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Don’t tell! (Matthew 9:30) February 21, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Romans 15-16

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 9:30
Jesus: Don’t tell anyone about this.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Do you wonder why Jesus didn’t want the blind men to tell about their healing? Why wouldn’t He want people to know He could do these miraculous things? Wouldn’t that solidify His position as the Son of God? Wouldn’t that help to secure His ministry in the world and increase His followers? Wouldn’t that help to build His church while He walked with us? Why ask these men to keep silent about their healing?

Of course, we know they didn’t, anymore than we could if something like this happened to us. Can you imagine what it would be like to suddenly see after years of stumbling around in darkness? Suddenly the lights come on and you can see in living color! You see all the beauty of the world around you. Just by the gentle touch of the Master’s hand, you suddenly receive your sight. Could you keep quiet about it? I don’t think I could any more than these two men.

But why the command in the first place? I think it might go back in part to what we talked about yesterday. Jesus was a busy man with an agenda. I wonder if in some ways He wanted to get to His work faster than the Father wanted and the Father worked to slow Him down by putting people in His path. Jesus knew His mission, don’t you think He wanted to get it done?

Maybe Jesus wanted to keep the men quiet so He could stay on His schedule as the Son of Man, Jesus rather than the Son of God, Jesus. I can’t imagine the struggle He had internally sometimes trying to get His tasks done from a heavenly perspective yet dreading each moment as well, knowing what the end game finally meant. But perhaps He wanted fewer interruptions as He headed toward His fate from His earthly side. Keep quiet, let Me get on with the task I’ve come to do. Don’t get the word of My healing spread too far because I’ll never get the time to do what I really came to do.

From a busy schedule perspective, I think that argument could fit well, the crowds always surrounded Him wanting healing, release from demons, help with their problems. As soon as He reached the outskirts of any village, the word had already spread and Jesus was flocked with those who wanted His help. And by the curious who wanted to see a miracle.

But I really think Jesus didn’t want the blind men to tell because if we’re going to follow Jesus, it can’t be for the miracles He can do for us. Yes, He wants us to ask Him for His help when we need it. Yes, He tells us to ask Him and He hears our prayers. Yes, He acts on our behalf and gives us good gifts as a good father would. But if that’s why we follow Him, our following will fail. We will hit a bump in the road and suddenly we will find our faith gone.

Jesus doesn’t want us to follow Him because of the things He can give us. He wants us to follow Him because He is God and that’s enough. If we ever lose sight of the fact that He is God and we are not, we’ve missed it. There is a God-sized hole in us that only He can fill. He created us to worship Him. All the rest of creation worships Him, but He gives us a choice. We try so hard to fill that void with everything but Him. It doesn’t work. Nothing fits that space in us but Him.

So maybe, just maybe Jesus didn’t want the blind men to tell anyone how their healing took place, because he wanted people to listen to His words, not watch His miracles. He wanted people to understand their need for forgiveness instead of coming for all their other temporal needs on this world. He wanted them to see the spiritual warfare they battled instead of the Roman occupation that clouded their daily conversation. Jesus wanted them to understand the Kingdom of God instead of their self-serving kingdom of self-righteousness.

Don’t tell anyone about the healing, tell them about grace. Don’t tell anyone about feeding five thousand. Tell them about forgiveness. Don’t tell anyone about miracles in your life. Tell them about love. Tell them about mercy. Tell them about Peace. Tell them about the relationship God has with you and allows you to have with others because of His spirit in you. Tell others about the transformation He makes in your life, not the temporal fixes to earthly problems.

Don’t tell about the unimportant. Tell them about what really matters. Tell them about your new life in Christ and how He can make a change in them, too. 

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.

Do it now! (Matthew 4:17) January 5, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Joshua 1-5

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 4:17
Jesus: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

The beginning of verse Matthew 4:17 tells us preaching became a part of Jesus’ work after Herod imprisoned His cousin John for reproaching him for marrying his current wife. The theme of Jesus’ messages were the same as John’s. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” But what did it mean for those who heard the message and for us as we hear His words?

If you look up the word repent in the dictionary, you’ll find two definitions, as you will with many words that come to us through scripture. As I’ve mentioned every day this year, Satan likes to twist and turn God’s word to meet his purposes rather than God’s so it shouldn’t be a surprise that we have twisted the definitions of words to make them mean something other than what the writers intended as they penned the words originally.

