Today’s reading is Luke 21:1-22:71.

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).

For me, this should be the model prayer. I know I need to pray for my daily bread and for forgiveness, but at the heart of everything I do, I need this prayer. “Not my will but Yours be done.” I need a daily reminder that today is about God and not about me. A friend once shared a prayer he prays with me, “Lord, let me know your will for today and grant me the strength to do it.”

That’s really all I need for today. I need simply to do the next right thing. What does God want me to do next and may I surrender to God’s strength and power to accomplish it.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Matthew 13:1-14:36.

Jesus’ example really hit me where I needed it today. In Matthew 14:1-12, Jesus’ cousin John was beheaded, humiliated, and buried. In Matthew 14:13, Jesus was withdrawing to be by Himself because of this. Yet, when He arrived at the “desolate place” the crowds had beat Him. There they were in need of a shepherd.

I certainly believe Jesus had every right to say, “Not right now.” In fact, later that day, Jesus does take care of Himself  while letting others endure some hardship for a while (Matthew 14:22-25). But that is not what Jesus did here. Though Jesus was mourning and wanting to connect with His Father, He saw the crowds and had compassion. He healed their sick. 

I need to remember this. I can sometimes take caring for myself into selfishness and self-centeredness. I can get so caught up in me that I simply can’t be bothered with other people, no matter their connection to me or their needs. I can do this in my family, in my neighborhood, and even in the congregation.

In fact, it strikes me that my struggle with just reaching out to folks I meet simply through conversation and hopefully turning to spiritual matters is bound up in this. I can get so bound up in my fear of rejection that I don’t try to talk to folks and that means never sharing the good news with them. 

I need to work on this. Too often I want to stay in my own desolate place instead of having compassion on the crowds. I need to work on this today.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

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

Today’s reading is James 4:1-5:20.

I was immediately struck by James 4:1-3: “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you! Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

What causes quarrels and fights among us? He didn’t say error or false doctrine. Nope. The fights and quarrels were caused by selfishness. Now, don’t misunderstand, I know this passage is talking to specific people with specific issues and is not meant to cover every quarrel or fight brethren have ever had. But it just hit me about how true this statement is in most cases. How many times are even doctrinal quarrels predicated on pleasure and passion? How many times is some doctrine latched on to in order to justify having a quarrel, a fight, or a split? 

Think about the Pharisees in Jesus’ day and the Jews against Paul. How often did their doctrinal arguing only come after they became jealous that more people were following Jesus and Paul than following them? The quarrel and fight actually came from passions and pleasures.

How can we immediately reduce the number of quarrels and fights we have whether we are speaking within the congregation, the family, the neighborhood, the workplace, or wherever? How can we increase unity in all of our relationships? Get rid of our selfishness. Certainly, we can’t make anyone else be selfless. However, we can start with us. If we get rid of our own jealousy, selfish-ambition, self-centeredness, and arrogance imagine what peace might ensue. After all, it really does take two to have an argument. If I can modify the old saying, “What if we decided to have a fight and no one showed up?”

Keep the faith and keep reading.

ELC

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