Overview of: LukeToday's Reading:
Luke 18:1-30
"Prayers, Children, and a Rich Man"
Focus Verses: Luke 18:13-14
13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' 14 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Insight:
Jesus taught that God sees the injustices of our world and will one day bring justice and set all things right. Jesus warned those who looked down at others and felt a little too sure of their own goodness. He told them that truly righteous people understand they are sinners, and have a deep sense of their need for mercy. Humility is the mark of true righteousness.
Response and Action:
I want to be humble before God and others. I want to be quicker to see the sin in my own life than to notice the faults of others. I will deal with the log in my own eye before trying to help others with the speck in theirs. I want to draw upon God’s grace for living a righteous life. I will be careful to give God glory for any good thing he does in me. I will put aside arrogance and self-congratulation and depend on God to lift me up at the right time.
O God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Thank you for your son, Jesus, who has brought your grace and forgiveness to me. Help me to follow him in humility and full surrender. Thank you for the promise of redemption Christ brings for me and for the whole world. Give me the wisdom and the strength to join him in his redemptive work today, as he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Old Testament for Today: 2 Chron. 33:10-13
10 The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. 11 So the LORD brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. 12 In his distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God.
In Context: 2 Chronicles 33
Proverb for Today: Prov. 25:6-7a
"Do not exalt yourself in the king's presence, and do not claim a place among great men; it is better for him to say to you, "Come up here," than for him to humiliate you before a nobleman."
Recommended Reading:
Why Sin Matters: The Surprising Relationship between Our Sin and God's Grace
by Mark R. McMinn
