UNIVERSITY UNITED
LENTEN DEVOTIONAL 2007
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February 21 Luke
4:1-13
The Temptations of Jesus
Jesus
was able to resist all the temptations of the devil and he is perfect. Even in all this time he was humble
before God. What an incredible
faith. I love when my faith has the
pleasure of knowing I am doing what God would have me do. Unfortunately there are the other times
when I know I have done wrong. At
these times I feel bad but know God will still take me back and walk with me
again. I wish I did not have to
rely on this but being human I have to accept that I will make mistakes. All I can do is strive to do my best and
believe in my Savior. I feel compelled
to say I have discovered the joy of Christian Rock and listen on a regular
basis. The lyrics frequently
discuss the challenges and joys of the Christian walk. When I have highs and lows, the songs
help me thru the tough times and give me greater joy during the high times.
Art
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February 22 Luke
4:14-30
The Beginning of Jesus’
Ministry
Jesus
returned to
He went to
"The
Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to
the poor. He has sent me to
proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to
release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Then
he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue
were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this
scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
All
spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his
lips. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked.
Jesus
said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal
yourself! Do here in your hometown
what we have heard that you did in
"I
tell you the truth," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his
hometown. I assure you that there
were many widows in
All
the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town,
and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to
throw him down the cliff. But he
walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
At
the start of this verse, Jesus is being praised by all who hear him teach. He then returns to his hometown of
Now
most people do not enjoy hearing negative things about themselves (who would?)
and especially from someone you have known all your life. Yet, are these not the very people who
know us best? Are these not the
people who have our best interests at heart? Why is it that we are more than willing
to hear good things from those we know and love, but the moment we hear
something about ourselves that might need changing, we immediately discount
everything the person has to say? Are we like the Nazarenes—only
willing to listen to good things and ready to throw someone over a cliff when
they tell us there are areas to work on?
I would hope in this season of Lent that we could take the time to
listen to the good and the not-so-good, to truly have an open mind and be
willing to change.
Prayer:
Lord, help me hear the good things about
myself and help me listen for the things that need changing. Amen
Seanna McCurdy
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Jesus Calls His First
Disciples
Prayer:
Lord,
as I read these scriptures today, I ask that you open my heart, my mind and my
eyes to the opportunities you give me to be your disciple in the world
today. Amen
After I read the passage for today, I found myself
wondering where I had been called to be Christ’s disciple.
I have been called to help with the Feeding the
Hungry ministry.
Where are
you being called to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?
I have responded with my service, leadership and
finances.
In your life,
how have you responded to Christ’s calling you as his disciple?
My gratitude goes out to Pam and Kristin who are so
loyal and responsive to this call with their own service, leadership and
finances. After two years now, I
find I’m tiring of this call.
My Saturday’s are taken up with being out at the park or over at
the church feeding those who may come to eat. I work every other weekend, and it seems
that when I have a Saturday off I’m either letting someone down by not
being available to serve or I’m serving and not being able to participate
in other activities that may take me out of town.
I have prayed asking, “Lord rekindle the fire
that started me on this path or to give me another path to follow. Oh yes Lord, please don’t make it
something that interferes with my other activities”. What I keep hearing is, “Do what I
have asked you to do until I ask you to change it or move on.”
(Walk away from your boat and nets) Keep serving with creativity joy and
gratitude. Today someone may meet
me, Jesus Christ, through you”.
(I will make you fishers of men)
So, I continue to pray and I continue in this ministry.
What
struggles have you experienced with your call? How have you responded to those
struggles?
Prayer:
Dearest Lord., you are so magnificent. You have provided a world of abundance
and yet we see so much need. Lord, I want to be your disciple. Let me hear your call. Help me to be steadfast in my service to
you. Amen
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The Man With Leprosy
What happens to a person, who seeks out
healing, finds the genuine source and is healed completely? Right, they would want to announce the
great news.
