FRIDAY, MAY 6
READ LUKE 10:1-11
LUKE 10:1 After this, the Lord appointed seventy other talmidim and sent them on ahead in pairs to every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 He said to them, “To be sure, there is a large harvest. But there are few workers. Therefore, plead with the Lord of the Harvest that he speed workers out to gather in his harvest. 3 Get going now, but pay attention! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Don’t carry a money-belt or a pack, and don’t stop to shmoose with people on the road.
5 “Whenever you enter a house, first say, ‘Shalom!’ to the household. 6 If a seeker of shalom is there, your ‘Shalom!’ will find its rest with him; and if there isn’t, it will return to you. 7 Stay in that same house, eating and drinking what they offer, for a worker deserves his wages — don’t move about from house to house.
8 “Whenever you come into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is put in front of you. 9 Heal the sick there, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they don’t make you welcome, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off as a sign against you! But understand this: the Kingdom of God is near!’
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The seventy disciples must have felt terrified. Without warning, it seems, Jesus sends them into the world to begin their ministry.In some ways, it is what the disciples have desired. Surely some of them have been thinking, I want to be like Jesus. I want to do the things that he is doing.But it is one thing to have those thoughts and another thing entirely to act on them. Now the time to act has come. They can no longer sit in the background, watching Jesus teach and do works of power. It’s their turn to step up. As if that were not enough pressure, Jesus adds a catch: Carry nothing.
We would have a hard time following Jesus’ direction today. In our daily lives, our focus on schedules, plans, and material possessions leaves little space to hear how God wants to use us that day. Or for mission trips, we send out reconnaissance teams to study the mission field and find out its needs. Then we plan for months, accumulating supplies that will meet any need that the mission team might have or encounter. While necessary for many mission endeavors, imagine the possibility of engaging the mission field and following Jesus’ direction: Carry nothing.
Carry nothing. These words invite us into the moment, to lean into the arms of Jesus who supplies our needs. Carry nothing. It reminds us that our power does not come from possessions or planning but from our faith and trust in the Son of God who holds all power in his hand.
Lord of love and light, free us from the entrapments of material possessions and dependence on our own efforts that keep us from leaning into your abundant grace and power. Help us to love and trust you fully and to carry that love into the world. Amen.[Chanequa Walker-Barnes]
Our mailing address is:
The Upper Room Strategic Initiatives
PO Box 340007
Nashville, Tennessee 37203, United States
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