March 10 | Luke 11:14-28

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DAILY READING

Luke 11:14-28

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REFLECTION

Religion Rather than Relationship?

By Dave Mann

We humans are prone to make up our own religion.  Religion is something that we are in charge of.  We tend to set up committees that decide what is good and appropriate and what is not. Of course, we want to play a key role in such religious committees.  Ultimately, the nature and character of the god we create looks and reacts like us.  We have created a god in our own likeness.  This is the opposite of what the true God did in Genesis 1:26.

The final verse of today’s reading (Luke 11:28) has a keyword we often overlook – rather.  Here, that word has the sense of “on the contrary” or “to be distinguished from.”  Jesus countered what the people were thinking.  With that one word, he challenged people to change how they perceived God’s approval. 

In our religious experiences, if we never have the sense that God is challenging us to change the way we think, we just may be creating a god in our own image rather than worshiping the true God who is distinct from our own imagination. 

In today’s reading, there are three ways that the people misconstrued the will of God.  And we still do it today.

1. With regard to power -- Some thought that if Jesus had power over evil spirits, it must be that he was in league with the leader of the unclean spirits.  Jesus’ response was, “No, but rather, ‘Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall’” (v. 17).

2. With regard to involvement -- Some thought that if they were not actively opposing what Jesus taught, they must be spiritually okay.  Jesus’ response was, “No, but rather, ‘Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters’” (v. 23).

3. With regard to obedience -- Some thought that if they were related to Jesus in some way (like being his mother), they must be on the good-guy list.  Jesus’ response was, “No, but rather, ‘Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it’” (v. 28).

Jesus carefully redirected them then (and us now) toward a better understanding of our relationship with him.  Each one of these corrective words in which Jesus redirects us, pulls us into a closer relationship with himself, rather than approving our self-made religion.

PRAYER

Lord God, keep on speaking to me and drawing me into a closer and closer relationship with you.  Please do not allow me to create my own religion in which I imagine you to be some sort of deity in my own image. But RATHER I want the real You, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DAVE MANN

I am a Pastor for Internationals (retired) in the UALC community. I am married to Pam, father of four, and grandfather of six. Pam and I have lived twenty of our years in other countries including France, Cameroon, Haiti, and Morocco. In retirement, we continue to enjoy writing devotionals, learning languages, and teaching English to internationals.

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March 9 | Luke 11:1-13

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DAILY READING

Luke 11:1-13

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REFLECTION

God's Perspective or Mine?

By Elaine Pierce

The gospels record Jesus praying at least 38 times, and today we read about one of them: "One day Jesus was praying in a certain place." His disciples had seen him praying often, and for some reason, on this day they asked him to help them learn how to pray. Verses 2 - 4 record the most well known of Jesus' prayers, what we call the Lord's Prayer.

But Jesus doesn't stop there. He tells an interesting parable in verses 5-8, and then this section concludes with Jesus reminding his disciples to "ask, seek, and knock," and he says that "the Father in heaven will given them the Holy Spirit" when they ask him.

My prayers so often start off with a perfunctory "you are great, Lord," but they quickly turn to my laundry list of demands. I want good health, I want my children to return to their faith, I want my friends who are in crisis to be freed from difficult situations, I want whatever project I am working on to be successful. All of these are good things, I suppose, but what is my focus? It's on my needs and desires. It's not on worshipping God and singing his praises. My ratio is off, and that might explain why so often I don't listen to him - I'm too busy asking, asking, asking.

Yes, Jesus tells the disciples to "ask, seek, and knock." But what should they ask for? What should they seek? These words in Psalm 27:4 remind us of what our goals should be:

One thing I ask of the Lord, "this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple."

When I start with praise, as he taught his disciples, my perspective changes, and my asking and seeking are centered on him and not on me. He is waiting to sit with me, with you, and he gives good gifts far beyond what we can imagine.

PRAYER

Thank you, Lord, for sending your Holy Spirit. You give me good gifts, and I so often squander them. Help me each day to seek your face, and to follow you. Amen.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ELAINE PIERCE

It is a delight and joy to write Sunday's UALC Blog post. I have been a UALC member for 20+ years and I value our community of believers. I draw strength from God's Word, and it is my hope that you join me in seeking to grow closer to Him as we read, study, and pray together. I've been married to Gene for 47 years, and we have four grown children and nine grandchildren. It is an exciting time to be alive, and I count it all joy to serve him, even in the midst of challenges. To God be the glory, for the great things he is doing!

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March 8 | Luke 10:25-42

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DAILY READING

Luke 10:25-42

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REFLECTION

The Good Samaritan

by David Thompson

The passage opens with Jesus teaching, when a teacher of the law came up to him and asked an insincere question. “What do I need to do to be saved?” Likely he had heard about Jesus and wanted to trap him into saying something that would rile up the entire Pharisee audience. Jesus was too smart for him and asked a question instead of answering. Jesus asked, “What is written in the law?” and “How do you read it?” This smug teacher of the law could not outsmart Jesus and he answered what we might call a “Sunday School” answer. He said, “Love the Lord your God with all you with all your heart and all your soul and with all your strength and with your entire mind.” And like that answer he also stated, “And love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus commended him on his answer. Jesus told him he had answered well. At this the teacher of the law asked a final question. “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus again didn’t answer but told the story of The Good Samaritan. I imagine this Pharisee (teacher of the law) went away confused wondering how he messed up his well planned scheme.

We all know that story of the Good Samaritan. A man had been beaten and robbed and was lying in the road. Three individuals passed by. The first two were Jewish religious men and they passed by without helping due to being unclean if they touched the beaten man. The third man, a hated Samaritan, stopped and helped him and even took him to an inn and paid for his recovery.

It reminds me of a story of a college religion professor who had been teaching the parable of the Good Shepherd in his advanced religion class. He decided to see if he could reenact this story for his students. He gave an assignment of a six page paper on the story to his students. He then set up an older man to sit on a bench in direct line via sidewalks to the religion building. He had the man dress shabbily and had him have a cane. The cane was laying next to the bench and the old man feigned being in great ankle pain. He reminded the students that the paper was very important for their grade and that it was due at 4 o’clock sharp on the day of the setup. He told the students that he would be in meetings until 3:45; but that the papers needed to be turned in by 4:00 sharp or they wouldn’t be accepted. With all ready, he waited for the appointed time. Many of the students walked right passed the old man. Some stopped to find out what was wrong and that he needed to be taken to the health office way out of the way. Many of them either made an excuse or walked away, or promised to come back when the paper was submitted, but a few actually did what the man needed right then. What a surprise the students had the next class time. The class met to find the old man sitting in the front row of the lecture hall. The professor explained his rouse and all had a good laugh and a great discussion.

Matthew 25 has the story of the lambs and goats. The lambs did things to help strangers. They were separated from the goats that did nothing. Another scripture to contemplate is Hebrews 13:2, where we are told about entertaining angels unaware. We all need to think about these two scriptures and take heed. We will answer for what we did and didn’t do in life.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, we can learn so much from your Word. Help us to be aware of the needs of our neighbors and help us be a sheep in your Matthew story. We love you. Amen!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DAVE THOMPSON

I am the administrator of the Daily Worship Blog. My wife, Carla, and I have been attending UALC for seven years at the 9 o'clock service at Mill Run. We have two children, Catherine and Aaron. I have been a Christian for 53 years and am thankful that my Savior has given me two spiritual gifts that have carried me both spiritually and vocationally all my life: they are teaching and administration. I look forward to spending many years here at UALC to serve my Lord and Savior.

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