Monday: Read Matthew 6:33
church! How are you honoring God in the way you make money and provide for your family? Are you working to share your means with those who legitimately must worry about where their next meal is coming from? When we place our highest priority on serving God and furthering the work of the Kingdom, the other worries don’t go away. But in the light of eternity, suddenly they don’t seem like such a big deal.
Tuesday: Read Leviticus 19:9-10; Luke 4:23-30
Let’s also remember who the Israelites were. God had shown compassion and love for them in their time of need, so God was telling them to remember that when they found themselves on the other side of the equation. But humans are shortsighted and tend to forget. Just as most Americans forget that their ancestors were immigrants, most of whom had no legal right to come, the Israelites forgot this too. Grace isn’t fair. It never has been and never will be. Whether it’s leaving gleanings in the fields so the poor and the immigrants can have something to eat or realizing that in God’s eyes there are no favorites. God gave us grace when we didn’t deserve it, and we are called to pass that grace on to others.
Wednesday: Read Matthew 25:35-36; Proverbs 19:17; James 1:27
James, a disciple who could not have disagreed more with Paul on the role of works in the life of faith, wrote, “True devotion, the kind that is pure and faultless before God the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their difficulties and to keep the world from contaminating us.” Orphans and widows were those who were considered worthless by society in that time and place. Who would that be for us today? Is it someone who is homeless, mentally ill, a drug addict? Is it someone on welfare who just can’t seem to find a job? Is it a family whose members don’t speak English and whose status is undocumented? Who are the people to whom our world tells us we owe nothing? Whatever our answer is, that’s the person we must welcome, and the warmth of that welcome is what we will be judged by. Plan accordingly.
Thursday: 2 Samuel 24:21-25
David was one of the great heroes of the Bible but he wasn’t perfect. Today we read about his “taking” of Bathsheba. This was an unspeakable act and yet there is forgiveness. Throughout his poor choices he learned more and more what it was to be a child of God and. The power and authority of his office were not David’s to use as he saw fit. He was entrusted with what he had been given, as we are, to use for God’s purposes. It had taken a long time and a lot of heartache, but David finally got it. What power and authority are you working on recognizing as something that has been entrusted to you?
Friday: Matthew 25:14-29; Romans 21:1
What gift is God giving you? Are you holding anything back or just letting any talent “rot” in the ground? Is there anything holding you back from being a living sacrifice in service to God’s kingdom?
Saturday: Acts 5:1-11; Malachi 3:8-10
Whatever your level of commitment, be honest about it. Don’t pretend you’re all-in if you’re not. God’s patience with us is endless, and our brothers and sisters in the church will, in their best moments, embody that patience and help bring us along. But we won’t help anybody, least of all ourselves, if we’re not honest or if we hold back while pretending we’re all in. We can’t deceive God. In the end, the only people we’re deceiving is ourselves. Take some time today to reflect on where your commitment level is.