Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
April 15, 2023
Matthew 9:9-13
9 As Jesus continued on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at a kiosk for collecting taxes. He said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him. 10 As Jesus sat down to eat in Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners joined Jesus and his disciples at the table. 11 But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 When Jesus heard it, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. 13 Go and learn what this means: I want mercy and not sacrifice. I didn’t come to call righteous people, but sinners.”
Good Morning; Jesus came for all of us!
Saint Augustine spent much of his life struggling to find truth in the Word of God. He believed in God; he just wanted or needed to know more. Like many before and after him, he was confused about how the grace of God worked. He studied the great philosophers and was a very learned man. In the end, he finally opened himself to the Word, accepted that he could earn his salvation, and found the truth he desperately sought.
Through his writings, we learn about the love and mercy of God as shown to us through Christ. One of the quotes attributed to Augustine is, “The church is not a museum for saints; it is a hospital for sinners.” The elite leaders of the early church did not want to hear this because they felt they were doing everything right.
Just like the Pharisees, they couldn’t see the truth because of their blindness to their own sins. Earlier in Matthew 7:3-5 we read another teaching of Jesus: “How can you take the speck out of your neighbor's eye if you can't take the log out of your own?” We all know what that means – you can't help someone else overcome their faults if you have not yet overcome your own.
To be saved, we must first admit our own sinfulness before God and accept the gift of grace poured out for us in the blood of Christ. Jesus comes for us just as we are: imperfect, frail, weak, flawed, and sinful. Praise be to God!
Blessed God, We thank you for Your blessings. We are sinners who You choose to offer grace. Thank You! In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: God doesn’t see me as imperfect, just one of the family.
Open your eyes! Pastor Liz
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