Day 13

Prayer:
2nd day praying for Tanzania.  My wonderful friend, Liz, lived in Tanzania for six months so I have been thinking about her a lot as I read through this one.

Proverbs 3:11-12
The Lord disciplines us because He loves us.  Since I have no children of my own, I did not fully understand this until I became a teacher.  In fact, just today I was trying my best to convince a class of 5th graders that the reason I insist they do things the right way is because I love them and see their true potential, and it is disappointing to see them not living up to it.  I wonder what potential the Lord sees in me... and if I even remotely come close to living up to it?

Psalm 11
"The Lord is in his holy temple; ... his eyes see" verse 4

Matthew 9:18-38
People began coming to Jesus for healing, but others were already mocking Him.  In a span of three verses, we see a woman who knew that if she was just able to touch the hem of His garment she would be made well, and then a mourning crowd who laughed at Jesus when He told them the girl was not dead.  What faith!  And what blindness!  Jesus traveled and healed and preached and had compassion on the crowds.  At the end of this chapter, He tells the disciples that "the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few."  And the instructions that follow are to PRAY for the Lord to send out laborers.

Genesis 28-29
Jacob has a dream, involving angels ascending and descending a ladder reaching to heaven, in which God promises to bless him and make his offspring very numerous.  Then he proceeds to Haran to find a wife and is tricked into marrying Leah, but the also wins Rachel as a wife.  I almost want to say "Now he know what it feels like," regarding his earlier trickery, but I least of all need to be judging someone else.