Judgment
Day 550, Thursday, Feb. 12
Romans 2:1-16
The first part of today’s reading calls to mind the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 7: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Paul reminds us that passing judgment on someone else, then doing the same things, only brings judgment on ourselves. “So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment.”
We can try to comfort ourselves by saying we don’t sin in exactly the same way other people do, but we know deep down that that is just splitting hairs.
In verses 12-16, Paul returns to yesterday’s theme that even the gentiles have an awareness of what the law requires despite not having heard the law spoken.

-Rev. Mark Fleming

Thursday meditation

Psalms 78:9-20
The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle; they did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his law. They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them. He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand up like a wall. He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night. He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas; he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers.
But they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High. They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved. They spoke against God; they said, “Can God really spread a table in the wilderness? True, he struck the rock, and water gushed out, streams flowed abundantly, but can he also give us bread? Can he supply meat for his people?”

Prayer focus
Lord, thank you for your kindness, forbearance and patience. May we pass it on to others.