Today's Readings: New Testament -
John 13:1-11
Philippians 3:15-21
Old Testament -
Psalms 119:169-176
2 Kings 18-19
Click on Text Links to Read Online
Focus Verses: Psalm 119:174-176
174 I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight. 175 Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me. 176 I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.
Insight:
Even those who delight in God's law can stray from it. Getting lost doesn't mean that you've forgotten God's commands. The psalmist asks God to seek him out when he strays, and to bring him back to the truth.
Response & Action:
As a person who calls out to God for help, I must be ready to obey the direction of God's Word. Knowing God's word helps me know how to live and what choices to make. It also helps me know when I have strayed or lost my way. I will seek God with all my heart, but I will also ask God to seek and save me!
O God, teach me your ways. Guide me in your truth and teach me. When I stray, O Lord, please seek me and bring me back to the green pastures and still waters of your truth and blessing. Thank you for Jesus, who came to seek and save the lost. Amen.
Spiritual Formation Verses: Luke 15:3-7
3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Resources:
The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith
by Timothy Keller
