Reading your Bible for today December 8

December 8: Luke 18:9-14

KJV Key Verse: Luke 18:13
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

Devotion:
It is so very easy to judge others by the actions they take; we just have to watch someone to fall into that trap! I may not be as verbal and demonstrable as this interaction but we do all judge others. But this parable is not just about judging others, nor is it just about judging yourself, nor is it just about asking for forgiveness, nor is it just about coming forward in the right way... it’s about all of those aspects and more! Judging others is just one aspect of our lives that we have to watch. Trying to keep an eye on what we do ourselves and fixing the problems those issues we have is another. Making sure when we do discover problems that we try to fix them and not just ask to forgive and forget is yet another aspect.

This parable brings so much together that we need to remember it and think about it instead of just taking one meaning away with ourselves. We need to remember, first of all, that we are God’s children and we are under His command. We should not be living according to our own rules but according to God’s rules. We should not be trying to build our lives by our own wisdom but according to God’s wisdom through His Word. When we start to remember just where our position is in relation to God then we will start to move in the right direction with all the other aspects of this parable.

When we remember we have all been created by God we start to remember that we need to look out for each other and not put each other down. When we remember we are all people, we start to think about how we all can fall into the same traps through temptations which take us away from God’s Word. It is our choice. Each one of us makes that choice for ourselves, not for each other. We cannot then judge each other because we are not making those choices for other people. We can encourage others to seek the Truth so they can identify if they have made bad choices. If we are the ones who make the bad choices we should be the ones coming forward with the right attitude to make things right again...

Points to Ponder:
Do you hold grudges?

How often do you think about others?