30 September – 4 October
Read Think Pray
Monday
[I have to apologise for getting my weeks mixed up! This should be next week's reflections.]
Read Psalm 37:1-9
Think
Psalm 37 is full of
wisdom. One thing it challenges me to do
is be a little less greedy – and learn to be content. It makes me think of Paul’s words:
…I have learnt to be content
with whatever I have.
- Philippians 4:10
Pray
Be still before the LORD,
and wait patiently for him.
and wait patiently for him.
- Psalm 37:3
Tuesday
Read Habakkuk 1:1-3; 2:1-4
Think
In the 7th
Century before Christ the prophet Habakkuk stood up to speak out against the
corruption of those who were powerful. I
particularly like 2:3-4.
You might be tempted to be a
part of the corruption – a part of the injustice of the world. But know that ‘your spirit will not be right
within you’. ‘The righteous live by their
faith.’
Pray
Lord, sometimes I want to
take things into my own hands in order to get what I want. Help me to let go of what I want, and trust
you for what I need. So that my Spirit
would be right within me.
Amen.
Wednesday
Read 2 Timothy 1:1-14
Think
Paul speaks so fondly of his
friend and son in the faith. What seems
to stand out for Paul as he writes is Timothy’s ‘sincere faith’. One of my dictionaries describes the word as:
‘lacking in pretense or show.’
Paul is fond of Timothy and
he seems to be encouraging him to ‘just be himself’.
Pray
Lord, help me to remember
who you created me to be.
Thursday
Read Luke 17:5-10
Think
It might sound strange. But sometimes we admire ourselves for our own
righteousness. In verses 8-10 Jesus speaks about how slaves simply do what they
are commanded to do without congratulating themselves for doing it.
Perhaps we ought to a bit
more like humble slaves in our service of God?
Pray
Lord, help me to serve you
just because you are God and I am not.
Friday
Read Luke 17:11-19
Think
In this story Jesus cleanses
all ten lepers but only one of them is ‘made well.’ The one that returns to Jesus to give
thanks. Interestingly; it is not Jesus
who makes the leper well. It is the
leper’s faith.
Pray
Spend some time giving
thanks for all that God has done for you.
