Day 107 Bible Reading - Luke 18: 11-14 (ESV)

Deuteronomy 28: 15-68, Luke 18: 1-30, Psalm 60: 1-4

Luke 18: 11-14 (ESV)

“The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’  But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Verses 11 through 14 from Luke 18 is from the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, where it is said Jesus told this parable to those who thought of themselves as righteous and treated others with contempt. The Pharisee prays to God, but it sounds like a litany of all the things the man is proud of compared to other people. He seems to be propping himself up to God at the expense of putting down those around him especially the Tax Collector. The Tax Collector in his prayer to God had no such pretensions. He knew he was a sinner, and he felt so guilty that he could not even lift his eyes to heaven. The Tax Collector prayed to God for mercy, while the Pharisee prayed to God to praise him because he needed nothing from God and thought of himself as without sin. But the Pharisee was not sinless; he had the sin of pride in his prayer. Some might say the Pharisee also had the sin of ignorance, since he did not seem to know or act like pride was a sin. The Tax Collector knew he was full of sin and prayed to God to forgive him. No wonder God looked more kindly upon the Tax Collector than the Pharisee. We cannot be too self-righteous when we pray to God. We cannot assume that we are without sin even if we do all the right things. We must always pray to God to forgive our sins because we have a nature that always sins, whether we are aware of it or not. In a small way, I do admire the Pharisee because he was so self-confident in himself. But his self-confidence turned into the sin of pride, which made him look down on others who weren’t like him.

Day 106 Bible Reading - Luke 17: 32-33 (ESV)

Deuteronomy 26-27, Deuteronomy 28: 1-14, Luke 17: 11-37, Psalm 59: 13-17

Luke 17: 32-33 (ESV)

“Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.”

Verses 32 through 33 from Luke 17 are about Jesus telling his disciples to not be like Lot’s wife when the world ends. I’ve always felt bad for Lot’s wife. Whether out of morbid curiosity or because she so regretted leaving her home, she looked back when the angel told her not to and was turned into a pillar of stone. I think there is that regret in anyone when they are forced to give up their way of life. You look back with longing and regret at what you lost, and these feelings prevent you from moving on from your old life and being happy about your new life. Having these feelings of regret can become a literal or metaphorical death. Looking back at your old life while running from it can be dangerous in terms of slowing you down or making you unaware of your dangerous physical surroundings. But looking back can also represent a metaphorical death because the loss of familiar surroundings means you can feel like you are losing a part of your identity. That loss will feel like death. Christ is saying if you can willing give up your old life, you will be better off in the long run because you will be able to make a smoother transition into your new life. But like anything Jesus says, giving anything up takes great faith. Faith that Christ is leading you to a better life. Faith that tells you God will provide and take care of you in your new life. Lot’s wife didn’t have this kind of faith, and she paid a price for it. Christ tells us we must total faith in him when he comes back to the world, and that our faith will be rewarded in the end.

Day 105 Bible Reading - Luke 17: 10 (ESV)

Deuteronomy 23-25, Luke 16: 19-31, Luke 17: 1-10, Psalm 59: 1-12

Luke 17: 10 (ESV)

“So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

I was listening to a bible commentary on verse 10 from Luke 17 which said that we will never be able to put God in debt to us because anything we do for him is such a small repayment for his work in our life. The pastor said even if one were to give up their life, it would still not be payment enough for everything God has done for us. If we were to truly realize how much God has done for us, we would want to serve him out of gratitude. In fact, we would see it as a privilege of being allowed to serve God.

To be honest, I had never thought of my service to God in this way. I am one of those people who constantly complain about how much God wants me to do, and I’m just talking about the laws. I feel like Holy Spirit has been encouraging me to eat kosher style because of my food allergies. I had no idea how hard it was to stop eating dairy and meat products together until I started doing it. I am still bemoaning the loss of eating a “normal” pizza, because according to Kosher dietary rules I can now only eat cheese or vegetarian pizza. But since my food allergy reactions have subsided, I know that eating Kosher style is probably a good way of eating for me and Holy Spirit was right as usual. There is that part of me that is still very independent and resentful of having to follow God’s laws, even if they are good for me. But perhaps the pastor is right. If I think about all the miracles God has performed in my life, I know that I would never be able to repay him for his mercy and generosity through my obedience and service to him.

Day 104 Bible Reading - Deuteronomy 21: 22-23 (ESV)

Deuteronomy 21 & 22, Luke 16: 1-18, Psalm 59: 1-8

Deuteronomy 21: 22-23 (ESV)

“And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.”

Verses 22 and 23 from Deuteronomy 21 remind us of the sacrifice Jesus made for us when he died on the cross. According to David Guzik, there was nothing worse for the ancient Hebrews than being put to death and have the corpse left exposed on a tree to shame, humiliation, and scavenging animals. This type of punishment was reserved only for those who are “accursed of God.” Christ took the place of the one who is “accursed by God” when he was hung on a tree (the cross) and exposed to shame and humiliation for all to witness. We as sinners deserved this kind of punishment, but Jesus took our place so we could receive the blessings of Abraham. I love how everything Christ did could be referenced back to the Old Testament. When I read this verse, I also thought of Judas who hung himself on a tree. Judas knew what was considered the worse punishment for his people, and we must give him some props for killing himself according to Mosaic law so he would become “accursed of God.”