40 Days of Prayer

Christ - The Healer of the Broken 

"On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Matthew 9:12-13 NIV

Jesus is being criticized by the Pharisees for eating with "tax-collectors and sinners." He has called Matthew as a disciple (a former tax-collector) who now introduces Jesus to all the tax-collectors and sinners in his life, the natural progression of sharing Jesus with others. The Pharisees object. Jesus' response - learn the difference between mercy and sacrifice. Mercy - an act of compassion toward an offender - undeserved. Sacrifice - an offering given to obtain mercy - deserved. Jesus follows that statement with his call to sinners not the righteous. We then understand that we will never deserve mercy, that we are not the healthy, we are not the righteous. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." Psalm 51: 17

"(King) David now declares that he needed to bring nothing whatever to God but a contrite and humbled heart. The man of broken spirit is one who has been emptied of all vain-glorious confidence, and brought to acknowledge that he is nothing. The contrite heart abjures the idea of merit, and has no dealings with God upon the principle of exchange." Heart Aflame, Daily Readings from John Calvin on the Psalms

Prayer: Pray for the broken within the new community God is calling us to surrounding the new location. Pray for your eyes to be open to those you can reach out to.