Today's Reading: Luke 6: 12-26
**For a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please click this link: Subject Shifting Devotion.pdf.
Please click this link to read Luke 6: 12-26
Bible Study
Today's passage tells us how Jesus gave his first instruction to his new team of 12, representing the twelve tribes of Israel- the Israel team.
N.T. Wright says:
He gave them clear orders as to how his vision of God's work would go forward. Four promises, and four warnings, presented in terms of Israel's great scriptural codes: in the book called Deuteronomy, there were long lists of 'blessings' for those who obeyed the law, and 'curses' for those who didn't...
Now, with the renewed Israel formed around him Jesus gives them his own version of the same thing.
And radical version it is. It's an upside-down code, or perhaps a right-way-up code instead of the upside-down ones people had been following...
The poor, the hungry, those who weep, those who are hated: blessings on them! Not that there's anything virtuous about being poor or hungry in itself. But when injustice is reigning, the world will have to be turned once more the right way up for God's justice and kingdom to come to birth. And that will provoke opposition from people who like things the way they are. Jesus' message of promise and warning, of blessing and curse, rang with echoes of the Hebrew prophets of old, and he knew that the reaction would be the same.
What kind of instructions are you following and what kind of life are you living? The upside-down one or the right-way-up one?
If you are following the upside-down one then your prayers would be asking Jesus all the time to give you more, more wealth, more health, more everything. You would be full of pride, not admitting or even thinking that you are poor in spirit. You wouldn't have any tears to mourn for your own weaknesses and sins. You wouldn't have spiritual hunger and in fact you would not need Jesus or anybody because you would think that you were in total control of your own life. You would be so proud of your success and you wouldn't think that you would have any opposition or failure because you would be in God's protection. You would expect everything to be good all the days of your life. That's really upside-down from God's purpose of his creation!
If you are following the right-way-up one then your prayers would be able to admit you are poor in spirit always and are willing to repent when needed. Everything I previously mentioned would be turned upside down, so that it would be what N.T. Wright calls "right-way-up." Then you will be blessed!
Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to Jesus as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe"
Spiritual Journal
What I heard from Jesus today is: Is your life upside-down or right-way-up?
What I received today from Jesus is a call to return to him, to his mighty Kingdom that our life can be right-way-up and not upside-down. I have been living too long in an upside-down lifestyle and don't want to be there any more. My prayers were really full of more this: more that, more power, more authority, more everything!
Following Jesus' path to the Cross is the only way to a right-way-up purpose of life. Are you ready to turn the upside-down lifestyle to a right-way-up one?
Dear Lord Jesus,
Lead us to be able to return to you and to your kingdom that we can get away from that worldly upside-down lifestyle to your right-way-up purpose of life. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
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