Today’s Reading: Luke 14
“For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 14:11 Humility is tricky. You don’t want to think of yourself too highly, but you also don’t want to think of yourself poorly with a “woe is me” attitude. Humility is not thinking of yourself at all and putting others first. Jesus talks about not choosing the seat of honor at a table, assuming you deserve it, and then humiliatingly being asked to move, versus picking a lower seat, still being asked to move, but this time, it’s a seat of honor! Sometimes, it’s difficult to be humble and put others first, especially if you’re busy, in a hurry, or can quickly justify reasons why you should be first. I think this is something that we could all incorporate into our lives every day, even in the little things. Instead of hurrying to beat someone to the checkout line, let them go first. Maybe there is a great parking spot, wave someone in. Maybe your hand is tired and you don’t want to write a note of encouragement to someone. Take a couple minutes and do it. Small steps of humility can lead to a humble life. Spend some time in prayer asking God to help you see simple steps towards humility that you can take.
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Today’s Reading: Luke 13
“He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’” Luke 13:32 When we look at Jesus’ life on earth, we see over and over again that the Pharisees try to silence Him. They are always searching and seeking to catch him doing something wrong. They are so intimidated by him that they simply want to stop his ministry so that they can be the bosses of the religious sector once again. If he heals on the Sabbath, they tell him to stop. If he literally does anything on the Sabbath, they tell him to stop. Now, they want to just get him out of town by saying that Herod wants to kill him. Their scare tactics don’t work though. Jesus knows everything: Their intentions, their thoughts, Herod’s thoughts, everything. He tells them that he is going to keep doing what he’s doing, what is good, until his time on earth is done. Are you going to keep doing good until your time on earth is done? Even if someone tries to stop you, manipulate you, treat you like garbage? Are you willing to look past that towards the end goal? Is pleasing God more important than pleasing man for you? Spend some time in prayer today asking God to help you do good and keep persevering no matter what. Today’s Reading: Luke 12
“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?” Luke 12:25 Doesn’t it always feel like no matter how much you plan ahead, it still feels like there is not enough time of the day to get everything done that you want to get done! For me, working at church, getting things done around the house, and taking care of my baby presents so many layers of things to do. I’m just trying to get one thing done at a time so I don’t drive myself crazy worrying. Obviously, Jesus knows we have a tendency to worry because he spoke about it pretty straight-forward. They worried then and we worry now! He said that God takes care of the wildflowers and sparrows so of course he is going to take care of every detail of our lives too. But, despite his words, we still lean towards worrying. We think that if we worry enough about something, it will solve our problems or get things done. And, it doesn't. Worrying can’t add even a single hour to our lives. Ironically, wasting time on worrying takes away time from our lives. When we should be just trusting God and getting things done, we get in our heads and worry, which doesn’t get anything done. Spend some time in prayer not only asking God to help you stop worrying, but also surrendering all of your worries to Him. Today’s Reading: Luke 11
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Luke 11:9 When I talked about prayer in a previous devotional, I reminded us that God is not a divine vending machine. We can’t will him to do what we ask, but as we read Luke Chapter 11, we are reminded to keep on praying. Jesus states that if earthly fathers want to do good for their children, how much more would our Father in Heaven want to do good for us? Sometimes our “good” is not the same as what God has planned. Even if we pray for things that are good, he may have different plans, and those plans are better! Whether you are praying for wisdom or healing or any other request, keep on bringing it to the throne of God; don’t give up! Maybe he won’t answer exactly how you want, but maybe your heart will be changed to see his plans and the best plans that he has in store for you or whoever you are praying for. Spend some time in prayer asking God to help you see his will in each of your prayer requests. Today’s Reading: Luke 10
“But few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:42 In this account in Luke of Mary and Martha, we’re faced with this struggle of sitting versus doing. I think this is an important passage in the Bible for us to look at as women. We have to be okay with sitting at the feet of Jesus. Resting. Focusing on what’s important. In verse 40, it says that Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She was serving out of obligation and worried that things had to be done and they had to be done now. But, the irony is Jesus is the Son of God. He was there with them. Did anything really need to be done? Couldn’t he have just breathed a word and all the preparations would have been instantly completed? Would he have left her embarrassed and in an awkward situation if she too would have sat at his feet? I don’t think so. Jesus says that being with Him was the better choice and could not be taken away. Our time spent in prayer or our time spent just sitting at Jesus’ feet are not a waste. It may feel like we’re not “doing” anything, but that special time of being with Jesus flows into and affects the rest of our life. When we make the main thing, the main thing, it will help us to not be worried or distracted about all the preparations, but be thankful for the time we have with our Savior. Spend some time just “being” with Jesus. Don’t list out all your requests. Just sit in silence, listen to worship music, or read His Word. |
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