However, when the man with leprosy was
healed by Jesus in this passage, this man was ordered by Jesus specifically not
to do what came natural ("Don't tell anyone"). Instead it turns out that Jesus gave a
higher calling to this healed man, which was to go to the priests and performing
the required rituals ("offer the sacrifices that Moses
commanded"). This higher
calling required the now healed man to do this "as a testimony to them
(the priests)." As a result of
answering this higher calling, not only was the testimony delivered but
"news about him (Jesus) spread all the more..."
Although we can read this passage from many
different perspectives, consider at this moment a "higher calling"
that serves God's will and far exceeds our natural responses. We are reminded by God's Spirit to
respond to life with love, patience, joy and may other "fruits of the
Spirit" instead of what comes natural. Quite easy to say now, but wait for the
moment when self-control is low or we are "really tired" and can't
handle it anymore. Where does the
higher calling lead us in these moments?
As we reflect on our relationship with God
during Lent this year, let's consider the "higher calling" and the
higher results the Holy Spirit aims to achieve.
Prayer:
Oh
God, only by your grace can I have a heart that is aware of your higher
calling. Guide me to respond to
your call in new ways that far exceed my natural responses. Amen.
Bert Roark
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Jesus Heals a Paralytic
18 And some men were carrying on a bed a man
who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and set him down in
front of him. 19 But not finding
any way in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down
through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of
Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith, he
said, “Friend your sins are forgiven you.” 21 The scribes and Pharisees began to
reason, saying, “Who is this man that speaks blasphemies? Who forgives
sins, but God alone?” 22 But
Jesus aware of their reasonings answered and said to them, “Why are you
reasoning in your hearts? 23 Which
is easier to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you’ or to say,
‘Get up and walk’? 24
“But, so that you may know that the son of man has authority on earth to
forgive sins” -– He said to the paralytic -- “I say to you,
get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” 25 Immediately he got up before them,
and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. 26 They were all struck with
astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying,
“We have seen remarkable things today.”
Adrian Rodgers sees the paralytic as a man
who gave up all hope when there was no room to enter the door. He believes the man on the mat just
wanted to give up and go home.
Adrian Rodgers supposes that the litter
bearers all were touched by a miracle of Jesus. The first told the man on the mat,
“I was blind but he made me see.” The second said, “I was deaf; he
made me hear.” The third told
him, “You should try; I was a leper he made me whole.” The identity of the fourth man speaks
for itself. His name was
Lazarus. They convinced him there
was a way. They let him in through
the roof. They knew there was a man
in there.
Recently I have been on the flat of my back
with muscle spasms that would not stop.
The result was that most of the time I felt like doing nothing, no work,
no play, no singing, and sometimes not even wanting to eat even though I was
hungry. I wanted to do nothing but
sleep and ignore what was wrong.
It becomes hard to believe that you will
get better. Anxiety sets in. Will my job still be there? Will my life change? I realized that I am like the
paralytic. I didn’t want to
try.
My family from work, from church, and my
family {my wife and son especially} were all supporting me through calls,
letters and most important through prayer.
I know that I will never be given more than
I am able to handle. I know Jesus
is always with me. I know God has
given him to save us. When you just
want to go home do not ignore him.
I hope you will listen to your friends and family when they assure you
that there is a man in there. I
hope this Easter you say there is a man in here.
John
Grossman
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Jesus Calls Levi
So there is Levi,
collecting taxes. Not a fun job but
probably lucrative. Perhaps he was
a realist. He probably rationalized
that someone had to collect taxes and it might as well be him. What if he had became a Pharisee
instead? Taxes would still be
collected. He knew that Pharisees
very often just fooled themselves and nobody else with their public purity and
self righteousness.
So Levi finds himself
collecting taxes when Jesus sees him.
