October 31 - Stuff

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
Luke 12:22-34 / Acts 27:27-44
Old Testament -
Psalms 45 / Leviticus 21-23
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: Luke 12:32-34
32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Insight:
Life does not consist of the abundance of possessions. Security is not to be found in things, even lots of things. Worry about things can lead to misplaced priorities: obsession with self; blindness toward the needs of others; disregard for righteousness; failure to recognize the real beauty of today; and distorted values. My pursuits and treasures indicate whether my perspective toward life is temporal and false, or eternal and true.

Response & Action:
I want to live with the eternal values and perspectives of the kingdom of Christ. I want to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. I want my faith in Christ, my pursuit of his righteousness, and my submission to his authority to shape the way I live and the choices I make. I do not want my faith in self or the pursuit of things to shape my relationship with Christ. I want to seek Jesus, his ways, and his priorities more than anything else. I will put first the things that last.

O God, help me to live for you and through you in thought, word, and deed. Help me to love you with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. Shape my love for others by the grace and work of Christ in my life. Give me the wisdom to recognize what is true and what has eternal value. I trust you to provide for my needs as I put you first. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Colossians 3:1-3
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Resources:
The Suburban Christian: Finding Spiritual Vitality in the Land of Plenty
by Albert Y. Hsu

October 30 - Good Neighbors

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
Luke 12:13-21 / Acts 27:1-26
Old Testament -
Psalms 44 / Leviticus 18-20
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: Leviticus 19:15-18
15 "Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. 16 Do not go about spreading slander among your people. Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life. I am the LORD. 17 Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt. 18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD."

Insight:
Jesus said that all the law and the prophets were connected to two fundamental principles: 1) To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and 2) love your neighbor as yourself. Keeping these primary principles in mind is a great help when reading through all the laws of Leviticus.

The law of Leviticus 19:15-18 is very straightforward. Be fair to everyone regardless of social and economic standing. Respect the reputation of others. Guard against negligence and be careful to protect the well-being of others. Have goodwill in your heart toward others. Be honest to people who are in need of rebuke. Don't turn a blind eye to problems or wrongdoing. Be merciful and gracious and forgiving--letting go of grudges and revenge. Treat others the way you would want to be treated. Do all of this out of reverence for God.

Response & Action:
True reverence for God and goodwill toward others go hand in hand. How can I claim to love God, who is unseen, if I do not love my neighbor who is right before me? My love for God leads me and calls me to look toward the best interests of everyone around me.

Dear Lord, help me to love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. Help me to remember that my lift affects the lives of others. Help me to look not only to my own needs and interests, but also to the needs and interests of others. Help me to bring good to the lives of my family, my friends, my colleagues, my neighbors, and even those around me I do not know -- at the store, on the freeway, in the elevator, on the sidewalk, at the gym, in the library. Make me a blessing to others. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: 1 John 4:7-9
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

Resources:
Love Beyond Reason: Moving God's Love from Your Head to Your Heart
by John Ortberg

October 29 - Reason and Faith

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
Luke 12:1-12 / Acts 26:19-32
Old Testament -
Psalms 43 / Leviticus 16-17
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: Acts 26:25-27
25 "I am not insane, most excellent Festus," Paul replied. "What I am saying is true and reasonable. 26 The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do."

Insight:
When Paul testified before King Agrippa, he explained that his belief in the possibility of resurrection did not contradict his Jewish beliefs or background. Even as a Pharisee Paul would have accepted the possibility of resurrection. He admitted that early on, he too opposed the Christians, and was, in fact, obsessed with opposing them. One day, however, he came face to face with the resurrected Jesus himself.

Paul told Agrippa that he had become convinced that the suffering, death, burial, and resurrection were exactly what Moses and prophets said would happen. What's more, Paul said, he was sure Agrippa was already familiar with the accounts of Jesus' resurrection, since none of the things he was describing were "done in a corner."

