Today’s Podcast
Today’s Scriptures
Today’s Bible reading plans include:
Ready – Luke 9:46-62
Set – Psalms 127; Luke 9
Go! – Ezra 4; Psalms 113,127; Luke 9
Luke 9:46-62
46 Later the close followers of Jesus began to argue over the stupid and vain question, “Which one of us is the greatest disciple?”
47 Jesus saw what was going on—not just the argument, but the deeper heart issues—so He found a child and had the child stand beside Him.
Jesus: 48 See this little one? Whoever welcomes a little child in My name welcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. The smallest one among you is therefore the greatest.
John: 49 Master, we found this fellow casting out demons. He said he was doing it in Your name, but he’s not one of our group. So we told him to stop.
Jesus: 50 What? No! Don’t think like that! Whoever is not working against you is working with you.
51 The time approached for Him to be taken back up to the Father; so strong with resolve, Jesus made Jerusalem His destination.
52 He sent some people ahead of Him into the territory of the Samaritans, a minority group at odds with the Jewish majority. He wanted His messengers to find a place for them to stay in a village along the road to Jerusalem. 53 But because the Samaritans realized Jesus was going to Jerusalem, they refused to welcome them.
James and John (outraged): 54 Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy these people who have rejected You?[a] [Just as Elijah did.][b]
Jesus (turning toward them and shaking His head): 55 You just don’t get it. [56 The Son of Man didn’t come to ruin the lives of people, but He came to liberate them.][c]
He led them on toward another village. 57 Farther along on the road, a man volunteered to become a disciple.
Volunteer: I’ll follow You to any destination.
Jesus: 58 Foxes are at home in their burrows. Birds are at home in their nests. But the Son of Man has no home. 59 You (to another person)—I want you to follow Me!
Another Volunteer: I’d be glad to, Teacher, but let me first attend to my father’s funeral.
Jesus: 60 Let the dead bury their dead. I’m giving you a different calling—to go and proclaim the kingdom of God.
A Third Volunteer: 61 I’ll come, Jesus. I’ll follow You. But just let me first run home to say good-bye to my family.
Jesus: 62 Listen, if your hand is on the plow but your eyes are looking backward, then you’re not fit for the kingdom of God.
Today’s Devotional
From today’s background scripture God might say:
Humanity, even My disciples tried to establish a pecking order about who was greatest among them. I’m not sure why you do that. When you really think about it, what does your pecking order matter? You spend so much wasted energy trying to figure out some kind of ranking among yourselves when your comparisons are so insignificant. If you want to compare yourself, compare yourself to Me. Then you will begin to understand why ranking is so futile.
Set yourself against My standards, My measurements, My holiness, My perfection. See how you measure up against Me and then discover how well you rank. That’s the basis from which you should start your personal introspection. Don’t compare yourself to others. It’s useless. There will always be someone better in some areas and some worse in other areas than you, but what does that matter in the space of eternity. They do not measure up to Me either.
Set your sights on Me and run diligently to be like Me. Make Christlikeness your goal. Don’t worry about whether you are first or second or third in the race. The point is to finish the race and spend your energy becoming like Me in every way possible. Learn everything you can from Me and act like Me in every way you can . Let your spirit touch My Spirit and learn to soar. Become more than you ever think you could by reaching out to Me.
Keep your eyes on Me instead of others and you’ll be okay. Don’t worry about where you stand in relation to others on your spiritual journey, just keep searching for more of Me. Keep seeking. Keep learning. Keep talking with Me. Keep reading My word. Let Me determine how fast and far you can grow. Let Me determine what I want of you spiritually now and in eternity. Let Me figure out where you stand with Me. Don’t let others do it. They don’t know your heart. I do.
So it does no good to compare yourself to someone else. You are unique in the universe and so your standing with Me is unique. You’re not like anyone else. I want a relationship with you. I don’t want you to measure yourself with some set of rules or standards, I want a relationship. How are you supposed to measure that against someone else’s relationship with Me? Every relationship is unique just as every person is unique. But all of them can be incredibly rich and joyful and wonderful. It’s your choice. How much do you want to put into your relationship with Me?
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.