God Speaks
Jesus Sends Out Seventy-two Disciples and Tells of the Good Samaritan
Verse of the Day: He [an expert in the law] answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” “You have answered correctly.” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” (Luke 10:22-23 NIV 2011)
Read or listen on BibleGateway.com
Watch TBR Day 298
We Respond
Luke 10
Reflection: This chapter might be summarized as: This time Jesus sent seventy (or 72) of His followers ahead of Him into the local villages with instructions on their “rules of engagement.” He commented on the judgment in store for unrepentant cities. The seventy returned and excitedly reported on the power they had over demons, but Jesus set their priorities straight, prayed, and praised God, the Father. While discussing the two greatest commandments, Jesus related the parable of the Good Samaritan. The tale of the two sisters Martha and Mary, serving Him or sitting quietly in His presence, showed what Jesus valued more.
Prayer: Dear Sovereign God who sends out His workers, just as Jesus sent out the seventy in advance to announce His coming, please send out workers to announce His death and resurrection on our behalf and His second coming. Please help me to remember and apply the “rules of engagement” You have given. Help me also to keep in mind the woe and judgment that will come to unrepentant people. Whenever I return from a time of seeing You use me in amazing ways, may I thankfully recall that I belong to You, and You deserve all the credit. Along with Jesus, I will rejoice in the Father’s will being accomplished. Enable me to be like the Good Samaritan and care for my neighbor even if that person is my enemy or considers me to be theirs. Make me more like Mary and less like Maratha. I want to spend more time sitting quietly at Your feet so that serving You seems more of a privilege than a duty. Jesus, You deserve both my devotion and my service. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will specifically communicate with someone about Jesus’s first and second coming.
- I will focus on reaching one person or household at a time for Jesus, being on the look-out for people of peace.
- I will give God thanks for adopting me into His family and give Him all the credit for whatever happens.
- I will set aside at least 15 minutes every day to sit quietly and listen to the Lord (through the Bible or just in my heart).
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.