Response & Action:
What could turn a Pharisee who opposed the followers of Jesus into a believer and bold ambassador for Jesus? 1) his realization that Jesus' resurrection was consistent with his faith in God; 2) his discovery that the suffering and resurrection of Jesus were actually consistent with Jewish prophecy; 3) his face-to-face encounter with the resurrected Jesus; and, 4) the wide-spread testimony of so many others who had also seen and encountered the resurrected Christ.

My faith and confidence in the resurrected Jesus grows stronger: 1) as I am discovering that it is reasonable and not inconsistent with other forms of knowledge; 2) as I am testing and proving my faith through my practice and daily life; 3) as I am finding the claims of Jesus and the Apostles to be consistent with the hopes and promises of the Hebrew Scriptures; 4) as I consider the experiential and historical testimony of so many others who have considered the claims of Christ.

O God, I believe that you have the power of life and death. Resurrection is not too difficult for you. I see from reading scripture that Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection are perfectly consistent with prophecy. My own walk with Jesus has confirmed and strengthened my faith. The countless testimonies of people throughout history and around the world serve to increase my belief. May the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead raise and transform my life. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Hebrews 12:2
2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Resources:
Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics
by William Lane Craig

October 28 - Inside

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
Luke 11:37-54 / Acts 26:1-18
Old Testament -
Psalms 42 / Leviticus 14-15
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: Luke 11:37-41
37 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. 38 But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised.

39 Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

Insight:
The Pharisees were very concerned about holiness, but it had become an external type of holiness. It had also become an end in itself, rather than the means toward participating in the redemptive mission of God. True holiness, the holiness Jesus taught and demonstrated, was not about external appearances and practices, but rather a matter of the inner person.

True holiness is not about physically clean hands as much as about spiritually clean hearts. Holiness begins deep inside a person--our humility, our repentance, our reverence for God, our desire to serve and be used for God's purpose, our reason to live, and our compassion and love for others.

Response & Action:
I must not allow my faith and my religious practice get lost in a heap of externals. I desire true holiness--to be set apart for a holy purpose. I want more than a religion of behavior modification; I seek the genuine renovation of my heart and the renewal of my mind. I want more than an external Christianity; I seek the transformation of my deepest self.

Practices and disciplines (Bible reading, study, prayer, learning, giving, lifestyle choices, priorities) are not ends in and of themselves. They are the means, the pathways, to the end I seek—my goal to glorify God, to live in truth, and to participate in God's redemptive mission in the world. I will not settle for an external distortion of Christianity. Instead, I will make every effort to pursue the authentic and transforming holiness of the heart. The holiness I seek begins deep within me and works its way out into the externals of my everyday life.

Change my heart, O God. I worship you by offering myself to you as a living sacrifice. Save me from conformity to the world. Transform me, by the power of your Holy Spirit. Renew my mind and renovate my heart. Because I thirst for truth and life, I come to Christ, in faith, to drink in all he has to offer. May Jesus so deeply satisfy and transform me that streams of his living water well up and flow out of my inner being. Make me holy on the inside so that holy words, actions, and attitudes might shape and define my outside. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Romans 14:17-18
17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

Resources:
Renovation of the Heart
by Dallas Willard

October 27 - Alive

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
Luke 11:29-36 / Acts 25:13-27
Old Testament -
Psalms 41 / Leviticus 11-13
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: Acts 25:18-21
18 When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. 19 Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive. 20 I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges. 21 When Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor's decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar."

Insight:
The veracity of the resurrection story has always been at the heart of the Christian message. To accept that message is to accept the resurrection of Jesus. Luke's frank account of Paul's testimony before Festus and Agrippa illustrates this. Festus understood that Paul's entire message and worldview hinged on his claim that "a dead man named Jesus" was now alive. Such a claim was seen to be a threat by the Jews of his day, and as superstitious by the Romans.

Paul did not make this claim and expect people to make a blind leap of faith. He reasoned with them, gave testimony, and made a case for why he believed that accepting the resurrection of Jesus was perfectly sensible.

Response & Action:
I must grapple with the claims of Jesus' resurrection. Everyone who encounters the message of Jesus must deal with this incredible claim. It may seem threatening, unreasonable, or anti-intellectual to believe such a thing, but it must be faced head on. If Jesus is dead, then Christianity is also dead. If he is alive, then Christianity is alive.

