Must I be humble and contrite to be blessed?

Father, we do “works” in Your name of all kinds and we feel proud, at times. Thank You for teaching us that our heart must be right with You for our works to be blessed. You teach us that humility and contrition must precede our efforts to please You.

Let the person who has not sinned cast the first stone

Then You teach us that the scribes (lawyers) and Pharisees (religious leaders) are in the role of accusers. You did not say they accused falsely, Jesus, You said they too commit sins of various kinds and if any of them thought they were without sin, then step up and cast the first stone in the killing process.

We are heirs of salvation…we are family!

Father, it is sometimes difficult to admit it, but we were all once strangers and foreigners to You. That was our condition before we learned of Your grace to us and of salvation from Jesus. But now we are citizens of heaven with all of the other saints, we are members of Your household. We are family!

Fear God…an appropriate response but not if He knows you.

Father, indeed, we who love You with all our heart, mind and soul and love our neighbor as ourselves, are not appointed to Your wrath. We know that does not mean that we are protected from the wrath of mankind, where people are capable of heinous crime.

No more tears…eternal joy and comfort. Not here, but there…

Father, we know that the great tribulation will be a time of extreme testing. There are those who will endure the temptations to serve someone beside You, but here these saints, whose sins were washed away by the blood of Your perfect Lamb, Jesus, are depicted as an example of what You have in store for the faithful.