11 March - Luke 21

Today we are reading Luke 21 together. Here are a couple things to think about:

1. The very first thing Jesus talks about is giving. Actually, he talks about a poor woman giving and he said she gave more than all the rich people. Clearly Jesus was not an accountant, right? The point Jesus made was that when we give, it should be a sacrifice we make, not something we do out of obligation. 
2. The rest of the chapter Jesus is painting a rather bleak future for his followers. 
3. The last lines of this chapter say Jesus would preach daily in the temple and at night he would get away to rest in the wilderness. Jesus took time each evening to get rest and prepare for the next day.

In the first story Jesus talks about giving being something that should to show our confidence in God’s ability to provide for us. The rich people may have given a larger amount of money but it wasn’t a sacrifice on their part. Most of the time we give to God out of our excess. Jesus is pointing out that this woman gave everything she had and it showed she was trusting God. Remember we can only give to God because he has been so generous to us.

Jesus talked at great length of the tough times his followers would face in the future. In fact we know that all of the 11 apprentices of Jesus (excepts Judas because he committed suicide after betraying Jesus) were killed for their faith except one, John. John is the only one to have died a natural death. Although he did not die a martyr’s death, he did live a martyr’s life. Some traditions tell us that he was thrown into boiling oil before the Latin Gate, where he was not killed but undoubtedly scarred for the rest of his life. He was exiled to the Island of Patmos under the Emperor Domitian for teaching that Jesus had risen from the dead. It was there that he wrote the last book in the Bible, Revelation. We don’t have to worry about dying for believing in Jesus in America but there are lots of places around the world where people still are killed for trusting Jesus and being baptized.

Do you give out of your extra to God? Do you give sacrificially as God moves you to and trust him to take care of your needs? If you don’t follow God this idea of generosity could still be applied in your life and you could help make the world a better place. God’s idea of generosity isn’t only reserved for giving to churches. Obviously this is talking about money but it could also be applied to your time, energy and talents in serving. This is why Tattoo Church partners with Thicker Than Blood to help those in our community. Check out their site www.thickerthanblood.org Does thinking about how some people are murdered for their faith make you want to live yours out more? If so how do you plan on doing that today?