Osu
Would you believe these 3 photos were all shot on the same street? They are. Such is Japan.
Luke 9:18-27
'Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?'" (v. 23-25)
Sometimes my response to life's disappointments is… disappointing. I'm more selfish than I'd like to admit. I don't like it when I don't get my own way, I don't like waiting, I want comfort and fulfillment and success and… Here Jesus calls me to something higher, something better. To give my ALL to Him. It's a high calling. Many days I fail to live up to it. Which is why I need His grace. And by His grace, here and now, I make this my prayer…. "Take the world, but give me Jesus."Luke 9:1-17
“Take nothing for the journey — no staff, no bag, no bread, no money,
no extra tunic.” (v. 3)
His name. And yet how often do I worry or complain that I don’t have
all I need? Or… want? Jesus wants us to trust Him. Just a few verse later, Jesus dramatically illustrates His point when
miraculously feeds 5000 people. God is more than able to provide for
our needs, and in this case gave the people more than they needed, as
the 12 baskets of leftovers show. God will take care of us as we trust Him with our lives and follow His lead. As Jesus says elsewhere, “seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all all these things will be given to you as well.”
(Matthew 6:33)
Luke 6:12-26
“Looking at his disciples, he said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor…'”
Many of Jesus gave up a lot to follow Him, such as those who left their boats and nets (their livelihood) on the shore and walked away. Some gave up everything to follow Jesus.
What about you?
What about me?
Luke 3:1-17
“Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” (v. 8)
Real repentence isn’t just feeling sorry for our sins, but turning from it and choosing to live differently. It means to follow Jesus and live in a way that produces “fruit” — brings positive results to our lives and the lives of those around us.
It’s interesting to note here that when his audience asks him what they should do, the kind of fruit John tells them to produce is all related to money and possessions. He says, for example, “The man who has two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.” (v. 11) And throughout the gospels, Jesus too comes back to this idea again and again.
I guess Jesus and John both knew that how we use our money and possessions shows our priorities, our hearts. Their example and teaching point us toward living as simply as possible so that we can more freely give and serve.
This is a pretty big challenge to our modern, materialistic ways of living. Are we letting society influence us into confusing our needs with selfish desires? Or are we willing to follow the way of Christ and live more simply, with less stuff, so that we can give more to help those in need?
Father God, I have everything I need, and then some. Thank You for providing for my needs. Teach me to use what I have in a way that honors You and furthers Your Kingdom.
(Sent from my iPad)
Luke 2:1-20
I love now eager the shepherds in this story are. After they heard about Jesus, they quickly went to see Him for themselves. And after seeing Him, they quickly spread the word to others. And they returned home praising God for the things they’d seen and heard.
I want to be more like these shepherds, seeking to experience more of Jesus, eagerly sharing the good news with others, and praising God enthusiastically as I go about my daily life.
Lord, my prayer today is that You will deepen my desire to know You, to share You and to worship You.