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Monday July 28 - Good conduct
“They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in
everything – all she had to live on.” Mark 12:44
Yesterday, we considered good thoughts but, to be honest, unless these are converted into actions, they are like ‘someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like’ (James 1:23-24). The poor widow in today’s passage was someone who ‘walked the walk’; who not only gave to the Kingdom, but did so sacrificially. She acted on her love for God, although it left her destitute.
This is where ‘the rubber hits the road’. We can love God with every ounce of our being, but unless we demonstrate this in our actions, it is empty, valueless, perhaps even hypocritical – something we are going to learn about on Wednesday. But today is where we are now; this is the day that God has given us to live in the present. What are we going to give back to him today? Words... or actions? Actions that demonstrate the love we have for him, that others can see? We may not be called to give sacrificially, but appropriately to our situation – perhaps a kindness, a word of encouragement, a selfless deed? Something that would make others sit up and notice, and think positively of you, in your role as an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).
Father in heaven, help me to be a good witness to the love that I have for you. Amen.
Tuesday July 29 - Bad behaviour
But the tenants said to one another, “This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, & the inheritance will be ours.” So they took him and killed him... Mk 12:7-8
Today, we move from good behaviour to the bad behaviour that Jesus spoke of in the Parable of the Tenants, about a group of farmers so driven by greed that they were willing to kill for it, even to kill the treasured son of the vineyard’s owner. This story speaks of the responsibility that comes with being a citizen in God’s kingdom and the sober fact that God sees everything and is willing to punish bad behaviour – whoever you are, whether a farmer or an exalted teacher or elder. Those he spoke to knew that he was condemning them and made a swift retreat (v 12).
We certainly do not want to be counted among these people. They called themselves religious teachers and elders but were failing in their duty as representatives of God’s kingdom. Sadly, it is easy for this to happen. Even King Solomon, the wisest of them all and with the world surely at his feet, had not finished well: ‘So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely ...’ (1 Kings 11:6). His downfall was caused by taking his eyes off the Lord and, unfortunately, looking to the many foreign women who surrounded him! We can all fail but we can avoid this, as we saw earlier this week, by loving God with every ounce of our being... and acting accordingly.
Father in heaven, please help me to fix my eyes on you, and you only. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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