Jesus doesn’t just see another tax collector, he sees Levi. Somehow Jesus knows that Levi is
not only yearning to follow him but also ready and willing. So when Jesus says “Follow me,”
Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
I leave everything every
so often… I go camping. I
leave most of my stuff and most of my responsibilities and go camping. Norm and I were backpacking in the
Sierras when Richard Nixon resigned as President. We heard about it from another
backpacker. There are a lot of
times I just like the idea of leaving everything. I daydream occasionally of just that –
leaving everything! The Southwest
Airline ad comes to mind … “Want to get away?” Those are times when I realize I’ve
made a mistake, embarrassed myself or just start to feel overwhelmed. Wanting to get away from everything is a
pretty common fantasy. A whole
travel industry is built on it.
I have also read this
passage in the past with an attitude that goes like this … What do you
mean … leave everything? I
can’t leave everything. What
kind of an irresponsible person would I be to leave my job, my family, and for
what? Don’t make me crazy, I
can’t leave everything!
Levi, however, left
everything. What does that
mean? The very next thing that
happens is Levi gives a great banquet.
Good thing he did not immediately leave his money … no money, no
banquet. I am pretty sure it was
that way then, even as now. My
daughter is getting married in April … I know it takes some money to
throw a banquet. So exactly what “everything”
did Levi leave?
Here is my guess. He left a cynical reality. He left the way he viewed the
world. He left the way he used his
time, the way he used his money, the way he related to his friends, family and
contacts. He left his old ways for
a whole new way of being. When he
followed Jesus, he left the world he knew for a trust in God and work to bring
about the
By which he meant everyone
…. absolutely everyone.
Prayer for today: Almighty God,
thank you for your creation. Open
our minds, eyes and hearts to see the world the way you see the world. Help us see you, love you and work to
share your love with everyone.
Amen.
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Following the Leader
These are two events in which Jesus was accused of
doing wrong on the Sabbath. He was going
against the Law and its well accepted rules. At least, that’s how the
authorities saw it. Pharisaic
tradition, in His day, had much to do with petty issues of physical works. For example, if a hen laid an egg on the
Sabbath it could not be consumed, but if the hen had been kept for fattening
and wasn’t laying, the egg could be eaten, since it would be deemed a
part of the hen which had fallen off!
The list of “don’t”s was extensive and restrictive,
and the expectations absurd. It
seems the Pharisees were forgetting Deuteronomy 4:2 where it is written
“You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take anything
from it.” All this minutiae
of the Law did not come from God; it was all out of man’s worrying mixed
in with a bit of misconstruction.
Plus, perhaps I can quote our governor who said in a 1990 U.S. News
interview, “My relationship to power and authority is that I’m all
for it. People need somebody to
watch over them. Ninety-five
percent of the people in the world need to be told what to do and how to
behave.” Those Pharisees,
I’m sure, just wanted to help people stay clear of trouble and not upset
the big man upstairs. They seemed
to know it all when it came to the Sabbath. They were masters at that
game, lording over all its ordinances.
And yet Jesus concludes with the end-all, “the Son of Man is Lord
of the Sabbath” in verse five.
Jesus as the Light is there to reveal all our hypocrisy and strange
manners. He might even show us as
vipers at times. Only Jesus has the
right to do this. After all, if
Jesus had broken the Sabbath He would have been sinning. But according to 1 Peter, Jesus
committed no sin. So, Jesus knows
what’s best for us truly, as the only unblemished human being, and He
doesn’t want us caught in a mire of tradition and controversy over
non-spiritual matters. He can help
us do what He did on the Sabbath, which was teaching, helping people heal,
worshipping God, and focusing on what really needs to be looked at more
closely. Does it matter if they eat
that egg from the hen? It matters
what we’re going to do with the energy it gives us. Let’s all continue to do
God’s work on the Sabbath, and stop sweating all the smaller stuff.
May the Lord be our leader, and praise the Lord that
he gives us eggs by the dozens to do His will!