So, let’s start with that word repent. The two definitions are: 1. to feel sorry, self-reproachful, or contrite for past conduct; regret or be conscience-stricken about a past action, attitude, etc. (often followed by of):
He repented after his thoughtless act. And: 2. to feel such sorrow for sin or fault as to be disposed to change one’s life for the better; be penitent.

It’s the second definition that God’s message encompasses. Repentance doesn’t stop at feeling sorry or contrite for past conduct. It includes turning around and walking the other way. It means going the opposite direction. It means turning away from evil and walking toward good. It means letting go of selfish ways and grabbing hold of God’s ways. Repentance means so much more than just being sorry, regretting or conscience-stricken about the past. It’s about change.

John’s message, the message from the prophets, Jesus’ message as He walked alongside us, all pointed us to the same thing. Turn from your wicked ways. Stop in your tracks, do an about-face on the path you are taking and walk the other way. Walk toward God, not away from Him. See, there are only two directions you can go in life. You can walk toward God or you can walk away from Him. Repentance means feeling such sorrow over your past actions that you do something about it. You ask forgiveness of those things and then change!

Jesus’ message includes the why of repentance as well. We have always been this way, but it seems like we get a little worse with each passing generation. We all want to know the answer to the question, Why? We don’t want to blindly follow orders. We want to know what’s in it for us before we launch out on some new quest. We want to know why we should step out and make the investment or change our pattern of life before we do that about-face.

Jesus and those preachers before Him give us the answer. “…the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Maybe that doesn’t mean much to you today with all the sci-fi spectaculars that try to reduce the place of God in our minds. Movies try to diminish the role and our concept of God to some creature that planted us here from another galaxy as an experiment or an effort to save their race from extinction or some other movie plot a playwriter dreams up.

But for those Jesus spoke to who grew up around the temple and heard the words of God from His priests and prophets, they understood what it meant for the kingdom of heaven to be at hand. It meant judgment. It meant rewards for the righteous and punishment for the unrighteous. And those labels are determined not by man’s courts, but by God. Those definitions don’t change when we decide to change a definition to better suit what we think is fair or just. The definitions of righteous and unrighteous are determined by the Master of the kingdom of heaven. He alone will judge each person according to his or her deeds.

And the truth is found in Romans 3:23. All of us have sinned and failed in our futile attempts to reach God in His glory. We all fail the test. None of us are good enough to make it into the kingdom of heaven. But because of His love for us, He decided to use His power to put some of our DNA in Him and create Himself in human form and live alongside us for a while. He gave Himself up as a perfect sacrifice for our sins and paid the penalty for our sins so that we can approach Him in His glory.

None of us are good enough. But He is. None of us can do enough. But He did. None of us can offer the perfect sacrifice. But He is the perfect sacrifice. And His message to us is, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” There’s not much time. Do it now. 

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.

Stay on track (Ezekiel 3:1-15), August 28, 2015

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Ezekiel 3:1-15

Set – Ezekiel 3; Revelation 2

Go! – Ezekiel 1-3; Revelation 2

Ezekiel 3:1-15
The Voice (to Ezekiel): 1 Son of man, eat what you find here—consume the scroll you see before you. Then go and preach to the people of Israel.
2 So I opened my mouth, and He fed me the scroll.
The Voice: 3 Son of man, swallow this scroll I am giving you, and let it fill your stomach.
So I ate it, and these words of God tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.
The Voice: 4 Son of man, go to the people of Israel and preach My message to them. 5-6 You are not being sent to a far away nation with an unintelligible language. I am sending you to the people of Israel. But if I had sent you to foreign peoples with unintelligible languages, surely they would listen to you. 7 But the people of Israel will refuse to listen to you because they refuse to listen to Me. As I told you, the Israelites are a hard-headed, stubborn-hearted people. 8 But I have set your jaw just as tightly and furrowed your brow just as deeply as theirs. 9 I have made your head as hard as any rock. Do not be scared or intimidated by them, even though they are a rebellious lot.
10 Son of man, take to heart all the words I am speaking to you. Listen carefully to what I am saying. 11 Now go to your people, the exiles in Babylonia, and give them My message. Proclaim to them, “This is what the Eternal Lord has to say.” It doesn’t matter whether they listen to you.
12 Suddenly the Spirit picked me up, and I heard a loud rumbling sound behind me—it seemed to say, “May the glory of the Eternal One be praised in His holy place!” 13 The sound I heard was the sound made by the wings of the four living creatures brushing up against one another and the rumble made by the spinning wheels beside them. 14 The Spirit picked me up and carried me away. I was at once resentful and impassioned, but I couldn’t escape because the hold the Eternal had on me was strong.
15 The Spirit took me to a group of the exiles who lived by the Chebar Canal at Tel-abib. I sat there among them in a daze for seven days.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Have you ever thought I’ve given you a mission too hard for you? Think again. I’ll never do that. When you think I’ve given you a difficult task just think about what I asked Ezekiel to do. I sent him to prophesy to the exiles stipped away from their homes and taken into captivity by the Assyrians. I told him in advance the people I told him to speak to would not listen. They wouldn’t pay attention to him. Even though I gave Ezekiel the right message, they would never listen to him.

