Day 29 - Luke 21-22

The story of the widow's offering makes a powerful point - sacrificial giving is not so much about how much you give but about how much you have left over!

Jesus told us in 21:17 that we will be hated by all for His Name's sake. What He is telling us is not just that people won't like us because of our personality, but they will hate us because we are living for the sake of His Name! With that in mind, why do so many so-called Christians spend so much time trying make themselves "likable" by the people of this world? And if the people of this world do "like" you instead of "hate" you, one wonders whether or not you are really living for the sake of His Name! I'm certainly not advocating living in such a way that intentionally provokes others to hate you just to provoke them, but if we are truly living for the sake of Jesus' Name, then it should not surprise us that the people of this world get upset with us.

Jesus' instruction to His disciples to pray that they may not enter into temptation should still ring true for us today. Obviously, Jesus was telling His disciples this because they would be tempted to deny Him (e.g. Peter) and forsake Him in the face of persecution. We will not face exactly what the disciples faced, but we will face temptation! Jesus has given us good instruction in order to strengthen ourselves in the face of temptation--Pray! How important this aspect of our Christian lives is! Pray that you enter not into temptation!

22:61 is rather poignant. Peter has just denied three times that he knew Jesus. The rooster crowed pointing out to Peter that he had done exactly what Jesus said he would do. Then there was the look of Jesus at Peter. What must that look have been like? Was it a look of "see, I told you so"? Was it a look of condemnation? Was it a look of disappointment? Was it a look of compassion? Was it a look of reassuring forgiveness? The Bible doesn't tell us specifically, but I tend to think it was the last two--compassion and forgiveness. If it had been the others, Peter might have had the same reaction as Judas! But instead, Peter's response was one of repentant sorrow. Isn't it the kindness of God that leads us to repentance (Rom. 2:4)?