"We shall individually be held responsible for doing one jot less than we have ability to do...But when we give ourselves wholly to God, and in our work follow His directions, He makes Himself responsible for its accomplishment. He would not have us conjecture as to the success of our honest endeavors. Not once should we even think of failure. We are to cooperate with One who knows no failure." ~Messages to Young People, p. 309

Monday, June 13, 2011

Blogging Through The Gospels: Luke 19

Before I get started with this article, I wanted to say "Happy Birthday" to my awesome dad today! He's the best research-paper-helping, teaching-me-to-drive, helping-me-to-plan-some-fun dad I know! :)

Today's Bible chapter is Luke 19--mainly, on Zacchaeus (ever heard of him before??) and Jesus entering Jerusalem via the Triumphal Entry, along other things. Let's SOAP!

Scripture:

"But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."" ~Luke 19:8

Observation:

Zacchaeus had been living wrongly before he met Jesus. He'd take more than he should, gleefully pocketing the poor peasents' hard-earned coins.One would go to the Romans, and the other would be dropped into the sea of his gold-plated riches. He'd give a hearty laugh before proceeding to the next victim, uh, citizen!

But when Zacchaeus met Jesus, Zacchaeus knew he wanted to change. He changed right then and there!

Application:

I'm not telling you to give over half your possessions to the poor, but I am challenging you to make restitution today. It may have been a big, public offense or it may have been a small, private offense, but whatever the kind, make restitution with someone you've wronged today. If you were the one wronged, forgive them! You'll feel a lot better by doing so.

Prayer:

Dear God, I know that I've hurt more people than I can count. Please forgive me, and help me to make restitution with someone today. Amen. 


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P.S.--To learn more about this blogging-through-the-gospels program, or if YOU would like to join yourself (you're more than welcome-jump right in!!) go to: http://www.momstoolbox.com/ 
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1 comment:

  1. FriendJune 13, 2011

    Good encouragement--thanks for sharing!

    And yes, I agree with you--you have the very best dad ever! ;)

    ReplyDelete

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