Unity

SCRIPTURE
‘Every kingdom divided against itself is heading for ruin, and a household divided against itself collapses.
Luke 11:17

OBSERVATION
Jesus has just delivered a man from a demon. Most people marvel at what He has done but some criticised Jesus, accusing Him of working for the devil. Jesus refutes their accusation with pure and simple logic; “a household divided against itself collapses. So too with Satan…”

APPLICATION
The logic Jesus uses to counter the claims against Him is a universal law. Anything divided becomes a weaker entity. This law is like gravity, you can’t escape it. It applies to everything, physical, social and spiritual. It applies to the entities I am part of; my church, my parish, my family. A major plea in Jesus’ priestly prayer at the Last Supper was for the unity of His followers; “Father, may they be one as you and I are one…”. Disunity is a curse from the devil while unity is a blessing from God. This being so, today I make unity the hallmark of all my relationships. It is the sign of an authentic Believer.

PRAYER
Lord Jesus, remind me by your Spirit to be one who unifies and builds up, not separates and tears down.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

The Price Has Been Paid

SCRIPTURE
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them.
Mt.5:17

OBSERVATION
Jesus gives this startling proclamation immediately after giving the beatitudes during His Sermon on the Mount.

APPLICATION
I often wrongly think that Jesus came to replace the Law of Moses, that He came to free us from the Law which ends in death. While this is true, I still need the Law to convict me of my sinfulness. It is then that I rush into the loving arms of my Father in Heaven and throw myself into His mercy. Jesus completion of the Law was carried out on the cross when He took the punishment the Law demands of me. He took my death-sentence that I might live. What a price he paid! What a gift I have received! Today I live with a deep sense of thankfulness for what Jesus has gained for me.

PRAYER
Jesus my Redeemer, thank you for all you have done and are doing for me.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

He is the Answer

SCRIPTURE

Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.

Lk.13:4,5

OBSERVATION

Jesus is responding to the news about people who had been slaughtered by Pilate while in the Temple.  No doubt the people were trying to make sense of what seemed a travesty of justice to them.  Jesus puts it into a bigger perspective and draws His listeners into the picture.

APPLICATION

Travesty and injustice continues to happen.  Bad things still happen to good and innocent people.  Our friends little eight-year old daughter has just been diagnosed with a brain tumour.  Why Jesus?  Why does this happen?

This is the wrong question of course.  I should be asking “How?”  …How am I to live with this Lord?  Jesus’ answer is the same… Repent.  Draw closer to Him and then it will obvious as to how I am to respond to the injustices of this world.  He always is the answer.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, you are the answer to all my questions.  Help me draw closer to you today.

Little Flower, please pray for me.

A Beloved Son

SCRIPTURE
While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly.
Luke 15:20

OBSERVATION
The Pharisees were complaining that Jesus welcomed sinners, even eating with them. In response Jesus tells them the three beautiful parables about those who are lost and the lengths God the Father goes to find them… The parables of the lost coin, the lost sheep and finally the greatest revelation of God’s love, the parable of the lost son.

APPLICATION
This parable Jesus tells always resonates with me. Often I identify with the lost son, sometimes I see more of myself in the jealous older brother, always I rejoice in the picture Jesus paints of the loving Father. No matter what “pig pen” I have come from, He is the one who runs to me, takes me in His arms and says “Son, welcome home”.
Today I see myself rightly, I see myself as the beloved son.

PRAYER
Father in heaven, what can I say that conveys my gratitude for your love… nothing. I simply sit in your love and bask in it.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Where do I place my trust?

SCRIPTURE
A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord, with the Lord for his hope. He is like a tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream: when the heat comes it feels no alarm, its foliage stays green; it has no worries in a year of drought, and never ceases to bear fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7,8

OBSERVATION
The prophet Jeremiah is laying out the consequences of trusting man in or trusting in God. The former leads to barrenness and death, the latter to fruitfulness and life. The point is it is not if heat comes, it is when heat comes that the difference is made obvious. The heat brings barrenness and death or fruitfulness and life.

APPLICATION
I am experiencing heat at the moment. My job is under review and I am facing the possibility of office closure, which would mean redundancy for me. Where do I place my trust? It’s a no-brainer. Today I trust in the Lord.

PRAYER
The Lord is the light of my salvation. Whom shall I fear. The Lord is the stronghold of my life, I shall not be afraid.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

My Plans, His Plans

SCRIPTURE
Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, and on the way he took the Twelve to one side and said to them, ‘Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the pagans to be mocked and scourged and crucified; and on the third day he will rise again.’
Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came with her sons…
Mt.20:17-20


OBSERVATION
Today’s Gospel is remarkable on two counts. Firstly, for what happened. Jesus has given His disciples excruciating detail about what is to happen to Him in Jerusalem: …betrayal, condemnation, mocking, scourging, crucifixion and finally, resurrection. But it’s as though He had said nothing. Immediately the disciples start squabbling about who is to be His right hand man. Secondly, this passage is remarkable for what Jesus is actually saying. He succinctly outlines the Paschal Mystery… Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again.

APPLICATION
Like the disciples, I’m not always that good at listening to what Jesus is saying. Like them, I often am too busy clamouring for my own plans and desires, not His. Today is a day for me to listen, truly listen to what the Lord is saying to me. It just might be the revelation of a great mystery…

PRAYER
Speak Lord, your servant is listening.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Less is More

SCRIPTURE
The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exults himself will be humbled and anyone who humbles himself will be exulted.
Mt.23:12

OBSERVATION
Jesus is teaching the crowds, warning them not to follow the hypocrisy of the scribes and the Pharisees. He then gives the blue print for true greatness… be the least.

APPLICATION
This is another great Christian characteristic that the world simply calls madness. To choose to be a servant, choose to be last, choose humility over exaltation screams in the face of today’s self-centred absorption with which the world constantly seduces me. Humility has always been a hallmark of the saints, men and women who chose to go against the flow of their times. They had learnt the secret that less is actually more. Today I chose to go against the flow, to be least and little.

PRAYER
Lord Jesus. You are the Servant King. Teach me your ways that there may be less of me and more of you in my life.
Little Flower, please pray for me.