Today's Reading:
- Luke 9:7 - 27
- Psalm 72:1 - 20
Luke 9:7 - 27
At the end of the last reading the disciples were sent out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God, to heal the sick, and to cast out demons. When the disciples returned to Jesus, he more or less tried to sneak everyone out to avoid the crowds. The people found Jesus and his disciples regardless.
Instead of becoming irritated that he had been found, Jesus welcomed them and continued his teachings. I find that in itself to be amazing. Jesus was traveling, he was trying to slip away quietly, he had been teaching, healing, and casting out demons continually. He attracted a crowd no matter where he went so was constantly bombarded with requests on a day to day basis.
So when Jesus was found by the crowd of 5000 men (no small crowd!), even an extraordinary person might have been a bit dismayed and perhaps might have been a bit less than friendly. But not Jesus. No, Jesus welcomed the crowd and embraced the chance to minister to them. Not only did he minister to them, he fed every single one of them, thus using the opportunity to demonstrate God's power to the people.
I imagine we could all take a lesson on this one. How many of us let the stressful/bad/wearing things going on in our lives radiate out of us and unto others? Maybe we're having a bad day (or week/month/year!), or perhaps we're tired or weary, or perhaps we're stressed and busy. When we feel like that, how do we treat those around us? How do we treat others in those situations?
As a Christian, I feel like we should demonstrate certain qualities to others with our moods. We should make them ask, "Why is this person so happy/pleasant/joyful/fulfilled/uplifted even though so much is going on in their lives?" The moods and actions we display to others should reflect the fact that our hearts that have been changed by Jesus.
Psalm 72:1 - 20
This Psalm, written by Solomon, is the last in the second book of Psalms. This Psalm describes the traits a godly ruler will have (fair judgement, defender of poor, righteous, etc) and the profound blessings that the godly people would reap during his reign. This truly is a beautiful, shining Psalm that shows the desired traits of our leaders, as well as the benefits that come from being a godly people with a godly ruler.
I am excited to start book three of Psalms with my next reading!
