Devo Luke 17

Chapter 17
1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to
come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. 2 It would be better for them
to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause
one of these little ones to stumble. 3 So watch yourselves. “If your brother or
sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. 4 Even if
they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying
‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” 5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our
faith!” 6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to
this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
7”Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he
say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down
to eat’? 8Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait
on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? 9Would he thank
the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10So you also, when you have
done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we
have only done our duty.’ “

Meditation:
1. Here Jesus shows us how we can help each other accept and live by values
the Pharisees had rejected. We are to rebuke one another when one of us
sins, but be quick to forgive when he or she repents. Each of us is to accept
responsibility to care about one another’s walk with God. In the community
of faith each is to find forgiveness and support to live a godly life.
2. Jesus commanded his disciples to confront, to accept “I repent”, and to forgive.
Responding to a command isn’t a matter of faith, it is a matter of obedience.
3. How many times have I held back, wishing I had more faith so I could do
something I knew God wanted me to do? How many times have I pleaded
for more faith in my inadequacy? And how many times has the longing for
more faith simply masked the fact that I have been unwilling to obey?
4. Allow the questions to speak to my heart. Continue this quiet time with
God. If the Holy Spirit is rebuking me right now, confess it and ask for God’s
forgiveness. Pray for mercy to obey God willingly.

Personal Note:
I am called to rebuke one another when one of us sins, but I am to the one who sinned when they repent.  It takes love to rebuke the one who sins, as it is so much easier to just ignore the person.  I may feel small, inadequate, lowly, powerless...  God is asking me to obey as he can do things through people who are willing to obey.

No matter who we are, whether you are high 90's students or struggling academically, whether you come from an affluent family or your family is struggling economically, whether you have lots of friends or you are a loner, whether you are socially accepted or not...   We are all servants for our great God.  When we have done our job, God's name is glorified.  Let's love God and one another in humility.