Tuesday 9 Sep 2014

September 9: Luke 9:51-56

Key Verse: Luke 9:55
But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.

Devotion:
It can be difficult at times to keep your head when all others around you seem to be losing theirs. Can you imagine having everyone around you talking about hateful things, gossiping, talking down to others, rejecting your friends and generally being obnoxious? You may be forgiven for saying “but that is how it is today!”

We do live in a world where so many things seem to be going against community, against love, against Christ and generally against most things. But that is the same sort of world that Jesus would have seen when He walked amongst mankind. We may beg to differ and say that they were not as bad back then, but when we compare them against Christ and His ways, then we see a bigger gulf than we see between us and our lot we put up with. And yet Christ was able to see past the feelings we have popping up inside us and reached out to the sinners just as He was reaching out to those who were with Him.

Jesus came to earth not to destroy and break down anything and everyone that did anything against Him, but to reach out to every soul and try to bring them in with love and care. When we start to move in that same direction then we will be able to see how easy it is to forgive people and to look for the good instead of rejecting the bad and the ugly. When people are gossiping around and about us we may well get cross and retaliate in some manner just so that we may feel a little better inside ourselves. Christ wanted to show those sort of people love and support so that they may see a new way.

I want to be able to reach out to all people in my area and lift up the name of Christ in love so they may see how special He is and how much he has done for all of us. I am not talking about a God who will not call a spade a spade when the time comes; I am talking about a Saviour who wants to encourage people to find out the truth and accept it before it is too late.

Points to Ponder:
Have you changed your ways?

Are you following Christ’s example?