“If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which neither you nor your fathers have known, some of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other, you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him. But you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. And all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you.

In this, the Day of Grace, I should not act so harshly against someone in my family who advocates for some other god. But I must be prepared at all times to explain the hope that lies within me and to do so with gentleness and respect. I Peter 3:15. I am not called to perform a societal equivalent of stoning upon a family member who does not worship the LORD, God, the Almighty. All my life, all my words, must reflect the transforming power of the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Today's readings in the Psalms:

Morning: Psalm 81

Mid-day: 119:121-128

Evening: Psalm 7

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