Devotionals for June 21, 2023
Week TWO of MAKING DISCIPLES is happening next week. Sign up today!
READ
Luke 18:9-14
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:
10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
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 all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
REFLECT
This is another well known story for Christians. Jesus gave this parable as a means of teaching his disciple about being self righteous rather than dependent on God’s mercy.
The self righteous Pharisee looked to himself to be justified before God. His comparison was not of his own life with God’s will but in his actions that Christ points out as meaningless because the motive was not genuine.
The tax collector understood the weight, the very gravity of his sin and also the penalty. He knew with every fiber of his being that he did not deserve anything from God, but still approached the Almighty as a contrite and broken person in need of God’s love.
The pharisee was as disingenuous as Jonah, Ananias and Sapphira. The humble spirit of the tax collector stands in sharp contrast to the others we have looked at this far. His humility was not in front of men but before the God of the Universe. This man accepted the weight of his sin against the Creator and how serious this was.
One approached in lip service. One approached in brokenness.
APPLY
Q: How can a life that in appearance seems so dedicated to God have so little substance?
Q: As we seek God in our daily lives, what does the example of the Tax Collector teach us?
Q: When we follow God as obedient witnesses for Him, how should we approach the people God has called us to?
SING
“Left it in the Water” - We the Kingdom
PRAY
"Give us today our daily bread."
Our Heavenly Father, we are grateful for the greatest gift You have given in Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Grant us your grace daily and remember Your promise to sustain and bless us.
READ
Luke 18:9-14
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:
10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
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 all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
REFLECT
This is another well known story for Christians. Jesus gave this parable as a means of teaching his disciple about being self righteous rather than dependent on God’s mercy.
The self righteous Pharisee looked to himself to be justified before God. His comparison was not of his own life with God’s will but in his actions that Christ points out as meaningless because the motive was not genuine.
The tax collector understood the weight, the very gravity of his sin and also the penalty. He knew with every fiber of his being that he did not deserve anything from God, but still approached the Almighty as a contrite and broken person in need of God’s love.
The pharisee was as disingenuous as Jonah, Ananias and Sapphira. The humble spirit of the tax collector stands in sharp contrast to the others we have looked at this far. His humility was not in front of men but before the God of the Universe. This man accepted the weight of his sin against the Creator and how serious this was.
One approached in lip service. One approached in brokenness.
APPLY
Q: How can a life that in appearance seems so dedicated to God have so little substance?
Q: As we seek God in our daily lives, what does the example of the Tax Collector teach us?
Q: When we follow God as obedient witnesses for Him, how should we approach the people God has called us to?
SING
“Left it in the Water” - We the Kingdom
PRAY
"Give us today our daily bread."
Our Heavenly Father, we are grateful for the greatest gift You have given in Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Grant us your grace daily and remember Your promise to sustain and bless us.