Today´s reading:
OT: Deuteronomy 13, Deuteronomy 14, Deuteronomy 15
NT: Luke 8:40-56 , Luke 9:1-6
Ps: Psalm 71
Pr: Proverbs 12:5-7
Today´s notable verses:
Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.
Deuteronomy 14:23 (NIV)
A question about the tithe: the Israelites brought the tithe of their crops, vineyards, and flocks to the temple, and ate them in the presence of God as a fellowship offering. How does this principle apply to us today - or does it? The concept of the tithe today is that it is simply given away - or, given back to God, as it were. How do we practice "eating [our] tithe...in the presence of the Lord"?
But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me."
Luke 8:46 (NIV)
What strikes me in this passage is the passive transferrence of healing power from Christ to the woman. What a beautiful example of faith being the effective or permissive agent to enable Christ's healing power. Note that it was not merely the act of touching Jesus that brought healing - for the crowds were pressed around Him, and yet Jesus took note of the touch of one specific person: the touch that came from faith in Jesus' power to heal. Many were touching Jesus, intentionally or unintentionally, yet one one was healed: the one who touched purposefully, in faith. Would that we would seek to touch Jesus today, and through our faith receive the spiritual, physical, or emotional healing that is His gift to and desire for us!
The One Year Bible Blog asks:
I find it interesting that these verses say both - there should be no poor and that there will always be some poor among you.
The poor will always be among us, for several reasons: some are able yet unwilling to work, and so do not prosper; others are physically or mentally unable to work; others are able and willing to work, but are facing a short- or long-term trial of some sort. Regardless, that we will always have the poor among us serves as a visible reminder that we are all interdependent. Just as we who are able are commanded to care for the poor, so too we realize that we have needs that can only be met by others - and all of us have a need that can only be met by Christ.