Elliot Smith
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Jesus Chooses 12 Disciples
In these days he went out into the hills to pray; and
all night he continued in prayer to God.
And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them
twelve, whom he named apostles; Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his
brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and
Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and
Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
In this passage, we find that, after lengthily
praying, Jesus called all of his disciples together. In the dictionary, the word disciple is
defined as a follower or pupil of a teacher. Jesus had many followers, but he singled
out a group of twelve from among them all.
So many choices and only twelve were picked – what a tough job!
This makes me think of the job of selecting a team
for baseball games – nine players and three alternates – so many
good candidates to choose from, all with high hopes. I think during the couple of days needed
for the selection process, I would have called on my father for help as well.
Once Jesus had chosen the twelve, he named them
apostles. Turning to the dictionary
once again, the word apostle is defined as a person sent out on a special
mission or as a preacher; an early leader of a new principle or movement; any
of the disciples sent out by Christ to teach the gospel. The chosen twelve had an incredible task
ahead of them. Many eyes, friendly
and hostile, would be upon them as they began spreading the gospel. Jesus had probably spent the extra time
praying to his Father for guidance in picking out twelve persons who would be
able to not only use their talents well, but also withstand the pressures and
trials their teachings and faith would bring upon them.
Now, the early teachings of the apostles are no
longer limited to a small region but haves spread around the world. Among my earliest memories from church
school are the Nativity and Easter stories, several parables, and how Jesus had
twelve chosen disciples traveling with him. Perhaps you have similar memories? Jesus told the twelve to go and make
disciples of all men. He chose
those twelve to spread his teachings, and his teachings endure to this
day. It looks like he chose well!
Cindy
Rechelluul-Grossman
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Blessings and Woes
Last year
a friend asked me to make her a humming bird quillow. It sounded easy enough since I just had
success with my first one, but it wasn't.
First
I couldn't find the material I needed.
When I did, the price was way out of my league, but a dear angel bought
me some of it and sent it to me a few weeks later. Then, after several weeks of trying to
figure out how I was going to do the other side, a pattern practically fell
into my lap. My friend is a sudoku
kind of person, and this pattern was for a sudoku quilt. It couldn't have been more perfect. I had my plan set and I began choosing
material for it. I took the
material down to show my friend and she helped me pick the nine pieces she
liked that went with the hummingbird fabric. I had MY plan and the material and went
to my step – mom’s to begin my project. Then everything fell apart.
First
off, because all the material wasn’t the same kind, it didn't cut the
same. When I tried to sew the
pieces together, some stretched too much, the other didn't stretch enough, so
nothing lined up the way it was supposed to. My step-mom, Linda, helped me by
teaching me how to square the blocks so that when I sewed the blocks they would
at least match up. Meanwhile I
spent a lot of time tearing out and re-sewing the blocks because I didn't sew
the color blocks the right way the first time. I was getting frustrated and threw the
thing across the floor on more than one occasion.
When I
finally got the one side done and the two sides together I found out that I sewed
the one material backwards so I had to take the whole thing out and sew it the
right way. I finally got the
blanket part done and quilted and discovered that I didn't sew the border on
the pillow correctly and had to put the pillow on the opposite side than where
it was supposed to go which threw the one side off space wise. By this time I was set on getting the
thing done because it was fighting me so hard not to get done. I was very upset when I was done because
I wanted it to be perfect for my friend.
She had done so much for me, and I was mad at myself for doing such a
horrible job with the one thing she had ever asked me to do.
Linda
and I sat down with it and talked about the things I learned from this. I learned that I need to pick the same
material, to take my time when cutting so that it all comes out even. I learned that I need more practice at
this skill, and that the more I do the easier it's going to get.
I also
learned that God has a better plan than I do. When all was said and done, the place I
wanted the pillow wouldn't have worked as well as where it had to go. I learned that my friend loves me a lot,
and a few stray lines weren’t going to matter to her, because I had put
all my love into this project. I
learned that the materials I chose did look good together, and they added
texture to the project. I learned
that even though I knew where all the mistakes were, others that saw it just
saw a beautiful quillow.