I told Ezekiel he would preach to a group of people who were rebellious, hard-headed, and would not change. But his mission was to tell them My truth. He was not responsible for their decisions, but was responsible to give them My message. Those Ezekiel spoke to would ridicule him for the visions he shared with them. They would call him foolish. They would think him insane. They would think he had lost his mind. The vision I gave Ezekiel would not make sense to them or to Ezekiel. But it was My message to the people to whom I would send him .

Only years later would the prophecies Ezekiel gave to the exiles make sense. Only as they came to fruition would the prophecies and the visions begin to take hold and Ezekiel know the honor he deserved. But it wouldn’t be in his lifetime.

I might give you tasks that won’t make sense to you, too. That doesn’t mean I don’t know what I’m doing. Years later the exiles and My people who saw My prophecies fulfilled understood that Ezekiel spoke the truth and My message became clear to them. The same may happen with the task I give you. Those around you may not understand at the moment, but one day all will make sense. One day you will look back and know that all I’ve asked you to do had a purpose that brings glory to Me.

Don’t worry if people don’t understand you. Don’t worry if they don’t make the decisions you think are right. Don’t worry if they ridicule you or think you foolish. Don’t worry if they persecute you, throw you into prison, or even take your life. Many have gone before you under such extremes and discovered My rewards are well worth it. As Paul told you, you cannot imagine the glory before you. The sufferings of this life will seem as nothing compared to the riches that await you.

Just continue to do what I ask you to do. Stay on track and keep the faith.

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.

God is there for you (Psalm 71), May 9, 2015

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Psalms 71
Set – Psalms 71; Matthew 26
Go! – 2 Samuel 17; Psalms 71; Matthew 26

Psalms 71
1 I have found shelter in You, Eternal One;
I count on You to shield me always from humiliation and disgrace.
2 Rescue and save me in Your justice.
Turn Your ear to me, and hurry to deliver me from my enemies.
3 Be my rock of refuge where I can always hide.
You have given the order to keep me safe;
You are my solid ground—my rock and my fortress.
4 Save me from the power of sinful people, O my God,
from the grip of unjust and cruel men.
5 For You are my hope, Eternal One;
You, Lord, have been the source of my confidence since I was young.
6 I have leaned upon You since I came into this world;
I have relied on You since You took me safely from my mother’s body,
So I will ever praise You.
7 Many find me a mystery,
but You are my rock and my shelter—my soul’s asylum.
8 My mouth overflows with praise to You
and proclaims Your magnificence all day long.
9 Do not set me aside when I am old;
do not abandon me when I am worn out.
10 For my enemies often voice evil against me;
those who desire to kill me plot together in secret.
11 They say, “God has abandoned him;
let’s go after him right now and seize him.
There’s no one around to rescue him.”
12 God, stay close by me.
Come quick, O my God, and help me!
13 May my enemies be covered in shame and then die;
may those who seek to harm me
be overwhelmed with contempt and disgrace.
14 But I will keep hope alive,
and my praise to You will grow exponentially.
15 I will bear witness to Your merciful acts;
throughout the day I will speak of all the ways You deliver,
although, I admit, I do not know the entirety of either.
16 I will come with stories of Your great acts, my Lord, the Eternal.
I will remind them of Your justice, only Yours.
17 You have taught me since I was young, O God,
and I still proclaim the wonderful things You have done.
18 Now as I grow old and my hair turns gray,
I ask that You not abandon me, O God.
Allow me to share with the generation to come
about Your power;
Let me speak about Your strength and wonders
to all those yet to be born.
19 God, Your justice stretches to the heavens,
You who have done mighty things!
Who is like You, O God?
20 You have made me see hard times: I’ve experienced many miserable days,
but You will restore me again.
You will raise me up
from the deep pit.
21 You will greatly increase my status
and be my comfort once again.
22 I will praise You with music played on a harp
because You have been faithful, O my God.
I will sing praises to You with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
23 I will shout for joy
as I sing Your praises;
my soul will celebrate because You have rescued me.
24 All day long I will declare how Your justice saved me,
for those who have plotted to bring me harm
are now ashamed and humiliated.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Hard days come because you live in a sin-scarred world. I didn’t intend for the world to become as evil as it has. It’s a consequence of creating humankind with moral choice. You can choose whether you serve Me. The result of not doing so makes life harder for everyone. As I’ve mentioned before, sin reaches much farther than just the one committing the sin. It affects families, friends, co-workers, everyone the perpetrator touches.

