Today's Word

Lectionary Index

Topical Index

Scripture Index

Home and Away

Midweek Oasis

My Spiritual Journey

Poems and Stories

Site Map

You are welcome to use the writings on these pages or pass them on to others who might find a touch from God in the words. Our purpose is always to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the world. Please remember to give credit to the Author who has given you everything, and keep in remembrance the vessel which He used to bring these words to you. We pray that this site may be a blessing to you and anyone with whom its been shared. All rights reserved. Peggy Hoppes

Our Lord is so good, He grants us many blessings. We can see Him in the daily course of events, in our homes, our jobs, our lives. I pray that these words help you to grow in your faith and recognize His hand in even the most mundane circumstances.

The picture to the right is of a Celtic Chapel located in Cornwall England. This building is approximately 1700 years old, and contains a holy well known for its healing powers.

(Click for enlarged)

Due to the high volume of spam that comes through the domain, I have had to stop using that email address. However, if you would like to send me mail, use the following address, replacing the bracketed words with the symbol. Thank you for your continued interest, prayers and messages of encouragement.

Scriptures for Sunday, November 23, 2008: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24: Psalm 95:1-7a; Ephesians 1:15-23; Matthew 25:31-46

Matthew 25:31-46 But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink? And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me. And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life.

Based on today’s scripture, we have a negative understanding about the value of a goat in God’s eyes. After all, it sounds like the goats are all going to be sent to be sent into eternal punishment for not taking care of those who were in need. It makes it sound as if goats are unclean or unacceptable. Yet, the scriptures show us that goats were not only clean, but they were acceptable at the Temple for sacrifice.

As a matter of fact, the hair of the goat was used for the curtains in the tabernacle. This would have been true if God had deemed goats unworthy. Leviticus 16 describes the ritual involved in the Day of Atonement, at which goats play a very prominent role. The Lord told Moses that Aaron should first offer a bull for his own sins, and then he is to present two goats to the Lord before the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. One goat was chosen for sacrifice, the other was sent into the desert to be a scapegoat. The scapegoat is not immediately killed; the people lay their sins on its head and it is then sent into the wilderness. Now, both goats are sacrificed, but one is given directly to the Lord and the other is left for God to take in His time and way. The fact that goats are used in the ritual for the Day of Atonement shows us that goats are not unacceptable before the Lord.

The goats are not only acceptable as the sin offering, but the fellowship offering also includes goats. Anything that is given to God in sacrifice is expected to be worthy. It is the blood of that animal, after all, that provides for the spiritual cleansing of the people. It is through the blood that they are forgiven. It is not really a concept that we understand today, especially since in Hebrews 10 we learn that the blood of bulls and goats can not forgive sun. But for the people of ancient Israel, those goats meant life and reconciliation to God. A goat isn’t a bad thing.

As a matter of fact, according to Heifer International, goats are one of the “Seven M” animals. The most efficient use of livestock resources is found in those animals that offer meat, milk, muscle, manure, money, materials and motivation. Goats reproduce quickly, often birthing kids several times a year. The milk can be used for drinking, cooking, butter and cheese. Farms with more than one goat can provide milk, butter and cheese for sale. Goat manure makes excellent fertilizer. They are small and need less space for proper care. They eat anything, including weeds that are dangerous for other animals and people, so they are better for managing land. They can be trained to carry packs or they are strong enough to pull wagons. They can be housebroken and make rather good pets. Goat hair is used to make wool, including mohair and cashmere. These animals are certainly of some value, particularly among those families for whom one animal could mean the difference between life and death.

So, we best not take too much about the use of sheep and goats in today’s passage. However, we are reminded that until that day when Christ comes to rule over the world, it might be very difficult for us to tell the difference between those who will be chosen for eternal life and those who will be sent to eternal punishment. After all, there are many ‘good’ people in the world, people who by their own strength and ability may seem like they deserve a place in heaven. However, there is something missing. For Jesus, the ones set to the left hand are those who missed the opportunities to serve Him by serving those in need. That said, are any of us worthy? Have any of us missed even one opportunity to meet the needs of a neighbor or stranger in need? Have we turned away the helpless or forgotten the imprisoned?

Would you like to receive A Word For Today in your mailbox daily? Enter your email below and you will be added to our list at topica.com.

Subscribe!

Enter your email to join A Word for Today today!

Scriptures for Sunday, November 23, 2008: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24: Psalm 95:1-7a; Ephesians 1:15-23; Matthew 25:31-46

Ephesians 1:15-23 For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which ye show toward all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

I don’t remember where I saw it, but I remember an interesting scene from a television show. It was starring a woman and her mother-in-law. As is typical for many of those sitcom relationships, the man’s mother is always a buttinsky, with plenty of advice for the wife. Marie on “Everybody Loves Raymond” is constantly telling Debra what to do and how to clean. I’m not sure if she was the one, but the mother-in-law offered the son’s wife a pile of articles clipped from magazines, “to help you learn.” She didn’t like the way the daughter-in-law took care of her home, husband and children, so found ways to ‘enlighten’ stealthily, as if the daughter-in-law could not see through the façade.