What
does this have to do with the scripture?
The beatitudes always confused me. Instead of blessed, my friend Evelin
Laycock always said "Oh the shear Joy!" Why do we have to go though the guck to
get joy or blessings? How does that
work? Then I looked at this thing I
made and heard in my head, blessed are the mismatched pieces of fabric for they
shall become a source of warmth and comfort. "Blessed are the random crooked
lines, for they shall create character.
Blessed is the non-perfect creation for it shall be a token of love to
your friend." I think I get it
now. We are not perfect
people. We want to be, but we
aren't. We beat ourselves up
because we don't have enough money, or people in our lives die, or horrible
things happen to us. But God uses
each and every one of us to bless other people in our lives. God uses us in our brokenness to his
glory. He knows our pain and he
know how much easier it is to get through it when we have someone in our lives
who knows what we are going through and can be the one just in front of us on
our journey to help us through the tough parts.
Dear God,
thank you for knowing us well enough to know that we need to know that there is
comfort to those who go through tough times. Thank you for giving me people in my
life who have helped me through these times and help me to know when to turn
around and offer help to others.
And above all, help me to remember this, "Blessed are those who let
God lead, for He knows where we are going, and how we are going to get
there." Amen.
Berta
Rickman
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Love Your Enemies
If
you have ever watched the Dr. Phil Show, one of his favorite questions to ask
his guest is “what were you thinking?” I want to ask Christ the same question
“what was he thinking” when he gave us this “hard
saying”—love your enemies.
Did the word enemy mean something different in Christ’s time then
what it does now? Is He really
telling us to love the person that shot down our child in cold blood? Did he say love the person who stole our
retirement fund and feels no remorse for their deeds? Did he really mean for us to love the
neighbor, who has made our life a living hell? I am sure you can fill a page with your
personal examples.
What
was Christ thinking?
He was thinking of who He is and who we can be
through Him. Through Christ’s
death, burial and resurrection, He defeated our worse enemy, Satan. We are bigger then our enemies—we
can still love them despite what they have done to us. (We can do all things through Christ
Jesus who strengthens us.) Christ
said it is easy to love someone we like, but hard to love some one who has
mistreated and abused us. He tells
us to “do good to those who hate you.” Christ says that “but if you love
those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love
them.” (Luke 6:32)
As we enter the Lenten Season, let us reflect on
what Christ has given to us—his immense love—to share. That means sharing it with our enemies.
Marilyn M.
Johnson
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Judging Others
“Judge
not, and you will not be judged; condemn not,
and you will not be condemned;
forgive, and you will
be forgiven; give, and it will be
given to you . . .”
n
Mark 6 - 37-38
“Judge
not, that you be not judged. For
with the
judgment you pronounce you will be
judged, and
the measure you give will be the
measure you get.”
n
Matthew 7
– 1-2
“. .
.Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”
n
Galatians 6
– 7
Shoghi
Effendi, the Baha’i thinker, writes in Living the Life, that “each of us is responsible for one life
only, and that is our own. Each of
us is immeasurably far from being ‘perfect as our heavenly Father is
perfect,’ and the task of perfecting our own life and character requires
all our attention, our will-power and energy. If we allow our attention and energy to
be taken up in efforts to keep others right and remedy their faults, we are
wasting precious time.”
While, as Christians, we might quibble with the claim that “each
of us is responsible for one life only,” there can be no doubt that the
enterprise of judging others can be fraught with trouble, for none of us is
free of difficulty and poor judgment in our lives. Yet, judging the actions of others is in
the long run unavoidable, if we are to preserve a society based on moral
principle and ethical imperative.