The psalmist and many of My followers found a secret with Me, though. Despite the hardship of the days, I still provide shelter from the storms of life. I provide inner peace that those around them cannot understand or explain. But My followers understand. They know that I am with them and in the end, I will rescue them. I bring hope to the hopeless. I bring healing to the incurable. I bring peace in the storms of life. I bring calm in the midst of trouble.

I’ve noticed something missing today among many of My followers, though. In days gone by, I would hear generations telling the next generation what I had done. I heard from the lips of My followers the exploits of My mercy and grace demonstrated in their lives. I heard about My interventions at just the right time to remind them I am their God and there is no other beside Me.

Today there is silence. My stories don’t seem to get passed from generation to generation. Do you not see Me at work in your life anymore? I’m there. Are you ashamed of Me? Are you afraid? Are you embarrassed? What excuse to you give for not sharing the ways in which I aid you in life? How will your children know that I am God and your shelter when the storms of life come? Do you expect them to trust some preacher or you more? Where do you want them to go for answers to their problems? Me or the world?

It’s time to share your stories. It’s time to acknowledge Me. It’s time to stand up and be counted in a world that refuses to believe I exist. Let your children know that I am alive and care about them more than anyone else in the world. I will be with them in every circumstance. I died for them. Look for Me each day, then tell your story. 

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.

You have your mission (Matthew 10:5-42), Apr 23, 2015

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Matthew 10:5-42
Set – Psalms 141; Matthew 10
Go! – 1 Samuel 27; Psalms 141; 1 Chronicles 9; Matthew 10

Matthew 10:5-42
5 Jesus sent out these twelve with clear instructions.

Jesus: Don’t go to the outsiders or to the towns inhabited by Samaritans, a people whose Jewish ancestors married Gentiles. 6 Go instead to find and heal the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, preach this message: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, and cleanse those who have leprosy. Drive out demons from the possessed. You received these gifts freely, so you should give them to others freely. 9 Do not take money with you: don’t take gold, silver, or even small, worthless change. 10 Do not pack a bag with clothes. Do not take sandals or a walking stick. Be fed and sheltered by those who show you hospitality. 11 When you enter a town or village, look for someone who is trustworthy and stay at his house as long as you are visiting that town. 12 When you enter this home, greet the household kindly. 13 And if the home is indeed trustworthy, let your blessing of peace rest upon it; if not, keep your blessing to yourself. 14 If someone is inhospitable to you or refuses to listen to your testimony, leave that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. 15 This is the truth: Sodom and Gomorrah, those ancient pits of inhospitality, will fare better on judgment day than towns who ignore you tomorrow or next week.

16 Listen: I am sending you out to be sheep among wolves. You must be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves. 17 You must be careful. You must be discerning. You must be on your guard. There will be men who try to hand you over to their town councils and have you flogged in their synagogues. 18 Because of Me, naysayers and doubters will try to make an example out of you by trying you before rulers and kings. 19 When this happens—when you are arrested, dragged to court—don’t worry about what to say or how to say it. The words you should speak will be given to you. For at that moment, 20 it will not be you speaking; it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

21 Your task will be fraught with betrayal: brother will betray brother, even to the point of death; fathers will betray their children, and children will rebel against their fathers, even to the point of death. 22-23 When you are persecuted in one town, flee to the next town. This is the truth: you will not be able to witness to every town in Israel before the Son of Man comes. Everyone will hate you because of Me. But remember: the one who stays on the narrow path until the end will be saved.