I suppose I’ve done the same thing, although not usually about housework. If I find an article online that I think would help a friend, I send them a link. I don’t know how these are received. Perhaps they are seen with the same offense Debra has when Marie makes a suggestion to her. Perhaps the recipient knows that I sent it with a good and right motive, like Marie and those other sitcom mother-in-laws claim to have. If we have knowledge about something, we want to enlighten others about it. However, our desire to enlighten is often met with a defensive response.

When I was spending my time in the Christian chat rooms online, I saw many people who visited the rooms came with that intent. They were there to enlighten people. Anyone who disagreed about a doctrine or interpretation of biblical text was in need of teaching. Some even went so far as to say, “Only the Holy Spirit can make you see.” They would often then go on to pray for the people who disagreed, asking the Holy Spirit to enlighten them. Of course, I was the recipient of many of these prayers because I did not ‘see’ the text with the same eyes. As a matter of fact, in many cases I interpreted the text in exactly the opposite way. One of us was upside down.

I suppose that’s why I am somewhat bothered by the prayer in this passage. Paul writes, “…may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; having the eyes of your heart enlightened…” Too many people tried to ‘enlighten’ me with their perspective and their interpretation, many of which went against everything I knew and believed. Yet, Paul was not praying for the people of Ephesus to believe him; he was praying that they would know and understand what God had planned for His people.

The three things Paul desires for the Ephesians is “hope,” “riches of his glorious inheritance,” and “immeasurable greatness of his power.” Not only those three things, but that the people might “know what” they were. What is hope? What is the riches about which Paul writes? What is God’s power? Unfortunately, all three of these are often misunderstood and mischaracterized. So, as we consider the coming of the King of Kings, we are asked to consider what it means to hope. What riches are we to expect? What power is there from God? All too often, we want to put our hope in something less than Christ. We want the riches of His inheritance to be something tangible. And power. That is perhaps the hardest one for us to control. We want power. And so we pray those prayers asking for ‘enlightenment’ for those who do not see God’s grace with eyes like ours because we know if they change their mind, we will have the power.

So, we ask for a spirit of wisdom and revelation as we wait for the coming of the Lord. We live in a world where many people think they know what it will be like. There are hundreds, thousands, of books on the subject. We read these books and think that we know what God has up His sleeve, and we think ourselves as better in some way because we ‘get it.’ Yet, Paul reminds us in this passage that we do not have the power; that is for Christ alone. God will set him above all else, with the world as his footstool. And even more comforting is that Jesus will be the head of the church. We don’t need to be in control. We don’t need to have the power. God does, and He has given it to Jesus Christ to be the source of our hope and the immeasurable riches of our inheritance.

The following links provide some specially chosen scripture that tell the stories of the Birth and Passion of our Lord as Saviour Jesus Christ, as well as a fictional perspective of the Crucifixion. Spend time in God's Word, read about His life and learn of the wonderful gifts He has for you. Know Jesus Christ and honour Him today. Thanks be to God.

The Birth of our Saviour

The Story of our Saviour's Passion

The Crucifixion, a fictional perspective

Scripture on this page taken from the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible which belongs to the public domain. Some scripture on this site taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

As you may be aware, I also write a weekly devotional on Wednesday called "MIDWEEK OASIS." For those of you who are familiar with lectionary scripture sources, MIDWEEK OASIS is based on the texts used by millions of Christians each Sunday. The lectionary consists of four texts – an Old Testament passage, a Psalm, a passage from one of the Epistles and a Gospel text. We are now using the lectionary for our A WORD FOR TODAY texts. The way it works: Our week begins on Thursday, with our texts being those that will be used on the Sunday ten days out. Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday we look at each of the texts – an Old Testament lesson, a Psalm, an epistle and a Gospel text, in no particular order. On Wednesday, we'll look at how these texts fit together, how they fit into the church calendar and how they fit into our lives. I use the Revised Common Lectionary as used by the Lutheran Church.

A WORD FOR TODAY is available daily through a mailing list. If you would like to be added to this list, add your name using the topica.com link sign up above. You will receive the WORD in your box Monday through Friday.

You are welcome to use these words to share the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Please remember to give credit to the Author who has given you these gifts, and keep in remembrance the vessel which He used to bring them to you. We pray that this site may be a blessing to you and anyone with whom you've shared it. Peggy Hoppes