Liz’s Morning Devotional based upon Upper Room
August 17, 2021
Read Luke 10:25-37
25 A legal expert stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to gain eternal life?” 26 Jesus replied, “What is written in the Law? How do you interpret it?” 27 He responded, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” 28 Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.” 29 But the legal expert wanted to prove that he was right, so he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He encountered thieves, who stripped him naked, beat him up, and left him near death. 31 Now it just so happened that a priest was also going down the same road. When he saw the injured man, he crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. 32 Likewise, a Levite came by that spot, saw the injured man, and crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. 33 A Samaritan, who was on a journey, came to where the man was. But when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. 34 The Samaritan went to him and bandaged his wounds, tending them with oil and wine. Then he placed the wounded man on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day, he took two full days’ worth of wages and gave them to the innkeeper. He said, ‘Take care of him, and when I return, I will pay you back for any additional costs.’ 36 What do you think? Which one of these three was a neighbor to the man who encountered thieves?” 37 Then the legal expert said, “The one who demonstrated mercy toward him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Good Morning! Love God and Love Your Neighbor
The story of the Good Samaritan is very familiar to most Christians. Who is my neighbor is a question that often causes interesting conversations. If we consider our own faith walk, we must ask ourselves, “Do I love my neighbors?”. Even if we only consider our neighbors in close proximity, this might be a difficult question to answer truthfully. When we broaden that definition to our neighbor being everyone in the world, most of us would have to shake our heads.
It is important to remember that God loves us even in our failure if we continue to pray and have a relationship with Him. We can breathe a sigh of relief because God doesn’t require perfection. As we mature as Christians we should move closer to walking with Christ everyday and everywhere. How do we take that next step towards loving our neighbors? When we are waiting in line, we can take time to pray to God on behalf of those around us, our neighbors. When we are sitting in traffic, we can pray that everyone, our neighbors, will make it home safely.
Each day we encounter lost souls for whom a kind word would mean so much. I believe that wearing masks is an important way to combat COVID, but we lose the ability to share and receive smiles which means we need to be creative in finding ways to interact with others. For now, pray for guidance, pray for love, and pray for mercy. The ripple effect of our prayers can reach the ends of the earth.
Loving God, Thank You for loving us. You bless us in so many ways and sometimes we forget to say thanks. Help us reach out to all of our neighbors and share Your love and mercy. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: Everyone I meet is my neighbor.
Love everyone! Pastor Liz
Pray for the people of Haiti