24 A student is no greater than his teacher, and a servant is never greater than his master. 25 It is sufficient if the student is like his teacher and the servant like his master. If people call the head of a house “Beelzebul,” which means “devil,” just imagine what they’re calling the members of his household.

26 Do not be afraid of those who may taunt or persecute you. Everything they do—even if they think they are hiding behind closed doors—will come to light. All their secrets will eventually be made known. 27 And you should proclaim in the bright light of day everything that I have whispered to you in the dark. Whatever whispers you hear—shout them from the rooftops of houses.

28 Don’t fear those who aim to kill just the body but are unable to touch the soul. The One to fear is He who can destroy you, soul and body, in the fires of hell. 29 Look, if you sold a few sparrows, how much money would you get? A copper coin apiece, perhaps? And yet your Father in heaven knows when those small sparrows fall to the ground. 30-31 You, beloved, are worth so much more than a whole flock of sparrows. God knows everything about you, even the number of hairs on your head. So do not fear.

32 Whoever knows Me here on earth, I will know him in heaven. And whoever proclaims faith in Me here on earth, I will proclaim faith in him before My Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns Me here, I will disown before My Father in heaven.

34 Do not imagine that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 I have come to turn men against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law. 36 You will find you have enemies even in your own household. 37 If you love your father or mother more than you love Me, then you are not worthy of Me. If you love your son or daughter more than you love Me, then you are not worthy of Me. 38 If you refuse to take up your cross and follow Me on the narrow road, then you are not worthy of Me. 39 To find your life, you must lose your life—and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Jesus: 40 Anyone who welcomes you welcomes Me, and anyone who welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. 41 Anyone who welcomes a prophet and surrenders to his prophecy will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who welcomes a righteous person and conforms to the righteousness that surrounds him and proceeds from him will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And anyone who has given so much as a cup of cold water to one of the little ones, because he is My disciple, I tell you, that person will be well rewarded.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

There’s a lot packed into those thirty-eight verses of instructions. Jesus knew what His disciples would face as they went out into the world to share My message, though. He knew the kind of people they would run into and the encouragement they needed now at the beginning of their journey. Jesus knew they would have successes along the way and many would come to know Him because of the message they shared, the many they healed, the miracles performed.

Others would hate Jesus’ messengers for the same reason. Because they proclaimed the message I gave them, those twelve would find others hated them as much as they hated Me. They would learn it doesn’t take long to be run out of town, beaten, stoned, arrested or held in prison for their message being given to others.

But their instructions were clear and they carried them out faithfully. Your instructions are clear, too. Jesus gave them to you before He came back to Me. “Go into all the world and make disciples. Teach them My commands and baptize them in My name and His name, and the name of the Holy Spirit.” If you’ll do that, you’ll do some incredible things for the kingdom and I’ll be with your each step of the way. 

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.

All you need is love (Luke 10:1-29), Jan 10, 2015

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Today’s background scripture comes from Luke 10:1-29


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You who are My adopted children have a mission to perform. Like the 70 I sent out to all the villages to announce the arrival of God’s kingdom, I’m sending you. It’s a simple message with a simple command. Love one another.

I’m not sure the Beatles’ interpretation was right, but their words were right when they made their hit song “All You Need Is Love.” Unfortunately, the world misuses the word today. They misunderstand love and think of it only as an emotion to fill their own base desires. But love is so much more. Love is why I wrapped Myself in flesh and gave Myself as a sacrifice for you. Love is why I endured the cross for You. Love is why a mother or father will give all, including life itself for their children.

Love is all you need, but it is My love you need. And it is your love others need and I want. Not the emotional drivel that poses as love in the world, but action that demonstrates real care and concern for humankind. Love that shows your compassion for others. Love that lets them know you tending the sick, feeding the hungry, visiting those imprisoned by life’s circumstances constitute your parts of your schedule, not just your language.

