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Today’s reading is Luke 17:1-18:43.

“Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan” (Luke 17:15-16).

God has healed me of more than leprosy. However, I find it is easy to forget about that as I press on with my daily life and routine. How quickly I can take for granted God’s precious gifts. When I take the time to write out a gratitude list and then pray it, I can’t believe the grace that fills my life. I am reminded that God really isn’t picking on me with the bad things but is abundantly supplying me with good things. How can I be depressed and despairing when I remember these blessings? My fears that God won’t take care of me tomorrow start to abate. Thanksgiving is good for me. 

An example: Right now I’m breathing deeply and there is still oxygen. My fingers are able to move across this keyboard. I am able to get out of bed and drive to the office today. I still have food in my refrigerator and pantry today. I have clean clothes to wear today. My children are sleeping healthfully this morning; so is my wife. But more than these physical blessings, I’m able to pray today, read my Bible today, be in fellowship with loving brethren today. I am cleansed today by Jesus’ blood. I am an adopted son of God. My Father owns the universe. (That beats out your Father, unless you are my brother or sister, then we can be thankful together.)

Let me quickly add something. This is not just about our relationship with God. I’ve found great benefit in being thankful to others. Write thank you notes, make thank you calls, send thank you e-mails, just plain old say, “Thank you,” when people provide a benefit to you. Be amazed at how actually saying thanks lifts your day and your outlook on life.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Luke 13:1-14:35.

SMACKDOWN!

That’s what today’s reading is for me. Especially in Luke 14:7-11, called the parable of the wedding feast. Don’t take the seat of honor, Jesus says, lest you find out you didn’t deserve it and get humiliated in front of everyone. Instead, take the lower seats. Sure, you may end up stuck there. On the other hand, you may be exalted before everyone as the host explains you deserve to sit at a higher rank.

I need to hear this today (and every day). I have an awfully arrogant tendency to think I should be receiving most of the honor. For most of my life I have been plagued with jealousy when others receive honor. Thankfully, God has been working on that one and I’m gaining progressive victory over that arrogance. However, I needed this reminder. 

Of course, while Jesus couches His point in a seemingly self-serving practical point, I don’t think that was Jesus’ point. Jesus wasn’t saying, do this in some kind of self-deprecating, false modesty. Rather, he was using this scenario to explain the reality of life in general. When I think more of myself than I ought, God will humble me (King Saul comes to mind, as does King Rehoboam). On the other hand, when I walk with sincere humility, God will exalt me at the right time. I don’t walk with the humility in order to be exalted, because then that wouldn’t be sincere humility, would it? I can see it now as we develop our humility competition, “I’m more humble than you are.” No. That is not really humility. 

Rather, when I go to the lower place because I truly believe others are more important than me (cf. Philippians 2:3-4), then God will exalt me.

Praise God for this reminder.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What did you get out of today’s reading?

I don’t know how many times I have heard people my age (for I am still a youth) and younger whine and moan with I Timothy 4:12 on their tongues. “Oh, you awful old people. You’re not supposed to despise my youth.” But these whiny fits miss the point of Paul’s statement. He was not telling Timothy to direct from on high that no one was allowed to despise him for his youth no matter how youthful he acted. Rather, he was telling Timothy what he needed to do so no one would despise his youth. In fact, he immediately provides 5 keys to keep others from despising his youth.

1) Be an example

Specifically, Paul told Timothy to set an example in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity. If we don’t want folks despising our youth then we need to exemplify mature Christianity even though we are young. We need to speak in mature ways, live in mature ways, love in mature ways, believe with maturity and show mature purity. This connects with the command elsewhere to flee youthful lusts. Let’s face it. Paul’s point is if we don’t want people to despise our youth, then don’t act like a youth. 

Here is the key. If we talk rashly and carelessly, without thinking… If we behave impulsively… If we love selfishly… If we believe shallowly… And if we stain our purity with thoughtless arguments about personal liberty, then our older brethren are going to look at us and say, “Your young, you don’t understand.”

2) Give attention to reading, exhortation and teaching the Scripture.

This is a statement about personal humility. Too often, we young people are not actually focused on reading, exhorting or teaching based on the Scripture. Rather, we have a point we want to make because we think we have figured something out that no one before us ever has. Then we go searching about for a Scripture to make it fit.

If we want our older brethren to honor us despite our youth, our words and teaching must be based on Scripture not the latest self-help book or the newest scholarly treatise even if it is from a respected theologian. I know I have been one of the worst violators of this principle. I love self-help books. Certainly, we can gain some insight into scriptural ideas. However, when we teach we have to make sure what we speak is the oracles of God, not Covey, Maxwell, Blanchard or Warren.

3) Use your gifts

Based on my understanding of other texts and the passing on of miraculous gifts through laying on of apostles hands, I do not believe this passage refers to miraculous gifts of the Spirit. Rather, I think this refers to the gift of the ministry and authority that the elders who had charge over Timothy granted him because of the prophecy the Spirit had revealed to them about Timothy. The reason he had the opportunity to be an evangelist and work at Ephesus was because of this gift.

Therefore, I believe Paul’s point is not to squander the opportunity given him. The elders had put trust in him. They expected him to do good work and so they had granted him a measure of authority and ministry. In much the same way that Paul had said deacons who do their job well gain a good standing, if we young people will use the opportunities given to us by our leaders, we will also develop a good standing. Our older counterparts will not despise our youth when they recognize that we use what abilities, opportunities and resources we have been granted well. If we squander what we have now, why should they give us more?

4) Make progress through devotion

Sadly, we young people can sometimes think we have already reached the mountaintop. Oh, we pay lip service to the fact that we have room to grow. However, we have the idea that really we are pretty much as good as it gets and if everyone else no matter their age would be more like us they would be really spiritual. Paul’s statement here demonstrates that we have some real room to grow. It also demonstrates that the older folks have been through exactly what we have been through. They know what we have experienced and they have come out on the other side. They can tell when we are maturing and when we are not.

We need to devote ourselves to the keys Paul is mentioning. When we do, we will grow. We will progress. We will actually climb toward the real mountaintop and those who are already closer will actually be able to see our progress. They will, therefore, no longer despise our youth.

If, on the other hand, we continue in the mindset of our own greatness and maturity, those who really are more mature than us will be able to see our immature pride and arrogance. They will despise our youth, but they won’t be the ones sinning.

5) Watch your teaching

There is something about being young that says we need to come up with something new. The young seem to believe they only justify their existence in the body of Christ if they figure out something no one else has yet been able to realize. Granted, I realize everyone has room to grow and we may in fact have a spiritual breakthrough that is novel and true at the same time. The problem is with this mindset, we can very easily lose sight of what we really need to be teaching. We need to teach the truth that has been passed down to us from the word of God. It is not our job to find new things. It is our job to pay attention to what we are teaching and make sure it is in line with what has been passed on from Paul, the apostles and prophets of the New Testament. 

As young people, we definitely need to take care. If we have studied and believe we have figured out some truth that others have missed, we need to take great care before we go hog wild passing it on. We may not be the first to think the way we do. Some of our older brethren may have already “discovered” our new teaching and in their maturity know why it doesn’t mesh with the word of God.

Again, the point is not that we never branch off with some “new” teaching, but that we take care and watch what we teach. We are not teaching to show off our mental prowess. We are teaching to help folks glorify God and go to heaven. Let’s keep that as our goal and we won’t be enamored with introducing folks to some new teaching, approach or practice unless there is real reason to do so.

Don’t let people despise your youth. But don’t approach it as a demand to simply not despise you no matter how you act. Live in such a way that folks won’t despise you because you are acting youthful. 

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC