which come to our hands, recognizing that those works are good because God has declared what good is.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
The earliest Christians followed a Jewish tradition of pausing to pray, preferably together, first thing in the morning, about mid morning, at noon, about mid afternoon, and in the evening. “Just a Note” posts are brief observations made from Scripture readings not related to a lectionary. If I have one to post, it normally appears about 9:00 in the morning, at “the hour of prayer.”
In John 8:37-47, as Jesus’ discussion with his opponents escalates, he concedes that they are descendants of Abraham. However he denies that they are his true descendants because they are not doing the works of Abraham.
Jesus, on the other hand, says he does the works of his father, God. He asserts that he does good works because they are the works of God. He has heard them from his Father.
Are the Jewish leaders the spiritual offspring of the devil? Are they doing Satan’s work rather than God’s work? It does seem that they are hostile toward God the Son. They discourage people from receiving healing on the Sabbath, a day of rest. They reject the blessings promised by God.
Almost all Christians confess that the Christian has both a good, converted will and a will to sin and evil in ourselves throughout his life. May God give us all grace to hear from the Father through the Son, to believe him, and do many of the good works which come to our hands, recognizing that those works are good because God has declared what good is.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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