When Jesus commanded, “Judge not,” he meant not that we
never judge others, but that the attitude with which we judge is what God is
most concerned about – “For with the judgment you pronounce you
will be judged...” Judging is
condemned when one is blind to one’s own faults, or when it is done
without mercy and love. But when it
is done with love and the wisdom to be aware of one’s own frailty, it is
an important pillar of Christian civilization.
It is well to keep this in mind as we engage in
small acts of judgment, as when we reflexively curse the actions of another
driver on the freeway (which of us is a truly perfect driver?), or when we pass
judgment on a relationship between two other people (which of us is without
difficulty in our own relationships?), or when we demean a well-intentioned
statement made by a family member or colleague (which of us has not made a
statement that, on reflection, would have been better left unsaid?). Let’s face it: Judging others is fun. There is hardly anything more pleasing
than discussing someone else’s faults. Yet we should not lose sight of the fact
that the act of judging also reflects powerfully upon the person who
judges. As Confucius writes in the Analects (12.16), “the gentleman
calls attention to the good points in others; he does not call attention to
their defects. The small man does
just the reverse of this.” A
legitimate act of judging others is a powerful tool, guided by love and wisdom,
to be reserved for those things that truly matter. Most of our judgmental energy is better
directed at ourselves, because that is where we know, without equivocation,
that we can make a difference.
Graeme Auton
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A Tree and Its Fruit
It
has been 39 years since my father passed away, and he has been on my mind
lately. When I read the scripture,
Luke 6:43-45, I interpreted the tree as my father and the fruit as his good
traits. One trait that passed on to
me and my sister was his love of nature.
Let me clarify this, he loved national parks in the good
Linda Smith
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The Wise
and Foolish Builders
"Why
do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who
comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who
dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck
that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does
not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground
without a foundation. The moment
the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was
complete.
It has taken me a very long time to stop
and consider a situation before acting.
The examples or Parables, given by Jesus have given me a better way to
deal with many situations. I will
give you only one example to keep this short; my son-in-law and his two
daughters were to come and trim my tree in the front yard. The deal was, I would pay each lady X
amount of money when the job was done.
One of the ladies was ill that day.
The other came and helped her Dad.
I paid each of my Grandladies the full amount of money. The one who worked said that was
fine. The one who was ill didn't
want the money because she was not able to help. I had to quote MATTHEW 20, "The
parable of the Workers in the Vineyard" before they agreed to accept the
money. As I study and absorb more
of the teachings of Jesus, I become more satisfied and comfortable with life as
it comes.
May the Grace of God be with you, Muriel Wells
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(Matthew
8:5-13)
1When
Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered
He
was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him:
"Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under
my roof. 7That is why I did
not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be
healed. 8For I myself am a
man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and
that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I
say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
9When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and
turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found
such great faith even in
Meditation (from “Word
Of Life Christian Community”):
In Jesus' time the Jews hated the Romans
because they represented everything they stood against -- including foreign
domination and pagan beliefs and practices. Why did Jesus not only warmly receive a
Roman centurion but praise him as a model of faith and confidence in God?
In the Roman world the position of
centurion was very important. He
was an officer in charge of a hundred soldiers. In a certain sense, he was the backbone
of the Roman army, the cement which held the army together. Polybius, an ancient writer, describes
what a centurion should be: "They must not be so much venturesome seekers
after danger as men who can command, steady in action, and reliable; they ought
not to be over-anxious to rush into the fight, but when hard pressed, they must
be ready to hold their ground, and die at their posts."
The centurion who approached Jesus was
not only courageous, but faith-filled as well. He risked the ridicule of his cronies by
seeking help from an itinerant preacher from
"Heavenly Father, you sent us your
Son that we might be freed from the tyranny of sin and death. Increase my faith in the power of your
saving word and give me freedom to love and serve others with generosity and
mercy as you have loved me."
My
Comments: We often believe
that those with true faith are from only our flock. We must remember that God and Jesus are
so great that faith in them and what they are goes beyond mortal restrictions
and differences.
Gerald
Moody
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