Summer Devotionals - wk 3

Our Summer Sermon Series and Summer Bible Reading Plan will walk together through some of the foundational practices and invitations of the Christian life: following Jesus, loving our neighbor, forgiveness, generosity, prayer, peace, community, gratitude, and more. This isn’t about adding more pressure or more “religious homework” to your life. It’s about creating just enough space for Jesus to meet us in the middle of our everyday lives.

Transcript

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This summer, our back to the basics Bible reading plan is not about trying to do more, it's about what matters most. Giving just enough space for Jesus to shape us and move us in the direction that he wants us to go. Two weeks ago, we talked about following Christ. He says, Follow me. And last week we talked about the love of God and what the love of God should spur in us to love others. And this week we're talking about that love. Love, loving a neighbor. There's a story in Luke 10, one of the readings that's assigned, and it talks about this good Samaritan who saw someone beaten and bleeding on the road, and all these others had passed by, but he stopped and helped this man, someone who culturally shouldn't be interacting with someone like this. It's a story that many of us know. And it's not a story about heroics, I don't think, even though there's some heroic things that happen there. It's a story about noticing. If you've committed to following Christ, we're supposed to notice things that others don't. And we're especially supposed to notice other people. People in pain, people who are hurting, people who need to be reminded that they are not alone. That's where I'm led this week. I was at uh Spectrum here in town right by the church, and uh, while I was waiting for an appointment, I ran into this place called Ollie's. Maybe some of you know it, it's a discount store right by the church. And I found a few treasures I definitely didn't need, and I was I was standing in line to check out, I became engrossed in my phone, and all of a sudden I felt a presence as if someone was staring at me, and I looked up, and sure enough, the person waiting to check me out was just staring intently at me. I wonder how many of us miss the presence of another in our lives because we're so distracted. We're so focused on our own stuff, or in my case, a phone that doesn't really matter, that we miss an opportunity to be Jesus to somebody that so desperately needs to experience Jesus. I hope the readings this week remind you of what God believes you're capable of, but also what we're called to do as followers of Christ. And as always, I I hope you take some time to notice things in Scripture you hadn't noticed before, to listen to what God might be calling you to do, and to live in a way that reflects the love of Christ in your life. Love and peace.