Passage of the Day:
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. 5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. 8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near,’ Luke 10:1-11.
Reflection:
One of the things I learned in college was that Jesus had more than just 12 disciples. After the main disciples were gathered, Jesus goes through a screening process in Luke 9:57-62. Those that met Jesus’ criteria were appointed to become minor disciples, serving Jesus in teams of two. As I recently read today’s featured passage, this is similar to the faith journeys of modern-day Christians. While most don’t serve Jesus in pairs, home groups provide a ministry for Christians outside the church. This is where you have the opportunity to invite friends and neighbors like the other 72 disciples. This sets the stage for a journey of a lifetime.
Prayerful Action:
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 1 Peter 3:15.
Working Out Your Salvation:
As someone who spent 8 years working nights, you have to fight to stay awake in church when my body was normally sound asleep. This also coincided with Covid-19 causing all services where I lived to stop meeting and eventually do worship online. Once congregations were legally allowed to resume corporate worship, I decided to attend a local Saturday night service. While this wasn’t ideal, this was part of my faith journey until I was able to return to working days and be off every Sunday. Everyone has a different story like a flow chart with peaks and valleys. Spiritually speaking, you want to have a gradual ascent toward Jesus, growing closer and closer with each passing day. Yet, this isn’t reality as faith is often rudely interrupted by extreme circumstances and trying trials. How you handle these events will shape your testimony. Working out your salvation comes into play when you feel like quitting, walking away from your faith like some of my friends. Nonetheless, your life is filled with blank pages yet to be written by God, Philippians 1:6. This is what I call the Journey of a Lifetime.
Song of the Day:
I initially had in mind to use the Great Adventure by Steven Curtis Chapman when the title of today’s blog came to me. However, at church today, the closing song was My Testimony. As I thought about the lyrics I was singing, I felt My Testimony fits better with today’s devotion. May the attached song speak to your heart as you partake in a faith journey of a lifetime.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 