Author: David Short

Luke 21:1-4

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

Encouraging Words

Does God really care about how we much we give? He holds everything in the palm of His hand. He gives us all that we have, including every breath and heartbeat. God is not concerned about how much we give, whether it be money, time, or our love. What He cares about is the state of our heart when we give. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Psalms 16:11 (15:11)

You made known to me the ways of life;
You will fill me with gladness in Your presence;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Encouraging Words

The more we spend time with our Lord, the more we get to know Him and the depth of His love for us. In that love He teaches us the ways of life. He fills us with gladness even if the world around us is slipping into chaos. He gives us the pleasures of His heavenly kingdom as we grow closer to Him. Glory be to God!

Luke 19:45-46

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’

Personal Challenge

It is important for us to know wha the scriptures say, both Old and New Testaments. Jesus so often quoted the scriptures to justify his actions. If we know and follow the scriptures we can be assured that we are being obedient to that which has been given to us as our guidelines. Glory be to God!

Psalms 16:7-9 (15:7-9)

I will bless the Lord who caused me to understand;
Moreover, until night my reins also instructed me.
I saw the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
Therefore my heart was glad,
And my tongue rejoiced exceedingly;

My flesh also shall dwell in hope.

Personal Challenge

Sometimes we encounter difficult times in our lives. This past weeks have definitely been one of these times. We have a choice. We always have a choice. We can either dwell alone in the midst of the difficulty or recognize that our God is always before us and standing beside us in the midst of our hardship. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. We can claim that promise and walk through that difficulty with us as our right hand. We can watch for those people that He will bring alongside us and not take this journey alone. God is so good and we can dwell in hope in Him. Glory be to God.

Luke 18:40-41

So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”

Personal Challenge

For those of us who follow Christ, we so often speak about how much we trust Him. Do we really? Are we willing to go to Him humbly and let him know clearly what we desire from Him? Sometimes it feels easier to beat around the bush rather than tell him what we need. Maybe it is because we are afraid that He will say, “No!” Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Psalms 16:3 (15:3)

To the saints on His earth,
In them He magnified all His will.

Personal Challenge

The psalmist ends us that He uses His followers, His saints, to reveal Him to the people of earth. The personal challenge is to look at ourselves and our behaviors and assess if we are living in godly and righteous way. When we find that we are not, we can run to Him, ask for His forgiveness, and return to His way. Glory be to God!

Luke 18:27

But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

Encouraging Words

Life can be difficult at times. The beauty of being a follower of Christ is that we know that we follow the God of all creation. He holds all creation in the palm of His hand and that He cares for us more than we can ever understand. With Him, all things are possible. We also know that He will lead us down the right path, which sometimes means that things don’t work out the way that we want. That doesn’t mean that God failed, it means that He knows what is best for us. Glory be to God!

Psalm 15 (14)

O Lord, who shall dwell in Your tabernacle?
Who shall live in Your holy mountain?
He who walks blamelessly, and works righteousness,
And speaks truth in his heart,
Who does not deceive with his tongue,
Neither does evil to his neighbor;
And does not find fault with those nearest him.
He disdains those who do evil in his presence,
But he holds in honor those who fear the Lord;
He swears an oath to his neighbor and does not set it aside.
He does not lend his money at interest,
And he does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be shaken.

Personal Challenge

Jesus gave us, His followers, two commands to follow if we are to be able to proclaim that we are His followers. Love God and love our neighbor. The disciples asked as the question, “Who is my neighbor?”, and to this day that question still gets asked. The answer is that everyone in this world is my neighbor. The next question is how do I treat them. This Psalm gives some great examples of how we do this. Glory be to God!

Luke 18:15-17

Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”

Encouraging Words

We live in a world and a culture that prides itself on how much knowledge that we can access and gain. But knowledge without wisdom is worthless. Jesus does never proclaims that those with great knowledge will receive the kingdom. To the contrary, the acquisition of knowledge leads us away from Him unless He is giving it to us for His purpose. He wants us to come to Him like little children, guiltless, loving, open, and able to learn from Him. Are we still approaching Him with childlike minds and hearts? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!