March 20, 2023
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in our Lenten readings from “The Life of Jesus”? Here’s today’s reading:
Day 10 in the Book: “The Life of Jesus“
The Year of Growing Opposition
Read Sections 4.69 through 4.72 (pages 125-128)
This book is an account of Jesus’ life and teachings told through in chronological order from the four Gospels to create one continuous story.
*If you do not have a copy of the book please contact the church at (401)667-0775 and we can get you a copy.
Again the importance of humility is emphasized by Jesus. It is not about anything we can do on our own to be saved but rather the work done on the cross so even if we spend every waking hour of our lives “working” to earn our spot in heaven it would never be enough. If we have the mindset that it has anything to do with ourselves we are doing all that for the wrong reasons anyway.
It is in the humility and the realization that we are nothing apart from Christ that our service for God is properly motivated. Children realize their dependence on someone else, they trust knowing there is someone caring for them that knows better, they follow because an adult is leading them out of love and care…we must be like those children and have that kind of faith in our walk with God!
On lent 2023 Day 10
Lent day 9
Love the story of the ten lepers. Their faith to go to the priest. Would love to hear their response of 10 more healed by Jesus of Nazareth. To state the obvious. Important to thank God for all especially. Grace. Mercy. Love. The persistent widow is a great picture of a loving God responding to us. Reminds me of the verse. If you though evil give your children good things, how much more will your father in heaven give. If you ask for bread will you be given a snake. Or ask for fish will be given a rock. Might have mixed that one up.
Pharisee full of pride, like some catholic priests today. Pride and self righteousness causes a person to look down and despise others and prevents them from learning anything from God. We all should be like the Tax collector. Unworthy of the grace of God. Jesus welcoming the little children. Reminds me of recently watching a movie with my grandchildren. There was a character that was an atheist. I tried to explain to them. They could not grasp the concept how anyone could not believe in God. The faith of a child!! The rich man. His faith was in his money. So many people today. Money or God!! Money is Fragile. God is all powerful. Think I’ll put all my faith in Jesus Christ. Everything else falls in place. Just show up with faith
Jesus told a story of a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee was self righteous and he thought he was better than anyone else. He looked good on the outside but was not right with God. For his inside was arrogant, etc. He did not have a clean heart. He was comparing himself to others including the tax collector. The tax collector came before God with a humble heart. I was reminded of the scripture 1 Samuel 16; 7c. [For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.] Latter people brought their small children to Jesus so he would bless them. The disciples of Jesus tried to stop this from happening. They felt that He shouldn`t be bothered with such little things. He had more important things to do. They were so wrong for Jesus had the children come to Him. Then he used this as a teaching situation. He said that you must accept God`s kingdom as a little child. And then He blessed them. We should always remember at how God looks at children. They are people too with open hearts to hear about Jesus.
Day 10
4.69-4.72
Day 10 4:69-4:72
In God’s economy, if you come to Him with your righteousness and all you deserve because of it, you will be turned away. If you come to Him with humility, and trust Him to receive His righteousness, then you will be saved. It is only His righteousness that God can accept anyway. That is part of what Jesus means about coming to God like a little child. The other part is a child’s ability to readily believe and follow because the one they trust has told them something. We must be as trusting when we come to God. And one area of trust in our world today is honoring marriage. We must understand that God hates divorce and He seeks to empower and enable us to have great marriage relationships. It starts with our willingness to be the best husband or wife that God intends and then remain committed to the covenant that is established in marriage. It doesn’t mean there are not reasons to divorce in the unfaithful and cruel ways that people can act toward each other. But we can all honor what God intended in bringing a man and a woman together to establish something unique. Another area of faith in our world is how little we are attached to money and material wealth. How hard it is for those who are successful, talented and wealthy to humble themselves and be like children and recognize their need and believe. How completely opposite Jesus statements are here from the Jews who thought wealth was a sign of God’s favor and yet Jesus describes it as a primary hurdle to faith. And yet for those who have believed and especially those who have sacrificed as an expression of that faith, they will be rewarded far beyond what they have sacrificed.
Humble ourselves before God. We are not better than anyone else just because we don’t engage in certain sins; we are all sinners in one way or another. Instead of judging people for their wrongdoings, we are to have compassion on them, praying that they can say no to unrighteousness and treating them the way we want to be treated. Accept God’s kingdom like a little child accepts things – with trust, vulnerability and dependence on the Father. It is better to give everything away and follow Jesus than to have lots of money and use it for comfort and pleasure. For an abudance of material possessions can make us self sufficient, keeping us from being dependent on God for everything that we need.
The story of the rich man gets to the heart of the matter. We can do everything outwardly correct in our claims to following Jesus, but where it our love and trust? The rich man followed the basics of the law, but he is trusting in himself, his money, walking his own path. “And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!”
This story is so true and I think especially for Americans. We have become self-sufficient and trusting in our material success. We have lost sight of the spiritual end-game, thinking that if we just claim to believe in Jesus, we will get to heaven, all the while here we are clinging to things that cannot satisfy. I have been learning a lot about this myself lately. I lost a job that I thought would add some financial security to our home. I couldn’t understand why I lost it. It still makes no sense. God was telling me, “you shouldn’t be trusting in that or in yourself, you should be trusting in Me.”
So many things going on that I realize that I am needed in the home, not sure how I would manage it if I were working outside the home!
Just wanted to add that I am in no way saying that people/wives shouldn’t work or that we should just sit back and wait for God to provide for us financially! I just feel like God was telling me that I had misplaced my trust!