Funmi Kolawole

LUKE 22:47-51

Jesus had just been strengthened by an angel as He prayed in the garden on the night He was about to be arrested. As He challenged His disciples not to sleep but to pray lest they fell into temptation, a large mob with various dangerous weapons arrived. They were led by Judas Iscariot, who walked boldly up to Jesus to kiss Him, for that was the sign he had given the Jewish leaders to identify Christ. As he approached, Jesus confronted him, questioning, “Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?” He knew that a kiss was a traditional way of greeting friends, but now, someone He called a friend had turned a traitor and was using a kiss to betray the Son of God. When His disciples saw what was happening, they sought His permission to fight back with swords. One of them did not wait but went ahead to slice off the right ear of the servant of the high priest. Jesus promptly stopped them, touched the servant’s ear, and healed it.

Whatever service we render to God, no matter how qualitative it may seem, if its purposes are for anything other than to glorify God, it becomes an act of betrayal of the Lord who had entrusted us with such a role. It could be that we possess a good knowledge of the Scripture and can teach and preach convincingly or we can minister through songs to rouse an entire congregation, or we have the gift of prayer and faith to attract supernatural intervention from God. If the motive is insincere or aimed at showing off our skills or to attract the applause of men, it ceases to please God and becomes an act of treachery. Our hearts must be pure, our purposes noble, and our goal God-honouring; otherwise, our service would be considered a kiss of death.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
The Lord is never impressed by any outward service bereft of inward sincerity.

LUKE 23:1-12

In our text, the Jewish religious leaders wanted Jesus crucified based on trumped-up charges. Pilate, who was the judge, pronounced Christ guiltless but treated Him as a tool to pacify the Jews and mend his broken relationship with Herod. On his part, Herod was anxious to see Christ only as a miracle worker. Like multitudes today, he was a curious seeker eager to observe supernatural signs and wonders.

Many people still come to Christ for reasons less than why He came into the world: to seek and save the lost. Some see Christ in the mould of a Father Christmas, who merely supplies their needs, without first seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness. No wonder the prayers for promotion, healing, deliverance, material supply, and victory over enemies usually echo louder than the prayer of repentance in churches of today. Some attend church services for emotional experiences or simply to be in the right social or political circle. Others, like Governor Felix, are eager to discuss religious matters but postpone their salvation to a convenient time that may never come.

Let us remember that salvation from sin and its consequences should be the primary reason for seeking Christ. Other benefits are mere icing on the cake.

✍️THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
*_Smart people, like Zacchaeus, seek Christ for the greatest miracle - the salvation of their soul.

PSALM 127:1-5

The home setting is God's initiative. He, therefore, remains the Alpha and Omega in all issues, including those concerning the home. He is the repository of wisdom for all family matters. If given the right as the Head of the family, love, joy, peace, harmony, wellness, and progress abound and flourish. The reverse is the case when God is not in control of a family. The values taught at home determine the behaviour of members of different families outside hence, the axiom Charity begins at home. Children are a heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.

The Holy Bible, God's inerrant word, remains the standard for valuable guidelines on proper parenting that can transform families and society. We cannot get parenting right if its precepts are despised or neglected. People who wish to pass on godly values to their generations and add value to the larger society must adhere to biblical teachings on all aspects of life. People like Moses, Samuel, and Timothy were products of good home training. In contemporary times, we have the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., a civil rights leader who credited his father, Martin Luther King Sr., and his mother, Alberta Williams King, for instilling in him a strong sense of morality, justice and compassion.

A sage has correctly said that there is nothing more influential in a child's life than the moral power of a quiet example. For children to take morality seriously, they must see adults who live by high moral standards. We cannot leave this significant role solely in the hands of caregivers, school tutors, or the government. There is no irredeemable situation with God; whatever your situation, trust and pray, believing there will be light at the end of the tunnel.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
The home is designed to be the most important institution of learning.

1 SAMUEL 2:26-36

Death is certain. It is a necessary end. But those who die while in active rebellion against God's commands will face a grim eternity. These two sons of the high priest of Israel should have known better. They should have known that a holy calling cannot save an unholy man unless he repents. However, instead of amending their ways, they became so selfish and rebellious that Eli, their father, could no longer control them. Although Eli cautioned Hophni and Phinehas, he had not done everything he could to decisively correct their bad behaviour. Eli was guilty of neglecting his parental duties towards his sons because "he restrained them not". Eli should have excluded his children from the service in the sanctuary of God altogether. This is a warning to Christian parents who indulge their children and allow them to occupy positions in the church despite their manifest misdemeanours.

God is jealous over His house. He is no respecter of persons. Though He is patient and expects the penitent to return to Him, there is a limit to His patience. Those who are encouraged by delusional ideologists to resist God and disdain His word, thinking there are no consequences, should have a rethink after seeing how quickly those illusions were dispelled by the swift judgement handed down to Hophni and Phinehas.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
It is a horrible venture to dare God or tempt Him.