The hope of transformation and new life offered by Christianity is dependent on the resurrection of Jesus being factual and historical. I must give serious and careful consideration to the resurrection claims of Christianity. I will not dismiss it out of hand. Is it reasonable to believe such an amazing thing? Is there enough evidence and/or substantive testimony to make faith in the resurrection an honest and reasonable choice? I believe there is. Even as a believer, I will continue to scrutinize and think about this central claim of Christianity. I will encourage others, both Christians and non-Christians alike, to do the same.

O God, I believe that, for my sake, Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate. I believe that he suffered death, was buried, and rose again, in accordance with the scriptures. Help me, like Paul, to think clearly about the resurrection and to have reasons for what I believe. Help me to be able to discuss the resurrection in clear and reasonable ways with others who are wrestling with whether or not to believe. And most of all, O Lord, transform me and teach me to live through the resurrection power of Christ. It's in his name that I pray, Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Romans 8:10-11
10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Resources:
Resurrection
by N.T. Wright

October 26 - Pray and Praise

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
Luke 11:14-28 / Acts 25:1-12
Old Testament -
Psalms 40 / Leviticus 8-10
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: Psalm 40:11-13
11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me. 12 For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. 13 Be pleased, O LORD, to save me; O LORD, come quickly to help me.

Insight:
David offered a wide range of expression in this Psalm. He was confident in God's power to protect and provide, but he cried out in need. His appeal to God had a dire sense of urgency, but he waited patiently for God to hear and act. Though he was surrounded by numerous troubles, he counted God's many blessings toward him. While he anticipated God's deliverance in the days ahead, he recounted God's saving acts in the past.

Response & Action:
There are many things that challenge and overwhelm me today, but I will put my confidence in God. As I look to tomorrow, I will remember the things God has done for me in the past. As I call out to God for help and provision, I will praise God for the many ways he has already rescued and provided. I will not allow the troubles of today to blind me to God's faithfulness, which has been proven time and time again. I will not allow the problems I face to drown out God's promises to save me.

O God, many are the wonders you have done. If I were to speak and tell of them, they would be to many to declare. Save me from the problems I face. Pull me out of the mud and give me a solid place to stand. Strengthen me as I wait upon you. Even through the storms and stress of life, my hope is in you. I praise you for your faithfulness and commit myself to your care. Whether by life or death, may Christ be exalted in me. Through Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Romans 8:35, 37-39
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? - - - 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Resources:
Praying the Psalms of Jesus
by James Sire

Reading Schedule for October 26 - 31

James 1:22-25
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

Schedule and Tips
2009-10 Reading Schedule
Tips for Daily Bible Readers

October 26 -
Luke 11:14-28 / Acts 25:1-12
Psalms 40 / Leviticus 8-10

October 27 -
Luke 11:29-36 / Acts 25:13-27
Psalms 41 / Leviticus 11-13

October 28 -
Luke 11:37-54 / Acts 26:1-18
Psalms 42 / Leviticus 14-15

October 29 -
Luke 12:1-12 / Acts 26:19-32
Psalms 43 / Leviticus 16-17

October 30 -
Luke 12:13-21 / Acts 27:1-26
Psalms 44 / Leviticus 18-20

October 31 -
Luke 12:22-34 / Acts 27:27-44
Psalms 45 / Leviticus 21-23

October 24 - Kingdom Come

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
Luke 11:1-13 / Acts 24
Old Testament -
Psalms 39 / Leviticus 5-7
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: Luke 11:1-2
1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." 2 He said to them, "When you pray, say: " 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.

Insight:
The desire to see God's kingdom come is at the heart of Christianity. In calling God my Father, it is essential that I recognize his holiness, accept his authority, and embrace his mission to save and restore. A true relationship with God should kindle my desire to see God's will accomplished on earth as in heaven; it should motivate me to actively take part in God's work to renew and redeem.

