Day 20: You Still Lack One Thing

Luke 18, 19, 20

We all still lack one thing.  Trust.  As members of this fleeting and temporary world, it’s almost natural to not trust.  So many have been hurt that they’re natural response is that they are protecting those that they love.

Trust is what we all lack.  Trust in the persistent, trust in the unknown, trust in Him. Trust leads to faith.

¹Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Luke 18:1

⁸I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? Luke 18:8

I try to answer that question.  As I develop a more personal relationship with Christ, I see how far I’ve fallen.  As doubt and denial rack my mind, I find comfort in the words that I’ve been reading on the daily.  I am reminded of what I need to do to redeem myself.

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Luke 18:14

Then the verse that eased those feelings of angst away:

²⁷Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” Luke 18:27

As I continue to read, I’m faced with more reasons as to why I am determined to know more about my Heavenly Father.

¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” Luke 19:10

Have faith because of this promise.

Dear Lord, As I spend more time in your word, I realize that all of our feelings of angst and worry are driven by us and us alone.  I realize what I lack – allow me to truly repent and completely understand what it means to be a child of God. Thank you for allowing me to trust in you. Amen

Day 17: To Be A Lamp of the Body

Day 17: Luke 9, 10, 11

At the end of Luke, chapter 11, it describes an incident between Jesus and the Pharisees/teachers of the Law. Reading the actions of those that “follow the law” but their hardened hearts – remind me of the times today.  I too struggle with having 1 foot in the world and 1 foot in the Christian world.

³⁹Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹But give what is inside the dish ^[a] to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

⁴²“Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

⁴³“Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.

⁴⁴“Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it.”

⁴⁵One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”

⁴⁶Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

⁴⁷“Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them. ⁴⁸So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’ ⁵⁰Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, ⁵¹from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.

⁵²“Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.” Luke 11:39-52

I remember the passage previous to this: ³⁴Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. ³⁶Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you.” Luke 11:34-36

Dear Lord,

Help me to be a lamp of the body.  Help me to understand the errors of those who don’t live by the word.  Impossible on my own, but fully trusting in your compassion – let me see the errors of my ways.  Allow me to trust in you, Lord. Amen

Day 14: Giving What You Don’t Have – Do Not Be Anxious

Day 14: Mark 14, 15, 16; Luke 1, 2

We’ve all gone through those moments – strapped for cash, bills to pay.  It sometimes leads to not having anything to give for offering.  However, this is the wrong way to go about giving freely to Christ.  A very poignant verse that rang true while reading this morning was when Jesus was anointed in Bethany.  It was not about frugality, waste or efficiency.  It was about someone doing what she could – no matter the cost, to serve her Lord.

Mark 14:6-8 (New International Version)

⁶“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. ⁸She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.

Yet Christ was victim to anxiety as well.  However, He lifted those anxieties and worries to His Father and left with the most powerful statement.  ³⁶“Abba,^[a] Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will. Mark 14:36

Mark 14:34-36 (New International Version)

³⁴“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” ³⁵Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. ³⁶“Abba,^[a] Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Father, I seek your forgiveness and compassion.  As I strive to lead a more personal relationship with you.  I fall, I become anxious and I look to earthly matters to console such sorrow.  I pray that as I develop this relationship, that I may truly be able to freely say those words that Christ said in Gethsamane.

Day 13: Do Not Doubt Your Heart, Pray with Conviction

Day 13: Mark 11, 12, 13

Doubt.  We all have it.  Yet, Christ gave us the instruction to not doubt and to have faith and pray for that.

Mark 11:23-26 (New International Version)

²³“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. ²⁴Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ²⁵And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”^[a]

It’s so amazingly powerful to read these chapters every morning and gain new perspective.  I’ve been guilty of not truly believing in what I ask for in prayer.

Dear Father, help my heart to soften – to truly grasp what it means to truly have faith.  I ask that I can have full trust in what I ask for, for you have stated that if I believe that I have received it, it will be [mine].  Thank you for sending your son as the ultimate sacrifice – to watch over us and comfort us.