As you go out into the world with My message, you’ll find some people are not easy to love, but that is My command. Love them anyway. I died for them. And in the church, love each other. Get rid of your petty arguments and love. Do you have to agree with each other all the time? No, but you must love each other. Don’t let disagreements turn to gossip or dissension or anger. Love with My love. Encourage each other. Carry each others’ burdens. Help each other grow in faith and grace and love. Teach others what it means to become Christlike, not by your words, but by your actions.

Love Me with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor like you love yourself.

Ready – Luke 10:1-29
Set – Genesis 25; Luke 10
Go! – Genesis 25-26; Psalms 6; Luke 10

Luke 10:1-29)
The Lord then recruited and deployed 70 more disciples. He sent them ahead, in teams of two, to visit all the towns and settlements between them and Jerusalem. 2 This is what He ordered.

Jesus: There’s a great harvest waiting in the fields, but there aren’t many good workers to harvest it. Pray that the Harvest Master will send out good workers to the fields.

3 It’s time for you 70 to go. I’m sending you out armed with vulnerability, like lambs walking into a pack of wolves. 4 Don’t bring a wallet. Don’t carry a backpack. I don’t even want you to wear sandals. Walk along barefoot, quietly, without stopping for small talk. 5 When you enter a house seeking lodging, say, “Peace on this house!” 6 If a child of peace—one who welcomes God’s message of peace—is there, your peace will rest on him. If not, don’t worry; nothing is wasted. 7 Stay where you’re welcomed. Become part of the family, eating and drinking whatever they give you. You’re My workers, and you deserve to be cared for. Again, don’t go from house to house, 8 but settle down in a town and eat whatever they serve you. 9 Heal the sick and say to the townspeople, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.”

10 Of course, not every town will welcome you. If you’re rejected, walk through the streets and say, 11 “We’re leaving this town. We’ll wipe off the dust that clings to our feet in protest against you. But even so, know this: the kingdom of God has come near.” 12 I tell you the truth, on judgment day, Sodom will have an easier time of it than the town that rejects My messengers.

13 It’s going to be bad for you, Chorazin! It’s going to be bad for you, Bethsaida! If the mighty works done in your streets had been done in the cities of Tyre and Sidon, they would have been moved to turn to God and cry out in sackcloth and ashes. 14 On judgment day, Tyre and Sidon will have an easier time of it than you. 15 It’s going to be bad for you, too, Capernaum! Will you be celebrated to heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead.

16 Listen, disciples: if people give you a hearing, they’re giving Me a hearing. If they reject you, they’re rejecting Me. And if they reject Me, they’re rejecting the One who sent Me. So—go now!

17 When the 70 completed their mission and returned to report on their experiences, they were elated.

Seventy: It’s amazing, Lord! When we use Your name, the demons do what we say!

Jesus: 18 I know. I saw Satan falling from above like a lightning bolt. 19 I’ve given you true authority. You can smash vipers and scorpions under your feet. You can walk all over the power of the enemy. You can’t be harmed. 20 But listen—that’s not the point. Don’t be elated that evil spirits leave when you say to leave. Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

21 Then Jesus Himself became elated. The Holy Spirit was on Him, and He began to pray with joy.

Jesus: Thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. Thank You for hiding Your mysteries from the wise and intellectual, instead revealing them to little children. Your ways are truly gracious. 22 My Father has given Me everything. No one knows the full identity of the Son except the Father, and nobody knows the full identity of the Father except the Son, and the Son fully reveals the Father to whomever He wishes. 23 (then almost in a whisper to the disciples) How blessed are your eyes to see what you see! 24 Many prophets and kings dreamed of seeing what you see, but they never got a glimpse. They dreamed of hearing what you hear, but they never heard it.

25 Just then a scholar of the Hebrew Scriptures tried to trap Jesus.

Scholar: Teacher, what must I do to experience the eternal life?

Jesus (answering with a question): 26 What is written in the Hebrew Scriptures? How do you interpret their answer to your question?

Scholar: 27 You shall love—“love the Eternal One your God with everything you have: all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind”—and “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus: 28 Perfect. Your answer is correct. Follow these commands and you will live.

29 The scholar was frustrated by this response because he was hoping to make himself appear smarter than Jesus.

Scholar: Ah, but who is my neighbor?

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

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