Response & Action:
When I pray, I will worship God as holy. I will remember that he is a loving Father. I will seek his will, keeping his authority and his mission in mind. I will cultivate my desire for God's ways and do my best to be an agent of God's blessing and restoration. I will pray for God's Kingdom to increase and for his will to be accomplished on earth. I will live as a Kingdom person and look for ways to serve, heal, encourage, help, and love others.

O God, thank you for being a gracious and Holy Father to your people. Thank you for Jesus who has brought the good news and power of your kingdom to me. By your power and mercy, help me through the difficulties and heartaches of life in this fallen world. Make me ready and quick to tell others of the many ways you mercifully bless and save. Bring your kingdom to earth, O Lord. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Matthew 7:21
21 Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Resources:
The Lord and His Prayer
by N.T. Wright

October 23 - One Thing

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
Luke 10:38-42 / Acts 23:12-35
Old Testament -
Psalms 38 / Leviticus 1-4
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: Luke 10:41-42
41 "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Insight:
It's possible to be so busy and concerned about doing what is good that we miss what is best. This particular encounter between Jesus, Mary, and Martha is a good reminder of this truth. The disciples--chosen, sent, and taught by Jesus--learned something important from Mary.

Martha was so concerned with serving Jesus and the guests she could not enjoy and savor her time with them. Mary was so focused on simply being with Jesus and listening to what he had to say that she left some things unattended. She chose what is best. Jesus commended her for this.

Response & Action:
I do not want to be so busy with the business of life—even Christian service--that I have no time to enjoy Jesus. I must take time to simply be with him, to pray, and to delight in the word. The most necessary thing is to know Jesus, to delight in his presence, and to abide in him.

I also want to cultivate my ability to truly be with family and Christian friends. I must be intentional about being with them and enjoying them, not simply serving them.

O God, help me to glorify you and enjoy you all my days. Thank you for Jesus, my Messiah, my Lord, my Savior, and my God. Grant me the blessing of knowing him as my friend, my brother, and my faithful companion. Help me to sense his presence and delight in it. Give me a heart to serve Christ, O God, but first give me a heart to love him. Give me a hunger and affection for the scriptures. Give me a desire to pray. Give me a fullness of the Spirit of Christ and a deep awareness of his indwelling every minute of my life. I ask all this in his name. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Colossians 3:1-3
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Resources:
The Only Necessary Thing: Living a Prayerful Life
by Henri J. M. Nouwen

October 22 - Do Likewise

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
Luke 10:25-37 / Acts 23:1-11
Old Testament -
Psalms 37:23-40 / Exodus 38-40
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: Luke 10:36-37
36 "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" 37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

Insight:
When the expert in the Law of Moses asked Jesus the way to eternal life, Jesus pointed the expert to the Law and asked his expert opinion on what it said. The expert was right on track when he quoted from Deuteronomy ("love the Lord your God") and from Leviticus ("love your neighbor"). But when he began to get philosophical and ambiguous about the meaning of the word "neighbor," Jesus told a down to earth story that put the application of the Law into a real life situation.

The story included a priest and a Levite who, like the expert, would surely have known the "love the Lord your God" and "love your neighbor" passages from the Law, but did not live them out. Jesus was essentially telling the expert, "It's not enough for you to know and discuss the Law, you have to live it."

Response & Action:
It's one thing to know what I should do and another to do it. I want my love for God and my love for my neighbor to be more than words. I will strive to put my beliefs and knowledge into action. If I truly love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, I will respond to his admonition to extend grace and love others. When it is within my power to help someone, I will take action. I will keep my eyes open to the needs of people around me in order to be an instrument of God's love and care to them.

O God, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me show love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where their is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light. Where there is hunger, food. Where there is homelessness, shelter. Where there is brokenness, restoration. Where there is sickness, healing. Grant that I might not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that I receive; it is in pardoning that I receive pardon; it is in dying that I am born to eternal life. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: 1 John 4:20-21
20 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Resources:
The Hole in Our Gospel: What does God expect of Us?
by Richard Stearns

October 21 - What I See

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
Luke 10:17-24 / Acts 22
Old Testament -
Psalms 37:1-22 / Exodus 35-37
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: Luke 10:22-24
22 "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." 23 Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."

