Daily Bible Reading
To prevent the frustration of falling behind, which most of us tend to do when following a Bible reading plan, each month of this plan gives you only twenty-five readings. Today we start a few “free days” . We encourage you to catch up on any readings you may have missed this month.
If you have finished the month’s readings, you can use these final days of the month to study the passages that challenged or intrigued you.
The Bible reading plan we are following can be found here: https://www.navigators.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/navigators-bible-reading-plan.pdf
Daily Devotion
The Weight of Compassion
How ready am I for what Jesus really wants to do in my life, and not just what I allow Him to do? In John 19:26, Jesus is in His last moments on the cross and looks at His mother and says, “Woman, behold thy son.” Then He looks at John and says, “Behold thy mother.” He looks at, then gives a charge to each person to take care of the other as though they were related. A mother to care for and love John as a son, and a son to love and take care of His aging mother.
Now I immediately wonder, did John and Mary have any dislikes toward each other, was it a hardship to take on this responsibility? Was it a financial burden to take on Mary and provide room for her? Was John a difficult person to be around or did he remind Mary of her lost son? Such an unusual situation, yet one that could prepare any of us for what Jesus wants to do in our life. What would I do if Jesus were to put someone in my life and ask me to take on a role in their life? Someone maybe I am not prepared to, or maybe someone that gets a little under my skin. The scripture concludes with from that hour John took her unto his own home.
I think back to the beginning of my conversion and just as vivid as I remember church services and altar calls, I remember cell group meetings. A place to talk freely and openly with a group of people, all in different spots in their walk with Jesus. A place to learn, to laugh, and to connect or what I would define as fellowship. But in order for this to happen, a family had to get their house ready and willingly open up their home to provide an atmosphere where Jesus could dwell. Someone took a charge from Christ and obeyed it. Times are different from 15 years ago and methods that were effective then might not be effective now. I don’t even know what would be effective now, but what would my answer to Jesus be, if He started to encourage me to do something sacrificial for somebody in order to provide a connection and potential conversion to Him?
~ Dominic Couvion