Insight:
Jesus clearly claimed to be the Son of God. He claimed to have an exclusive relationship with the Father. He claimed to be the only person who could truly reveal the Father. He told his disciples that they were blessed to be the ones who were seeing the things he was showing them. He claimed to fulfill and reveal the things the prophets would have longed to see and know. He sent his disciples into the world to share what he had revealed to them. He called his followers to more than belief; he called them to live out the truth he had given them, and to join him in revealing that truth and hope to others.

Response & Action:
I believe that Jesus is who he claimed to be. I believe that he is God, he is Savior, and he is Lord. I believe that he is the only one who can show me God the Father. Beyond belief, I want to live out the truth Christ Jesus has revealed. By acting upon my belief in workaday ways--choices, priorities, attitudes--my belief can be both tested and strengthened. I want to not only hear Jesus' words, but also put them into practice. As I follow in his steps, I want to be a part of taking truth and hope of Jesus to others.

O God, thank you for sending you one and only Son into the world to save us and show us your ways--God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God. Open my eyes and my mind to see the things he reveals. Help me to love and follow after him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Increase my faith as I walk in his ways. Transform and shape me so completely that my life reveals the truth of Christ and his power to save. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Hebrews 12:6
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Resources:
Jesus: Lord and Savior
by F. F. Bruce

October 20 - Perspective

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
Luke 10:1-16 / Acts 21:27-40
Old Testament -
Psalms 36 / Exodus 34
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: Psalm 36:1-2
1 An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. 2 For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin.

Insight:
Wickedness results from a failed view of God and a failed view of self. Irreverence and disregard for God leads to sin. Those who are arrogant and proud are blind to their own sin and hate.

Response & Action:
I will cultivate a reverent view of God and a humble view of myself. I will take time to worship God each day. Every morning, I will confess my sin and humble myself before God. I will participate in Christian community and conversation in order to gain self-perspective. I will be careful to guard against flattering myself or seeking the praise of others. I will guard against arrogance and selfishness. I will acknowledge my weaknesses and my need for God's direction and help. I will read the Scriptures and prayerfully follow in the ways and words of Jesus.

O God, help me to humble myself and to honor you. Give me eyes that see both my need and your gracious provision. Give me a tongue that is ready to both confess my sin and to sing your praise. Give me a heart that is ready to worship and ready to surrender. Save me from sin and wickedness. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: 1 Peter 5:6-7
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Resources:
Why Sin Matters: The Surprising Relationship between Our Sin and God's Grace
by Mark R. McMinn

October 19 - Candid

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
Luke 9:51-62 / Acts 21:1-26
Old Testament -
Psalms 35 / Exodus 32-33
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: Acts 21:5-6
5 But when our time was up, we left and continued on our way. All the disciples and their wives and children accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray. 6 After saying good-by to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.

Insight:
It is striking how matter-of-fact Luke is in his recounting of these candid displays of Christian love and prayer in what must have been very public places. Paul, his companions, and their Christian friends made no special effort to avoid the notice of others.

These acts of genuine fellowship and love were not hampered by the public surroundings. It reminds me a lot of affectionate good-byes I have seen in airports. No special effort was made by Paul and the disciples to protect the public from seeing their faith in God as they knelt down on the beach and prayed.

Response & Action:
When I am with my family and friends in public, I am going to be open about my affection for them and our shared faith in God. I don't need to protect the public from genuine displays of faith. When I'm in a public place, it's okay for me to bow my head, to give a hug, to say a prayer, to hold a hand, and to read my Bible. I won't do these things just to be seen, on the other hand, I won't protect others from seeing evidence of my faith and friendships.

O God, help me to live out my love and faith in everyday ways. Help me to be as open about my love for you in public places as I would be about giving a loved one a good-bye hug in an airport. My love for Jesus and for family and for fellow Christians is not something I need to protect people from seeing. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Colossians 4:2
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Resources:
Living the Story: Biblical Spirituality for Everyday Christians
by R. Paul Stevens and Michael Green